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LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA — Not surprisingly, my top 25 nominees for the John R. Wooden Award mid-season list is heavily laced with players from North Carolina (four) and Kentucky (three) – 28 percent of the nominees, in fact.

There are four freshmen among the 25, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of Kentucky, Trey Burke of Michigan and Cody Zeller of Indiana. Two other freshmen, guards Austin Rivers of Duke and Kevin Pangos of Gonzaga, were my final two cuts.

The Atlantic Coast Conference (led by the Tar Heels, of course) is the most heavily represented conference with six selections.

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For wwwnbadraft.net

NCAA Power 16 Rankings

 

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SAN DIEGO – Appropriately enough on Saturday, the final game capped the six-game San Diego-Los Angeles Challenge, sponsored by State Farm Insurance, in fine fashion.

The host Lincoln High Hornets – led by twin juniors Tyree and Tyrell Robinson – took on Woodland Hills Taft, the prohibitive favorite to win the L.A. City title, in that finale.

And, despite falling behind by 15 points late in the second quarter against the stalwart defense of Coach Jason Hart’s Toreadors, the Hornets gave their fans plenty to get hyped about.

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Here are my award winners after the first two months of the 2011-12 college hoops season:

Top 15 Teams

1. Syracuse 15-0
2. Kentucky 13-1
3. Ohio State 13-2
4. Connecticut 12-1
5. Baylor 13-0
6. North Carolina 13-2
7. Duke 12-1
8. Missouri 13-0
9. Indiana 13-1
10. Michigan State 13-2
11. Harvard 12-1
12. Kansas 10-3
13. Creighton 11-2
14. UNLV 15-2
15. Georgetown 12-1
16. Virginia 12-1
17. Florida 11-3
18. Louisville 12-2
19. San Diego State 12-2
20. Murray State 14-0
21. Michigan 12-2
22. Kansas State 11-1
23. Marquette  12-2
24. Mississippi State  13-2
25. Gonzaga 11-2

Top Players

*Harrison Barnes (6-8 So./North Carolina/16.9 ppg/4.9 rpg)

*Kenny Boynton (6-2 Jr./Florida/19.4

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  SAN DIEGO – In reality, the Los Angeles Windward team needed to play even better than it had during the first three days of the tournament.

And its Hyattsville, MD, DeMatha counterpart needed to have a significant letdown after playing so impressively during its first three victories in National Division play of the 22^nd Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.

Neither thing happened and that’s why DeMatha’s players and coaching staff will board a Washington, D.C.-bound jetliner with tournament championship hardware in their overhead storage space.

Coach Mike Jones’ team – oozing with talent, depth and composure – withstood the spirited play of Windward’s Wildcats and came away with a 74-64 victory in front of an overflow crowd in Torrey Pines High’s gymnasium Friday night.

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