A bunch of candidates.

Mine:

#1 Kemba Walker...I hate Uconn and can't stand Calhoun....but I can't deny Walker.

#2 Jimmer Fredette....well, as I type he just scored his 50th point of the game

#3 Nolan Smith

#4 JJ Sullinger

#5 Ben Hansbrough

JJ Sullinger has no business in this discussion.

1. Nolan Smith
2. JuJuan Johnson
3. The Jimmer
4. Jordan Taylor
5. Jared Sullinger

6. Kemba Walker

Kemba #6...seriously? why?

Ironman92;708596 wrote:Kemba #6...seriously? why?

Because I like the other 5 more, lol. I dunno. His team finished 9th in the conference. I dont want to hear the did it alone BS either. He didnt have the teams that Sully or Smith does. But UCONN has as much talent as Purdue or Wisconsin.

Kemba has the "moments" and is owning in Maui/NYC. But as a whole, I dont think he was as good as Smith or Taylor this season, and Jimmer is Jimmer. I think Johnson and Sullinger were dominant all season long as big men as well. If I thought about it longer, I may re-order. But Walker would be behind Taylor, Smith, Johnson and Jimmer still. I might move him ahead of Sullinger.

Kemba certainly has the 9 conference losses on his resume....but his conference is ridiculous as well.

On the flipside he also has the great game most every time I watch him as well. You make good points...but man I think they are awful without him.....for me to support anything UConn is sickening...but he is great.

Ironman92;708673 wrote:Kemba certainly has the 9 conference losses on his resume....but his conference is ridiculous as well.

On the flipside he also has the great game most every time I watch him as well. You make good points...but man I think they are awful without him.....for me to support anything UConn is sickening...but he is great.

I also dont think BE is nearly as good as people say this year. Syracuse, Nova, Louisville, SJJ, GTown, are all decent (OK, I lied, Nova is bad). ND and Pitt are very good. But I dont see much after that. Cincy, WVU, Marquette??? No thanks.

It just seems like this year (only this year, the BE was loaded the last couple) that teams are getting credit for beating good to very good teams, when in fact they are just beating average teams. Beating GTown, Nova, Syracuse, etc isnt all that great this year, all those teams are "ok". Quality wins, sure. But not what they typically mean for a resume.

I agree, UCONN is awful without Kemba. But take Johnson, Jimmer, or Taylor off those teams and I think they are equally as bad. Sully and Smith, their teams would be fine, which is why I may put Walker ahead of Sully. But Smith led the ACC in points and AST, and had to adapt to becoming the PG when Irving went down. So I cant move him, even when Duke is still tough without him.

1. Kemba Walker
2. Nolan Smith
3. Jimmer Fredette
4. Ben Hansbrough
5. JaJuan Johnson

Let me start this by saying I am a huge UConn fan. I have been since the days of Ray Allen, Ollie and the Marshall boys, so this might come off as homerish in favor of Kemba.

Laley23;708691 wrote:I also dont think BE is nearly as good as people say this year. Syracuse, Nova, Louisville, SJJ, GTown, are all decent (OK, I lied, Nova is bad). ND and Pitt are very good. But I dont see much after that. Cincy, WVU, Marquette??? No thanks.

It just seems like this year (only this year, the BE was loaded the last couple) that teams are getting credit for beating good to very good teams, when in fact they are just beating average teams. Beating GTown, Nova, Syracuse, etc isnt all that great this year, all those teams are "ok". Quality wins, sure. But not what they typically mean for a resume.

What about beating Texas in Texas? Anyone else have a better non-conference win? If so, was it an away game? Michigan State, Tennesee, and Kentucky too. He took the world by storm with their non-conference games. The league can't be that bad if they have 11 teams going to the big dance(I know, they have 16 teams and some of their games were aginst the USF's, DePaul's and Providence's of the world).

I agree, UCONN is awful without Kemba. But take Johnson, Jimmer, or Taylor off those teams and I think they are equally as bad. Sully and Smith, their teams would be fine, which is why I may put Walker ahead of Sully. But Smith led the ACC in points and AST, and had to adapt to becoming the PG when Irving went down. So I cant move him, even when Duke is still tough without him.

Take Johnson off and your team is in the hands of Moore and Lewis Jackson
Take Taylor off and your team is in the hands of Jon Leuer. The team's leading scorer.
Take Smith off the team and your team is in the hands of Singler and Curry.

The only one I could agree that might mean as much to his team is Jimmer.

Take Walker off the team and your team is in the hands of 5 underclassmen(with 4 freshman, and a sophomore) and your leadership is from a Senior post player who averages 1.8 points and 2.1 rebounds for his career. Take Kemba Walker off this team and they are finishing the season with a record of 11-20 or lower. I would hate to see how Calhoun's health would be trying to get these underclassmen to develop without any halfway decent upperclassmen let alone one like KW. He has to be top 10 in minutes played too(averages 36 per game).

Also, I will be the first to tell you that I didnt expect Walker to play this well all season long. Especially before the season started. A lot of times I was pissed at how he played last season but looking back on it, it could have been because of his underperforming teammates(Stanley Robinson, Jerome Dyson seemed to quit on the team late in the season). I am definitely going to miss this kid come next season.

1. Jared Sullinger
2. Kemba Walker
3. JaJuan Johnson
4. Jimmer Freddette
5. Jordan Taylor

1. Nolan Smith
2. Jimmer Freddette
3. Kemba Walker
4. JaJuan Jonson
5. Jared Sullinger

1. Kemba Walker
2. Nolan Smith
3. Jimmer Fredette
4. Jared Sullinger
5a. Ben Hansbrough
5b. JaJuan Johnson

sportswizuhrd;708838 wrote: What about beating Texas in Texas? Anyone else have a better non-conference win? If so, was it an away game? Michigan State, Tennesee, and Kentucky too. He took the world by storm with their non-conference games. The league can't be that bad if they have 11 teams going to the big dance(I know, they have 16 teams and some of their games were aginst the USF's, DePaul's and Providence's of the world).

Take Johnson off and your team is in the hands of Moore and Lewis Jackson
Take Taylor off and your team is in the hands of Jon Leuer. The team's leading scorer.
Take Smith off the team and your team is in the hands of Singler and Curry.

The only one I could agree that might mean as much to his team is Jimmer.

UCONN has the best non-conference wins. But they still finished NINTH in the Big East. Tough to be POY when your team finished 9th. Again, the 11 team argument stems from what I said earlier. Teams are getting credit for wins that arent that great. The Big East is getting 11 teams in, but that doesnt mean they are all very good teams making the league very tough. I just dont think the traditional very good teams are anything but up and down at best this year. Georgetown, Nova, Cuse, UCONN. You have PITT and ND at the top and then a muddled mess of decent teams in the middle. Followed up by WVU, Cincy, and Marquette who are average teams.

I simply disagree with what other teams would look like without their players. They may not struggle like UCONN w/o Walker (Jimmer aside), but Purdue and Wisconsin would be pretty bad without Johnson and Taylor respectively. I already conceded that OSU and Duke would be fine without Sully and Smith.

Walker isn't even Big East POY. That belongs to Hansborough

Ohio St would not be Big Ten Champ without Sully. I would add 2-4 more losses.

I think Laley summed up Kemba Walker as a non-national player of the year nicely, so I won't go there.

After The Jimmer's 52 last night, I have to be honest and present my NPOTY award to the rightful candidate.

1. Nolan Smith
2. Jimmer Fredette

3. Jared Sullinger
4. JuJu Johnson
5. Jordan Taylor

The argument for Nolan Smith is simple. Despite suddenly eight games into his senior season being asked to play a completely different position -- the most critical position on the floor for any team: point guard -- Nolan Smith is arguably playing that role better than any other player in the country.

After the injury to Blue Devil point guard Kyrie Irving in December, Nolan not only upped his ACC-leading points per game average by almost five points (from 17 to 21 in order to help make up for the 17 points per game that Irving's absence stole from the Blue Devil lineup), but Nolan also rapidly became one of the most efficient distributors in the country. And, really, the savior to Duke's ACC and national championship hopes. A team that lacks proficient point guard play -- whether from a distribution/set-up standpoint such as Kendall Marshall or a scoring one such as former Duke point guard Jason Williams -- is a team that has virtually no shot at reaching a Final Four. At Duke's darkest hour, Nolan reached from within and provided Duke with both. For the lengthier part of the season (up until Kendall Marshall's rise in minutes per game in late February), Nolan led the ACC in assists per game and looked to become the first player in history to lead the historical conference that has born names such as Thompson, Jordan, Ford, Corchiani, Price, Anderson, Marbury, Childress, Williams and Paul in both scoring and assists. Nolan is one of just two players in the country averaging over 20 points and 5 assists. He scored 33 points in Duke's biggest win of the year over North Carolina in Durham, and added 30 more in the game in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are, in my opinion, the NCAA favorite at this juncture of the season -- if they do not win the title, the 1996 Chicago Bulls should have their trophy revoked -- and Nolan dropped 63 on the Heels in two meetings. In 19 other contests, Nolan dished out five or more assists, including 10 in an early-season non-conference victory. For a senior who entered his final year in school as an All-American candidate playing a position he was already naturally and systematically accustomed to, I think what Nolan Smith has been able to achieve this season in the face of Duke's adversity is a remarkable feat.

However, if The Jimmer were to sweep all three major NPOTY awards, I would have absolutely nothing but respect for that. 39, 47, 42, 43, 38, 52. The NCAA hasn't seen numbers like this since Pistol Pete, and that's something at which to really marvel. Jimmer Fredette deserves any award he wins.

reclegend22;708991 wrote:I think Laley summed up Kemba Walker as a non-national player of the year nicely, so I won't go there.

After The Jimmer's 52 last night, I have to be honest and present my NPOTY award to the rightful candidate.

1. Nolan Smith
2. Jimmer Fredette

3. Jared Sullinger
4. JuJu Johnson
5. Jordan Taylor

The argument for Nolan Smith is simple. Despite suddenly eight games into his senior season being asked to play a completely different position -- the most critical position on the floor for any team: point guard -- Nolan Smith is arguably playing that role better than any other player in the country.

After the injury to Blue Devil point guard Kyrie Irving in December, Nolan not only upped his ACC-leading points per game average by almost five points (from 17 to 21 in order to help make up for the 17 points per game that Irving's absence stole from the Blue Devil lineup), but Nolan also rapidly became one of the most efficient distributors in the country. And, really, the savior to Duke's ACC and national championship hopes. A team that lacks proficient point guard play -- whether from a distribution/set-up standpoint such as Kendall Marshall or a scoring one such as former Duke point guard Jason Williams -- is a team that has virtually no shot at reaching a Final Four. At Duke's darkest hour, Nolan reached from within and provided Duke with both. For the lengthier part of the season (up until Kendall Marshall's rise in minutes per game in late February), Nolan led the ACC in assists per game and looked to become the first player in history to lead the historical conference that has born names such as Thompson, Jordan, Ford, Corchiani, Price, Anderson, Marbury, Childress, Williams and Paul in both scoring and assists. Nolan is one of just two players in the country averaging over 20 points and 5 assists. He scored 33 points in Duke's biggest win of the year over North Carolina in Durham, and added 30 more in the game in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are, in my opinion, the NCAA favorite at this juncture of the season -- if they do not win the title, the 1996 Chicago Bulls should have their trophy revoked -- and Nolan dropped 63 on the Heels in two meetings. In 19 other contests, Nolan dished out five or more assists, including 10 in an early-season non-conference victory. For a senior who entered his final year in school as an All-American candidate playing a position he was already naturally and systematically accustomed to, I think what Nolan Smith has been able to achieve this season in the face of Duke's adversity is a remarkable feat.

However, if The Jimmer were to sweep all three major NPOTY awards, I would have absolutely nothing but respect for that. 39, 47, 42, 43, 38, 52. The NCAA hasn't seen numbers like this since Pistol Pete, and that's something at which to really marvel. Jimmer Fredette deserves any award he wins.

Shocking choice on your part! lol

se-alum;708997 wrote:Shocking choice on your part! lol

arent you floored?

But i do agree Nolan Smith is a prettty damn amazing player. Even though I dislike Duke