the thread on Siva being an awful BE POY candidate got me thinking about how I'd rank potential candidates. Here's my top 5 based on how I actually think the media will see it by the end of the season:
5) Siva
You can hate the guy or think he's overrated, but he is a talented kid. Had 8+ assists nine times last season, played pretty solidly in March (Good BE Tourney and played well enough at the point to lead L'ville to the Final Four). Is he anywhere near as good as many media types think he is? No, but he'll still put up pretty good numbers on a team likely to win the league.
4) Carter-Williams
I think MCW has a really good shot at this award in the sense that I think he'll be regarded as the best player on this team and this team is a pretty good bet to finish in the top 3. If he's as good as people think he could easily win the award, if he's not quite as good as we think, I'd still think he'll put up close to 6 assists a game and score in double-figures.
3) Porter
Double-figures in 9 of his last 12 games, at least 7 rebounds in six of those games and (surprise, surprise!) he'll be the focal point at G'town this year since Thompson seems to perennially be in scramble mode to field a starting 5. I don't know how good Porter actually is, but it's hard to imagine him losing shots to Starks, Hopkins, Lubick and the gang. Plus, G'town will likely finish north of .500 in conference, which seems to be enough to draw consideration if you put up 17-18 a game with 7-8 rebs.
2) Tray Woodall
I think Pitt played much better with Woodall in the second half of the BE season and March last year. I also think Pitt's teams are much better with a wealth of experience, which they have this season. I also think there's a solid chance Adams and Ziegler will add much needed talent to the roster. Add it all up and I think Pitt will be a few spots better than most preseason mags have them (3rd instead of what I've seen, around 5th or 6th). Woodall will get a bunch of credit as the senior and is likely to put up good numbers pretty efficiently (averaged 12 and 6 with good shooting percentages and decent assist:TO numbers last season.
1) Dieng
I honestly believe Dieng is going to be really hard to out-do for this award. I think he's better offensively than he looks, since his game isn't exactly pretty. Double-digits in rebounds in 7 of his last 10 (averaged 9/game for the year) and averaged 3 blocks per game. He doesn't have to do that much offensively to be a huge factor this season. Plus, I think L'ville is a decent bet, as previously mentioned, to win the league, which will get him extra votes.
Just missed the list: Cooley. Cooley's a good player and had a huge Feb. last year. He's a lock to be on a first or second team all conference. Just not sure I see him as a POY for some reason.
Darkhorses:
Behanan -- Had a big march and is pretty talented. Should get a bunch of minutes. If people buy into him as L'ville's best player then we're in good shape.
Harrison -- If SJU surprises
Kilpatrick/Wright -- if Cincy pushes into the top 3
Council -- If PC surprises
Thoughts?
5) Siva
You can hate the guy or think he's overrated, but he is a talented kid. Had 8+ assists nine times last season, played pretty solidly in March (Good BE Tourney and played well enough at the point to lead L'ville to the Final Four). Is he anywhere near as good as many media types think he is? No, but he'll still put up pretty good numbers on a team likely to win the league.
4) Carter-Williams
I think MCW has a really good shot at this award in the sense that I think he'll be regarded as the best player on this team and this team is a pretty good bet to finish in the top 3. If he's as good as people think he could easily win the award, if he's not quite as good as we think, I'd still think he'll put up close to 6 assists a game and score in double-figures.
3) Porter
Double-figures in 9 of his last 12 games, at least 7 rebounds in six of those games and (surprise, surprise!) he'll be the focal point at G'town this year since Thompson seems to perennially be in scramble mode to field a starting 5. I don't know how good Porter actually is, but it's hard to imagine him losing shots to Starks, Hopkins, Lubick and the gang. Plus, G'town will likely finish north of .500 in conference, which seems to be enough to draw consideration if you put up 17-18 a game with 7-8 rebs.
2) Tray Woodall
I think Pitt played much better with Woodall in the second half of the BE season and March last year. I also think Pitt's teams are much better with a wealth of experience, which they have this season. I also think there's a solid chance Adams and Ziegler will add much needed talent to the roster. Add it all up and I think Pitt will be a few spots better than most preseason mags have them (3rd instead of what I've seen, around 5th or 6th). Woodall will get a bunch of credit as the senior and is likely to put up good numbers pretty efficiently (averaged 12 and 6 with good shooting percentages and decent assist:TO numbers last season.
1) Dieng
I honestly believe Dieng is going to be really hard to out-do for this award. I think he's better offensively than he looks, since his game isn't exactly pretty. Double-digits in rebounds in 7 of his last 10 (averaged 9/game for the year) and averaged 3 blocks per game. He doesn't have to do that much offensively to be a huge factor this season. Plus, I think L'ville is a decent bet, as previously mentioned, to win the league, which will get him extra votes.
Just missed the list: Cooley. Cooley's a good player and had a huge Feb. last year. He's a lock to be on a first or second team all conference. Just not sure I see him as a POY for some reason.
Darkhorses:
Behanan -- Had a big march and is pretty talented. Should get a bunch of minutes. If people buy into him as L'ville's best player then we're in good shape.
Harrison -- If SJU surprises
Kilpatrick/Wright -- if Cincy pushes into the top 3
Council -- If PC surprises
Thoughts?
