JH2K

He forced me to come out of semi-retirement. He's simply too good.

John Holland reached 2,000 career points a couple of games ago. Only one other player in BU history has reached that plateau, the mythical and godlike Tunji. A game after that, he passed TJ Sorrentine, Malik Rose and Speedy Claxton, all of whom are America East legends. In the case of Rose and Claxton, NBA players who I knew about way before I knew what the America East was. And Sorrentine has his own spot in college basketball lore.

He's not going to pass Tunji, and he's not going to reach the Top 5 in all-time AE scoring. But he's passing genuine conference legends. Does that make John Holland a legend?

In short, my answer is: I don't think so. He can't do it on scoring alone. The knock on JH23 his whole career has been his inability to put everyone on his back and will his team to victory in the most important games.

He's missing 2 things that would cement his place in legend:
1. A Conference Player of the Year Award - it's tough to be one of the greatest ever if you were never the greatest in any single year.
2. An NCAA Appearance - he needs to prove that he can win the big one. Vin Baker is a legend who never made the dance, but he had skills and stats that went way beyond anyone else. John needs a tourney berth to seal his legacy.

At this point, John is closer to #1 than #2. As Maine fades and Troy Barnies' case for POY fades, John is getting stronger and stronger down the stretch. If BU finishes the year in the same way they've been playing, Holland takes this award.

Getting to the Dance is the big question mark. BU is playing well now, and has the explosive capability to get past anyone in the conference. But they're also young and undisciplined at times, leading to lapses and losses to inferior teams. They need to put everything together and play their best basketball if we're to see them in the NCAA Tournament.

And that means John Holland putting the Terriers on his back and carrying them across the finish line.

John Holland should be AE POY

There, I said it. I know I'm the only one who thinks so. But John Holland's importance to BU's program cannot be understated.

John's numbers speak for themselves. He leads the team in points, rebounds and minutes per game. He's the first Terrier to ever lead the America East in scoring with 19.8 points per game. His rebounding numbers are solid at 6.2 per game, good enough for 8th in the conference. He has an innate ability to get to the free throw line, where he is surprisingly amazing: 84.6%, best in the conference among players with significant minutes. He's the last BU player since Tunji Awojobi to score 500 points in consecutive seasons... and this year, he has a chance for 600. His field goal percentage is 47.1%, excellent for a guy who shoots from everywhere on the floor. His defense is better and better every year, and he averages 1.6 steals per game which is 4th in the conference.

Beyond the numbers, John possesses intangibles that make BU a winning team with a shot to go far in the postseason. He's the first to dive on the floor after a loose ball. He's as intense as they come during the game, but loose as a goose and a helluva nice guy off the court. After hearing former Coach Wolff talk about how John needed to step up his intensity in practices the last two years, all reports point to John responding to the call this year in practice.

I'm not here to compare John to Marqus Blakely, whom I know is a monster and has his usual monster season. All I know is that John Holland is deserving of the honor of America East Player of the Year.

For shits and giggles, here are the rest of my picks:

AE Player of the Year: John Holland, BU

AE Defensive Player of the Year: Marqus Blakely, Vermont (I'll throw him a bone here)

AE First Team All-Conference:

John Holland, BU
Marqus Blakely, Vermont

Joe Zeglinski, Hartford

Greer Wright, Binghamton

Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook

AE Second Team All-Conference:

Muhammad El-Amin, Stony Brook

Gerald McLemore, Maine

Maurice Joseph, Vermont

Corey Lowe, BU

Jake O'Brien, BU

AE Third Team All-Conference:

Bryan Dougher, Stony Brook

Alvin Abreu, New Hampshire

Carlos Strong, BU

Chris De La Rosa, UMBC

Evan Fjeld, Vermont

AE Coach of the Year: Ted Woodward, Maine

AE Rookie of the Year: Ferg Myrick, New Hampshire

AE All-Rookie Team:

Ferg Myrick, New Hampshire

Murphy Burnatowski, Maine

Dylan Talley, Binghamton

Marcus Rouse, Stony Brook

Mike Black, Albany