Zion Williamson, Grant Williams, RJ Barrett, Rui Hachimura top early Wooden Watch

In 2006, the NBA increased its age limit for draftees to 19, which effectively sent droves of teenage talent to collegiate programs in the first year of the one-and-done era.

The NBA's decision altered the landscape of college basketball and turned would-be NBA rookies into first-year stars for colleges around the country. But the race for the coveted Wooden Award has been dominated by upperclassmen.

Nine of the past 13 Wooden Award winners have been juniors or seniors. Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis and Trey Burke were the only underclassmen to win and all four were selected in the first round of their respective NBA drafts.

This season's talent pool pits the young players against the veterans again.

After two months of college basketball, Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Ignas Brazdeikis and De'Andre Hunter have all positioned themselves to win the national player of the year honor. But Grant Williams, Ethan Happ, Rui Hachimura and others anchor a stacked class of veterans who could win, too.

The final two-plus months of the 2018-19 season should generate a compelling competition for this year's Wooden Award.

Who would win the award today

Zion Williamson:Duke's freshman star is a freakish savant who has made a Thanos-like impact on the program (for those unaware of the reference, Thanos is a supervillain in the Marvel universe who destroys half of all existence by snapping his fingers). The 6-foot-6, 282-pound freshman is averaging 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.9 blocks and 2.1 steals per game. He's a capable ball handler and an effective passer. He can guard big men or perimeter players.

When Williamson has been on the floor for the Blue Devils, the team has averaged 120 points per 100 possessions while holding opponents to just 79 points per 100 possessions, according to hooplens.com.

Williamson has made 72 percent of his shots inside the arc. He has made 53 percent of his jump shots, according to hoop-math.com. Against Kentucky, Indiana, Gonzaga, Texas Tech and Auburn -- the five toughest opponents on Duke's nonconference schedule -- Williamson averaged 21.0 PPG.

Entering the year, he enjoyed a preseason hype unrivaled by his peers. In his first few months at the collegiate level, however, he has proven he's more than an acrobatic big man who can dunk from the free throw line. He's a versatile, complete player and the potential No. 1 pick in this summer's NBA draft.

He's a terrific force and the front-runner, in my opinion.

The top three contenders

Grant Williams: Tennessee's star is a two-way player and the catalyst for a Tennessee team that could win the SEC and make a run to the national title. Williams, the reigning SEC player of the year, has made strides in every key area of his game. He's averaging 20.1 PPG and connecting on 80 percent of his free throw attempts. He's second on his team in both steals (1.1 SPG) and blocks (1.8 BPG). Against Gonzaga, ranked No. 1 in the country at the time, he finished with this stat line: 16 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists.

RJ Barrett: The freshman is the other half of a daunting Duke duo with Williamson. Barrett has scored 20 points or more in 10 games this year. He's projected to join Williamson as a top-three pick in this summer's NBA draft. He entered the week ranked ninth in the country at 23.8 PPG. He's also averaging 6.8 RPG and he's second on the team in assists with 3.8 per game. He's an aggressive, NBA-ready wing who has made 66.2 percent of his shots in transition, per Synergy Sports.

Rui Hachimura: In Gonzaga's win over Duke in the Maui Invitational, Hachimura launched his Wooden Award campaign with a pair of critical defensive stops in the final minutes and this impressive stat line: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. The junior from Japan is 9-for-20 (45 percent) from the 3-point line. That new wrinkle has made him a more versatile threat. At 6-8, he's an imposing combo forward and a difficult matchup for any team in America. After the win over Duke, Hachimura declared that he's "the best." In November and December, he backed that up and played his way into the conversation.

The rest of the pack (all stats entering the week)

• Ethan Happ: Wisconsin's star is averaging 19.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 4.8 APG and 1.2 BPG.


• Ignas Brazdeikis: The freshman standout has made 43 percent of his 3-pointers.



• Markus Howard: At 25.1 PPG, he entered the week ranked fifth nationally in scoring.


• Carsen Edwards: The Purdue guard is averaging 25.8 PPG and connecting on nearly 40 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.


• Ja Morant: Murray State's projected lottery pick leads the nations in assists (9.6 per game) and he's top 15 in scoring.


• Jarrett Culver: Texas Tech, the nation's top defensive team, has held opponents to just 74 points per 100 possessions (hooplens.com) with Culver on the floor.


• Jordan Caroline: At 18.7 PPG, 9.8 RPG and a 42 percent clip from the 3-point line, he belongs here.


• Lagerald Vick: He's a 47 percent shooter from beyond the arc and he saved Kansas in multiple games.


• Admiral Schofield: Williams' co-star at Tennessee scored 30 points in a win over Gonzaga on Dec. 9.


• Dedric Lawson: The Kansas star is averaging 19.6 PPG and 10.8 RPG, and he has made 80.3 percent of his free throws.