Why Cameron Brink should be DPOY

With the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award already in hand, Cameron Brink also should be the national Defensive Player of the Year.

Cameron Brink has had a storied career at Stanford. She’s won a national title, been named Pac-12 Player of the Year twice and is the three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. She also was last season’s WBCA Defensive Player of the Year. This season, she should sweep all national Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Defense is hard to quantify. So many things are a factor. On offense, you can just look at points and, although that also has its flaws, it steers you in the right direction regarding who is the most impactful player offensively. Defensively, you can’t just go with blocks and steals. You have to watch the game and see how the team operates as a unit defensively and understand players’ roles.

At Stanford, Brink is the anchor. She’s the nucleus. She is the center of the universe that the entire team focuses on and funnels opposing players to. Stanford relies on Brink to clean up messes and wreak havoc on their opponents. Watching Brink on defense, you start to wonder: Who is more threatening? Is it the offense trying to score? Or, is it Brink stopping it from happening?

Blocks aren’t the end all be all defensively, but Brink runs the block party in college basketball, averaging 3.5 per game. These blocks are a testament to her rim protection, ability to execute said protection and willingness to get after it defensively.

What’s also impressive about her defensive game is how often her presence deters shots from even going up. Guards will drive to the basket, pick up their dribble and do a double take like they’re crossing a dangerous street, looking to see if the Brink Truck is coming. Sometimes, there are one too many pump fakes trying to get her in the air or create separation. Other times, they concede without an attempt and simply kick the ball back out, unwilling to try their luck.

With Brink declaring for the 2024 WNBA Draft, she has less than a month of collegiate basketball left. While her biggest goal—another national title—is still possible, she should accumulate more DPOY accolades. With the season she’s had, her impact on the program and her defensive prowess, she has been named as a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. No one has been better or as important to their team’s defensive scheme as Brink. The time is for consideration and deliberation is up!