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Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Simpson was better than Caleb Love this season.
When the Pac-12 announced their postseason awards on Monday morning, anybody who had been following Colorado Buffaloes basketball this season knew something was off. KJ Simpson, the conference's clear best player, lost out on Pac-12 Player of the Year. Instead, that honor went to Arizona guard Caleb Love.
Love had a good season in Tucson, but it doesn’t even really compare to KJ’s. Nobody has meant more to their team and been as good at their position as Simpson has in the Pac-12 this season. He got robbed of Player of the Year; plain and simple.
Statistically, it’s clear that KJ has been the better player this season. Simpson (19.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.9 APG) averages higher values in per game stats than Love (18.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.4 APG). KJ has also made a higher percentage of shots from the field (48.8% FG) than Love (43% FG), while attempting an average of 1.1 less field goals per game.
Those figures alone indicate that Simpson is more efficient offensively than Love, as he scores more than him on less attempts. Defensively, Love isn’t even in the same stratosphere as Simpson.
KJ averages 1.7 steals per game, good for third in the entire Pac-12. Love averages 1.2 steals per game, clocking in at 18th place in the conference. KJ was named as an honorable mention to the All-Pac-12 Defensive team, while there was no mention of Love being on that list.
Simpson is pretty clearly Colorado’s best player and it’s hard to make an argument against it, as he leads the team in points, defensive rebounds, assists and steals. Love isn’t even close to being the best player on the Wildcats, as center Oumar Ballo is probably the best hooper in Tucson right now.
Love might not even the best guard on Arizona’s roster either. Kylan Boswell, who is the Pac-12’s best defensive guard, is probably the more well-rounded player when stacking the two against each other. Hell, you could even make an argument that Pelle Larsson is a more efficient scorer than Love, but I’m not gonna go there.
These Player of the Year awards always seem to go the player on the best team who chucks up the most shots, and this year isn’t any different. Love has attempted 454 field goals this season, being the most by an Arizona Wildcat this season by a margin of a whopping 180.
If you look at the stats or even just watch the two players, it’s pretty clear KJ was the better player this season. He really, truly did get robbed of winning Player of the Year, which is really frustrating. We all wanted KJ to finally get some real recognition for how good he’s been this year, but I guess that wasn’t meant to be.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it other than spread the truth around that KJ is better than Caleb. This isn’t the first time that a Buffalo got snubbed of an award and it won’t be the last. In our heart of hearts, we all know that KJ is the real Player of the Year, and maybe that’s all that really matters.
by RylandScholes
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