Perhaps I'm swept up in Academy Awards fever. Perhaps I'm knee-deep in college basketball and loving it. Or, OK, just maybe, I'm working forward because I'm burning some vacation days this coming week.
The point is, I've taken an early look at candidates for the 2016-17 Associated Press All-Big 12 men's basketball team and thought, what the heck, I'll share my work.
As one that covers WVU, I find the process interesting. The Mountaineers - at least in recent years - have resembled the old Whac-A-Mole game. A player pops up and performs well for a game and then goes below surface. Over and over it goes.
So it's been tough for voters to pinpoint West Virginia players - save for Juwan Staten back in 2014 and 2015. If you remember, Staten was a first-team honoree both by the AP and league in both years. He was definitely deserving of the honor in 2014, yet was more of a representative of WVU's success in 2015. Bob Huggins was also named Coach of the Year in '15.
Voters really struggled recognizing Mountaineers last season, when the team finished second in both the Big 12 standings and tournament, before naming Jaysean Paige and Devin Williams to the second team.
This season? Well, the Associated Press asks for each voter's top five players - including at least one point guard and one post player - for both the first and second teams. There are also awards for Coach of the Year, Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.
And this year's nominees are ...
n Frank Mason, Kansas: I know you're sick of hearing about the 5-foot-11 guard. Honestly, I am too. I don't even think an NBA team will draft him. Still, he's tenacious. He's the face of the league champions. And the numbers are certainly there. Heading into the weekend, Mason led the league in scoring (20.3 points per game) and was hitting a whopping 51.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. He was No. 1 in the league in minutes played (35.9 per game) and was up there in assists (5.0) and field goal percentage (49.2). Forget the pencil. Pen him on the first team.
n Johnathan Motley, Baylor: If you're looking for the best representative of the Bears' season, Motley is your guy. He was averaging 16.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and hitting on 52 percent of his field goal attempts. He was leading the league with 11 double-doubles. Expect him to be taken late in the first round of the NBA draft.
n Josh Jackson, Kansas: Did someone say NBA draft? Expect this 6-8 swingman to be among the top three or four players taken this year. The freshman was averaging 16.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and hitting 50.7 percent of his shots. He had 10 double-doubles heading into the weekend. He's simply a man-imal.
n Jarrett Allen, Texas: Yes, I know. I'm sorry Sagaba Konate, but Allen not only has college basketball's dunk of the year, but really, really solid stats. He's got the scoring (13.3), the rebounding (8.3), the field goal percentage (57.6) and the blocks (43). He'll be a top-15 NBA draft pick.
n Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State: Hard to ignore Evans. Like Jackson and Allen, he's a freshman. And a lethal one. Evans was averaging 18.3 points (second only to Mason) and was tied for first in assists (6.0). If he chooses to leave OSU, he could be a late first-round NBA pick.
n Monte Morris, Iowa State: If you've noticed, five nominees have already been listed and we're just getting to Morris, who, heading into the weekend anyway, had the league's only triple-double this season. The 6-3 senior could also be taken late in the first round of the NBA draft. Within the Big 12, he's been way up there in scoring (16.3) and tied with Evans for first in assists (6.0). His assist-to-turnover ratio was by far No. 1 (5.8).
n Jevon Carter, WVU: If you're looking for a representative of the Mountaineers, here ya be. Heading into the weekend, Carter, a 6-2 junior, was first in the Big 12 in steals (2.8), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) and No. 1 in hard work. A very tough defender.
n Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State: You can't ignore the 6-8 forward. He was averaging 17.3 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Cowboys. From beyond the 3-point arc, he was hitting 43.7 percent of his tries.
n Devonte' Graham, Kansas: On a loaded Jayhawk team, the 6-2 guard is a star. He hit the weekend averaging 13.1 points, 4.4 assists and was No. 2 in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5).
Those are nine candidates for the 10 spots. If you're looking to complete the vote, well, good luck. You have many from which to choose.
There's Baylor's Manu Lecomte, Kansas State's Wesley Iwundu (a probable second-round NBA draft pick), TCU's Kenrich Williams (No. 2 in rebounding), Kansas State's D.J. Johnson (No. 1 in field goal percentage), Iowa State's Naz Mitrou-Long (who had 37 points in one game), Baylor 7-footer Jo Lual-Acuil (the blocked shots leader), Texas Tech sharpshooter Keenan Evans, OSU's Phil Forte and, heck, WVU's hustle machine Nate Adrian. Pick your poison.
Also, as mentioned, there are the coach, player and newcomer awards.
The Coach of the Year award could go to any one of four: Bill Self of Kansas, Steve Prohm of Iowa State, Scott Drew of Baylor or WVU's Huggins. More than likely it will be Self for winning Big 12 title No. 13 straight - an amazing accomplishment - or Drew for the job he did at Baylor.
For Player of the Year, it's difficult to vote for anyone but Mason. (I wish a Favorite Player to Watch award existed. Motley would win there, followed by Adrian's hair.)
Finally, for Newcomer of the Year, look for Jackson of Kansas to win over Allen of Texas and Evans of Oklahoma State. The league's POY might not get drafted, but Jackson certainly will. Very, very high.
A lot to chew on. Discuss amongst yourselves. And have a great week.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.