Fear the Beard Campaign: 2nd Edition

Ryan Pearson will be in the running for the 2011-2012 CAA Player of the Year award when it's all said and done this season. With that in mind I have started the #FeartheBeard24 campaign on here and twitter to track his progress this season and update on him now and then. Here are his current stats through 10 games this season:

College Basketball

Since our last edition Pearson's production has dropped off a bit. This was largely due to a 9 point, 2 rebounds performance in the loss at UVA. He is still 4th in the CAA in scoring, 5th in FG%, and 3rd in defensive rebounds. His 9 three-pointers are 2nd on the team behind Vertrail Vaughns 15, don't know if I saw that one coming. He also leads the team in turnovers (2.6 per game) which not something you want to see from you're team MVP.

Overall the team as a whole has still been struggling in a few areas, most notably ball-handling and perimeter defense.  Pearson isn't getting all the best looks he could be getting due to some inconsistent guard play. However, in games like the one at UVA he needs to step it up when the team needs him.  A CAA player of the year makes his teammates better and gets them over slumps.  With a slew of young players playing heavy minutes Pearson needs to show he can help these guys develop and get them more involved.

I still say we have not seen Pearson's best yet and as the team chemistry continues to come along we will see great things from him.  If the CAA POY voting was going on now Pearson would very much be in the running, but we still waiting to see that "Wow!" performance from him this season that demonstrates his value. For me that wouldn't just be a 25-30 point night but more a game where he gets 5-7 offensive boards, dishes out the ball to open guards on the perimeter and makes some key defensive stops.  The scoring will be there all season but will he excel in other key areas this season is the big question.

[Original photo by Stephen Kline]