I think Crooks might be on the short list for player of the year, but for a number of reasons I don't think her odds against say Sarah Strong are good. Right now her PER stats are off the charts and a little ahead of Sarah. That is very likely to reverse, just based on scheduling. Audi's competition in conference will get much tougher, Sarah just the opposite in the Big East.
Other factors are Audi needs a blow more often than Sarah, is nowhere close as a defender, and although Iowa State looks pretty good, they are very unlikely to finish ahead of Uconn. In short because of these other factors, the only way for Audi to win vs Sarah is to have substantially better per minute numbers which are slightly better now, but sure to decrease against tougher competition.
The reasons she may not be as good a pro prospect as a college player also play into this. You mention her defense as a pro, but her ability to do what she does offensively will be greatly affected too. The best WNBA C's will be able to reject many of her shots. Few college teams have C's with enough length and ability to do that, but obviously Audi will face more of them in conference than the out of conference schedule.
That was a statement game for Audi, and surely raised her status in the player of the year discussion, but compared to Sarah Strong she has few advantages unless her stats stay at their current level against much better teams. With Juju out the other player putting up player of the year like numbers is Hidalgo, and you could make a good case for her as a true two way player, but her team is not as good as they usually are. Booker and Betts are of course stars on very good teams, but their individual stats don't compare to Crooks, Strong, or Hidalgo.
Sarah checks the boxes for individual and team in a way the others don't. It is still early, but at this point i think it is her's to lose.
