Wall, Cousins Make Final List of 30 Naismith Candidates

Kentucky's John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have made the final list of 30 candidates for the Naismith Award. The Naismith Award is presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the National Player of the Year in college basketball. ESPN's Eamonn Brennan says that the list is basically irrelevant as the winner will almost surely be John Wall or Evan Turner. Some of the other big names on the list include Turner (Ohio State), Aldrich and Collins (Kansas), Wes Johnson (Syracuse) and Scottie Reynolds (Villanova). Other SEC players on the list are Jarvis Varnado and Devan Downey. Speaking of Downey, there has been a small storm generated by a...drum roll...Jerry Tipton article on Kentucky.com today. Tipton reports that Downey has been receiving his "share of hate mail and Facebook messages from Kentucky fans." Downey further says that the messages included "some ugly and racial" tones. I will allow you to read the article and form your own opinions for discussion in the comments section, but I will point out my favorite part of the article. Downey says, "One fan said he better not find out what hotel we're staying at. He's going to be waiting for me." Tipton then writes, "After the long, taxing season, the last thing Downey needs is a confrontation with a knuckleheaded Kentucky fan." First, and foremost, let me say that I do not condone this type of fan behavior at all and I'd be a hypocrit if I tried to defend it. I didn't support it when Mississippi State fans did it to Cousins and I can't support it when Kentucky fans (if they were actually Kentucky fans) do it to others. That being said however, first, we're assuming that it was Kentucky fans. Secondly, what difference does it make if this happens towards the end of the season? I don't think there would ever be a good time for a player to have a confrontation with a "knuckleheaded Kentucky fan." Lastly Jerry, don't take everything so literally. While it is sad that such a statement has been made to a student athlete, do you really think that a disgruntled fan is going to be hanging out at the motel ready for a fight? Anyways, check out Tipton's article and feel free to discuss in the comments section. Make sure to follow Matt and the guys as they cover college basketball for CBS Sports Follow me on Twitter for the latest