The JBB Conference Awards

<u>Pac-10 Awards</u>
by Shard
<font color="Navy">Player of the Year</font>

Ike Diogu | Arizona State
Was the most dominant player in the conference despite his team's subpar performance. Diogu averaged 22.4 points per game and 9.8 rebounds and will most likely be a high pick in the NBA Draft. This award could have gone to Salim Stoudamire, whom is almost solely responsible for Arizona's stellar play with his impeccable shooting stroke but when it comes down to it, no other player absolutely took over games like Ike Diogu.
Honorable Mention: Salim Stoudamire | Arizona

<font color="Navy">Freshman of the Year</font>

Jordan Farmar | UCLA
One of the main reasons UCLA should be in the NCAA tournament and only in his first year. No other freshman in the Pac-10 has made such a large sudden impact on his team more than Jordan Farmar. Definitely the diaper dandy of the Pac-10's first year players.
Honorable Mention: Malik Hairston | Oregon
<font color="Navy">
Coach of the Year</font>

Lorenzo Romar | Washington
When Lorenzo Romar took over for Bob Bender at the helm of the Huskies, he was faced with a challenge to turn a cellar dwellar into a contender. Boy has he delivered...this is a banner year for Romar with his star players all mature and some excellent recruits coming in for the Dawgs. Washington has now reached heights that no one could have expected and most is thanks to Coach Romar.
Honorable Mention: Lute Olsen | Arizona
<font color="Navy">
Disappointment of the Year</font>

Oregon
This team really didn't look that bad on paper, Aaron Brooks is coming into his own, supposedly the twin brother of Carmelo Anthony in Malik Hairston arrives, and the talent overall wasn't too bad. However, this team just couldn't pull it together in the end. The Ducks couldn't win to save their lives in Pac-10 play no matter how close they were.
Honorable Mention: California

<font color="Navy">All Pac-10 1st Team</font>

Ike Diogu | Arizona State
(22ppg 10rpg)
Channing Frye | Arizona
(16ppg 8rpg)
Tre Simmons | Washington
(16ppg 41% 3pt)
Salim Stoudamire | Arizona
(18ppg)
Nate Robinson | Washington
(17ppg 5apg)

<font color="Navy">2nd Team</font>

Matt Haryasz | Stanford
Dijon Thompson | UCLA
David Lucas | Oregon State
Chris Hernandez | Stanford
Hassan Adams | Arizona

<font color="Navy">3rd Team</font>

Jeff Varem | Washington State
Dan Grunfeld | Stanford
Thomas Kelati | Washington State
Aaron Brooks | Oregon
Will Conroy | Washington
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<font color="RED"><font size="3"><u>Conference USA Awards</u></font>
By CUSA Fan</font>

<font size="2">Player of the Year</font>
<font color="Red">Eddie Basden(Charlotte)
Who is more of a complete player in the conference than Eddie Basden? In my opinion, nobody. You can make a strong argument for Francisco Garcia or Travis Deiner, but I think undoubtedly the conference player of the year is Basden. It was said that Curtis Withers was one of the most underrated players in the nation and was the heart and sole of this team, but that's not the story of this year. Those qualities seem to fit my pick for player of the year, Eddie Basden. His statline is as follows: 15.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 3.6 apg while shooting 50% from the floor and leading the conference with 3.2 steals per game.</font>
Notables: Francisco Garcia(Louisville), Travis Deiner(Marquette)

<font size="2">Freshman of the Year</font>
<font color="Red">Darius Washington Jr(Memphis)
He was asked to fill big shoes coming into this season. Former starting pointguard for the Memphis Tigers, and the last conference player of the year, Antonio Burks, had to declare for the NBA draft after his senior season. Memphis had a couple stars there, in Sean Banks and Rodney Carney, but a lot of the burden was on Darius' shoulders. He showed tremendous patience as a starter in his first year and picked up a lot of slack in scoring after Sean Banks was ruled ineligible for the rest of the season.</font>
Notables: Juan Palacios(Louisville), Joey Dorsey(Memphis)

<font size="2">Coach of the Year</font>
<font color="RED">Tom Penders(Houston)
Yes, you could easily go with Rick Pitino of the Cardinals or Bob Lutz from Charlotte who both have successful seasons coaching their teams, but I thought I'd go with a different choice. Tom Penders, in his first year, coached this team to a very nice season. Though, it wasn't a stellar season, it was one that was needed of notice. I had them, im my preseason rankings, finishing 12th overall, yet, in the regular season, they finished 6th. I saw them not making the NCAA's or the NIT, yet, they find themselves as one of the many bubble teams to get into the tournament. Penders led them to some big wins including a huge win over current #6 Louisville.</font>
Notables: Bob Lutz(Charlotte), Rick Pitino(Louisville)

<font size="2">Disapointment of the Year</font>
<font color="Red">Memphis Tigers
In my preseason rankings, I had this team finishing second overall just behind Louisville. Some people weren't too high on them, but some were, even picking this team to win the conference. Boy, was I, and all of those others who were high on this team wrong, big time. Their record of 16-14 overall speaks for itself. They finished in a tie for 6th with Houston in the conference, and their star player, Sean Banks, was involved in all sorts of problems. He was first dealt with a two game suspension and later was ruled ineligible for the season because of academics. Very, very, disapointing season for the Tigers.</font>

<font size="2">All-ConferenceUSA Teams</font>

<u>First Team</u>
<font color="RED">Travis Diener(Marquette)
Francisco Garcia(Louisville)
Eddie Basden(Charlotte)
Quemont Greer(DePaul)
Terrence Leather(USF)</font>


<u>Second Team</u>
<font color="Red">Andre Owens(Houston)
Jason Maxiell(Cincinnati)
Rodney Carney(Memphis)
Donnell Taylor(UAB)
Curtis Withers(Charlotte)</font>

<u>Third Team</u>
<font color="RED">Taquan Dean(Louisville)
Cory Santee(TCU)
Darius Washington Jr.(Memphis)
Eric Hicks(Cincinnati)
Drake Deiner(DePaul)</font>
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BIG EAST
by 44Thrilla

Player of the Year- Craig Smith
<font size="2">
Craig Smith, a Junior Forward for Boston College, led the Eagles to a 23-3 record in the regular season. Smith was the most important Eagle, averaging 17.8 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. The Eagles captured the regular season Big East title, sharing it with UConn.
</font>
Coach of the Year- Al Skinner
<font size="2">
Did you have any idea that Boston College was going to go 23-3 this season? Only liars say yes. Skinner took a mediocre team and created a monster. At one point, the Eagles rallied to win 19 straight games. Any coach that can get his team to overachieve like this one did deserves to win the award.
</font>
Freshman of the Year - Jeff Green
<font size="2">
Georgetown's Jeff Green averaged 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists for the Hoyas. He led the team in rebounds, and was top three in points and assists. In fact, the Hoyas went 6-0 when Green played forty minutes or more.
</font>
Disappointment of the Year - Providence
<font size="2">
After a promising year last year, and some uncertainty about his draft position, Ryan Gomes decided to stay for his Senior year at PC. Most people thought that Providence would be one of the top teams in the Big East, or at least tournament bound. Sixteen losses later, and nobody knows who is to blame. </font>
<font size="1">
All Big East Team -

Hakim Warrick (Syracuse)
21.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg
Ryan Gomes (Providence)
21.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg
Craig Smith (Boston College)
17.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg
Gerry McNamara (Syracuse)
15.7 ppg, 5.2 apg
Jared Dudley (Boston College)
16.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg

Second Team -

Curtis Sumpter (Villanova)
Chevon Troutman (Pittsburgh)
Allan Ray (Villanova)
Daryll Hill (St. John's)
Carl Krauser (Pittsburgh)


Third Team -

Josh Boone (UConn)
Charlie Villanueva (UConn)
Brandon Bowman (Georgetown)
Chris Thomas (Notre Dame)
Randy Foye (Villanova)
Jeff Green (Georgetown)
</font>
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<u>SEC Awards</u>
By: UKOwnstheSEC

Player of the Year: Brandon Bass

Bass was a huge reason of why the LSU Tigers were able to win a share of the SEC West division title for the first time since 2000. He managed to have 17 points and 8 boards a game and shot 56% from the field. Bass had only 6 games all year where he didn't put up a double-double and even had two 20 rebound games. This McDonalds American is going to have a heck of a career when it's all said and done.
Runner Up- Anthony Roberson

Coach of the Year: Tubby Smith

Tubby had an outstanding year coaching the SEC regular season champion Kentucky Wildcats. This is a team that lost three key starters in Erik Daniels, Gerald Fitch, and Cliff Hawkins. And Tubby managed to carry this team to a 23-4 record and 14-2 record in the SEC with the three new starters that he had to develop.
Runner Up- John Brady

Freshman of the Year: Chris Lofton

Lofton has been overlooked a lot this year but he's been a great player for Tennessee. Lofton averaged 13 points a game as the starting guard and led the SEC in three point percentage at 47%. Lofton had one game this year that really sticks out in my mind and it was the game against Arkansas where he just totally took over by scoring 30 points, but it wasn't enough to give them the win.
Runner Up- Toney Douglas

Disappointment of the Year: Mississippi State

No doubt that Mississippi State didn't play up to their ability this season. But one main reason that they finished third in the SEC west is because of injuries. Defending SEC Player of the Year Lawrence Roberts broke his nose earlier on the year and wasn't as effective as he could be. Their best shooter, Winsome Frazier missed 8 games as well. So this team really had a tough year, but luckily will be getting an invote to the big dance.

All SEC Teams:

<u>First Team</u>:
Lawrence Roberts(Mississippi State)
Brandon Bass(LSU)
Kennedy Winston(Alabama)
Earnest Shelton(Alabama)
Anthony Roberson(Florida)

<u>Second Team</u>:
Glen Davis(LSU)
Chuck Hayes(Kentucky)
Kelenna Azubuike(Kentucky)
Ronnie Brewer(Arkansas)
Chris Lofton(Tennessee)

<u>All Freshman Team</u>:
Glen Davis(LSU)
Toney Douglas(Auburn)
Rajon Rondo(Kentucky)
Chris Lofton(Tennessee)
Ronald Steele(Alabama)
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<font size="4"><font color="DarkGreen"><u>Big Ten Awards</u></font></font>
<font color="DarkGreen">by Voodoo Child</font>

<font size="4">Player of the Year</font>
<font color="DarkGreen">Dee Brown (Illinois)
Brown doesn't lead his own team in points, rebounds, or assists. In fact, the only statistic which he leads his team in is steals, and he's only tied for the lead in that category. However, Dee Brown is one of those special players that comes around every now and then whose work transcends statistics. Whether he was picking off three straight passes to survive a scare in Michigan or having one of the most well-rounded games of his career in a blowout of then #1 Wake Forest, it has been Brown who has led his team to victory throughout the season. He has been the catalyst for the near-perfect season that the #1 ranked Illini had, and that is why Dee Brown deserves this award despite only averaging fourteen points per game.</font>
Notables: Deron Williams (Illinois), Bracey Wright (Indiana)

<font size="4">Freshman of the Year</font>
<font color="DarkGreen">D.J. White (Indiana)
The incoming crop of Freshmen in the Big Ten was weak this year. The conference only had two top twenty-five recruits, Marquise Gray of Michigan State and D.J. White of Indiana. With Gray redshirting for Michigan State, most people thought that the Freshman of the Year would be Brian Butch, a former High School All-American who had redshirted the previous year. However, Butch has been more or less a bust, averaging only five points and three rebounds per game. With that said, averaging 13.3 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game on 58% shooting easily clinched D.J. White this title.</font>
Notables: Robert Vaden (Indiana), Ronald Coleman (Michigan)

<font size="4">Coach of the Year</font>
<font color="DarkOliveGreen">Dan Monson (Minnesota)
Last year the Gophers were probably the worst team in the Big Ten. They had a 3-13 conference record and a 12-18 record overall despite having one of the best Freshmen in the nation in Kris Humphries. This season was supposed to get a lot worse for Monson's Gophers. They were picked by most people to either be last or second to last in the Big Ten after losing their leading scorer and rebounder to the NBA and not bringing in any notable recruits. However, thanks to an outstanding coaching job by Dan Monson, this season has become one of the finest in Minnesota history. The Golden Gophers are 20-9 overall and 10-6 in Big Ten play, which gives them the fourth best Big Ten record and is now providing a chance to make the NCAA tournament. After the turnaround that Monson has made with Minnesota, it'd be hard to argue for anyone else getting this award.</font>
Notables: Bruce Weber (Illinois), Thad Matta (Ohio State)

<font size="4">Dissapointment of the Year</font>
<font color="DarkGreen">University of Michigan
Everything about this Michigan team has been very dissapointing, from their injuries, to their player conduct, to their overall performance. Coming into this seaosn, most people projected Michigan as a tournament team, a top four team in the Big Ten, and either a ranked team or team just outside of the rankings. They were returning pretty much that mattered outside of Bernard Robinson and had the second best recruiting class in the Big Ten. However, as soon as the season begun, their two leading scorers, Lester Abram and Daniel Horton, both went down with injuries. Abram's injury was a season ending injury, and Horton's injury limited him to only thirteen games. Michigan's starting Center and leading rebounder, Graham Brown, also injured himself around this time. Brown only played one game in December. With all of those injuries, it did not help that Daniel Horton pleaded guilty to choking his girlfriend and was kicked off the team for the season. When all was said and done, the team that was picked by many to make the tournament had a 4-12 conference record and a 13-17 overall record.</font>

<font size="4">All-Big 10 Teams</font>

<u>1st Team</u>
<font color="DarkGreen">Dee Brown (Illinois)
Deron Williams (Illinois)
Bracey Wright (Indiana)
Mike Wilkinson (Wisconsin)
Alan Anderson (Michigan State)</font>

<u>2nd Team</u>
<font color="DarkGreen">Alando Tucker (Wisconsin)
Jeff Horner (Iowa)
Luther Head (Illinois)
Greg Brunner (Iowa)
Vincent Grier (Minnesota)</font>

<u>3rd Team</u>
<font color="DarkGreen">Maurice Ager (Michigan State)
Carl Landry (Purdue)
Terence Dials (Ohio State)
Paul Davis (Michigan State)
Aaron Johnson (Penn State)</font>
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2004-05 ACC Awards
By: Courtking
MVP: Sean May
Sean May worked hard in the off-season to re-shape his body and get in shape for the season and he really proved it in 2004-05, May last year and in his freshman season was in terrible shape. He came out this year with a new look body and being able to get up and down the court. Already with a great set of soft hands coming into this season and with a new re-shaped body May was a double-double threat every night. His most impressive performance was a 26 point, 24 rebound performance in a win against Duke.
Notables: Chris Paul, Wake Forest//J.J Reddick, Duke
First Team:
Chris Paul, Wake Forest
Justin Gray, Wake Forest
J.J Redick, Duke
Sheldon Williams, Duke
Sean May, UNC
Second Team:
Raymond Felton, UNC
Rashad Mccants, UNC
Julius Hodge, NC St.
Juwad Williams, UNC
Eric Williams, Wake Forest
Freshman of the year: Marvin Williams, North Carolina
It could have went to either Marvin, Sean Singletary of Virginia, or DeMarcus Nelson of Duke. It goes to Williams though; he leaves Roy Williams with a promising diaper dandy ready to take Juwad Williams? place next year in the starting lineup. Marvin adds atheism, a nice jumper, and a great big man off the bench for the heels.
Notables: Sean Singletary, Virginia//DeMarcus Nelson, Duke
Coach of the Year: Seth Greenberg, Virginia Tech
Sure it could have been Roy Williams or Coach K but I don?t think anybody would think that Virginia Tech had a shot to make the big dance when the ACC Tournament rolled around. Greenberg took a team that lost a very key piece in Bryant Matthews due to the NBA draft and made them a team that can very well make it to the big dance.
Notables: Roy Williams, UNC//Coach K, Duke
Disappointment: Georgia Tech Yellow jackets
G-Tech went to the NCAA championship last year, lost no big pieces. Then comes back then next year and records 10 loses on the year. Defiantly a big disappointment, G-Tech will probably make the big dance, but nothing higher then a 5 seed.

 

Acc

How can Sean May be the ACC player of the year? Its gotta be JJ reddick. Leading a much less talented team than UNC to as good a season as UNC has gotta put him over the top.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JWohl:</div><div class="quote_post">How can Sean May be the ACC player of the year? Its gotta be JJ reddick. Leading a much less talented team than UNC to as good a season as UNC has gotta put him over the top.</div>

Maybe I was a little biased there, both players deserve consideration (as they did) but May still gets the vote, as I said, in the offseason May reshaped his body and is now able to get up and down the court, something he wasn't able to last year. Now because of that he has improved in all stages of his game. My second choice for ACC player of the year would be JJ tied with Paul.

 

Thank you for getting this up, 44.

But Redick also improved his game. Last season, he was mainly known as a shooter. Now, this season, he is actually taking defenders off of the dribble and driving to the hole. In my opinion, I think Redick had the better season, but that's just me.

 

I think the Terps are the biggest dissapointment this season. Sure they swept the season series with Duke, but then they go off losing 3 times to Clemson. This is a school who started off like 11th ranked? and now they couldn't make the NCAA tournament? That's sad.

 

Ray Felton is UNC's best player and most important yet May gets all the credit? while I do agree he is an important player and a big presents inside he is not the ACC player of the year. It's obviously down to CP and JJ. Both teams are not anywhere near as strong If either went down or as we saw in the ACC tourney without Paul WF got beat badly by NC state.

Would be of been interesting to see how May would handle double and triple teams everynight. Shame he didn't go to Indiana.

 

Damn, I swear... you'd think this college forum was an ACC-only forum. Or maybe the rest of our picks were just too good to argue. Or maybe ESPN just crams too much ACC down all of your throats for you to know anything about the Big East or Big Ten. Anyway, I liked these awards. They were pretty solid overall. However, I do dissagree with Craig Smith as the Big East Player of the Year over Hakeem Warrick. A little hometown bias, 44?

 

Too bad my Red Storm aren't on the map anymore

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">We were arguing the ACC POY, what does the Big East or Big Ten have to do with that arguement?</div>

It's got nothing to do with it.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For the Big 10, I think Weber has to be the hands down Coach of the Year. He took Illinois to a near perfect record in one of the toughest conferences. Weber has found a way to win with a 3 headed-guard attack and manage a lot of players with NBA talent. He was able to convince Head to reduce his role and play the swing position to allow Dee Brown and Deron Williams to run the team. Asking Head, who in my opinion is the best of the 3 to step down without any recourse is a great example of how good a coach he is.</div>

The fact of the matter is that Illinois was one of the elite teams in the preseason. Everyone knew they had top three talent. I'm not trying to downplay the job the Weber did, but the fact is that Head, Williams, Brown, and Augustine weren't even his recruits and he took a team that was projected #2 by many and made them #1, not a huge turnaround. Monson deserves this award more because he took a team that was picked 10th or 11th in the Big Ten and drove them all the way to the 4th place spot and a #8 seed with almost no talent. Their leading scorer and rebounder, Kris Humphries, left them too. They lost more talent than they gained. It was just an overall excellent job.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">A lot of teams play better after their best player leaves. Another example is Nevada this year, they lost Mr. Everything Kirk Snyder, and still managed to finish in the top 25.

Not being his recruits makes Weber's job even more commendable. Usually coaches recruit based on the system they want to run and the personality they want to instill on the court. For Weber, he inherited a talented core of players, but he still had to coach them into buying into his system and philosophy.

Being expected to win means nothing in college. If anything it puts a big targer on your back and motivates opponents to play their best level of basketball against you. Having the 'King of the Hill' label and actually holding onto it all season is a huge feat. Illinois went 15-1 in their conference and although so called experts might have projected them to finish #2, they blew away all expectations by finishing 32-1 overall and 15-1 in their conference.</div>

I think you're right about coaching someone else's recruits being hard, but not when those recruits are Dee Brown, Luther Head, James Augustine, and Deron Williams. You can't tell me that he could have assembled a better group himself. Also, being expected to win does mean something. In fact, it means a lot. You can't tell me that a team projected to be the #1 team that finished as the #1 is more impressive than a team projected in last place that finished #4. These preseason rankings weren't just picked out of a hat. Minnesota on paper has the least talent of all the teams in the Big Ten, yet they finished ahead of all but three of them. I also don't understand your argument about a big time player leaving being better for a team. Snyder was not that entire Nevada team as you eluded to, and you also have to consider the great talent they brought in. Fazekas, a sophomore, and Sessions, a freshman, are two of the best players in their conference. Fazekas is a 6-11, 230 lbs. power forward who averages about 21.4 ppg and 9.4 rpg while shooting 79% from the line and has a serious chance at the NBA. Last year with Kirk Snyder, he was only a mere Freshman. His development has been one of the main reasons for their success. I just don't see how losing one of the NCAA's leading scorers and rebounders helps a team. Humphries was a great student and supposidely very easy to get along with.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I have to disagree with you about Snyder. Last year he led the team in scoring at 18PPG, the closest player to him only averaged 12PPG. We was the leading scorer in the majority of their games, and no one expected Nevada to do much this season without him.</div>

Nobody thought that Nevada would do anything without him because they didn't know too much about Fazekas and Sessions. Last year, Fazekas was a Freshman and Sessions was in High School, so of course they weren't going to be averaging 18 ppg like Snyder.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting VC:</div><div class="quote_post">However, I do dissagree with Craig Smith as the Big East Player of the Year over Hakeem Warrick. A little hometown bias, 44?</div>Nah, if hometown bias was what I was going for, I would've picked Gomes. I could've made a solid case for him if I wanted to, and since I've been a fan of his for his entire college career, and actually met him on numerous occassions, I would've picked him if I was trying to be biased at all.

I picked Smith because I think in order to earn the POY award, you need to be a member of a winning team, and not only did BC finish ahead of Syracuse, but they also beat them the one and only time they played. I also think you need to be the leader of your team, and carry them to victories whenever they falter. That's what I saw in Smith all year. I couldn't say the same about Warrick. Gerry McNamara was the leader of the Orangemen this year.

 

I like Monson as coach of the year actually. But not as a legitimate criticism but as an Ohio State fan: Only one OSU player, and he's on the third team?

That's okay, next year, we win the league!

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Fast Luck:</div><div class="quote_post">I like Monson as coach of the year actually. But not as a legitimate criticism but as an Ohio State fan: Only one OSU player, and he's on the third team?

That's okay, next year, we win the league!</div>

If you name me a player that Dials should have been over or a player that should have made the third team from Ohio State, then I'll tell you why I made the choice I did.

 

Dials could probably be ahead of Greg Brunner and Jeff Horner. But this is a huge Ohio State fan talking. There didn't need to be two Iowa guys above him and he did place second team on the coach's and on the media list. There's no other legitimate All Big Ten players on the team this year though. But I'm serious when I say next year we have a strong shot to win the Big Ten though. We return all 5 starters and our Bowling Green transfer will be ready to go and more than able to replace Stockman.

For clarification, I am from Columbus but went to Patriot League school American University.