SEC: Is Jordan Mickey The SEC Player Of The Year?

Ever played pick-up basketball with one man who looked like he was head and shoulders better than everyone? That person was sprinting down the court, blocking shots left and right and moving at such a faster pace than everyone that it was refreshing to see.

When that person wasn’t rejecting shots and ruining everyone else’s self-confidence, he was dunking on, through, and over people, in such a grand fashion you think to yourself, why isn’t he in the NBA?

More from NBA

Well the LSU Tigers’ forward, Jordan Mickey, isn’t anything like the depicted in the analogy, he’s even better. In his sophomore season in college basketball, he’s also the best player within the Southeastern Conference.

This season Mickey should be the SEC Player of the Year. In life there is one thing that’s for certain. Nothing is ever going to go according to anyone’s plan no matter how much they try to prepare each step of the way. The only thing a person can ever do is to get prepared for any situation that might arrive, and hope that they can manage it.

This season no one thought that Mickey was going to become one of the best players in college basketball, let alone one of the best players in the SEC. But now the case can get made that Mickey, who has the LSU Tigers with a 16-5 record overall, and the fourth-best record in the SEC, is the best player in the conference.

When Mickey played against Mississippi State. he had himself the best game of his career as he finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds, one steal and two blocked shots. After his monster game Mickey became the first LSU player to post at least 20 points and 20 rebounds since Geert Hammink had a 20-20 game against Campbell on Dec. 16, 1992.

After the Mississippi State game, Mickey put himself on a list with Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, and Baylor’s Rico Gathers, as the third player in a Power 5 conference with a 20-20 game this year.

The LSU Tigers might have an opportunity to have their first SEC Player of the Year since the Boston Celtics shooting guard, Marcus Thornton won the award back in 2009.

If Mickey won the award he would join a prestigious list of LSU Tigers such as Pete Maravich, Chris Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, Stromile Swift, Brandon Bass and Glen Davis that won the award and all moved forward in their lives to play professional basketball in the NBA.

As much as everyone wants to look at the Kentucky Wildcats and see how awesome a team they are, Mickey is doing a lot of work without playing with half as much talent as Kentucky has on their team, and he’s having more production than most of Kentucky’s frontline.

What Mickey is doing for the LSU Tigers is that of historic because he’s playing at an extremely high level and he’s consistently dominating in each game that he plays in.

Dec 29, 2014; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers forward Jordan Mickey (25) dunks the ball in front of Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the first half at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports /

On the year Mickey is averaging a monster double-double of 16.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, and 3.7 blocks per game. In addition, Mickey is also shooting 52 percent from the floor. If that wasn’t impressive enough on the year Mickey has 12 double-doubles, and also has 15 games where he’s recorded multiple blocks.

What’s even more crazy is that Mickey has 13 games where he’s had three or more blocks in a game.

For all of his hardwork, Mickey has finds himself near the top of the leaderboards in most categories within the SEC. Mickey is No. 3 in points per game, No. 2 in rebounds, No. 1 in blocks and No. 9 in field goal percentage.

More importantly, what Mickey has done for the LSU basketball program is created a culture of winning. The LSU Tigers look like they are getting ready to become a contender within the SEC and in college basketball.

One of the most interesting stats on the year is that the Tigers are 15-0 whenever they score 70 points or more in a basketball game. One of the biggest reasons the LSU Tigers average 74.5 points per game, which is good enough for 38th in college basketball, is because of the stingy defense that Mickey plays inside. A lot of the shots that Mickey blocks often times get left in bounds.

Because of his shot blocking proficiency, it often times gives the Tigers a lot of opportunity to get into the open court and run to get easy shots. Mickey’s teammates, such as Keith Hornsby, Tim Quarterman, and Jarrell Martin excel when the game is sped up and fast.

Simply put, Mickey is the best player within the conference and to give him the SEC Player of the Year, wouldn’t be a bad selection, it’s the right one.

Don’t believe me? Just watch.

Next: Is This Comeback Season for the Florida Gators?

SEC: Is Jordan Mickey The SEC Player Of The Year?

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau | Feb 5, 2015

More from Hoops Habit