Despite sitting out four games due to injury, Mr. Valentine was named Big Ten Player of the Year -- and rightfully so.
He has enjoyed a great senior campaign of doing it all for head coach Tom Izzo, tallying 19.4 points, 7.6 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game. In fact, Valentine is the only player in college basketball to have those type of numbers.
What is as impressive as anything is the efficiency with which Valentine has scored in spite of carrying a Usage Percentage of 28.5%. In that lens, his True Shooting Percentage of 61.1% is off the charts.
I almost forgot to mention that the point forward averages five fewer turnovers (2.6) than he does assists on a per-game basis. So, it's really hard to pinpoint one particular thing Valentine can take over the game with. Basically, he has the ability to control the game with a unique combination of defense, scoring, ball control and leadership. He's the whole package.