The Chosen One

Khalif Wyatt’s junior season was filled with spectacular plays on the court and occasional drama on and off it.

Wyatt’s senior season has been heavy on the former and devoid of the latter, which is a big reason why the standout guard became the first Temple men’s basketball player chosen Atlantic 10 Player of the Year since Pepe Sanchez was honored in 2000 on Tuesday.

Wyatt, the only Owls player selected to the All-Conference team, leads the league in scoring (19.9 points per game) and with his under-rated play-making abilities is seventh in the A-10 in assists at 4.1.

He ranked seventh in the league in free-throw percentage (82.9), eighth in three-pointers (2.2) and ninth in steals (1.6).

And more important he has been Clutch — with a capital C.

Wyatt hit the game-winning three-pointer with seven seconds to go in a 72-71 win at Dayton. He scored 12 points in the last two minutes as the Owls rallied to beat Detroit and totaled 17 in the second half in a one-point win at Massachusetts.

The 6-foot-4 guard scored 30 this past Sunday as Temple wrapped up the third seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and a first-round bye by beating nationally-ranked VCU. He dropped 33 on then-No. 3 Syracuse in Madison Square Garden in December.

He’s done it all after a junior season in which he was benched several times for being late to meetings, missed the opener because of a summer league snafu and was involved in a much-publicized incident in Atlantic City on his 21st birthday this summer that led to his arrest.

This year, there has been no drama — save for late-game heroics — as Wyatt has been a team leader and a model citizen. He is the biggest reason the Owls have a sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance locked up even before arriving in Brooklyn this week for the conference tournament.

With the departure of guards Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore, this became Wyatt’s team and he embraced the responsibility.

“It’s a great credit to Khalif,” said Temple coach Fran Dunphy on Tuesday. “He’s a senior and he realizes his college days are down to a short few. He’s on line to graduate on time, he’s improved as a person and as a player. He’s been extraordinary.”