ESPN: Trey Burke tops final POY straw poll

Submitted by Indonacious on

Hopefully this bodes well for his chances to win the various POY awards, seeing as this straw poll has 67 voters so it should be a reasonably good predictor. The article says "The poll has been correct the past four seasons".

Quick Summary:

- Burke was on 59/67 ballots (who didn't list him in their top 3...crazy?)

Top 3:

Burke:139
Oladipo: 101
Porter: 77

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/79093/trey-bu…

MGoLogan

March 13th, 2013 at 11:06 AM ^

I think Victor Oladpio is a very good college player and a phenominal defender, but I just do not get the NPOY love.  I know stat lines do not tell the whole story, but his stats are very similar to that of Tim Hardaway Jr., with the exceptions being shooting percentages and steals.

Oladipo - 13.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 2.2 SPG (61% FG, 46% 3FG, 75% FT)

Hardaway - 14.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.7 SPG (45% FG, 38% 3FG, 69% FT)

I believe Cody Zeller has actually had a better year than Oladipo, but because there was so much hype surrounding Zeller before the season (not so much Oladipo), people for some reason view Zeller as having a subpar year.

My NPOY ballot would look something like this:

1) Burke, 2) Porter, 3) Zeller, 4) Olynyk, 5) Oladipo

FingerMustache

March 13th, 2013 at 11:50 AM ^

So essentially what you are saying is that the only statistical similarities between oladipo and hardaway  are scoring and assists. Let's take a closer look at things, shall we...

Oladipo gets 1.5 more rebounds than hardaway. Take into consideration that oladipo played 7 fewer minutes per game, that Hardaway is on a team with very few good rebounders,  and that these are both guards. All of a sudden, 1.5 rebounds looks like a lot.

You also didn't mention the fact that over 41% (80 / 193) of oladipo's rebounds were on the offensive end. For comparison, just over 4% of hardaway's boards were offensive (6 / 142)

also those shooting percentages, which you so casually dimissed, are pretty damn signifiant. hardaway's numbers are nothing to sneeze at, but 61% shooting percentage for a wing player is extremely efficient. 

finally, those steal numbers say a lot, but perhaps not enough, about the defensive abilities of the two players. oladipo is probably one of the top two on-ball defenders in the big10 (along with craft). Not sure if you saw the trouble he gave burke. but he's also able to defend wing players (like hardaway). On the other hand, hardaway (like burke) is a below average defender.

im not saying that burke doesn't deserve to be POY, but to say that oladipo shouldnt be in the conversation, or that hardaway is even close to as valuable as oladipo, is just silly talk.

MGoLogan

March 13th, 2013 at 2:14 PM ^

1.5 rebounds is not much of a difference, and the difference in philosophy between the two coaches when it comes to offensive rebounds explains the offensive rebounding numbers.  Beilein typically only sends two players to the offensive glass (against IU this was Morgan and Robinson, as it has been most of the season) while Crean likes to send everyone minus his point guard.

The shooting numbers reflect the different sytles of play between the two.  Hardaway is a jump shooter, who only recently has developed a slashing game.  Oladipo is a slasher who only recently has developed a jump shot.  I take Oladipo's 3PG% with a grain of salt, as Hardaway has made more 3's (57) than Oladipo has attempted (56).

The biggest difference between the two players is on the defensive end, however, Hardaway is not as bad of a defender as you make him out to be.  Not sure if you saw the trouble he gave Oladipo, but he did hold him to his worst shooting performance of the season.  The two players are much more comparable than you seem to believe, but I would give the edge to Oladipo at this point. 

bacon1431

March 13th, 2013 at 6:46 PM ^

There's a huge difference b/w 61% and 45%. Yes, THJ shoots significantly more treys, but I don't think Oladipo should be punished for taking most of his shots inside of the arc. This is a guard we're talking about. 61% from a perimeter player is unreal and doesn't happen in basketball very often at this level. Not saying he should win, but to compare the two is silly. Especially when you think about how many points Oladipo prevents compared to THJ. If he wins, I won't complain.

mGrowOld

March 13th, 2013 at 11:06 AM ^

"Here is the potential snag for Burke. With the stagger of votes and the continued ascent of Indiana junior Victor Oladipo, there is a chance for a split of the four major awards depending on how things go in the postseason."

Respectfully I believe the last eight words of the above quote will tell the tale moreso than the straw poll.

samber2009

March 13th, 2013 at 11:20 AM ^

I have a lot of respect for Oladipo and think he's a phenomenal player, and being from Indiana, all I here about is how good he is.  That said, my usual argument against Oladipo winning NPOY is that he's arguably not even the best player on his team.  I think that's really helping Trey out right now. No one does more for their team than Trey Burke so consistantly.  I can't imagine what this season would've been like had Trey not been on the court.  If Oladipo or Zeller have an off night, IU is till beating most by 15.  IU's season result is a total team effort, and I think even his Michigan teammates would agree that our season has been all Trey up to this point. 

ChicagoGoBlue

March 13th, 2013 at 11:42 AM ^

Is it next week after the conference tourneys are over? Or do they wait until after March Madness is over?  In either case, an early tourney exit for Michigan will not help Trey so I hope that doesn't happen.

LSAClassOf2000

March 13th, 2013 at 11:47 AM ^

It is worth noting that this is a huge jump for Otto Porter really - he had all of two 3rd place votes in the February 21st poll, or all of 2 points, and then in last week's, he was second with Oladipo behind him actually. 

That aside, as it pertains to Burke, I don't know if you'll find a better example someone who leads and drives a team's game. His 594 points are about 1/4 of all the points this team scored in the regular season, and if you removed Burke from the offense, the team goes from 75.4 points per game on average to 56.3. He also accounts for about half of all the assists and has a 3.5 assist / turnover ratio himself, easily one of the best ratios among current PGs. That is the definition of a meaningful and consistent contribution. 

Ike613

March 13th, 2013 at 11:50 AM ^

players that have an offensively skilled 7 footer on their team.  Some might argue Zeller detracts from Oladipo's ability to score and rebound more, but I'd argue Zeller gives teams much more to think about than Morgan/McGary/Horford do on the offensive end which I think opens things up more for Oladipo than Burke.

Naked Bootlegger

March 13th, 2013 at 11:52 AM ^

Burke put up monster stats, and he went head-to-head TWICE against two of the premiere on-the-ball defenders in all of college basketball (Craft and Victor O.).   In this case, Burke's stats don't lie, and it's not like he's the only person shouldering the scoring for UM.  We have 3 other players averaging double-digit points.  Victor's offensive numbers are hurt by Zeller's production, but UM also has significant offensive production for other players surrounding Burke. 

 

Space Coyote

March 13th, 2013 at 12:17 PM ^

Olandipo is a great player now: great defender, very efficient on offense, does everything. His ceiling may be higher than anyone in college basketball today with how good he can be. But right now, IMO, Burke is the best player and most important player in college basketball.

taistreetsmyhero

March 13th, 2013 at 7:47 PM ^

He definitely has the size, athleticism, and talent to be a lock-down defender. His athleticism may give him a high ceiling in terms of developing a solid NBA offense...but most good NBA scoring guards already had elite offensive games by this time in their career.

I think he's destined to be a valuable role player, like a tony allen (but with a better shot on offense).

SamIam

March 13th, 2013 at 1:44 PM ^

PG is the more difficult position to play.  That alone should give him the nod over Olidipo even  all other stats are comparable.