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ESPN.com
Freshman of Year
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Rodney White
Charlotte
Forward
19.9 ppg | 6.4 rpg
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Here's the question: How do you vote Eddie Griffin for Freshman of the Year if his team has imploded, he got in a scuffle with a teammate and Big East coaches say they're not going to vote for him?
But how do you not consider him, when his numbers for points, rebounding and blocks are so astounding for a freshman.
The problem is Griffin can't be solely rewarded for strictly being a numbers guy but he can't be ignored, either. The other problem is there isn't another clear-cut choice. Every freshman, and rightfully so, is flawed.
But Charlotte's Rodney White has the numbers to compete with Griffin and is probably following him out the door to the NBA. White was injured for five games with a knee strain and came back to average over 20 a game. The problem is the 49ers were inconsistent with White, and yes, inconsistent without him.
The 49ers were closer to the bubble than Seton Hall, but nowhere near in the NCAA Tournament. Both teams entered their conference tournaments with needing to win them to get into the field. Yet, Griffin and White had the best numbers, albeit on teams that didn't meet expectations, to earn an overall flawed award.
One Big East coach said that he votes for player honors based on wins and losses. If that were the case for freshman of the year, then Duke's Chris Duhon would get the nod. Duhon was instrumental in Duke staying in the top five later in February, but not just for his game-winning shot against Wake Forest. He gave the Blue Devils' instant offense off the bench and another perimeter threat to score to alleviate pressure on Duke's Jason Williams.
The Big East was loaded with other fabulous freshmen, and one of them might earn the award over Griffin. St. John's Omar Cook, Georgetown's Mike Sweetney, Miami's Darius Rice and Connecticut's Caron Butler were all instrumental parts of their team with Sweetney being the biggest surprise of the bunch. Cook was erratic early but led the nation in assists while Rice blossomed later in the year. Butler was the Huskies' best player and a reason they were still hanging around for a bid.
Impact freshmen were at Michigan State in forward Zach Randolph, Indiana's Jared Jeffries, St. Joe's point Jameer Nelson, Xavier shooting guard Romain Sato, Fresno State point Tito Maddox and Gonzaga shooting guard Blake Stepp. But their candidacies weren't as strong nationally to win the award.
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ALSO SEE
ESPN.com's Player of Year
ESPN.com's Defensive Player of Year
ESPN.com's Coach of Year
ESPN.com's Newcomer of Year
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