March 31, 2006

Redick tops Morrison for AP player of year: J.J. Redick, whose 3-point shooting led Duke to a No. 1 ranking for most of the season, was selected the national player of the year by The Associated Press on Friday.

posted by STUNNER to basketball at 11:31 AM - 24 comments

he deserved it

posted by flattspliff at 01:09 PM on March 31, 2006

I think they could have gotten away with a tie. Both guys carried their teams through the season. I'd have to give the nod to JJ only because he played tougher teams throughout the season.

posted by dbt302 at 01:44 PM on March 31, 2006

I didn't see the end of the game with Gonzaga where Morrison was "crying" but I wonder if that had an effect on the voting. SOmetimes you can tell more about a person by how they handle losing than how they handle winning.

posted by blakrain at 01:52 PM on March 31, 2006

East Coast wins again...big surprise

posted by scottypup at 02:01 PM on March 31, 2006

they both cried. should have been a tie.

posted by Pabo at 02:42 PM on March 31, 2006

I don't see the logic of giving an award for college basketball that doesn't incorporate tournament play. The real player of the year in college basketball, when the nets are cut down, will be Joakim Noah.

posted by rcade at 03:10 PM on March 31, 2006

Who cares Morrison will be a much better pro and "Pabo" is right they both cried and it should have been a tie.

posted by sonicdog at 03:37 PM on March 31, 2006

True sonic. Morrison will most likely have a much more profitable career than Reddick. So he'll have the last word.

posted by scottypup at 04:09 PM on March 31, 2006

The real player of the year in college basketball, when the nets are cut down, will be Joakim Noah. If that happens, the real coach of the year will be Billy Donovan. It really doesn't make much sense to not consider the tournament when handing out these awards.

posted by tselson at 04:14 PM on March 31, 2006

It should be a tie. I don't think it should be based on tournament play in and of itself either, though. Admittedly, I haven't followed Joakim as closely as I followed Adam this year, but my vote doesn't count due to my hometown bias. However I didn't realize that shedding tears was going to be a requirement for the AP award. They are both good kids that had the entire focus of their young lives, at least where basketball is concerned, stopped at the Sweet 16. My vote is to cut them slack for now and let them prove themselves in the NBA.

posted by THX-1138 at 04:14 PM on March 31, 2006

rcade and sonic, couldn't said it better myself..totally agree.

posted by Grrrlacher at 04:15 PM on March 31, 2006

I think it should also be a tie....joakim noah or any of the guys from george mason should get it if it was narrowed down to tournament records...but the ap awards are given on an entire season....even if redick proved himself ineffective against LSU, and morrison did much better in his last game. If an argument holds, my indiana hoosiers had morrison on lockdown for the entire game(sadly he was the only one) Honestly though, if i had a vote, as much as i despise the very existence of Duke, my vote for the year goes to Shelden Williams, who was truly the heart and soul of that team.

posted by FozzFest at 04:35 PM on March 31, 2006

It should have been a tie. JJ had Dukes reputation and a thougher schedule on his side. they need to prove themselves in the nba or there next job.

posted by tanker57 at 04:39 PM on March 31, 2006

Kudos on the roy williams vote...though..Roy and Billy Donovan did a lot with a little this year, this vote also could have been a tie

posted by FozzFest at 07:03 PM on March 31, 2006

Man...JJ and Adam should have tied...but maybe they should give out these awards at the end of the "Regular Season" instead of in the middle of the tournament. And for all you guys complaining about the tournament and Joakim Noah (who I think looks like the next Kevin Garnett), that's what the tournament MOP is for...guys like Noah who just "tear it up" in the tourney... By the way, go George Mason! (they knocked off my team, so they get my vote)

posted by chemwizBsquared at 08:57 PM on March 31, 2006

I could not disagree more. They posted similar numbers but Redick did it against a MUCH better conference. You have to give him the credit for that. He posted great numbers against some of the best teams in the country while Morrison beat St. Mary's or one of those teams in their conference. JJ earned it enough said.

posted by buffalo will never win at 09:00 PM on March 31, 2006

JJ can definitely play, but his game is not as complete as Morrison's. JJ is helped by having Shelden Williams getting a lot of attention inside to leave himself more room outside to do his thing. Morrison draws double teams and game plans drawn specifically to defend HIM, not the team. Lets face it JJ got it because he stayed four years, which I respect. But Morrison was definitely the BEST player and MOST VALUABLE to his team player.

posted by urall cloolis at 10:15 PM on March 31, 2006

I don't see the logic of giving an award for college basketball that doesn't incorporate tournament play. I agree and I think that this also obtains to college football. If bowl games (and the tournament) decide the champion and the final National rankings, then a player's perfomance in them should be taken into consideration during voting for awards, instead of giving them away before the end of the season (which results in players like Jason White winning the Heisman).

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 09:51 AM on April 01, 2006

Kudos on the roy williams vote...though..Roy and Billy Donovan did a lot with a little this year, this vote also could have been a tie If the vote were based on doing a lot with not much How about Bill Self. After December Kansas was one of the toughest teams in the country (until the tournament). This was while starting Freshmen and Sophomores.

posted by scottypup at 09:52 AM on April 01, 2006

I have no problem with either winning the award, and Redick is definitely a fine college player. He was, though, in my mind, a beneficiary of the ridiculous college three-point line. Some of his struggles throughout his career, ending with his 3 of 18 performance when Duke exited the tourney, left me unimpressed. Morrison, however, is a dominating player no matter what team he's on or what conference that team plays in. He's got skills all over the court, and if he would have been a part of the Duke publicity/hype machine, he'd have a statue erected of him on campus.

posted by dyams at 10:40 AM on April 01, 2006

"...if he would have been a part of the Duke publicity/hype machine, he'd have a statue erected of him on campus..." Stashing this in my bag of quotes...thanks dyams for the one-liner...

posted by chemwizBsquared at 02:11 PM on April 02, 2006

lets face they both let their teams down when it counted the most.still i like Morrison

posted by verngog at 02:12 PM on April 13, 2006

East Coast wins again...big surprise posted by scottypup As a west coaster I always feel we get no respect,When our night gets going most of you on then east coast probably are asleep or have other things to take care of,and hopefully it's sex. And as a West Coast viewer , I personally feel most of the press comes from the East. And where is Duke located geografically, Thank you. Thus the choice or pick is Reddick.

posted by livedawhile at 04:49 PM on April 13, 2006

adam morrison is the best player in the draft and will have a huge impact on whatever team he ends up on in the nba.he is so versitile with the 3 point shot and the height he will impact the league like a dirk nowitski did and he will be BETTER than reddick in the NBA but i stil got love for jj but i am a north carolins tar heel.

posted by OSU4LIFE at 12:51 AM on April 14, 2006

You're not logged in. Please log in or register.