NCAA Basketball: Myles Powell leads early 2019-20 National Player of the Year race

Carey has a couple of things going for him that others on this list don’t. He has already had a star moment on a national stage (that he had almost exclusively to himself thanks to the 2K Empire Classic being the week before Feast Week), putting up 31 points and 12 rebounds against Cal before following that up with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Georgetown.

Carey now has a streak of six consecutive double-doubles and has emerged as the go-to guy for a young Duke team that took a bit to find an identity. They seem to have found it, and that is playing through Carey.

Obviously, the Stephen F. Austin loss hurts the freshman’s early candidacy, but he was one of the few Blue Devils who actually performed well against the Lumberjacks. He had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and a season-high seven blocks while shooting 80 percent from the field.

It’d also be naïve to point out that playing for Duke doesn’t raise Carey’s stock, as playing for the Cowboys does for Dak Prescott and playing for the Yankees does for Aaron Judge. The Blue Devils have a lot of eyes on them at all times, and that works in the 6-10, 270-pounder’s favor when discussing his case for Player of the Year.

Carey is going to be given plenty of opportunities to continue to produce at a high level given his role in Duke’s offense. As long as Duke can stay near the top of the polls, he’ll be in the mix.