Antoine Young or Kwadzo Ahelegbe ?

[LJay]

Actually, I was talking to the Odum-pimper.

[MoValley John]

Yet another circular argument. Antoine Young has put up numbers quite frankly, because if not him, then who on Creighton's bench? He has done a yeoman's job filling the role, but if he is the best that the Valley has to offer at PG, the Valley really is down at the marquee position in this league. Antoine Young is a very good pg, but he is a far cry from pg's in the past. Maybe if there was one more scoring threat in Creighton's starting rotation, Young would be guarded a little softer and go off for 25-30 a game, maybe the distribution of points would change and he would become a 6 ppg guy, all we can do is guess.

On to Ahelegbe, he is a great player and perfect for the UNI system. He has the knack to put up 25 a game. That said, it has been much more difficult for him to score since O'Rear went down. He has had some big games, but then again, he has had a few uncharactaristic clunkers. O'Rear was a master of the high screen, drawing out the post player, opening the lane and isolating Ahelegebe one on one with his defender out of position. Points came easy. Drive the lane, initiate contact, get the hoop and the harm. Can he do this consistently without O'Rear? I don't know.

In the end, players like O'Rear mean so much more to a team then their stat sheet will ever show. That said, the 1-6 showing since he went down shows it pretty well. Did Kwadzo stir the drink or has it been O'Rear's unheralded play that has allowed Ahelegbe to shine?

A few years back Wichita State made a Sweet 16. The next year they returned the whole team intact minus Paul Miller. Not a big deal, this Sweet 16 team coasted through the early part of the season with huge marquee wins and a top 10 ranking. The starting five was assured to be first team All Valley. If there ever was a team where "Crown 'em" applied, this was it. That only lasted so long. Eventually, the loss of Paul Miller became glaring. He was the straw that stirred the drink and the Sweet 16, and his loss was the straw that broke the camel's back. Wichita State, with all the same star players, suddenly became very average. Average may be complimentary. These were the same players, these were the same studs, none of them suddenly forgot how to play basketball.

What am I trying to say in all this drivel? I guess that my answer for which would I pick would be a big question mark. Also, the fact that supporting casts, or lack thereof, have a huge impact on a player's star level and stat sheet. Put in the right situation, an average player can look like a superstar and a true superstar may not shine as brightly as he should if he is put in a poor situation. The situation at UNI is different than that at Creighton and I don't know if either Young or Ahelegbe would be "the man" if they switched teams. Maybe both would, maybe neither. Maybe each of them would quickly be relegated to the coaches doghouse never to show what they have. Who knows.

I guess the best thing to do is pick the guy that plays for the school you support.

[Hank]

I'm a jays fan, and would say Ahelegbe is the better point guard. His experience has already been mentioned. The fact that his averages are lower in some statistical categories can be explained by playing 5 less minutes per game. One thing that has not been mentioned is Creighton's absolute inability to stop the dribble drive from the point, and that starts with our point guard. It has been one of our big liabilities this year and cannot be seen on the stat line. Antoine is a second teamer and we should be happy at that.

[shockem]

everyone likes their guy simply because they get to see them night in and night out. Just as I'd rather have Joe Raglad over Odum or AY, even though he hasn't put up great numbers this year, he's starting to click and be the leader we need. However, if I really had an option, I'd take Kwadzo over all of them.

[bleach]

Ku Joe