A Freshman Is The Player Of The Year, But Not The Freshman Of The Year

There would seem to be a disconnect in the headline, no? If John Wall was outstanding enough to merit player of the year honors, he was obviously the best freshman on his own team. Except... DeMarcus Cousins won it.

↵Hmm.

↵Interesting way to play it, SEC voters. I guess it makes sense. By giving the freshman honor to Cousins, the voters can recognize his excellent season, while at the same time showering praise on Wall. Everyone wins.

↵Except basic logic, of course. And while we’re talking about disregarding logic, we may as well confront the elephant in the room: Is DeMarcus Cousins better than John Wall? That’s what this is really about. While most of the nation has spent the year heaping praise on John Wall, there’s a small fraction of fans and journalists that think DeMarcus Cousins is underrated. Hence the Freshman of the Year award. But let’s get this straight.

↵DeMarcus Cousins is properly rated. Very good player, can dominate games for long stretches, and probably the most imposing low post player in the country. But he plays for about half the game, disappears for long stretches, benefits greatly from playing next to Patrick Patterson, and with a backcourt that features two point guards to get him the ball.

↵John Wall plays 35 minutes-a-game; Cousins plays 22 and frequently finds himself in foul trouble. Wall makes Kentucky a national title contender, whereas Cousins’ mercurial history makes you wonder about their chances. Wall, the second SEC freshman to win player of the year since LSU’s Chris Jackson, is worthy of the comparison to one of the best players in college basketball history. Cousins reminds people of Michael Beasley. Again, properly rated.

↵Very good player, but not on Wall’s level, and regardless of the ambiguities that may emerge from the award season, he’s nowhere near as valuable to Kentucky.