Best Breakthrough Athlete

Best Breakthrough Athlete

The nominees for Best Breakthrough Athlete are Brittney Griner, Stephen Strasburg, John Wall, and Chris Johnson.

Chris Johnson, as a rookie last season, had 251 carries. His counterpart, LenDale White, had over 200, too, along with 15 touchdowns. He broke the record for yards from the line of scrimmage. Johnson and White were nicknamed Smash and Dash. But this past season, it was only Smash. He rushed for over 2000 yards rushing, with 14 touchdowns. In week 9, he set a Titans record of 228 rushing yards. He had an 89-yard touchdown and a 52-yard touchdown.

Brittney Griner was the number one high school basketball player. She played her freshman year at Baylor last year. She set the NCAA Tournament record for blocked shots in a game (14). She had a triple double in a game with 34 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 blocks. She averaged 6.37 blocks per game. To put it in perspective, shot-blocking great Dikembe Mutombo averaged 4.7 blocks per game -- in his senior year at Georgetown.

Stephen Strasburg was the first overall draft pick last year for the Washington Nationals. He only needed 11 minor league starts to reach the majors, completely skipping over A-ball. He struck out 14 Pittsburgh Pirates in his debut in the MLB and some believe he should have been an All-Star this year, even though only pitching 42.2 innings for the Nationals.

John Wall was the first overall pick in this year's NBA draft, selected by the Washington WIzards. He was a freshman at Kentucky. He won 35 -- that's right, 35 -- awards over the course of his freshman year. He set the record for most points scored in a season for a Kentucky Wildcat freshman (616) and the most assists in Kentucky player (241).