DURHAM -- Shane Battier says Duke teammate Jason Williams is the best player in the ACC. Williams says it's Battier. A few miles down the road, North Carolina's Joseph Forte says it's ... Joseph Forte.
Thanks a lot, guys. Guess we're on our own.
|  | | While he may not agree, Shane Battier's overall game made him the ACC's best player this season. |
Left to our own devices, we're going with Battier as ESPN.com's ACC Player of the Year in one of the more hotly contested races in recent years in a league that has been dominated by players such as Tim Duncan, Antawn Jamison or Elton Brand.
Picking the ACC's top player this season is almost a personal preference, assuming you choose among Battier, Williams and Forte. Go for anyone else, and it's no longer a matter of preference. It's a matter of lunacy.
Getting back to the Big Three. If you like scoring, especially scoring at the right time, it's Forte. The 6-foot-4 junior shooting guard leads the ACC at 21.8 points per game, and that number goes up to 23.6 in conference play. Some guys are clutch but not fearless. Some are fearless but not clutch. Forte, for the most part, has been both.
"I know there are some great players in this league," says UNC coach Matt Doherty. "But I think Joe's the best player in the country."
Joe would agree with that.
"I think I'm the best player in the country," Forte says. "It fires me up to try to prove it."
If you like a guy who dominates the ball, offensively and defensively, it's got to be Williams. The 6-2 sophomore point guard runs a Duke attack that is second nationally in scoring at 93.2 points. Williams averages 21 points and 6.4 assists, both second in the ACC, and shoots 45.7 percent on three-pointers (first in the ACC). He also is a ball hawk, applying man-to-man pressure out to 50 feet on every possession and averaging 1.9 steals.
|
What You Think
|
|
Read who the fans picked as the ACC's best.
More ...
|
"Jason is the man," Battier says. "Everything we do feeds off Jason Williams."
But nobody chows down like Battier. Name a player in the country this year, last year -- any year, really -- who scores like this (19 ppg), rebounds like this (6.5), blocks shots like this (2.1), shoots 3-pointers like this (3.3 per game, 44.8 percent) and who likely will win his third straight national defensive player of the year award.
And who does lots of other stuff, too.
"Shane has a positive impact on everything we do -- in games, in practices, everything," says Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "There hasn't been a better player in the country than that kid."
The most difficult part about picking Battier as ACC Player of the Year? Having to disagree with Battier, who says Williams not only is the best player in the ACC, but just might be the best player in the country.
Sorry, Senator Shane. You're the man.
Men of Troy
Which Troy in the Big East, you ask? That's not so easy, but we're giving it to the one who lives in South Bend, Ind., because of his consistent excellence in the face of ridiculous attention from opposing coaches, players and fans.
|
What You Think
|
|
Read who the fans picked as the Big East's best..
More ...
|
So, it's Notre Dame's Troy Murphy over Boston College's Troy Bell. Not by much. But not exactly a split-decision, either.
Notre Dame coach Mike Brey figures his 6-foot-10 junior forward deserves it. And that wasn't the case last year, at least not according to Brey, who was at Delaware at the time but followed Notre Dame closely enough to know the Irish finished a mediocre .500 in the Big East and didn't make the NCAA Tournament. Murphy won league player of the year honors. Brey told him he shouldn't have.
"I told him, 'Last year I wouldn't have voted for you. You had great numbers, but your team was 8-8,'" Brey says. "I really believe the Player of the Year comes from a team in the championship hunt. He's leading this team. His numbers haven't dropped (from last season), and even on the nights he's getting 14 (points) and six (rebounds), he's kicking it out of double teams and getting his teammates involved. That's one of the reasons I feel so strongly about him this year."
Notre Dame has wrapped up the Big East's West, and is battling Bell's Boston College team for the overall title. Murphy is averaging 22.9 points (up from 22.7 last year) and 9.4 rebounds (down from 10.3), is shooting 50 percent from the floor and blocking almost two shots per game.
Bell's numbers aren't shoddy, either: 20.3 points, 4.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 steals.
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun says he'd prefer to wait for the end of the season and give it to the Troy whose team wins the league championship. It's not a bad idea, but we're just not that patient. Besides, while Bell has been very good, Murphy has been just a little bit better.
|
Games of the Week
|
|
Virginia at Maryland
Saturday:
They're playing for seeding in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. The winner will enter the ACC tournament simply sizzling.
Boston College at West Virginia
Saturday
The Mountaineers are making a late push for an NCAA Tournament berth, having won five of six -- the loss by three points to Notre Dame -- entering Wednesday's game at Miami. A win over Boston College would look nice, wouldn't it?
Temple at George Washington
Saturday
Forgive us for leaving the suddenly surging Owls off the NCAA bubble last week. If they can win this one, and then one or two more games in the conference tournament, it would be hard to leave out a 19-win Temple team with an RPI in the low 40s.
Duke at North Carolina
Sunday (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Everything but Napster's future rides on this one.
|
On guard in A-10
St. Joseph's is running away with the Atlantic 10 championship, and that kind of year, fueled by some serious backcourt talent, means our conference player of the year is coming from the Hawks. We make only one apology for this, to Xavier big man David West, who is among the league's leaders in scoring (seventh, 17.7), rebounding (first, 11.0), blocked shots (second, 2.1) and field-goal percentage (first, 55 percent).
Most years it'd be you, Mr. West. Just not this year.
This year it's going to be a Hawk. And there are two to choose from. Junior shooting guard Marvin O'Connor is second in the league in scoring at 21.1 points per game, while freshman point guard Jameer Nelson leads the league in assists at 6.3 per game, and also is averaging 12.2 points per game.
Nelson probably is the team's most valuable player, but O'Connor has been its best. And one of the best in the country, even if most of the country doesn't know it.
"In all our big games, Marvin has been virtually unstoppable," says St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli, who would vote for O'Connor over Nelson. "Because they keep score in this game, I always lean toward the guy who scores the ball. You can't ignore a guy who's getting over 20 points a game on this level."
Temple coach John Chaney says his vote for league player of the year would be a toss-up between O'Connor and West -- "two of the finest players in the country," he says.
Sounds reasonable to us. So we'll break the tie by giving it to O'Connor, whose team will finish ahead of West's in the conference race.
Who's Hot
St. Joseph's has won 17 of 18.
St. Bonaventure's Kevin Houston averaged 22 points and 10.5 rebounds in the last two games.
West Virginia forward Calvin Bowman has won the last two Player of the Week honors in the Big East, most recently for averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds in wins against Villanova and Seton Hall.
Who's Not
North Carolina's 20-point loss at Virginia was its second in three games (the first was to Clemson, for crying out loud), and suddenly a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs is no longer guaranteed.
Quote to Note
"Of course they influence (the tournament selection committee). These guys are stating a formula that the selection committee should use, while the selection committee is probably sitting there with pencil and paper and writing down every damn word!"
-- Temple coach John Chaney, referring to television basketball analysts.
Gregg Doyel covers the ACC for The Charlotte Observer and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
ALSO SEE
ESPN.com Players of the Year
Graney: Best out West
Potrykus: Point of emphasis in Midwest
Forde: Prince of the South
|
