Monday morning, as I was glancing through the odds on "Most Outstanding Person" for the Final Four, I noticed that the odds for Ty Lawson were even money. I decided to put a couple on Lawson to win MOP. After Lawson's 22 point, 8 assist, 7 rebound effort against Villanova Saturday, it's looked as if he would be almost a shoe-in to win the "MOP" assuming North Carolina took care of business against Michigan State.
When Wayne Ellington was announced the "MOP", I needed to to go the fridge to get some ice for my mouth after my jaw hit the table. Frustrated that I just missed out on what looked like an almost certainty, I decided to watch the game over again.
Right from the opening tap, Lawson got each of his teammates involved. When Carolina grabbed an early 10-5 lead, every starter had already scored. This did a world of good to confidence of the team, and a result UNC lead by double figures 5 minutes into the game, and coasted the rest of the game.
Yes, Ellington's shooting percentage was very impressive, especially from 3 point range, where he went 3/3 in the championship game and 5/7 on Saturday. Howevever, this is what he is supposed to do, this is his specialty. I could see Ellington winning the ward if he would have a high number of rebounds or assists against Michigan State, but he didnt. In fact, he didnt have a single assist against the Spartans.
Lawson was so spectactular, not only in the tournament, but for the entire season (winning ACC player of the year), that you kind of take what the guy does for granted. All the guy did in the Final 4 was score 43 points, dish out 14 assists, bring down 11 rebounds, and come up with 10 steals (including 8 in the championship game).
I dont know exactly who votes for the Final Four "MOP", but I do know that they need to re-evaluate the selection process of who votes.