Right Place/Right Time: All Three Nova Titlist MOPs Weren't All-Americans
May 21st, 2018 - 19:54
Rising to the occasion, four of the last six Final Four Most Outstanding Players weren't All-Americans. Kansas' B.H. Born was the only individual in this category the first 46 years of the national playoffs and there were a mere six such honorees the first 74 tourneys. All 10 of them had career scoring averages from 8.1 ppg (Kentucky's Jeff Sheppard) to 15 ppg (Villanova's Ed Pinckney).
Nova's Donte DiVincenzo became the last of eight straight award winners who were guards on this chronological list of MOPs never accorded All-American status:
| Year | Final Four Most Outstanding Player | Pos. | School | College Career Statistics for Non-AA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Bertram "B.H." Born | C | Kansas | 12.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 40.7 FG%, 64 FT% |
| 1985 | Ed Pinckney | F | Villanova | 14.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2 bpg, 60.4 FG%, 72.3 FT% |
| 1987 | Keith Smart | G | Indiana | 12.1 ppg, 3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 51.8 FG%, 85.6 FT%, 34.4 3FG% |
| 1990 | Anderson Hunt | G | UNLV | 15 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 45.6 FG%, 67.2 FT%, 38.3 3FG% |
| 1993 | Donald Williams | G | North Carolina | 11.8 ppg, 2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 43.3 FG%, 76.9 FT%, 38.6 3FG% |
| 1998 | Jeff Sheppard | G | Kentucky | 8.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 46.4 FG%, 38.8 3FG% |
| 2013 | Luke Hancock* | G | Louisville | 10.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 41.7 FG%, 80.4 FT%, 36.9 3FG% |
| 2015 | Tyus Jones | G | Duke | 11.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.6 apg, 1.5 spg, 41.7 FG%, 88.9 FT%, 37.9 3FG% |
| 2016 | Ryan Arcidiancono | G | Villanova | 11.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.2 spg, 39.7 FG%, 80 FT%, 35.8 3FG% |
| 2018 | Donte DiVincenzo | G | Villanova | 10.2 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 46.9 FG%, 70.5 FT%, 37.8 3FG% |
*Hancock also averaged 9.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 3.7 apg for George Mason in 2009-10 and 2010-11 before transferring.