Jahii One of 15 On "Big O" Trophy Preseason List
HOW MANY FRESHMAN RECORDS DID JAHII BREAK LAST YEAR?...
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association selected Jahii Carson, the nation's top freshman scorer on year ago, as one of the 15 outstanding players for its 2013-14 Oscar Robertson Trophy Preseason Watch List. Members of the association's board of directors chose the players to be included on the list as contenders for the Oscar Robertson Trophy.
Carson averaged 18.5 points and 5.1 assists last season, the first freshman to do that since Chris McGuthrie of Mount St. Mary's notched the feat in 1992-93 (19.8/.5.1).
The award is to be presented to the national player of the year by its namesake at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on April 14, 2014, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award and the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award will also be presented at the gala to be held annually the Monday following the NCAA Men's Final Four.
Other notes on Jahii...
--In the final six games he had heads turning averaging 22.5 ppg., 6.0 rpg. and 5.0 apg., while shooting 551 from the field, .500 from the three-point stripe and .800 from the free throw line.
--Jahii is one of only three All-Pac-12 first-team players returning this season, joining Dwight Powell of Stanford and Spencer Dinwiddie of Colorado.
--He averaged 21.9 points in the 15 games away from home in 2012-13, as ASU played 11 road games and four neutral site games. He averaged 38.5 minutes in those games and shot .523 from the field (124-of-237).
--The Mesa, Ariz., native had ten 20+ point games away from home, including three of the top Sun Devil freshman scoring games in history with 34 vs. Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament (Mar. 13), 32 at Washington (Feb. 2) and 30 vs. No. 14 Creighton in Las Vegas (Nov. 24).
WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS HAPPENED ALL YEAR: Jahii Carson numbers were simply amazing last year...posted three 30-point games, no other Sun Devil freshmen posted more than one...averaged a Pac-12 best 37.2 minutes, the best mark by a freshman in Sun Devil history (Beard lighting up NBA averaged 34.1 in 2007-08)...set school freshman mark for assists with 177, crushing 28-year old mark of 114 set by Bobby Thompson in 1983-84, which also is sixth-most by a freshman in Pac-12 history...Sun Devil freshman record (and Pac-12 leading) 18 20-point games, topping James Harden's 16 in 2007-08...in past 15 seasons only one Sun Devil averaged more minutes per game than Jahii's 37.2 and that was Kevin Kruger at 39.0 in 2004-05. Eddie House in his 1999-2000 Pac-10 Player of the Year run also averaged 37.2 minutes.