MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

Herb · February 22, 2006, 12:15:00 PM

I just realized I made an unfair omission. I have to apologize to Mr. Almefty. You deserve to be considered on that list. He has a chance to be the 2nd leading scorer in SCAC history. So add Almefty to my list of All-SCACers.

Rose Basketball · February 22, 2006, 04:03:14 PM

All-SCAC Predictions:

First Team:
Ross Burt, Trinity
Robert Cates, Southwestern
Reggie Magnusson, Centre
Eric Dickinson, Ogelthorpe
Edrick Montgomery, Millsaps

Second Team:
Stephen Schott, DePauw
Munchie Muskeyvalley, Rose-Hulman
Rami Almefty, Rhodes
Andy Bates, Trinity
Jamonn Little, Southwestern

Third Team:
Alex Stewart, DePauw
Andrew King, Hendrix
Rodney Rogan, Millsaps
Joey Garcia, Sewanee
Aaron Bowser, Southwestern

Honorable Mention:
Matt Nestheide, Centre
Micheal Bennett, Hendrix
Tyler Warren, Millsaps
Spencer Rowland, Sewanee
Brennan Dunville, Rose-Hulman
Matt Secrease, Hendrix
Andrew Tulowitsky, Ogelthorpe
Matthew Jakes, Rhodes
Ben Campbell, Sewanee
James Lake, Trinity

warriorfan · February 22, 2006, 04:56:11 PM

Is there a freshman of the year? If so, Andrew King should be a strong contender.

DPU_radio_guy · February 22, 2006, 05:15:34 PM

If I remember right, which I may not, the award is for Newcomer of the Year.

If that's the case, you better throw Edrick Montgomery's name in the hat. Also, had Mike Moore not gotten hurt for a few games mid-season, he might be in the discussion as well. I did like what I saw from Andrew King this year. I only saw him twice against DPU, but he was tough.

warriorfan · February 22, 2006, 05:25:52 PM

In the SCAC, Andrew King has the following rankings:
4th in scoring--17.4
4th in rebounding--7.1
7th in field goals
7th in blocked shots
6th in offensive rebounds
4th in defensive rebounds
8th in minutes played

Not too shabby for a freshman!!!

frank_ezelle · February 22, 2006, 08:12:52 PM

Andrew King looked very good in the one game that I saw him play. And while on the subject of Hendrix players, it should be mentioned that Matt Secrease set the record this season for best FT% in a season with a .929 mark. The old record was .911 set by Eric Dickinson last season. Dickinson is at .892 at the moment and might improve but I think he would have to hit 80+ free throws in a row to catch Matt. He probably could hit 80 in a row but he obviously won't get that many additional chances in 2005-06.

Regarding All-SCAC teams, I caused enough trouble last year on the subject so I'll abstain from naming players. I have found the names mentioned very interesting so far. I remember a few years back when DePauw had such a good team and I think it was Mike Howland who was named POY. I would have ranked him 3rd or 4th on the DePauw team but DePauw fans were in agreement with the Howland pick. It really is hard to rank the value of individual players when you only get to see them once or twice a season.

warriorfan · February 22, 2006, 10:33:03 PM

Last week, Matt Secrease was ranked #1 in the NCAA stats in freethrows but has now fallen to #2. He has only missed 5 freethrows this season with the first being #32. He is also just 25 points shy of 1000. He should reach this at the beginning of next season.

carlweathers · February 23, 2006, 09:45:33 AM

Herb, don't I wish I could make it. You guyswill have a great time.

Not sure he should win but Brandon York of Trinity definitely has to be in the mix for newcomer of the year.

Frank, just cause it got heated last year doesn't mean you shouldn't throw some names in the mix.

I am not sure about Dickinson as a first team all-conference player. Really good player but his team finished 7th in the conference. I think winning matters.

I would think that Tyler Warren deserves second team. Best Millsaps finish in a while and my guess is that he makes that team tick.

Herb · February 23, 2006, 10:08:09 AM

Carl,
Agreed on Tyler Warren. I have seen him play a few times, and really like his game. I don't know if it is in the same category, but reminds me a lot of Matt Wiggins. Seems to be the fuel to the fire. Does a lot of different things for that team.

As far as Eric Dickinson, I threw that one in there because there always seems to be someone with good numbers from a lower seeded team get some All-Conference attention.

Frank,
I agree with Carl. Let's hear your opinion. Differing opinions is what makes these message boards fun.

frank_ezelle · February 23, 2006, 12:13:57 PM

Shame on both Carl and Herb for trying to lure me down this path once again. Last year I ended up with emails from at least 2 SCAC coaches as well as having a conversation with Coach Wise and the Millsaps AD. There was more going on in the background than just what we saw on the message board and I have apologized to several for my role in the controversy.

That being said, I will try not to step on any toes with my feelings about the 3 Millsaps players who have been discussed. Obviously I have seem the Millsaps players far more than the players on the other teams and naturally I have a biase towards the Millsaps players.

I think Warren, Rogan, and Montgomery as a trio are as good as the top 3 on any of the other SCAC teams. With Tyler Warren you get good stats and the intangibles that come from a senior--in crunch time the team justifiably looks to him and he usually delivers. Rodney Rogan is outstanding in just about everything he does. He scores on the inside and from 3-pt range, he is a solid rebounder, he plays tough on defense, and he is among the league leaders in minutes played. Edrick Montgomery is an incredible talent who lacks consistency. If Edrick had Rodney's ability to play 30+ minutes a game without getting into foul trouble, then I suspect most of you would be picking Edrick as the POY. His numbers would be that good and Millsaps would be much higher than the 6th seed.

With all that being said and knowing that the best Millsaps will probably do is one SCAC 2nd teamer, if I had a vote I would give it to Tyler Warren. Rogan and Montgomery are both sophomores and they both have the potential to be the best in the SCAC some day, so in my mind I would lean towards the senior because of the combination of success this season and during his career. That may not be 100% fair, but that's the way I would vote.

Herb · February 23, 2006, 01:57:30 PM

Frank,
Just interested in your opinion, not trying to duplicate last season. I know you have seen a lot of SCAC games this year. Always like to hear other fans' opinions.

dirtymags25 · February 23, 2006, 03:28:58 PM

Carl,
I agree with you that winning should be a big factor when choosing an all-conference team, but I also think that you have to look at winning from a relative perspective. OU may be the seventh seed, but they wouldn't have made the tournament at all without Dickinson. If you look at the degree to which Dickinson's play has influenced his team's winning percentage relative to some of the other players on that list then his case becomes even more convincing. Just my opinion

TheSilentFarter · February 23, 2006, 11:24:49 PM

I know those who are voting might not break down every players conference only statistics but there's a player who became a starter half way through the conference season and is putting up big numbers.

Ahmad Kareem Shaheed of Oglethorpe has started the last 7 conference games and since becoming a starter he has blown up averagin 14.7 points 8.2 rebounds and .6 blocks per game while shooting 61.2% in only 26.5 minutes per game.

I think he's played himself into at least an Honorable Mention Selection. Any thoughts?

Also I agree that Dickinson deserves to be a first teamer. Second in conference in scoring last season- while leading the conference in scoring this season. OU would be lost without him.

carlweathers · February 24, 2006, 12:32:47 AM

There is something to be said for making your team better. I won't take that away from anybody. But that is my point. If you are a first team all-conference player then don't you help put your team in the top half of the conference? It's definitely not like the other guys on Oglethorpe are bad. In fact they probably have a solid team.

The top four scorers in the league are from the bottom four teams in the league. I don't think any of those guys should be first team all-league guys. Probably second team for Dickinson and Almefty. Doesn't mean they aren't really good players. They definitely are.

frank_ezelle · February 24, 2006, 08:31:12 AM

Good post Carl. One thing I have come to realize about the All-SCAC teams is that a lot of very good players are bumped down to HM and it is just a numbers game. There are 10 teams and 10 slots. Usually the top few teams have two (sometimes 3) players who deserve recognition and that automatically means that some teams get no representation except for HM.

To put it in a different light, I think there are some guys on the top teams who could do much more if they were called upon to do more. For example, don't you think that Ross Burt could easily average 20+ per game if he had no other scoring help at Trinity? There are many guys in this league who can put up great stats if necessary so sometimes you have to give more weight to lesser stats on better teams. I still think there are exceptions (as in last year) that need to be made and are made for exceptional players from less than exceptional teams.