Dick Jerardi, in today’s Daily News, certainly thinks so. Jerardi goes by the stats, going so far as to compare Nivins’ statistical dominance to none other than the one and only Lionel Simmons’.

As things now stand, Nivins ranks second in the country in field-goal percentage (64.2) and is sixth in rebounding (11.4), while his 19.8 points per game ranks No. 30 in America. The numbers are tremendous, and as Jerardi rightly points out, they look all the better in light of the inconsistent help Nivins has gotten this season, and the double- or even triple-teams that get thrown at him whenever he catches the ball in the post. We admit to being impressed that he managed 24 points in last week’s loss to Xavier, what with the way the Musketeers literally tossed bodies at him with such reckless abandon. That he made 14 of 17 free throws to help get that 24 was all the more impressive, and Nivins shoots 80.3 percent from the line for the season — fantastic for a big man.

Saint Joe’s, of course, has nose-dived after getting off to a 7-1 start in the A-10. And that begs the age-old question of what one considers when selecting a player of the year: the one who helps his team, or the one who makes the case for himself as an individual swimming against the tide.

Which brings us to Villanova’s Dante Cunningham and Temple’s Dionte Christmas, the city’s other most viable candidates. More after the jump.

Cunningham, clearly, has more help. But he’s also playing against a much higher caliber of competition in the Big East. And his stats are also very, very good: 16.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, 37 blocks. 54 percent shooting — all of which lead the ‘Cats. And his 40 steals are second on the team only to Scottie Reynolds’ 41. Cunningham, a finalist for the USBWA player of the year, is certainly the city’s most complete player, and that complete-ness (we made that word up) might be what gets him drafted come June.

Christmas, like Nivins, has been something of a one-man show for Temple. Granted, he’s gotten more consistent play from his teammates than Nivins has, but not by a whole lot. Christmas has also shown himself to be streaky at times this season, such as when he went off for 35 against then-No.8 Tennessee before later enduring a slump from beyond the arc that lasted several games. But, then again, that’s what being a shooter is all about. Christmas averages 19.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and three assists, but he also averages nearly three turnovers per game. And, according to Jeff McLane’s story detailing Christmas’ background in today’s Inquirer, there is at least one NBA scout with reservations about Christmas because he does little else but shoot. That said, Christmas is a finalist for the Naismith Award, the Atlanta Tip-Off Club’s POY.

Bottom line: The regular season is pretty much done — it will be over this weekend — but the actual selection for city player of the year is supposed to include the postseason, as Jerardi made clear further down in his piece. There’s still room for Nivins, Cunningham and Christmas to do more, but especially Cunningham, since ‘Nova has an NCAA tournament to look forward to. Given everything, it would be tough to overlook Nivins or Christmas should one or the other carry his team to an automatic bid by winning the A-10 tourney. And La Salle’s Rodney Green, as Jerardi also noted, can raise his stock and bring it into the conversation if the Explorers go deep at the A-10s.

As for us, we prefer to wait to make our call until all is said and done.

Link: Jerardi says the race is over … sort of [Daily News]
Dionte Christmas, from Belfield rec center to the NBA? [The Inquirer]
Photo credit: [philly.com]

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