Alec Peters

[wh]

After struggling in the 1st half of conference play, Alec has definitely found his stride in the 2nd half.  Note the stark contrast in numbers:

1st Half - 8 games
7.6 PPG
39% FG
20% 3PT FG
4.3 RPG
2.1 TOPG

2nd Half - 6 games
12.7 PPG (15 PPG in most recent 5 games)
53% FG
36% 3PT FG
4.5 RPG
1.2 TOPG

I would attribute most of Alec's improvement to 2 factors - adjusting to the physicality of the HL and better overall decision making. By the way, he should be a shoe in to win his 4th FOW award.  No one else's numbers are close.

[gamelord]

I can't wait for his Junior & Senior years. Gonna be awesome to watch. I also think Yeo is gonna shot 3 pointers like crazy.

[classof2014]

What I love about Alec is that he can post up and score under the basket to compliment his 3-point shooting. Without a doubt he's gonna be one of the best players in the HL over the next few years.

[HC]

Peters always seems to get good looks when he does post up, but he hasn't converted hardly any of those post ups into buckets, I suppose that will come around with more experience.

[VULB#62]

For grins this morning, I quickly looked at the HL individual stats as of yesterday -- Alec is (I'm pretty certain) the only freshman listed in any of the top 15 lists.  I look at him physically and I still see a 6'9" 19 year old boy -- he's still growing into his body and has only had less than a year of college level weight and C-V conditioning.  The future for him, and Valpo, is bright.

[valpopal]

Congratulations to Alec Peters, named Horizon League Freshman of the Week for the fourth time!

[agibson]

Alec is (I'm pretty certain) the only freshman listed in any of the top 15 lists.

It'll be interesting to see how it comes out in league voting vs. Oakland's Felder, who has six Freshmen of the Week awards to Alec's four.  (Congrats on the 4th!)

[Pathfinder]

http://caracaschronicles.com/2014/02/20/venezu

For grins this morning, I quickly looked at the HL individual stats as of yesterday -- Alec is (I'm pretty certain) the only freshman listed in any of the top 15 lists. 

Felder leads the league in assists.

[HC]

I really like Felder, but his 78 turnovers are up there. Once he reels it in a bit he will be outstanding for Oakland.

[chef]

In league games, Felder has 97 assists and just 43 turnovers, while averaging 13 points per game. I think he'll be close to a unanimous selection as freshman of the year.

[valpopal]

In league games, Felder has 97 assists and just 43 turnovers, while averaging 13 points per game. I think he'll be close to a unanimous selection as freshman of the year.

I agree with Chef that Felder will most likely be a unanimous selection as Freshman of the Year. However, I think there would be a unanimous opinion in the league that Valparaiso has the best freshman class of the year. In addition, although Felder is good, I'm confident Alec will have a stronger four-year career than Felder will have.

[bbtds]

I'm confident Alec will have a stronger four-year career than Felder will have.

There really is nothing that says for sure Alec Peters will have a stronger 4 year career than Felder. As of now I would say Felder is ahead of Peters as the season winds down. Why are you so certain Peters will race ahead of Felder into a position that will give Alec a stronger four-year career? Peters' desire? His being taller? Is Peters a better ball handler? Or is it the recruiting of Peters by several schools that many would consider a higher level than Valpo? Do you figure those recruiters couldn't be wrong? I don't. Recruiters have been very wrong in the past.

[wh]

I'm confident Alec will have a stronger four-year career than Felder will have.

There really is nothing that says for sure Alec Peters will have a stronger 4 year career than Felder. As of now I would say Felder is ahead of Peters as the season winds down. Why are you so certain Peters will race ahead of Felder into a position that will give Alec a stronger four-year career? Peters' desire? His being taller? Is Peters a better ball handler? Or is it the recruiting of Peters by several schools that many would consider a higher level than Valpo? Do you figure those recruiters couldn't be wrong? I don't. Recruiters have been very wrong in the past.

valpopal can speak for himself, but here are my thoughts on the subject.  I watched Oakland quite a bit this season.  As well as Felder played, he was also the beneficiary of a lot of over play and gimmick defenses employed against fellow Golden Grizzly Travis Bader.  It made dribbling against ball pressure easier, passing easier, finding open players and lanes easier, driving the basket and finishing easier, etc. And, naturally, he had more open looks and time to set himself for good perimeter shots. Even more, Bader is never out of the game; Felder's "pressure relief valve" is always out there working to his benefit.

Thus, there are two points to consider relative to a comparison of Felder and Peters and projecting the future.  First, Felder's numbers, as good as they are, had to have benefited from the "Bader effect."  Peters has had no such advantage. Secondly, think about the kind of pressure that top notch point guards in this league like Sykes and Perry have to deal with every minute they're on the court. That's what Felder is in store for beginning next year, and how he responds to it is yet to be known. Peters has already dealt with this and successfully overcame it, as evidenced by the stark improvement in his numbers from the 1st half of conference play to the 2nd.

For the record, I like Felder and hope he has a great career. I just think there is more at play here than a cursory comparison of first year numbers is able to reveal.  I'm guessing that that is where valpopal is coming from.     

[valpopal]

I'm confident Alec will have a stronger four-year career than Felder will have.

There really is nothing that says for sure Alec Peters will have a stronger 4 year career than Felder. As of now I would say Felder is ahead of Peters as the season winds down. Why are you so certain Peters will race ahead of Felder into a position that will give Alec a stronger four-year career? Peters' desire? His being taller? Is Peters a better ball handler? Or is it the recruiting of Peters by several schools that many would consider a higher level than Valpo? Do you figure those recruiters couldn't be wrong? I don't. Recruiters have been very wrong in the past.

valpopal can speak for himself, but here are my thoughts on the subject.  I watched Oakland quite a bit this season.  As well as Felder played, he was also the beneficiary of a lot of over play and gimmick defenses employed against fellow Golden Grizzly Travis Bader.  It made dribbling against ball pressure easier, passing easier, finding open players and lanes easier, driving the basket and finishing easier, etc. And, naturally, he had more open looks and time to set himself for good perimeter shots. Even more, Bader is never out of the game; Felder's "pressure relief valve" is always out there working to his benefit.

Thus, there are two points to consider relative to a comparison of Felder and Peters and projecting the future.  First, Felder's numbers, as good as they are, had to have benefited from the "Bader effect."  Peters has had no such advantage. Secondly, think about the kind of pressure that top notch point guards in this league like Sykes and Perry have to deal with every minute they're on the court. That's what Felder is in store for beginning next year, and how he responds to it is yet to be known. Peters has already dealt with this and successfully overcame it, as evidenced by the stark improvement in his numbers from the 1st half of conference play to the 2nd.

For the record, I like Felder and hope he has a great career. I just think there is more at play here than a cursory comparison of first year numbers is able to reveal.  I'm guessing that that is where valpopal is coming from.     

I also like Felder, but Alec will prove to be a more valuable player during their 4-year careers. Felder's strength this year has been his assist numbers, but much of that should be seen as due to Bader's scoring. With Bader gone next year, Felder will have more trouble keeping those assists as high. You could say Felder also is a good ball handler, but he has more turnovers (78) than any player at Valpo, a team prone to turnovers.

In all other aspects of the game Alec already is stronger, as the stats suggest: Alec scores more points per game (12.1-9.9). He is a better outside shooter than Felder (.371-.339). He can score inside the way Felder cannot for better overall field goal percent (.479-.412). Alec is very good at getting rebounds (4.8-3.8). And Alec has done all this despite playing 3 minutes less per game than Felder.

In addition, though Felder next year loses the advantage of passing to Bader, Alec will continue to play alongside three freshmen (Williams, Adekoya, and Yeo) all of whom should also get better.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

[atkins]

The postings in this thread contain many salient comments.  At this point, Felder is a more-complete player, and he has been more consistent than Alec.  I'm a big fan of Alec, but I've actually been more impressed by Adekoya and Lexus this season.  I had high expectations for Alec, but I knew next-to-nothing about Jubril and Lexus.  By the end of their respective college careers, it would not surprise me to see Jubril as POY.  His ceiling is probably higher than Alec's.  That speaks volumes about the quality of the freshmen. 

[justducky]

At this point, Felder is a more-complete player, and he has been more consistent than Alec.  I'm a big fan of Alec, but I've actually been more impressed by Adekoya and Lexus this season.  I had high expectations for Alec, but I knew next-to-nothing about Jubril and Lexus.  By the end of their respective college careers, it would not surprise me to see Jubril as POY.  His ceiling is probably higher than Alec's.

I can see right now that you are not afraid to stick your neck out. If Jubril can up his 3 point shooting to 36%+, and improve the judgment and execution on his ball handling and drives to the basket, then maybe he can become a candidate. Those are some big ifs but with a freshman class like this it doesn't hurt to start dreaming big.

[valpopal]

At this point, Felder is a more-complete player, and he has been more consistent than Alec.  I'm a big fan of Alec, but I've actually been more impressed by Adekoya and Lexus this season.  I had high expectations for Alec, but I knew next-to-nothing about Jubril and Lexus.  By the end of their respective college careers, it would not surprise me to see Jubril as POY.  His ceiling is probably higher than Alec's.

I can see right now that you are not afraid to stick your neck out. If Jubril can up his 3 point shooting to 36%+, and improve the judgment and execution on his ball handling and drives to the basket, then maybe he can become a candidate. Those are some big ifs but with a freshman class like this it doesn't hurt to start dreaming big.

I will stick my neck out and offer an opinion that I can easily see Alec Peters becoming the second best player ever to wear a Valpo uniform by the time his four years are done.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

from your lips to God's ears!!!

[historyman]

You left out the






I bet there are a lot of Lutherans and other protestant faiths that don't know this prayer. This is what gets prayed when your penance is so many "Hail Marys" at confession.

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb,
Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

[valpopal]

Earlier I had mentioned that I expect Felder to win the Freshman of the Year award. However, after objectively examining their stats, I have to admit that I would vote for Alec Peters. According to the stats, Peters is ahead in almost every category, sometimes significantly ahead. Felder only has a significant lead in assists:

Total Points: F-294, P-363
PPG: F-9.8, P-12.1
Pts per 40: F-12.3, P-16.7
Offensive Rating: F-101, P-109.4
Field Goals: F-97, P-130
FG %: F-41.1, P-47.3
FT%: F-75.0, P-76.1
3Pt FG: F-56, P-132
3pt FG %: F-33.9, P-37.1
Eff FG %: F-45.1, P-56.1
True Shooting %: F-51.1, P-58.7
Rebounds: F-114, P-145
RPG: F-3.8, P-4.8
Assists: F-181, P-46
APG: F-6.0, P-1.5
Steals: F-28, P-25
Steals per Game: F-0.93, P-0.83
Blocks per Game: F-0.133, P-0.167
Turnovers: F-84, P-60
Turnovers per Game: F-2.8, P-2.0
Fouls per Game: F-3, P-2
Plus/Minus: F- -68, P- +146
Minutes per Game: F-32, P-29

[HC]

Wow, it really isn't even close when you look at the side by side comparison.

[historyman]

I don't remember the answer to this but aren't the only games counted HL games. Alec's best stats are from the non-conference schedule so it could be that Felder has the better conference stats. Could this be the reason Felder runs away with the FOY award?

In league games, Felder has 97 assists and just 43 turnovers, while averaging 13 points per game. I think he'll be close to a unanimous selection as freshman of the year.

[a3uge]

Oakland also had an irrational OOC schedule, although I think it's the team's fault anyways for scheduling way beyond their league. But I think Peters has been too inconsistent in conference (when it really matters) to win the award.

[valpopal]

Good points.

I checked the conference-only stats, where most remain the same except that Felder and Peters are tied in FG% at .468 due to Alec's terrible 3-pt slump happening during conference play. During conference play, Felder also is averaging 12.4 pts to Alec's 9.9; however, Felder is also playing 6 minutes more per game. Alec actually has been better on turnovers per game during conference play: Felder 3.26 , Alec 1.7.

If the award is based solely upon conference play, Felder may still have the edge, but it is not as much of a definite edge as I originally thought.