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Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin had a decisive lead in the National Player of the Year race two weeks ago.
Now, Griffin has almost a unanimous grasp on it.
The second Journal Gazette National Player of the Year Straw Poll shows Griffin, a sophomore, with 51 first place votes out of the 55 anonymous ballots received from voters for the four major college basketball Player of the Year award (Wooden, Naismith, Robertson, AP).
In all, three players received first place votes: Griffin, Davidson junior guard Stephen Curry and Connecticut junior center Hasheem Thabeet.
Luke Harangody, who received a first place vote in the first straw poll, received only third place votes this time around.
| Player | First Place Votes (Points in parentheses) | Second Place votes (Points in parentheses) | Third Place Votes | Total Points |
| Blake Griffin, Soph., F, Oklahoma | 51 (153) | 4 (8) | 0 | 161 pts. |
| Stephen Curry, Jr., G, Davidson | 3 (9) | 27 (54) | 11 | 74 pts. |
| Tyler Hansbrough, Sr., F, North Carolina | 0 | 11 (22) | 11 | 33 pts. |
| Jeff Teague, Soph., G, Wake Forest | 0 | 5 (10) | 4 | 14 pts. |
| James Harden, Soph., G, Arizona State | 0 | 2 (4) | 7 | 11 pts. |
| DeJuan Blair, Soph., F, Pittsburgh | 0 | 4 (8) | 3 | 11 pts. |
| Hasheem Thabeet, Jr., C, Connecticut | 1 (3) | 1 (2) | 5 | 10 pts. |
| Jerel McNeal, Sr., G, Marquette | 0 | 1 (2) | 5 | 7 pts. |
| Luke Harangody, Jr., F, Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 pts. |
| Jodie Meeks, Jr., G, Kentucky | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 pts. |
| Ty Lawson, Jr., G, North Carolina | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 pt. |
Some things of interest in this poll versus the last one, released Jan. 28:
- 11 players received at least one vote -- first through third -- in both polls. Three players who were in the original poll, Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn, Pittsburgh swingman Sam Young and Duke forward Kyle Singler. Entering the poll were Marquette guard Jerel McNeal, Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet and North Carolina guard Ty Lawson.
- Notre Dame junior forward Luke Harangody had the biggest drop, going from third place and 38 points to just six third place votes. Not surprisingly, the Irish have not won a game in the stretch.
- Blake Griffin was the only player listed on every ballot -- and he was first or second on every ballot.
- The top two -- Griffin and Curry -- remained the same. Tyler Hansbrough, considered the favorite at the beginning of the season, moved from fifth to third. Wake Forest's Jeff Teague stayed in fourth place and Arizona State's James Harden replaced Hansbrough in fifth.
- The Big East dominated the players receiving votes, with four, however none were ranked higher than Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair in sixth. The ACC had three players (Hansbrough, Teague and Ty Lawson). The Pac 10, Big 12, SEC and Southern Conference each had one.
