Seth Davis Picks Miami for PoY and CoY in ACC
Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis has picked Jim Larranaga for ACC Coach of the Year and Shane Larkin for ACC Player of the Year.
To read the complete release on SI.com, click here.
Happy March, my fellow Hoop Thinkers. It’s awards season in college basketball, so to tip things off, I figured I would give out my awards for player of the year, coach of the year and rookie of the year in the Big Six conferences. I realize I’m no Seth MacFarlane. (I’m not even Seth Greenberg, for that matter.) But I do have a laptop and some time to kill. The envelopes please …
(Note: All statistics are for conference games only. Cause those are the ones that count, right?)
ACC COY: Jim Larranaga, Miami. Easy call. Larranaga is not only my choice for coach of the year in the ACC, but nationally as well. When he left George Mason for Coral Gables, a lot of us assumed he was just trying to stuff his 401(k), but he has been just as passionate as ever, and knowledgeable, too. It isn’t easy to coach a bunch of players that you didn’t recruit, but Larranaga has done a masterful job getting his guys to buy in.
ACC POY: Shane Larkin, 5-foot-11 sophomore guard, Miami. From an individual standpoint, you could make a case for several guys — Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry, Joe Harris and Erick Green, to name a few. I went with Larkin partly to recognize Miami’s first-place finish, but also because while those other candidates excelled on the offensive end, Larkin has been a terrific defender as well. Besides leading his team in points (13.8 ppg) and assists (4.3), Larkin also ranked first in the ACC in steals per game (1.8). His anticipation and poise set the table for the Hurricanes at both ends of the floor.
Earlier this week ESPN’s Jason King picked Miami for the following awards:
All-America Teams – Second Team – Shane Larkin, sophomore, Miami
Best Game – Miami at NC State (Feb. 2)
Don’t forget to write (good-guy seniors I’ll miss) – Julian Gamble, Miami
All-ACC – First Team – Shane Larkin, sophomore, Miami
All-ACC – Second Team – Kenny Kadji, senior, Miami
ACC Player of the Year – Shane Larkin, Miami
ACC Coach of the Year – Jim Larranaga, Miami
All-Coaches Teams – First Team – Jim Larranaga, Miami
