Hello, Terp Fans! Got your attention have I?

For this post, mindpinball becomes Ethan Hunt (or Jim Phelps, if your memory goes back that far) of the Impossible Missions Force. Today’s task: come up with reasons why Greivis Vasquez will not be the ACC Player of the Year. As it happens, I think he is the frontrunner; with a great performance against Duke on Senior Night tomorrow, he should just about put the competition away (especially if the Terps get a W). Nevertheless, if Vasquez does not win POY, here are some reasons (plausibility of which may be in question) why:

  • The ACC is based in North Carolina, which makes it difficult (yet not impossible) for a player who doesn’t play for one of the North Carolina schools to win POY. Of course it has happened, all of fourteen times in fifty-seven seasons. A Maryland player has won the award five times previously: Albert King (1980), Len Bias (1985, 1986), Joe Smith (1995) and Juan Dixon (2002). Surely the voters wouldn’t take it away from Greivis, would they? If so, it may be because of reason number 2:
  • The Duke Factor. Given the fact that the Blue Devils may be the class of the conference, they have to have at least one player of the year candidate. They may in fact have two: Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler. However, Singler-the preseason pick for player of the year-has not been quite as good as expected. Scheyer has done about as well as expected. Given the love affair some people have with Duke, you’d have to think that if Scheyer outplays Vasquez on Wednesday night, coupled with a Duke victory, it could be enough to put him over the top.
  • The player from out of nowhere. I don’t know if this will apply or not, given Saturday’s results, but Malcolm Delaney of Virginia Tech is having a stellar season as well. He is the primary reason Virginia Tech should finish in the upper half of the conference standings-not bad for a team picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll. However, with Greivis outplaying him Saturday, Delaney’s stock may have dropped a bit. If Delaney can will the Hokies to a couple more victories, he will certainly remain in the conversation.
  • The “I don’t like Greivis” campaign. This may be the weakest argument yet. From the U-S-A chants at NC State, to the folks (and they are out there) who don’t like Vasquez’s flash and swagger, to his playing to the crowd, he may not have as many votes in his corner as he needs. Despite all that, his season cannot be denied (unless one of the other three arguments come into play).

That’s all I got folks. Believe me,  I am not trying to jinx his chances. Thank you for your time. This post may (but probably won’t) self-destruct as soon as you finish reading.