[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]
Who is in the running for Player of the Year?
Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Eleven
Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire
The list sees a pair of newcomers as UNLV sophomore duo make a splash along with San Diego State big man.
The staff at the Mountain West Wire wanted to do something a little different this year. We are going to keep track of the top performers from teams around the Mountain West throughout the year and vote on who had the best performances that week.
How it works description now at the bottom of the article
The order for the eleventh week is as follows:
1. Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (5 Points)
22 Points, 5 Rebounds and 2 Assists against Fresno State
14 Points, 7 Assists and 5 Rebounds against Nevada
Flynn is separating himself from the pack in late January, with a now 7 point lead over second place JaQuan Lyle who is in a bit of a situation at a struggling New Mexico. A lot of people knew Flynn was going to be a difference maker for the Aztecs, but even I can say I didn’t expect a top-5 ranking, undefeated record through nineteen games and a chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament this year.
His role as a leader on this team has made everyone better around him, seeing the emergence of guys like Yanni Wetzell and Matt Mitchell on the court with Flynn at the helm has been key to the Aztecs undefeated run. Even when things aren’t going exactly right he makes the best of his playing time. Though he struggled from the field a bit on Saturday, shooting about 30% on the night. He made sure his presence was felt, distributing the ball well among the Aztecs on his way to 7 assists and a win against a Wolf Pack team who made things interesting most of the way.
The Player of the Year race is his to win or lose at this point as Flynn has the Aztecs on a level most other Mountain West teams cannot get to at this point in the season. The Aztecs just need to make sure if they do suffer a loss in conference play it is from the right team. A bad loss can only hurt their chance at a No. 1 seed and San Jose State is looking for another upset to add to their win column, and the Spartans almost made that happen in Viejas Arena earlier this season. We can only watch and wait as the month of January is almost over and March is on the Horizon.
2. Marvin Coleman, sophomore guard UNLV (4 Points):
17 Points, 8 Assists and 4 Rebounds against San Jose State
11 Points, 12 Rebounds, 11 Assists and 6 Steals against New Mexico
3. Bryce Hamilton, sophomore guard UNLV (3 Points):
16 Points, 3 Assists and 2 Steals against San Jose State
35 Points, 3 Rebounds and 1 Assist against New Mexico
4. Sam Merrill, senior guard Utah State (2 Points):
12 Points, 8 Rebounds and 8 Assists against Nevada
30 Points, 3 Rebounds and 3 Assists against Boise State
5. Yanni Wetzell, senior forward San Diego State (1 Point):
17 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Assists against Fresno State
17 Points, 16 Rebounds and 2 Blocks against Nevada
Past Weeks:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3| Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9| Week 10
Current Overall Point Totals:
Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (22 Points)
JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (15 Points)
Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (14 Points)
Sam Merrill, senior guard USU (13 Points)
Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (11 Points)
Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (9 Points)
Nico Carvacho, senior center CSU (7 Points)
Hunter Maldonado, sophomore guard Wyoming (7 Points)
Alphonso Anderson, junior guard USU (5 Points)
Carlton Bragg Jr., senior forward New Mexico (5 Points)
Bryce Hamilton, sophomore guard UNLV (5 Points)
Lindsey Drew, senior guard Nevada (5 Points)
Justinian Jessup, senior guard Boise State (5 Points)
Seneca Knight, sophomore guard San Jose State (5 Points)
Justin Bean, sophomore forward USU (4 Points)
Marvin Coleman, sophomore guard UNLV (4 Points)
Amauri Hardy, junior guard UNLV (4 Points)
Orlando Robinson, freshman forward Fresno State (4 Points)
David Roddy, freshman guard Colorado State (4 Points)
Isaiah Stevens, freshman guard Colorado State (4 Points)
Roderick “RJ” Williams, senior forward Boise State (3 Points)
Corey Manigault, senior forward New Mexico (2 Points)
Jordan Schakel, junior guard SDSU (2 Points)
Donnie Tillman, junior forward UNLV (2 Points)
Abu Kigab, junior forward Boise State (1 Point)
Ryan Swan, senior center Air Force (1 Point)
Yanni Wetzell, senior forward San Diego State (1 Point)
How It Works:
Each person will award 15 points in total to five players and should award it as so:
1st place (Player of the week): 5 pts
2nd place: 4 pts
3rd place: 3 pts
4th place: 2 pts
5th place: 1 pt
The player with the most points total will be our player of the week and we will keep track of the point totals every week so that the player who has the most at the end of the year will receive the Mountain West Wire Player of the Year award. Just copy the players below and type your names above it like we do for the pick them docs we get and award your points.
Now some guys made the list and others didn’t. A big thing to think about was consistency throughout the week. Something that hurt some guys was having a decent game one day and a bad one the other day. Guys who made the list had a great game one day and a good one on other days, or good games both days.
This column will come out on Sunday nights or Monday mornings depending on how late some games finish on Sundays.
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