The Oklahoma State Basketball MVP Draft: Texas A&M-CC

Welcome back to the MVP Draft. Normally, we wouldn’t pick a game like Texas A&M Corpus Christi for the draft, but since it’s the only game of the week we’re going to do it.

First off, for those who haven’t seen the MVP Draft before, here’s the rules: Each participant will pick ONE PLAYER from EACH TEAM they think will perform the best. They will then pick a third player from either team as their wild card pick. Each correct pick is worth one point. We will tally the points throughout the season.

Before we get to the Islanders, let’s tally up the points from last week’s game against Wichita State.

Tyler: 0 point(s)
OSU: Jeffrey Carroll | WSU: Zach Brown | Wild Card: Daishon Smith (WSU)

Sam: 0 point(s)
OSU: Brandon Averette | WSU: Zach Brown | Wild Card: Shaquille Morris (WSU)

Sumer: 1 point(s)
OSU: Lindy Waters | WSU: Daishon Smith | Wild Card: Jeffrey Carroll (OSU)

Opponent: 2 points
OSU: Jawun Evans | WSU: Darral Willis Jr. | Wild Card: Markis McDuffie (WSU)

Oklahoma State: This came down to Carroll and Evans. Both had 22 points and five rebounds. Evans, though, added four assists and a block and gathered all of his stats in 9 fewer minutes than Carroll. Point Evans.
Wichita State: Darral Willis Jr. was the lone bright spot for the Shockers on Saturday with a 24 point, 13 rebound double-double. He led all players for both teams in both stats. He easily gets the point.
Wild Card: With Evans getting the OSU point, the wild card point had to go to Carroll. He continues his impressive season. Reminder, he comes off the bench for OSU and is, in my opinion, the second most important player on the team.

Opponent - 5
Sumer - 3
Sam - 2
Tyler - 1

Now on to this week.

Oklahoma State welcomes the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders to Stillwater today. Technically, it’s not the final non-conference game of the season, since we still have Arkansas in the Big12/SEC challenge, but it might as well be.

This week we welcome Jonathan Chavez as our guest contributor. He was chosen from more than a dozen people who responded to our tweet calling for a participant. You’d be surprised how hard it was to find a TAMUCC fan to help out this week.

Tyler

OSU: Lindy Waters | TAMUCC: Rashawn Thomas | Wild Card: Jawun Evans (OSU)

Oklahoma State: We saw the old Jawun we all know and love against Wichita State. Against an opponent like TAMU-CC, I think we should see more of the same, but Evans will likely have limited minutes, therefore opening the door for freshman phenom Lindy Waters III. As a freshman, expect Waters to play a lot and since he shoots the ball very well and also rebounds, so I expect him to play a good game.
Texas A&M-CC: The TAMU-CC offense appears to run through one person, and that’s Thomas. The senior forward is averaging 17.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 2.3 bpg. Thomas is the star of this team, and against the less-than-stellar Cowboys’ interior D, he could potentially have a good day.
Wild Card: Against the Shockers, Evans had something crazy like 11 points in 8 minutes. If he can score like that in limited minutes I'm predicting he gets a few steals and rebounds as well, which is enough for a wildcard point.

Sam

OSU: Jawun Evans | TAMUCC: Rashawn Thomas | Wild Card: Jeffrey Carroll (OSU)

Oklahoma State: Evans was sidelined with a shoulder injury, causing him to miss the Tulsa game, and saw minimal time against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Yet, when he took the floor against the Shockers, he looked like one of the best point guards in the country. Evans went for 22 against Wichita State, with 11 in the first half in only 8 minutes of action. He has proved he can score at a high rate, and should have no problem against the Islanders. I’m interested to see what Coach Underwood does with Evans against a weaker opponent and Big 12 Play right around the corner. If he plays his normal minutes, it could be a big night for Jawun.
Texas A&M-CC: A Senior from Oklahoma City, Rashawn Thomas is the best player for the Islanders. Averaging 17/PPG and 8/RPG. He is also 6’8 230, which could be an advantage against a inconsistent Oklahoma State front-court. The Cowboys were dominant on both sides of the boards against Wichita State, but they still are prone to getting in early foul trouble. Thomas could have a double-double night if the Pokes aren’t aggressive on the boards.
Wild Card: Carroll matched Jawun Evans with 22 against the Shockers, and shot an impressive 8-10 from the field. Carroll is quickly becoming one of the key pieces to the Cowboys’ success. He should play a decent amount of minutes in a tune up game before conference play, and is looking to increase his double-digit scoring streak to 7 games in a row.

Sumer

OSU: Brandon Averette | TAMUCC: Ehab Amin | Wild Card: Rashawn Thomas (TAMUCC)

Oklahoma State: I feel a game like this could offer big minutes for him. He's a pretty decent free throw shooter and average-ish in every other offensive aspect. He makes his presence known defensively with steals and rebounds. I continue to expect bigger numbers and more progress out of the freshman.
Texas A&M-CC: He has a cool name. Leads the team in steals. Second highest scorer. Somewhat below average so far on the season offensively, and turns the ball over kind of a lot. Solid defender leading the team in steals and is top 3 in rebounds.
Wild Card: He’s their leading scorer but a poor 3-point-shooter. He also leads TAMUCC in blocks and rebounds, and is second in steals. He'll be the biggest all around threat from the Islanders.

Opponent: Jonathan Chavez

OSU: Jawun Evans | TAMUCC: Cole Martinez | Wild Card: Thomas Dziagwa (OSU)

Oklahoma State: It's hard to pick against Jeffrey Carroll, the only player in the Big 12 in the top 5 in scoring, rebounding and FG percentage but Jawun is still a wizard and the leader of this team. He had a good game against WSU but he will be more efficient against TAMUCC. The Islanders play good defense but I still think Evans has a good game racking up some points, and dishing out some assists.
Texas A&M-CC: Cole is one of the four leading scorers for TAMUCC but averages the highest 3PT% and FG% of them all. He's also in the top four in APG and has the lowest percentage of turnovers per game of the leading scorers. His numbers might be a bit misleading but I could see him going off behind the arc and racking up some points.
Wild Card: The bench hype man was been hot as of late and getting more valuable minutes. I could see him having some impact on this game with his fire 3PT making abilities. I might also add, we haven't lost when he makes more than three 3PT's per game.