National Player of the Year: Rivers or Gilchrist?

Zagsblog has an excellent article today on who should really be the National Player of the Year:  Austin Rivers or Michael Gilchrist.  The 6-foot-4 Rivers has already captured the Naismith High School Player of the Year award, beating out three future Kentucky Wildcats — Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Anthony Davis.  There are several other National Player of the Year awards — Morgan Wootten, USA Today and Gatorade.

“I would throw out [Wednesday] night’s game,” said longtime New York recruiting analyst Tom Konchalski, who attended the game.

“If I had a vote for National Player of the Year, I would vote for Michael Gilchrist.”

“Austin Rivers is the transcendent talent in the Class of 2011,” he said. “But I think Michael Gilchrist is the best high school player. He plays every possession. He plays for the name on the front of the jersey.

“He never played against the the kind of help defense that Gilchrist played against [Wednesday] night.



Playing for the name on the front of the jersey is what Kentucky will need next year and I look for great things from the 2011 class.