Fresh off the press:
Newcomer of the Year: Gordon Hayward (Butler)
Defensive Player of the Year: Cedric Jackson (Cleveland State)
Sixth Man of the Year: Ryan Tillema (Green Bay)
Coach of the Year: Brad Stevens (Butler)
ALL-HORIZON FIRST TEAM
Matt Howard, Butler
Gordon Hayward, Butler
Josh Mayo, UIC
Ryan Tillema, Green Bay
J'Nathan Bullock, Cleveland State
ALL-HORIZON SECOND TEAM
Todd Brown, Wright State
Rahmon Fletcher, Green Bay
Tone Boyle, Milwaukee
Urule Igbavboa, Valpo
Cedric Jackson, Cleveland State
ALL-HORIZON DEFENSIVE TEAM
Cedric Jackson, Cleveland State
Scott VanderMeer, UIC
Will Graham, Wright State
Terry Evans, Green Bay
Matt Howard, Butler
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Gordon Hayward, Butler
Tone Boyle, Milwaukee
James Eayrs, Milwaukee
DeAndre Mays, Youngstown State
Shelvin Mack, Butler
Agree? Disagree? Surprised? Leave us a comment and we'll answer any questions.
Posts
They got it right, except Hayward should have made the All Defensive team!
ReplyDeleteI would actually have put Willie Veasley or Ronald Nored over Matt Howard if I needed to pick a Butler player. Veasley routinely shut down the best wings in the HL this season and Nored has been better defensively than anyone could have imagined. The league is obviously looking at counting stats, steals, blocks and rebounds to determine the quality of an individual's defense.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see Wright State and Cleveland State each represented by a player on the all-defensive team because of the quality of each team's defense.
I agree, Veasley or Nored over Howard on defense. But that's only because they are amazing. Howard deserves credit as well for his aggression and shot blocks.
ReplyDeleteHoward's aggression has also led to a good amount of foul trouble in December and January. His shot blocking shouldn't be overlooked and he defends much bigger guys but he's not the best defender on his team.
ReplyDeletehayward is the best defender on the team in my opinion. he can just about guard every position on the court. he rebounds, blocks, steals, and even more importantly plays great team defense.
ReplyDeleteHayward has to be the defensive player of the year. I don't know how Howard made the team unless they consider getting into foul trouble playing good defense these days.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, looks pretty good. Igbavaboa on the second team is a little suspect... JR Blount anyone?
Mallen,
ReplyDeleteHayward's length is a big factor in the team's help defense and he's been asked to cover a lot of types of offensive players this year. I just don't see him as being an elite defender. He's solid on the weak side and his long arms help him get lots of deflections and open court blocks (WOW!) but he struggles against quicker guys.
Johnny,
Obviously we disagree on Hayward. But I totally agree with you on Howard. He put his team in a bind a couple times this year with his aggressiveness on defense. He picked up a lot of fouls near halfcourt on reach-ins during the middle part of the season.
Igbavboa was a name we floated around in the HLN headquarters when we were guessing the second team this morning. He's been a good player at Valpo for three years. Sometimes you get votes because of reputation. I'd argue, statistically, his last two years were better.
In Horizon League games, Igbavboa finished sixth in scoring. Sixth in rebounding. Sixth in assists. Second in field goal percentage. Third in blocked shots. How is that not second-team worthy?
ReplyDelete"U" certainly had a solid year. 12 ppg and 6 rpg are good numbers, nobody can argue that. Given that he didn't have the team around him many thought he would, his season was certainly worthy of being named to the second team. The construction of these teams is always an interesting thing to observe. I'm sure some ballots were filled out with four guards and a forward and some were filled out with specific positions listed. Igbavboa was one of the top big men in the league this year and for that reason he was recognized. Comparing guys like Blount and Igbavboa is a slippery slope but I think there is a reasonable argument to be made for several guys in the back half of the second team. Where is the outcry for James Eayrs being left off the second team?
ReplyDeletei like mayo, and i think he has been a top level player for several years, but this year i don't see him as being a first team performer. heres to hoping he justifies it with a nice tournament run!
ReplyDelete