If there was ever any doubt, the Greivis Vasquez for ACC Player of the Year campaign is still alive and well.
Everyone's favorite vivacious Venezuelan was named ACC Player of the Week today for the second time this year and the sixth time in his career - two 20+ point games and two big wins will do that. Vasquez and Jon Scheyer are the only players to be named ACC POW twice this year, and Sylven Landesberg has 1.5 (he shared the award one week).
But wait, there's more: Seth Davis, previous target of Terp ire, is giving Vasquez some national love, calling him "the best player in the ACC." (thanks to aMarshall and aMo for the link) Vasquez, despite a great ACC showing, hasn't been getting a lot of talk nationally outside of what was already known ("he shimmies!"), so it's good to see some people recognizing his great play recently.
So is it time to start campaigning for player of the year? Scheyer has the lead pretty well tied down, especially if Duke wins the ACC, because he was unbelievable in out-of-conference play. Going to a Tobacco Road school doesn't hurt, either. Vasquez has the uphill battle because Maryland probably won't the ACC and doesn't happen to be situated in Carolina.
That said, statistically speaking, Vasquez has as good a chance as anyone else. He's tied for 3rd in points with Scheyer and Landesberg, and is first in assists - the only player in the conference in the top 3 in two major categories (points, rebounding, assists). Since conference play has started, he's been even better - he's 2nd in points, well above of Scheyer, and has an even bigger cushion in assists.
It's tough to argue, too, that anyone is more valuable to their team than Vasquez except maybe Landesberg - Duke without Scheyer is still a tourney team. Maryland without Vasquez? Maybe, but doubtful.
To win, Maryland would probably have to be in the top 3 in the ACC, he'd have to have one big performance against a good opponent down the stretch (ala North Carolina last year), and he'd have to stay on his current pace in points and assists. All are difficult, but all are possible.
I'm not really expecting Greivis Vasquez to be ACC Player of the Year. But I'll be driving the bandwagon.