Nolan Smith for NPOY thread

[wgl1228]

I think this deserves its own thread but if not I'm sorry. I just wanted to start some discussion of Nolan, Sullinger, and Fredette and who should honestly be the NPOY. All bias aside I would choose Nolan for picking up the slack after Irving's injury. Sullinger is great and on a great team and you cannot ignore that BYU's schedule stinks. I regard Fredette as a great player though. It's just a tough choice this year.

[JasonEvans]

you cannot ignore that BYU's schedule stinks.

Yeah, Pomeroy rates BYU's SOS as 45th in the nation while Duke's is 42nd. BYU's schedule stinks!

BYU's wins over Arizona, Utah State, and San Diego State are more impressive than any win Duke has except UNC. BYU and San Diego State have played harder schedules than you might imagine... though they have also played a lot of teams that simply had next to no chance of beating them.

But, back on topic... NPOY is a tough one to project this year. It has gone through several waves.

Kemba Walker was looking like a runaway winner in November and even December. Then Jimmer put on a real show in January -- 39 at UNLV, 47 against Utah, 42 more versus Colorado St, and then 43 against San Diego St. As the same time, UConn appeared to be fading and Walker sorta moved out of the conversation.

The latest fad has been Sullinger. As Ohio State ascended to #1 in the polls and remained undefeated for so long, it seemed the momentum was headed in his direction. However, lately, it seems there has been more and more talk about Nolan.

If Duke climbs back to #1 and Nolan has some big national TV games, I could see him getting the nod. It would not hurt if he managed to hold off Marshall for the ACC assist title to become the first player in history to lead the ACC in both scoring and assists.

I won't be all that surprised to see the NPOY awards spread out among the 3 leading contenders. The major awards are the Wooden, the Naismith, and the AP POY. The Sporting News, UPI, the NABC, and a few other organizations also give out awards that are worth noting. It would be kinda nice if the three front-runners split several of these.

If I had to rate the odds of any of these guys winning each of the major awards, I would put it like this right now--

Sullinger - 40%
Fredette - 30%
Smith - 25%
Walker - 5%

--Jason "the final 2 weeks... and it is still up for grabs" Evans

[Wander]

I think it's about time for this.

Jimmer Fredette, BYU: The best scorer in the college game. Really impressive efficiency considering how much attention he gets from opposing defenses. Strength of schedule argument is nonsense - I'm not sure Duke's overall schedule is even better than BYU's, and the computer numbers say BYU has faced better defenses on average than either Duke or Ohio State.

Nolan Smith, Duke: Probably the most all-around complete player in the country. He's between good and amazing at everything you could want from a guard, despite having a role on the team he wasn't supposed to have. I've noticed that his scoring has almost made Duke fans completely forget about what a good defender he is (the area that he has the biggest edge over Jimmer).

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State: The best player on what would be the overall 1 seed if the tournament started today. Great scorer and rebounder, and very efficient. Not a great shot blocker, but maybe that's intentional to stay out of foul trouble, which is another thing he does well.

I guess some people are still talking about Kemba Walker, and I personally think Derrick Williams of Arizona is just as good as any of these guys, but realistically, these are the three who have a chance.

[Newton_14]

I think it's about time for this.

Nolan Smith, Duke: Probably the most all-around complete player in the country. He's between good and amazing at everything you could want from a guard, despite having a role on the team he wasn't supposed to have. I've noticed that his scoring has almost made Duke fans completely forget about what a good defender he is (the area that he has the biggest edge over Jimmer).

.

Not me. Nolan is hands down the best on ball defender in the country imo. Nolan grew just as much as a defender last year as he did on the offensive side of the ball. Due to the short bench last year, he had to learn to play great defense without fouling. He has really refined that this year as well. Watching him guard the much taller Shumpert last night was a thing of beauty. I love watching Nolan defend.

IMO Nolan is hands down the best player in the country. I stated that to a friend while at the first NC State game, and I have not changed my mind. The other two contenders are great players in their own right, but they are not the total package on both sides of the ball that Nolan is.

[PADukeMom]

Do you guys really need me to add my 2 cents!!! LL!

Duke Blue firmly on my face....NOLAN SMITH is NPOY. Walker isn't having a POY type season neither is Kyle. Sullinger is a freshman & I think you need to be more than a 1st year player to be considered. hey just my humble opinion.

I think it is coming down to Jimmer & Nolan. Yet again Duke Blue Glasses firmly in place how do you compare the ACC in a down year to the Mountain West in a good year???

Come on NCAA comittee...I really want a Nolan Smith jersey but I probably can't get one unless you give him at least 1 award because if he doesn't get 1 NPOY his jersey won't be retired & Quinn Cook (love him) will probably wear the #2 & that will be a stake in my heart. I am dealing with #21 being worn by Miles but it has been long enough since Trajan wore it so it's all good.

[BlueintheFace]

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Apparently there will be more testimonials from NBA players, college players, and others in the coming days/weeks...


The grassroots campaign is underway. Get out there and do work Duke fans.

[mr shadow 008]

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebask...photo=28369024

Apparently Jeff Goodman has Nolan ranked #1 in his NPOY rankings. Now I don't put a whole lot of stock in that but I thought it was interesting. He has Nolan #1, Sullinger #2, and the Jimmer #3.

[uh_no]

Sullinger is a freshman & I think you need to be more than a 1st year player to be considered.

Kevin Durant would beg to differ.

[DevilWolf]

Although Kevin Durant may beg to differ with Sullinger as the NPOY. Perhaps he'll tell you first hand. Perhaps on ndotsmittypoy.com. Perhaps.

[ajgoodfella7]

Realistically, I believe that Nolan is still playing catchup with Fredette. The good news is that he still has time.

[JasonEvans]

Not sure how many of you are following the KenPom POY race. Ken, as you might imagine, uses statistical formulas for his POY computation. He factors in offense and defense as well as your team's overall performance.

Nolan has been steadily climbing in the ratings in recent weeks. He has now passed Sullinger to move into 2nd place, just behind Jimmer. The current standings are--

1. Jimmer Fredette, Brigham Young (Rating of .554, last week: 1st)
2. Nolan Smith, Duke (.529, LW: 3rd)
3. Jared Sullinger, Ohio St. (.512, LW: 2nd)
4. JaJuan Johnson, Purdue (.480, LW: 6th)
5. Jon Leuer, Wisconsin (.474, LW: 4th)

Worth noting that Kemba Walker is not even in the top 10.

--Jason "interesting that Ken's mathematical formula pretty much seems in step with what humans are thinking for POY... at least among the top 3" Evans

[uh_no]

Worth noting that Kemba Walker is not even in the top 10.

i'd hope no one is considering him....

[Billy Dat]

From Luke Winn's weekly Power Rankings (always a must read)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...ngs/index.html

"Barring some kind of catastrophic injury to BYU's Jimmer Fredette, it's doubtful that Duke's Nolan Smith will win the Naismith or Wooden awards. Fredette took a sizable lead (by 35 out of 50 first-place votes) in the latest AnnArbor.com straw poll, with Ohio State's Jared Sullinger second and Smith third. The BYU scoring machine also holds a solid lead in the computer-generated kPOY, although Smith moved into second place this week. I imagine my final Naismith vote will be for Fredette, and there will be little controversy about him being honored.

And yet, if voters were asked the question, "Which guard would you most want running your team in the NCAA tournament?" ... I think they'd overwhelmingly pick Smith. I'd pick Smith. Fredette has been phenomenal, but he hasn't played beyond the first weekend of the dance, whereas Smith was the South Region's Most Outstanding Player last season, and has only gotten better since. I suspect that Ohio State and Texas will be the two most popular national-champ picks in office pool brackets, but don't overlook Duke: No other title contender has a guard with the combination of postseason confidence and experience that Smith provides. The two others whom I'd trust the most to run my team -- Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor and Pitt's Brad Wanamaker -- have yet to play a major role in even a second-weekend NCAA tournament game."

[superdave]

Espn Gameday two Saturday nights in a row - in Blacksburg for Duke-VPI this week and next Saturday in CH for Duke-Unc.

If Nolan has two 30 point games in him, these two games are the time to do it. Big stage, last big chance to take out Fredette (who could not guard me in a pickup game).

[Dev11]

Espn Gameday two Saturday nights in a row - in Blacksburg for Duke-VPI this week and next Saturday in CH for Duke-Unc.

If Nolan has two 30 point games in him, these two games are the time to do it. Big stage, last big chance to take out Fredette (who could not guard me in a pickup game).

We're on CBS next week in Chapel Hill, and GameDay is in Waco...

[Rudy]

The top three are all in the running. How they and their teams fare in the tournament will have a big impact and it seems likely to me that BYU will lose before Duke does. Nolan's defensive work and value may become evident to more voters as the tournament proceeds.

[timmy c]

get your Nolan POY avatarsand more:
http://ndotsmittypoy.com/2011/02/ava...raphics-oh-my/

[moonpie23]

done !!!!!

[dukebluesincebirth]

Since I just joined this site, I might as well make my first post a STRONG vote for our man NOLAN SMITH for NPOY. Lets not forget about 1)his defense, usually guarding the other team's best guard and 2)the position he's been in to become the first player in ACC history to lead the league in points AND assists! Just take a moment to scroll through the list of great guards that have played in the ACC over the years... this is an amazing accomplishment! I won't even mention the guy who plays out in the middle of nowhere mountains out west for byu... this is NOLAN SMITH's award!

[superdave]

We're on CBS next week in Chapel Hill, and GameDay is in Waco...

Whoops. I dont know if 30 points on Cbs is as good as 30 on Espn because they have Erin Andrews. We'll have to see how this plays out.

Anyone know when ballots are due for Wooden and Naismith?