Beyond the Arc : Player of the Year

Griffin's the OU gift that keeps on giving

Mike Miller — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:48:00 GMT

Blake Griffin may be the best thing that’s ever happened to Oklahoma basketball.

And that’s saying something. It’s not like the Sooners were devoid of hoops history before Griffin arrived on campus in 2007. Waymon Tisdale was a three-time consensus first-team All-American. Billy Tubbs’ 1987-88 squad was one of the sport’s glorious up-tempo teams. Kelvin Sampson led the Sooners to the 2002 Final Four.

John Bazemore/AP

Blake Griffin

Sure, it’ll always be a football school. But coach Jeff Capel says Griffin’s breakout 2008-09 season has helped change all that. Heck, freshman Tiny Gallon said he’d never even heard of OU until Griffin.

Now, Gallon and fellow McDonald’s All-American Tommy Mason-Griffin will help ease the loss of Griffin, the 2009 player of the year and No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. From an AP feature Thursday:

Before Griffin's arrival, Capel said he would get questioned by players, parents and coaches: "How many pros have you guys put out?"

"At the time I didn't have any and our program hadn't had a first-round pick since `88. We had (Eduardo) Najera who was in the NBA, or is in the NBA, but that's it," Capel said. "Now it's another thing to cross off that they can't use, that other people can't use against us."

While Gallon wasn't familiar with Oklahoma when he first met Capel during his junior year of high school, he knew all about Griffin. Eventually, so would everyone else who follows basketball, and Griffin's exploits have been a key example Capel can provide to prospects.

"You can come to Oklahoma and be a national player of the year. You can come to Oklahoma and you can leave school early. You can come and be the face of college basketball," Capel said.

"It is a football school, and people want to use that as a negative, but you can come here and you can do that."

That’s a nice pitch to give to prospective recruits, and one that probably worked for Rick Barnes when he had Kevin Durant.

After all, is it any coincidence that the Longhorns – another football school – are on the shortlist of title contenders this season because they nabbed two impact freshmen just a few years after Durant was player of the year?

Player of the year and permanent recruiting tool? This must be how Carolina uses MJ, only on a smaller scale.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Kansas makes Griffin more valuable than ever

Mike Miller — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:59:00 GMT

Monday erased any lingering doubts about Blake Griffin’s importance to Oklahoma. Back-to-back losses will do that.

Not that the No. 3 Sooners are a lost cause without Griffin. They showed as much during Monday’s 87-78 loss to Kansas. They jumped out to an early lead and when they started to struggle, they showcased an aggressive, pressing defense and even displayed some impressive outside shooting.

But without Griffin, Oklahoma’s merely a good team.

To be fair, No. 15 Kansas (23-5) is one of the nation’s unheralded teams, so it’s not like OU lost to NJIT. The Jayhawks are like the handful of other Final Four hopefuls. They’ve had perplexing losses (UMass) and drubbings (Michigan State), but are capable of surprising consistency and efficient play. A year after losing more than 80 percent of its offense, Kansas is atop the Big 12 with three games remaining.

To call KU a title contender is a stretch, but not a big one. After all, it’s the kind of season where Top 5 teams lose to unranked foes and West Virginia can rank among kenpom.com’s 10 best all season. Come March, it’s anyone’s game.

Including the Sooners’.

Take the start of Monday’s game. Oklahoma opened up a 22-8 lead midway through the first half. Freshman Willie Warren was hitting from the outside, breaking down KU’s guards and the defense had the Jayhawks confused.

But soon enough, OU started missing free throws and turning the ball over. It was clear they missed their main man in the middle. Griffin’s been a stabilizing presence for the Sooners. Has been all season, whether it’s his rebounding (an NCAA-leading 13.8 rpg) or scoring (22.0 ppg). At times, he’s been dominant (40 points, 23 rebounds vs. Texas Tech).

He played just 11 minutes during Oklahoma’s loss to Texas on Saturday. He was a DNP Monday. If anything, the last two games have cemented Griffin’s place as the nation’s best player and probably it’s most valuable. It’ll be interesting to see how he rebounds from his concussion. Will he be as aggressive? As focused? As sharp?

Oklahoma’s title chances depend on him.

MORNING LINKS:

Indeed, that's what Jenni Carlson says the Sooners will start focusing on: The NCAA tournament. Coach Jeff Capel said as much Monday night. "When we’re full strength, we’re as good as anybody in the country. When we get everyone back, I think we’ll be OK. This is just two bumps in the road for us.”

This photo sums up the Sooners' night.

Jason Whitlock says it was Sherron Collins' second-best as a 'Hawk, behind only the national title game. Oh, and that the Sooners can't use Griffin's absence as an excuse. No one "no one is going to remember or care about that when they look at the conference record book." I assume that only applies to KU fans.

Then again, maybe the Jayhawks deserve it. They did lose 6 players and all five starters from a national title team, writes Tom Keegan.

Kansas wouldn't have won with Griffin in the Sooners' lineup, says Jeff Goodman.

Cole Aldridch had one of his finest games without Griffin around. To be fair, Aldrich knows that and just wants Griffin to be healthy again.

Fouls one of only things slowing down Blair

Mike Miller — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:12:00 GMT

DeJuan Blair could be the most crucial post player for a national champ since Sean May.

At the least, Blair is trying to join the likes of Kevin Love, Greg Oden and Glen Davis as big, bruising rebounding machines who helped propel their teams to the Final Four.

But if the Panthers hope to cut down the nets in Detroit come April, May would be the ideal.

Jim Mcisaac/Getty

Monday was a nice start. Blair’s 22 points, 23 rebounds and physical domination of Hasheem Thabeet in a 76-68 win against No. 1 UConn showed Pitt’s sophomore center at his best. He hit turnaround hooks over the 7-3 Thabeet, powered in for lay-ups and even beat opponents along the baseline. It was, according to the Post-Gazette’s Ron Cook, the greatest individual performance in Pitt history.

"Blair is a great, great player, a terrific player, a warrior. He's a man," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said afterward. "When he's allowed to roam through the lane like that and use his physicality, he's a nightmare for every single coach."

There’s little doubt Blair is one of the game’s toughest players. (Ask Thabeet how his left arm feels.) He’s a remarkable rebounder – especially on offense – and an efficient offensive player.

And when he’s in the game, he undoubtedly makes the Panthers a title contender … if he stays out of foul trouble.

Pitt’s two losses this season came when Blair was saddled with early fouls. He played just 20 minutes (9 points, 10 rebounds) and fouled out in a 69-63 loss at Louisville. Pitt’s 67-57 loss at Villanova the direct result Blair’s sub-par night (7 points, 8 boards in 23 minutes), as the Panthers were outrebounded 19-16 in the second half. That doesn’t happen to the Big East’s top rebounding team.

Blair’s other foul nights include a 56-48 win at Florida State (24 minutes, 10 points, 12 rebounds, a 70-59 win vs. West Virginia (he sat for 16 minutes in the first half, and was limited to 8 points and 9 boards) and a 78-72 win at Rutgers, when he played just 8 minutes.

All three were Panther wins, but all three should’ve been easy victories -- if Blair stays out of foul trouble.

When the Heels won the 2005 title, May averaged more than 30 minutes a game during their tourney run. Pitt would love to have Blair on the court that much. He’s playing a little over 26 minutes a game this season, including 38 minutes against UConn.

His foul total in 38 minutes? Two.

That’s gotta put a smile on Jamie Dixon’s face.

Calhoun's case for Thabeet

Mike Miller — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:48:00 GMT

The setup: Connecticut’s ranked No. 1. The Huskies (21-1) just dismantled No. 5 Louisville on the road, prompting some to wonder if the merry-go-round atop the rankings is over. They’re balanced, experienced, efficient on offense and defense and figure to a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.

The question: If UConn is the nation’s best team, should its best player garner Player of the Year talk?

Coach Jim Calhoun said as much about center Hasheem Thabeet after UConn’s win against Louisville, and reiterated his stance later.

"No one would ever consider that maybe on a team that's 21-1 there's a guy in the middle who has a lot to do with that," Calhoun said.

It’s a fair argument, too. (And usually works when discussing the Heisman candidates.) We can focus on Thabeet’s less-than-impressive stats – 13 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4 blocks a game – or look at his impact to UConn’s defense.

He’s like most great shot blockers – even if he doesn’t swat the shot, he intimidates foes, alters shots, forces opponents into bad decisions or turnovers, etc. Against Louisville, Thabeet didn’t allow a point when he was the primary defender.

I’d say that’s worth Player of the Year discussion.

(Of course, it helps to have a guy like Jeff Adrien to do a lot of the muscle work. They make a dandy low-post tandem.)

Other news and notes

Memphis won its 50^th consecutive Conference USA game on Wednesday, counting the conference tourney. C-USA isn’t the Big East, but 50 games without a loss is impressive no matter what league you’re in. Only two teams have done better. West Virginia (59 straight from 55-60) and Kentucky (64 from 45-50).
Ouch. Firing Dennis Felton will cost Georgia nearly $1.5 million. That’s a lotta dimp.
Bob Kravitz says if Bobby Knight wants the Georgia job, it would be a good fit for the school, Knight and college hoops. Um, no.
Who’s the best scorer in college hoops? Vote!
Another great feature from Dana O’Neil (who else?) about Dayton’s Chris Wright. I think everyone had similar dunking issues in their parent’s house. If he could’ve stayed healthy last year, Dayton may not have missed the Big Dance.
A rundown of Wednesday’s upsets and what they mean for March. With Duke and Wake losing, maybe the ACC isn’t only top heavy.
Seth Davis offers 10 storylines to watch in the second half. He can’t decide on a favorite, though.
Clark Kellogg, his CBS studio counterpart, has six teams in his top tier. Yeah, they’re who you’d expect.
Gotta agree with Gary Parrish, though. Beware the Spartans.
Watch out for the Spartans, says Gary Parrish.
Pat Summitt’s snagged win No. 1,000 on Thursday. Here’s how she got No. 1.

Haven't seen ASU's Harden? Pay attention

Mike Miller — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:43:00 GMT

Old school refrain: The best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores. And sometimes, they become really good sophomores.

Example A: Arizona State’s James Harden.

The 6-foot-5 guard was already one of the nation’s top freshmen last season, averaging 17.8 points per game, which was 8^th best in Pac-10 history. But he was just one of several fabulous freshmen. Even the Pac-10 featured two freshmen in O.J. Mayo and Jerryd Bayless who bested Harden’s scoring average, and another in Kevin love who was the conference’s player of the year.

This season, forget all of that. Harden’s taken his game to another level.

In a season where Steph Curry’s already dropped 44 on two different teams, Blake Griffin is going for nearly 20-20 a game and vying with Luke Harangody and DeJuan Blair as the dominant big men and where Tyler Hansbrough hasn’t even become fully healthy, Harden’s making his own case in the player of the year race.

The raw numbers alone are impressive: 25.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 4.3 apg and nearly 2 steals an outing.

But when you consider that Harden’s Points Per Weighted Shot (1.44) tops beats an efficient low-post beast like Griffin (1.37) and perhaps the nation’s best shooter in Curry (1.3), it’s a tribute to just how much better Harden’s filling it up this season.

Nevermind that Harden’s 67.3 eFG% percentage boggles the mind. Dude scores and few people can stop him. Witness the 40-point night he turned in earlier this season against UTEP.

“Yeah, it’s crazy, because it doesn’t really seem like he’s doing that,” senior Jeff Pendergraph told the East Valley Tribune.

“You’ll just watch and he’ll get a couple buckets, and you’ll be like, 'All right, he has 10. Cool, cool.’ And then he’ll mellow out for a bit, (but) then the next thing I know, I’m looking up at the (scoreboard) and I’m like, 'Yo, is that like 30-something? Are you kidding me? Where the heck did he get 30 points from?’ It’s insane.”

Take Sunday, for instance. Harden didn’t have a field goal for more than 19 minutes, but he still turned in a fine all-around effort of 20 points, nine boards and six assists in an easy win vs. Nebraska. This doesn’t even get into Harden’s defense – which star scorers usually forget to play.

"So many of the good things that happen to us are a function of James,'' ASU coach Herb Sendek said. "Whether he scores or sets the table for one of his teammates, he's really special.''

It makes sense. Harden’s not a brash player and mostly wants to ensure the Sun Devils end their NCAA tournament drought. It shouldn’t be a problem.

They’re off to their second 7-1 start since 1990, but unlike last season’s 14-2 start that resulted in a stumbling finish and a spot in the NIT, ASU should be in the Pac-10 title hunt. UCLA is struggling, while Oregon, Washington State and Arizona don’t have the same firepower from previous seasons.

And if Harden can lead ASU – Arizona State!—to a Pac-10 title, he might just snag some of the national hardware from those guys in Chapel Hill, Davidson, Norman and South Bend.

Curry early leader in player of year race

Mike Miller — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:59:00 GMT

Stephen Curry effectively started the Player of the Year debate Tuesday. Scoring 44 points against the No. 12 team will do that.

It’s an amazing thing, too. Oklahoma keyed on Curry from the start. It didn’t matter. The guy is just good.

Sue Ogrocki/AP

Stephen Curry

Bigger players like Austin Johnson (6-3) and Willie Warren (6-4) checked Davidson’s star guard with moderate success, but like any good scorer, Curry kept shooting. He needed 29 shots to get to 44, but was still awfully effective -- 1.23 PPWS and a 58.6 eFG% -- and even more so when one considers the Sooners’ defense.

Still, Davidson lost. And part of the reason Curry emerged as such a superstar last March is because the Wildcats pulled off big win after big win. Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin all went down with Curry leading the way. Davidson needs to pull off an upset against BCS schools like West Virginia, Purdue and Duke for Curry to beat out guys like Tyler Hansbrough, Luke Harangody and Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin (who’s averaging 23 and 19 in three games).

To be sure, he’ll be in the mix. He may well lean the nation in scoring. But Curry needs some marquee wins to go with his stellar shooting.

Onto the news from Wednesday.

North Carolina lost a Tyler for the season. Freshman Tyler Zeller could be out 4 months because of a fractured wrist. Breakout time for Deon Thompson.
Reaction to the Tar Heels’ demolition of Kentucky. Yes, there’s a long way to go, but there’s also reason to remain optimistic. A Sea of Blue agrees (to a point).
Does anyone else think Loyola’s coach overreacted a little bit?
Jim Calhoun is a little concerned about his guard play against a zone without A.J. Price in the lineup. Me too.
If that’s not enough to worry the Huskies, Pitt may have a star in the making in JUCO transfer Jermaine Dixon.
When Southern Illinois plays Duke in the Coaches vs. Cancer semis, coach Chris Lowery wants to ensure his team isn’t “in awe” of the Devils. Turns out Lowery was just that when he was part of the Salukis in a 1993 NCAA tournament loss.
Even as a one-year player, Thad Matta says he’d recruit Greg Oden again. Duh. The Buckeyes won 35 and were national runner-ups. I’d take that bet, too.
The NCAA announced sites for the next six NCAA tournaments, starting in 2012: New Orleans, Atlanta, Arlington, Indianapolis and Houston. For some reason, the photo on the Arlington link makes me laugh.

Beasley, Hansbrough in two-man PoY race

Mike Miller — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:11:00 GMT

Plenty of opinions accompany the Player of the Year race. Yet, there’s rarely little disagreement when all the awards are handed out.

This isn’t one of those seasons.

Much like the J.J. Redick-Adam Morrison debate in 2005 (they shared the Wooden and Naismith awards but Redick won everything else), or when T.J. Ford (Naismith, Wooden), David West (AP, USBWA, Rupp) and Nick Collison (Coaches) split the six major awards in 2003, I doubt there’ll be a consensus when it comes to deciding between Michael Beasley and Tyler Hansbrough this season.

(Kevin Love, D.J. Augustin and D.J. White aren’t more prominent in the discussion, I don’t know. They’re all in Jeff Goodman’s top 7, yet the focus is on Hansbrough and Beasley. Do your part and cast your vote here.)

Let’s compare.

Beasley’s ridonkulous season – 26.7 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 54 percent shooting, including hitting on 40 percent of his 3s – is better than Kevin Durant’s remarkable freshman season when he took every postseason award. Beasley currently leads the nation in rebounding and is third in scoring; Durant was fourth in both last season. And, like Durant, Beasley’s only going to be around one season, which adds to his mystique.

Consider the star freshmen from past seasons. Beasley stacks up against Mark Aguirre (24.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg), Carmelo Anthony (22.2 ppg, 10 rpg), Chris Jackson (30.2 ppg), Bernard King (26.4 ppg, 12.3 rpg) and Waymon Tisdale (24.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg), though Anthony won a title and Aguirre went to the Final Four. And he equals previous PoYs like Durant, Andrew Bogut (20.7 ppg, 12.3 rpg), Jameer Nelson (20 ppg, 5.4 apg) and Redick (27.4 ppg).

But if it were all about stats, Keydren Clark, Jason Conley or Rueben Douglas would have awards on their shelves.

And this is where Hansbrough comes into play, because a Player of the Year should play for an elite team, if not the nation’s best team.

That’s Beasley’s biggest hinderance. Consider Durant’s on-court results. Last year at this time, Texas was 22-8 overall, 12-4 in Big 12 play and ranked 15^th in the AP poll. K-State (19-10, 9-6) is toying with the bubble and that hurts Beasley’s perception with the voters.

Meanwhile, Hansbrough (23.3 ppg, 10.4 rpg) is the focal point of the nation’s No. 1 team. The Heels (27-2) have dealt with injuries to guards Ty Lawson and Bobby Frasor, yet Hansbrough – a player that endures more punishment than any other NCAA player – has ensured they’re still a title contender. Without Lawson, UNC was 6-1 and Hansbrough averaged 28.5 and 10.3 a game.

Plus, he impresses every onlooker by playing harder than anyone this side of KG, which is one of the main reasons why he’s SI.com’s pick for PoY. Well, that and everything else I just wrote about.

The funny thing is, all of that also describes the nation’s other premier post player, Kevin Love.

As John Gasaway pointed out last week, Love’s numbers are just as good, if not better than Hansbrough’s. Not the basic numbers (17.3 ppg, 11.1 rpg), but his tempo-free stats, which give us a better measurement of his overall value to the Bruins.

Off. Def. Off.

Rtng. FTRate eFG pct. Reb. Pct. Reb. Pct. %Poss.

Hansbrough 127.5 79.8 55.8 20.6 12.6 26.6

Love 127.3 74.1 61.2 30.5 17.0 27.5

Beasley 120.4 47.9 57.7 29.3 14.5 33.0

Love scores as efficiently, rebounds better and his eFG is stellar. He carried the Bruins to start the season while point guard Darren Collison nursed an injury. Love’s not UCLA’s flashiest player (see: Westbrook, Russell), but he’s their most important when it comes to title considerations.

If Hansbrough gets extra credit for UNC’s record, why wouldn’t Love? He’s just as crucial for the third-ranked Bruins (26-3).

So why no Love? He hasn’t been on ESPN a bazillion times like Hansbrough (Fox’s regional coverage doesn’t hit homes like ESPN) and doesn’t doesn’t have overwhelming stats or make NBA scouts drool like Beasley. It’s strange to think a UCLA player deserves more attention, yet it’s true.

If the awards were given out after the tournament, Love could very well snag a couple with a UCLA Final Four run. He’ll simply have to settle for All-America honors. PoY awards are going to be between Hansbrough and Beasley.

My guess is Beasley takes a couple (AP and Rupp seem likely), while UNC’s record and Hansbrough’s name recognition probably give him the Wooden, Naismith and coaches’ awards.

Frankly, it’s a Clinton-Obama situation. You can’t really go wrong choosing either one, but someone’s gonna pull ahead. And it’s not gonna make everyone happy. Me, I’m going with Love.