Creighton’s Doug McDermott is one of the five best offensive Value Add players for a third straight season–no other player has done that even twice. However, since Christmas he has only been the second best coach’s son, as Billy Baron has averaged 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists per game starting with a near upset at Notre Dame to move up from 80th to 6th through Monday’s games. UConn’s Shabazz Napier is on pace to join Stephen Curry (Davidson), James Harden (UCLA), and four other players as a two-time Top-10 Value Add player.
The leaders are released here and then all 3,500 players are updated at www.valueaddbasketball.com, where you can sort by Offense or any other subcategory (e.g. McDermott ranks as the fifth best offensive player, but is 41st overall once defense is factored).
With defenders no longer allowed to put a hand on a driving guard, the guards are dominating the top 25 with a few exceptions like Wisconsin 7-footer Frank Kaminsky and a son of an NBA great by the same name in Wyoming center Larry Nance Jr.
The other players who have been in the top ten in the overall ratings more than once are Jared Sullinger (Ohio State), Cody Zeller (Indiana), Nick Fazekas (Nevada), and Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin).
Top 10 Players
1, Delon Wright, Utah, 6′ 5″ – www.kenpom.com says top 1% of steals and 6th best shooter in country. Incredible 9 of 13 on two-pointers with 9 rebounds for almost half (27) of Utah’s points in 57-59 loss to Washington.
2, Kendrick Perry, Youngstown St., 6′ 0 – also top 1% in steals and top 3% of shooters. Monday single-handedly topped Cleveland State 67-66 with 31 points on 10 of 15 shooting (including hitting 3 three-pointers) and 8-9 from the line.
3, Lamar Patterson, Pittsburgh, 6′ 5″ – has Pitt tied with Syracuse for top of ACC. During 4-0 start in new conference, averaging 20.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
4, Shabazz Napier, Connecticut, 6′ 1″ – see above, ranked 6th last year. Saturday he dished out 11 assists with 5 steals against Central Florida and made it 51 of his last 55 from the line.
5, Jordan Adams, UCLA, 6′ 5″ – in last four games against Alabama and three Pac-12 foes has average 4.0 steals a game, and grabbed six offensive rebounds in near upset of Arizona.
6, Billy Baron, Canisius, 6′ 2″ – the star who followed his coach/father from Rhode Island two years ago is the hottest player in the country, surging from 80th to 6th since the last ratings (on Christmas). In the five games since then starting with a near upset at Notre Dame, he has averaged 30 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists a game.
7, Alan Williams, UC Santa Barbara, 6′ 7″ – in a year dominated by guards, Williams has been the top big man through a 33-point, 15-rebound game against Cal Poly in which he scored over half of his team’s points in a 72-64 loss. For the second straight year, www.kenpom.com shows him as one of the top few players at blocking shots, defensive rebounding and drawing fouls, but he has improved his field goal percentage from 47% to 58% between seasons including dominating Cal in a big upset.
8, Marcus Smart, Oklahoma St., 6′ 4″ – the future NBA superstar was as dominant as can be at both ends against Texas with six steals on defense and a 16 of 20 night from the line on offense.
9, Keifer Sykes, Green Bay, 5′ 11″ – his 32-point outing in the near upset (66-69) of Wisconsin and 21-point, 10-assist game in the 75-72 upset of Virginia have Sykes and 7-foot-1 Alec Brown making the case for an at-large bid even if they do not win the Horizon.
10, Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati, 6′ 4″ – cooled off a bit from 4th to 10th due to shooting 2 of 18 on three-pointers last week against Houston and Rutgers. However, Cincinnati one both games and his 6 of 13 from beyond the arc against Temple tonight should have him back on the rise (ratings are through Monday’s games).
Here are the rankings for the 11th through 50th most valuable players. All 3500 players will be updated in the database at www.valueaddbasketball.com shortly, but as we post here the rankings there are just as of Christmas.
11, Trevor Releford, Alabama, 6′ 0
12, Tyler Ennis, Syracuse, 6′ 2″
13, Xavier Thames, San Diego St., 6′ 3″
14, Juwan Staten, West Virginia, 6′ 1″
15, Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin, 7′ 0
16, Larry Nance, Wyoming, 6′ 8″
17, Jordan McRae, Tennessee, 6′ 6″
18, Nick Johnson, Arizona, 6′ 3″
19, Briante Weber, VCU, 6′ 2″
20, Javon McCrea, Buffalo, 6′ 7″
21, Kendall Williams, New Mexico, 6′ 4″
22, Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga, 6′ 2″
23, Ron Baker, Wichita St., 6′ 3″
24, DeAndre Kane, Iowa St., 6′ 4″
25, Ben Brust, Wisconsin, 6′ 1″
26, Jacob Parker, Stephen F. Austin, 6′ 6″
27, KJ McDaniels, Clemson, 6′ 6″
28, Troy Huff, North Dakota, 6′ 5″
29, TaShawn Thomas, Houston, 6′ 8″
30, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown, 6′ 3″
31, Elfrid Payton, Louisiana Lafayette, 6′ 3″
32, Trevor Cooney, Syracuse, 6′ 4″
33, Justin Jackson, Cincinnati, 6′ 8″
34, Russ Smith, Louisville, 6′ 0
35, Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky, 7′ 0
36, Fred Van Vleet, Wichita St., 5′ 11″
37, Brandon Edwards, UT Arlington, 6′ 6″
38, Joel Embiid, Kansas, 7′ 0
39, Brad Waldow, Saint Mary’s, 6′ 9″
40, Rayvonte Rice, Illinois, 6′ 4″
41, Doug McDermott, Creighton, 6′ 8″
42, Joseph Young, Oregon, 6′ 2″
43, Roy Devyn Marble, Iowa, 6′ 6″
44, Shawn Long, Louisiana Lafayette, 6′ 9″
45, Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado, 6′ 6″
46, Jameel Warney, Stony Brook, 6′ 8″
47, Deonte Burton (Nevada), Nevada, 6′ 1″
48, RJ Hunter, Georgia St., 6′ 5″
49, Aaron Craft, Ohio St., 6′ 2″
50, Richaun Holmes, Bowling Green, 6′ 8″
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