Andy Rautins is more valuable than you think

Wes Johnson is on a short list for Big East player of the year, and a shorter list for national player of the year.

Rightfully so. He's a great player putting up numbers for a team with one loss in the middle of February.

Johnson is clearly the Orange's most talented player and their best NBA prospect, but not necessarily their most valuable.

I'd argue Andy Rautins is.

And that's a long way from how Rautins was viewed when he came to Syracuse.

You see, Andy's dad is Leo Rautins, a former Syracuse player that had a stint in the league. After a freshman season that saw Rautins do little more than provide spot minutes as a shooter off the bench, most believed he wouldn't amount to much more; just a Syracuse basketball legacy, playing for the Orange because Daddy did. Three years and one knee surgery later, Rautins was still considered little more than a shooter, which was one of the reasons many people expected a drop off from Syracuse this season.

The general consensus was that there's no way Andy Rautins could replace the production Eric Devendorf provided.

And they were right. Devo was a talented scorer and playmaker with a knack for making clutch shots.

He was also a headcase that played zero defense and that struggled to accept that he was always going to play second fiddle to Jonny Flynn.

Doubters were right about Rautins. He isn't putting up the same numbers as Devo did. But he brings so much more to the table.

Syracuse has been successful this season in large part because of their defense and how well they force turnovers in their zone. Rautins in particular has been extremely valuable. I'm not sure anyone outside of the Syracuse program realized how good of a defender he truly is. Rautins is long, surprisingly quick and athletic, and has great anticipation, a big reason why he leads the Big East in steals.

Offensively, Syracuse is also a much different team than they were last season. With Flynn and Devo on the court last year, the ball died far too often in their hands as the Orange relied on the one-on-one playmaking of those two to create shots.

This season, the Orange whip the ball around the perimeter, they get their bigs post touches, and they work to find the best shot for the team. Want evidence? They are among the leaders nationally in FG% and effective FG%.

And you don't think Rautins plays a big role in that improvement? He's averaging 10 points and 5 assists per game.

As a shooting guard.

In the end, it isn't about the numbers that Andy posts. Its about his leadership on the floor and how well the Orange play when he is out there. Take last night as an example. Rautins wasn't playing particularly well, as he had just 8 points and 5 assists on 1-6 shooting. He picked up his 4th foul at the 13:50 mark and was taken out with a 50-34 lead.

What happened?

UConn went on a 14-2 run, cutting the lead to four and giving themselves enough confidence to put a serious scare into the Orange.

Its isn't about the numbers with Rautins. Its about the wins.

And when he is playing well, Syracuse will be doing a lot of that.