Evaluating Washington’s 2021 draft class on character metrics
Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Earlier in the week, I looked at the athleticism of Washington’s 2021 draft class compared to some of the most athletic draft classes in the past 30+ years. That was a relatively easy exercise compared to what I’m proposing to do today, which is to try to plumb the depths of these players’ characters. There are no easy single metrics, there are no in-person interviews. I don’t have access to anything about them beyond what I can find on the internet through relatively straightforward searches.
Penn State’s women’s lacrosse had four players earn All-Big Ten selections on Thursday, bringing the Nittany Lions up to 26 All-Big Ten selections since joining the conference in 2015.
The four All-Big Ten selections were midfielder Olivia Dirks, attacker Maria Auth, defender Sammy Helgeson, and midfielder Kristin O’Neill.
Dirks was selected unanimously as a first-team All-Big Ten selection after having a huge impact on the Nittany Lions’ success in the regular season. Dirks leads Penn State with 71 draws, 17 caused turnovers, 28 goals, and 11 assists entering Thursday’s NCAA Tournament matchup against Johns Hopkins.
During the regular season, Dirks had nine multi-point games and four games with five or more points. She currently ranks at eight in the Big Ten with 39 points and ninth in goals with 28. She has been a huge presence this season on the draw as well and has won 10 or more draw controls in four games this season.
Game Basics
Ohio State entered the 2021 Big Ten Tournament as the No. 5 seed and defeated No. 13 Minnesota 79-75 Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes take on No. 4 seed Purdue Friday.
Chris Holtmann teams are 3-4 all-time against the Boilermakers. The Buckeyes are 3-1 when facing Purdue on a neutral court, all in Big Ten Tournament games. As a ranked team, the Buckeyes are 28-9 in the series. Purdue is 22-16 when ranked in games vs. the Buckeyes. When both teams are ranked, Ohio State is 7-3.
Ohio State is ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press poll this week. Purdue is No. 20.