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Sunday, April 10, 2011

The Wouldn't Award

Some things in life make me feel nauseous. Cockroaches, for example. Also Dane Cook's standup comedy.

On a more serious note, situations like those in Japan and Libya can make it seem that sports are a bit trivial to be sickening. By this logic, while I heartily disagree with Jimmer Fredette winning the John Wooden award for college basketball over Kemba Walker, it certainly shouldn't make me ill.

So why do I feel nauseous about the selection?

Maybe it's the voting system. Let me share two nuggets from the official Wooden Award website about the most prestigious individual award in college basketball.

"The Wooden Award is presented annually to the outstanding collegiate basketball Player of the Year."

"Voters may vote via an online system up until the day after the Final Four is determined. Voters choosing to vote by mail must have their ballots postmarked [before the Sweet Sixteen]." 

Just to be clear: the Wooden Award goes to the best player in college basketball. And the best player in college basketball has to be determined...before the national championship game is played? Does that seem brainless to anyone else? And for anyone wishing to vote via snail mail, they have to have voted before the Sweet freaking Sixteen? Uh, guys, at these points in the season, there are some fairly important games left! Is the NCAA not aware that the internet makes instant communication possible? You're telling me they couldn't have waited to see Kemba lead his team to the title before making their decision? They made the announcement four days after the final game! If a trophy takes that long to engrave, you need to go to a different store.

Or maybe what sickens me is how shortsightedly these voters seem to have latched on to Jimmer's 28 points per game. Don't get me wrong, 28 ppg is a very impressive stat. But Fredette attempted 20 field goals per game this season, more than twice the amount that ANY other player on BYU attempted. He jacked up more than 8 three pointers per game. Doesn't that help to explain his high average? In BYU's final game, a loss to Florida in the Sweet Sixteen, Jimmer fired up 29 shots, including 15 three pointers. From downtown, he was 3 of 15. Not pretty.

But man, his 32 points on the night sure look impressive, don't they? Just disregard the fact that he didn't score during the last eight minutes of the game, when his team needed him the most. Also, make sure to disregard how many times this season, in late game situations, Connecticut deferred to Kemba Walker and watched him come through with a big shot time and time again.

Maybe it's the large disparity in degree of difficulty between Kemba and Jimmer's respective seasons. Kemba played in the brutal Big East conference, including games against heavyweights like Syracuse, Villanova and Pittsburgh. Even the Huskies' non conference schedule was hellish, playing against teams like Texas, Kentucky, and Michigan State. Jimmer's competition was marshmallows in comparison. The two toughest teams BYU had to face during the regular season? Arizona and San Diego State, both teams UConn beat in the NCAA tournament on their way to the Finals. And honestly, was there anything more memorable this college basketball season than Kemba and the Huskies winning 5 games in 5 nights to take the Big East tournament championship in unprecedented fashion? BYU had NOTHING that impressive to hang their hats on.

Look, I don't mean to be tearing Fredette to pieces. From all accounts, he's a spectacularly nice person. He's also a very good basketball player, and to deny that is certainly not my intent. I don't know what his NBA future is. He's much too short to be a shooting guard, he can't distribute well enough to be a point guard, and he can't play defense. I've heard several people compare him to JJ Redick, who had almost as many points per game in college as Fredette, and has enjoyed mild success in the pros. I would caution that Redick, like Walker, played against much tougher competition than Jimmer, but there will always be a need for good shooters with range in the NBA, and I hope Jimmer can find a niche there.

Going back to the Wooden Award, however, there is one possibility that truly worries me. Is it possible the voters had something else on their mind besides statistics? Is it possible that the NCAA looked at Jimmer and saw a nice young white man who scored a lot of points, didn't drink alcohol or have premarital sex with his girlfriend, and decided to reward something other than basketball skill? Is it possible the NCAA decided "you know what? He looks good on a poster. Let's use him."

After all, it's always easier to be a popular basketball player if you are white. Just ask Kevin Love, who has been gunning for his own statistics in rebounding all year, and has even been applauded for it. Ask Steve Nash, a wonderfully talented player who won back to back inexplicable MVP awards. Heck, ask Brian Scalabrine, who has been much beloved on multiple franchises despite having no discernable basketball skill.

I just feel that this conversation about this needs to be started somewhere. I truly want to hear a good case as to why Jimmer was the player of the year over Kemba; I'd be relieved to hear something logical. But until I am told something convincing, it's difficult for me to disregard the fact that Kemba is a young black man who grew up in the Bronx and plays with some ghetto flair, while Jimmer is a young white man with an old school jumpshot. Abstinence from both alcohol and premarital sex are both good things. But they have nothing to do with basketball, and they should have nothing to do with this award. Neither should skin color. But I'm afraid that it does.

And if that is true, I don't feel that my nausea is inappropriate at all.

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