jon scheyer

NCAA Basketball Tournament: Top 65 Players

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:16:53 -0800

Based loosely on the quarterly Collegehoops.net Top 100, I rank the 65 best players in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. This is not a fantasy stats ranking, although many of the players listed put up monster numbers. This is also not an evaluation based on pro talent-level, but a ranking of the best players right now. This was such a tough list to narrow down, there were about 20 other guys not listed who seemed awfully close.

Let the debates begin..

*The list will be updated if a player on a projected team included here doesn't make it..

#	Player	School	YR	Pos.	PPG	RPG	APG
1	John Wall	Kentucky	FR	G	17	4	6
2	Evan Turner	Ohio State	JR	F	20	9	6
3	DeMarcus Cousins	Kentucky	FR	F	16	10	1
4	James Anderson	Oklahoma St	JR	G	23	6	2
5	Sherron Collins	Kansas	SR	G	15	2	4
6	Scottie Reynolds	Villanova	SR	G	19	3	3
7	Da'Sean Butler	West Virginia	SR	F	17	6	3
8	Wesley Johnson	Syracuse	JR	G	16	9	2
9	Greg Monroe	Georgetown	SO	F	16	10	4
10	Greivis Vasquez	Maryland	SR	G	20	5	6
11	Jon Scheyer	Duke	SR	G	19	4	5
12	Luke Harangody	Notre Dame	SR	F	23	10	2
13	Cole Aldrich	Kansas	JR	C	11	10	1
15	Jordan Crawford	Xavier	SO	G	20	5	3
14	Kalin Lucas	Michigan St	JR	G	15	2	4
16	Al-Farouq Aminu	Wake Forest	SO	F	16	11	1
17	Kyle Singler	Duke	JR	F	17	7	2
18	Damion James	Texas	SR	F	18	10	1
19	Jerome Randle	California	SR	G	19	2	5
20	Jacob Pullen	Kansas St	JR	G	19	3	4
21	Darington Hobson	New Mexico	JR	F	16	9	5
22	Patrick Patterson	Kentucky	JR	F	15	8	1
23	Trevon Hughes	Wisconsin	SR	G	15	5	3
24	JaJuan Johnson	Purdue	JR	F/C	15	7	1
25	Ekpe Udoh	Baylor	JR	G	13	10	3
26	Trevor Booker	Clemson	SR	C	15	8	3
27	E'Twaun Moore	Purdue	JR	G	17	4	3
28	Jimmer Fredette	BYU	JR	G	21	3	5
29	Gordon Hayward	Butler	SO	G	16	9	2
30	Omar Samhan	St. Mary's	SR	G	22	11	1
31	Quincy Pondexter	Washington	SR	F	20	8	2
32	Lazar Hayward	Marquette	SR	F	18	8	2
33	Randy Culpepper	UTEP	JR	G	18	3	2
34	Kevin Anderson	Richmond	JR	G	18	3	3
35	Aubrey Coleman	Houston	SR	G	26	8	3
36	Matt Bouldin	Gonzaga	SR	G	16	5	4
37	Austin Freeman	Georgetown	JR	G	17	4	2
38	Donald Sloan	Texas A&M	SR	G	18	4	2
39	LaceDarius Dunn	Baylor	JR	G	19	5	2
40	Andy Rautins	Syracuse	SR	G	12	3	5
41	Ashton Gibbs	Pittsburgh	SO	G	16	3	2
42	Samardo Samuels	Louisville	SO	C	15	7	1
43	Nolan Smith	Duke	SO	G	18	3	3
44	Xavier Henry	Kansas	FR	G	14	4	2
45	AJ Ogilvy	Vanderbilt	JR	C	14	6	1
46	Gani Lawal	Georgia Tech	JR	F	14	9	0
47	Derrick Favors	Georgia Tech	FR	C	12	8	1
48	Tweety Carter	Baylor	SR	G	16	6	3
49	Denis Clemente	Kansas St	SR	G	16	4	2
50	Jahmar Young	New Mexico St	FR	G	21	3	4
51	Ryan Wittman	Cornell	SR	F	18	4	2
52	Keith Benson	Oakland	JR	C	17	11	1
53	Tre'Von Willis	UNLV	JR	G	18	3	4
54	Juan Fernandez	Temple	SO	G	12	4	3
55	Derrick Caracter	UTEP	JR	F	14	8	1
56	Marqus Blakely	Vermont	SR	F	17	9	4
57	Isaiah Thomas	Washington	SO	G	17	4	3
58	Wayne Chism	Tennessee	SR	F	13	7	1
59	CJ McCollum	Lehigh	FR	G	19	5	2
60	Elias Harris	Gonzaga	FR	F	15	7	1
61	Chandler Parsons	Florida	JR	F	12	7	3
62	Jeffrey Taylor	Vanderbilt	SO	F	14	5	2
63	Dexter Pittman	Texas	SR	C	10	6	1
64	Kawhi Leonard	San Diego St	FR	F	13	10	2
64	Kim English	Missouri	SO	G	14	3	1

On The Bubble

Solomon Alabi (Florida St)

Lavoy Allen (Temple)

Alex Franklin (Siena)

Anthony Johnson (Montana)

Gerald Lee (Old Dominion)

Jon Leuer (Wisconsin)

Shelvin Mack (Butler)

Ishmael Smith (Wake Forest)

Erving Walker (Florida)

Tai Wesley (Tai Wesley)

Agree/Disagree? Who do you think belongs on the list?

Mocking the 2010 Tournament:: 40+ Funny Nicknames

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:12:16 -0800

Everyone loves a good nickname. But real nicknames are often boring. Gody? Cuz? Yawn. So instead, I present to you funny/lame nicknames for 40 of the top players in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Some of these reference pop culture, politics, and sports history. For others, it helps to know a little bit about the player or the team he plays for. Others are just plain ridiculous.. Enjoy!

Mocking the Tournament: 40+ NCAA Tournament Nicknames

Cole Aldrich (Kansas): "RoboCop"

Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest): "The Dunkin' Deacon"

James Anderson (Oklahoma St): "The Sundance Kid"

Trevor Booker (Clemson): "The Librarian"

Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga): "A1 Bouldin"

Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia): "Oops, I did it again"

Aubrey Coleman (Houston): "Stomp"*
* I had to go there

Sherron Collins (Kansas): Sher"ron Jeremy" Collins

DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky): "DeMan-Child"

Jordan Crawford (Xavier): "LeBron Who?"

LaceDarius Dunn (Baylor): "Satin & Lace"

Juan Fernandez (Temple): "Pepe"

Jimmer Fredette (BYU): "Jimmer Thing"

Austin Freeman (Georgetown): "Blood Sugar"

Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh): "The Punked Panther"

Luke Harangody (Notre Dame): "Goat Boy"

Gordon Hayward (Butler): "Hayward Jablome"

Wesley Johnson (Syracuse): "Blade"

Gani Lawal (Georgia Tech): "Lawal and Order"

Kalin Lucas (Michigan St): "Spartacus"

CJ McCollum (Lehigh): "Lord of the Rings"

Greg Monroe (Georgetown): "The Doctrine"

E'Twaun Moore (Purdue): "ET"

AJ Ogilvy (Vanderbilt): "Captain Kangaroo"

Patrick Patterson (Kentucky): "The Forgotten One"

Dexter Pittman (Texas): "The Dump Truck"

Jacob Pullen (Kansas St): Jacob "Stop" Pullen "My Leg"

Jerome Randle (California): Jerome Randle-"El"

Scottie Reynolds (Villanova) "Reynolds Wrap"

Omar Samhan (St Mary's): "Enter Samhan"

Jon Scheyer (Duke): Jon "is so quiet, he couldn't be" Scheyer

Kyle Singler (Duke): "The GunSingler"

Ishmael Smith (Wake Forest): "Call Me"

Isaiah Thomas (Washington): "The GM"

Evan Turner (Ohio St): Evan "Page-" Turner

Greivis Vasquez (Maryland): "Grievance Counselor"

John Wall (Kentucky): "Cool Cat"

Brad Wanamaker (Pittsburgh): Brad Wanamaker-"deal"?

Tai Wesley (Utah St): "Pad-"Tai Wesley

Ekpe Udoh (Baylor): "Bless you"

Make your own. Here are some of the other top players:

Kevin Anderson (Richmond)
Denis Clemente (Kansas St)
Randy Culpepper (UTEP)
Devin Ebanks (West Virginia)
Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech)
Lazar Hayward (Marquette)
Xavier Henry (Kansas)
Darington Hobson (New Mexico)
Trevon Hughes (Wisconsin)
Damion James (Texas)
JaJuan Johnson (Purdue)
Quincy Pondexter (Washington)
Andy Rautins (Syracuse)
Samardo Samuels (Louisville)
Donald Sloan (Texas A&M)
Nolan Smith (Duke)

Feel free to post other nicknames for the players on the list above.

National Player of the Year: Evan Turner Leads the Pack

John P. Wise — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:04:52 -0800

It's March and everyone's talking about college basketball. Is your team on the bubble?

While all the talk is about teams and brackets and seeds, let's not forget about some of the top individual players who hope to lead those squads deep into the NCAA Tournament.

So let's get started with my five leading candidates to win the coveted Naismith Award, which honors the best player in men's college basketball:

+ Evan Turner, Jr, G, Ohio State
No one has as well-rounded a game as Turner, and his effort has been so consistent this year that even a six-game absence in midseason shouldn't keep him from winning this honor. Once he returned from breaking his back, he picked up where he left off, chasing down double-doubles each night out and even recording many near triple-doubles.

Turner leads the Big Ten in scoring (19.5 points per game) and rebounding (9.4), and is second in assists (5.8) and steals (1.8), but did you know he's also fifth in field-goal percentage (.538) and even ninth in blocks (0.9)? Before only playing 39 minutes the last two games, Turner had played all 40 minutes in each of Ohio State's previous three games and has turned the trick nine times overall this year. He is carried the Buckeyes towards a first-place tie in the Big Ten and maybe even a No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed. No player in the country means more to his team than Turner.

The funny thing about Turner is that he seems more of a lock for national player of the year than Big Ten player of the year, as Michigan State's Kalin Lucas continues to get support for the league honor.

+ Sherron Collins, Sr, G, Kansas
Collins is KU's undisputed leader and obviously means a great deal to his team, but if you take him away, the Jayhawks are still dangerous, whereas the Buckeyes wouldn't even be an NIT squad without Turner.

But that shouldn't diminish Collins' candidacy for national honors. He leads the Jayhawks with 15.3 points per game and 4.3 assists, and also, despite playing for a deep team that plays eight guys at least 15 minutes, and another three players about seven minutes each, averages a team-best 32.8 minutes per game.

Late in a tight game, you want Collins on the line. He makes 84 percent of his free throws and is a proven winner. Kansas is 119-18 in Collins' four years at point guard.

+ John Wall, Fr, G, Kentucky
No one in the country is more electrifying than Wall, and many expect him to be the first player taken in the NBA draft in June. But he still has some work to do before leaving Lexington, like lead the Wildcats to their first national championship since 1998.

Wall leads the team in scoring (16.8), assists (6.2) and minutes (34.4), and is third in rebounding (4.0). With the exception of Derrick Rose, no college basketball player in recent memory has shown his kind of explosiveness. He's also a defensive witch, averaging nearly two steals per game. He saved the day with a late gem at Vanderbilt on Feb. 20, preserving a narrow win over the ranked Commodores.

But even John Wall might have hit the wall. A slightly less-then-stellar February, perhaps due to his youth, might have taken him out of the top spot as Evan Turner continues his relentless push.

+ John Scheyer, Sr, G, Duke
Before he even stepped foot on the Durham campus, Scheyer was a Youtube legend after having scored 21 points in 75 seconds in an Illinois high school playoff game.

And he's been Mr. Steady in his four outstanding years at Duke. No doubt he's the ACC Player of the Year and he'll get some consideration for national POY honors, but he doesn't have the all-around game that Turner has.

+ Scottie Reynolds, Sr, G, Villanova
Much like Scheyer, Reynolds has been a key contributor since the first days he stepped on campus, seemingly seven or eight years ago.

It didn't take long for Reynolds to assert himself as a team leader, and now that his career is winding down, he's got his Wildcats poised to make a deep tournament run.

Reynolds is among Big East leaders in scoring, steals, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage and three-point percentage. He might be the league's top player and could take a few votes away from Turner on any national ballot.

Also receiving consideration:

+ DeMarcus Cousins, Fr, C, Kentucky
+ James Anderson, Jr, G, Oklahoma State
+ Wesley Johnson, Jr, F, Syracuse

John P. Wise is the editor of OneGreatSeason.com. He can be reached at jpwise3@hotmail.com.

Counter Opinion

John Wall The Leader of the Player of the Year Chase

Cousy Award Finalists Features Wall, Scheyer, Collins & More

Press Release — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:23:51 -0800

FEBRUARY 4, 2010 - The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts announced today the final 11 candidates in consideration for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. This annual award is given to college basketball’s top point guard and is named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic great Bob Cousy. An original list of 73 candidates made up of players from Division I, II and III schools was trimmed by a Hall of Fame appointed, nationally based committee to 20 and has now narrowed that list to a final 11.

“This final list of 11 players represents the cream of the crop in college basketball at the point guard position,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “We look forward to recognizing the nation’s top college basketball point guard and wish all the candidates best of luck.”

"We are proud to be a part of a growing tradition at the Basketball Hall of Fame and congratulate this year’s Bob Cousy Award finalists. This award promotes the values of leadership, vision, teamwork and integrity, skills that are not only needed on the basketball court but also in life," said Mike Concannon, executive vice president of sales and distribution at The Hartford. “These values are shared by The Hartford and reflect the high standards set by Mr. Cousy to inspire people on and off the court to achieve what is ahead of them.”

Beginning February 5, via the Bob Cousy Award’s website – www.cousyaward.com – fans will be able to vote for the top point guard. The player that receives the most fan votes will receive one vote toward the final committee vote. Fan voting will run one month – beginning February 5 and will conclude March 5.

The current listing of 11 finalists for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford will be narrowed down to five players by March 1st. The final five players in contention for the award will be presented to Mr. Cousy and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. These Hall of Fame committees are made up of top college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, Sports Information Directors and Hall of Famers. The winner of the 2010 Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford will be awarded at the Hall of Fame’s Class Announcement on Monday April 5th in Indianapolis as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.

2010 Bob Cousy Award Finalists
Matt Bouldin - Gonzaga
Sherron Collins - Kansas
Devan Downey – South Carolina
Trevon Hughes – Wisconsin
Jeremy Lin – Harvard
Kalin Lucas – Michigan State
Ronald Moore – Siena
Scottie Reynolds - Villanova
Jon Scheyer - Duke
Greivis Vasquez – Maryland
John Wall - Kentucky

Poll: Is Duke's Jon Scheyer a Legit NBA Prospect?

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:49:30 -0800