In honor of one of the very best holidays around, we here at the Big Ten Microsite have come up with some of the scariest things different players, coaches, and even referees might have to face in the coming season. Welcome to our 2015-16 Scary Superlatives.
Troy Williams is the stuff nightmares are made of for a lone defender back on defense (USA Today Sports).
- Scariest Dunker Who Could Put You on a Poster: Troy Williams, Indiana. Williams is one the best athletes in the league, and he has already assembled a solid little highlight reel of dunks in his two years in Bloomington. Being the only man back in transition defense when Indiana has a 3-on-1 break going is definitely nightmare-worthy.
- Scariest Clutch Shooter: Denzel Valentine, Michigan State. The man whose last name conjures up imagery from a different kind of holiday celebration proved his ability to make big shots when his game-winning dagger shattered the hearts of the residents of Columbus, Ohio, last season. Not too many B1G coaches would feel very comfortable in an endgame situation when the Michigan State senior has the ball.
- Scariest Perimeter Defender: Raphael Davis, Purdue. Davis locked down the best of the league’s perimeter players during a 2014-15 campaign in which he won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors. The best guards in the conference are already looking at the schedule and cringing where they see the upcoming match-ups with Davis’ Boilermakers.
- Scariest Shot Blocker: AJ Hammons, Purdue. This isn’t because of the sheer number of blocks that the senior seven-footer swats away, but because he simply volleyball spikes a good number of them. If you’re a Big Ten player that doesn’t want to get clowned on by your classmates and friends around campus, then a shot fake might be your best friend going into the lane against the monster from West Lafayette.
- Scariest Thief: Nate Mason, Minnesota. Minnesota’s pressure defense can be relatively scary on its own, but Mason came onto the scene quickly and tied for the league lead in steal percentage at 4.0 percent last season. He has extremely quick hands and is athletic enough to keep most point guards in front of him. Bring the ball up against Mason at your own offensive peril.
- Scariest Handles:Melo Trimble, Maryland. Fear of getting embarrassed on the defensive end can go down a number of different ways. Getting dunked on ranks very high on the list, but so does having someone put an array of crossovers on you to the point that you stumble and stagger around like many Halloween Night revelers. Just watch this clip of Trimble abusing Michigan State last season. Poor Tum-Tum is still having nightmares about it.