Beasley Gets Snubbed As Player of the Year

TYLER HANSBOROUGH. One of a select few to ever be a three-time, first team All-American. Now he gets player of the year. Is it right the right choice? Honestly, I don’t think it is. Tyler did have impressive numbers (22 points, 10 rebounds, and .9 assists), but they just aren’t impressive as Michael Beasley’s numbers (26 points, 12 rebounds*, 1.2 assists).
*Leads NCAA
Some people put up the argument that numbers aren’t everything. I completely agree, so lets look: Tyler Hansborough led the number one over all seeded team which included a point guard (Ty Lawson) who averaged 12 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and was considered one of the best defenders in the whole NCAA to the Final Four. Hansborough also had the benefit of a Hall of Fame coach, Roy Williams. Williams has been to multiple Final Fours and has a career winning percentage of .807%! By contrast, Kansas State came into the tournament as a 12 seed, and it was the first time in a while that they have been in the tourney. Then Kansas State upset the number six team, USC! In my opinion, taking Kansas State, a second or third level team, to the second round of the tournament is a lot more impressive than taking North Carolina, a team that is stacked with players and coaches, to the Final Four and losing by 20, when North Carolina is considered the best team in the country. In addition, might I add, Beasley did all of this for Kansas State as a FRESHMAN.
The other argument that people make in support of Hansborough’s POY status is “It was easy for Beasley to get his numbers because he was his team’s only option, and it was harder for Hansborough because he had good players scoring around him, and he had to work harder for his numbers.”
Okay, there are two problems with this:
1. If you watch a Kansas State game, you see Michael isn’t the only option. There is a guy by the name of Bill Walker who is amazing. He puts up 16.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, and you can tell if you watched a K. St. game he was a very solid option who had the ball in his hands a lot.
2. Hansborough had players around him who were talented and made him better, in the same way Chris Paul makes his teammates better. Therefore, it was easier for Tyler Hansborough to score because his teammates were better, and made him better. I guarantee you if Tyler was on Kansas State, his numbers wouldn’t be as good, both because of what I just mentioned and because the pressure of being the main option and knowing you’re one of the only good players is very hard to deal with.

A third reason I think Michael Beasley should be Player of the Year is his numbers are more impressive than the winner of last year’s POY, Kevin Durant; Beasley averages more points, rebounds, and ties Durant in assists. People say KD was one of the best college players ever. If Beasley has better numbers than KD, shouldn’t he be mentioned in that category, doesn’t he have a claim to Player of the Year?
In conclusion, I think Michael Beasley should have been Player of the Year because:
• his numbers are better, he was more impressive in the tourney,
• he was not the only option on his team (he shared the limelight and stats with Bill Walker),
• Beasley did better in this season than KD did in his season.

Now, I am in no way saying Tyler Hansborough isn’t a great player, because he, is. I am just saying he isn’t as good as Michael Beasley is. I THINK BEASLEY GOT SNUBBED FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR!

--Sports Guru