Nicole Auerbach

USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY Sports went back and forth between two terrific candidates and eventually chose Michigan State guard Denzel Valentine as its National Player of the Year.

This version of Denzel Valentine — this best-player-in-the-country type — is not the version of Denzel Valentine who showed up on campus four years ago. He’s a much better shooter. He’s a much better leader. He’s a much better defender. And he’s in much better shape.

Each offseason, Valentine made lists of goals he wanted to accomplish to get better in some facet of his game. The lists used to be longer than they became as he grew older. But he made sure to check each item off, whether it required endless hours in the gym with his older brother, Drew, or making the smart choice for dinner instead of the more delicious one. Superstars aren’t made in the spotlight; they’re made when no one is watching.

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Valentine built himself into one of the best players in the country, checklist by checklist. Step by step. Offseason by offseason.

“It's like the self-made millionaire compared to the inherited one,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “He's a self-made player, so I can't take much credit. He's made himself into this kind of player with everything he's done every offseason. … I've just kind of seen him grow in every area and that's one thing I would say to an NBA team. Some guys come in with all the hype and are one-year wonders.

“He's proven that he's gotten better every year in almost every aspect. Offense, defense, rebounding, passing, shooting, leadership-wise, even body-wise. He's covered more things than any player I've seen.”

Valentine might become the first player since the assist has been kept as an official stat to finish the season averaging 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Izzo thinks Valentine’s rebounding numbers would be even higher had he not had to move him over to play point due to teammate injuries. But in the same breath, Izzo touts Valentine’s versatility — to do that, and still not skip a beat, still make his teammates better.

“That’s not easy to do,” Izzo said. “I'm not trying to make it like a running back playing quarterback, but it's definitely not a smooth transition in a lot of different things. It took him a couple games to adjust to it and we took a couple of hits there. … I think he's the most versatile player I've seen in years.”

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So while Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield has also been sensational — Izzo agrees with that, too — and deserves all the National Player of the Year talk he’s getting, we give the edge to Valentine for both his versatility and the impact he has not just on the game but on his teammates, too, in Michigan State’s biggest games to date.

He’s not quite a self-made millionaire, but he’s a self-made Player of the Year.

USA TODAY SPORTS' ALL-AMERICA TEAM