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Who is in the running for Player of the Year?
Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Ten
Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire
Flynn pulls ahead, while Air Force and San Jose State find representation on the list, in a week full of upsets.
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 tenth week is as follows:
1. Seneca Knight, sophomore guard San Jose State (5 Points)
28 Points, 9 Rebounds and 3 Steals against Nevada
21 Points, 8 Rebounds and 2 Assists against Colorado State
Knight makes his debut on the list and does so with a bang with a first place finish after a week that featured handing the Nevada Wolfpack their first loss in conference play while averaging 24.5 PPG and 8.5 RPG for the Spartans. San Jose State has had a well known tough transition into the Mountain West, failing to finish above .500 in conference play, posting a 16-98 record since their move in 2014.
Knight has played well for a Spartan’s team that is enjoying 9th place in the conference standings after two wins against top half teams New Mexico and Nevada this season. Those two conference wins give head coach Jean Prioleau more wins in conference play than his previous two years in San Jose combined (which add up to two).
Knight is leading the team in scoring with 13.7 PPG but is averaging 16.6 PPG in conference play. The Spartans are a bit two sided and can bring an upset caliber team to the court (i.e. Hofstra, New Mexico, Nevada) or a team riding an eight game losing streak (Nov. 23rd-Dec. 22nd) any night.
To be fair the Spartans only have one loss to a team outside KenPom’s top-250, and have a strength of schedule rated 67th in the country. Either way this Spartan team may be a bit underrated (I know how it sounds but ask the Lobos or Wolfpack) and would have a “successful” or progressive season if they finish anywhere inside the top-10. And Knight’s play as of recent can get them there.
2. JaQuan Lyle, senior guard New Mexico (4 Points):
14 Points, 10 Assists and 3 Steals against Fresno State
20 Points, 4 Assists and 2 Rebounds against Air Force
3. Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (3 Points):
19 Points, 4 Assists and 3 Steals against Wyoming
19 Points, 6 Assists and 3 Rebounds against Boise State
4. Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (2 Points):
20 Points, 5 Rebounds and 5 Assists against San Jose State
31 Points, 3 Assists, and 3 Rebounds against Utah State
5. Ryan Swan, senior center Air Force (1 Point):
31 Points, 11 Rebounds and 3 Assists against Utah State
10 Points, 7 Rebounds and 2 Assists against New Mexico
Past Weeks:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3| Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9
Current Overall Point Totals:
Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (17 Points)
JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (15 Points)
Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (14 Points)
Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (11 Points)
Sam Merrill, senior guard USU (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)
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)
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)
Bryce Hamilton, sophomore guard UNLV (2 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)
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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