Is there one? Here are some of the nominees...
McNeal -Filled the stat sheet and led the team in points and rebounds. Had a key block in the last minute. But can you really reward 6-17 shooting and 6 TOs? Not factoring offensive rebound saves and fouls, that's still a ton of possessions killed by McNeal.
Fitzgerald -Decided to shoot and made some key 3 pointers. Took enough key 3 pointers that 4 of them had to fall. But my unofficial box scores list as 0-1 rebounds in 17-18 minutes? I think the ball randomly bounces to you for a rebound more than that.
James -Filled the stat sheet well with half the turnovers of McNeal. Nothing close to a good DJ game though. Showed some toughness coming back in the game.
Acker -Logged a lot of minutes and was efficient. Nothing outstanding and at times looked overmatched in the Big East, but we probably couldn't have won without him. 6 assists and 1 TO in 28 minutes.
Probably not a golden Stud of the Game award tonight, but if anyone gets it I guess my vote goes to Acker.
Acker or Fitz. Noone hit any big shots really besides Fitz. He had one key deflection right in front of the SHU bench that lead to the play where James got fouled hard. He played tough D even though he didn't grab the boards. Acker had a very solid game as well. The A/TO ratio is huge and he generally didn't make that many stupid mistakes. One of those two for sure though.
Ignore the box score.
For those who watched the game, the difference makers at the end of the game when it mattered most were DJ, Fitz and McNeal in that order.
Mo had a respectable game but SH kept it interesting in the last minutes by backing down Mo with success.
Since I had to pick one.. I chose McNeal.. beyond the box score I remember him being the defender of note on several key plays (even if he was the one responsible for MU having to be on defense for those plays).
Ugh, the play where Jerel blocked the shot, was after he somehow turned the ball over on a 4 on 1 break.
I think Fitz...
Besides makign the 3 at the end that iced the game, he made some other nice 3s that pumped up the team/crowd. Also, he played some tough defense, I think he caused a few turnovers near the end of the game and was helping a lot on defense.
Not that there was anyone else deserving of the Stud award, but McNeal getting rewarded despite 6 turnovers is very telling of the game.
I vote Fitz. He was shooting and taking the initiative - he played good D (except for his slip) and took that last shot which iced the game.
Why not give it to the team defense (steals, blocks, forced turnovers, rebounds) because it sure wasn't the shooting last night.
Quote from: NCMUFan on January 09, 2008, 06:32:32 AM
Why not give it to the team defense (steals, blocks, forced turnovers, rebounds) because it sure wasn't the shooting last night.
Because team defense didn't get it's own trading card last year! :D
I think it should be DJ. He showed leadership - particularly on the defensive side after Acker got beaten down, DJ kept that kid in front of him. I don't think it should have been McNeal as he had so many bad turnovers. I've been disappointed in his play lately. I expect a lot out of him.
The only studs tonight were in the lockeroom walls. McNeal? He looked totally out of control. He was blocked a couple of times in a row. His idea of an assist was to plop the ball into the scrum. Some other night, sure, not this night.
There was no star, much less a "stud." Maybe the guy on SHU with the windmill shots. But let's see him do even one of them twice.
Does getting blocked count as a turnover? If so, McNeal must have had ten turnovers at least.