First off, Congrats to Carter. He's a h*ll of a player. Setting aside the fact that he plays for a team that had few offensive weapons that finished .500 (10-10) in conference play, he put up better numbers than Tristen in just about all statistical categories. But the numbers don't tell the whole story.
So what would these stats look like if they swapped teams? Based on the fact that Tristen put up 31 and 27 in two of our worst played games where he tried to keep his team in the game, both losses against KU and Creighton respectively, one can only wonder what type of numbers would he have put up if he had to carry the load on a nightly basis. Granted teams would game plan to slow him down, but there's little doubt that his scoring would be up and his assists down. Conversely, if Carter led UConn with all its weapons, his points would be down and his assists would be up.
Offensively both guards make some unbelievable shots from all over the court. Carter is one of the best at attacking the basket, while Tristen is amazing with his midrange traffic shots and some ridiculously deep 3s he knocks down on regular basis.
Defensively, Tristen uses his size and length to keep defenders in check while Carter is a relentless pest causing havoc, averaging an impressive 1 block per game from the guard position. The eye test tells me both guards are worthy of POY honors. It's not like Carters numbers are overwhelmingly better than Newton's and for all the reasons I pointed out, those numbers would likely be reversed if they swapped teams.
So you can make a solid case for either player winning BE POY, but where I believe the coaches messed this up is not taking into account the fact Tristen's impact (think about the number of big shots he's made late in so many games) on the best team in the conference and possibly the nation that will be representing the BE in the NCAAs while Carter will likely be leading his team to the NIT. This is just terrible optics and a missed opportunity for the BE brand at the national level. Though there's so many facets to UConn that will impress on the big stage where I'm sure we'll hear the announcers and analysts point out that Newton had a strong case for BE POY, was chosen BE POY by the sports writers, plus he'll likely have some recognition on the national stage, making the this look ridiculous.
What I think was the deciding factor for these coaches is when they looked at what player stood out for their respective team when they played against them, Carter was the player for PC, while Newton was one of many weapons on UConn. When PC won or at least competed, there's no doubt that Carter was the reason why. When they competed against UConn, it was Spencer or Clingan or Karaban or Newton or Castle or more likely some combination of those players who stood out.
I don't think they got it right, but I understand why that happened.
