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Message: [QUOTE="Lefty2one, post: 3471385, member: 1001"] As much as Vital's torrid streak is responsible for our resurgence, Whaley's production has been just as key. Akok's injury was heartbreaking but he simply wasn't giving us much once AAC play started. Akok's production from the start of AAC play: 5.5 / 5.4 / 2.3 on .368 / .192 / .611 splits. Starting with the Memphis game where Akok went down, Whaley has given us... 12.6 & 8.4 with 3(!) blocks per game on .552 FG and a darn good .774 FT in 33 minutes a night. It shouldn't be ignored that Whaley was in good enough shape to come in and play 33 MPG and be productive for just about all of it. That in its own right is nothing to sneeze at. Prior to Akok's injury, Whaley was going for 4 & 4 a night in just under 15 minutes. Akok was really struggling. With Carlton's inconsistency, we couldn't afford to have such little production from the 4. We replaced him with a guy putting up a very efficient 13 & 9 who's a better passer, without losing any protection at the rim. Plus it opened up our smallball lineup with Whaley at the 5. The whole thing is truly remarkable. I can't recall a guy coming out of nowhere in the middle season like this in our program's history. Hilton came out of nowhere for his senior year but it wasn't in the middle of a season. [/QUOTE]