Ryan Broekhoff Receives Lou Henson Mid-Season Honors

[swiftmutiny]

http://www.louhensonaward.com/

RYAN BROEKHOFF RECEIVES MID-SEASON HONORS

BOSTON, MA -- After helping Valparaiso to a 10-4 start, Valparaiso's Ryan Broekhoff is the recipient of the Lou Henson Award mid-season honors.

"Ryan should have been named to the Lou Henson preseason All-America team," says CollegeInsider.com co-founder Angela Lento. "He's a terrific talent who can shoot it and score near the basket. And he has a knack for playing big in big games."

The 6-foot-7 senior has helped Valparaiso to a No. 12 ranking in the latest Mid-Major Top 25. He scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Crusaders overcame a 15-point defecit to beat then No. 5 ranked Murray State.

Broekhoff leads the Horizon League in rebounding (7.8 rpg) and free throw percentage (.923) and ranks 2rd in scoring (16.7 ppg). Earlier this season Broekhoff matched his career high in the first half alone in the win over Bethune-Cookman, scoring 26 points. He ended the win over the Wildcats with 30 points and seven rebounds.

He has been named the Horizon League Player of the Week twice this season.

The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the top Mid-Major player in Division I college basketball. The award is named in honor of Lou Henson who retired after a spectacular coaching career that lasted 41 years. When he left the game in 2005 he was sixth all-time in career Division I wins with 779. He is the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State. He is one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four.

The 2013 Award will be presented at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet in Atlanta, site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

Congratulations Rowdy!

[valpotx]

That's a pretty big honor considering all of the NBA talent at some mid-majors this year.  Congrats Rowdy!

[HC]

Well done, he is a NBA talent himself.  Just look around the ARC, especially when GB or Detroit are in town, you will see the scouts!

[vu72]

Great news for a great kid.  What is many times overlooked is his ability to rebound as well as score.  He is just a smart player who finds a way to get the ball at important times.  I have little doubt that he will get serious NBA interest.

[truth219]

Not nba talent...just my opinion

[valpotx]

I would have said the same about Steve Novak after watching him in a Mavs uniform, but he is doing well in NY.  All it takes is a guy that fits into your system.  I also wouldn't have thought Larry Owens from ORU would get any games in the NBA because he couldn't shoot, but since he is a freakish athlete, he has played in a small handful.  Everyone thought if anyone had a chance at ORU, it would be Tutt or Green, but it ended up being Owens.

[agibson]

Congrats Rowdy!

(I'm tempted to stick with this thread, and avoid the Loyola thread and others.  I'm not sure I can handle the inevitable weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Maybe there's a CSU thread already...)

[vu72]

Not nba talent...just my opinion

Thanks for the in-depth analysis.

I agree with valpotx that it is mostly about the system and how the player might fit.  So let me compare Rowdy's stats to a guy we have seen play some who was a first round draft pick--Gordon Hayward.

Gordon is listed at 6'9" but weighs less than Rowdy who is said to be 6'7". Still, to my mind they are similar players in that they both rebound well and can hit the 3 pointer, causing matchup problems at the 2 (because of their height) or 3 because of their shooting ability.

Gordon's stats over his two years at Butler included:

Minutes played    33.1
Scoring Average  14.4
Rebounding          7.4
FG %                 47
3 pt %               36.9  (he only shot 29.4 his last year)
FT %                 82.3


Now let's look at Rowdy's current numbers:

Minutes played     31.6
Scoring Average   16.6
Rebounds             7.8
FG %                  48.4
3 pt %                42.3
FT %                  93.8

So at this point, while playing slightly less minutes, he is producing better numbers in every catagory.  Does that make him better than Gordon?  I'm not saying that at all.  What I am sayings is that he brings many similar skills, including speed up the floor,  that will give him a chance in the NBA.

[chef]

Interesting that Hayward was listed at 6'9 for his so year at Butler, because at the nba pre-draft camp he was measured at 6'6 and a 1/2. Though Hayward is listed a 6'8, Broekhoff will also be listed at 6'8 if he makes the NBA.

[valpopal]

[covufan]

Congrats to Ryan!  I hope this doesn't mean that he has to wear his hair in "Lou-do" fashion.

[valpospartan]

Congrats to Ryan!  I hope this doesn't mean that he has to wear his hair in "Lou-do" fashion.

For the benefit of Koala, this is Lou Hensen and his "lou-do" combover.

[agibson]

I wonder, was the Lou Henson award tournament that Oakland hosted in 2010 a one-off?  I don't see any mention of it in 2011 or 2012.

[koala]

Thanks Spartan but I don't see Ryan with his hair like that, well lets hope not 

[valporun]

agibson, I'm thinking that was a tournament hosted by New Mexico State, or one of the other schools he coached before Illinois? It would have been a case where Oakland hosted a regional round at the O-Rena.

[StlVUFan]

agibson, I'm thinking that was a tournament hosted by New Mexico State, or one of the other schools he coached before Illinois? It would have been a case where Oakland hosted a regional round at the O-Rena.

I was there.  If it was that, I missed it completely.  I could have sworn it was just a 4-team tournament involving Oakland, Valpo, Eastern Michigan, and Rochester College.

But I could have missed that detail, I suppose.

[zvillehaze]

agibson, I'm thinking that was a tournament hosted by New Mexico State, or one of the other schools he coached before Illinois? It would have been a case where Oakland hosted a regional round at the O-Rena.

I was there.  If it was that, I missed it completely.  I could have sworn it was just a 4-team tournament involving Oakland, Valpo, Eastern Michigan, and Rochester College.

But I could have missed that detail, I suppose.

Here's a press release from Oakland explaining why they were hosting the tournament.  http://www.ougrizzlies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/080310aab.html

[zvillehaze]

Not nba talent...just my opinion

Thanks for the in-depth analysis.

I agree with valpotx that it is mostly about the system and how the player might fit.  So let me compare Rowdy's stats to a guy we have seen play some who was a first round draft pick--Gordon Hayward.

Gordon is listed at 6'9" but weighs less than Rowdy who is said to be 6'7". Still, to my mind they are similar players in that they both rebound well and can hit the 3 pointer, causing matchup problems at the 2 (because of their height) or 3 because of their shooting ability.

Gordon's stats over his two years at Butler included:

Minutes played    33.1
Scoring Average  14.4
Rebounding          7.4
FG %                 47
3 pt %               36.9  (he only shot 29.4 his last year)
FT %                 82.3


Now let's look at Rowdy's current numbers:

Minutes played     31.6
Scoring Average   16.6
Rebounds             7.8
FG %                  48.4
3 pt %                42.3
FT %                  93.8

So at this point, while playing slightly less minutes, he is producing better numbers in every catagory.  Does that make him better than Gordon?  I'm not saying that at all.  What I am sayings is that he brings many similar skills, including speed up the floor,  that will give him a chance in the NBA.

I don't expect Ryan to be drafted, but certainly hope he gets a chance to attend NBA camps next summer.  Whether it's in the NBA or elsewhere, he'll have a nice career playing basketball, if that's what he chooses to do.

I appreciate the statistical comparison (nice work by vu72), but will add a bit of flavor.  It's not obvious since he's been gone for a while, but Hayward is only 5 months older than Broekhoff.  So, you're comparing stats from Hayward at age 18 and 19 to stats Broekhoff is compiling at age 22.  You may think that doesn't matter, but as a player gets older, he gets less and less credit for "potential".  Ryan will continue to improve, but he's not going to make vast improvements (physically or skillwise) that you might expect when you're drafting a kid who just turned 19.

To look at it another way, at age 22, Hayward is in the middle of his third NBA season and is coming off a 27 point, 6 rebound, 5 assist, 2 block game against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Again, I wish the best for Ryan and I'm sure he'll do very well for himself after college. 

[valpotx]

Not nba talent...just my opinion

Thanks for the in-depth analysis.

I agree with valpotx that it is mostly about the system and how the player might fit.  So let me compare Rowdy's stats to a guy we have seen play some who was a first round draft pick--Gordon Hayward.

Gordon is listed at 6'9" but weighs less than Rowdy who is said to be 6'7". Still, to my mind they are similar players in that they both rebound well and can hit the 3 pointer, causing matchup problems at the 2 (because of their height) or 3 because of their shooting ability.

Gordon's stats over his two years at Butler included:

Minutes played    33.1
Scoring Average  14.4
Rebounding          7.4
FG %                 47
3 pt %               36.9  (he only shot 29.4 his last year)
FT %                 82.3


Now let's look at Rowdy's current numbers:

Minutes played     31.6
Scoring Average   16.6
Rebounds             7.8
FG %                  48.4
3 pt %                42.3
FT %                  93.8

So at this point, while playing slightly less minutes, he is producing better numbers in every catagory.  Does that make him better than Gordon?  I'm not saying that at all.  What I am sayings is that he brings many similar skills, including speed up the floor,  that will give him a chance in the NBA.

I don't expect Ryan to be drafted, but certainly hope he gets a chance to attend NBA camps next summer.  Whether it's in the NBA or elsewhere, he'll have a nice career playing basketball, if that's what he chooses to do.

I appreciate the statistical comparison (nice work by vu72), but will add a bit of flavor.  It's not obvious since he's been gone for a while, but Hayward is only 5 months older than Broekhoff.  So, you're comparing stats from Hayward at age 18 and 19 to stats Broekhoff is compiling at age 22.  You may think that doesn't matter, but as a player gets older, he gets less and less credit for "potential".  Ryan will continue to improve, but he's not going to make vast improvements (physically or skillwise) that you might expect when you're drafting a kid who just turned 19.

To look at it another way, at age 22, Hayward is in the middle of his third NBA season and is coming off a 27 point, 6 rebound, 5 assist, 2 block game against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Again, I wish the best for Ryan and I'm sure he'll do very well for himself after college. 

Just another reason that Hayward can shove it  .  Though, the Mavs aren't the same level of team we have been over the last 12 playoff seasons, it was a good game for him