Recogntion for Rowdy

[crusaderguy08]

25 Under-the-Radar College Basketball Players Who Will Become Superstars

A nice list for Rowdy to be included in!

[sectionee]

That's wonderful! Thanks for posting this. He deserves all the recognition he gets!

[VULB#62]

Doesn't everyone wonder how much the pre-Olympic Australian National Team experience may have changed him?  I'm a football/soccer guy but do follow basketball closely because it's so integral to being Valpo.  From my perspective, he obviously raised his game in 2011-12.  Any speculation what 2012-13 has in store for us?  [Not to put unreal expectations on the kid].

Totally off the wall observation:  Almost very action shot of Rowdy has him smiling -- is there anyone who enjoys the game more?

[vu72]

The  guy is a great person as well as being a terrific bball player.  He was an honorable all american last year.  Obviously, he is going to get the best defender for a guy his size every time out.  But here's my take on that:  last year we had a bunch of guys who stepped it up, scoring over 20 points.  The problem was that they would score 24 one night and 2 the next.  Rowdy and Kevin had to bear the brunt of the scoring.

This year we have everybody back and that doesn't mean anyone will be a more consistent scorer, but, we add a very solid shooting big and a guy who was considered one of the best shooters in his class coming out of high school.  If they pan out it will be next to impossible to double Ryan.  The result?  All American, full fledged, this year.

A final thought: Part of why he didn't get more national attention is that he played for a mid-major and just wasn't well known.  Now every basketball writer will be aware of him and he won't be an unknown to anyone.

[crusadermoe]

Nice points about adding Capo and Rossi.    Those will indeed help Rowdy!     
Maybe this is just sour grapes.  But I always thought Richie Edwards disrupted our offensive flow even though he did get some clutch points.   Addition by subtraction?   

[sectionee]

I wouldn't be surprised if his numbers dropped a tad just because on paper we have more weapons and Ryan is such an unselfish team first player. I'll throw out a 14 pt, 6 reb, 3 ast per game line for the season. Last season I was begging for him to shoot more and be more selfish at times. Ryan has so many fantastic talents on the court that even when he doesn't shoot 15 times a game he still manages to fill up a box score.

[VULB#62]

I'm from Boston where unselfish, lunch pail team play (i.e., Celts and Pats -- but not the Sox except for 2004) is regarded as the apex.  I hope the rest of the country sees Rowdy in that light.  This could be a very good year.

[zvillehaze]

The result?  All American, full fledged, this year.

I'm aware of historyman's ban on any mention of Butler and know how vu72 hates Butler and Hayward, but since the referenced article compared Broekhoff and Hayward, I'll tread into these waters and take my medicine.  IMO, using Hayward as a benchmark, it will be very difficult for Ryan to be an "All American, full fledged" as vu72 predicts.  I hope it happens, but I also know the history of such things.  Hayward was the best player on a team that went 20-0 vs. Horizon League teams, lost only to Minnesota, Clemson, Georgetown, UAB and Duke (by 2 in the National Championship game).  He was deemed good enough by NBA scouts to be a lottery pick.  He was an honorable mention AP All-American pick with household names like Muhammad El-Amin, Alex Franklin, Marqez Haynes, Reggie Holmes, Garrison Johnson, David Kool and Justin Rutty. 

I'm not saying that Broekhoff doesn't or won't deserve an All-American recognition, but for a mid-major kid, the bar has been set pretty high.  Isaiah Canaan made 2nd team AA last year, but his team did go 31-2.  That's probably another benchmark for Broekhoff to shoot for.

[vubballfan10]

I think Rowdy got his unselfishness from playing with guys like Wood and Johnson, then he was mainly expected to get those two the ball.  So he has learned what is like to be a pass first player, which is why he might be a little more unselfish last year and this year than some people would like.

[vu72]

The result?  All American, full fledged, this year.

I'm aware of historyman's ban on any mention of Butler and know how vu72 hates Butler and Hayward, but since the referenced article compared Broekhoff and Hayward, I'll tread into these waters and take my medicine.  IMO, using Hayward as a benchmark, it will be very difficult for Ryan to be an "All American, full fledged" as vu72 predicts.  I hope it happens, but I also know the history of such things.  Hayward was the best player on a team that went 20-0 vs. Horizon League teams, lost only to Minnesota, Clemson, Georgetown, UAB and Duke (by 2 in the National Championship game).  He was deemed good enough by NBA scouts to be a lottery pick.  He was an honorable mention AP All-American pick with household names like Muhammad El-Amin, Alex Franklin, Marqez Haynes, Reggie Holmes, Garrison Johnson, David Kool and Justin Rutty. 

I'm not saying that Broekhoff doesn't or won't deserve an All-American recognition, but for a mid-major kid, the bar has been set pretty high.  Isaiah Canaan made 2nd team AA last year, but his team did go 31-2.  That's probably another benchmark for Broekhoff to shoot for.

haze makes a fair point saying how difficult it will be for Ryan.  I certainly don't like Butler but not sure where he got the dislike for Gordon.  He was clearly the best player on that team and in many ways his performance and the players that surrounded him may be similar to what Rowdy will have. And no, I'm not going to try to matchup the Hayward/Howard Butler team player for player with this Valpo team.

I'm also not going to go back and try to understand how much publicity Gordon had coming into his final year versus what Ryan is getting.  We'll just have to wait to see how it all plays out.  Hayward certainly should have been an All American.  Happy now Haze??

[zvillehaze]

haze makes a fair point saying how difficult it will be for Ryan.  I certainly don't like Butler but not sure where he got the dislike for Gordon.  He was clearly the best player on that team and in many ways his performance and the players that surrounded him may be similar to what Rowdy will have. And no, I'm not going to try to matchup the Hayward/Howard Butler team player for player with this Valpo team.

I'm also not going to go back and try to understand how much publicity Gordon had coming into his final year versus what Ryan is getting.  We'll just have to wait to see how it all plays out.  Hayward certainly should have been an All American.  Happy now Haze??

Sorry for rambling earlier ... just trying to point out the difficulty of getting that sort of national recognition.  Winning a lot of games certainly helps a bit.  Good luck to Ryan in his senior year.

[covufan]

I wouldn't be surprised if his numbers dropped a tad just because on paper we have more weapons and Ryan is such an unselfish team first player. I'll throw out a 14 pt, 6 reb, 3 ast per game line for the season. Last season I was begging for him to shoot more and be more selfish at times. Ryan has so many fantastic talents on the court that even when he doesn't shoot 15 times a game he still manages to fill up a box score.

I think you may be right - that his overall numbers might go down.  However, I would guess that the number of clutch shots, clutch rebounds, important FTs at the end of the game, etc. will be on our minds during this season.

[vubballfan10]

With so much returning and incoming talent, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone's minutes and points dropped slightly from last year.  Valpo's success will just depend on everyone understanding their role and doing it well.

[StlVUFan]

I think -- first of all -- that this is a perfectly valid discussion.  Any HL player of the year has a shot to fulfill the ultimate dream.  Not necessarily a great shot, but a legitimate shot nonetheless.

That said, I have to chuckle that this discussion was prompted by a blurb in -- of all places -- Bleacher Report.  I could probably write a scouting report that would pass muster on that site, and I have no competency in that area.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I know I've said it a couple times on this board before, but it bears repeating:

Friends don't let friends read (or write) for BleacherReport.

[StlVUFan]

I know I've said it a couple times on this board before, but it bears repeating:

Friends don't let friends read (or write) for BleacherReport.

I'm late to the dance on this one, so I didn't come to this opinion myself, but after I heard it several times, I looked at it with this critique in mind and couldn't really disagree.

After all, the name "Bleacher Report" is kind of a dead giveaway.

[vubballfan10]

While it might not be the most accurate in predictions, at least the Bleacher Report gives me some college basketball stuff to read about over the summer.

[covufan]

While it might not be the most accurate in predictions, at least the Bleacher Report gives me some college basketball stuff to read about over the summer.

How about "Under the Bleacher Report" by Seymour Butts?

[StlVUFan]

While it might not be the most accurate in predictions, at least the Bleacher Report gives me some college basketball stuff to read about over the summer.

There are other blogs with college basketball content throughout the summer: Rush The Court, CollegeBasketballTalk just to name two.

[StlVUFan]

http://deadspin.com/5948776/this-is-how-your-bleacher-report-sausage-gets-made?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[valpospartan]

http://deadspin.com/5948776/this-is-how-your-bleacher-report-sausage-gets-made?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Huh?

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Stl, I thought you were going to post the secondary link...freaking brilliant SF Chron.  plus the comment war is hilarious on the deadspin article.


Damning money quote:

The exemplar of contrarian thinking offered within the site's curriculum is a Bleacher Report article titled "Why Tom Brady Is the Most Overrated Quarterback in NFL History."
This piece epitomizes much of what frustrates the site's detractors. The article's author, an affable 19-year-old college sophomore named Zayne Grantham, tells us he still thinks Brady is an overrated "system quarterback" who largely succeeds thanks to his team's capable defenses. (The New England Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl last year with the 31st-ranked defense in terms of passing and overall yardage in a 32-team league.) But even Grantham doesn't believe Brady to be history's most overrated quarterback: "In hindsight, I may not have used that headline. I'll be one of the first to say he's one of the best quarterbacks we've ever seen."
And there you have it: Anyone baited into responding to these hyperbolic stories finds themselves debating a non-starter argument with a teenager from Shreveport who doesn't even buy the premise of his own article.

[milanmiracle]

CBS Sports just came out with their Top 100 college basketball players and...no Broekhoff  . However Ray McCallum Jr. was #49.

For my own comparison, Gary Harris (freshman Mich St) was #75. I would take Harris over Ryan, but that means Ryan would have cracked the top 100.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/storylist/20512719/2/2012-13-college-basketball-previews/cbssportscoms-top-100-players

[vu72]

CBS Sports just came out with their Top 100 college basketball players and...no Broekhoff  . However Ray McCallum Jr. was #49.

For my own comparison, Gary Harris (freshman Mich St) was #75. I would take Harris over Ryan, but that means Ryan would have cracked the top 100.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/storylist/20512719/2/2012-13-college-basketball-previews/cbssportscoms-top-100-players

The notion that an incoming freshman, other than perhaps 10 kids, will have a bigger impact than Rowdy is just silly.  Perhaps ten--maybe--should be included but none have actually played at this level.  On the other hand, Rowdy won honorable mention all american honors, which put him in what?  The top 100 LAST year?  So how many of those kids graduated?  Who ever wrote the article has no knowledge of less than major conference players and/or major conference recruits.

[milanmiracle]

CBS Sports just came out with their Top 100 college basketball players and...no Broekhoff  . However Ray McCallum Jr. was #49.

For my own comparison, Gary Harris (freshman Mich St) was #75. I would take Harris over Ryan, but that means Ryan would have cracked the top 100.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/storylist/20512719/2/2012-13-college-basketball-previews/cbssportscoms-top-100-players

The notion that an incoming freshman, other than perhaps 10 kids, will have a bigger impact than Rowdy is just silly.  Perhaps ten--maybe--should be included but none have actually played at this level.  On the other hand, Rowdy won honorable mention all american honors, which put him in what?  The top 100 LAST year?  So how many of those kids graduated?  Who ever wrote the article has no knowledge of less than major conference players and/or major conference recruits.

As a general rule I agree with what you are saying, and I believe Ryan should have cracked the top 100. Not sure who you would take out, but Ryan should have made it based on last year alone.

I think it's telling though that Ray McCallum was the preseason player of the year, dispite the reigning champ still being eligible for the award. My guess is Ryan wins the award this year as Valpo will finish the regular season with a better record, and he's less prone to the ups and downs.

That said, Gary Harris is a top 10 freshman (or very close)

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/102653/gary-harris