Hoops

Nevill Watch: 2008/09 Season

Luke Nevill has been recognised yet again by being named to the NABC Hershey's College Allstar game.

Link: http://linky.com.au/gnal5

All players in the game are seniors, and Nevill is joined by Australia's Aron Baynes in the "Hersjey's Allstars" teams.

The game will be played as part of the final four gams at Ford Field and will be televised live by CBS.

The MWC Tourney Championship game was a thriller today! And it was Australia's Luke Nevill that led his team to the championship win over San Diego State, 52-50.

Nevill scored 10 of his game-high 18 points in the second half of a defense-dominated game, and team mate Green's cagey steal at the death clinched Utah's 2-point win.

Luke 6/10 from the field in conjunction with 6/9 from the line as he led all scorers. He clearly showed why he was the MWC Player of the Year, once again recording a big double-double, pulling down 15 rebounds to go with 1 assist, 1 block and just the one turnover in his 37 minutes of action.

As a result of his efforts throughout the tourney, Nevill backed up his regular season awards by being announced as the MVP of the MWC Tourney as well!

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/tdl3h

Hopefully a win or two at least at the NCAA Tourney is forthcoming to help round off what has been a remarkable season by the big fella!

Luke Nevill today led his Utah Utes past Wyoming in the semi finals of the MWC Tourney, winning 68-55.

Recording yet another big double-double, Nevill led all scorers with 23 points on 8/12 shooting, including 7/10 from the line. He pulled down 15 rebounds, had 3 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocked shots with 0 turnovers as he played every minute of the game (40min) in what was a near flawless effort on his behalf.

His team will now face off against San Diego State for the MWC Championship.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/fzl6s

Despite a relatively quiet game from Luke Nevill, Utah overcame TCU today 61-58 in the quarter finals of the MWC with a last second 3-pointer in regulation.

Battling early foul trouble, Nevill had all 10 points in the 2nd half on 1/2 from the field, 8/8 on free throws to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 locked shots in just 23 minutes of court time.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/ik1yo

After winning the MWC player of the year and defensive player of the year awards, Nevill is finally receiving some recognition....

ESPN's Andy Katz metnions him in his Championship Week story today:

"Watch Utah's Luke Nevill and New Mexico's Tony Danridge, two of the least appreciated studs in college basketball this season."

Link: http://linky.com.au/b4tcn

University of Utah senior center Luke Nevill has been voted the 2009 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, the league office announced Monday. Nevill was also named the MWC Defensive Player of the Year and is one of six Utes to earn conference accolades.

Nevill, a 7-2, 265-pound native of Perth, Australia, is the first individual in conference history to receive both the MWC Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season. He averaged 16.7 points per game in conference play and was the league's top rebounder and shot blocker in league action, averaging 9.6 boards and 3.1 blocks per game while leading the Utes to a share of their fifth MWC regular-season crown. His 50 blocks in MWC games ranks as the third-most in a single season.

A first-team All-MWC selection for the first time in his career, Nevill also earned an appointment to the inaugural MWC All-Defensive Team.

MWC Link: http://linky.com.au/glog7

Nevill has had a blinder of a season, and hopefully can help his Utes earn a win or two at the NCAA Tourney.

The Utah Utes completed their conference schedule with a solid win against TCU today (68-49). They now can finish no lower than equal 1st in the Mountain West Conference and should earn an NCAA Tourney berth whether they win the MWC Tourney or not.

Luke Nevill recorded yet another double-double, scoring 14 points on 5/6 shooting (4/6 FT) to go with a career-high tying 16 rebounds. He also had 2 blocked shots and just 1 TO in 34 minutes on court.

Nevill should end his career with Utah as the MWC Player of the Year and as a potential 2nd round NBA draft pick.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/t954e

Photo of Nevill cutting down the nets at their home court: http://linky.com.au/g06v0

Check out this article on Nevill regarding his season and the fact he is all but certain to win the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year award.

Link: http://linky.com.au/fmdvk

Utah is now on a mini-skid, dropping their second straight game to New Mexico yesterday, 71-77.

Nevill was a mountain inside yet again, scoring 16 points on 6/8 shooring (4/7 FT) to go with 5 rebounds, 4 blocks but also 5 TO's and ended up fouling out after playing 31min.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/95tdr

There is now a tie at the top of the MWC with Utah and New Mexico at the top, with BYU a chance to join them today. Utah has to win their last remaining conference game against TCU this weekend to stay in first place.

Utah stumbled for the first time in more than a month when they lost to BYU today 50-63. It took a poor shooting second half from the Ute's to allow the Cougars a chance to close in on the MWC leaders.

Luke Nevill was once again a monster inside the paint. He had a game-high 16 rebounds, but had just 9 points on his poorest shoting night of the season, hitting just 3/12 from the field. He also finished the game with 2 blocks.

It will be interesting now to see whether Utah can crack the top 25 - a win over BYU would have all but assured it but now - who knows?

Yep - Vandy is no hope. Since shan Foster graduated and got drafted, the team has struggled with AJ as their only legit star that is even close to being drafted to the NBA. Coupled with the fact that AJ has been hampered by a foot injury for most of the season, it has not been a good year for the Commodores and AJ.

So Nevill will be the only one seeing playing time if the Gael's don't get an invite. Saint Mary's play Pepperdine today and have to win to stay in the hunt. They probably have to at least make the WCC Tourney final to have a chance of getting an invite AND prove that Mills is fit to play.

Although we should also note that Uconn is headed to the NCAA tourney as well and they boast Aussie Ater Majok - although he is not yet eligible to play.

Nevill's Ute's get a big mention on ESPN's bubblewatch today - they now consider Utah a lock for the NCAA tourney.

ESPN Bubblewatch: http://linky.com.au/cnyej

Saint Mary's are still considered a team on the bubble.

Today Utah defeated UNLV 70-60, with Nevill dominating yet again. It was their 8th win in a row and consolidates their position in 1st place in the MWC with an overall 20-7 record (11-2 in conference play).

Nevill to-scored with 19 points on 6/11 shooting (7/7 FT) to go with 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks. Yet another double-double for the Aussie centre!

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/hqf2h

A win over BYU this Sunday (AEST) will ensure Utah earns a top 25 ranking and assure themselves of 1st place in the MWC.

Luke Nevill has just picked up his 5th Player of the Week award for the Mountain West Conference. Nevill has won MWC Player of the Week five times this season, the most by any player in the conference. He is the only player to earn the honor more than twice and one of only two multiple-week honorees.

MWC Link: http://linky.com.au/x9urc

"Nevill recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 23 points and a season-high tying 14 rebounds in Utah's overtime victory (89-79) at Colorado State last week. Nevill also blocked seven shots vs. the Rams, which set a new career-high and tied the Utah single game school-record, and included a game-saving rejection of a CSU lay-up attempt to force overtime. In the extra period, Nevill scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked one shot to secure the victory for Utah. For the game, he shot 8-for-11 from the floor (72.7 percent) and a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe, including 4-for-4 in overtime."

Also worth noting is that Nevill's seven blocks in the game against CSU gave him 71 blocks this season, surpassing Andrew Bogut's single-season mark of 65 set in 2004-05. His seven blocked shots gave him 71 for the season, a new Utah single-season record, and extended his career record-holding block total to 184.

Nevill is the school's career leader with 183 blocks. Also, his 14 rebounds put him at 852 for his career, making him the all-time leading rebounder in the 10-year history of the MWC.

In conjunction with the award, as predicted in my previous post, Utah is now ranked 26th in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls. I cannot see how a win against UNLV this week will prevent Utah from entering the top 25 in both polls for the first time since Bogut's playing days. Finger's crossed for the win.

Surely the big guy deserves more attention from the NBA mock drafts? He is having an outstanding season!

Luke Nevill and his Utah Utes have just registered their 7th straight win with a good win over Colorado State today, 89-79 in OT. It was Nevill's heroic blocked shot with just 3 seconds remaining in regulation that ensured the game went into extra time and prevented Colorado State from pinching the win.

Nevill ended up scoring 8 points of Utah's 16 points in OT to finish with 23 on 8/11 shooting (7/7 FT). He also racked up 14 rebounds and a huge 7 blocked shots in 38 minutes of action.

It was Nevill's 11th double-double and 8th 20+ point game of the season and takes his season averages to as follows:

17.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 26.bpg, 61% FG, 79.1% FT

Some impressive numbers and career highs so far in points, rebounds, blocks and FT%.

A win against UNLV in their next game could see Utah crack the top 25 for the first time since Bogut's playing days (I believe).

As expected, Utah easily beat Air Force today 74-59 to ensure they remain on top of the MWC with a 7-2 record. It was their 6th straight win. They remain 1 win clear of BYU and San Diego State, with UNLV one win further behind.

Nevill once again played an integral part of the win, scoring 18 points on 6/9 shooting, including 6/7 free throws. He also notched up 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot in 33 minutes of action.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/d9vqe

Nevill's Ute's overcome a half-time deficit to defeate San Diego State 67-55 and take outright ownership of first place in the MWC, relegating San Diego State to 2nd.

Nevill played 31min and had 12 points (3/7 FG, 6/9 FT) to go with just 3 rebounds, but he had 4 blocked shots.

Utah are now looking good for a berth in the NCAA tourney and could be ranked in the top 25 shortly if they keep this form up.

Utah continued on their winning ways with a solid 80-70 win against Wyoming today.

Nevill led his team in scorng and rebounds, notching up yet another double-double with 15 points on 7/11 shooting and 12 rebounds. He also registered 2 assists and 2 blocks in 36min.

The Ute's remain in equal first place in the MWC with a 9-2 record in conference play (16-7 overall).

The Utah Ute's won yet again, defeating TCU 62-54.

Nevill played a solid role for his team yet again, recording 12 points on 3/4 shooting (6/6 FT), to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a block in 31 minutes of action.

The Ute's are now being touted as a "Bubble" team and a potential selection to the NCAA tourney should they keeping recording the wins.

Surely the Ute's ongoing good results (along with the Aussie Cengtre's individual performances) can only help Nevill and his quest to be drafted? His team is really exceeding all expections, particularly after losing to a Div II school in their first game of the season.

Nevill has just been named as MWC player of the week for the 4th time this season.

Link: http://linky.com.au/dabgi

Luke Nevill played yet another vital role against arch rivals New Mexico, helping his team to a thrilling 1-point win (69-68) and equal top billing in the Mountain West Conference.

Nevill registered 11 points on 2/8 shooting, making 7/8 from the line to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocked shots in an all-round performance.

ESPN Game Recap: http://linky.com.au/pbv1i

Nevill also finally got some recognition for his great play over the past week, with ESPN's Andy Katz naming the big fella to his "team of the week". Link: http://linky.com.au/st12r

PS: nbadraft.net have Nevill at 60 in their mock, whilst draftexpress.com have not yet touched him.

Luke Nevill had a monster game against BYU today as his Running Ute's got it done in OT over their higher ranked opponents, prevailing 94-88. It was Utah's first win over BYU, having lost their past 4 encounters, and both teams have never previously gone to OT before today.

Nevill registered a career-high 32 points on a sizzling 10/12 shooting to go with 12/14 from the free throw line to lead all scorers. He also racked up 10 rebounds to record a double-double, with just 2 turnovers in 39 minutes of action.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/relnh

Before entering today's game, Nevill is ranked in the top 10 all time in the MWC as follows:

Rebounds - 795 (2nd) (just 69 short of the all-time record)
Blocked Shots - 165 (3rd)
Field Goals Made - 610 (3rd)
Free Throw Attempts - 600 (4th)
Free Throws Made - 434 (5th)
Points Scored - 1,654 (6th)
Field Goal Attempts - 1,059 (8th)
Double-Doubles - 26 (4th)

Nevill is curently leading the MWC this season in:

Field Goal % - 0.610 (14th in NCAA overall)
Blocked Shots - 2.7 per game (13th in NCAA overall)
Rebounding - 8.4 per game (before today)
Double-Doubles - 8
Double-Figure Scoring - 19
Double-Figure Rebounds - 9

He is also 3rd in scoring in the MWC this season, averaging 17.2ppg prior to today's game.

Nevill has also so far this season:

Became Utah's all-time career leader in
blocked shots, currently with 165

He is having a great season and lets hope it continues and it leads to be drafted.

Luke Nevill's Runnin' Utes had a good win today against Colorado State, 82-66.

Nevill had 19 points on 7/14 shooting to go with 7 rebounds, 1 assist and a huge 6 blocked shots in 32 minutes of action. He now owns the all-time school record for blocked shots.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/pzffn

Nevill played another good game yesterday in a 63-72 loss to San Diego State.

Luke had a game-high 17 points on 4/6 shooting (9/10 FT), 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in 32min.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/5ce5z

The way Nevill is playing, there is no way we will see Nevill back in the NBL any time soon.

Interestingly, since your last post on this thread, over the past week nbadraft.net have reinstated Nevill in their mock draft on the back of his outstanding form (late 2nd round). Perfect timing I guess!

I think if he can keep it up he will get drafted 2nd round, but probably end up in Europe where he is likely to be able to command a hefty salary - talented 7 footers that can score, rebound, pass and block shots just don't grow on trees.

In a nutshell - tell those Wildcat fanatics that they're dreaming!

Luke Nevill continued his outstanding season form with another big game today in a large win over LSU, 91-61.

Nevill had 17 points up until half time and finished with a total of 23 points on a sizzling 11/13 shooting, to go with 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists and 1 steal in 32min of action. He sat out the last 5 minutes of garbage time as it was all well and truly over by then.

Another good performance like this in the Ute's next game against San Diego state on 10 January should have him in line for a 3rd straight POW award.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/tcd5n

Nevill was today announced as MWC player of the week -his second straight POW award and third of the season.

MWC Website Story: http://linky.com.au/bgvr0

Nevill is next in action tomorrow (7-Jan) Australian time when his Utes take on LSU.

He is not slated to be selected in any mock drafts yet as far as I know. I usually follow nbadraft.net and draftexpress.com

nbadraft.net have him as one of the centres to watch for this draft, but at this stage don't have him being picked (AJ Ogilvy is slated as the 3rd best centre on this website).

I hadn't taken into Nevill's stats from his last game, so he is actually averaging 17.6ppg, 8.6rpg and 2.4bpg.

The guy has scored in double digit points every game this season, with 5 games of 20 or more points, including 7 double-doubles - leading the MWC! In fact Nevill has scored in double figures in 27 consecutive games dating back to the 2007-08 season. It is the longest active double-digit scoring streak in the MWC.

Since my last update, Nevill and his Utah Utes have been in great form.

The Ute's took on #16 Gonzaga and came away with a well-earned upset win. Against a nationally ranked opponent, Nevill led all scorers with 15 points on 4/7 shooting (7/10 FT), gathered 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 assist in 25min of action as he battled foul trouble. He pulled down his 8th rebound to deny Gonzaga a last gasp chance at the win.

Recap: http://linky.com.au/ymhgs

Utah beat Wyoming today 91-67, with Nevill again posting a big double-double. He led all scorers with a career high 29 points on 11/16 shooting (7/9 FT), pulled down 13 rebounds, notched up a huge 5 blocks and also recorded 2 assists for good measure in 33 minutes of action. A great outing for Nevill!

Recap:
http://linky.com.au/63d0x

With this kind of form behind him, Nevill should start to see some increased attention with regards to the 2009 NBA draft.

He is now averaging 16.8ppg, 8.2rpg and 2.2bpg. He is also shooting at 61.2% from the field - a healthy clip.

Nevill's Ute's beat UC Irvine over the weekend, 60-52.

Luke had a solid all-round game with a double-double, scoring 11 points (4/8 FG), 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists and 1 steal in 32min.

ESPN Recap: http://linky.com.au/iasmq

Utah hit a stumbling block in local rivals Utah State today, going down 64-66 in a thirller. It took a ti[p in as time expired for Utah State to get over the line and avoid OT.

Nevill continued his outstanding form with a big double-double, leading all scorers with 25 points on 10/16 shooting (5/6 FT), to go with 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in 37 minutes (just 2 TO's).

However he didn't have enough support for the Ute's to get over the line.

Oops, last update was by me.

Luke Nevill went head to head with the potential #1 NBA draft pick today in Blake Griffen, and the #5 ranked Oklahoma. Whilst the Ute's lost 52-70, Nevill was a shining light once again.

Nevill scored 10 points on 4/9 shooting plus 2/2 on free throws. He also had 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in 28min of action (he ended on 4 fouls).

Guarding Griffen, he held the projected #1 draft pick to just 11 points and 11 rebounds, including the fact he did not make a single field goal (all his points came from the free throw line).

If I was Nevill, I'd be pretty happy with that effort.

Nevill and his 'Utes lost their second straight game, going down to California 69-72 in a close one.

Nevill had another solid game, scoring 18 points (5/9 FG) that also included 8/10 free throws, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block in 34min.

Recap: http://linky.com.au/lvq5l

Nevill's Ute's went down to Idaho State today in a disappointing result. However Nevill did everything he could to get his team over the line.

He had 22 points on 8/13 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 4 blocks.

Recap: http://linky.com.au/xx91m

Nevill's Ute's kept their winning streak alive as they accounted for Oregon today, 95-81.

Nevill had another great game, 18 points (8/10 FG), 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks in 34min of action.

Recap: http://linky.com.au/uklzn

His team 'aint that bad, but they are not a top 25 team.

Utah won again to make it 4 wins in a row (4-1) after accounting for Missouri State yesterday our time.

Luke played well again with 13 points (6/8 shooting), 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in 24 minutes of action. He was in foul trouble and also turned it over 6 times in the 71-58 win.

Recap: http://linky.com.au/cd1fc