SPOKANE, Wash. — The Associated Press All American teams were announced a few days ago.
Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura was named to the second team. Forward Brandon Clarke was named to the third team.
KREM 2's Karthik Venkataraman thinks Hachimura should have been first team and Clarke should have been on the second team.
THE CASE FOR HACHIMURA
Since Hachimura is a forward, there was only one guy I really thought he could beat out for the first team.
Forwards Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett from Duke were locks. But there is a valid argument to put Hachimura in ahead of Tennessee's Grant Williams.
The one place Williams has him that I will concede is assists. Hachimura averaged more points a game, about the same rebounds, had a better shooting percentage and less turnovers
THE CASE FOR CLARKE
Obviously for a guy that was over looked most of the year, at least he made an AP All-American team.
Jokes aside, Brandon Clarke should have been on the second team.
This comes down to Gonzaga vs. Texas Tech, but not the Elite 8 match-up.
It's a head to head comparison between Brandon Clarke and Red Raiders forward Jarrett Culver.
Culver had more points, but Clarke beat him in rebounds per game, field goal percentage, and frankly, I think Clarke is a better defender.
I think you have to look no further than his rim protecting 3.1 blocks per game.
In the end, it is what it is. But both Hachimura and Clarke deserved a little more respect on their name.