Is Duke’s Jahlil Okafor The Favorite For The Wooden Award?
The 20 finalists were announced on Wednesday for the Wooden Award, and among them was Duke’s star center Jahlil Okafor. At this point it seems as though the race for the prestigious player of the year award is going to come down to Okafor and Wisconsin’s center Frank Kaminsky, but who is the favorite?
There are people on both sides of the argument, and at this point it would be hard to argue with either player taking home the hardware. Both players demand so much attention and mean a lot to their teams and without them who knows where their teams would be.
If you look just purely at statistics Okafor has the slight edge. He is averaging 18 points per game and just over nine rebounds per game while shooting 67 percent. Kaminsky on the other hand is averaging just over 17 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent.
Both of these players have different styles of play though, which leads to the big difference in shooting percentage. Okafor is a pure post player and doesn’t take many shots outside the paint. Kaminsky on the other hand, while also being prolific in the post, is also able to go outside and knock down three pointers at a 40 percent clip.
It is hard to choose between these two players based on the numbers, so you have to look at the impact they have on their respective teams. There have been many that have said Kaminsky has a greater impact on his team than Okafor, but I would argue the opposite.
Yes Okafor has work to do on the defensive end, but Kaminsky isn’t exactly elite defensively either, and Okafor garners so much attention on offense that it is hard to argue against him being the most impactful player in the nation.
Okafor has not had many possessions this season where he has not been double-teamed when catching the ball. Because of this, and the fact that he is an excellent passer, he is able to set up teammates for open layups or three-point shots consistently.
Another area to look at would be supporting cast. Both teams have spent the majority of the season in the top five of almost every poll so both teams are obviously very talented. Duke’s three best players are freshmen, while Wisconsin has a lot more experience. The only preseason player of the year candidate on Duke was Okafor, while Wisconsin had Kaminsky, and Sam Dekker in the discussion before the season started. Dekker is having a very good season so far and is the best player not named Kaminsky or Okafor on either team.
Yes Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook, and Justise Winslow have shown flashes of greatness this year, but they have been just that, flashes. The team seems to be coming together now at the right time, but the Blue Devils only have three losses so far this season because of Okafor’s consistency.
Okafor has been the only Duke player who has had a huge impact in every single game, and that can be seen by his 24 straight games scoring in double digits, which is a Duke freshman record.
Add to all of this the fact that Duke went into Madison earlier in the year and defeated Kaminsky’s Wisconsin team, and it would seem as though Okafor has to be the favorite for this years Wooden award. By no means is this race over, but based on the evidence we have been given so far, Okafor has to have a slight edge over Kaminsky for player of the year.