Monte Morris Big 12 POY?

With the strength and depth of the Big 12 this year, it's no surprise there are a lot of individually talented players vying for the end of the year conference awards.  The stats are spread a little more evenly, which means a little less strength at the top but much more competition for the third and honorable mention teams.  There will be some very good players show up lower on the list than might have been expected.

ISU does have a player in the hunt for the Big 12 POY, but it's not who you think.  Monte Morris, who was on my first team in my previous update, has now pulled essentially even with Buddy Hield.  Monte has held strong as the leader in the conference for assists, and near the top in steals.  But over the last three games, he's averaged over 16 points a game, pushing him to 12th among all scorers. 

Could Monte really be considered for the award this year?  I think so.  Every broadcast, the announcers mention him as one of, if not the best, point guard in the country.  If he's the best in the country, he's certainly the best in the conference, and that deserves some kind of recognition.  Monte has been a little more assertive with his scoring.  After his drives to the basket lately someone comes up and does the Kane flex thing which makes me think something was said.  He's been efficient so it would help the team if his usage went up a bit.

I'd switch Anderson and Perry Ellis, but otherwise feel pretty good about the first two teams.  There's virtually no separation between the players on the third team and honorable mention.  A bunch of solid names through the end of the list. 

TaShawn Thomas looks like the front runner for newcomer of the year (unless I'm missing someone).  Bryce has some ground to make up, but I think it's possible.  His rebounding numbers are still good and Fred seems to have taken the reigns off his offensive game.  A couple more points per game and he'll be right there with Thomas.

Georges can't get much higher on points alone, so I still think he needs to move up in rebounds and assists.  He'd need to average about 7 rpg and 4 assists for the rest of the season to get on my first team.  Georges is currently averaging 5.1 and 2.9.  He's been pretty consistent in both categories so a couple big games would help.