With the college basketball regular season over and March Madness underway, it is also time for awards season. Among the biggest nominations in the sport is earning a spot on the All-American team.
The NCAA Men's Basketball All-American list combines the All-American votes from the Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches, and Sporting News to create one Consensus All-American list containing two teams, honoring the 10 best players in the sport each season.
Award winners this year include Purdue's Zach Edey and Tennessee's Dalton Knecht. Which other players deserved to join them? Jaedon LeDee leads the list of All-American snubs.
Jaedon LeDee (San Diego State)
Outside of Zach Edey, no big man has been a more consistently dominant offensive threat than San Diego State's Jaedon LeDee. LeDee's 21.1 points per game are 17th in the country and the second-best of any post player, only trailing Edey. The SDSU forward put up at least 20 points in 10 of the Aztecs' last 11 games including 34 points in a Mountain West Tournament Quarterfinal win over UNLV. LeDee still put up efficient numbers despite his high volume of touches, posting an offensive rating of 119.7 while hitting 68.2% of his attempts at the rim. He also ranked fourth in the nation in free throw attempts, shooting 73.1% from the line.
As a rebounder, LeDee terrorized opponents. His physical strength allowed him to grab 3.3 offensive rebounds per game while recording 11 double-doubles on the year. While Hunter Dickinson had a great season, it is difficult to argue that he was more dominant than Jaedon LeDee.
Cam Spencer (UConn)
After a strong collegiate career at Loyola Maryland and Rutgers, Cam Spencer has blossomed into one of the best offensive players in the country. Not only does Spencer lead the country with an offensive rating of 137.9, but he is also on pace to be the first DI player to shoot 50-40-90 and post a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in a season. While teammate Tristan Newton draws attention for his triple-doubles, Spencer's historic efficiency numbers are the focal point of one of the top offenses in the country and deserving of an All-American nomination.
Johni Broome (Auburn)
While Jaedon LeDee is among the elite scoring big men in the country, perhaps no interior player defends better than Auburn's Johni Broome. The senior is eighth in the country with a defensive rating of 89.2 and 10th in defensive box plus-minus. He averages better than three blocks and steals per game and has three games this year with at least six turnovers forced. Broome is a major reason that Auburn, not Purdue, has the best two-point defense in the country.
Offensively, Broome is just as good. The former Morehead State transfer averages 16.2 points per game while boasting an offensive rating of 117.9. As one of the most complete big men in the country, Broome is more than deserving of an All-American nomination.
KJ Simpson (Colorado)
KJ Simpson is one of just six players in the country averaging better than 19 PPG, 5 RPG, and 4 APG, and the only one of those six playing for a power conference team. His offensive rating of 122.7 is also the best among this sextet. Should we add that Simpson also shoots 44.6% from deep on five attempts per game?
Simpson's Colorado team did not make the NCAA Tournament this year — something every other consensus All-American did achieve — but he performed at an All-American level this season.
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