Frank Mason defeated Oklahoma Monday in his last home game, staying in 1st place in the newly updated Value Add Basketball rankings to lead the 15 players on the fifth Breitbart Sports All-American team.
Here’s this season’s first-, second-, and third-team All Americans:
| Pos | 1st Team All-Americans | Team | Ht | Value Add | Rnk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Frank Mason No.0 | Kansas | 5’11” | 13.43 | 1 |
| SG | Nigel Williams-Goss No.5 | Gonzaga | 6’3″ | 10.52 | 5 |
| SF | Josh Hart No.3 | Villanova | 6’5″ | 12.25 | 2 |
| PF | Sindarius Thornwell No.0 | South Carolina | 6’5″ | 11.28 | 6 |
| C | Ethan Happ No.22 | Wisconsin | 6’10” | 9.98 | 11 |
| Pos | 2nd Team All-American | Team | Ht | Value Add | Rnk |
| PG | Monte Morris No.11 | Iowa St. | 6’3″ | 11.91 | 3 |
| SG | Donovan Mitchell No.45 | Louisville | 6’3″ | 10.29 | 8 |
| SF | Luke Kennard No.5 | Duke | 6’6″ | 11.47 | 4 |
| PF | Lauri Markkanen No.10 | Arizona | 7’0 | 9.22 | 22 |
| C | Caleb Swanigan No.50 | Purdue | 6’9″ | 9.57 | 16 |
| Pos | 3rd Team All-Americans | Team | Ht | Value Add | Rnk |
| PG | JJ Frazier No.30 | Georgia | 5’10” | 10.61 | 7 |
| SG | Jevon Carter No.2 | West Virginia | 6’2″ | 10.02 | 10 |
| SF | Lonzo Ball No.2 | UCLA | 6’6″ | 9.6 | 15 |
| PF | Johnathan Motley No.5 | Baylor | 6’10” | 9.2 | 23 |
| C | Bonzie Colson No.35 | Notre Dame | 6’5″ | 10.1 | 9 |
Click for the Breitbart Sports All-American teams in 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.
Breitbart Sports makes the All-American selections based on the Value Add Basketball rankings that determine how many points a game each player is worth in an average game, but with adjustments for positions to put together five players that could best take the court at the same time.
1st Team: Mason rarely rests (89.1% of minutes played) while hitting an amazing 50% of his three-point shots and assisting on one in four baskets that someone else scores (24.8%), while Nigel Williams-Goss led Gonzaga to a 29-1 record with an even better assist rate (26%), steals (3% of opponents trips), and hitting 90% of his free throws. Kansas just replaced Gonzaga as No. 1. Defending champion Villanova boasts the clutch Josh Hart, who led Mason for Player of the Year until the past two weeks.
Two of the top-three defenders in basketball, South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell at power forward and Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ, round out the 1st team All-Americans. The two players erase 3.7 and 4.9 points respectively from their opponents points per game.
2nd Team: Iowa State point guard could rank as the POY in almost any conference, but in the Big 12 he just misses National Player of the Year Mason as the top point guard. Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell is a dominant defender who is among the leaders in steals and blocked shots by a guard, while Luke Kennard keeps Duke alive with incredible shooting from the line, inside the arc and outside the arc for three pointers (85/54/46 respectively).
The dominant inside play of seven-foot freshman Lauri Markkanen of Arizona can make you forget he can go outside for three-point shots, while Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan overpowers opponents to get consideration by many for national player of the year.
Third Team: Georgia’s JJ Frazier is on pace to become only the 14th player to finish as a Top 10 Value Add player in two seasons, joining the likes of Steph Curry, James Harden, Shabazz Napier, Chris Paul, and JJ Redick. He played as part of one of the best two duos in the game until Yante Maten got injured.
Jevon Carter steals the ball an incredible 5% of all opponents trips down the court to help West Virginia harass opponents.
UCLA’s Lonzo Ball will get votes for Player of the Year for incredible stats across the board, but like many freshman he is held back by a high turnover rate for a player not bringing the ball up the court, mediocre defense despite the steals and blocks, and a poor free throw percentage. Still, a strong third-team All-American and most would put him higher.
Finally, Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson actually boasts the best Value Add stats of any center, and only his 6’5″ height led us to say we would take Happ or Swanigan above him if we had to go out and win with our All-American team. With the 6’10” Baylor Power Forward Johnathan Motley at his side, this third team would be almost as tough as the first team.
The rankings for all 4000+ players as well as team rankings as all fight for the final tournament spots can be found at www.valueaddbasketball.com.