NCAA Basketball: 10 best bets to win 2021-22 Naismith Player of the Year
By Tommy Farmer
Chet Holmgren +1000
April Headline: The Chet Project is Gonzaga’s Best Yet
Look, the headlines aren’t mine per se. I do come up with them, but I’m coming up with what they will be from other people. You can’t blame me if you can’t stand corny rhyming headlines.
It was a tough decision choosing between Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren. Both are set to put up monster numbers offensively both because they are extremely talented, but also because they are in a weaker conference. Ultimately, I decided that getting Holmgren at +1000 was better than Timme at +500.
Sure, Timme has already put-up great numbers against good opponents and shown what he is capable of. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t have another awesome season. However, his frontcourt mate Holmgren will garner more of the attention. Holmgren is the shiny new toy that everyone is dying to see play against kids who aren’t eating PB&J’s their moms made them for lunch and stressing about seventh period trigonometry tests. He is a rare unicorn who seemingly can do it all despite his 7-foot frame.
As someone in major contention to be the number one pick in the next NBA Draft also, Holmgren’s flash and potential could overshadow Timme’s steady production. As dumb as that may sound, I really do think media bias can matter in terms of picking the player of the year. If Timme and Holmgren had the same odds, I would probably lean towards picking Timme, but Holmgren is the better pick for double the value.