The Holy Land of Hoops

At this point in the season, who do you think is on his way to winning the 6th man of the year award in the BEast?

I don't know about how his stats compare, but for all the talk about our starting lineup, CU would be nowhere near as successful as we are if Toby Hegner didn't completely re-tool his game. Prior to this year, Toby liked to hang out at the three point line and shoot. Not much for rebounding or interior play on either end of the court. But with the infusion of talent this year, he has accepted his new role and really been a tremendous contributor. Came into the season with more starts than anyone on the roster, but has worked his tail off to become a decent interior defender, and he has developed a decent jump hook from 3-7 feet out--all while coming off the bench.

He was huge in the second half in our wins against both Wisky and NC State. He simply has come in and played with tons of effort, shoots when he's open, but gets that he's not the first option, rebounds, runs the floor, etc. The one game where he didn't play well--Nova--we lost. I really think we have 4-6 more losses without him. The fact that he has worked his butt off to earn minutes on the court--where the minutes could be earned on this squad--is super impressive in my book.

Toby Hegner? I think we can come up with a better candidate.

milksteak wrote:Toby Hegner? I think we can come up with a better candidate.

So who's your 6th man vote?

Kethan Savage.

whiteandblue77 wrote:

milksteak wrote:Toby Hegner? I think we can come up with a better candidate.

So who's your 6th man vote?

Someone that scores at least 6ppg on the season?

It won't be Hegner but he's tremendously important to our success.

One thing he's really good at but gets zero credit for are the seals he gets down low that allow Watson to get to the tin. There are at least two to three times per game it happens and I think, Mo doesn't get through there without Toby putting a body on that big.

handdownmandown wrote:It won't be Hegner but he's tremendously important to our success.

One thing he's really good at but gets zero credit for are the seals he gets down low that allow Watson to get to the tin. There are at least two to three times per game it happens and I think, Mo doesn't get through there without Toby putting a body on that big.

He's not likely to get any awards as usually the 6th man award goes to a guy who lights up the scoreboard like Vinnie "the Microwave", but he's been really critical to us this year.

He's probably our best defender in the post and really uses positioning well (at times we've put him on the post player for the other team and let Patton play weakside defense). He's not a shot blocker, but can alter shots. He's very, very effective in his help defense (it's nice having a 6-10 guy who is mobile enough to play a bit on the perimeter, and in the post and who can get to help and double hard with his height). His rebounding isn't great (8.9 per 40), but he's one of the best we have at getting a body on someone and blocking them out.

On offense, he is shooting from 3 PT range better than ever 45% on the season and he forces teams to guard him on the perimeter, and he's added a lot of post moves that have really upped his versatility on offense. He's only scoring 14.2 per 40, but with a high level of efficiency (TS% of .610 and eFG% of .595 this year).

Anyway, he's one of our most important guys and while he doesn't get the accolades, there are games we wouldn't have won this year without him on the floor.

Kamar Baldwin doesn't start for Butler does he? If not, he's my clear front runner.

Westbrook#36 wrote:Kamar Baldwin doesn't start for Butler does he? If not, he's my clear front runner.

He starts and Savage is usually the first guy off the bench now...

chicagojayfan wrote:

handdownmandown wrote:It won't be Hegner but he's tremendously important to our success.

One thing he's really good at but gets zero credit for are the seals he gets down low that allow Watson to get to the tin. There are at least two to three times per game it happens and I think, Mo doesn't get through there without Toby putting a body on that big.

He's not likely to get any awards as usually the 6th man award goes to a guy who lights up the scoreboard like Vinnie "the Microwave", but he's been really critical to us this year.

He's probably our best defender in the post and really uses positioning well (at times we've put him on the post player for the other team and let Patton play weakside defense). He's not a shot blocker, but can alter shots. He's very, very effective in his help defense (it's nice having a 6-10 guy who is mobile enough to play a bit on the perimeter, and in the post and who can get to help and double hard with his height). His rebounding isn't great (8.9 per 40), but he's one of the best we have at getting a body on someone and blocking them out.

On offense, he is shooting from 3 PT range better than ever 45% on the season and he forces teams to guard him on the perimeter, and he's added a lot of post moves that have really upped his versatility on offense. He's only scoring 14.2 per 40, but with a high level of efficiency (TS% of .610 and eFG% of .595 this year).

Anyway, he's one of our most important guys and while he doesn't get the accolades, there are games we wouldn't have won this year without him on the floor.

Thanks CJF--My point exactly! While he's not your prototypical 6th man of the year, he's a major reason why we've been as successful as we have been.