HL Awards

DMvalpo18 · March 04, 2013, 01:36:01 PM

POY snub for Ryan, but McCallum is a beast (with the numbers to show for it). Still nice accolades for the team, and I believe that making the NCAA tourney will far outweigh not being the conference player of the year.

valpotx · March 04, 2013, 02:01:59 PM

I wouldn't call Ray Jr a beast, more of a little monster. I don't think of this as a snub either, as Rowdy's numbers down the stretch in HL play only helped Ray's cause. However, I still believe that Sykes is average. Maybe he will surprise me if we play them again, or maybe Buggs just shuts down every PG in the league, to go along with his all-defensive team honors.

I can't really argue with any pick, except Sykes at this time.

KL31NY · March 04, 2013, 02:15:32 PM

tx, I'll agree with all that. Good to see four different Valpo players earn some recognition. Wonder how close Rowdy and Buggs were to winning their respective awards...

historyman · March 04, 2013, 03:25:19 PM

Quote from: valpotx on March 04, 2013, 02:01:59 PMI don't think of this as a snub either, as Rowdy's numbers down the stretch in HL play only helped Ray's cause.

I agree with the thinking that McCallum barely edged out Rowdy due to Rowdy's slightly less than great numbers in the last few games.

valpopal · March 04, 2013, 04:36:06 PM

I'm betting there were a number of non-game factors that helped McCallum. He has been hyped as an NBA player, he was picked as the preseason Player of the Year, Rowdy won it last year, McCallum and his dad are self-promoters and stat seekers while Rowdy is more of a team player, etc.

Since he is such a complete team player, if we were back in the gym and choosing up sides like we did when kids, as a captain my first pick would be Rowdy over Ray every time. Nevertheless, I hope this (plus the pick of Minnerath over Kevin) helps motivate Valpo if they face Detroit in the tournament.

valpopal · March 04, 2013, 06:03:54 PM

Excellent point in a tweet by Aaron Leavitt about the Rowdy vs. Ray debate:

Valpo was +14.49/40 min in HL play w/Broekhoff on floor, -12.89/40 w/o vs. UDM +11.19/40 w/McCallum, +11.23/40 w/o

a3uge · March 04, 2013, 06:10:17 PM

It's really disappointing not only due to the fact Rowdy had similar, if not, better numbers than McCallum, but other anecdotal evidence that suggested Rowdy was the more valuable player in the Horizon. Here's my argument:

The first Detroit Valpo game practically determined who won the conference. McCallum shrunk down the stretch, while Rowdy scored the game winning points. The ESPN 2 announcer prefaced each Detroit possession with something along the lines of "here's where McCallum puts the team on his back..." In fact, McCallum was no Greg Jennings. McCallum missed crucial late shots and even turned the ball over on the last possession which allowed Rowdy to sink 2 free throws. Stat line for Ray after Capo's technical (11 min left): 1-4, 2PTS, 3A, 4TO, 3REB - http://espn.go.com/ncb/playbyplay?gameId=330172174&period=2. In the game he was 2-11, 6PTS, 8AST, 8REB, 5TO. For the most important game of the regular season, Broekhoff was most valuable player. That should hold some weight than the second game.

McCallum has shrunk in other games as well... the loss to WSU he didn't score a single point in the second half: http://espn.go.com/ncb/playbyplay?gameId=330212174&period=2 . While Ryan may have had a couple bad games, Ray's worst games were much worse and more costly to the whole season.

Finally, Ryan just absolutely wins games for Valpo at the end. How many times have we seen him throw a touchdown pass for a 2pt score at the end of the game to put it out of reach? What about the 3 offensive rebounds off the missed free throws to end the YSU game? The quick 12 point burst to push a comeback against WSU in the last 2:30? He's a guy that you just always notice on the court, whether he's scoring or not. Not because he's pounding his chest or beating on the ground, but because he's just damn good.

setshot · March 04, 2013, 06:38:53 PM

Glad to see that McCallum won POY.Detroit City needs a boost and McCallum gives them that. Also, a native born citizen of the USA out performs an import from a foreign country. Doesn't get any better than that. USA,USA,USA!

wh · March 04, 2013, 06:59:58 PM

L

Quote from: setshot on March 04, 2013, 06:38:53 PM
Glad to see that McCallum won POY.Detroit City needs a boost and McCallum gives them that. Also, a native born citizen of the USA out performs an import from a foreign country. Doesn't get any better than that. USA,USA,USA!

Luke 23:34a

bbtds · March 04, 2013, 07:12:07 PM

Quote from: setshot on March 04, 2013, 06:38:53 PM
Glad to see that McCallum won POY.Detroit City needs a boost and McCallum gives them that. Also, a native born citizen of the USA out performs an import from a foreign country. Doesn't get any better than that. USA,USA,USA!

When you see a sore spot you just can't help but poke it, can you?

I'm really seeing an old agenda more clearly these days.

Luke 23:34a........."Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

vu72 · March 04, 2013, 07:31:26 PM

Quote from: bbtds on March 04, 2013, 07:12:07 PM
Quote from: setshot on March 04, 2013, 06:38:53 PM
Glad to see that McCallum won POY.Detroit City needs a boost and McCallum gives them that. Also, a native born citizen of the USA out performs an import from a foreign country. Doesn't get any better than that. USA,USA,USA!

When you see a sore spot you just can't help but poke it, can you?

I'm really seeing an old agenda more clearly these days.

Luke 23:34a........."Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

How appropriate during this Lenten Season. Rowdy is not only one of the five best to ever lace them up for Valpo, He is also a top five in terms of character and value in representing dear ole Valpo. Not sure who ranks a head of him.

truth219 · March 04, 2013, 07:39:54 PM

I don't have a problem with ray getting poy. He's a good basketball player. Rowdy is good too. I do have a problem with dority getting 6th man award matt kenney or bobby deserved it more.

wh · March 04, 2013, 07:58:20 PM

Crusaders recognized with Horizon League postseason honors

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/crusaders-recognized-with-horizon-league-postseason-honors/article_1c9496b0-9f80-598f-a901-4056d4275e81.html

RS · March 04, 2013, 08:14:05 PM

Matt was a starter more than he was the 6th man. Dority had more minutes than Bobby and averaged more per game. Granted Dority looked out of control at more times than one would want but he was still the best second option we had as point guard, especially when Buggs was out and in foul trouble.

KL31NY · March 04, 2013, 08:16:41 PM

Quote from: truth219 on March 04, 2013, 07:39:54 PM
I don't have a problem with ray getting poy. He's a good basketball player. Rowdy is good too. I do have a problem with dority getting 6th man award matt kenney or bobby deserved it more.

I was typing something when RS responded, but here's my quick analysis on Bobby/LaVonte

Bobby's play off the bench and his role as our "big man" off the bench was very important to our team and its rotation. LaVonte's spot behind Buggs was good for our team's make-up, too. Bobby would have been a good pick, but other than shooting percentage and blocks, the traditional stats favor Dority more. If Capo is 7th on the team in scoring, and Dority's a few points/game above him, that can start to hurt Bobby's case compared to LaVonte.

truth219 · March 04, 2013, 08:19:12 PM

Dority has the worst field goal percentage on our team. That's got to give points to bobby

vu72 · March 04, 2013, 08:23:59 PM

Either way it bodes well for next year when LaVonte can move to his more natural 2 spot. Bobby of course started the year either on the bench or nursing a surgery. We have all seen a different player of late, which should followup next year.

In the meantime, we have work to do...

RS · March 04, 2013, 08:38:01 PM

Truth, I agree Bobby certainly has the creds, especially after the past few games. The same could be said of Ben Boggs who has more playing time than Bobby. But I look at it as the league recognizing our depth and the fact any of the 8 main players could start.

LaPorteAveApostle · March 04, 2013, 08:49:18 PM

Quote from: a3uge on March 04, 2013, 06:10:17 PMRowdy was the more valuable player in the Horizon.

Totally agree, but the award is "Player of the Year", not "Most Valuable Player", and maybe that's the justification.

Loved the Leavitt stat--of course, when stats back up what the naked eye tells us, they're the best kind of stats.

valpopal · March 04, 2013, 08:52:49 PM

Interesting comments on the awards by Bryce and some of the players, courtesy of Osipoff:

-- Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew on the awards: "We have such great kids. They're always team-first guys. Obviously, it's always nice to be recognized individually, but I know that they're more excited about the team awards. We're happy for all four of them that were recognized. ... We're proud of all of them."

-- And more from Drew: "If it was up to me, we'd have all our players on all-conference, we'd have all of them on the all-newcomers, just because I love our team and I love our guys. But our job is to go out and do the best we can, and try to win games. That's been our players' focus. We've been a very deep team, playing eight guys consistently, sometimes nine or 10. We don't have anybody in the top 10 in minutes played per game, because we have a lot of guys that play and contribute, a lot of guys that score, a lot of guys that led us scoring in a game. We have a lot of balance, and that balance is what's made our team better."

-- Broekhoff was more eager to talk about his teammates than he was to talk about Detroit's Ray McCallum winning the Player of the Year award -- not because he was particularly upset, but more because of that team-first attitude.
"I'm just really happy for Buggs and LaVonte," Broekhoff said. "Buggy is finally getting the recognition for the effort and passion he plays with. He's on their best player every game, he's always causing turnovers, holding them under their averages, he just does so much for us on the defensive end. LaVonte's that scoring spark. He comes in and he's aggressive, and he can make plays, and make shots. Having them win their awards is just a huge honor to how even our team is and how well everyone's played all year."

-- Buggs was asked about the Player of the Year award, and took the high road.
"Both players have had really good years," he said. "McCallum's very deserving of it. He's had a spectacular year as well."
http://blogs.post-trib.com/osipoff/2013/03/bryce_drew_valparaiso_players_.html

VULB#62 · March 04, 2013, 09:03:02 PM

The bright side: If our kids ever needed inspiration, motivation and a driving sense of purpose to run through the HL tourney, we've got it now.

wh · March 06, 2013, 04:55:49 AM

There hasn't been much discussion about this, but I would have liked to have seen Bryce get COY again. When a team is picked to win the the league and they do, oftentimes the coach is overlooked for COY because the voters are thinking they just did what they were expected to do. At the same time, voters seem to ignore the other indispensable measure of coaching success - recruiting, where Bryce has done a spectacular job, as well. He is the complete package, whereas a McCallum, for example, is a good recruiter but an average game coach, or a Donlon, who did a great job coaching up his kids this year, but has not had the same level of recruiting success that Bryce has had.

All of this said, if someone other than Bryce had to win it, I am happy for Donlon. He did a great job of recovering after a bunch of players left, and in the process helped keep the HL RPI in a very respectable position in a crucial year where we're trying to attract quality programs to join the league.

KL31NY · March 06, 2013, 09:05:45 AM

It seems like COY goes to the league champion or the team with the most "improvement" from the preseason poll to the regular season result. Since Bryce won the award last year and was expected to win the regular season title again, Donlon jumps up as another choice.

Obviously, they both had good years. Bryce has his guys primed for an NCAA berth. Wright State has made the most out of a tight spot, earning a No. 3 seed behind the two teams everyone is expecting to compete for that autobid.

Goraiders93 · March 06, 2013, 01:19:43 PM

COY is strictly based upon expectations at the beginning of the season and actual results. See Jim Tressel's six Big Ten championships and ZERO COY awards. it was expected. Not saying that's how it should be but it is. What Donlon did with his resources this year was a heck of a lot more impressive than Drew. Donlon did what he needed to do after losing all the guys we did, with no seniors on the squad.

ValpoHoops · March 06, 2013, 01:34:11 PM

COY is always the hardest one to choose in my opinion.

[The following are general statements that could be applied to just about any conference, any sport, any year]

On one hand, a coach overachieved with what he had, while on the other, a coach took everyone's best shot every night with a team that was supposed to win...and did. Is it harder to win games when you're the team with the target on your back as opposed to the team that everyone thinks they're just going to walk over? Maybe. I do know that winning with the best team, getting the most out of them, etc. isn't as easy as it seems.

That said, if I had a vote, Donlon would have gotten it, with not even a hint of a hesitation. To be picked LAST and earn a bye gets that award.

Now, had Valpo gone 16-0, we might have a different story.