With Washington firmly leading the Pac-12 conference it’s tempting to start thinking about seeding for the NCAA tournament.
It looks like 14 wins will be enough to secure the Pac-12 title but the Huskies will want to leave no doubt considering they got left out of the NCAA tournament in 2012 despite winning the regular season title.
There are some big differences between that year and this one. This team has losses to the #9, #21, #33 and #36 teams in RPI while the 2012 team lost to multiple teams outside of the top 100. It raised an eyebrow for some that Washington is still outside the Top 25 in both the AP and Coaches Poll despite the nation’s third longest win streak of 11 games and an 18-4 record. Meanwhile a six loss Maryland team remains in the top 25 after losing 3 of 4 including a home game to a 7-15 Illinois team that sits 13th in the Big Ten but hey, that’s none of my business.
The good news is this team started off ranked and was humbled out of the Top 25 to start the year and so maybe it’s not so bad they take their time getting back in. I find the halfway point of conference play a good time to reflect on some awards.
Most Valuable Player – Considering he’s arguably the front-runner for Pac-12 Player of the Year, Jaylen Nowell is without question the team’s most valuable player. Mattise Thybulle’s defense is important, David Crisp outside shooting is important and so is Noah Dickerson’s inside presence but Nowell has been the team’s most consistent player. The only game in the past month they were really in danger of losing in Eugene, he took over and made sure his team held on for the win. In Pac-12 play Nowell leads the team in scoring, rebounding and assist. He has scored in double figures in 21 of 24 games this season and he has played 30 minutes or more in every single game this year but one when the Huskies lost by 22 to Auburn and Hopkins emptied the bench early.
Nowell made a wise decision to come back for his sophomore year and while his scoring average (16.6ppg) is about the same, he’s done it more efficiently shooting 6% better from the field and 10% better from beyond the arc. Nowell is now 2nd in the whole conference in 3pt shooting at 45.1% and in Pac-12 play he’s shooting 55.6% from beyond the arc which overtakes Crisp for first. Nowell had an iffy week against the LA Schools with lots of turnovers and then you look at the stats and see, he still shot over 50% from the field.
Most Improved Player – For a team to go from good to great as the Huskies have done, it requires players getting better. Returning their starting five was nice but the Huskies needed players to get better from year to year unlike years past. Naz Carter was an erratic albeit exciting player as a freshman and he has Refined his game increasing his scoring from 5.1 to 8.4 and doubling his rebounding to 3.1. Crisp has probably improved the most in-season, showing better shot selection and carrying the team at times with his 3-point shooting. Nowell and Thybulle have definitely improved although the baseline was pretty high to start.
I think it’s about time we start recognizing that Sam Timmins is a legitimate big man. While he at times looked lost on the court his first two years at Washington he has developed into a consistent interior presence. His rebounding is down from 4.2 to 2.3 but that has more to do with his minutes decreasing. Timmins is a guy who does his best work in spurts and the team allowing him to share time with Hameir Wright and Dickerson has allowed him to be more efficient at the expense of volume. After shooting just 49% as a freshman Timmins is up to 61% (best on the team) two years later. Also in Pac-12 games Timmins is third in the conference in blocks per game with 1.6.
Defensive Player of the Year – I can’t even list another name due to Thybulle’s excellence in this area. Thybulle has always been good at playing the passing lanes, disrupting shots and ripping opponents for the ball but even though it’s on record he continues to do it.Thybulle consistently has the best plus/minus on the team because when he’s on the court other teams are going to struggle to score. He’s up to 3.2 steals per game and 2.1 blocks per game and could become the first player in NCAA history to average over 3 steals and 2 blocks per game over a full season.
Newcomer of the Year – Because the team returned all five starters there hasn’t really been many opportunities for new players to break in but Tyler Bey has done something that was going to be hard for any new player to do and that’s work his way into an established rotation. Bey has been a non-factor on offense all year but he pretty consistently has played 5 to 10 minutes a game off the bench near the end of the first half. This is a role that Justin Holiday carved out for himself early in his Husky career and while Holiday lacked an offensive game as well he got himself on the court with his ability to defend and keep the ball moving without turning it over or taking bad shots. The offense came later. It’s valuable to have a guy who can step in and not mess up the team’s flow.
Sixth Man of the Year – Timmins has been a huge lift off the bench but is not a go-to player. Senior Dominic Green averages 7 points per game but has seen his field goal percentage slip under 39% and his 3pt percentage is down 8% from a year ago. When you think about a sixth man you want someone who can come off the bench and bring energy and that’s why Carter has been the Huskies best substitute. He brings an ability to attack the basket and compete with teams with elite athletes.
Most Important Player Going Forward – The Huskies could be without Noah Dickerson for the first time when they travel to the desert this week as he recovers from a sprained ankle. Dickerson’s numbers are down from last year but that has a lot to do with him battling through injuries and the increased focus from opposing defenses. Dickerson proved in the words of Mark Twain that “Rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated” with a dominant performance against USC. The Huskies might be able to play good basketball without Dickerson but that’s a question they would rather not answer.
