Alec Peters - Senior edition

[VULB#62]

SI has Alec at #27out of the top 30  in their most recent (12/15) mock draft.

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/12/15/2017-nba-draft-big-board-markelle-fultz-jayson-tatum-duke-kentucky-ucla

[Just Sayin]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/stats

[humbleopinion]

Note:  free throw percentage #8, and #1 FT% for anyone with more than 45 attempts.

[VULB#62]

Alec POW again!
http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/horizon-league-mens-basketball-player-of-the-week-dec-19

[agibson]

Alec POW again!

Eighth of his career. Passing Norris Cole. Ties him for fourth-most all-time, with players from Butler, Xavier, and Loyola.

One more to tie Kay Felder. Keifer Sykes seems to have the overall record with thirteen.

But, there are a bunch of errors in this part of the HL record book (including leaving out recognition for Ryan Broekhoff as a four-time single season winner). So, hard to say. I'm pretty sure of Peters', Sykes', and Felder's counts.

[VU2014]

Not sure if anyone saw this but when Alec went home for Christmas he went back to his High School Gym in Washington, Illinois and was at the gym at 6:30am working out and getting shots in on Christmas Eve morning.

The kids work ethic and maturity is well beyond his years. If (I'm fairly optimistic I can say 'When') Alec gets Drafted, I'm going to buy his jersey. It's rare you find athletes like Alec who are going to go Pro but also have the character he has.

https://twitter.com/hoijim/status/812660581010378752

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/GoodmanESPN/status/815911545196703745

[wh]

https://twitter.com/GoodmanESPN/status/815911545196703745

Given the 18-year spread between the 2 biggest superstars to don a Valpo uniform, the family and I are looking for every opportunity to watch Alec in person.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/817053866390933504

NBA Mock Draft

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2017/

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Alec-Peters-77931/

[VU2014]

Halfway through the season, here are the top 25 mid-major players in college basketball
We ranked your favorite player too low
by Austin Brown@AustinOBrown  Jan 10, 2017, 6:45am PST

We are officially at (or past? I'm not sure) the halfway point of the 2016-17 college basketball season. So far we've seen upsets, buzzer-beaters and some outstanding individual performances. Now that we have roughly a 15-game sample size on every player, we decided to rank the top 25 mid-major players in the country.

While I know this list will not upset anybody and I won't get any angry tweets about how I ranked your team's player too low, feel free to make your voice heard in the comments section anyway. As a reminder, this site considers a mid-major to be any team outside the power-five, American or Big East. If you want to debate that, don't. Just live with it. Without further ado, here is the list.

The Top 10

1. Alec Peters | Valparaiso | Senior | Forward

After shocking the college basketball world by opting to return to Valpo for his senior season, Peters has averaged 24.7 ppg and 10.4 rpg. He is largely responsible for the Crusaders' 12-4 start.

2. Jock Landale | Saint Mary's | Junior | Center

The best name in college basketball has increased his scoring average by almost 10 points from a season ago. Landale's breakout season is one of the main reasons the Gaels are currently sitting at No. 19 in the AP poll, following their 14-1 start.

3. Jack Gibbs | Davidson | Senior | Guard

Gibbs's numbers are down a bit from last season, but he is still capable of going off on any given night, as he did in his 30-point outing in the Wildcats' near-upset against North Carolina.

4. Charles Cooke | Dayton | Senior | Guard

Cooke has put up another stellar season despite nagging back pain that kept him out of Dayton's last game against St. Bonaventure. His 18.7 ppg and 2.4 apg are both career highs. He has the Flyers in the driver's seat for another A-10 title as they have won 10 of their last 11 games.

5. Cameron Oliver | Nevada | Sophomore | Forward

Oliver is one of the most complete players in the country. He is currently averaging 14.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.1 bpg, and 2.1 apg. His stellar play may propel the Wolf Pack to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007.

6. Jaylen Adams | St. Bonaventure | Junior | Guard

Adams is about as consistent as they come in college basketball. He has scored at least 20 points in 10 of the Bonnies' first 15 games, and he has only tallied fewer than five assists three times this season.

7. Marcus Keene | Central Michigan | Junior | Guard

The Youngstown State transfer is leading the nation in scoring with a monstrous 29 ppg. He also chips in 5.3 apg, and his most impressive stat may be his 4.7 rpg despite being just 5'9.

8. Nigel Williams-Goss | Gonzaga | Junior | Guard

Williams-Goss has led the Bulldogs to a 15-0 start and the No. 5 ranking in the AP poll in his first season in Spokane after transferring from Washington. He has much better talent around him than most of the guys on this list, so his stats are a bit deflated as a result. Despite that, he is still averaging 15.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 4.8 apg through the first 14 games.

9. Mike Daum | South Dakota State | Sophomore | Forward

Daum has been the one bright spot on an otherwise lackluster team. He has eclipsed 30 points four times this season, including a 39-point performance in the Jackrabbits' overtime win over Murray State.

10. Kevin Hervey | UT-Arlington | Junior | Forward

After missing most of last season with a torn ACL, Hervey has looked as impressive as ever through 16 games this season. He has six double-doubles so far, and the Mavericks appear to be the front-runners in the Sun Belt.

The rest of the list

11. Eric Mika | BYU | Sophomore | Forward

12. T.J. Cline | Richmond | Senior | Forward

13. Przemek Karnowski | Gonzaga | Senior | Center

14. Tyler Cavanaugh | George Washington | Senior | Forward

15. Markis McDuffie | Wichita State | Sophomore | Forward

16. Dallas Moore | North Florida | Senior | Guard

17. Giddy Potts | Middle Tennessee | Junior | Guard

18. E.C. Matthews | Rhode Island | Junior | Guard

19. Chandler Hutchinson | Boise State | Junior | Guard

20. Rashawn Thomas | Texas A&M-Corpus Christie | Senior | Forward

21. JeQuan Lewis | VCU | Senior | Guard

22. Scoochie Smith | Dayton | Senior | Guard

23. Jordan Matthews | Gonzaga | Senior | Guard

24. Darral Willis | Wichita State | Junior | Forward

25. Jaaron Simmons | Ohio | Junior | Guard


http://www.midmajormadness.com/2017/1/10/14181860/top-college-basketball-players-list-mid-major-jock-landale-alec-peters-jaylen-adams-jack-gibbs

[valpotx]

EC Matthews has gotten hot over his last 4 games, so he will climb this list again. 

[VULB#62]

Saw this posted link on Mark Labarbera's FB site. Pretty convincing analysis.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2685485-you-should-hope-your-nba-team-drafts-valparaisos-alec-peters#

[agibson]

There was a great feature on Alec yesterday (today?) in the Chicago Tribune from Shannon Ryan, their AP voter.

[vufan75]

From today's Chicago Tribune 1/11 as  agibson mentioned. Good pub for AP and finally a little Chicago media coverage about Valpo MBB.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-alec-peters-valparaiso-nba-draft-spt-0111-20170110-story.html

[vu72]

I frankly am astounded at the amount of press Alec/Valpo are receiving this year.  I NEVER have heard/read the name Valpo/Valparaiso so often and it all has to do with Alec.  Witness:  On the way home tonight I was listening to ESPN radio (national) and the female announcer said something to the effect of: "So football season is over so now we need to start watching the names for The Wooden Award, the top college basketball player in the nation.  One player to watch is Valparaiso's Alec Peters who is averaging 25 and 10."

How cool is THAT!!!!!  Go Valpo!!!  Go Alec!!!   

[ValpoHoops]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/18454657/four-new-players-added-midseason-top-25-john-r-wooden-award

[M]

Is my math right that he is 56 points and 44 rebounds away from the records?! He could very well knock those both out vs UIC next weekend! Certainly during the next home stand. 💪🏀

[talksalot]

After the Cleveland State game
POINTS:
Bryce 2142  Alec  2116   Needs:  26

REBOUNDS
Ensminger 910  Alec 895   Needs:  15

FREE THROWS
Ed Eckhart 452  Alec 432  Needs:  20

Horizon League All Time Scoring

Alfredrick Hughes Loyola 1981-85 2,914
Byron Larkin Xavier 1984-88 2,696
Chad Tucker Butler 1983-88  2,321
Rashad Phillips Detroit 1997-01 2,319
Alec Peters Valparaiso 2013-NOW  2,116  (Needs 203 to move higher than 5th)
Cedrick Banks UIC (2097) and Keifer Sikes (2096) were both jumped at Cleveland State

[Kyle321n]

Here's some screenshots from the top players on KenPom.com. Earlier this year Alec cracked their top 10 Player of the Year standings, and I'm thinking with another stretch of 25 and 10s he could be right back in there.

[valpo84]

Tim Kempton....  His Dad was from the bruiser school of Centers.  Played at ND in the mid-80s.

Will Alec break Bryce's record tonight?

[Kyle321n]

So Alec has broken the Field Goals Made Record and the Rebound record. He's 7 points shy of breaking the scoring record. What other records should we start watching to fall?

1. Games Played: Erik Buggs (2008-13) - 138
Alec Peters - 124
There's 12 games remaining, not including the Horizon League Tournament. So Alec has 137 games minimally. Win one HL tournament game, get one post season game and Alec has broken the record.

2. Free Throws Made: Ed Eckart (1953-57) - 452
Alec Peters - 433
Alec is averaging 6.6 FTM per game. That's 3 more games that he should break the record.

3. Single Season Points: 1. Bruce Lindner (1969-70) - 725
Alec Peters - 454
Alec is averaging 23.8 ppg. He needs 22.6 ppg to get to 725 in the games guaranteed (not including HL tournament games). He's on pace for 740 this season. This should be attainable, but it will probably happen in the HL Tourney.

4. Free Throw Percentage: 1. Casey Schmidt (1993-94) - 92.6%
                                                  2. Dick Jones (1966-67) - 89.7%
                                                      Casey Schmidt (1992-93) - 89.7%
Alec Peters - 90.0%
It's certainly possible. I feel like it'd be hard for him to fall out of the top 10 (Lance Barker (1994-95) - 87.8%)

5. Career FT Percentage: 1. Chuck Kriston 1960-63 86.5%
                                                   Dick Jones 1965-68 86.5%
                                               3. Bruce Lindner 1967-70 85.2%
                                               5. Lavonte Dority 2012-14 83.8%
                                               6. Bryce Drew 1994-98 83.4%
Alec Peters - 84.6%
If Alec keeps shooting at his current rate he'll end up at 85.4%. He's got a shot at the career record. If he hits the next 24 FTs he'll be in 3rd (he's done it already this season). If he shoots 96% over his next 100 FTs he'll be tied with Chuck and Dick.

6. Rebounds per game: 1. Joel Oberman (1971-75) - 9.9
                                           7. Ken Rakow (1964-67) - 7.7
                                           9. Ed Eckart (1953-57) - 6.8
Alec Peters - 7.3
If Alec continues his pace he will finish his career with 7.6 RPG. He'd be really close to moving into 7th place, but he's entrenched himself in the top 10.

He'll end up in the top 10 in nearly every scoring category and rebounding category. Pretty easy to say he's the best Valpo has seen.

[VU2014]

I just saw this article about Alec from a few days ago. Great article on why he stayed at Valpo and touches on the great character of Alec.

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20170105/loyalty-drives-washington-grad-alec-peters-success-at-valparaiso

Loyalty drives Washington grad Alec Peters' success at Valparaiso
By Eli Hershkovichfor the Journal Star Posted Jan 5, 2017 at 2:31 PM

CHICAGO - For Valparaiso forward Alec Peters, retaining faith in those around him stems from numerous moments around a basketball court. Just ask his father.

Several years ago while suiting up for Washington as a prep player, Peters lost one of his eye contacts in a game. Despite having poor vision without it, he continued to play. Following that occurrence, his dad advised him to carry an extra pair.

"My dad got pretty mad at me that I didn't (carry an extra set then)," Peters said.

Fast-forward to the Crusaders' recent game against University of Illinois-Chicago, where Peters exhibited his strong conditioning, logging 38 of 40 minutes. Yet, he needed to depart for a bit due to a familiar maintenance issue. Early in the first half, one of Peters' contacts popped out for the first time since the aforementioned high school game, causing him to dash over to the locker room and nab his extra set.

That same virtue guided him to remain at Valparaiso after former Crusaders coach Bryce Drew left the school for Vanderbilt last April.

Drew not only coached Valpo for five seasons, averaging 25 wins per campaign, but he had played for the university as well. Hence, when the two discussed Peters' collegiate future last summer, Peters said, Drew never brought up the notion of using the NCAA's graduate transfer rule to follow the coach to Vanderbilt. Given their close relationship, he took notice.

"I like to stay loyal to the people who've stayed loyal to me, especially the seniors that I've played four years with," Peters said. "It'd be hard to play anywhere else."

Moreover, Austin Peters, Alec's brother and current graduate manager for Valpo men's basketball, linked Alec's decision to his desire to stay in another tight-knit community. Like the compact town that is Washington, with 15,000 residents, Valparaiso enrolls a relatively small number of students: 4,439.

"We can't go out to eat without people stopping and wanting to talk with him, but it's people we grew up with," Austin said. "The family environment in Valparaiso is pretty similar."

First-year Valpo head coach Matt Lottich, who arrived as an assistant coach the same year that Peters came along, sees evident growth in the 6-foot-9, 235-pounder senior's skill set.

In the first half against UIC, Peters generated two dunks in less than a minute. The first came off a steal, breaking away for a one-handed slam. Lottich says he wouldn't have expected that from Peters last season.

"Alec worked harder in the weight room this summer than anyone I've ever seen," Lottich said. "His body and athleticism have transformed."

Additionally, Peters has enjoyed a boost in production as a result of his determination to improve. Thus far, he's averaging a double-double, with 25.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. His scoring output, which is up about seven points from last season, ranks second in the Division I nationally behind Marcus Keene of Central Michigan.

Peters also recently joined Drew as the only players in Valpo history to score at least 2,000 points.

Overall, Peters says his biggest achievement offensively revolves around the 15- to 17-foot mark on the court. From this position, he sees the floor better, subsequently taking a mid-range jumper or finding an open teammate. In order to get to that spot, though, he's constantly training with assistant coach Jackie Manuel to enhance his footwork.

"I come to the gym early to work on it (footwork), and even during practice, I'm staying conscious of where my feet are," Peters said.

In spite of Alec's continual effort to reach the NBA, Austin said his younger brother doesn't hesitate to assist his teammates in practice when a teachable moment presents itself. Evidently, his belief in others just won't stop.

"There's not much that I say that Alec doesn't know beforehand," Lottich said. "He's a coach on the floor."

[VU2014]

Alec has the chance to become the all-time leading Point Scorer * in the Horizon League Conference's modern history*

He's currently second behind Rashad Phillips (1998-2001) Detroit.
2319 - 2136 = 183 points to tie record / 12 games left = 15.25 point per game average needed for the rest of the season.
Alec's current point per game average: 23.9
Alec's conference point per game avg: 20.3
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/alec-peters-1.html#all_players_per_game_conf

Edit 1: I guess the sports-ref page is missing a few guys.

                             Points                    Years                 School
1. Rashad Phillips        2319                  98'-01'              Detroit

2. Alec Peters              2136                 14'-'17'             Valpo

3. Cedrick Banks          2097                  02'-05'              UIC

4. Keifer Sykes            2096                   11'-14'             Green Bay

5. Kendrick Perry         1991                   11'-14'             Youngstown State

6. Norris Cole              1978                   08'-11'              Cleveland State

7. Matt Howard            1939                   08'-11'             Butler

8. David Bailey            1933                    00'-03'             Loyola (IL)

9. Blake Schilb             1879                   04'-07'             Loyola (IL)

10. DaShaun Wood       1841                   04'-07'             Wright State

Honorable Mention:

31. Shelvin Mack          1527                   09'-11'             Butler (His senior year they left the conference)

110. Gordon Hayward   992                     09'-10'             Butler (probably the greatest player to ever come out of the Horizon)

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/horizon/leaders/pts-player-career.html

Random but this brilliant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx9p5fcDAAg

[vusupporter]

I don't believe Sports Reference goes all the way back to the 80's. There are 3 players ahead of Phillips according to the Horizon League's record book on their website, two of whom Alec has no chance of catching.

[talksalot]

Sorry... Rashad Phillips is actually in 4th place... The guy in first place has like 2900 points...