Hansbrough Named Naismith Finalist

We all saw this coming. Register to vote by texting VOTE to 51234. The other finalists are Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, and DeJuan Blair. For a supposedly talentless draft, that's a pretty dominant list of players. More stuff here. From that article:

ABOUT THE FINALISTS

DeJuan Blair: The only unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection, Blair averaged 15.6 points and a league-leading 12.4 rebounds per game. He ranks among national leaders in offensive rebounding (first), total rebounding (fourth) and field goal percentage (16th). The 6-7 sophomore and Pittsburgh native helped lead the Panthers to a 28-3 record and the school's first-ever No. 1 ranking.

Blake Griffin: The 6-10 sophomore led the Big 12 in scoring (22.1 ppg), rebounding (14.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (.634) while ranking fourth in blocked shots (1.3 bpg). The Big 12 coaches' preseason choice for player of the year, Griffin has set a single-season OU record with his 25 double-doubles (three shy of the Big 12 record). He has already set a Big 12 single-season mark with his 425 rebounds. The Oklahoma City native also has 13 games of at least 20 points and 15 rebounds this year, eclipsing the previous league record of seven.

Tyler Hansbrough: Hansbrough was a first-team All-ACC performer who has led North Carolina to a 30-4 season and regular-season ACC championship, while averaging 21.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The 6-9 senior from Poplar Bluff, Mo., helped the Tar Heels gain a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament's South Regional. The reigning Naismith Trophy winner is the third Tar Heel (Michael Jordan, 1984 and Antawn Jamison, 1998) and the 16th player from the ACC to win the award. He is a three-time finalist for the Naismith Trophy.

Hasheem Thabeet: The BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference selection averaged 13.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. His average of 4.5 blocks per game was tops in the BIG EAST and second in the nation. The 7-3 junior center from Tanzania helped lead the Huskies to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Other notable men's college player of the year winners include Ralph Sampson (1981-1983), Larry Bird (1979), Patrick Ewing (1985) and Christian Laettner (1992).