NABC All America team

[ILive4This]

Anyone else see this, Troy Ruths did not make NABC All-America.....

The only explanation I have for this, is to make an analogy to a college rejecting a kid because they do not think they will go there.

Perhaps the NABC did not think Ruths had enough room in his trophy case for one more accolade.

[Pat Coleman]

Yeah.

An NABC apologist on another board suggested the system was the reason, but to be honest, even if the system automatically gives only three Midwest Region players one All-American nod each, Troy Ruths still should have been on that team.

So yeah -- the system is ridiculous, but so was the Midwest voting results.

Kinda made me wonder if the coaches only cast home votes for players in their own conference. Since there are only two UAA coaches in the Midwest Region and, say, nine HCAC coaches, just makes me wonder.

I really thought our All-Region team SID voters did a good job being objective. Ruths got the second-most votes behind our regional Player of the Year, Kent Raymond.

[Greek Tragedy]

Here is the complete list of all three (1st, 2nd and 3rd team) All-American teams.

I'm guessing they just pick one player from each of the 8 regions to fill out the teams? 

[Pat Coleman]

Yep, so the 35-team East Region gets three players, as does the 50some-team Midwest Region and the 60some-team Northeast.

I don't think you were around when the NABC had a Top 20 poll but it was along the same lines. No hard decisions made about what teams are better than others, just a mixing of the eight NCAA regional polls.

[fcnews]

Any All Star team is subjective at best. The UAA didn't even make Ruths the best player in his own conference. It does make for good dicussion.

[ILive4This]

This is true, prior to the NABC announcement, the only Honor Troy Ruths had not received this season was that of UAA player of the year, although to be fair he did win last year.

I actually do not have as much of a problem with him not winning UAA POY, because for one his team did not win the conference (i know this does not matter totally), however, Nate Hainje from Chicago came on strong in the last few games of the season (after playing consistent early on as well) to lead the maroons to the conference title. That is why Ruths did not win, no big discussion really needed.

[Hugenerd]

The UAA player of the year emphasizes the 14 game UAA schedule, while national awards take into account the entire season.  Troy Ruths did not deserve the UAA POY because he couldnt lead his team to the conference title in the final game of the season.  He still may have been the best player in the UAA, but Hainje just barely out performed him over that 14 game stretch.  However, if you look at the entire season, including conference, out-of-conference, and postseason play, Troy Ruths should definitely be considered a top 5 player in the country (if not the best player).  I think after all of his accomplishments (and other awards), the NABC has somewhat discredited itself by not including one of the best players in the country on its list.  You can make all the arguments you want about the methodology or format, but clearly the NABC messed up.  For whatever reason, whether it be the coaches of a certain conference voting for their own, he wasnt put on the list and he should be there.

I am sure if you asked Ruths himself, he would probably tell you he doesnt care because he has plenty of hardware (including the most important hardware of all), but regardless of whether he cares or not, there is no good argument or reason (I dont consider homer bias a valid argument) for him not to be there.

[Pat Coleman]

The UAA player of the year emphasizes the 14 game UAA schedule, while national awards take into account the entire season. 

Excellent point -- and it's a good reason why you can't always rely on every All-Conference team.

[ILive4This]

Every award has its criteria, and an All-America team should take in the best players over the entire season regardless of conference or region. For Troy Ruths to not make a single team is nuts, 63 points in the final four alone, not to mention consistent top notch play over a 25ish game schedule. My question is, all those coaches who complained about having to guard Ruths throughout the season and playoffs, why did they not put their votes where their mouths were when it came time to put up.