2011-2012 should be a year to remember!

Here is an article on college basketball from espn.com that I just could not resist. College basketball is almost here!

The Horizon League should be full of excitement as well with Detroit, Butler, Cleveland St., and Valpo all in the hunt for a title.

Fernandez finally official!

http://valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/news/2011-12/10947/fernandez-joins-valpo-mens-basketball-program/

Preseason All Horizon League Team

The following are my preseason picks for the All Horizon League team.  I will try to give you a little bit about why I picked each player, some stats from last year, and their PPS from last season.  There is plenty of talent to pick from and I just looked at returning players from last year, no freshmen and no transfers.  Also included at the end of the post is a player from each team who I feel like is capable of making  the All Horizon League Team.

Ray McCallum – Guard – Detroit

Last year’s newcomer of the year in the Horizon League, McCallum will be the driving force in the Detroit offense this year.  His creativity with the ball makes him a threat to score or pass.  He led Detroit in scoring and assists last season.  He was also the team leader in steals, free throws made and attempted, and had a very good assist to turnover ratio of 1.89. I suspect he will become even more of a threat during his sophomore campaign as he improves shooting percentage from behind the arc and has had a year under his belt to learn his teammates.   Ray had a Player Productivity Score of .67122 last season.  Ray could possibly win POY in the Horizon League.

Trevon Harmon – Guard – Cleveland State

This was my toughest position to pick.  Harmon will be one of the players CSU looks towards to replace the scoring void left by the departure of Norris Cole.  Harmon was a member of last year’s All Defensive team and there is no reason to think he won’t repeat that defensive effort again this year.  He was the second leading scorer last year at over 13ppg and led the team in steals with 55.  Trevon’s Player Productivity Score was .562343 last season.

Ryan Broekhoff – Forward – Valparaiso

Ryan is the highest scoring returner for this year’s team.  Always a threat from three point range, I suspect we will see even more output offensively from Broekhoff as he should be able to play the small forward position instead of the power forward.  Last year he was the best the Crusaders had at rebounding (5.2rpg), blocking shots (39), and three point shooting (44.8%).  Expect teams to focus their effort on Ryan until others on the team prove themselves.  Last year Ryan had a Player Productivity Score of .651685.  I had to put a Valpo guy in there, right?

Khyle Marshall – Forward – Butler

Marshall is Butler’s next big thing.  Last season he only averaged 5.8ppg but really came into his own during their tournament run.  Marshall is a big body who can really score inside.  He is a very good rebounder and is expected to become a major contributor this year with the departure of Vanzant, Howard, and Mack.  Khyle had a Player Productivity Score of .647668 last season as a role player.

Eli Holman – Center – Detroit

Detroit’s big man will be a big problem for the Horizon League again this year.  An All Horizon League 2^nd Team selection and All Defensive team selection last year Holman is the most dominant returning big man in the conference.  Last year, Holman nearly averaged a double-double (11.8ppg and 9.6rpg).  I expect those numbers will go up even more this season as he and his teammates have a year together under their belt.  Assuming Holman stays focused on the task at hand on the court I expect him to have a monster season.  Last year, Holman had a .795405 Player Productivity Score.  Eli Holman is my pick for the Horizon League Player of the Year Award.

Just missed out

Jeremy Montgomery – Guard – Cleveland State

Alec Brown – Center – Green Bay

Chase Simon – Guard – Detroit

Andrew Smith – Center – Butler

Jay Harris – Guard – Valparaiso

Jordan Hicks – Forward – Loyola

*Kaylen Williams – Guard – Milwaukee

Paris Carter – Forward – UIC

Johann Mpondo – Forward – Wright State

Damian Eargle – Forward – Youngstown State

*These picks were made before Williams got into a bit of trouble with the law.

2011-2012 Men's Home Schedule

Looks like a pretty decent home schedule. More thoughts on this when I get back from vacation!

10/29      Hillsdale College (Exh)
11/3      Augustana College (Exh)
11/18-20     2K Sports Classic (Four team round-robin, two games each day)
11/28      Holy Cross (Ind)
12/10      Bowling Green
12/17      Oakland
12/29      Milwaukee
12/31      Green Bay
1/12      YSU
1/14      CSU
2/2      WSU  
2/4      Detroit
2/14      UIC
2/21      Loyola
2/25      Butler

Valpo to face Augustana in exhibition

Looks like Coach Drew and this years club will take the court for the first time against Augustana College in an exhibition on November 3.  Augustana had a great year last season going 27-4 and winning both the regular season and tournament championship for their conference (College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin).  The Vikings are one of the top NCAA Division III teams in the country.  Head coach Grey Giovanine has amassed over 300 career coaching victories while at Lamar and Augustana. 

http://qctimes.com/sports/college/augustana/article_eba83c36-bcc3-11e0-89e8-001cc4c03286.html