BIG XII & Big East Awards

BIG 12:

Halfway through conference play and once again the road to a Big 12 championship runs through Lawrence. After a split with the ISU Cyclones the Kansas Jayhawks lead the Big 12 with a 8-2 record and a game lead over the Cyclones. Besides ISU there are three other teams within two games of first place.

Player of the Year: 

Buddy Heild (Jr. - Oklahoma) – 19.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg

One of the best pure scorers in college basketball, Heild has turned his game up lately as the Sooners have won five in a row and moved into second place after a big win against Iowa State. The athletic wing also averages 1.6 steals per game and leads the conference making 2.7 threes per game in addition to his league leading 19.5 points per game which is almost three points higher than the next closer player.

All Conference Team: 

Georges Niang (Jr. - Iowa State) – 14.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.1 apg

Mr. Consistency. Georges Niang has been very reliable as the Cyclones have won three of their last five to take third place in the conference after a 94-83 loss to Oklahoma. Despite having his worst game against Oklahoma, Niang scored 20 points twice go along with 19 against Texas in Iowa State’s latest run.

Perry Ellis (Sr. - Kansas) – 12.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg

As the Jayhawks have won 5 of 6 to wrest control of the Big 12 Perry Ellis and Frank Mason III have been there to lead the very balanced Jayhawks. In a big win over ISU last week Ellis went for 17 points, six boards, and four assists He then put up a double-double as KU was upset on the road by Oklahoma St.

Rico Gathers (Jr. - Baylor) – 10.7 ppg, 13.3 rpg

Mr. Gathers is a beast. Looking more like a NFL defensive lineman the junior for Baylor has owned the boards and started scoring more than in past years. In the Bear’s current three game win streak he has pulled down 15, 17, and 16 rebounds to go with two double-doubles. He is first in the Big 12 in rebounding at 13.3 per game and he is also second in the country with 12.6 overall.

Juwan Staten (Sr. – West Virginia) - 11.9 ppg, 4.7 apg

Staten has continued to be the top performer for Bob Huggins’ surprising Mountaineers. The team has dropped two in a row which erased them from the polls and will need Staten to lead his team to wins in order to keep his spot on the first team.

On the Verge – Monte Morris (So. – Iowa St.), Devin Williams (So. – West Virginia), Le’Bryan Nash (Sr. Oklahoma State), Ryan Spangler (Jr. – Oklahoma), Kenny Chery (Sr. - Baylor), Frank Mason III (So. – Kansas)

Freshman of the Year:

Myles Turner (Texas) – 9.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.9 blocks/Kelly Oubre (Kansas) – 9ppg, 5.5 rpg

The two potential top 10 picks in the upcoming NBA draft have both flashed the potential scouts love but have been inconsistent which has driven fans of their respective teams crazy. In Kansas’ last game, Oubre had only 1 point and 3 rebounds but in the game in the big win over Iowa State Oubre went 16, 5 boards, and 3 assists. Similarly, Turner hasn’t been able to consistently perform up to expectations. He hasn’t broken double-digits in his last three outings but he does lead the conference at 2.9 blocks per game.

Big East:

As we pass the halfway mark in conference play no team has stepped up to separate themselves from their conference foes. Villanova is leading the pack a half game up on Butler. Only two other teams having winning conference records but eight of the ten teams in the conference are battling for NCAA tournament berths. Similar to their teams, no player has distinguished themselves last year, like Dougie McBuckets and Bryce Cotton did last year. Check below for the first team all-conference players.

Player of the Year:

Kris Dunn (So. - Providence) – 17.2 ppg, 8.1 apg, 6.8 rbg

Kris Dunn is the most complete player in the Big East. As a PG, he is partially judged by wins and losses and he has led the Friars to the third place record in the conference, 1.5 games behind Villanova. In addition to winning, Dunn continues to put up big numbers. In a win against Georgetown last week, Dunn had 12 points and 9 rebounds while throwing in 6 steals. He leads the league in assists and steals, is 5^th in scoring, and 4^th in rebounding.

All Conference Team: 

Roosevelt Jones (Jr. – Butler) – 15.2 ppg, 5.5 rbs, 3 apg

The surprising Bulldogs have been led by the combination of Jones and Kellan Dunham. The 8-3 Butler squad went 2-0 this week to jump into second place. Jones averaged 17 per game in the two wins. Roosevelt is 8^th in scoring, 9^th in assists while also throwing in 1 block per game.

LaDontae Henton (Sr. - Providence) – 23.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg

Part of Providence’s dynamic duo, Henton has been on the receiving end on a lot of the Kris Dunn assists. The highly skilled wing leads the conference in scoring pouring in 20.8 per game in conference. Henton shoots the three well making 2.8 a game in conference play and also chips in nearly 6 boards. He averaged 20 a game in a 1-1 week in a tough road trip at Georgetown and Xavier.

Ryan Arcidiacono (Jr. - Villanova) – 12.9 ppg, 3.6 apg, 1.0 spg

“Arch” as he’s known to fans is one of three or four guys from the balanced Villanova team deserving consideration for this spot. Arch has a 2.1/1 Assists to turnover ratio and has been very consistent in leading the top ten ranked Wildcats. As he’s recovered from a wrist injury Ryan has tightened up his three point stroke and is now shooting 47% in conference from distance.

Sterling Gibbs (Jr. - Seton Hall) – 18.7 ppg, 4.6 apg

Gibbs, like the Pirates, has struggled over the past two weeks. A big game coming up for the Pirates this week when they play another team headed in the wrong direction, the Hoyas of Georgetown. The hall welcomed back Isaiah Whitehead last week and hope he can work with Gibbs to address some of the offensive issues challenging the Hall. Gibbs has been the one bright spot for the Pirates – putting up 18.5 per game last week to go along with 4 steals.

On the Verge –D’vauntes Smith-Rivera (Jr. - Georgetown), Rysheed Jordan (So. - St. John’s), Darrun Hilliard (Sr. – Villanova)

Freshman of the Year:

Angel Delgado (Seton Hall) – 9.6 ppg, 10.1 rbg,

Delgado has seen his rebounding drive his offense, as the Pirates have struggled integrating him. In response, Delgado has increased his energy and focus on rebounding; contributing more put backs while shooting 56% from the floor. 

Big East & Big XII (Through 1/26/15)

Big East:

We are over a third of the way through the conference play and things are very exciting in the Big East. 6 of the 10 teams are within two games of first place. That doesn't even include St. John’s who was looking like a NCAA team until they started 1-4 in conference. With all of these teams bunched up the battle for player of the year and first-team all-Big East are competitive and very fluid. Expect this list to change on a weekly basis. (Conference stats listed below as of 1/26)

Player of the Year:

Kris Dunn (So. - Providence) – 16.6 ppg, 8.6 apg, 7.0 rbg

Kris Dunn is the straw that stirs the drink for the 5-2 Friars. After fighting off injuries for the first two years Dunn is finally living up to the expectations he had as a top recruit. Dunn leads the league in assists, is 5^th in scoring, 6^th in rebounding, and contributes 2.0 steals per game, which is 2^nd in Big East play. He also dominated OT, outscoring the Georgetown Hoyas by himself, in a win against the first place squad earlier in the season.

All Conference Team: 

Roosevelt Jones (Jr. – Butler) – 16.5 ppg, 6.5 rbg, 2.9 apg

Jones has done a good job returning from being red-shirt last year to lead Butler along with Kellan Dunham. He went for 28 in a last second loss to Georgetown last week. Jones is 4^th in the conference in scoring, 10^th in rebounding and 11^th in assists for the 5-3 Bulldogs.

LaDontae Henton (Sr. - Providence) – 23.4 ppg, 6.3 rbg

Henton has been on the receiving end on a lot of the Kris Dunn assists. The highly skilled wing leads the conference in scoring pouring in over 23 a game. Henton shoots the three well making 2.6 a game in conference play. LaDontae has been a workhorse in Big East play for Ed Cooley, averaging 39.6 minutes per game.

Ryan Arcidiacono (Jr. - Villanova) – 12.0 ppg, 4.6 apg

“Arch” as he’s known to fans is one of three or four guys from Villanova deserving consideration for this spot. The guard leads the top-ten Wildcats in assists and is their second leading scoring.

Sterling Gibbs (Jr. - Seton Hall) – 17.6 ppg, 3.9 apg

Gibbs is the best player on the surprisings Pirates. He leads the team in scoring that is still breaking in two big-time freshman, Isaiah Whitehead – who will be returning from injury soon, and Angel Delgado.

On the Verge –D’vauntes Smith-Rivera (Jr. - Georgetown), D’Angelo Harrison (Sr. - St. John’s), Darrun Hilliard (Sr. – Villanova)

Freshman of the Year:

Angel Delgado (Seton Hall) – 10.4 ppg, 10.6 rbg,

Delgado has been a workhorse for the Pirates, averaging a double-double in conference play. He’s been particularly tough on the offensive glass, where he leads the conference with three per game. Seton Hall is on a three game conference losing streak, but Delgado went for 19 points and 19 rebounds against DePaul last Thursday.

On the Verge – Isaac Copeland (Georgetown) – After going scoreless in an overtime loss to Providence on January 10, Copeland has been steadily improving. Eight points in a win at DePaul, followed up by a game winning three against Butler and then 17 points and 6 rebounds against both Villanova and Marquette on 12-18 shooting.  

BIG 12:

A balanced conference with 6 ranked teams and 6 teams sporting a conference record of .500 or better. As Kansas proved this weekend in Austin, the road to the regular season goes through Lawrence until proven otherwise. Iowa State staked their claim to with a win over the Jayhawks in front of a raucous crowd, but then fell in Lubbock to a winless Texas Tech squad. The conference’s strength and balance was shown when West Virginia, Texas, and Oklahoma took turns beating each other by 20.

POY: 

Buddy Heild (Jr. - Oklahoma) – 21.4 ppg, 6.1 rbg,

One of the best pure scorers in college basketball, Heild leads a potent Sooners attack and has poured in over 20 in 5 of 6 conference games. Buddy scored 27 without missing a shot from the field in a win over OSU and then followed that up with 26 points in a close loss at Kansas. The athletic wing also averages 1.4 steals per game.

All Conference Team: 

Monte Morris (So. Iowa State) – 10 ppg, 4.2 rbg, 6.3 apg

Morris has stepped right in to fill the big shoes left by the Deandre Kane, the Cyclones do everything point guard from last year. Morris leads the conference in assists with 6.3 per game while also averaging 10 points and over 4 boards per contest. He had a double-double in a big win over Kansas.

Devin Williams (West Virginia) – 13.5 ppg, 9.3 rbg

The big man who does the dirty work for Coach Huggin’s squad has really stepped his game up this year. The bruiser has his best game last week against Iowa State when he had 14 points and ripped down 15 boards for the surprising Mountaineers.

Georges Niang (Jr. - Iowa State) – 12.5 ppg, 5.2 rbg, 2.8 apg

Mr. Consistency, Niang is been very reliable and had his best game of the conference season against Kansas, leading the Cyclones with 15 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists. The stretch-4, Niang is also averaging two made 3's per game.

Myles Turner (Texas) – 10.8 ppg, 7 rpg, 3 blocks (Freshman of the Year)

The imposing freshman center with three point range just keeps getting better. He had an impressive game against Oklahoma St. with 18 points and 5 blocks while also going 4-4 from three. He struggled to get touches on the offensive end in a home loss to Kansas, but he still recorded 5 blocks before fouling out.  

On the Verge – Kelly Oubre (Fr. - Kansas), Marcus Foster (So. - Kansas State), Le’Bryan Nash (Sr. Oklahoma State) 

Follow Dan Russo on twitter at DanRusso13.