Tag: Khamil

For the past few months, we’ve been ranking potential women’s college basketball Player of the Year candidates. At this point, it seems like Juju Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo are at the front of the conversation. Yet, there are a few players who seem to be overlooked in a few ways. Let’s talk about a few.

Khamil Pierre, the sophomore leader of the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, is having a fantastic season. Up to 22.3 points per game compared to her 8.9 average in her freshman season, Pierre is a force on the court. She averages 10.2 rebounds per game as well, in the 99th percentile nationwide. She also boasts defensive power, averaging 3.1 steals per game and a 75.5 defensive rating.

So what’s stopping Pierre from being in the POTY conversation? At this rate, it seems like team ranking is the factor. Vanderbilt has flirted on the edge of the top 25 all year long. It looked like they were poised to jump up at the end of non-conference play, but the SEC had different plans. Vanderbilt has lost three of their last four, to Kentucky, Ole Miss, and LSU consecutively before achieving a one-point victory over Tennessee. The team is now at 15-4 on the season, and their unranked status could be why Pierre isn’t mentioned as much as other players with similar stats.

Lauren Betts has been crucial to Nfo.1 UCLA’s dominance this season. The program was boosted into the top spot after beating South Carolina and ending their 43-game winning streak. They are still undefeated at 17-0 at this moment. Betts is averaging 19.7 points per game, shooting 61.7 percent from the field and grabs 9.9 rebounds per game. She has a defensive rating of 71.7 (99th percentile) and an offensive rating of 123.2 (98th percentile). Her 296 points this season are in the 98th percentile among players.

So Betts has the stats, and her team is ranked No.1 in the country … why isn’t she a top candidate for Player of the Year? Well, she’s definitely not low on the list — but she isn’t up there with the Watkins and Hidalgos. It may be that she is just “middle of the pack” — overall her stats are great. Yet she doesn’t top the rankings for points per game, rebounds per game, win shares, usage rate, etc.

Ta’Niya Latson has an impressive resume this season — 26.6 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.7 steals. Shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from 3-point range. 478 total points on the season, top-10 in Win Shares, 121.1 offensive rating (97th percentile). 37.6 percent usage rate on a 15-4 Florida State team.

Florida State has been in and out of the rankings all season. They are fifth in the ACC at the moment and have recent losses to Cal and Stanford. While Latson herself is putting up impressive numbers, it doesn’t seem like the team has enough buzz to get her into these POTY conversations. She definitely should be in the conversation for ACC Player of the Year, but Notre Dame is also in the ACC and Hannah Hidalgo may have that one locked.