MVC – Midway Point All-Valley Team

Standings and All-Star Teams Are Confusing

(St. Louis, MO) – With exactly half of the conference season over, we’re announcing the ‘Valley Hoops Insider All-Valley Mid-Season Team‘. We are basing this completely on the work done during conference play. While that may not be fair to some players, it levels the playing field where teams are playing similar competition and even competing with one another.

Like the standings, this balloting is probably more balanced than any in recent seasons. First place Loyola (7-2) is visiting second place Illinois State (6-3) to kick off the second half of conference play. Three teams (Drake, Valparaiso and Missouri State) are one game further back at 5-and-4. Those three teams all play road games on Saturday.

In every round of games, the standings can change dramatically. For example: If tenth place Bradley wins its Saturday home game against Southern Illinois, the Braves would move from last place to no worse than tied for seventh. If all the home teams win this weekend, then Loyola and Illinois State would lead the league at 7-3, four teams would be 5-and-5 and four teams would be 4-and-6. Chaos!

What About the All-Star Teams?

We at Valley Hoops Insider felt there were three no doubt picks for our mid-conference-season All-Valley Team. Drake’s Nick McGlynn is making a serious bid for the league’s Larry Bird Player of the Year award. Not far behind are Loyola’s Cameron Krutwig and Illinois State’s Milik Yarbrough.

Nick McGlynn – Drake – 15.9 ppg – 9.0 rpg

When guard Nick Norton went down with a knee injury, many felt the Drake season would head south rapidly. The Bulldogs lost both the game when Norton was hurt and then the next game. They are 5-and-2 since then. Why? Senior center Nick McGlynn and his teammates rallied and continued to believe.

McGlynn leads the Valley in rebounding and is fifth in scoring and is the league’s most dangerous post player. His dunks are thunderous and his energy is contagious. The new-look Bulldogs feed off his excitement and follow his leadership. He’s converting 52.3 percent of his shots.

Milik Yarbrough – Illinois State – 16.7 ppg – 7.2 rpg – 3.3 apg

Yarbrough is a matchup nightmare for every opponent. His multi-faceted game is hard to defend. The 6’6 point forward handles the ball, shoots from outside clears the defensive glass (he’s third in DEFENSIVE rebounds at 6.3 per game) and he drives to the rim.

No Valley player has such a wide range to his game.

Cameron Krutwig – Loyola – 15.4 ppg – 6.8 rpg – 3.1 apg

The reigning ‘Freshman of the Year’ has elevated his game! He is seventh in both scoring and rebounding and his shooting percentage (.633) is spectacular. As Valley watchers know the 6’9 sophomore has outstanding footwork and excellent post moves.

He is the best passing big man in the Valley and maybe in the nation. He has the numbers to back up the claim, but it’s the efficient and timely way in which he executes that sets him apart. His 2.8 assist/turnover ratio is the league’s best among players with at least 20 assists. His team is in first place.

Twitter’s Final Two

When do fans get to vote on all-star teams? We asked our Twitter followers to vote on the final two pieces of this five-man team. The very deserving winners were Phil Fayne of Illinois State and Loyola’s Marques Townes.

Phil Fayne – Illinois State – 16.2 ppg – 6.2 rpg

Fayne has probably been the stabilizing factor in Illinois State’s season. Keyshawn Evans has begun to come out of his season long shooting slump and Yarbrough has been more meteoric having great games followed by ‘off games’. The 6’8 forward has topped the 20-point mark three times in league play and has grown his game.

At one time Fayne was an offensive rebounder, post defender and would make shots from four feet and closer. Teams would foul him at the end of games (he made 51 percent of his free throws last season). Now the left-hander is hitting midrange jumpers and converting 69 percent of the time from the charity stripe. He has become a legitimate offensive force.

Marques Townes – Loyola – 16.4 ppg – 3.2 apg

Townes leads the first place Ramblers in points, assists, three-point percentage and minutes played. He’s converting .488 of his long distance efforts. He handles the ball as often as defending ‘Player of the Year’ Clatyon Custer, and is hitting big shots.

With the graduation of Donte Ingram, Ben Richardson and Aundre Jackson, Townes has become the Ramblers ‘go to’ offensive option. They pound the ball inside to Krutwig or look for Townes to create his own shot. The Ramblers are 22-and-5 in league play since Townes and Krutwig joined the team.

Others receiving votes included Missouri State’s Tulio Da Silva, Southern Illinois’ Armon Fletcher and Bradley’s Elijah Childs. Whenever all-star teams are announced, we immediately see the flaws and ours is no different. But, it is the first of OUR all-star teams.

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