NCAA Basketball: Top 10 rankings for 2022-23 National Player of the Year

4. Brandon Miller – Alabama Crimson Tide

2022-23 stats: 19.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.9 apg

When it comes to overall impact in NCAA Basketball, it’s been an underwhelming campaign by the freshmen. A number have struggled, while five-star freshmen such as Cam Whitmore and Nick Smith have dealt with injuries and missed plenty of games. But one that has been excellent since the very start of the season is Miller, who was a star in the preseason exhibition games and continued when the wins and losses counted.

The 6’9 freshman forward leads Alabama in both points and rebounds, scoring double-figures in all but one game. Ironically, that came in an 8-point game against Houston, missing all field shots from the field. Somehow, the Tide were able to win without him. Miller has had 14+ in every outing, including a season-high 36 points on 12/22 shooting in a loss to Gonzaga.

Some other key performances from Miller include 24 points and nine rebounds in a win over Michigan State, as well as back-to-back doubles against Jackson State and Mississippi State and 19 points last weekend against Kentucky.

On a team that has dealt with injuries in the rotation, Miller (and Mark Sears as well), has been the one constant on a top-10 team and an SEC favorite. While other key freshmen such as Keyonte George (Baylor) and Kyle Filipowski (Duke) have also had big impacts on their respective teams, only Miller can claim the same kind of impact on a team this talented.