Maalik Wayns features prominently in the results for the 2012 VUhoops Post-Season Awards. The departing junior point guard was a significant offensive force on the court for the Wildcats throughout the season. Villanova relied on Wayns for offense in the early-going and while JayVaughn Pinkston ultimately became a strong scoring option as well later in the season, the Wildcats never fully weaned themselves off of Wayns' production.
Defensively, Maurice Sutton was the Wildcats' star. The long and tall big man broke out late in the season and earned his way into the starting line-up and being credited by Jay Wright with much of the team's defense late in the season.
Awards were issued in 8 categories as follows:
2012 Offensive Player of the Year: Maalik Wayns
Wayns easily lead the Wildcats in scoring and assists and was one of the biggest offensive threats in the Big East in 2011-12. He took home the offensive player of the year award with 75% of the vote, with JayVaughn Pinkston following in second-place with 13% and James Bell and Maurice Sutton grabbing 5% and 4% respectively.
2012 Defensive Player of the Year: Maurice Sutton
No surprise, Sutton was Jay Wright's defensive player pick as well as the pick of the readers of VUhoops. His length allowed him to disrupt opposing shooters and provide an extra body in the post. Sutton's hustle and enthusiasm made him a valuable player for the Wildcats and earned him 62% of the votes for this award. Mouph Yarou followed with 12% of the vote and James Bell took 8%.
2012 Rookie of the Year: JayVaughn Pinkston
Pinkston didn't start the season on a hot-streak, but by New Years Day, he was ready to make an impact offensively. He found his role on the team and went on a scoring tear for the Wildcats. With 95% of the votes for rookie of the year, it wasn't even close between Pinkston and the other newbies that joined the program in 2011-12. Ty Johnson took home second-place with 3% of the vote, with Nick McMahon taking home the only other votes for the award at 2%.
2012 Guard of the Year: Maalik Wayns
82% of VUhoops readers believed that Wayns was the Villanova guard of the year. James Bell received 6% of the votes, while Ty Johnson had 5%, but the vast majority of readers felt that Wayns was head-and-shoulders above his backcourt teammates.
2012 Big Man of the Year: JayVaughn Pinkston
Pinkston might be the shortest forward listed on Villanova's roster at a generous 6-7, but he was the most valuable front-line contributor, according to voters. With 43% of the vote, he won a contested three-way battle over Mouph Yarou (29%) and Maurice Sutton (26%).
2012 Walk-On of the Year: Dallas Ouano
Ouano appeared in just two games in 2011-12 for a grand total of 5 minutes, but that was enough to win 87% of the votes to defeat fellow CBA Colt, Nick McMahon for the award. He was sidelined for much of the season with a knee injury, but his contributions off the court have long been lauded by Jay Wright.
2012 'Attitude' Award: Maurice Sutton
In 2009 we heard about 'attitude' in relation to the way Villanova basketball players were expected to play. Attitude is about toughness and doing the 'little things,' that contribute to victories. Sutton's was the player that most exhibited these characteristics and won 51% of your votes. Pinkston was second with 15% and Bell came in third with 10% of the votes.
2012 Player of the Year: Maalik Wayns
Maalik Wayns was the Wildcats' most valuable player in 2011-12, and that was reflected in the voting for player of the year, where he earned 64% of the votes. Pinkston took second place with 18% and Sutton earned 10% of your votes. Wayns, however, was the straw that stirred the drink this season, and deserves recognition for his 17.6 points per game, 4.6 assists, and Big East-leading 89% free-throw shooting.
The Wildcats won only 13 games with Wayns on the court, but they didn't win any when he didn't play at all.