Player of the Month – Doug McDermott, Creighton
(Player of November: Mason Plumlee; Leading Scorer of November: C.J. McCollum)
Leading Scorer in December
Last 5 Years
At 26.5 PPG, McDermott led the nation in scoring during December, while shooting 57.6 percent from 3-point range. He became the first Bluejay with back-to-back 30-point efforts since Bob Harstad in 1990. Creighton went 6-0 in December, including wins over Saint Joseph’s, Akron and California.
McDermott narrowly gets the monthly honor over Michigan’s Trey Burke, who averaged 18.7 PPG and 7.3 APG as the Wolverines remained undefeated.
Defensive Player of the Month – Nerlens Noel, Kentucky
(November: Jeff Withey)
Noel finished in the top 10 in both blocks (4.0 BPG) and steals (2.8 SPG), while also finishing in the top 25 among rebounders (9.7 RPG). He’s now on track to be the first player since Houston’s Bo Outlaw in 1992-93 to average 3.5 blocks and 2.5 steals.
Freshman of the Month – Anthony Bennett, UNLV
(November: Marcus Smart)
This was the month Bennett separated himself from the freshman pack and entered the national player of the year race. He finished third among freshmen in both scoring (19.0 PPG) and rebounding (9.5 RPG). That includes three 20-10 performances.
UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad warrants mentioning after leading all freshmen at 22.0 PPG during December.
Free Throw Shooter of the Month – Tyler Haws, BYU
(November: Jordan Adams)
Haws hit his first 26 free throws of December, finishing the month 31-for-32 (96.9 percent). That included back-to-back 10-for-10 games.
3-Point Shooter of the Month – Jordan Price, Auburn
(November: Ryan Sypkens)
Price hit his first 11 3-pointers of December, tying a 20-year-old SEC record for consecutive makes. Vanderbilt's Kevin Anglin also hit 11 in a row in 1992.
Rebounder of the Month – Andre Roberson, Colorado
(November: Jamelle Hagins)
Roberson averaged 13.2 RPG in December, second only to Towson’s Jerelle Benimon (14.0). That included Colorado’s first 20-rebound game since 2002, and the first on the road in almost 52 years.
Distributor of the Month – Trey Burke, Michigan
(November: Michael Carter-Williams)
While Michael Carter-Williams again led the nation in assists (10.8), that was somewhat mitigated by 4.4 turnovers per game. Burke averaged 7.3 APG, seventh in the nation, to go with only 1.1 turnovers per game. Over his last three games, Burke has 27 assists and two turnovers.