Mason Plumlee POY Vigil

[Ichabod Drain]

No, he's 8th in ESPN's straw poll vote (with an N of only 5). I wouldn't take that too seriously as a reflection of what the actual vote will be.

I would say it's a decent representation of the overall feel people have for him now. If he doesn't have a monster game saturday he will probably drop even farther. Hopefully IF Kelly can come back strong and Mason can play at the level he was earlier in the season. But there is not a lot of time left.

[Kedsy]

Pre-Ryan's injury, Mason was a lock for first team AA and a front-runner for NPOY. Amazingly strong first half of the season. But since then, he hasn't been able to shine nearly as much and has looked awful in a couple of big games. I now think first team AA is iffy and NPOY out of the question unless Mason has a spectacular showing from here on out - e.g., Miami will be a closely watched game. If Mase dominates that game and is the difference-maker in a Duke win, then he will get back in the conversation. But that's the kind of thing it will take. Being just "very good" won't be enough.

Mason has shown he can dominate a one-on-one matchup and has issues when double- or triple-teamed. Can anyone show me a big man in college this season who doesn't have such issues?

[Wander]

Mason has shown he can dominate a one-on-one matchup and has issues when double- or triple-teamed. Can anyone show me a big man in college this season who doesn't have such issues?

There isn't one, at least that I know of. Which is part of the reason a center probably won't win national player of the year.

Plumlee's not completely out of it, but like a team behind by multiple games in their conference standings, he doesn't "control his own destiny" anymore. I think Burke would have to have a few bad games in a row for Mason to realistically get back in it (in addition to Mason playing very well for the remainder of the season).

But, 1st team AA is definitely still within reach. No reason to think otherwise, but, yes, he probably needs to play better than he did at UVA or Maryland (which I'm pretty sure he will).

[bronston22]

When Kelly returns, Mason's life will be a lot easier. Kelly occupies bigger defenders on the perimeter. He also wears them out over the course of a game. Mason will have more space with Ryan back in the line up. Mason's game is great when he is not crowded but like any big man who does not have a lights out shot, he can be bottled up.

[buddy]

I guess I hallucinated Seth's nice drive-and finish moves tonight. That's possible. My mind was certainly fighting against what I was actually seeing on screen. You're probably right and Seth got his 28 by hobbling around 25 feet from the basket.

Sorry it took me so long to get back. Seth had 5 in the first half, and 11 at the 10 minute mark of the second half. At that time Duke was down 13. He had 17 in the last 10 minutes. His stat line looks good, but it was too little too late. Glad he got so many, but had he had 17 in the first ten minutes the outcome would have been different. My point was that when the game was in doubt, Seth was invisible. I understand you may disagree. We had opportunities in the first half to take a lead and cause Virginia some pain. We didn't take them.

And yes, I did mean to say that Mason could NOT impose his will on Mitchell.

[Kedsy]

Sorry it took me so long to get back. Seth had 5 in the first half, and 11 at the 10 minute mark of the second half. At that time Duke was down 13. He had 17 in the last 10 minutes. His stat line looks good, but it was too little too late. Glad he got so many, but had he had 17 in the first ten minutes the outcome would have been different. My point was that when the game was in doubt, Seth was invisible.

Seth was our 2nd leading scorer in the first half, including a huge three to bring us within 1 point late in the half. He then hit another big three to start the 2nd half to bring us within 2, and when he scored his 11th point with 14 minutes to play in the game, he had more points than any other Duke player in the game, having contributed 35.5% of our scoring up to that moment. I'd hardly call that invisible. Then he went on a tear, scoring 17 points in the last ten minutes, single-handedly keeping us in the game until the last moments.

[vick]

ESPN released another straw poll of 64 voters (on a 3-2-1 scoring format), with the following leaders:

Trey Burke, So., G, Michigan 122
Otto Porter, So., F, Georgetown 86
Victor Oladipo, Jr., G, Indiana 77
Doug McDermott, Jr., F, Creighton 47
Kelly Olynyk, Jr., F, Gonzaga 27
Mason Plumlee, Sr., F, Duke 10
Marcus Smart, Fr., G, Oklahoma State 4
Ben McLemore, Fr., G, Kansas 3
Deshaun Thomas, Jr., F, Ohio State 2
Nate Wolters, Sr., G, South Dakota State 2
Cody Zeller, So., F, Indiana 2
Anthony Bennett, Fr., F, UNLV 1
Jeff Withey, Sr., C, Kansas 1

Very tough for me to quibble with the top 4. Olynyk has been extremely efficient but doesn't even play 26 MPG--not all his fault, of course, but I wonder how efficient Mason would be if he had that luxury (especially at the defensive end). I agree with the poll's implication that the last first-team all-American spot will come down to those two barring someone making a great late run. Hopefully Mason has a big game on McAdoo (well I hope for it because that will really help our team, but individual recognition is nice too) on the national stage to take control of that spot.

[luvdahops]

ESPN released another straw poll of 64 voters (on a 3-2-1 scoring format), with the following leaders:

Trey Burke, So., G, Michigan 122
Otto Porter, So., F, Georgetown 86
Victor Oladipo, Jr., G, Indiana 77
Doug McDermott, Jr., F, Creighton 47
Kelly Olynyk, Jr., F, Gonzaga 27
Mason Plumlee, Sr., F, Duke 10
Marcus Smart, Fr., G, Oklahoma State 4
Ben McLemore, Fr., G, Kansas 3
Deshaun Thomas, Jr., F, Ohio State 2
Nate Wolters, Sr., G, South Dakota State 2
Cody Zeller, So., F, Indiana 2
Anthony Bennett, Fr., F, UNLV 1
Jeff Withey, Sr., C, Kansas 1

Very tough for me to quibble with the top 4. Olynyk has been extremely efficient but doesn't even play 26 MPG--not all his fault, of course, but I wonder how efficient Mason would be if he had that luxury (especially at the defensive end). I agree with the poll's implication that the last first-team all-American spot will come down to those two barring someone making a great late run. Hopefully Mason has a big game on McAdoo (well I hope for it because that will really help our team, but individual recognition is nice too) on the national stage to take control of that spot.

It would be nice for Mason to have a really big game Saturday for a variety of reasons. In addition to the ones you mention, it has been awhile since he had a really dominant game, and who better to have one against than the Heels? The Dean Dome was also the site of a few highlight reel plays from his truncated freshman year (who can forget the up and under reverse slam after an offensive board?), so it would be only fitting to bookend that performance with a huge game on Saturday. Finally, it could just be me, but after watching him the past few weeks, it sure seems like Mason could use an emotional charge as we head into the postseason.

[Saratoga2]

What Mason needs is to play hard for the full time he is in the game. Let him use his fouls defending and avoid fouling on the offensive end. If Mason shows the spark against UNC, then he can at least be in the top 5 or 6. His game against Maryland was what hurt him the most. Coach K needs to turn him loose.

[pamtar]

Quick question: Is the NPOY based on performance in the regular season AND the conference tournaments, or only the regular season? The google and the wiki were vague.