MVC all Conference

[tornado]

What does everyone think? Not so much who would YOU place on the MVC 1st Team - but who do you think will be voted as 1st Team....?


With the emergence of Fred Van Vleet - then there's little doubt that at least three spots on the All-League 1st team are sewn up with Van Vleet, Early and Jake Odum...
...good guys, valuable players, good stats, and their teams are sitting at the top and disappointing nobody.

I think there are maybe five other guys who have a shot at those other two 1st spots....early on Walt had one of those spots and it was his to lose - but Walt has struggled at times in MVC league play and with Bradley picked 5th in the preseason and not performing up to that level - Walt has to have a strong stretch run...or he's could drop to 2nd Team

The five guys in the running are...
Walt Lemon, Jr., Seth Tuttle, Desmar Jackson, DJ Balentine, and Jarmar Gulley...
On the margin are Doyle and Beane but I can't see anyone else getting into the discussion.
Right now Balentine is averaging 23.1ppg & Jackson 20.0ppg - both considerably more than Walt's 17.1ppg....so unfortunately without Bradley winning and with the scoring numbers the way they are- it's gonna take a really strong run for Walt to get a spot on the 1st Team.

[SubGod22]

I think Tuttle gets the 4th spot. The 5th is a crap shoot. I can't think of anyone who definitely gets that spot over others. Some may depend on which teams finish where.

[Art Haines is God]

I'm a homer, but Gulley's season has been really good. I think if he were left off the list, something would be wrong. Lemon seemed better last year. Tuttle is good, but I think Jarmar deserves a spot.

[Bradleyfan1]

FVV but I think hes overrated
Ballentine
Early
Odum
Tuttle

Now mine
Ballentine
Early
Walt
Tuttle
Jackson

[tornado]

but Fred Van Vleet is getting a LOT of major national attention and it's all good...
some even saying he's one of the best point guards in all of college basketball - not just the MVC

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2014/1/17/5317604/fred-van-vleet-stats-wichita-state

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947277-inside-wichita-states-pursuit-of-perfection

http://www.tribstar.com/bigstory3/x1782773288/Odum-Van-Vleet-two-of-Valleys-best-playmakers

so with WSU dominating the MVC, I think he will be 1st Team...

[Bradleyfan1]

He was average again tonight FVV that is.

[tornado]

true - he did not have a great game but he sure did get a lot of the talk and hype which is what ends up getting you on the 1st Team

[Bradleyfan1]

This is true.

[Nacho]

Why do you think FVV is overrated? His numbers disagree...IMO

[tornado]

..not necessarily an answer but a separate thought........
a point guard is sometimes only as good as the finishing ability of the players around him...
Some pro players such as Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin... have demonstrated this - where their talent was never very widely seen until the right personnel are combined with him.
By contrast - BJ Armstrong is an example of the opposite -- teamed with Scottie Pippen & Michael Jordan - BJ was voted to the All Star team - but when he played anywhere else, he was kinda average at best. Both his scoring and assists were half his numbers when he was not with MJ or Scottie.

[bigjimmy]

T me thinks you have some kind of bias against Wichita. You have really pooh poohed their chances and you have no love for Gregg Marshall. They will have a chance to win every game they play because of how hard they play defense. You just don't normally get easy baskets against them. I would agree that Van Fleet had a bad game against ISU Blue but that's been a rarity. Until recently I thought he'd be POY but Early has really come on as of late and I think he'll end up winning it. Baker and Cotton will probably be on the 2nd team. Other 1st team members might be Odum, Gulley, and either Ballentine or Jackson. Walt shouldn't be worse than 2nd team

[LittleBrave]

My thoughts on 1st team are: (if season ended today)
Early
VanVleet
Odum
Gulley
Balentine
-------
Jackson
Lemon Jr
Knight
Baker or Cotton
Tuttle

[LittleBrave]

This season's 1st team seems very obvious to me with the exception of possibly including Walt or Jackson.
But unless BU or SIU finishes .500, I think the leading scorer Balentine is on 1st team instead. 2 on the Shockers for sure - no question. Then Odum is a no-brainer, and Gulley has been sensational for Bears and Missouri State is 3rd in conference, so he belongs on 1st team.