Cooper Flagg headlines Naismith Award semifinalists
BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ
The semifinalists for the two most prestigious awards in college basketball have been announced. Here are the names left standing for the Naismith Player and Coach of the Year awards:
Naismith Player of the Year Semifinalists
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
RJ Luis Jr., St. John’s
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalists
Dennis Gates, Missouri
Todd Golden, Florida
Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Pat Kelsey, Louisville
Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
Ben McCollum, Drake
Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Rick Pitino, St. John’s
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Jon Scheyer, Duke
Broome and Flagg have been the season-long favorites for the Player of the Year award as they led their teams to dominant regular seasons. Flagg sustained an ankle injury in the ACC quarterfinals and is expected to miss Friday’s semifinal against rival North Carolina.
Of course, this season’s breakout story was the work done by Pitino and St. John’s.
The finalists for the Player of the Year award are expected to be announced on March 20, while the Coach of the Year finalists are scheduled to be announced on March 24.
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