CJ *NOT* PL Player of the Year

Forum Forum Lehigh Sports Lehigh Men’s Basketball CJ *NOT* PL Player of the Year

This topic contains 13 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by  norcalfan 13 years ago.

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  • #3343

    lfnadmin
    Keymaster

    http://www.lehighsports.com/sports/mbba … ition.aspx

    You read right.

    McCollum’s bid to win his second straight Patriot League Player of the Year fell short as Bucknell’s Muscala walked away with the honor. McCollum’s play has jumped greatly from last season, though, as he is averaging a league-leading 21.8 points per game, 23.2 in league play. His point total also ranks among the top 10 nationally while his 2.5 steals per game are among the top 20 in the country as well.

    I’ve got to believe that this should light a fire under Moldoveanu and McCollum in the playoffs, both whom could make an excellent case for POY honors. At least, let’s hope so.

    #3344
    Bison137
    Bison137
    Participant

    I don’t think any close followers of PL basketball history thought McCollum had a shot at POY after LU finished 6-8 in the league – tied for 4th, 5th, and 6th. The PL POY award, based on how the coaches have traditionally voted, has always been like a MLB MVP award – going to an outstanding player on either the #1 team or a close contender.

    In 21 years of PL voting, the WORST league record for a POY’s team has been 9-5. And 18 of the 21 winners played for a 1st place team. The only exceptions were Foyle, Feaster, and Sprink – and all of them played for contenders who had records of 9-5 or better.

    Also, with regard to C.J., I think the fact that he shot .389 from the field in league play (and only .313 on threes), coupled with him having more turnovers than assists, couldn’t have helped his cause.

    Prior to the vote, I thought Vlad had maybe a 30% shot, but the fact the BU beat them easily twice – with Vlad contributing very little – made it likely Muscala would prevail.

    #3345
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    disappointed that CJ not POY but , while he was very good, I think burden of carrying team too often wore him down towards the end of the regular season. His effort was still there but not his shooting. A rest before playoffs will I think do him a world of good. I thought early on Ojo would become a consistent 2nd scorer. Oh, well.

    #3347

    Lee-Hai-Phan
    Participant

    Hard to argue with choice of Muscala, but I’d still rather watch CJ play.

    #3349

    LU65
    Participant

    I’m a little disappointed, as well, but not surprised for all the reasons given by B137. Here’s a side by side comparison of some PL stats:

    Stat CJ / Ranking MM / Ranking

    FG% .389 / Out of Top25 .530 / 4th
    Scoring 23.2 / 1st 16.1 / 6th
    Reboun 8.8 / 2nd 8.7 / 3rd
    Assists 2.4 / 15th Out of Top 15
    FT% .861 / 2nd .802 / 7th
    Steals 2.4 / 1st Out of Top 15
    Blocks 0.9 / 7th 2.6 / 1st
    Minutes 35.9 / 2nd Out of Top 10

    Had Lehigh finished with a winning record, the vote may have swung in CJ’s favor. Let’s hope they meet in a head-to-head dual in front of a national TV audience on Sunday. Now that would be fun.

    #3351

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "Bison137" wrote: I don’t think any close followers of PL basketball history thought McCollum had a shot at POY after LU finished 6-8 in the league – tied for 4th, 5th, and 6th. The PL POY award, based on how the coaches have traditionally voted, has always been like a MLB MVP award – going to an outstanding player on either the #1 team or a close contender.

    In 21 years of PL voting, the WORST league record for a POY’s team has been 9-5. And 18 of the 21 winners played for a 1st place team. The only exceptions were Foyle, Feaster, and Sprink – and all of them played for contenders who had records of 9-5 or better.

    Also, with regard to C.J., I think the fact that he shot .389 from the field in league play (and only .313 on threes), coupled with him having more turnovers than assists, couldn’t have helped his cause.

    Prior to the vote, I thought Vlad had maybe a 30% shot, but the fact the BU beat them easily twice – with Vlad contributing very little – made it likely Muscala would prevail.

    I must say I was not surprised that Muscala got the award. Congratulations to him. He had a good season.

    I am surprised that CJ’s turnover rate was so high. Sometimes I looked at the box score and it seemed high, but I did not look at his overall. The sign says, "In CJ we Trust". CJ will continue to be the focus at LU, so I am sure he will be fine.

    #3365

    LU65
    Participant

    norcalfan, when looking at CJ’s "high" turnover rate, be sure to consider what some might consider an offset, i.e., "Steals."

    Here are a few interesting comparisons:

    Player….Number of Turnvoers….Number of Steals

    CJ (Lehigh)….86….73
    Johnson (Bucknell)….35….14
    Sugars (Navy)….68….38
    Hoban (Colgate)….82….47
    Hence (Army)….73….24
    Brewer (American)….39….24

    #3366

    TheFan
    Participant

    from the Bucknell coach to the commttee that voted for POY:

    Gee guys, couldn’t you have waited until AFTER our Sunday game with Lehigh?

    This guy is going to destroy us on the court!

    #3368
    Bison137
    Bison137
    Participant

    "TheFan" wrote: from the Bucknell coach to the commttee that voted for POY:

    Gee guys, couldn’t you have waited until AFTER our Sunday game with Lehigh?

    This guy is going to destroy us on the court!

    The "committee" that voted for Muscala consisted solely of the eight Patriot League coaches. (Note: Bucknell’s coach was not allowed to vote for his own player.)

    #3369

    LUHoops00
    Participant

    Little late to this post, but 100% agree with Muscala as POY. Best player on best team, pretty simple.

    Did anyone see Jordan Hamilton post-game interview after Navy game? This team is hungry to get another shot at BU, that plus motivated CJ to show league coaches who the best player in the league is, can hopefully keep this thing close til the under 4 minute tv timeout…then, let’s see what happens..have to stop BU runs and keep it close…

    #3371

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "TheFan" wrote: from the Bucknell coach to the commttee that voted for POY:

    Gee guys, couldn’t you have waited until AFTER our Sunday game with Lehigh?

    This guy is going to destroy us on the court!

    This made my day. Paulsen is being real, no airs to him, just making it real. lol

    #3372

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "Bison137" wrote: [quote="TheFan"]from the Bucknell coach to the commttee that voted for POY:

    Gee guys, couldn’t you have waited until AFTER our Sunday game with Lehigh?

    This guy is going to destroy us on the court!

    The "committee" that voted for Muscala consisted solely of the eight Patriot League coaches. (Note: Bucknell’s coach was not allowed to vote for his own player.)[/quote]

    I know, but it was funny!

    #3373

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "LU65" wrote: norcalfan, when looking at CJ’s "high" turnover rate, be sure to consider what some might consider an offset, i.e., "Steals."

    Here are a few interesting comparisons:

    Player….Number of Turnvoers….Number of Steals

    CJ (Lehigh)….86….73
    Johnson (Bucknell)….35….14
    Sugars (Navy)….68….38
    Hoban (Colgate)….82….47
    Hence (Army)….73….24
    Brewer (American)….39….24

    Thanks for the numbers. As I said, LU is built around CJ. Next year will be very interesting to watch.

    #3374

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "LUHoops00" wrote: Little late to this post, but 100% agree with Muscala as POY. Best player on best team, pretty simple.

    Did anyone see Jordan Hamilton post-game interview after Navy game? This team is hungry to get another shot at BU, that plus motivated CJ to show league coaches who the best player in the league is, can hopefully keep this thing close til the under 4 minute tv timeout…then, let’s see what happens..have to stop BU runs and keep it close…

    I agree that Muscala deserves the nod. He is on the best team, CJ is not, at least not this time. He has two more years, new players coming in. Seniors are almost gone, juniors out soon and Brett Reed gets all his players, not Billy Taylor’s.

    Yes I saw it after the game. Seems like a nice and humble kid. Of course, he better say they want to get after BU. As I keep saying, if the whole team works together, they can get this win. No individualism and they get it done. Rotate in and rotate out. Keep them fresh.

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