Making the case for Tyler Ulis for National Player of the Year

[caption id="attachment_194226" align="alignnone" width="1314"] Photo by UK Athletics[/caption] To say that Tyler Ulis has been on a roll lately is a vast understatement. In the past four games, Ulis is averaging 19.8 points and 9.0 assists; he's played 148 of 160 minutes and in that span, he's only committed four turnovers. Those are absurd numbers, and yesterday, John Calipari said that Ulis should not only be in the conversation for SEC Player of the Year, but National Player of the Year as well. “I think it’s beyond just SEC Player of the Year, which obviously, his name should be mentioned, ” Cal said. “I’m like looking at Player of the Year. When you talk about what he’s been able to do for us and what he’s done in these games, it’s incredible." It really is. Ulis made the midseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award last week, so he is in the running, but does he actually have a chance to win? Right now, Oklahoma's Buddy Hield is probably the frontrunner, followed by Michigan State's Denzel Valentine, Iowa's Jarrod Uthoff, and maybe even LSU's Ben Simmons. As Kentucky fans, we all know how special Tyler Ulis is, but would we say the same if the blue shades were off? Let's break down his case.

The numbers

When you look at Ulis' numbers for the season, they're impressive, although not quite as impressive as the stats of the other candidates on the midseason watch list. Ulis is currently averaging 16.7 points and 6.7 assists per game, which is good enough for 10th in the country in assists per game. Kay Felder, Denzel Valentine and Monte Morris both rank higher than him, with 7.1 and 7.0 assists per game respectively, but in SEC play, Ulis is averaging 7.6 assists per game, a better mark than either Valentine or Morris. Only Felder is better, averaging a staggering 9.6 assists per game in Horizon League play; however, no offense to Oakland or the Horizon League, but Ulis is playing against better competition every night. Ulis' assist to turnover ratio is 3.56, which ranks ninth in the country behind fellow National POY candidate Monte Morris, who is first with a 5.15 ratio. Ulis is also one of only four players in the country averaging at least 16.7 points and at least 6.7 assists per game. So, Ulis' numbers may not be the best out of the candidates, but numbers don't tell the whole story.

There is no player more vital to his team than Tyler

If you're looking at players whose performance is absolutely vital to their team's success, Ulis has to be at the top of the list. I'm not sure I can fathom this Kentucky team without Ulis, nor do I really want to. Even with two other point guards on the roster (three if you count Dominique Hawkins), the Cats would be a shadow of their current selves, a ship without its rudder. Derek Willis agrees. “Without Tyler, we don’t have a team," Willis said a few weeks back. "Like, our team is nothing. We’re not a top-25 team. We’re maybe barely a .500 team, honestly. I think people overlook him. His role is so important.” Although he's only a sophomore, Ulis is mature beyond his years and has an instinctive understanding of John Calipari's system. There's no better proof of that than Saturday's game at South Carolina when Calipari was thrown out of the game and Tyler got the green light from the coaching staff to call plays on offense. “The story is Coach Cal coached the team through Tyler Ulis,” Kenny Payne said afterwards. “I never touched on offense, didn’t have to. Between Cal and Tyler Ulis, they’re on the same page. Tyler Ulis ran the offense. Every now and then I may have interjected something, but at the end of the day, it was his show." While running the show vs. South Carolina, Ulis had his best game, putting up a career-high 27 points and 12 assists, along with a career-high four threes. He's making a believer out of everyone, even Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings. “Nobody’s been more impactful for their team, in my opinion, than Tyler Ulis has been,” Stallings said on Monday. “Because he’s a terrific player. He has an incredible basketball IQ.”

At one of the most storied programs in college basketball, he's breaking records

...as a sophomore. Think back to the rich history of Kentucky basketball when you read this list of Ulis' achievements from UK:

• He is the first player in Kentucky history with two 20-point, 10-assist games
• He is the first Wildcat in school history with at least four assists in 18 consecutive games (single game assists available since the 1972-73 season)
• At 6.7 assists per game, he's on track to beat the UK single-season assists mark set by John Wall in 2009-2010 (241)
• He’s now averaging 23.0 points, 8.5 assists and shooting 53.4 percent with a 6.8 assist-to-turnover ratio in UK’s four games vs. ranked opponents

Imagine if he stays another year.

He's getting better at an exponential rate

The scariest part about Ulis right now? He's still getting better. During the non-conference schedule, Ulis averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 assists per game with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. In conference play, he's averaging 19.4 points and 7.6 assists per game with a 4.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. If you think that's a big spike, in the past four games alone, he's averaging 19.8 points and 9.0 assists with a 9.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. “He’s getting better," Calipari said yesterday. "He’s better now than he was a month ago. Not only is he better, he’s shooting the ball better, his efficiencies have gone way up,” Cal said. “Now, I’m just looking for him to continue to grow. Where can we take this thing? How much better can you get on both sides of the ball?” Be afraid, college basketball. Be very afraid.