Burke 2nd in early POY poll
Player of the Year Straw Poll
| Ballots | Player, Year, Pos., School | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Mason Plumlee, Sr., F, Duke | 30 (90) | 12 (24) | 12 | 126 |
| 48 | Trey Burke, So., G, Michigan | 13 (39) | 25 (50) | 10 | 99 |
| 50 | Doug McDermott, Jr, F, Creighton | 16 (48) | 15 (30) | 19 | 97 |
| 12 | Cody Zeller, So., F, Indiana | 2 (6) | 3 (6) | 7 | 19 |
| 9 | Russ Smith, Jr., G, Louisville | 1 (3) | 3 (6) | 5 | 14 |
| 5 | Anthony Bennett, Fr., F, UNLV | 0 | 2 (4) | 3 | 7 |
| 4 | Jeff Withey, Sr., C, Kansas | 1 (3) | 1 (2) | 2 | 7 |
| 1 | Ben McLemore, Fr., G, Kansas | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Kevin Foster, Sr., G, Santa Clara | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Jack Cooley, Sr., F, Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | James Michael McAdoo, So., F, UNC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | Shabazz Muhammad, Fr., G/F, UCLA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | Mike Muscala, Sr., F/C, Bucknell | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | Nate Wolters, Sr., G, South Dakota State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
If he can continue to put up impressive numbers, in the best conference in the nation, I see no reason why he shouldn't be #1 over Plumlee.
GO BLUE!
January 10th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^
January 10th, 2013 at 2:26 PM ^
It's all about preseason hype. It affects more than just team rankings and causes a top player's decent, yet underwhelming performance to be rewarded over someone else who has been more impressive and far exceeded their initial expectations.
January 10th, 2013 at 12:20 PM ^
If he finishes second that means he DEFINITELY has to come back for his junior year so he can win it, right?
.....right?
January 10th, 2013 at 12:24 PM ^
I agree with this
for selfish reasons, although I have a feeling D. Walton looks to be a special player too and Coach B is surrounding this program with a lot of big time players.
January 10th, 2013 at 1:59 PM ^
is no chance Burke is coming back. He may declare in February.
January 10th, 2013 at 12:26 PM ^
Up to yesterday around 6:10pm your post would've generated a snarky response on my part.
Now.....I'm not so sure anymore.
January 10th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^
before or after the tourney? based on the numbers now, it seems like duke might have to lose a game in which plumlee plays poorly before michigan loses in order for trey to move into first. also, any idea if being a senior helps plumlee (for having paid his dues) or hurts him (for not being good enough to have jumped early)?
January 10th, 2013 at 1:44 PM ^
I know he's having a good year, but Mason Plumlee leading the POY voting is like ND being in the MNC game - perceived "royalty" in college sports certainly helps in tricking people.
January 10th, 2013 at 2:39 PM ^
Some quick averages from this season (courtesy of ESPN):
| MIN | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | PTS | |
| Plumlee | 33.2 | 0.616 | 0 | 0.658 | 11.4 | 1.9 | 17.7 |
| Burke | 33.3 | 0.533 | 0.392 | 0.776 | 3 | 7.3 | 18.2 |
| McDermott | 30.6 | 0.551 | 0.493 | 0.874 | 7.3 | 1.8 | 22.6 |
It's interesting, however, that this is clearly a breakout senior year for Plumlee, having gradually played more and by extension produced more, whereas Burke has more or less hit the ground running (and improved significantly over last year to boot) since he arrived in Ann Arbor. The same thing applies to McDermott, just based on the numbers - it seems like he started immediately and made an impact immediately, just like Burke. I have to wonder if this is just the Duke brand at work, because it seems like this vote should be closer from a statistical standpoint.
January 10th, 2013 at 2:42 PM ^
It's great to see Burke ranked so highly, but it's where you are at the end of the year that counts. If Michigan wins the NCAA Championship, I have a feeling Burke won't care where he finishes.
It would be nice to see him be a high lottery pick, though.
January 10th, 2013 at 2:54 PM ^
#2 POY . . . For now . . .
January 10th, 2013 at 9:49 PM ^
I don't follow college basketball close enough to know how well anyone plays outside of games against michigan, so i can't weight in on how much any player deserves the NPOY award.
That being said, i'm looking at a list of past Naismith winners and four of the last eight: JJ Redick, Andrew Bogut, Jimmer, and Tyler Hansborough are white. On the list in the original post, 4 of the top 7 are white.
There is no way that reflects the fraction of ncaam basketball players who are white.
I took a philosophy and law class where one of the topics was that eye witness testimony is problematic because people have more difficulty recognizing faces of another race than their own. I wonder if there is an eyewitness testimony problem here. With the media primarily run by white guys, is it easier for them to identify and market successful white players? Is there some other explanation? Or are white players just overachievers?
January 10th, 2013 at 9:57 PM ^
Oh, come on. All of those white guys you list were players who had outstanding seasons they year they won it.
Now, there might be a racial relation in play here, though. All of those white guys you listed were guys who stayed all four years (I think) because they didn't have off the charts pro potential. It could be that white players, who are generally less athletic, often have a lower pro ceiling, and therefore stay in college longer, giving them an edge for this award.
For example, if Kyrie Erving or Kevin Durant had stayed in college for four years, I bet they would have won the POY award, but why would they?
January 10th, 2013 at 11:36 PM ^
i don't know if burke could win even if he outplays everyone else considering he is only a sophomore. plumlee has an advantage.