History is on both of their sides: the coaches have voted a Senior the winner of MAAC Player of the Year each of the last six seasons.

Tim: The evidence supporting Alex Franklin as the leader for POY is staggering.

He leads the Saints in scoring (16.2 ppg) and is 2nd in rebounding (7.9). In the 25 games Siena has played thus far this season, Franklin has scored 20+ points in 10 of them with 5 double-doubles. Not only is he one of the team’s most consistent scorers, he is also one of the most reliable since he hasn’t missed a game yet this year.

An underrated aspect of Franklin’s game is the number of times he goes to the line. He has shot 177 foul shots, which averages over 14 a game. While his 68.4% statistics aren’t stellar, he already has made 121 foul shots and is on pace to shatter his previous season high of 135 free throws made. Going to the line may not be glamorous, but it gets opposing teams into foul trouble and forces them to go to their bench sooner.

If this is a POY for the MAAC discussion, then naturally Franklin should be compared to the other players in the league. Franklin currently stands 4th in scoring, 5th in rebounding, 2nd in FG% and is the only player in the conference to be within the top five in all three categories. He is also in the top ten in the MAAC for offensive (8th) and defensive (4th) rebounds. It is certainly no fluke that Franklin has been named MAAC Player of the Week three times this season.

One factor that Franklin brings to the table that can’t be judged on pure statistics is how he is singlehandedly able to switch the momentum of a game. He can score in such quick succession and increase a small lead into double digits within minutes. Perhaps his most effective attribute is his forceful dunks that have the ability to just debilitate the other team. Whether it brings the home crowd to their feet or silences opposing arenas, Franklin’s dunks have the potential to take the life out of the competition in one leaping motion.

After a twenty point loss to the Saints, Iona head coach, Kevin Willard, declared that without a doubt Alex Franklin was his number one choice for POY for the 2009-2010 season. If this sentiment is felt around the conference, Franklin should be the runaway winner for the award.

Ryan: There’s no way Edwin Ubiles is not the most valuable player for the Saints.

Ubiles has been putting up Player of the Year numbers despite battling injuries during the season.

Ubiles should be the favorite because he has been a force: shooting 52.9% (81-153) during MAAC games, good for fourth, and has scored double-digit points in every MAAC game he’s played in. The Saints needed Ubiles’ effort at Marist. Only up four when he entered, Ubiles scored nine straight points for the Saints to break the game open in the first half. Siena struggled on its previous two road games without him and 15 point return gave the Saints a real boost. In only conference games, Ubiles is second in the MAAC and scored his season average 18 points in Siena’s 69-67 win over Fairfield.

Where has Ubiles made this improvement? The greatest improvement has been behind the arc where Ubiles has shot 42.8% (21-49) and leads, in conference play, three point field goal percentage at 54.8% (17-31). Ubiles has made plays when it mattered most as well: by making four of five three pointers, including a three pointer that crushed the Loyola Greyhounds’ chances of breaking up Siena’s home win streak. When the Saints need a play with the game on the line, there’s a good chance Ubiles will have the ball in his hands.

Not only that but Ubiles’ season-high 26 helped Siena notch their best non-conference win over Northeastern, which is looking better by the day as they start to take a lead in the CAA. Ubiles has also become a much better defender over his four years as a Saint and has consistently shown the ability to shut down opposing scorers when asked to.

Ryan’s most recent piece on the Colonial Athletic Association is available at RushTheCourt.