[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 Fifteen
Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire
Sam Merrill edges out Flynn and Harris with strong play to claim this weeks top honor.
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 fifteenth week is as follows:
1. Sam Merrill, senior guard Utah State (5 Points)
32 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists against Colorado State
24 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds against Fresno State
Four, that’s the current win streak Merrill and the Aggies are enjoying as they prepare to host the Cowboys of Wyoming on Wednesday. Three, that’s the number of games remaining on the schedule, including Wednesday’s game at home. These are some of the bigger numbers Sam Merrill and company are thinking about this week as they continue on looking for a second-place finish in the Mountain West.
The Aggies have caught steam over their last ten games, going 8-2 since a tough loss on the road to Boise State back on January 18th and they haven’t really looked back. And for a team that came into the season with some pretty lofty expectations their play as of late has been spectacular and so has their best player.
💰💰💰💰@smerrill05 ends the half in true Sam Merrill form‼️#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/We35gdpY40
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 16, 2020
Merrill’s play over the last couple of weeks has been fantastic, and averaging 28.0 PPG last week in two much-needed victories put him a cut above the rest. Earning him a first-place finish ahead of Malachi Flynn and Jalen Harris, who are both ahead of him on the overall big board.
The race for player of the year doesn’t seem as clear cut as some may think, as late pushes from Harris and Merrill will make things interesting in the coming weeks.
2. Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (4 Points):
15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals against New Mexico
22 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds against Boise State
3. Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (3 Points):
29 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals against UNLV
4. Justinian Jessup, senior guard Boise State (2 Points):
18 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists against Air Force
22 points, 1 assist and 4 rebounds against San Diego State
5. Richard Washington, junior guard San Jose State (1 Point):
17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists against Fresno State
31 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals against Air Force
Past Weeks:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3| Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9| Week 10|Week 11| Week 12| Week 13|Week 14|
Current Overall Point Totals:
Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (34 Points)
Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (26 Points)
Sam Merrill, senior guard USU (20 Points)
Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (19 Points)
JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (15 Points)
Nico Carvacho, senior center CSU (12 Points)
Bryce Hamilton, sophomore guard UNLV (9 Points)
Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (9 Points)
Justinian Jessup, senior guard Boise State (7 Points)
Hunter Maldonado, sophomore guard Wyoming (7 Points)
Seneca Knight, sophomore guard San Jose State (6 Points)
Isaiah Stevens, freshman guard Colorado State (6 Points)
Alphonso Anderson, junior guard USU (5 Points)
Carlton Bragg Jr., senior forward New Mexico (5 Points)
Lindsey Drew, senior guard Nevada (5 Points)
Justin Bean, sophomore forward USU (4 Points)
Marvin Coleman, sophomore guard UNLV (4 Points)
Amauri Hardy, junior guard UNLV (4 Points)
Neemias Queta, sophomore forward Utah State (4 Points)
Orlando Robinson, freshman forward Fresno State (4 Points)
David Roddy, 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)
Zane Martin, junior guard UNM (1 Point)
Matt Mitchell, junior forward San Diego State (1 Point)
Ryan Swan, senior center Air Force (1 Point)
Richard Washington, junior guard San Jose State (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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