Could WVU’s Javon Small be in line for Big 12 Player of the Year? Let’s examine

I was somewhat surprised.
While watching the TCU-WVU men’s basketball game, the announcer mentioned that Mountaineer guard Javon Small was up for the Big 12 Player of the Year award.
I was surprised because I’d been mostly hearing the name JT Toppin of Texas Tech. I was surprised because Small has had some turnover issues of late and I’ve figured that will hurt. But he also plays a bunch, so…
And then CBS Sports College Basketball tweeted out the following:
“Javon Small hit 8 threes tonight.
He’s making his case for Big 12 Conference player of the year.”
We’ll let it slide that Small actually hit 6 threes (eight field goals total, finishing with 23) and get to the point.
Javon Small for POY? Could he join names like Cade Cunningham, Buddy Hield, Marcus Smart, Blake Griffin and, dare I say it, Kevin Durant in winning the award?
Well, let’s look.
After poring over the stats, it indeed seems to be a two-man race between Toppin and Small.
Toppin is averaging 17.2 points. But, yeah, Small is averaging more at 18.4 through 28 games. (The league’s top scorer might surprise you: Keyshawn Hall of UCF at 18.8.)
But let’s dig deeper.
In the rebounding category, Toppin is third, averaging 9.2, behind Norchad Omier of Baylor and Hunter Dickinson of Kansas. In field goal percentage, Toppin is again third at 55.7 percent, behind David N’Guessan of Kansas State (63.2) and Omier (56.4).
Of course, Toppin is a 6-9 forward, while Small is a 6-3 guard. One would expect Toppin to be better in those two stats — except Small is still hitting his field goals at a 42.2 percent clip. So, give him credit there.
At the free throw stripe where size doesn’t matter, Small is fourth in the league at 87.3 percent, while Toppin is No. 25 at 70.1 percent.
Give Small another chip for averaging 2.5 3-point field goals a game, fifth in the Big 12.
And while Toppin has rebounding, Small has assists. The Mountaineer is third in the conference in that stat with 5.6 per game.
As mentioned, the one area in which Small struggles is turnovers (he has 75). Yet the Mountaineer is still eighth among Big 12 players in assist/turnover ratio (2.1).
In blocked shots, Toppin is 11th, averaging 1.2 a game. (The leader is Jayden Quaintance of Arizona State, a 6-9 freshman with a 7-3-plus wingspan. If you haven’t seen him, make it a point to check him out. Wow.)
In steals, Small is 10th, averaging 1.7 a game.
Oh, and in minutes played, Small is sitting atop the Big 12, averaging 36.3 per games. He’s been on the court 1,016 minutes so far this season. Toppin is nowhere in sight.
So, yes, you could make a very strong case for Small. A problem for the guard is Toppin leads a Tech team that’s ranked No. 10 in both the A.P. and coaches polls. Voters may give that weight. (L.J. Cryer leads the league’s best team, balanced No. 4 Houston, with a 14.6 scoring average.) But WVU has been a great story, a surprise team at 17-11, so maybe that balances out.
We’ll see. One thing for sure, though, is it’s been fun as a Mountaineer follower to see Small ball in action this season.
+ + +
Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.