Wall, Cousins finalists for player of the year award

There's been quite a bit of rumbling on the award front today as the regular season begins to wind toward that part of the year. Of course, Kentucky was a big part of it all. The first thing of note is that both John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have been named finalists for the Oscar Robertson Award, awarded to the nation's top player. The award is given by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and has been won by such greats as Tyler Hansbrough, Glenn Robinson, Pete Maravich and, naturally, Oscar Robertson. It's no surprise to see Wall on the list, but seeing Cousins receiving love for a National Player of the Year award is great recognition for how dominant the big man has been this year. Of course, this award is given by the same people who elected Jerry Tipton to their Hall of Fame so, and we're just being honest here, the legitimacy of anything they vote on is immediately in question. Still, being named to the list is an honor. The other, and slightly more debatable, movement in the national awards race came in terms of the AP POY. For the first time this season, John Wall has been overtaken in straw poll voting for player of the year by Ohio State's Evan Turner. As Wall has looked slightly more human since exploding onto the scene early in the season, his lead over Turner has shrunk almost by the day and finally Turner has taken the top spot in media polling. If this were a game and the other team had just taken a late lead, we know that Wall would go on a 6-0 run by himself to take it back. I don't know what the equivalent of a 6-0 run is in terms of winning player of the year, but if the near triple-double last night was any indication, we may be getting ready to find out. That is all. Go Cats.