On March 3, the West Coast Conference announced their yearly basketball awards. Kevin Pangos of Gonzaga took home the WCC Player of the Year award after averaging 11.6 points, 5.0 assists, and 2.1 3-pointers per game.
Mar 29, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Kevin Pangos (4) during the game against the Duke Blue Devils in the finals of the south regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
That is where the question in the title comes in. Kyle Collinsworth had six triple-doubles on the season and five of them came in WCC play. One of them came against Gonzaga on December 27 in the Marriot Center. He finished the game with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
I know that Pangos led the Bulldogs to one of their best seasons in history as he helped them to finish with a 35-3 record and a trip to the Elite Eight but does that mean he was the player of the year in the West Coast Conference?
In the final game of the regular season when BYU upset Gonzaga in Spokane, Pangos scored a mere eight points. Collinsworth, on the other hand, scored 20 and had eight assists to go along with it.
In West Coast Conference play, Collinsworth averaged 13.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. Compare that with 12.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game that Pangos averaged and we see that Collinsworth had better stats.
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Even in the overall season statistical categories, Kyle Collinsworth still had a better year.
Feb 28, 2015; Spokane, WA, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Kyle Collinsworth (5) celebrates with Brigham Young Cougars center Corbin Kaufusi (44) after scoring against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Cougars won 73-70. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
I know that the West Coast Conference coaches voted on these awards and maybe they were looking at the fact that Gonzaga continued to win and Pangos was big part of that. He led them to their third straight WCC Tournament Title and their 13th outright WCC regular season title in 16 seasons under coach Mark Few.
Collinsworth still earned first-team All-WCC honors and was an honorable mention All-American so he still got recognized but with the way he played throughout the season especially in the WCC, maybe it should have garnered the highest honor in the conference.
Jan 25, 2014; Spokane, WA, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Kyle Collinsworth (5) drives the lane against Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Kevin Pangos (4) during the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs beat Cougars 84-69. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
It is an interesting debate considering that Kyle Collinsworth could break the all-time triple-double record in college basketball this season. He has six and is tied for the record with Shaquille O’Neal (LSU, 1990-92) and Michael Anderson (Drexel, 1985-88). It is a pretty impressive thing to do especially coming off of a torn ACL.
BYU had Tyler Haws, who broke the all-time scoring record at BYU this past season but without the leadership and athleticism of Kyle Collinsworth, it would have been a long season.