With less than a month to go until March Madness, there are still plenty of questions to be answered regarding almost every aspect of this year’s college basketball season. One question that seems to be a little clearer to answer concerns the two most prestigious “Player of the Year” awards, the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award, where Gonzaga junior forward Adam Morrison and Duke guard JJ Redick, they have clearly parted ways. themselves from the rest of the field.

The Naismith Trophy, won in its inaugural season by Kareem Abdul Jabbar in 1969, is presented by Cingular Wireless and is chosen from a list of candidates nominated by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The ATC Board of Selectors is comprised of prominent journalists, trainers and administrators from across the country. ATC selects 50 players as preseason candidates and that number was recently selected to 30 finalists. Fans can participate in the selection process through text messages that will constitute 25 percent of the vote.

The Wooden Award was founded in 1976 in honor of legendary UCLA Bruin coach John Wooden. UCLA’s Marques Johnson was the first of 29 winners that included Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The process is similar to Naismith’s, where a National Committee chooses a 50-man preseason All-American team that is whittled down to 30 and includes new additions mid-season. Three of the last seven winners have come from Duke, so it seems like Redick has an advantage here.

At 6-8, 205 pounds for Spokane, Morrison quickly became one of the leading players in the West Coast Conference as he averaged 19.1 points per game and grabbed 5.5 rebounds per outing. His long-range shot and signature Beatles haircut brought the charismatic sophomore national attention in last year’s NCAA tournament second-round loss to Zag.

This year, Morrison promptly scored a career-high 43 in Gonzaga’s now-classic overtime win over Michigan State in Hawaii. Morrison matched his 43-point outburst in a five-point loss to his rival Washington and reached the 40 mark two other times. Morrison is averaging 28.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 1.8 assists through February 15. Morrison often “makes” Gonzaga out of trouble as he did last Saturday when the Zags came from down seven in the final five minutes to beat Stanford.

JJ Redick is a rare four-year starter at Duke and is averaging 28.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg and 2.8 apg. The 6-4 sharpshooter from Roanoke, Va., recently broke the NCAA record for career 3-pointers for him (653 as of this writing) and has a legendary shooting range. As a sophomore, Redick led the NCAA in free throw percentage at .953 and is a career .923 player from the charity streak.

A sometimes streaky but pure marksman, Redick stands out for his near-perfect shooting mechanics. Redick has reached the 40 mark three times, including a season-high 41 in the Blue Devils’ 97-66 route to then-number one Texas and then doubled that output in Duke’s lone loss at Georgetown.

Both players have great supporting actors that will make things even more interesting when it comes time to vote. In addition to Morrison, Gonzaga has 6-10 Brazilian C/PF JP Battista who is averaging 20.0 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game. 6-3 Derek Raivio is the Zags’ quarterback from the spot averaging 11.0 ppg and also leads the country in free throws at .922 percent.

Redick has Sheldon Williams (18.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg) in the paint doing the dirty work, while Sean Dockery (9.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.3 apg) joins Redick in the backcourt. .

Other players with good years who will get token voting consideration for each award include Illinois point guard Dee Brown (14.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.6 apg), Villanova senior guard Randy Foye (20.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.1 apg) and UConn’s Mr. Everything Rudy Gay (16.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg), but when all is said and done, either Morrison or Redick will take home the hardware.