The 2012-13 regular season is over and the Gorgui Dieng and Russ Smith accolades continue to roll in. Today the Big East named Gorgui the Big East defensive Player of the Year and Sporting News named Russ to their third team All-American list.
Just three years ago, Gorgui arrived as a beanpole with minimal skills and no grasp of the English language. Last year, his shot-blocking and rebounding helped Louisville to the Final Four, and this season he has once again been a great presence in the lane for the Cards. He has helped lead them to a share of the Big East title and is a big reason why the Cards are considered by many the best defensive team in the country. Today he was named the Big East Player of the Year and will now lead the Cards into the post season. Here’s what they said over at Big East .org: “Dieng, a 6-11 center from Kebemer, Senegal, was the force in the paint who helped Louisville tie for the BIG EAST regular-season title. Dieng, a 6-11 junior, averaged 10.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots in all games. In BIG EAST play, he was the league rebounding champion with a 10.8 average and was second in blocked shots with an average of 2.8.”
Russ Smith was named a third team All-American by The Sporting News today. Smith is one of two players from the Big East selected for the teams, as Georgetown’s Otto Porter was named to the first team. Here’s what the Sporting News said: “The energetic one averaged 17.9 points per game for the Cardinals while remaining one of the peskiest defenders in the country (2.1 steals per game). The 6-foot sophomore guard, who sits atop the kenpom.com player of the year standings, cut back on the amount of plays that made Louisville fans want to pull their hair out—he didn’t eliminate them, mind you—and has been a consistent producer for one of the country’s elite teams.”
Smith led the Cards in scoring with 17.9 points per game and scored double digits in all but three games this season. He had 92 assist, 64 steals and 114 rebounds averaging 29.8 minutes a game. He shot 40% from the field, 31.7% from three and 82.6% from the free throw line for the season. He recorded a steal in 25 games this season. The lightning quick guard played a pivotal role in the Cards success this season, starting 30 of Louisville’s 31 games.
These guys deserve all the kudos in the world and they both are a big reason this team is doing so well right now. Each have adjusted to their roles and will be a big part of this teams success going forward into March Madness.