How on Earth can Clarke be ignored?
Even if you know it’s coming…
Even if you understand how absurd it is, and realize that you shouldn’t take it seriously…
Even if you grasp why it’s happening…
Even if it’s happened over and over, and your life has gone on without much hassle…
Even if you’ve yelled and screamed to make it stop just once…
Even if that’s never going to happen, and you’ve grudgingly accepted it…
That doesn’t mean you’re not entitled to a slow burn or brief fit of anger when the whole damn thing happens again.
So welcome to that same old frustration and fury, Gonzaga fans.
The insult this time?
The list of 20 finalists for the Wooden Award — presented to the best player in college basketball — was released this week.
No surprise here, Zags star Rui Hachimura was on that list.
But HUGE surprise right behind that…
Brandon Clarke was not.
LET’S GET geography and conference bias out of the way immediately.
Most people who cover college hoops live and work in the Eastern part of the country, or in huge media markets like Los Angeles.
Most of them — not the best but an unfortunate majority — don’t know much about Gonzaga, except to make snide remarks about the WCC.
Let’s face it, they’d have to stay up late and care a little bit to watch the Zags on TV.
And hey, once the ACC and Big Ten games are over, why not hit the sack?
So, yes, there is a massive bout of laziness working against Gonzaga and its individual players.
That’s what I meant with the reference to knowing this incredible snub to Clarke might be coming.
According to people who actually know the game, it’s a stunner.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, probably the most savvy pundit covering the sport, actually interrupted his colleagues during a live chat about the Wooden finalists to say: “I think Brandon Clarke should be part of this group. He may be the best defensive player in the country, and he’s changes the dynamic completely at Gonzaga.”
Indeed, Clarke entered Thursday night’s game against San Francisco with 69 blocks — he got six against Duke, by the way — and will destroy the school record of 70.
Clarke is also averaging 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and almost certainly will lead the nation in field goal percentage — he’s currently on top at 68.9 percent.
IF YOU’RE keen to use some of the advanced metrics that have entered college sports, fine.
Clarke is second in the country in player efficiency rating and second in overall plus/minus.
He trails only Duke freshman Zion Williamson, the projected No. 1 pick in the draft, in both categories.
There’s no question Clarke suffers from a lack of preseason publicity, as opposed to the international hoopla that surrounded Hachimura.
I doubt anyone in the New York media could pick Brandon Clarke out of a lineup.
Kendra Andrews, who covers Gonzaga for the Athletic — the most comprehensive web site in college and pro sports — wrote a story asking if Clarke or Hachimura deserved the MVP award on their own team.
Naturally, teammates and Coach Mark Few made solid cases for both of them, but…
Andrews crunched numbers and importance to the flow of games, and concluded that Clarke actually has had the most critical impact this season.
This is not to take anything away from Rui, by the way.
He’s lived up to all the hype and improved almost every week, but…
Clarke’s presence has been a huge factor in that.
Williamson is going to win the Wooden Award, no question, but both Gonzaga big men deserved to be on that prestigious list of finalists.
If they played at North Carolina, it would have been a lock.
And that’s just wrong.
Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball each Tuesday.
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Email: scameron@cdapress.com