Spectacular! That's an awesome honor.
Voted National Freshman of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
http://sportswriters.net/usbwa/awards/index.html
https://www.dukechronicle.com/articl...an-of-the-year
Spectacular! That's an awesome honor.
"We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust
Congrats Vernon!
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
Very happy for Vernon. Still amazes me that after winning NFOY, and being first team All-ACC, and probably could have won ACC POY if Duke had submitted his name, and being somewhat in contention (at least in talks) for NPOY for most of the season, how he is still projected to go towards end of the first round. It's amazing how much the NBA landscape has changed when you think about how 5 years ago, Jah had similar numbers per 40 minutes and similar accolades, and was a top 3 pick.
I'll disagree with you here, if I understand your point correctly, and mention that quite often an ACC POY will not be a great fit for the league, just because the NBA values different qualities than college does, and it is not due to a recent landscape change.
List of ACC POYs who predate Jah, who also did not do much in the league:
1999–00 Chris Carrawell
2000–01 Joseph Forte
2001–02 Juan Dixon
2003–04 Julius Hodge
2007–08 Tyler Hansbrough
2008–09 Ty Lawson
2009–10 Greivis Vasquez
2010–11 Nolan Smith
2011–12 Tyler Zeller
2012–13 Erick Green
2012–13 Shane Larkin
Hard at work making beautiful things.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
So my point wasn't that Jah was an ACC POY and that ACC POY's would do well in the league. My point wasn't even that the NBA values different qualities than college does. My point was in comparing their stats over their one season at Duke:
Jah Per 40 Minutes
Vernon Per 40 MinutesCode:G GS MP FG FGA FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PER 38 38 1143 9.8 14.7 .664 9.8 14.7 .664 0.0 0.0 3.5 6.8 .510 11.3 1.7 1.0 1.9 3.3 2.8 23.0 30.73
Per 40 minutes, Vernon had better 3P%, FT%, more rebounds, more steals, more blocks, more points, and a much better player efficiency rating. Jah had a better FG%, 2P%, slightly more assists (+0.1), and less fouls. Sports-Reference hasn't updated their Player Efficiency Rating Single Season Leaders and Records for this season yet, but Jah's 30.73 ranks him as No. 81 on the list. Vernon's 34.1 would put him at No. 17, just ahead of Damian Lillard, and right behind Frank Kaminsky and DeMarcus Cousins. This is by no means supposed to be a knock on Jah. I love that dude and I love everything he did for our program. But based on stats alone, Vernon was a better player in almost every statistical category. Jah was the best freshman in the country. So was Vernon. Jah was the best player in the ACC. Some argue so was Vernon (even though you can't go wrong with Tre). Jah was a consensus All-American. So was Vernon. And the thing that the NBA values most in a big man (stepping out and hitting the 3), Vernon was better and probably is better than current NBA Jah.Code:G GS MP FG FGA FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PER 31 30 772 10.3 17.9 .577 9.9 16.8 .590 0.4 1.1 .381 7.6 11.3 .670 14.1 1.6 1.1 2.5 3.3 4.4 28.6 34.1
So my point was I find it interesting that Jah was a top 3 pick and for some of the season in the running to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, and Vernon can't even crack the lottery, let alone the top 2/3 of the first round. How could that not be due to a recent landscape change? If Vernon had played just 5 years ago, he probably would have been a top 3 pick, at least based on comparable (and better) stats to Jah.
Hopefully Vernon has a better start to his NBA career than Jah did...