Dayton’s Obi Toppin wins Naismith Player of the Year Award
By JACOB POLACHECK
Dayton sophomore Obi Toppin was awarded the 2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy on Friday, awarded to the most outstanding men’s college basketball player.
Toppin averaged 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game in 31 games played. Toppin also shot 63.3 percent from the field and an impressive 39.0 percent from beyond the arc.
He helped lead Dayton to a 29-2 overall record and a perfect 18-0 record in Atlantic 10 play.
Toppin was the only sophomore among the five finalists
He was the only sophomore among the finalists that also included seniors Udoka Azubuike (Kansas), Myles Powell (Seton Hall) and Payton Pritchard (Oregon), as well as junior Luka Garza (Iowa).
Toppin was also named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and declared for the NBA Draft on March 25.
The 6-foot-9 Brooklyn native is projected as the No. 9 pick in the NBA Draft, per ESPN.com, but one league executive called him a “top-5” pick.
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