BE POY Watch

[GooooMarquette]

But relative to the Big East teams we are still in 5th place.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  Powell plays on the best team in the league for sure.  Old schoolers (see MVP baseball convo here) have said they will vote for guy on better team.  I disagree, but depending on your POV it wil likely have an impact on the votes.

Yes, it will be interesting.

Another possible factor/question: Have any guys won POY as a junior, come back as a senior and had an even better season, but lost POY because their team fell in the standings?

Don't know the answer, but just as "East coast bias" and BE standings might play in Powell's favor, "reigning POY" and better individual stats play in Markus' favor.

[TheGym]

Powell can have the BE POY, just as long as Marcus gets NPOY

[Golden Avalanche]

Splitting between Powell and Ponds; maybe even a vote or two for Booth or Paschall?

This is the correct answer.

Ponds was pre-season favorite due to NYC media hype as a result of how the Johnnies finished the prior season. He remained in the running, without merit, for quite some time into the conference season. His taking a vote, or two, shortened Powell's chances.


This should be a short conversation. Based on evidence, Howard was a no doubt selection last year. Total stud. A better percentage this year from deep scoring at a higher clip and doing it by playing fewer minutes than last year. Full blown elite. First team All-American. Arguably the greatest scorer in the four decade history of the Big East.

That written, Howard needs to rebuild his flash. Sadly, it's the way of social media living. He's expected to be elite. He's expected to drop a smooth 42. He's expected to consistently hit 25 footers. What he needs is one more major moment of hype -- dropping another 50 spot or a signature game winning jumper -- to force the hand of the coaches. Powell's trophy to lose.

[StillWarriors]

Still a long way to go. Things tend to have a way of becoming clearer over the course of a season. I would hope the team's success isn't an overriding factor unless Powell and Howard are virtually indistinguishable otherwise. Hall does seem to be the best team in the conference at this point, even though they have had some close calls. To this point, biased as I am, I think Howard absolutely deserves POY.

[brewcity77]

I appreciate the optimism and hope you're all right. But if SHU wins the league and Powell wins BEPOY despite Markus being clearly better, don't be surprised.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I hope Markus wins it, and I would argue that right now he should be in the lead.

But who really cares?  He already won a BE POY.  I'd much rather have any of BE regular season champ, BE tournament champ or S16 run over a meaningless award, and I am sure Markus would too.

It would be a nice feather in Markus' cap to have back to back BE POY the awards, but short of an injury or absolute collapse, Markus is going to be a first team all american.  I am not going to get too worked up if he gets snubbed for BE POY. Powell is a heck of a player as well, and right now, SHU is the better team.   

[StillWarriors]

I hope Markus wins it, and I would argue that right now he should be in the lead.

But who really cares?  He already won a BE POY.  I'd much rather have any of BE regular season champ, BE tournament champ or S16 run over a meaningless award, and I am sure Markus would too.

It would be a nice feather in Markus' cap to have back to back BE POY the awards, but short of an injury or absolute collapse, Markus is going to be a first team all american.  I am not going to get too worked up if he gets snubbed for BE POY. Powell is a heck of a player as well, and right now, SHU is the better team.

Can't disagree with any of this, and no, I don't think anyone should be surprised if Powell gets it. In fact, the fact Markus won it last year may work against him ala NBA MVP awards.

[jesmu84]

Powell can have the BE POY, just as long as Marcus gets NPOY

Is there any logic to this though? How can you be the best player in the nation, but not in your own conference?

[Silkk the Shaka]

Is there any logic to this though? How can you be the best player in the nation, but not in your own conference?

Different voting bases with different criteria/biases

[brewcity77]

Is there any logic to this though? How can you be the best player in the nation, but not in your own conference?

If Seton Hall wins the league, but MU finishes third and is a top-4 seed in the NCAAs, I can easily see that happening.

[rocket surgeon]

Markus mentioned by ESPN as one the country’s toughest matchups



https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/28525803/who-toughest-players-guard-college-basketball

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Did you look at Cheeks' thread showing that our overall team ratings are better this season than last?

Voters for that don't care about computer rankings. They do care about conference standings. Only one guy (who won it twice) on a team that finished outside the top 2 has won BE BOY in the last 15-20 years. And one of the two years he won it they made him split it with a guy with much worse stats that played for one of the top two teams. They will be looking for any reason to give it to Powell over Howard. If Seton Hall finishes top 2 and we don't, I'd bet a large sum that Powell at worst splits the award with Markus.

[GooooMarquette]

Voters for that don't care about computer rankings. They do care about conference standings. Only one guy (who won it twice) on a team that finished outside the top 2 has won BE BOY in the last 15-20 years. And one of the two years he won it they made him split it with a guy with much worse stats that played for one of the top two teams. They will be looking for any reason to give it to Powell over Howard. If Seton Hall finishes top 2 and we don't, I'd bet a large sum that Powell at worst splits the award with Markus.

I won't be surprised at all if they split it - you hear commentators, and even THEY seem to be dying to give it to someone else. But I will be very surprised if Markus doesn't get at least a piece of the pie, if not the whole thing.

[IrwinFletcher]

FWIW, last night on the broadcast, Tim Miles the color analyst said that he thinks Powell is the BE POY right now.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

FWIW, last night on the broadcast, Tim Miles the color analyst said that he thinks Powell is the BE POY right now.

He also called Bill Self "A good man"

[GooooMarquette]

FWIW, last night on the broadcast, Tim Miles the color analyst said that he thinks Powell is the BE POY right now.

Yep - that's why I said even the commentators seem to want to give it to someone other than Markus.

[lawdog77]

Fair or not, I think Powell  is the best player on the team in first place. I feel he will win it if SH wins the Big East, even if 0 drops 35 a night.

[Dr. Blackheart]

FWIW, last night on the broadcast, Tim Miles the color analyst said that he thinks Powell is the BE POY right now.

He was also fired from his last gig for not being very good.

[Its DJOver]

Has the conference had 2 All-American's in one season since Mullin and Ewing?  I think a split is far more likely than some people think.  I also think it doesn't really matter and neither Markus or Powell really care that much.

[warriorchick]

Markus mentioned by ESPN as one the country’s toughest matchups



https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/28525803/who-toughest-players-guard-college-basketball

Nice to see this writer giving Markus' teammates credit for their contributions to his success.

I don't get the folks here who minimize our victories because of Markus' dominance.  No one says after a big Packer win , "Yeah, but they need to stop relying on Aaron Rodgers so much".  If passing Markus the ball, setting a screen for him, and letting him shoot it makes us win, then that is what we should do.

[tower912]

Tim Miles is still waiting for his voice to change.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Mike Trout anyone?

[CTWarrior]

Nice to see this writer giving Markus' teammates credit for their contributions to his success.

I don't get the folks here who minimize our victories because of Markus' dominance.  No one says after a big Packer win , "Yeah, but they need to stop relying on Aaron Rodgers so much".  If passing Markus the ball, setting a screen for him, and letting him shoot it makes us win, then that is what we should do.

Does anybody actually do that?  That doesn't seem like a thing that I read here.  I've read that Markus shoots too much or dominates the ball and Wojo does nothing about it, but that is not the same as minimizing victories because Markus shoots too much.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Tim Miles is still waiting for his voice to change.

Yeah that was... odd. I thought for sure it was a young guy getting his first gig then they flashed that it was Miles and I was confused

[jficke13]

Does anybody actually do that?  That doesn't seem like a thing that I read here.  I've read that Markus shoots too much or dominates the ball and Wojo does nothing about it, but that is not the same as minimizing victories because Markus shoots too much.

You should hear the dude who sits behind us. It's "COME ON MARKUS!" screamed in fury after every miss, and an equally angry "MARKUS!" while each shot goes up (even if it goes in). I wonder if several years from now and zero MU players with 40 point games, he's going to look back on how his experience watching a generational talent was ruined by his own horrible attitude. Probably not, he'll probably just have a new target for his rage.