Sifting through candidates to find best of best

To be the CBS SportsLine.com national player or freshman of the year, you better have numbers -- and then you better have a little bit more. Win games. Get into the NCAA Tournament. Make the players around you better.

With that as our guide, it wasn't so tough to sift through almost 4,000 players for the best of the best -- or to find the best freshman. Or to find the best coach.

Al Skinner coached BC to a 24-3 record and a share of the Big East title. (Getty Images)

Here they are, along with the CBS SportsLine.com All-American teams.

CBS SportsLine.com player of the year: Individually, nobody has had a better season than Utah center Andrew Bogut, who ranks 15th nationally in scoring (20.6 points per game), third in rebounds (12.0) and third in field-goal percentage (63.7 percent).

Collectively, few teams have done better than Utah (25-4), which lost two starters and two head coaches from a year ago but is much, much better. Why? Because of Bogut, who always scores in double figures, has had 20 double-doubles, and adds 2.4 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.1 steals. He also hits 72.7 percent from the foul line. If it weren't for that mop of grungy brown hair, he'd be perfect.

The Mountain West Conference isn't as competitive as the Big East or Big 12, but don't hold that against him. Bogut had 23 points and 12 rebounds against Washington. He had 20 and 10 against Arizona and its All-America candidate at center, Channing Frye. He had 24 and 17 against LSU, which features nearly 14 feet and 600 pounds of big man in Brandon Bass and Glen Davis.

If the competition went down a tick, Bogut did what the best player in the country ought to do -- simply dominated. When Utah faced New Mexico without injured center Danny Granger, Bogut was merciless: 24 points, 20 rebounds. Then again, he was merciless most nights. Against Colorado State, which has three 7-footers, Bogut had 25 points and 18 rebounds in the first meeting, 33 and 16 in the next. Against BYU ...

"Best player in the country?" asks Utah coach Ray Giacoletti. "That's not for me to say, but he's got my vote. I know this: He's the first post player I've seen who makes players around him better. Usually only a guard can do something like that."

Speaking of guards ...

CBS SportsLine.com freshman of the year: When he reported to Texas, point guard Daniel Gibson was asked to integrate his scoring style into a team that had won 25 games, returned six regulars and added three McDonald's All-Americans.

Done. With Gibson deferring to sophomore star P.J. Tucker and running an offense featuring six double-digit scorers, Texas roared to a 14-3 start.

Then when Texas lost two starting forwards -- Tucker for academic reasons, emerging freshman LaMarcus Aldridge to injury -- Gibson was asked to become its best player.

Done. In the 12 games since, Gibson has averaged 17 points, 4.2 rebounds and four assists. Texas isn't the Final Four-caliber team it was at full strength, but Gibson has kept the Longhorns (20-9) at a level worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid. Add that to his season-long stats -- 14.1 points per game, 4.1 assists, 40 percent on 3-pointers -- and he's our guy.

CBS SportsLine.com coach of the year: Perfection would have won this honor for Illinois' Bruce Weber, but the Illini's slip Sunday at Ohio State opened the door for Boston College's Al Skinner.

Face it: Boston College (24-3) has been at least as remarkable as Illinois, and Skinner recruited all of his players. As far as tiebreakers go, we'll use that and not look back.