Day 2 of the SOB's continue.Welcome back to the SOB Awards, presented by your favorite members of the elite group known as the Syracuse Blogosphere. If you missed any of Day 1, check out yesterday's results here. Thanks to the Idiots for starting today off with the presentation of the Best Photo from the year. Now we venture on and present the Best Senior.
While some of these categories are highly contensious, this is not one of them. With all 12 of the votes from the panel, the far and away best senior this year was…
Andy RautinsSince we all voted for him I’ll just go down the line.
Sean of Nunes/Magician: Andy Rautins - Andy Rautins the senior must look at Andy Rautins the freshman and wonder who that guy was. Once just a three-ball specialist, Rautins emerged this year as a team leader on and off the court. This was Andy's team.
Brian of CuseOrange: Andy Rautins - shed his rep as merely a three-point shooter and son of Leo Rautins (though broadcasters nationwide will contend otherwise) and improved his game more than about anyone I've seen who stayed at SU for four years...ok, five. Whatever. He's already planned for a fallback career as a hair model in case the NBA doesn't pan out for him.
Matt Glaude of Hoya Suxa: Andy Rautins: He's no longer "Leo's Kid." The guy could father 20 kids out of wedlock and I'd still want to hug him for his dagger wielding. Plus, did you see that hair? I haven't seen follicle development like that in a long time.
Dan Lyons of Bleacher Report: Andy Rautins: Andy was the ultimate glue guy all year, while also being the team's second star. He was one of the best defensive guards in the nation and possibly the best at the top of Boeheim's zone ever, was a lights out shooter, an incredible passer, and provided the leadership a team needs from its seniors. I think Andy might have played his way into the draft this season.
Brian Harrison of Orange::44: Andy Rautins: When he was on, Andy was the best pure shooter in America. But his true value was in his passing abilities and his domination on the defensive end at the top of the 2-3 Zone. The improvement from last year to this year was astonishing as well.
Orange Chuck of The Big Orange Bloggers: Andy Rautins – I love AO and you could point out that his being injured may have cost this team a championship but Andy's leadership on the court offensively and defensively were impressive. I am glad both bled Orange (as often as they were injured, literally as well) and when AO played great, he was one of the best big men in the game but Andy was the spark plug they leaned on to help when it was needed.
Jameson Fleming of Bleacher Report: Andy Rautins: Did you know Leo was his father? Oh, you did? I guess I'll have to tell you something new about Andy then. After being an offensive liability ever year until this year (yes, his game was not on par with last year's offense), Rautins became this team's catalyst. While he rarely could create his own shot, he created so much for others, that the offense essentially ran through him. Not bad for a guy who was once considered a one-star recruit.
D.A. from The Orange Fizz: Gotta be Rautins, although far too often this season I yelled upon an off-balance three-point heave, "Nooooo Andy!... YES!" He sunk more "bad look" threes than anyone in SU history - and ended the season doing the same in the Butler game. But without him, SU's season would've ended in the first round.
Steve from CuseOrange: Andy Rautins. Just goes to show what hard work, mixed with talent can achieve. He was the most needed player on the team. Seemed to hit many of his 3s after opposing teams runs or as an exclamation point on our runs. No doubt we will miss him next year.
Josh from Cuse Country: Arinze was a rock but Rautins was the engine that made this team go. Strange to say it but his loss will probably be felt more keenly than Wes or Arinze next season. There was nobody else on the team that could do what Andy could.
Syracusan from Cuse Country: Leo's kid. We'll miss Andy more than we've missed any player in a long time. I'm going to spend a lot of energy rooting for him to somehow pull an NBA career out of thin air. I think he's capable, but he's going to need a lot of luck.
Andrew of The Three Idiots: Andy Rautins. He ditched the fauxhawk, but picked up an improved all around game. While he didn't put up gaudy scoring numbers all the time, he was the player teams game planned against and while he was prone to throwing a few balls into the stands, the Jamesville-Canadian made some spectacular passes this year. I'm really going to miss Andy.
So there you have it. Congratulations to Andy Rautins on a great senior season and many thanks from the Syracuse faithful. That wraps up my end of the SOB’s for 2009-2010, but the awards roll on. Tune to The Orange Fizz at 11:00AM EST for the winner of the Favorite Moment of the Season. And once again check out Nunes/Magician at the end of the day for all the final results from this madness known as the Syracuse Orange Blogger Awards. We’ll see you next year. Thanks to Sean for organizing them again and special thanks to the members of the panel for the great work.
Labels: Basketball, Nunes/Magician, Syracuse Blogisphere, Syracuse Orange Blogger Awards
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