It was first suggested by Bill Walton that the SEC's Player of the Year should be the Kentucky Wildcats.
Walton might need to go back to UCLA and take that English 101 class again.
The award is player, singular, as in one, the guy who has made the biggest difference in the SEC.
It is a close race, but the winner should not be someone wearing the blue and white of Kentucky.
The Wildcats are a great team with great players, but three guys who don't play for Kentucky have stood out this season as difference-makers on their SEC teams.
The Player of the Year will be announced today, along with the first and second All-SEC teams, selected by the conference's coaches.
Arkansas' Bobby Portis is the guy who deserves the highest honor, and yes, he would be the choice even if he were not a Razorback.
The choice of Portis is based on numbers: He is second in the SEC in scoring (17.8 points per game), fourth in rebounding (8.7 per game), first in field-goal percentage (56.7), sixth in blocks (47) and tied for 19th in steals (29).
Two numbers put Portis over the top: 13-5, Arkansas' record in SEC play. The Razorbacks might not be close to that without Portis.
Two other Player of the Year contenders, based on numbers, are Jarrell Martin and Jordan Mickey, both of LSU. Mickey is currently sitting out with a shoulder injury.
It is difficult to understand why the Tigers don't have a much better record after watching them on Saturday. They are long, lean and athletic. The only way Arkansas and LSU could play again is to meet in Sunday's SEC Tournament final, which isn't likely since the Tigers would have to beat Kentucky on Saturday.
The only other chance for Arkansas-LSU rematch would be somewhere down the line in the NCAA Tournament.
Portis put an exclamation mark on why he should be Player of the Year against LSU last Saturday, when he scored 21 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, had 4 assists and blocked 2 shots. Martin had 27 points, 8 boards, no assists and 1 steal, really good numbers as well, but the Tigers are still 11-7 in the SEC.
The Razorbacks have had only one player earn SEC Player of the Year, and it isn't surprising that it was Corliss Williamson, who won the honor twice, or that there hasn't been another one since.
It's possible SEC coaches might let seniority outweigh all the numbers and pick Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein.
He averaged just 8.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, but the Wildcats are 18-0 and 31-0 and the No. 1-ranked team in the country. He's a junior.
If coaches consider that Kentucky is deeply talented and would still be really good if you took Cauley-Stein off the team, the honor should go to Portis.
If Portis played for Kentucky, in fact, he might very well start in front of Cauley-Stein.
Kentucky has had six Players of the Year since Williamson won the award in back-to-back seasons, and it's difficult to argue that Tony Delk, Ron Mercer, Tayshaun Prince, Keith Bogans, John Wall or Anthony Davis didn't deserve it.
All were great players with really impressive statistics.
Williamson, who won the award in 1994 and 1995, is the last player to win it more than once, but then most winners go to the NBA after their season as the SEC's top player.
On that subject, every noted NBA mock draft has Portis, a sophomore, as a middle-of-the-pack selection in the first round, which is guaranteed money. Yet, if Portis returns he could improve his draft status to the point he almost doubles his money for the first three-year contract.
And he might be the second Hog to be a two-time SEC Player of the Year.
Sports on 03/10/2015