College coaches tab Oscar Tshiebwe as 2nd best player in CBB for '22-23 season
Oscar Tshiebwe was the unanimous National Player of the Year last season. And yet, some around the country appear to have forgotten that important fact.
Over at CBS Sports, Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander took a survey of nearly 100 college coaches for what they call their annual “Candid Coaches” series. All coaches were granted full anonymity for their participation in hopes of receiving the most truthful answers. When the coaches were asked who they believe will be the best player in college basketball for the 2022-23 season, Tshiebwe came in second behind Gonzaga All-American Drew Timme.
Timme earned 43.9 percent of the votes while Tshiebwe polled at 33.7 percent. North Carolina big man Armando Bacot came in third with 10.2 percent.
Even Norlander, who provided commentary after posting the results, was shocked to see Timme come in ahead of Tshiebwe. But he believes Kentucky’s shocking upset loss to St. Peter’s in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament has left a bit of stale taste with some. Plus, Timme was a First-Team All-American last year and returns for a fourth season of college ball with the Bulldogs a popular pick for preseason No. 1.
We don’t necessarily agree with the logic, but that’s at least one explanation for the results. Just another reason for Tshiebwe to have another monster year. We’ll take Big O over Timme every day of the week.
An interesting note to take away from the poll is how much influence centers once again have on college basketball. All three of the nation’s top players for next season are big men, according to the coaches polled. NIL legislation and the lack of need for “traditional” bigs in the NBA have helped bring back the era of the center.
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