Rush The Court

With conference play beginning in earnest on Friday night in the Pac-12, it’s time to give out some superlatives for the non-conference portion of the season.

Non-Conference Player of the Year: Delon Wright, Sr, Utah

Prior to the season, the Utes’ point guard earned RTC Co-Preseason Player of the Year honors, shared with Stanford senior Chasson Randle. Now, seven weeks later, Wright stands alone as our panelists’ unanimous choice as the best player in the Pac-12 thus far. Last season, Wright drew amazement with his level of versatility and efficiency. This season, he’s upped the ante in both categories. Didn’t think his 57.2 eFG% was sustainable? That’s up to 60.9% this season. He turned the ball over on nearly 19% of possessions and handed out assists on 29% of teammates’ buckets last year. The turnovers are down to ever 14% of possessions and the assists are up to 34% of teammates’ hoop. Think his perimeter shooting was a weakness last year? Well, he’s hitting a third of his still limited attempts from deep, up from 22% last year. Now sure, with conference play rolling around, those numbers will dip some with increased competition and opponents familiar with his game. But not much, as the Utes have played a tough enough non-conference slate to have seen Wright tested on a variety of occasions.

Coach of the Non-Conference: Larry Krystkowiak

Coach K of the West gets the nod here, not merely on account of what the Utes have accomplished so far this season (which is substantial), but also on the basis of what he’s done in his time in Salt Lake City. Krystkowiak’s first season with the Utes coincided with the team’s first year in the conference, and the nadir of their talent level. They won six games that season and were lucky to do so. Following that season, we opined that, while he had a bit of a money-fueled leash, in order to avoid joining the list of post-Rick Majerus failures in Salt Lake, Coach K had to turn it around quickly. And he’s done just that. He’s completely re-made the roster, bringing in just a little more talent each season. And sure, there had been a little luck involved (Wright’s ascension and Jakob Poeltl’s under-the-radar recruitment, for two), but this program has been built up from the rubble largely on the back of hard work and nose-to-the-grindstone-itude. As long as BYU is still standing, the Utes will never be able to lock up every big-time recruit in their state, but Krystkowiak has brought in local stars Jordan Loveridge and Brekkot Chapman, while plumbing the depths of the overlooked and left behind to build a deep and talented roster and the foundation upon which to build the Utah program back up.

(Also receiving votes: Lorenzo Romar, Washington)

Non-Conference All-Conference Team

• Delon Wright, Sr, Utah
• Tyrone Wallace, Jr, California – We had five guys vote for their picks for the top 15 players in the conference in the preseason, and Tyrone Wallace did not earn a single vote. Now, in our defense, he was on our All-Glue team and our Russell Westbrook Memorial All-Dunktacular team. But none of us saw this breakout performance this season. On a team with a thin bench and with an injury keeping Jabari Bird out of action for much of the year so far, Wallace’s usage numbers have skyrocketed, resulting in 19.2 points, 8.8 boards, 4.1 assists and, perhaps most surprisingly, a 44.1 three-point percentage.
• Josh Scott, Jr, Colorado – It has not been a good season thus far for the Buffaloes. But let’s not blame the junior big man. His usage numbers remain criminally low (how does this guy use only 20% of the Buffs possessions?), but he’s among the most efficient bigs in the country, averaging 14.8 point, 7.7 boards and a couple of blocks, all while shooting a 56.1 eFG% and 81.5% from the line.
• Stanley Johnson, Fr, Arizona – He’s still feeling his way around in Tucson, careful not to step on the feet of his more veteran and similarly highly touted teammates. But, every now and then – maybe it’s just one coast-to-coast rebound-turned-into-a-dunk; maybe it is a couple of dominating possessions in succession; maybe it is a stretch of a couple or three minutes of wow-worthy plays – you get a glimpse at why Johnson is the most highly regarded youngster in the conference. The traditional numbers (14.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 43.2% 3FG) may not get much higher just because of the team he’s on, but expect Johnson’s impact on the game, on the conference and on the national picture to increase as the season goes on.
• Nigel Williams-Goss, So, Washington – Now, those first four players on our all-conference team were pretty cut-and-dried. All four of our voters had each of those players no lower than sixth on their list of their ten best players in the conference. But the fifth spot? That was contentious. In the end, Joseph Young, Robert Upshaw and Chasson Randle get left on the cutting room floor, while the Huskies’ point guard makes the grade. He does a little bit of everything – 13.6 points. 6.7 assists, 5.3 boards – but what makes him special is his embrace of the point guard ethos. His goal every time he steps on the floor is to do whatever he can to help his team win games, and if that means taking a back seat to guys like Upshaw or Andrew Andrews, he’s shown a willingness to do just that. And more than any other statistic we could pull out (even the fact that he assists on 40% of his teammates buckets when he’s on the floor), his team’s 11-1 record thus far sums up his contribution.