Now that conference play has been going on for three weeks in a row it is time to come up with Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and All-Conference teams for the BCS conferences. This first post highlights the PAC-12, which finally has its talent level back up after a few down years (minus USC and Washington State), the Big East, Big 12, and ACC. The Big East and Big 12 picks were compiled by Dan Russo. A Big East junkie and Hoya die-hard can be found @DanRusso13.
PAC-12 POY and All Conference
POY:
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| Cobbs has led Cal to a 5-0 start |
Justin
Cobbs (California) – No one expected Cal to go 5-0
to start conference play, especially with three road games right off the bat.
One of the primary reasons for the hot start is due to the play of senior guard
Justin Cobbs. The 6’4” guard started PAC-12 play off with 18 points and 5
assists against Stanford including some clutch jump-shots down the stretch.
Three weeks later he still hasn’t cooled off and recently went for 16 points, 7
assists, and 5 rebounds in a blowout win over Washington. So far through five
games, Cobbs is averaging 17 points, 7.4 assists, and 4 rebounds per game.
First Team:
Nick Johnson (Arizona) –
It was admittedly hard to give Cobbs the nod over Nick Johnson, the best player
on the top team in the country. So far in conference play, the high-rising
shooting guard is averaging 17.2 points per game including a 22 point
performance on the road against UCLA. In the past three games, Johnson has hit
three 3’s in each contest and is shooting 40.7% from behind the line.
Kyle
Anderson (UCLA) – Slo-mo is averaging 18 points,
9.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists through five PAC-12 games, easily the best stat
line in the conference. In a close loss at Utah on Saturday, the 6’9 guard /
wing went for 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists while knocking in five three
pointers. The sophomore has drastically improved his scoring and play-making
abilities in his second year under Steve Alford and could easily move up the
ladder in the PAC-12 rankings over the next few weeks.
Delon
Wright (Utah) – The 6’5” junior guard, along
with Jordan Loveridge is a main
reason the Utah Utes sit 3-3 in league play. So far the versatile California
native is averaging 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. His
top game came in a two point loss at Washington when he scored almost half of
his team’s points and finished with 27 on 10-17 shooting and 11 rebounds. The
Utes three losses have come by a combined seven points including a two point
loss to Oregon in overtime to start the season.
Chasson
Randle (Stanford) and Chris Wilcox (Washington) –
It was hard to choose between the two talented scorers so for now both of them sit
on the PAC-12 first team. As a junior, Randle is the leading scorer in PAC-12
play with 21.4 points per game including a 30 point performance against Oregon
State and a 33 point performance against Washington where he went 11-15.
Meanwhile, Wilcox has led Washington to a 3-3 record including an upset win
over Arizona State to start the season. The Huskies were projected to be among
the worst teams in the conference but Wilcox has averaged 18.2 points and 4.2
rebounds through six games including a conference high 16 three’s.
Freshman of the Year:
Aaron
Gordon (Arizona) - While there are talented
freshmen in the PAC-12 including Zach
LaVine and Nigel Williams-Goss
it is Aaron Gordon who has been the best through five games. The high flying
forward is averaging 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and has been one of
the top defenders for the Wildcats. Gordon has not hit a three in conference
play so far; however the future NBA lotto pick has shot over 50% from the floor
in three out of five games. It will take a strong effort to unseat Gordon from
this spot during the year.
Big
East POY and All-Conference
POY:
Doug
McDermott (Creighton) – McDermott had Creighton rolling until they
got blasted by Providence. He is averaging over 25 points/game in 6 BE
games and nearly 7 rebounds. He’s the engine that drives the 5-1 Bluejays and
is a consensus first team All-American and favorite for national player of the
year.
First
Team:
Bryce Cotton (Providence) – Cotton has been
arguably the best player in the Big East since conference play began. He’s led
the Friars to a surprising 3-2 mark including an upset win over Creighton.
Cotton had 23 and 6 assists in that win and is averaging nearly 23 points, 4.5
boards and is leading the conference with 6.4 assists per game in conference.
Semaj Christon (Xavier) – Christon has
been the leader for the 3rd place Musketeers 1/3 of the way through
the conference season. He leads the team in scoring and assists in BE
play, averaging 20.5 and 5 assists, including back to back 27 and 28 point
outbursts against Marquette and Creighton.
JayVaughn Pinkston (Villanova) – The best team in
the conference, and one of the best in the country has to be represented,
right? Pinkston is the leader of a deep, talented Wildcat team. He’s led the
team to a 6-0 Big East start, averaging 16 and 6 in conference play while also
chipping in two assists and over a steal and a block per game.
D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Georgetown) – DSR has led a
less talented Hoyas team to a 3-3 start, good enough for 5th place
in the conference, although they’ve blown double-digit second half leads their
last two games. Smith-Rivera is averaging 18.7 points in conference play and
the guard is also averaging 5.5 boards and 2.8 assists.
Freshman
of the Year:
Josh
Hart (Villanova) –
In a somewhat down year for freshman in the Big East, Hart has provided scoring
punch and tough D off the bench for the Wildcats. The freshman from the DC area
has picked his game up of late, averaging over 11.5 points and 4.5 boards per
game.
Big 12 POY and All-Conference
POY:
Marcus
Smart (Oklahoma St.) – Smart was the pre-season player of the
year and so far has lived up to the billing. He’s averaged 19.5 points, 9
boards, 6 assists, and 2.5 steals per game in conference play. Though the Pokes
are only 3-2 Smart has put up big numbers in both wins and losses, nearly
totaling a triple-double in a two point loss to Kansas with 16 points 10
boards, and 9 assists. It will be a tight race all season with Smart and some
of the other guys on this list for conference POY.
First
Team:
Joel
Embiid (Kansas) – Embiid is the best NBA prospect in the
country. Coming into the year he was all prospect with limited expectations for
the season. Embiid has crushed those expectations and been the most dominant
big in the country. He completely dominated Oklahoma St. nearly putting up a
triple double 13 points, 11 boards, and 8 blocks. Kansas is (as usual) in first
in the Big 12 behind Embiid, who is averaging 11.5 points, 9 boards, and 4
blocks per game.
Deandre
Kane (Iowa State) – Kane has been putting up monster numbers
for the Fred Hoiberg and the Cyclones averaging over 20 points to go with 6.6
boards, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in conference play. Iowa State shot out hot out
of the gate but a tweaked ankle to Kane has played a role in the teams’ three
game losing streak. As Kane gets healthier expect to see ISU turn it around.
Buddy
Hield (Oklahoma) – Hield has led surprising Oklahoma to a
3-2 start including wins over Baylor and Iowa State who were both top-15 teams
at the time. Hield has averaged 18.5 points and over 5.5 boards to lead a
strong trio of Sooners along with Ryan Spangler and Cameron Clark.
Juwan
Staten (WVU) – There were very few expectations for the
Mountaineers entering the season. Staten has led them to a surprising 2-3
record so far and so far in conference play is averaging nearly 20 points, 6
boards, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. As their schedule gets more
difficult it will be hard for Staten to keep his spot on this list so
Mountaineer fans better enjoy it while they can.
Freshman
of the Year:
Joel
Embiid (Kansas) – It was teammate Andrew Wiggins who was
the top recruit in the country and the pre-season All-American pick however it
has been Embiid who has been improving each game. Scouts were enamored with
Embiid at the Adidas Nations in August and now their General Managers have
their eye on Embiid as the number one pick.
ACC POY and All-Conference
POY:
Lamar
Patterson (Pittsburgh) – Despite the loss to Syracuse, Patterson has been
playing the best of anyone in the ACC with his 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and
4.3 assists per game. The Panthers are out to a surprising 4-1 record led by
Patterson’s all-around play. The physical senior guard has a 123.4 ORTG, but
the ACC schedule gets tougher from here on out.
First
Team:
CJ
Fair (Syracuse) – The
top player for the top team in the conference is averaging 15 points and 6.4
rebounds per game and is a match-up problem for all ACC foes. Neck and neck
with Patterson for Player of the Year Fair can easily overtake him over the
next few weeks.
K.J. McDaniels (Clemson) – The Tigers are
one of the few teams to in the country to pull a monumental upset and then
follow that up with a win on the road. Not much was expected from the Tigers
but so far they are 4-1 in the ACC and led by McDaniels. The 6’6” junior is
averaging 16.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
Tyler Ennis (Syracuse) – In a tight game
against Pittsburgh, Ennis scored back to back baskets to ice the game between
undefeated ACC foes. So far the freshman is averaging 12.2 points, 5.8 assists,
and 2.6 steals per game in conference play to go along with a 4.1 assist to
turnover ratio. After his senior season, Ennis was considered the fifth best
point guard in his class but so far he has easily been the best freshman in the
country.
Rodney Hood (Duke) – The leading scorer
in ACC play is averaging just a tad under 20 points a game. A deadly three
point shooter from the wing started conference play with three straight 20+
point games, but has tailed off in the last two Duke wins.
Freshman
of the Year:
Tyler Ennis (Syracuse) – Ennis has a stranglehold
as the top freshmen in ACC play, especially with Jabari Parker’s struggles in ACC
play. There is plenty of time for the pre-season freshman of the year to get
out of his slump and he might have started to do just that with a 23 point
performance against N.C. State, but is still shooting just 35% from the field.
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