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Message: [QUOTE="bballnut90, post: 4445969, member: 2117"] I don't buy that it was in lieu of Bueckers (and especially not in lieu of Fudd). Boston elevated her game and proved she was the best player in the country last year. Aliyah was the frontrunner after she put up 22/15 vs. UCONN and SC established themselves as the clear #1 team. Stats also don't tell the story for Boston. Her more pedestrian showings last season came against weak opponents where she went to the bench early due to the game being a blowout. All of her lowest scoring/rebounding games last season were in games won by 30-40 points, with the lone exception being the first game of the year vs. NC State. In big time games, she showed up and consistently balled out against the best teams in the country, usually putting up stat lines well above her season averages. Her biggest impact though is on the defensive end, where teams rarely challenge SC in the post due to Boston and only put up 50 ppg last year. Plus compared to Clark, she played 33% fewer minutes per game. If Boston played 36 minutes per game like Caitlin was, her numbers averaged out would be 22/16 with 3 blocks per game. Clark/Iowa started slow last year and finished the year strong, eeking into the last #2 seed with a great push at the end of the year. Pretty much all season long they were ranked in the 15-25 range where SC was #1 wire to wire. Clark would've been a worthy POY as well, as she was brilliant, but I get why it went to Boston. Aliyah cemented any doubt of her being deserving in the NCAA tournament. Back to this season, it's quite early and hard to definitely say there's a clear cut favorite so far. Boston's numbers are low, but they were low at this point last year too. Realistically I don't think she matches her numbers from last year since I see Dawn keeping her minutes limited aside from big games (which there really aren't any aside from UCONN, LSU and maybe Tennessee). Fudd has emerged as a likely candidate and potential frontrunner from UCONN, especially if she continues to stay hot and put up big numbers. Clark is fully in the mix, particularly if Iowa stays in the top 10-15 all year. Stanford/Ohio State are too balanced to have a realistic candidate. If LSU becomes a top 10 team then Reese could be in the mix. Mackenzie Holmes, Deja Kelly, Olivia Miles, Ashley Joens and Elizabeth Kitley are standouts on teams in the 5-10 range and could work their way into the conversation with big numbers and continued winning. Siegrist/Morrow are big time scorers but I don't see anyone voting them for POY if they aren't on top 20 squads. Lots of season to go. [/QUOTE]

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