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Manila Bulletin devider devider March Madness: Arizona's Deandre Ayton is destined for greatness

March Madness: Arizona's Deandre Ayton is destined for greatness

Published Mar 14, 2018 09:30 pm
By Rafael Bandayrel Arizona's Deandre Ayton (13). (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken) Arizona's Deandre Ayton (13). (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)Arizona Wildcats center Deandre Ayton spearheaded his squad through a Pac-12 championship. The seven-foot-one center's incredible performance earned him the "Player of the Year", and "Freshman of the Year" awards in the same season. UCLA's Kevin Love (2008) and California’s Sharif Abdur-Rahim are the only two players to have earned both awards in a single season. After displaying his dominance with a 32-point outing against the Bruins, Ayton stated that he deserves to be the first pick in this year’s NBA draft. "Nobody has the competitiveness like me, you know what I'm saying?” Ayton told USA Today. "I think I'm different from everybody else. That's about it. Play hard, I play hard every day. got a country on my back that I'm representing." And Ayton could be right; even University of Southern California head coach Andy Enfield agrees with him. "He's probably the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft," Enfield told ESPN. "He's a tremendous talent," added the USC coach He is one of the top prospects heading into a talent-packed 2018 draft. The big man from the Bahamas has a great motor and is an elite scorer, which makes him a valuable commodity. "Deandre, the dominance that he just put forth – if there is another player better, I’d like to meet him," Arizona coach Sean Miller said in an ESPN interview. "He put his team on his back, and he played the right way. He absolutely was a one-man wrecking crew these past two days." Arizona will be in action against the Buffalo Bulls in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Thursday, Mar. 15 (Friday, Mar. 16, Manila time). And if Ayton can bring his Wildcats to a final four appearance, he would only solidify his claim as the best prime player in college basketball.
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