Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: Best player from each conference entering January 2019

By Jason Kinander

DURHAM, NC - DECEMBER 01: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts following a dunk against the Stetson Hatters in the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 1, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - DECEMBER 01: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts following a dunk against the Stetson Hatters in the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 1, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 21: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils shoots a free throw during the first half of the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 21: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils shoots a free throw during the first half of the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

Atlantic 10: Kellan Grady, Davidson

Like the AAC, the A10 has experienced a major talent drop-off from last season. Rhode Islands E.C. Matthews is gone, as is VCU’s Justin Tillman, and Davidson’s Peyton Aldridge.

However, Davidson has a long history of pure scorers, and this year is no different. Their “go to guy” is once again the top player in the A10.

Kellan Grady, like his predecessors (Aldridge, Tyler Kalinowski, Steph Curry), is a shoot-first guard whom the offense is centered around. This season, Grady leads the Wildcats with 19.4 points per game, while also averaging 4 rebounds per contest.

Grady was the preseason A10 Player of the Year after being named the A10 Rookie of the Year as a freshman last season. Grady has dealt with a nagging knee issue all season, but expects to be healthy for conference play, and is all but a lock to follow up his big 2018 season with an A10 Player of the Year campaign this time around.

ACC: Zion Williamson, Duke

The ACC, as it usually is, is stockpiled with talent this season. Duke itself has three players that would be the top player in almost any other conference, while Virginia has a pair of players that could put up a pretty good argument as well. You can even argue that North Carolina’s Luke Maye is the best player in the conference, as he certainly was last season.

Despite the heavy competition, I think we can all agree that Duke freshman Zion Williamson is the top player in the ACC. Williamson is a generational talent, and is one of the best players that the country has seen in the last decade.

This season, Williamson is averaging 20 points per game, as well as 9.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Williamson has led the Blue Devils to the top ranking in the country, and is the consensus top prospect in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Williamson is a force everywhere on the court. Whether it be shooting, rebounding, defending, or dunking, Zion Williamson is obviously the best player in the ACC, and honestly, it isn’t even really close.

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