Joakim Noah and Glen Davis

How quickly we lose interest in people we classified as stars after moving onto the next big things. Such is the explanation behind the decreased attention given to Florida Gators center Joakim Noah and LSU Tigers forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis this season. Thanks to impressive runs through the NCAA Tournament for both the Gators and the Tigers, both players found themselves running the risk of being overexposed as everyone wanted to brand them as being at the very least worthy of an NBA team's draft lottery pick. Then both Noah and Davis decided to stay in school for at least one more year and have seemingly ruined their draft stock depending on which star freshmen decide to declare themselves eligible for this year's draft through no fault of their own.

Comparing last season to this season for Noah and Davis reveals that they have largely maintained this year what they did in the last one, at least when it comes to points per game, true shooting percentage, points per shot attempt, assist rate for Noah, and rebound rate for Davis. Noah is turning the ball over at a higher rate this season, but he has balanaced it out with upping his rebounding rate. Davis, on the other hand, has extended his shooting range, hitting eleven more three-pointers in eight fewer games and has increased his assist rate significantly. If anything, these two players are a little more well-rounded than they were when they were receiving the accolades of a nation.

If anything, the story of these two SEC players should serve as a cautionary tale on getting too high on any one player based on only a handful of games. The natural impulse is to put more stock in spectacular exploits, especially when they come on national televison, and then to be bored when the players become only consistent. The truth is Noah and Davis are just as good this year as last and some mention of that should be made when mentioning either one of them. Only then will the coverage be worthy of fairness.