POY Candidates

[bballnut90]

Doesn't seem like there are many big candidates this year like there were last year and in other prior years. Here are the only ones that have any sort of shot at awards if the voting were today:
Stewart: 17ppg, 7 rpg, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 52% FG, #2 team in country
Loyd: 21.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 3 assists, 47% FG, #6 team
Nina Davis: 22 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 56% FG, #3 team

Pretty weak year in terms of depth of candidates. Based on performances thus far, I'd vote for every 1st Team All-American's performance last year over these three this year.

Stewart isn't performing at the same level she was last year and isn't having a 'POY type' season, Loyd has the feel of a POY to me, but she has been a volume shooter for a Notre Dame team that isn't playing well, and I can't see Davis being a true candidate, as I think she has inflated numbers at the moment and I don't see anyone voting Davis over Stewart or Loyd. Outside of those three, no one in the top 10 has a strong candidate as you see a lot more teams with multiple players averaging 10-14 ppg rather than 1-2 stars scoring 15-20. What are everyone else's thoughts?

 

[TommySC]

My vote is for Kiah Stokes and/or Courtney Ekmark. Definitely first team All Americans at the very least (if they don't share the POY award).

 

[triaddukefan]

My vote is for Kiah Stokes and/or Courtney Ekmark. Definitely first team All Americans at the very least (if they don't share the POY award).

 

[hoophuskee]

IMO everything will come down to UCON vs USC. If USC managed to win (which no way I expect)- Mitchell becomes a candidate. If Mitchell is spectacular in losing and say KML has a great game and no one else is really great even though UCONN wins then UCONN has split up their strong games amongst their starters so this opens the door for others.

A dark horse is MoJefferson. Sue Bird averaged just a little above 14 ppg and averaged just a little over 5 assists. If MoJeff has a huge game vs USC (The bigs from both teams come out as a wash) and she is the difference maker in the USC game (not far-fetched at all)- then why not? Especially if ND doesn't win the ACC and JL's fg% is weak and Baylor rops from their rankings and Nina's production drops a bit. Not that far-fetched, is it?

I am so proud of MoJeff right now. She didn't settle to be "just a passer." Hope she continues to work on her 1-on-1 moves and pull up jump shots.
'

 

[MilfordHusky]

I agree that Mo has the recognition and, well, the momentum. That may not get her NPOY, but perhaps AA status. As Geno said yesterday, Mo is playing as well as anyone in the country right now.

 

[MarieYLee]

Loyd has the feel of a POY to me, but she has been a volume shooter for a Notre Dame team that isn't playing well, and I can't see Davis being a true candidate, as I think she has inflated numbers at the moment and I don't see anyone voting Davis over Stewart or Loyd.

Since when is 47% for a guard a volume shooter? Or do you mean the past few games? She's only shooting 5% less than Stewert (a forward), on a less stacked team.

Stewert should be the favorite, though if ND can win out the remaining games and Loyd continues to put up these number, I have no problems if she wins.

 

[EricLA]

This will be an unpopular opinion in UCONN land, but I don't feel like Stewie is putting up NPOY numbers. I believe she's the best player in the country, but IMHO isn't playing as well as she was last year. If I had to vote right now I'd give it to Loyd. Honestly, Stewie has had some great individual games, but I'd give it to Tuck over her at the moment if it were only a UCONN award...

 

[Wbbfan1]

IMHO POY so far is between Jewel Loyd and Kelsey Plum of Washington. Kelsey is averaging 24.8 points a game and has Washington in the running for the PAC12 Championship and obvious tournament bid. Playing for Washington, she's not getting the publicity she should be.

 

[hoophuskee]

This will be an unpopular opinion in UCONN land, but I don't feel like Stewie is putting up NPOY numbers. I believe she's the best player in the country, but IMHO isn't playing as well as she was last year. If I had to vote right now I'd give it to Loyd. Honestly, Stewie has had some great individual games, but I'd give it to Tuck over her at the moment if it were only a UCONN award...

One of the few times I disagree with you. Stewie is averaging more points, has more rebounds, has more assists, has more blocks, and has more steals. IMO defenses key on Stewie which allows Tuck to do her thing. Stewie is averaging more minutes but imo its because the coach believes Stewie is better.

 

[xHunt3r]

This will be an unpopular opinion in UCONN land, but I don't feel like Stewie is putting up NPOY numbers. I believe she's the best player in the country, but IMHO isn't playing as well as she was last year. If I had to vote right now I'd give it to Loyd. Honestly, Stewie has had some great individual games, but I'd give it to Tuck over her at the moment if it were only a UCONN award...

Say what? Breanna has more points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals then Morgan... In no way can you say that Morgan is having a better season then Breanna.

 

[meyers7]

View attachment 8133

I believe Tommy is looking for attention.

 

[geneticrex]

I believe Tommy is looking for attention.

I believe Tommy thinks he's witty and perhaps in his circles, he is.

Unfortunately for Tommy, nobody in these circles still rely heavily on crayons.

 

[EricLA]

Say what? Breanna has more points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals then Morgan... In no way can you say that Morgan is having a better season then Breanna.

I wasn't referring to numbers. IMHO Morgan is doing more for the TEAM than Stewie is and Morgan has been playing better overall. How good is Morgan Tuck? She does everything well and is the hardest worker on the team. I still think Stewie is the best player in the nation, but I love what Morgan is doing. As I said, I expect most here will disagree, but I don't think Stewie is having a NPOY type of season...

I agree with the person who said it should be between Plum and Loyd at this point. Of course, Stewie can come on gangbusters and I think she likely will given the lack of competition on the AAC...

 

[HGN]

A POY candidate should not only put up the numbers , but also be looked at as to her value to her teams overall success. Stewie does what she has to in order for UConn to win. If she needs to score she does , or get rebounds , or play steller defense. Many players come out looking to pad their numbers. Not Stewie. Also , one must take into consideration that , as far as numbers go , Stewie rarely plays over 33-minutes in many games because UConn is so far ahead in scoring. If Stewie played 35 minutes her numbers would be much higher in all categories.

Stewie may, or may not win POY , but her 'value' number to UConn's overall success is way off the charts and can only be counted in NC trophies.

 

[winlots]

HGN: Very well said....took the words out of my mouth and made them much more elegant than they would have been had you left them in there.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I believe Tommy is looking for attention.

I am always impressed when a 4 year old knows how to post...you know the Ignore button right?

 

[meyers7]

I am always impressed when a 4 year old knows how to post...you know the Ignore button right?

I ignore the Ignore button. I can ignore people on my own.

 

[xHunt3r]

I wasn't referring to numbers. IMHO Morgan is doing more for the TEAM than Stewie is and Morgan has been playing better overall. How good is Morgan Tuck? She does everything well and is the hardest worker on the team. I still think Stewie is the best player in the nation, but I love what Morgan is doing....

Don't get me wrong... I really like the season Morgan is having. Especially after siting out most of last year. It is nice to finally get to see what see is capable on the court. That said...

Still don't see how you can say Morgan is doing more, when Breanna is scoring more points, pulling down more rebounds, blocking more shots, assisting on more baskets, and getting more steals... all while being the focus of the other teams defensive efforts. Yes those are all numbers.. and you want to just ignore them?

 

[Orangutan]

Stewart is the best player in the country. I think that's the media consensus as well. But the best player doesn't always win NPOY, which is why Loyd has a chance. Maybe Davis if Baylor romps in the BIG 12. Realistically, that's probably it for contenders.

I don't think Plum will get serious consideration, though I'd like to be wrong since she probably merits it. Just don't think Washington is good enough/a large enough part of the national conversation. She's fairly comparable to Loyd.

 

[JRRRJ]

I believe Tommy thinks he's witty and perhaps in his circles, he is.

Unfortunately for Tommy, nobody in these circles still rely heavily on crayons.

You need to be insulting because someone replied to a satiric post with humor?

 

[meyers7]

You need to be insulting because someone replied to a satiric post with humor?

Ummm, Tommy didn't reply with "humor". He replied with a disrespectful shot at two UCONN players. I assume looking to get a rise or some attention.

 

[geneticrex]

You need to be insulting because someone replied to a satiric post with humor?

Tommy has posted in this fashion in more than 1 thread and while I don't "need' to be insulting, I'm so accomplished in it, I see no reason to waste my talent when it's called for.

Meander over to the "Top Freshman" thread to get a better understanding of Tommy and his "humor".

 

[DobbsRover2]

The OP's post doesn't seem satiric, and raises good questions, though the judgment is a little hard to fathom.

Stewie is not having a NPOY type of year???? Maybe not if you were expecting her to score 30 ppg this year and fill up the box score with shots, but that's clearly not what Geno has asked her to do. A team with one dominant scorer is far easier to shut down in a Tournament game, so clearly UConn wants a lot of different possibilities including Tuck and Jefferson to be able to take over a game when needed as teams put two defenders on Stewie. This is the time of year when you work out the logistics of highly efficient team play, and Stewie has been leading it to a T.

Stats? Her FG%, 3pt FG%, and FT% are way up this year. The rebound, assist, steals, blocks, TOs are pretty close to last year and we have not entered the latter part of the season yet when her numbers start to jump, if last year is any indication. Ironically, the -0.8 difference in rpg this year can largely be attributed to fewer offensive rebounds, which have been fewer on a team shooting 53.3%. She's working at all facets of the game and for many different team strategies and she's doing it well. Yeah, she's scoring -2.7 ppg at 16.7, but I'll take the team's more balanced scoring as a plus sign for UConn in the Tournament.

Stewie could certainly be scoring 30 ppg if she wanted to even in her only 30 mpg, but to me she would be weaker candidate for NPOY than the balanced player she is who will likely win the award at the end of the year.

 

[JRRRJ]

Ummm, Tommy didn't reply with "humor". He replied with a disrespectful shot at two UCONN players. I assume looking to get a rise or some attention.

My error. I thought the Courtney/Kiah POY post was the one from Tommy.

Never mind!

 

[housekeys]

If you had to build a team around a player, who would you choose? I would pick Stewart. All others players are good and worthy, but IMHO, it is BS.