Has Otto Porter Run Away with Big East Player of the Year?

Last year’s Big East Player of the Year race was hard-fought by three players: Kevin Jones of West Virginia and Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom of Marquette. While Jones had the best statistical season of the three, it was Crowder’s well-rounded play and Marquette’s success that earned him the prize in the end.

This year, the Preseason Player of the Year Award went to Peyton Siva. And at the halfway mark of the season, or the transition from non-conference to conference play, it looked as if the player of the year recognition was going to be someone from the group of: Russ Smith, Michael Carter-Williams, Jack Cooley or Sean Kilpatrick.

But now, with a week and a half left in the regular season, it looks as if Otto Porter has already locked it up.

Russ Smith, Michael Carter-Williams and Sean Kilpatrick all had monster first halves, and while they all continue to play well and put up gaudy statistics from time to time, none have had the consistency or thrived in multiple big spots like Porter has. And Siva, whose presence on the court is invaluable, has underwhelmed when it comes to a statistical stand point.

And while you can still formulate an argument for the stated players above, the only player I would be okay with receiving the award over Porter is Jack Cooley. While Cooley’s rebounding prowess has cooled off a bit (he was the only player in the country pulling down more than 20% of both available offensive and defensive rebounds for a while, but his offensive rebounding has slipped to 18.6% - still second best in the nation), he still is the only player in the Big East averaging a double-double. And yet he still goes un-talked about and seen as underrated somehow.

But Cooley does not possess that one shining moment that Porter has. In Notre Dame’s biggest game of the year to date (their five overtime thriller vs. Louisville), Cooley fouled out with more than five minutes to go in regulation. The Irish almost played an entire game without him and still won. In Georgetown’s biggest game of the year to date, Porter dropped 33 points at Syracuse and singlehandedly willed the Hoyas to victory.

In the games leading up to the ‘Cuse showdown there were whispers beginning of Porter even creeping into the National Player of the Year race, and upon that performance he firmly cemented himself in that discussion. He further proved is worthy-ness last night when he converted the winning basket in double overtime at Connecticut – a strong but fluent drive to the rim that finished with a layup with 8 seconds remaining.

Porter is averaging 18 points and 7.5 rebounds in conference play and has Georgetown on a 10-game winning streak. The Hoyas, now 12-3 in the conference, who were picked to finish 5^th in the preseason, now have a one game cushion with three to go. There are a bunch of factors that go into team success, and as a team Georgetown has become great defensively (currently second in the Big East behind Louisville), but if it weren’t for the play of Porter on the offensive end, this team would not be sitting at 22-4. And while the Syracuse game will likely be his defining moment, he has put the team on his back multiple times throughout the season and has been very successful doing so.

Otto Porter for Big East Player of the Year is a lock (but please vote to the left and leave a comment below for who you think it should/will be).

Twitter:  @soupTOOnuts

Notre Dame has One Glaring Defensive Issue, Again

When it comes to running an efficient offense Notre Dame is not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent teams in the nation year after year.

Going as far back as KenPom’s tempo-free history has data for – which is 2003 – the Irish have only once had their offense ranked outside the top-50, which was 51^st in 2005. They have finished in the top-10 in five seasons over that span and are currently 11^th this year. Their offensive prowess is predicated on excellent 3-point shooting (finishing in the top 30 in 3-point percentage in eight of 11 seasons) along with being one of the best teams in the country at protecting the ball. Their turnover percentage has never been worse than 29^th.

But for how good Notre Dame is at protecting the ball, they are equally and oppositely terrible at taking it away from their opponents.

Now the Irish aren’t a terrible defensive team. Their average rank over the past 11 seasons is 90^th, but that isn’t good enough in the Big East as they are usually at or near the bottom in the conference.

And the finger can be pointed directly at their ability - or lack thereof - to force turnovers.  The Irish are absolutely atrocious at turning their opponent over. Take a look at the chart below. They have consistently ranked outside the top-300 in the country at forcing turnovers. And only once have they cracked the top-200, which is a complete anomaly because all 10 other seasons have been over 300.

The Irish do compensate for this by not fouling often (at least fouls that result in their opponent going to the free throw line, anyway) and they are a respectable rebounding team year after year. But when you run that slow ‘burn’ offense without generating turnovers to create extra possessions, you are consistently playing with fire and will likely be in many more close games than you would like, especially against upper echelon opponents or in hostile environments. Just take a look at what the Irish have done in the NCAA Tournament over the past 10 seasons…

2012: Lost their first game as a 7 seed

2011: Won one game as a 2 seed

2010: Lost their first game as a 6 seed

2008: Won one game as a 5 seed

2007: Lost their first game as a 6 seed

2003: Won two games as a 5 seed

Notre Dame has made the tournament as an at-large bid in six of the last 10 seasons and has never been worse than a seven seed. But only once – 10 years ago – have they made it out of the first weekend, while succumbing to one-and-done on three occasions.

One would think that given the fact that Notre Dame is more or less consistently ranked in the top-25 throughout the season that they would have better fortunes in the tournament every now and then. But given that the Irish are a mediocre defensive team – especially when compared to the rest of the NCAA Tournament field – I don’t think it’s any surprise that they have struggled when it has mattered most.

And this year’s statistics suggest more of the same.

I know I’m not the only one who enjoys the likes of Eric Atkins, Jerian Grant, Jack Cooley, Pat Connaughton, and Cam Biedscheid on offense, but if this group doesn’t improve on defense, an early exit in March seems to be in the works once again.

Twitter:  @soupTOOnuts

The Dominance and Effectiveness of Jack Cooley

If you are simply a casual fan of college basketball you have probably heard of Jack Cooley and have likely seen him play, and then came to the conclusion that he was a slightly above average big white guy with a high motor and good work ethic.  However, while the more than casual fan would agree with that assessment, they would also be aware that in conjunction with that high motor, being tall and being white, he also has some real talent and effectiveness on the floor.

For starters, he is the only player in the Big East averaging a double-double this season; averaging 14.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.  Now the Big East is set to implode, but that’s not until next year, so it still holds the label as one of the best conferences in the country.  And in this conference there are still a lot of really talented players.  So to be the only player to average double digit points and rebounds on a nightly basis is impressive (Cooley has 12 double-doubles in 19 games played).

But his dominance extends beyond the Big East. 

Cooley is the ONLY player in the country pulling down more than 20% of available offensive AND defensive rebounds.  

                Offensive Rebounding Percentage:  21.0% (1^st in the country and Big East)

                Defensive Rebounding Percentage:  23.5% (67^th in the country and 2^nd in the Big East)

And if that wasn’t enough, Cooley also leads the Big East in field goal percentage – making 59.4% of his attempts.

Russ Smith and Michael Carter-Williams may be getting all the looks for Big East Player of the Year today, but if Notre Dame can right the ship (they have currently lost three of their last four) and finish near the top of the standings – Cooley will deserve to be in the discussion.

In terms of usage, he is the Irish’s biggest contributor when on the floor, but he averages less than 30 minutes per game (28.7).  Given his bigger frame and high motor, this is to be expected.  But if Notre Dame is going to make a deep run into March they will need one of the most effective players in the country on the floor as much as possible.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Where was Cooley Last Night?

We are about 20 hours removed from St. John’s beating #20 Notre Dame in Madison Square Garden, but I am still trying to figure out what happened to Cooley in that game. I am obviously not alone when I ask this questions because when I conducted my search for the reasoning behind his benching (at the end of the game specifically) I was met with similar blogs and articles asking the same question with no real answer.

The only thing that came out of the press conference that I heard was that Coach Brey said that Tom Knight (Cooley’s replacement) gave the Irish added energy on the court.

I watched the entire game last night, and I’d agree that Cooley wasn’t playing up to his regular standards. And I understand that he got into foul trouble in the first half by picking up two quick fouls which relegated him to the bench for the rest of the period. That’s standard protocol around the country when a player get two fouls in the first half. So nothing out of the ordinary there.

Cooley then committed this third foul with 15:26 remaining in the game. Being a big man and essentially the Irish’s best player I could see him being sent back to the bench for a while as he entered danger territory.

But Cooley, a Wooden Award finalist, Big East First Team candidate, the only player in the Big East to average a double-double, and the only player in the entire country to pull down more than 20% of available offensive and defensive rebounds, didn’t play a second in the final 11 minutes.

Foul trouble aside, he wasn’t dominating the game like he can, but he also wasn’t a significant detriment to his team. Yes St. John’s highly energized offense took advantage of him on defense a few times (maybe the fouls were on his mind making him less aggressive?) and he did miss a point blank lay in. And when Tom Knight did come in the game the Irish were able to eliminate a 12 point deficit and take the lead with roughly three minutes remaining. At that point I thought for sure Cooley was coming back in the game as there really wasn’t much to lose at that stage in the game.

But it never happened.

He continued to sit on the bench with an emotionless expression on his face. Maybe Brey was displeased with his energy and effort. Maybe he didn’t care for his undisciplined nature. And maybe because of that he wanted to teach him and the rest of the team a lesson.

If that’s the case it came at the expense of a conference loss in a conference that currently looks to be wide open after the top two spots.

The game was sealed up when shot blocking extraordinaire, Chris Obekpa, blocked a Pat Connaughton challenged layup. But the previous possession saw Tom Knight get blocked at the rim by 6-foot-3 guard D’Angelo Harrison. It’s difficult to imagine that happening to Cooley in that situation.

It’s obviously easy to be critical of the personnel on the court at the end of the game because of the result. But it could be that Coach Brey was trying to send a message to his players. This is only one game in mid-January, so there really is no reason to overreact. However, to look at this in a positive light, this could be the type of message/event that we look back on in two months and say it was a season changer.

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Wooden Award Finalists from the Big East

The 25 Wooden Award finalists were announced on Thursday night, and the Big East has five representatives.  Of the five candidates, none are a real surprise.  If there was a surprise it's the absence of Louisville point guard, Peyton Siva (the Big East pre-season Player of the Year).  Siva continues to improve as this is his fourth year on the team, and he has developed into an upper-echelon point guard, but he has been out-done statistically by his teammate Russ Smith.  However, this list is not set in stone as players can be added and removed as the season progresses.   

The Wooden Award is given annually to the nation's most outstanding player.  Below are the five current finalists (in alphabetical order) from the Big East and what they have done to date and what needs to be done to win the award.

Michael Carter-Williams

12.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 9.6 APG and 3.2 SPG

MCW is one of the most dynamic point guards in the country as he leads the nation in assists, but it is his defense that is equally impressive, but doesn’t get talked about (he’s fourth in the nation in steals per game).  However, when he struggles so to have the Orange.  If he can become more consistent, especially in shooting, he could lead Syracuse to a Big East season title, conference tournament championship and a deep run in March, all en route to a Wooden Award for himself.

Jack Cooley

15.2 PPG and 11.2 RPG

Jack Cooley is the only player in the Big East averaging a double double.  Actually, he is the only player in the Big East average double digit rebounds, which is more than two full rebounds over the next (Eugene Teague at 8.6 RPG).  Moreover, Cooley is the only player in the nation to pull down more than 20% each of available offensive and defensive rebounds.  Don’t expect this pace to cool down any time soon, but it will likely take some monster games in the Big East tournament for Cooley to get some serious looks at the Wooden Award.

Sean Kilpatrick

17.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.0 APG and shooting 34% from 3

Kilpatrick has struggled a bit recently, but when he gets hot, he’s as hot as they get.  While he did have an 8-12 game from 3 earlier in the season, it is imperative for him to think ‘get to the basket’ first for Cincinnati to have success.  In the three games that the Bearcats have lost Kilpatrick got to the line a total of three times.  He will have to turn up his points per game (which means becoming more of a slasher!) and hit a couple game winning shots if he is to win the Wooden Award.

Otto Porter

12.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 2.8 APG

Porter’s numbers don’t blow you away, but when you watch the Hoyas play (which can be painful at times) you see how important he is to the team’s success.  First and foremost, Porter needs to get Georgetown back on the right track, but if he’s going to be considered a serious contender for the Wooden Award he will have to start taking over games, which he is more than capable of, and score more.

Russ Smith

19.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 APG and 2.6 SPG

Oh has Russ Smith been playing extra Russdiculous this year.  He may be the most fun player in the country to watch for combined pure entertainment value and actual basketball skill.  And this year he has cut down on the amount of negative ridiculousness that he has pulled in the past.  But in all seriousness – he is one of the favorites in the nation to win the Wooden Award and he just has to keep doing what he is doing.   

Players who could make their way into the discussion:

Peyton Siva – great point guard who is likely the most important piece on one of the best teams in the country.

Gorgui Dieng – if he hadn’t missed a month due to a broken wrist, he would have made the finalist list, guaranteed.

C.J. Fair – the more aggressive he gets, the better chance he has to become one of the best wing players in the nation.

Tray Woodall – the Pitt Panthers aren’t really being talked about right now, but when they do gain some recognition the conversation will start with Woodall.

Shabazz Napier – Uconn isn’t eligible for any post season play, but that hasn’t stopped Shabazz from being one of the most electrifying scorers in the college basketball.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Big East Preview: #4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Previewing all 15 teams from #15 to #1 

By:  Shane McCarthy

A first round exit in the NCAA Tournament was not the plan after such a successful season in the Big East last year.  This year, expectations are running high as the Irish return all five starters.  Taking the next step is not only possible, but expected.   

Who’s Back:

Eric Atkins –G– Junior – 37.9 Min, 12.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.1 apg

Jerian Grant –G– Junior – 36.2 Min, 12.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 5.0 apg

Scott Martin –G– Senior – 34.7 Min, 9.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.7 apg 

Jack Cooley –F– Senior – 28.7 Min, 12.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 0.8 apg

Pat Connaughton –G/F– Soph – 24.1 Min, 7.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.9 apg

Tom Knight –F– Senior – 8.9 Min, 2.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.5 apg

Mike Broghammer –F– Senior – 5.3 Min, 1.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.3 apg 

Incoming Recruits:

Cameron Biedscheid – [Small Forward] – 6 foot 7, 174

ESPN’s 64^th ranked player and 15^th ranked Small Forward

Rivals.com’s 28^th ranked player and 8^th ranked Small Forward

Zach Auguste – [Power Forward] – 6 foot 10, 220

ESPN’s 25^th ranked Power Forward

Rivals.com’s 97^th ranked player and 23^rd ranked Power Forward

Austin Burgett – [Power Forward] – 6 foot 9, 220

ESPN’s 41^st ranked Power Forward 

Who’s Out:  Tim Abromaitis, Alex Dragicevich

Overview: 

The outlook is simple for Notre Dame as they enter the 2012-13 season: they return all five starters from a team that went 13-5 in conference last year; so naturally, expectations are high.  Coach Brey knows this team has the make-up to contend for the Big East regular season title, the Big East Tournament championship, and make a deep run in March.  That doesn’t mean anything short of this success is a failure, it’s just that the potential is there for such lofty expectations.

Notre Dame not only has one of the best back courts in the Big East, but they have one of the best back courts in the country with Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant.  Both are juniors, who not only bring veteran leadership and experience to this team, but a drive to be two of the best guards in the country.  It really is a scary thought to think these two will be even better than last year, but that is their goal.  You can’t ask for better leadership than what these two bring to the table.

It’s also a scary thought to think that Jack Cooley did not take the game of basketball seriously until last year.  He received Most Improved Player of the Year accolades in the Big East and quickly became one of the most dominant big men in the league.  Anything less than last year’s performance would be a disappointment, but there is reason to believe that he could be even better.

Pat Connaughton returns to resume his guard/forward role and all-around contributor, but he specializes in dropping treys.

Scott Martin also returns after being granted a sixth year of eligibility.  His numbers don’t jump out at you, but he is the type of player that coaches say his intangibles are needed for the team to succeed.

The Irish also welcome two highly touted recruits, Cameron Biedscheid and Zach Auguste, to provide valuable depth in the back court and front court respectively.  We know what the Irish were last year. And it’s perfectly reasonable to expect improvements given the consistency of the roster.  But if there is an even more bullish spin to put on this year’s squad, it is due to the addition of the two mentioned freshmen.

In college basketball, it goes without saying that talent is important, but consistency and depth are invaluable.  Notre Dame returns all five starters and bring in fresh talent to push the vets and provide a relentless attack night after night.  It has been since 2003 since the Irish have made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and they have never won the Big East regular season or tournament.  Louisville was chosen unanimously for first place in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll, but Rick Pitino’s vote (which couldn’t be for his own team) went to Notre Dame.  Needless to say, expectations are high for the Irish this year, and everything seems to be in place for a big season. 

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Big East Preseason Player of the Year Candidates

By:  Shane McCarthy

Before the conference preseason awards are dished out at Big East Media Day this Wednesday (October 17), I thought it would be useful to look at the likely candidates and pick a winner.

Last year’s Big East Preseason Player of the Year was awarded to Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs.  The season for Gibbs and the Panthers did not go anywhere close to planned.  Pittsburgh finished in the bottom quarter of the league and Gibbs ended up on the Big East Honorable Mention Team come season’s end. 

Those will not be the expectations for the group of candidates below.  The players are listed in alphabetical order. 

Jack Cooley – [Notre Dame] Senior, Forward

Cooley averaged 12.5 PPG and 8.9 RPG last season, earning him Big East Most Improved Player and All-Big East Second Team honors.  Expectations are high for the Irish this season and much of their success will depend on Cooley’s high-motor work ethic in the paint. 

Vincent Council – [Providence] Senior, Guard

Council has morphed into an elite guard in the Big East and his coach, Ed Cooley, went as far this summer to proclaim him THE best guard in the conference.  That's high praise and not at all biased.  But Vincent does deserve a look as he was on the court for almost every minute of the Friars’ games last year (averaging 38.7 per) and averaged 15.9 PPG and 7.5 APG – earning him All-Big East Third Team honors for a team that won only four games in the conference.  Many think of Providence as a cellar dweller in the Big East, but there is potential to surprise this year, and if they do – Vincent will be at the center of that movement.

Gorgui Dieng – [Louisville] Junior, Center

Louisville’s defensive dominance that came to form as the season progressed had a lot to do with the up-tempo press attack they took on, but it also had a lot to do with the development of Dieng.  Gorgui was a raw player on both ends of the floor last year, but another year under the tutelage of Coach Pitino should mold him into an elite big-man.   Expect him to average a double-double and be at the top of the nation in blocks.  If he is not the Big East Player of the Year, expect him to at least be the Defensive Player of the Year in the conference. 

Otto Porter – [Georgetown] Sophomore, Forward

Georgetown, seemingly an elite program year after year, was actually picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big East last year.  The Hoyas ended up surprising the preseason coaches’ picks and finished 12-6; good for 4^th in the conference.  A lot of that success had to do with the instant impact of Porter.  Not only is he a skilled big man on both ends of the floor, he also possesses excellent range.  Porter could very well be the best all-around player in the conference. 

Peyton Siva – [Louisville] Senior, Guard

If Louisville is to get back to the Final Four, a lot of their success will depend on Siva.  The Cardinals are loaded with talent all over the court, but it’s the play and leadership of their true point guard that is necessary to make a deep run.  Siva’s play doesn’t fill up the stat sheet, but it is the type of play that wins games. 

The Pick:  Peyton Siva

He is likely the most important player on a team with national championship aspirations.  He should be the favorite – at least for the preseason pick.       

Honorable Mentions:

Anthony Collins – [South Florida] – Sophomore, Guard

D’Angelo Harrison – [St. John’s] – Sophomore, Guard

Sean Kilpatrick – [Cincinnati] – Junior, Guard

Cleveland Melvin – [DePaul] – Junior, Forward

Brandon Triche – [Syracuse] – Senior, Guard

Tomorrow I will take a look at the candidates for Preseason Rookie of the Year. 

Twitter: @shane_t_mac

Notre Dame, A Bunch of Over-Achievers?

Led by Jack Cooley, the Fighting Irish are 9-1 in their last 10 games

The Irish went from disaster to dominanting

By Shane McCarthy on February 26, 2012

Entering the 2011-2012 season, the Irish were a team without a lot of experience, very little depth, and when Tim Abromaitis was lost for the year six games in due to injury, a team that lacked a star quality player to lean on. 

When Notre Dame finished their non-conference portion of their season, they were 8-5, and they didn’t have one notable win in the eight they possessed.  They got blown out by Missouri and Gonzaga and also lost to Georgia, Maryland and Indiana.  Unfortunately, wins against Sam Houston State and Maine did not prove that this team was any good. 

The Irish started Big East Conference play with more of the same.  At 3-3, they managed to beat Pittsburgh and Louisville, but it was still widely expected that the Fighting Irish were bound to finish as a bottom dweller in the Big East and receive a NIT bid. 

Now in late February, it’s amazing to see how this team turned it around.  At 12-4 in conference and 20-9 overall, could they be the biggest surprise of the year or have they just been over-achieving?

After a difficult loss at Rutgers on January 16, Notre Dame went on to win nine straight conference games, the most in school history.  The streak started when they caught a then #1 Syracuse team flat and directionless as they were playing their first of three games without Fab Melo.  There is no telling if Notre Dame can pull off that win with Melo in the lineup, but that was not their problem as they took advantage of the situation. 

That victory over the Orange may have been the spark that ignited the run, but it was also the fact that the Irish became the anti-Connecticut team.  While UConn possesses boatloads of talent with no team chemistry, Notre Dame makes up for their lack of talent with great chemistry and smart play. 

Jack Cooley, a role player last year, kept his big body, but fine-tuned it from goofy to talented, and is now winning Big East Player of the Week awards.  Combine his skills with great guard play from Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins, two white guys that can shoot and play tough defense in Pat Connaughton and Alex Dragicevich, and you have a solid team that is well-rounded. 

Now the Big East has not played as tough this year as in years past, but it is still a deep conference with no sure-things.  The argument can be made however, that Notre Dame was able to take advantage of a soft patch in their schedule.  With or without Fab Melo, Syracuse is a high quality win given their depth and talent, but they were also able to catch imploding UConn and West Virginia teams.   Their decisive win against Marquette was impressive, but they were also able to get Seton Hall, Rutgers, DePaul and Villanova in that stretch.   Nothing spectacular, but in the end - wins are wins.  

So what changed?  In short, nothing that shows up in the box score changed much.  They increased their assists per game from 14.3 in their first 19 games to 15.4 in the last 10, but their turnovers went up from 9.9 to 10.2.  Their FG%, 3PT% and rebounds per game all have also remained fairly constant.  They did however stiffen up their defense and reduced their opponents FG% from 42% to 38%. 

Notre Dame does rely on the three point shot often and if they don’t shoot well, they don’t have enough inside presence to win games.   This was on display yesterday at St. Johns as the Red Storm did an admirable job of reducing Cooley’s touches and forced the Irish to take a lot of long shots.  The Irish didn’t shoot well, 4 of 31 from three, and ended up losing the game by three points.

Some may say that they were fortunate to even be in the game with St. Johns at the end, but I see that as a positive.  They shot the ball terribly, Cooley never got going, and they still had an open look at the buzzer to send it to overtime.  Most teams would have lost by 15+.

So, what did change then?  The Irish have turned their early season struggles into success by changing their attitude.  Lead by the reigning National Coach of the Year, Mike Brey, this team believes they should be having this type of success.   They are definitely not the most athletic or talented team, but as long as they keep working hard and do not become relaxed, there is no reason why this team can’t continue to enjoy success. 

So, have they over-achieved?  Maybe, but this team earned it through hard work and buying into each other.  The Fighting Irish went from a NIT bid at best six weeks ago to possibly a five or six seed in the NCAA Tournament.  My guess is they get one win before going out in the round of 32, but it is hard to bet against a team that believes they should be winning.    

@shane_t_mac