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Michael Carter-Williams had plenty of detractors coming into the draft. A lot of those people (me!) jumped ship after Sam Hinkie scooped him up with the 11th pick in the wake of the Jrue Holiday trade because TRUST HINKIE. Due to a fast start (that Miami game!) and some tremendously poor play from the other rookies, it looks like we were right not to despair. After a mostly exceptional November, MCW has been named the Rookie of the Month for the Eastern Conference.
Leading all November rookies in minutes (36.2), points (17), assists (7), rebounds (5.8), and steals (3), MCW has taken the keys handed to him by Brett Brown and Sam Hinkie and went Ferris Bueller Parking Attendant Joyriding with them. Though his percentages have gone down as defenses focus on him more, that's all part of the rookie learning process. He'll learn to take better shots and when his teammates are less terrible, he'll have the opportunity to get better shots.
Most impressive with MCW is his poise. That won't last the season as the team tallies up losses, but right off the bat, he was making good decisions with the ball and controlling tempo just as Brett Brown wanted him to. It's too early to say he's anything other than "Pretty great so far for a rookie!" but I don't think anybody is questioning the selection anymore. Along with Victor Oladipo, he figures to be right in the thick of Rookie of the Year voting next spring.
And starting off December with a triple double, well, that's not bad either. Excited to see what he can become down the road. Hopefully he's here a long while. Big ups to McDubs.
Ben McLemore took the honors for the West, though he's been much less impressive. At least the East is better at something!
Also: Tony Wroten won the Tony Wroten award for the month. Congrats to him!
