After a wild week of college hoops, which featured one of the best performances of the season from BYU freshman wing AJ Dybantsa and another monster game from Gonzaga senior forward Graham Ike, there has been some movement in our National Player of the Year rankings.
Below are the top contenders for the sport’s highest individual honor as of mid-December. You can see last week’s list here.
1. Cameron Boozer, 6-foot-9 freshman forward, Duke
Last week: No. 1
23.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.7 steals, 55.9 FG%, 37.2 3FG%
Duke had the week off due to final exams, but Boozer — the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer and a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — remains the frontrunner for NPOY. A bruising, highly skilled forward, Boozer leads the 10-0 Blue Devils in points, rebounds, assists and steals. He is aiming to become just the fifth freshman in college basketball history to claim the Wooden Award, joining Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson and Cooper Flagg.
2. Yaxel Lendeborg, 6-foot-9 senior forward, Michigan
Last week: No. 2
16.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.4 blocks, 59.6 FG%, 40.8 3FG%
Hoops HQ’s No. 1-ranked transfer has lived up to expectations thus far. The do-it-all forward stuffed the stat sheet in a 101-83 win over Maryland on Saturday, posting 29 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals while shooting 8 of 11 from the field and 4 of 5 from behind the arc. With Lendeborg leading the way, Michigan has won its last seven games — including the Players Era Festival title — by an average margin of 31.7 points. As Lendeborg told reporters in mid-November following a 25-point, 12-rebound game against Middle Tennessee, “I didn’t come (to Michigan) to be a role player. I came here to be the man.”
3. Joshua Jefferson, 6-foot-9 senior forward, Iowa State
Last week: No. 3
17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 54.7 FG%, 42.9 3FG%
The versatile forward had arguably his best game of the season against Iowa on Thursday, putting up 24 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals to help his team overcome a double-digit deficit. Despite all the attention he is drawing from opposing defenses, Jefferson has been the Cyclones’ most consistent player to date. “He’s done such a great job in the offseason, in terms of working on his body and continuing to hone his craft,” coach T.J. Otzelberger said about Jefferson after the Iowa game. “He’s really just such a tough matchup at his size with his skill level, his intelligence, his feel, his ability to get all the way to the goal. He’s shooting it with confidence. It speaks to all the work he does every single day for it to show up.”
4. Caleb Wilson, 6-foot-10 freshman forward, North Carolina
Last week: No. 4
19.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks, 55.1 FG%
With fellow freshmen Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson dominating headlines, Wilson’s spectacular season has flown under the radar. The uber-athletic forward posted another double-double last week (20 points, 11 rebounds) in an 80-62 win over South Carolina Upstate, his seventh of the year. He currently leads the 9-1 Tar Heels in points, rebounds and steals. In North Carolina’s most impressive victory of the early season — 87-74 over Peterson and the Jayhawks at the Dean Dome — Wilson was the best player on the floor, recording 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
5. AJ Dybantsa, 6-foot-8 freshman wing, BYU
Last week: No. 9
20.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 55.5 FG%, 34.8 3FG%
Dybantsa jumped four spots on this list after an incredible performance in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden last Tuesday. With his team trailing Clemson 43-22 at halftime, the highly touted freshman took over, erupting for 22 of his season-high 28 points in the final 18 minutes. Dybantsa also added 9 rebounds and 6 assists as the Cougars stormed back and eventually won 67-64 on a buzzer-beater three from Robert Wright III. “The bigger the stage, the better he performs,” Ace Dybantsa, AJ’s dad, told Hoops HQ about his son. “I asked him a few years ago, ‘Don’t you feel the pressure?’ He goes, ‘Dad, what pressure? I’m just hooping.’”
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6. JT Toppin, 6-foot-9 junior forward, Texas Tech
Last week: No. 6
21.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks, 55.2 FG%
Texas Tech has lost all its games against ranked opponents this season (Illinois, Purdue and Arkansas), but certainly not because of Toppin. The reigning Big 12 Player of the Year has averaged 26.6 points and 10.0 rebounds across those three contests, and nearly carried the Red Raiders to victories over the Illini and the Razorbacks. The only reason Toppin isn’t higher on this list is because his team has fallen to No. 19 in the latest AP poll and is currently No. 29 on BartTorvik. Those rankings would change in a major way if Texas Tech can somehow topple No. 3 Duke on Saturday. The head-to-head matchup between Toppin and Boozer will be fascinating to watch.
7. Labaron Philon Jr., 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, Alabama
Last week: No. 5
21.7 points, 5.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 55.2 FG%, 41.5 3FG%
Philon has shined despite his team playing one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country. He has guided the Crimson Tide to a 7-3 start, including wins over Illinois, St. John’s, Maryland and Clemson. As the centerpiece of the nation’s No. 5-ranked offense (per KenPom), the talented sophomore has scored at least 24 points in four of five games against ranked opponents. After strongly considering turning pro last summer, Philon decided to stay in Tuscaloosa to improve his draft stock. So far, he has done just that.
8. Jaden Bradley, 6-foot-3 senior guard, Arizona
Last week: No. 7
14.3 points, 4.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 57.1 FG%, 57.1 3FG%
Bradley has been “Mr. Clutch” for the top-ranked Wildcats. Whenever his team has needed him to step up, the senior floor general has answered the call. Against Alabama on Saturday, it was in the late stages of the first half. With Arizona trailing 37-30 and the game threatening to spiral into a blowout, Bradley scored seven straight points, then hit big man Koa Peat for the go-ahead jumper. Bradley also delivered in crunch time in wins over Florida, UCLA and UConn. “When you have a point guard who is selfless and also a baller, and who has big enough kahunas to take and make those shots at the end of a game, it’s pretty special,” said coach Tommy Lloyd.
9. Braden Smith, 6-foot senior guard, Purdue
Last week: No. 8
12.7 points, 9.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 41.7 FG%, 42.6 3FG%
It has been a somewhat quiet start to the year for Smith — the preseason favorite to claim the Wooden Award — but Purdue’s stellar point guard has still produced at an incredibly high level and been the engine of college basketball’s No. 1 offense (per KenPom). Smith ranks second nationally in assists per game, trailing just Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. (9.7). In Purdue’s 79-59 win over Marquette on Saturday, Smith became just the second Division-I men’s basketball player to join the 1,500-point, 850-assist, 550-rebound club. He finished with 7 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds.
10. Graham Ike, 6-foot-9 senior forward, Gonzaga
Last week: N/A
17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 51.6 FG%, 36.8 3FG%
In Gonzaga’s embarrassing 101-61 loss to Michigan in the championship of the Players Era Festival, Ike shot 0 for 9 from the field and failed to grab a single rebound in 17 minutes of action. Since then, the veteran forward has been as good as any big man in America. He registered 28 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in a 94-59 win over Kentucky on Dec. 5, then went for 25/5/5 in an 82-72 win over UCLA on Saturday. If the Zags dominate the WCC as expected, Ike could very well climb these rankings.
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