Man, this year of college basketball is going to be great.

The 50 players “on the Preseason Naismith”:http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/conn/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/2011-12NaismithWatchlist.pdf watch list display how competitive this year of college hoops is going to be. The list of contenders for this season’s player of the year includes the likes of North Carolina forward Harrison Barnes, Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger and Kentucky’s dynamic duo of forwards Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones.

Even with all the talent across the country, one player stands above the rest early in the season — Connecticut’s Jeremy Lamb.

The reigning national champion lost its go-to guard after Kemba Walker left for the NBA draft. Lamb’s play since March and in the early-going this season has had UConn fans forgetting Walker ever left.

Lamb, an AP preseason All-American, had a modest regular season last year. The then-freshman guard averaged a solid 11 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, but still nothing spectacular.

Then postseason play began.

Beginning with UConn’s Big East tournament first-round victory against DePaul, Lamb started a streak of scoring double digits in 11 straight games. Lamb averaged 14.2 ppg during the Big East tournament and averaged 16.2 ppg during the NCAA tournament. Lamb was one of two players to shoot over 50 percent in the national championship game (Butler shot 18.8 percent as a team). UConn won all 11 games en route to a national title.

Walker got all the publicity for UConn’s success last season (the dude did average 23.5 ppg), but Lamb as a freshman had a huge impact on the national championship team as well. Lamb, who was heavily under-recruited (ranked 43rd at shooting guard for the class of 2010), has come a long way.

Entering last season, Lamb was expected to be a role player, and he surpassed those modest expectations. As a sophomore, he enters as a preseason All-American and will surpass those expectations as well.

Friday’s game against Columbia displayed everything that makes Lamb one of the best players in college basketball. Lamb scored a career-high 30 points and also had five 3-pointers, four steals, three rebounds, two assists and one of “the greatest poster dunks”:ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMFTEiej0mY you’ll ever see.

Lamb is one of the most unguardable players in the country. Not only does he possess a money 3-point shot (made two 3-pointers a game at a 73-percent clip in the NCAA tournament, the highest percentage in tournament history), but he also can get to the rim with ease. Lamb’s potent offensive skills make people forget he’s also a top-notch defender. Lamb’s ridiculous 7-foot-4 wingspan makes it impossible for the opposition to shoot over him. He also has very quick feet, preventing players from driving past him. He works hard on both ends of the floor, a rarity in college basketball these days.

Lamb will have some strong competition for player of the year for sure, but no one is more valuable to their team.

Sullinger, who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game as a freshman last year, is the odds-on favorite to win this season’s Naismith award. The OSU sophomore big man will be expected to have an even larger role this season after the departures of David Lighty, Dallas Lauderdale and Jon Diebler.

Sullinger is the best low-post scorer in the country. But unlike Lamb, Sullinger is an average defender at best. Sullinger also has a teammate in William Buford (who averaged 14.4 ppg last year) who is better than any of Lamb’s teammates. OSU point guard Aaron Craft, who led the Big Ten in steals last year at two per game, is also arguably better than any one of Lamb’s supporting cast.

Kentucky’s duo of Jones and Davis will be among the best players in college basketball this season as well. Unfortunately, the two of them being teammates will hurt their chances of winning the Naismith this season. Freshmen also always have a long shot at winning the award, considering Kevin Durant is still the only diaper dandy to do it. Jones also had a so-so freshman season, averaging 15.7 ppg while shooting 44.2 percent from the floor. I like Jones as an NBA prospect, but he hasn’t shown he could be a top-level college player yet. Considering Kentucky is such a stacked team, neither player is going to be considered the team’s catalyst.

North Carolina’s Barnes is receiving a lot of praise as possibly being this year’s Naismith award winner, but I don’t see it happening. The sophomore struggled mightily most of last season and got hotter as the season progressed (average 15.7 ppg while shooting 42.3 percent). Barnes, like Kentucky, has so many weapons that awarding Barnes the Naismith award would be unfair to his teammates. The Naismith is usually awarded to the player who carries his team throughout the season (ala Jimmer Fredette, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin), whereas Barnes could take a night off and UNC could still win.

This is not to say that Lamb doesn’t have a supporting cast (freshman center Andre Drummond and sophomore point guard Shabazz Napier will play huge roles for UConn this season), but Lamb will have to do more for his team than any other player in the country.

UConn is Lamb’s team. Lamb is UConn’s best shooter, defender, driver, big shot taker and vocal leader.

Lamb’s days of being under-appreciated are over. That trend already ended with him being a preseason All-American and preseason first-teamer in the Big East, but the accolades will continue to add up for the lanky sophomore.

I understand Lamb is still largely unproven, considering his 30 point outburst was against lowly Columbia, but Walker was in a similar situation last season. Last November, Walker exploded after being handed the keys to the team as a junior, scoring 42 points against Vermont in Connecticut’s second game of the season. The game was meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but it was indicative of what Walker would accomplish.

Walker’s points per game improved by almost nine from his sophomore year to his junior season. Lamb could have similar results this season.

As Joe Lunardi always says about the NCAA tournament, it is usually better to choose the field over any one team. But if I had to choose one player to win the Naismith award this season, that player is Jeremy Lamb.

UConn’s chances of repeating as national champions will depend on it.

_Michael is a sophomore in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]._