Yahoo! Sports has named John Wall their National Player of the Year. The John Wall/Evan Turner (Ohio St.) debate will be a big one, but Wall wins the first battle.
Wall and Demarcus Cousins were both also named Yahoo! Sports First Team All-Americans, along with Evan Turner, Oklahoma State’s James Anderson, and Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds.
Congrats to Wall and Boogie. We've had 11 month for the whole "Coach Cal Experience" to sink in, and at times it still seems surreal. Any time you get two 1st team All Americans on the same squad then you've got a very special team. But putting it in perspective and looking back on what shape the UK basketball program was in from 2005-2008, it's just unreal. From Mark Coury and Michael Porter to John Wall and Demarcus Cousins...wow.
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Down the stretch they come, it’s a two-man race between Ohio States Evan Turner and Kentucky’s John Wall.
ReplyDeleteOn stats alone, Evan is the man. As a matter of fact, Turner is on the brink of putting together one of the greatest stat lines in recent college basketball history. Turner stands tall with 19.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. If he can boost those rebounds up a few tenths, we can round Turner’s totals up to a 20/10/5 season. While missing the easy portion of the Buckeyes schedule with a broken back.
A lot big time college players, like 2009’s player of the year Blake Griffin (22.7/14.4/2.3), put up giant numbers in two of the big three categories, but few have delivered across the board like Turner. Compare Turner’s stats to a few legends. Tim Duncan almost got to 20/10/5 (20.8/14.7/3.2). Jason Kidd made a run at it in his sophomore year (16.7/6.9/9.1). Turner’s stats look a little like another oversized Big Ten point guard, Magic Johnson (17.1/7.3/8.4).
When you put Turners stats against John Wall’s (16.7/4.1/6.2), Evan Turner’s game appears as well-rounded as your average. Plus, his turnover numbers are lower as well. Another question in reference to Walls is the fact he may not be the best player on his team. Cousin's has the skills and size to become the better pro prospect, but a weathered attitude haunts him.
Turner is a numbers monster, no doubt. But here's a few things to remember...
ReplyDelete1. Turner does more because he has to. Wall is surrounded by much superior talent.
2. Wall has more turnovers because being the point guard, the ball is in his hands more. Plus Kentucky's up tempo style will naturally cause them to make more mistakes. More fast breaks = more turnovers.
I can't wait to watch Turner in the Big Dance and see what he can do. Haven't really got a chance to watch him play yet this season.
Let's talk about how Kentucky swept the SEC Awards, but Stallings gets COY...
ReplyDeleteDidn't really understand the COY result, Kentucky went from 22-14 to 29-2, ranked 2nd nationally and winning the SEC. Vanderbilt is what we thought they would be this season, a top 25 team, no one has an argument against Calipari in the SEC, period. Nationally, however, Boeheim makes as strong of an argument as Cal for that award.
ReplyDeleteCal not getting SEC-COY was a joke.
ReplyDelete