Sam M & Andrew W....

[Big Mike]

Just playinng around today I looked up AW's stats for his first 2 years @ BU.....this is not a SM vs AW but everyone likes what AW brings to the Braves and I used his #'s to let fans see that SM also bring a lot to this team and is a better player than most think!
PTS______
FR......139
SO......435
total...574

3's________
FR.......21
SO......67
total....88


now a lot of fans get on SM from time to time but I think is is going to be a very good player before he is done on the Hilltop!

PTS______
FR......292
SO.....312...with at least 4 more games
total...604

3's_______
FR.......55....BU FR record
SO......46 with at least 4 more games
total...101

BONUS......in Valley play only SM leads the league in FT% @ .911 hitting 51-56!

not too bad in my book!

[Braves4Life]

I hear ya. I said it before and I'll say it again, Sam M. is this year's MVP. TW is the most outstanding player but Sam M. is most valuable, IMO

[BUconnorD]

I think what separates SM from the rest (excluding TW) is his consistency.
I don't think anyone has ever posted "Man, sam did not show up tonight".....well someone probably has, but of the rest of the team...he's probably the most consistent

I think TW is the MVP simply for his game changing ability...these past few games are a big tell for this

[bluedevils1]

Some might disagree, but don't forget the other Sam. As much as he lacks, Sam Singh has given all he has to this program and has made some big plays for us. Without him to complement inconsistent David Collins, I don't know where we would be. He has stepped up this year to take on more of a leadership role, and it shows with his hustle on the court. Our bigs situation is iffy, but if you would have told me Sam Singh would be playing this much a few years ago, I would have laughed. Now, he is a respectable, not great, MVC big man. With the ridiculous lack of centers we have, he has taken a huge step upward to help this team.

[pfunk880]

Some might disagree, but don't forget the other Sam. As much as he lacks, Sam Singh has given all he has to this program and has made some big plays for us. Without him to complement inconsistent David Collins, I don't know where we would be. He has stepped up this year to take on more of a leadership role, and it shows with his hustle on the court. Our bigs situation is iffy, but if you would have told me Sam Singh would be playing this much a few years ago, I would have laughed. Now, he is a respectable, not great, MVC big man. With the ridiculous lack of centers we have, he has taken a huge step upward to help this team.

I was going to post this in a new thread or in the postgame thread, but since you mention Singh here and it's the first thread I'm looking at, I may as just post it here.

Sam seems to be hitting the wall a bit, probably because he really hasn't seen this much action in previous years at BU. He really hasn't given us much in the past few games, and it really concerns me for STL. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely agree that he has given us a lot this year, and I don't want to think about where we'd be without him. However, I wish AT would have gotten just five or so minutes per game so that he might be able to give us something by this juncture of the season. I'm not sure SS will have enough left in the tank for him to combine with DC to lead us to an MVC tournament title.

[amckillip]

And in AW's sophmore year he had an extra 5-6 games because of the CBI. People dog on Sam, but the kid will leave as a BU great.

[ser_solace]

I didn't realize Sam's FT % was THAT good. Geez. That's ridiculous.

[BradleyBrave]

And in AW's sophmore year he had an extra 5-6 games because of the CBI. People dog on Sam, but the kid will leave as a BU great.

AW also missed the last month of the season with a broken hand, so he didn't have any 'extra' games. AW was also playing behind all-conference guards in Will Franklin, Jeremy Crouch, and Dan Ruffin, and sharing time with JJ Tauai and Danny Adams as a freshman. The backcourt has been nowhere near that crowded or that talented since Sam has been here.

Also, where was the shooting percentage comparison? Sam is shooting 3's at 33% clip this year, and 41% overall from the field. Last year AW shot 43% from the fied, and 41% from 3 - significantly better than Sam's 33%. As a freshman, AW shot 46% from the field, and 46% from 3. Conversely as a freshman Sam shot 41% from the field and 36% from 3. The numbers clearly speak for themselves here.

Sam will be a solid 4 year guy, and I like his as a player, but a BU great is a big, big stretch. Next year he doesn't project out to start, or even necessarily be the first guard off the bench. AW is twice the talent Sam is, and will have twice the career. If given the choice between the two, 10 of 10 MVC coaches would take AW. This comparison is silly, really.

[thefish7]

I was going to post this in a new thread or in the postgame thread, but since you mention Singh here and it's the first thread I'm looking at, I may as just post it here.

Sam seems to be hitting the wall a bit, probably because he really hasn't seen this much action in previous years at BU. He really hasn't given us much in the past few games, and it really concerns me for STL. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely agree that he has given us a lot this year, and I don't want to think about where we'd be without him. However, I wish AT would have gotten just five or so minutes per game so that he might be able to give us something by this juncture of the season. I'm not sure SS will have enough left in the tank for him to combine with DC to lead us to an MVC tournament title.

All I can figure is he just needs to put The Mask back on. I'm at least 30% serious when i say that.

[jeffsu]

AW also missed the last month of the season with a broken hand, so he didn't have any 'extra' games. AW was also playing behind all-conference guards in Will Franklin, Jeremy Crouch, and Dan Ruffin, and sharing time with JJ Tauai and Danny Adams as a freshman. The backcourt has been nowhere near that crowded or that talented since Sam has been here.

Also, where was the shooting percentage comparison? Sam is shooting 3's at 33% clip this year, and 41% overall from the field. Last year AW shot 43% from the fied, and 41% from 3 - significantly better than Sam's 33%. As a freshman, AW shot 46% from the field, and 46% from 3. Conversely as a freshman Sam shot 41% from the field and 36% from 3. The numbers clearly speak for themselves here.

Sam will be a solid 4 year guy, and I like his as a player, but a BU great is a big, big stretch. Next year he doesn't project out to start, or even necessarily be the first guard off the bench. AW is twice the talent Sam is, and will have twice the career. If given the choice between the two, 10 of 10 MVC coaches would take AW. This comparison is silly, really.

Lets remember these are two totally different players who PLAY ON THE SAME TEAM! Come on guys, this is ridiculous. Sam has been/is/will be a great player for this team. AW has been/is/will be a great player for this team. Lets hope they're not the same and that they have different skill sets so we can see both of them out there together!

And who cares if someone becomes a great or not -- we'll never know until they're done here (and then probably not for years afterwards...!)

[ph]

Lets hope they're not the same and that they have different skill sets so we can see both of them out there together!

BINGO!

I look at Sam as someone who is as good as his teammates allow. In the right situation (a balanced, talented team where other defenses are worried about double-teaming others) he will be very, very good

[BUconnorD]

AW also missed the last month of the season with a broken hand, so he didn't have any 'extra' games. AW was also playing behind all-conference guards in Will Franklin, Jeremy Crouch, and Dan Ruffin, and sharing time with JJ Tauai and Danny Adams as a freshman.

And SM played behind Ruffin his freshman year......

[ER3]

AW also missed the last month of the season with a broken hand, so he didn't have any 'extra' games. AW was also playing behind all-conference guards in Will Franklin, Jeremy Crouch, and Dan Ruffin, and sharing time with JJ Tauai and Danny Adams as a freshman. The backcourt has been nowhere near that crowded or that talented since Sam has been here.

Also, where was the shooting percentage comparison? Sam is shooting 3's at 33% clip this year, and 41% overall from the field. Last year AW shot 43% from the fied, and 41% from 3 - significantly better than Sam's 33%. As a freshman, AW shot 46% from the field, and 46% from 3. Conversely as a freshman Sam shot 41% from the field and 36% from 3. The numbers clearly speak for themselves here.

Sam will be a solid 4 year guy, and I like his as a player, but a BU great is a big, big stretch. Next year he doesn't project out to start, or even necessarily be the first guard off the bench. AW is twice the talent Sam is, and will have twice the career. If given the choice between the two, 10 of 10 MVC coaches would take AW. This comparison is silly, really.

Sorry, bb...I am normally in agreement with you about 98% of the time...but to say that Maniscalco doesn't project to start next year or even be the first guard off of the bench is baffling to me.
So, you must think that McCain and Norris are both going to somehow move ahead of Maniscalco in the rotation next year?
Well, that would be great news for us if that were the case, but I don't see it happening.
McCain has no offensive game and/or confidence right now...and his minutes are being scaled back accordingly. I like him as a player, he has good athleticism and toughness and I think he will be a good player for us, but he will not play more minutes than Maniscalco next year...unless he has a miraculous offensive improvement in the off-season.
I like Norris, too...but he is still adjusting to the speed of the D-I game and struggles far worse than Maniscalco defensively at times...I don't see how anyone could realistically project him to move ahead of Maniscalco next year, either.

You can trot out shooting percentages and qualitative assesments about how you don't think Sam can defend, that he's a step slow, and so on...but the fact of the matter is that he plays the most minutes of anyone on the team currently, takes almost all of the shots for this team in crunch time, and is trusted to have the ball in his hands at the crucial moments in games...all of this as a sophomore.

I'm not saying he is going to have his number retired when he is done playing...I just can't believe how little credit he seems to get for his game. I watched him play defense all night long last night, looking for these supposed glaring weaknesses he has, weaknesses that clearly negate everything good he does on the offensive end...and I just don't see it. He gave up an open 3 to McFarland early in the game when he was late rotating back from helping, but other than that, I watched guys try to drive on him all night long, and I never saw one of them beat him...now I fully understand that this was Missouri State, and they are not blessed with the most athletic of guards...but still, the way people talk about Sam, it makes it sound like he is so completely inept defensively that he couldn't stop me from getting to the hole...and I just haven't seen it that way this year as a whole.
I do remember last year and teams spreading the floor and beating Sam like a drum at times...and I'm sure that's where this perception was built. But honestly, I don't remember too many times this year where he has appeared to be totally overmatched on the defensive end (other than a couple games where he was hobbled with his foot injury). Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see with him...but then again, maybe those that have labeled him as an utter defensive liabilty are just seeing what they want to see, as well. It probably goes both ways...

[amckillip]

AW also missed the last month of the season with a broken hand, so he didn't have any 'extra' games. AW was also playing behind all-conference guards in Will Franklin, Jeremy Crouch, and Dan Ruffin, and sharing time with JJ Tauai and Danny Adams as a freshman. The backcourt has been nowhere near that crowded or that talented since Sam has been here.

Sam played behind DRuff, JC, TW, and AW(funny how similar that list is in talent...). There were a couple of injuries in there, but none the less. Sam still was no where near the top of the list as far as options. I agree they are very different players, but the bad rap Sam gets from some people is unbelievable. Sam's not gonna start next year? So he's gonna fall behind EM who he gets more minutes than? Fall behind DD who he gets more minutes than? Fall behind CRob or DN? In what actual (keyword actual) does Sam not start. If Sam was the exact same player with the exact stats and defensive prowess, but was taller(same stats and defensive effect) or looked 'more athletic' he would be lauded on this board as a great assest, and the foundation of the BU offense for several years, etc.

I understand the argument about the two guys running to first and get there at the same time, one with perfect form, with with terrible form, you take the one terrible form. But no one else is getting to first in near the time Sam does, they're three steps after Sam, and have terrible form... Sometimes it just about results, and SM gets it done.

[SFP]

I agree with BB on this one. Also they are playing 2 different positions. SM plays the 1-2 and AW has been playing the 3 pretty exclusively. There is no comparison IMO. I also believe AW would be chosen by 10 - 10 coaches in this league over SM. No disrespect for SM but AW has enough talent to get to the next level and I would be shocked to see SM anything but a coach after college.

SS has hit a wall and I can only hope that he gets a second wind. He should have been only playing 8-10 minutes a game with AT taking the another 5 minutes if all went according to plan I bet. My question is on a neutral court which DC will show up in St Louis?