Walt Lemon Junior – POY?

(St. Louis, MO) – Who is a better Missouri Valley basketball player than Bradley’s Walt Lemon Junior?  Maybe no one. With bows to Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early and Indiana State’s Jake Odum, the senior from Chicago moved into legendary status last season.

Lemon joined Bradley icon Hersey Hawkins as MVC players with at least 500 points, 100 rebounds, 100 assists and 70 steals in a season. Hawkins did it in 1987-88 and went on to a solid NBA career. The 6’3″ lefty is on everyone’s pre-season all conference team, but is he the best MVC player?

CBS Sportsline says he is. There is an on-line fan vote going on right now to see what the paying customers think (Go to surveymonkey.com/s/SQ32CKF if you want to vote), but is Walt Lemon Junior the BEST player in the MVC.  Let’s look at the numbers.

Lemon averaged 15.6 points, most of any returning player. He averaged right at four rebounds and assists per game and was a terror on defense. Early is probably the best NBA prospect and was electric in the Shockers’ run to the Final Four and is taller than either Lemon or Odum, but he doesn’t play defense like Lemon or handle the ball like Odum.

Indiana State’s Jake Odum is a handful. He runs the Sycamore offense, antagonizes the opponents with his passion and sprawling around the floor. He is the best point guard in the MVC. But he doesn’t score like either of those other two players

Wichita State should win the regular season title and Indiana State will likely be the Shockers’ main competition. Voters normally vote for someone from the top teams, so unless Bradley becomes the third team in that mix, Walt Lemon Junior has little chance of winning the Player of the Year trophy.

You could get an argument from many quarters of the league, but after seeing these guys play, looking at the numbers, Lemon is the best all-round player in the MVC.

Do Good