Evans, Curry Looked Head for Rookie Honors Duel

Looking at the 2010 March Madness bracket, you have to think about this year’s rookies in the NBA that will be battling for the Rookie of the Year. It looked like Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans would run away with the award, but he has some stiff competition, also coming from the state of California.

Tyreke Evans, Sacramento

Evans leads all rookies in scoring, and as he has the ball in his hands a lot, he gets to the free-throw line a lot, although that also leads to turnovers. Evans could become the second straight guard from Memphis to win the Rookie of the Year as Derrick Rose won last year, and once he improves his three-point shooting, he could end up being one of the leading scorers in the league.

Stephen Curry, Golden State

We all knew Curry could shoot from watching him at Davidson, but his ability to run a team was in question. Curry still has problems with turnovers, like all rookies who handle the ball a lot do, but he’s flourished in the wide-open system in Golden State. Some even have him as the new favorite over Evans, and he may have made Monta Ellis expendable in Golden State. We bet that NCAA basketball betting players who follow Davidson wish that he would have stayed for his senior year.

Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee

Jennings has been all over the map this year, beginning with his 55-point game earlier in the season, and ending with his 36.9% rate from the field. Jennings actually turns the ball over less than Evans or Curry, but his horrible field-goal percentage moves him down the list. Once Jennings gets some consistency into his game, he’ll be a great point guard.

Darren Collison, New Orleans

Collison didn’t get much burn early in the season sitting behind Chris Paul, but once CP3 went down with a knee injury, Collison sprung into action, averaging 21.6 points and 8.3 assists for the month of March, and he’s kept his foot on the gas ever since. It’s not that the Hornets are a better team with Collison over Paul, but Collison has definitely raised his value, definitely moreso than his UCLA Bruins’ sportsbook odds (beted reviews).

Marcus Thornton, New Orleans

As far as points-per-minute go, Thornton has to be up there with 13.3 points in 23.4 minutes in 59 games, and he emerged on the scene in a loss at Cleveland, scoring 23 of his 37 points in the second quarter, and he’s scored at least 11 points in each game since. Thorton looks to be the key to New Orleans’ outside shooting woes, although LSU wishes they could still have him for their March Madness odds.