Mar 13, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Denzel Valentine (45) is guarded by Purdue Boilermakers guard P.J. Thompson (3) during the Big Ten conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Michigan State defeats Purdue 66-62. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Denzel Valentine was named Sports Illustrated’s college basketball player of the year.

Add another award to Michigan State star senior Denzel Valentine’s growing list. On Tuesday morning, Valentine was named Sports Illustrated‘s college basketball player of the year, his third such award from a major publication.

Denzel Valentine picks up another Player of the Year award. Sports Illustrated picks the MSU senior. — Brad Galli (@BradGalli) March 15, 2016

The two finalists are [unofficially] Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield and the Spartans’ Valentine. The two faced off for a chance to go to the Elite Eight a year ago and it was one of the better games of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, but who would have thought they’d be national player of the year finalists a year later?

Valentine has transformed from role player two years ago to absolute superstar. He’s gone from 8.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a sophomore to 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists as a senior. Transforming his entire game to match that of former Spartan great Draymond Green has improved his draft stock tremendously.

At the beginning of the season, people questioned if Denzel could even sneak into the first round, let alone be drafted into the NBA. Nowadays, it’s all about where in the first round he will be selected as many even have him as a lottery pick.

It might be a couple of weeks still until the Wooden Award winner is announced, but with the way things are going, it’d be a shock if Denzel Valentine was not the recipient.