Mid Conference Play Horizon League Awards

It has been a wild first half of conference play this year, but it is time to hand out some awards. A big factor for giving these out is that their team is actually in contention or has prospects for a better second half. There is no doubt my picks will cause some discussion, but that's what we're here for. Have a beef? Leave it on the comments!

Surprise Team: Youngstown State 10-8 (5-3)
I expected YSU to improve over last year, but with wins over Milwaukee and Cleveland St. they have clearly outdone themselves. Regardless of how they finish the season they will be the team nobody wants to see come tournament time.

Disappointing Team: Detroit 10-11 (4-5)
Not having Eli Holman for the first half of the season hurt this team, but even with him back they have been their usual unpredictable selves. All of their conference loses have been close with the exception of the Milwaukee loss. This suggests luck has to turn in their favor at some point to pull off some of those close games. However, many quietly (including me) expected them to win the conference this year without much fuss.

Coach of The Year: Rob Jeter, University of Milwaukee
He has done an incredible job of melding new players into the current team after some significant subtractions after last year. All the while he has kept UWM at the top of the Horizon League.
Also in the hunt: Bryce Drew, Valparaiso and Jerry Slocum, Youngstown State

Defensive Player of the Year: D'Aundrey Brown, Cleveland State
D'Aundrey leads the league in Steals (2.6 pg) and he also has the second best +/- average in the league. He has been one of the biggest reasons CSU has continued their success this season.
Also in the hunt: Kaylon Williams, UWM, Damian Eargle, YSU, Ronald Nored, Butler, and Alec Brown, GB

Sixth Man: Jay Harris, Valparaiso
Jay averages 10.8 ppg, 2.8 ast, and shoots 87.2% from the free throw line which means he is in at the end of games. Sixth men are all about providing a shot of energy on the offensive end and Jay does just that.
In the hunt: Tony Meier, UWM

Best Freshman: Anton Grady, Cleveland State
He has been a stat stuffer off the bench and a real asset for CSU. He is averaging 7.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 spg, and 1.3 bpg. And oh yeah he's shooting 55.3% for the Vikings which means he's taking good shots.
In the hunt: Joe Crismon, Loyola, Reggie Arceneaux, WSU, Marc Brown, UIC, Roosevelt Jones, Butler, and Keifer Sykes, GB

Most Valuable Player: Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Ryan goes for 14.9 ppg (3rd in the league), 8.9 rbg (1st), and shoots 50% from the field (10th). He has been Mr. Everything for the Crusaders this year and he is actually battling teammate Kevin Van Wijk who is first in points and field goal percentage in the league and has been a real bear down low for opponents this season.
In the hunt: Kevin Van Wijk, Valparaiso, Ray McCallum, Detroit, Kaylon Williams, UWM, and D'Aundrey Brown, CSU