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3. Trae Young -- Oklahoma Sooners, freshman guard
For the first half of the season, Trae Young looked like a lock to win the Wooden Award. However, after that, his opponents began to focus solely on stopping him, and the Oklahoma Sooners took a turn for the worse and ended up finishing in 9th place out of 10 teams in the Big XII conference with an 8-10 conference record as a result of it.
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After a 12-1 start to the season, the Sooners struggled mightily down the stretch and failed to win a game in the Big XII conference tournament. They finished the regular season with an 18-13 record as a bubble team for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
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That said, Young still put up amazing numbers. Averaging 27.5 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, 8.9 assists per game, 0.3 blocks per game and 1.7 steals per game on a 42.3% shooting percentage, a 35.9% three-point field goal percentage, and an 85.9% free throw percentage, the 6'2", 180-pound guard is on pace to become the first player ever to lead the nation in average points and assists per game.
Young, another surefire lottery pick in this year's NBA draft barring injury, earns the #3 position in these rankings despite his historic season given how badly Oklahoma struggled down the stretch.
As a result, it's hard to see him winning the award. Had the Sooners won a few more games throughout the season and looked like a more legitimate contender, Young would likely win the award hands down.