Update: Blog commenter wanted me to add Patterson to the mix, so I did.
Update II: Jeff Goodman at Fox Sports has Meeks No. 7 and Thornton No. 10 in his national Player of the Year rankings.
I still think Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks will be named the SEC’s Player of the Year. But in my column this morning, I note that Kentucky’s point machine has more competition than we once might have expected. Here’s a chart comparison of the top contenders:
Conference and non-conference games included. Leader in each category marked by gold box.
| Player | School | Points | Reb | Assists | FG% | 3-Pt% | FT% | Steals | Record | SEC |
| Jodie Meeks | Kentucky | 25.8 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 46.8 | 41.9 | 89.3 | 1.3 | 19-10 | 8-6 |
| Marcus Thornton | LSU | 21.0 | 5.5 | 2.1 | 48.1 | 40.3 | 75.7 | 1.6 | 25-4 | 13-1 |
| Devan Downey | S Carolina | 20.2 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 44.7 | 35.6 | 73.7 | 3.1 | 20-7 | 9-5 |
| Nick Calathes | Florida | 18.4 | 5.3 | 6.4 | 50.1 | 42.4 | 70.9 | 2.1 | 21-8 | 8-6 |
| Patrick Patterson | Kentucky | 18.6 | 9.1 | 1.9 | 63.3 | 0.0 | 77.4 | 0.7 | 19-10 | 8-6 |
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and graduate of UK, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.
Someone please remind me why Patrick Patterson is not on this list. In case some of you may have forgotten, he was SEC co-freshman of the year last year and plays for the Kentucky Wildcats.
Update your list there, John. Put Patterson’s stats in there and see what happens. At that point, no player leads in three distinct categories. It would be a four-way tie. Really, in my opinion, it would be a three-way tie with Meeks, Calathes, and Patterson. Thornton has two categories under his belt and it is his team’s record.
Patterson would lead in rebounds per game and field goal percentage. (which is amazing) He scores a lot of points even though he doesn’t touch the ball much. He also shoots the ball well from the line.
That is a pretty strong case, right?
You’re right, that is a pretty strong case. I’ve added Patterson to the chart.
I think he doesn’t get much credit only because Meeks scores so much. Patterson’s presence in the post is hard to beat. These stats do not account for that.
The formula “lots of points = POY” is bogus.
I agree with that “bogus” formula. But I would also argue that Thornton’s value doesn’t always show up in the stats, either. He’s the best player on the best team.
Agreed.
My question is who is more valuable to Kentucky - Meeks or Patterson?
If you had to let one go to the NBA, which would it be?
Although the college game is a guard-oriented game, I’d probably have to say if you were forced to choose — gun to my head — I’d like to keep Patterson. Look at Florida. If the Gators had Patterson, they might be a top 10 team. They certainly wouldn’t be on the bubble. But it’s very, very, very (to use a BCG phrase) close between the two.
Why is it that the team that has 2 legitimate SEC Players of the Year has the worse record?
I don’t believe Meeks will win. He’s not a leader. And in some cases, as late in Saturday’s LSU loss, can even be a detriment. Patterson should be higher on the list and clearly is more important to the team, game in and game out, than Meeks.