NCAA Basketball: Myles Powell leads early 2019-20 National Player of the Year race
By Brian Rauf
Who has emerged as the best players in NCAA basketball through the first month of the season? Find out in our National Player of the Year Power Rankings.
The opening month of the 2019-20 NCAA Basketball season is in the books with the conclusion of the early season non-conference tournaments that made up Feast Week.
Several players took advantage of the national stage provided by those tournaments, becoming household names and emerging as some of the very best players in the country.
Obi Toppin and Dayton made perhaps the biggest statement of Feast Week with their dominant play. Toppin has surged into the National Player of the Year conversation after putting up big numbers against power conference competition and is also now projected to be a lottery pick.
Michigan looked like the best team in the country as they won the Battle 4 Atlantis with point guard Zavier Simpson leading a balanced effort for the Wolverines with his playmaking
Both of those players have entered the National Player of the Year race, but many of the preseason favorites have put forth the kind of performances that were expected of them.
Cassius Winston, the preseason National Player of the Year, remains among the favorites despite Michigan State’s sluggish start, while North Carolina’s Cole Anthony and Seton Hall’s Myles Powell have surged thanks to huge performances of their own.
Who else has emerged from the pack? Here are the 10 current favorites for National Player of the Year after the first month of the season.