Ken Davis

It looks as if Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin will be the consensus selection as the 2009 college basketball player of the year. In recent weeks, there hasn’t been much discussion. The other candidates have dropped out of sight and the concussion Griffin suffered in mid-February couldn’t even derail his campaign.

The Sooners certainly must welcome that news but, at the same time, it pretty much guarantees Oklahoma will not win the national championship. Why do we say that?

It’s quite simple. College basketball’s POY awards and national championship trophies do not go hand-in-hand.

Think about it. Last season, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough won the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award, but the Tar Heels lost to Kansas in a national semifinal game and the Jayhawks went on to win the national title. Florida won the NCAA championship in 2006 and 2007 but no Gator walked away with the trophy for top player either season. Kevin Durant of Texas won in 2007 and Duke’s J.J. Redick was top gun in 2006.

This isn’t a recent phenomenon. Since 1977, only three players from national championship teams won the Naismith Award in the same season — Kansas’ Danny Manning in 1988, Duke’s Christian Laettner in 1992, and Duke’s Shane Battier in 2001. Those three, along with Louisville’s Darrell Griffith (1980) and UCLA’s Ed O’Bannon (1995), are the only players to win both the Wooden Award and a national championship ring in the same season.

And while Laettner and Battier also won the Associate Press award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy (from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association) in 1992 and 2001, it’s interesting to note Manning was not the consensus choice in 1988. Hersey Hawkins of Bradley won the Oscar and the AP player of the year awards that year, perhaps because Manning’s KU team appeared headed to the NIT until a late season turnaround by the Jayhawks.

Here’s another strange fact: Virginia’s Ralph Sampson was a three-time winner of all the previously mentioned awards except the Wooden Award. Danny Ainge of BYU — yes, that Danny Ainge, Celtics fans — won the Wooden in 1981, delaying Sampson until 1982 and 1983.

Despite those quirks, there is amazing consistency in the names engraved on all those trophies. Drawing conclusions might be dangerous, but it would seem to indicate that basketball truly is a team sport — with room for rewarding amazing individual performances.

Special feature Big Dance hopefuls Highlights which teams are in good shape for the NCAA tournament — and which are starting to sweat NBCSports.com

Perhaps if the balloting were done after the Final Four, there would be more national champions winning the POY trophies. Then again, maybe everything would be status quo. Last year, would voters have replaced Hansbrough on their ballot with Mario Chalmers of Kansas?

That doesn’t seem likely, but you never know.

One thing for sure, Griffin was a double-double machine this season. Most people consider him the top player in college basketball and NBA scouts have him penciled in as the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft. That’s good enough for me.

One of Griffin’s teammates also wins our award for best freshman. His coach, Jeff Capel, received strong consideration for coach of the year honors.

That’s an impressive showing, but yet we still don’t think Oklahoma will win the national championship.

Here are the NBCSports.com college basketball awards for 2008-09:

Player of the Year: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

I thought Griffin had his “Heisman moment” last Saturday against Oklahoma State. I simply can’t get enough of that highlight with Griffin bringing the ball up by himself, from over the midcourt line, and then driving hard to the hole for that thundering dunk. The 6-10 sophomore led the Big 12 in scoring (22.1 ppg) and he leads the nation with 14.2 rpg. He has 25 double-doubles and ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage (63.4). Perhaps you forgot, but he had 40 points and 23 rebounds against Texas Tech on Feb. 14. The big man can pass it too. He is third on the Sooners with 2.4 assists per game.

Coach of the Year: Bill Self, Kansas

In August, just before the Jayhawks took off for an exhibition tour in Canada, Self told me he would have to be a different coach this season. He said he would need patience with a young team, something he hadn’t worried about with the experienced and talented group that won the 2008 national championship.

Special feature Big Dance's best We project the teams headed for the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16. Is yours on the list? NBCSports.com

But Self says he forgot all that after early losses to UMass, Arizona and Michigan State. Assistant coach Danny Manning reminded Self that he had to take it easy. Good coaches listen to their assistants. Good coaches adjust. After losing all five starters from the championship team, Self led Kansas to the outright Big 12 championship. I ranked Kansas No. 20 in my preseason Top 25, primarily because of Self’s ability to coach. No way did I think they would crack the Top 10. If everyone returns from this team, especially Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, place the Jayhawks among the contenders for next year’s preseason No. 1.

Freshman of the Year: Willie Warren, Oklahoma

If you think Oklahoma is Blake Griffin and Blake Griffin alone, you are wrong. Tony Crocker and Austin Johnson are much improved. Blake’s brother, Taylor, is solid in his own right. And Warren has been sensational in his rookie season.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures A Duck goes for a ride, a NASCAR driver takes flight, some bankers take to boxing, and much more. more photos

Warren was unanimously selected as the Big 12 freshman of the year and was a second-team All-Big 12 pick. He is averaging 14.7 points, 2.1 rebounds 3.1 assists and 30.9 minutes. He was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week seven times, just one behind Michael Beasley’s record set last year. He also leads the Sooners with 56 3-pointers. He shot 46 percent from 3-point range in Oklahoma’s 11 road games. Pretty cool for a freshman.

Defensive Player of the Year: Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut

Thabeet was named top defensive player in the Big East. And he shared Big East POY honors with Pitt’s DeJuan Blair. Maybe those two can wrestle for sole possession later this week in New York. Thabeet is the most dominant force in college hoops and he’s still getting better. He averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks. There are no numbers to reflect his intimidation and shot-altering impact on the game. Thabeet, a junior, is in his final days with the Huskies. He will be making millions in the NBA next season. “I wouldn’t recommend he come back,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said Tuesday.

Most Improved Player: Cole Aldrich, Kansas

Aldrich gave us a glimpse of his potential when the Jayhawks beat North Carolina at the Final Four. When he tore that rebound away from Hansbrough, it sent a powerful message. He averaged 2.8 points as a freshman and improved to 14.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks as a sophomore. He is one of the top big men in the nation now. If he stays out of foul trouble in the tournament, Kansas can go deep. But he has to understand the Jayhawks need him on the floor.

Best Conference: Big East

Pittsburgh, UConn and Louisville could all have No. 1 seeds on Sunday. All three are capable of winning the national championship. Name another conference that can say that.

Final Four predictions (before seeing the brackets): North Carolina, Pittsburgh, UConn and UCLA.

MORE FROM COLLEGE BASKETBALL

College basketball Section Front

What to watch for as season starts Opinion: Kansas tops 2009-10 hoops storylines Baylor freshman woman provides dunk preview Wall goes for 27 as No. 4 Kentucky routs Clarion Tar Heels hold recent edge on rival Blue Devils Beyond the Arc: Missouri literally sleeps at the gym UConn's Dyson, Beverly cleared to play Boeheim poised for win No. 800 Another round of teaching for Saint Louis' Majerus At Seattle U it's dad taking orders from son College basketball Section Front   Add College basketball headlines to your news reader: