The Overrated/Underrated Awards

NCAA Basketball:

Most overrated coach: Roy Williams

So how do you call a coach who has won two NCAA championships within the decade overrated? Easy -- it's all about being a brand name. Roy has has two head coaching gigs in his career -- Kansas and UNC. Wow, I would say it's real impressive for a coach to get recruits when you're coaching two of the most winning college basketball teams in history.

Coach Williams gets to work with the most specular group of talent from all over the country. This year, he has four players for high schools in California, as well as some from Tennessee and Indiana -- the kind of placed you don't see the ACC get unless you're a national powerhouse.

Another hit to Williams' resume is his propensity to lose games where he's expected to win. Since the beginning of his tenure at UNC, Williams has lost numerous conference where his team was favored, including four in 2003-04 and eight this year. But maybe that's more an attribute to the quality of the ACC or that he finally was allowed to have a down year. Or maybe it's the fact that pre-season polls favor UNC regardless of their actual talent and more based on their reputation.

Most underrated coach: Gary Williams

Someone once told me that if Gary Williams and another coach each had the same five players on their squad, Gary would have the heads-up every single game.

Gary does less with more more than any other coach in the country, and these last two seasons have clearly demonstrated that. After missing out on highly regarded recruits, Williams and the Terps relied heavily on Greivis Vasquez if they wanted to contend in the ACC. Well, due to the motivation and attitude Williams shed onto his players, they made the NCAA Tournament both years after neither time anyone picked them to.

Williams refuses to recruit one-and-done players or use under-the-table recruiting tactics, but still his desire to win and knowledge of the game has transcended onto his players. And what could you say about constantly being a contender in the ACC with powerhouses Duke and UNC as opponents usually twice a year?

Well, Maryland finally overcame the hump and defeated the Blue Devils this past March, and the Terps have a two-game winning streak over the Tar Heels now.

Most overrated player: John Wall

I can't just throw statistics at you and saying Wall is not a great player -- he is -- but the award is 'most overrated.' The same argument goes for Wall as does Coach Roy Williams -- it's about the talent that surrounds him.

On the Wildcats, there are a four sure NBA talents besides Wall in DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson and Eric Bledsoe. The most underrated, Bledsoe, could probably put up identical numbers to Wall if he wanted to. On any other team, Bledsoe could be the superstar we are all talking about.

Most underrated player: Jimmer Fredette

What made this decision most difficult was there are so many under-the-radar teams that may have superstars that I have never seen player and that I would be disrespecting them by not giving them their due.

So I'll put a tag on this award, saying that of the teams I've watched, this is who has impressed me the most.

And a note, second place was given to Xavier's Jordan Crawford -- anyone who can drunk on LeBron gets high consideration.

The winner, Jimmy Fredette, the New York product, led his BYU team into a surprising AP top ranking, and put on a show when he had the NCAA Tournament as his stage.

Fredette, for the not-so-powerhouse of a team he played on, put up great scoring numbers -- over 22 points per game, almost five dimes, three boards and .440 from three-point range.

In BYU's first tournament game, Fredette put up 37 points against the Florida Gators, as his team defeated them by scoring 99 -- not your every day tournament game score.

Fredette was still a force in their next match up against Kansas State when he scored 21, but his team was not so lucky that time around.

So when you're trying to figure out the most underrated player in the country, it never hurts to select a player you've never heard of on a team that you'd never expect to be successful.