5. Deandre Ayton -- Arizona Wildcats, freshman forward
Deandre Ayton will likely end up being the #1 overall pick in this year's NBA draft following his lone season as a member of the Arizona Wildcats, and he will likely get there after finishing in the top five in voting for the Wooden Award.
There is certainly some controversy surrounding the Pacific-12 Player of the Year after a recording surfaced of Arizona head coach Sean Miller discussing paying Ayton, the #3 recruit on the 2017 ESPN 100, $100,000 to commit to Arizona. However, the odds that this ends up affecting his position in the Wooden Award voting are not super high.
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The 7'1", 250-pound forward is averaging 19.9 points per game, 11.4 rebounds per game, 1.6 assists per game, 1.9 blocks per game and 0.5 steals per game on a 61.6% shooting percentage, a 34.4% three-point field goal percentage, and an 74.7% free throw percentage as he leads the Wildcats into the Pacific-12 conference tournament as the #1 seed.