Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
The St. John’s Red Storm are poised to have a great year in the 2013-14 college basketball season. From a team standpoint, they look solid. However, from an individual standpoint, is it possible for a player on this team to win the Naismith Trophy in the upcoming season?
The thought of a St. John’s player winning the Naismith may be hard to believe, but it is possible with the group of guys that Steve Lavin will put on the court next season.
However, the only two players that have a realistic shot of taking home the hardware is D’Angelo Harrison and Jakarr Sampson.
Harrison averaged 17.8 points per game last season. So yeah, he can flat out score. Sampson was not too far behind as a freshman, putting up 14.9 points per game. He also averaged 6.6 rebounds per game.
There are a lot more likely candidates for the Player of the Year award, but if the Red Storm can get off to a great start and actually finish the season strong, it is possible for either Harrison or Sampson to win the Naismith Trophy. Each player will have to get a lot better and there will clearly be plenty of competition that they will have to beat out, but don’t throw the idea away completely.
The hype for this team may be getting old to some, but St. John’s is stacked on paper and it has a great head coach to go along with it. If that does not lead to success in the upcoming season, I do not know what will for the Red Storm. Regardless, there is a chance that a player on this team takes home the Naismith. At the very least, one of the two players mentioned above should at least be in the discussion.
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