MVC – Playing Through the Post – Updated

True Centers Are All the Rage

(St. Louis, MO) – True centers are all the rage in the Missouri Valley Conference. In my more than 20 years covering this league, it is difficult to remember a year where so many ‘true centers’ are so productive, skilled and athletic.

Led by preseason Player of the Year Cameron Krutwig, a revival of post play is well underway in the Valley. There are legitimate interior scoring threats, true rim protectors and outstanding rebounders playing the center position in a league that has been ‘guard driven’ for a long time.

While the NBA has seen taller players actually become more talented and versatile that transition has been making its way to the Missouri Valley. Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and others have proven that the tallest player on the team doesn’t have to be one dimensional, nor a stationary target.

True centers are all the rage.

Doing It All

Although Krutwig is the class of Valley’s center brigade, there is plenty of talent, and young talent at the post position.

The Loyola junior leads the conference in rebounding and is seventh in scoring, but is a remarkable third in assists and sixth in steals! Those are crazy, ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ kinds of statistics. Respectfully, we say he’s collecting those rare statistics with sound fundamentals and high basketball IQ rather than freakish athletic ability.

The 6’9 lefty is converting 58% of his shots and is genuinely one of the best passing big men in the country. He’s handing out 4.5 assists per game and while most centers are deep in the red when it comes to assist/turnover ratio, the Rambler owns the Valley’s tenth best mark.

Indiana State coach Greg Lansing says there is a renaissance of play in the league’s center position and it starts with Krutwig.

 

 

Drake’s Liam Robbins seems to get better every game. The 7’ sophomore is excelling during league play where he fifth in scoring (16.3 ppg) and tied for fourth (7.4) in rebounding. He can be a dominating rim protector while blocking over three shots per game.

Bulldog head coach Darian DeVries says there seems to be a revival of teams playing through the post.

 

 

Robbins as able to learn the college game as Nick McGlynn’s understudy and has blossomed this season. McGlynn was the league’s defensive player of the year and was an energetic presence in the Drake lineup and Robbins has been able to accept that on-floor leadership role.

Taller Players Aren’t ‘Just Tall’ Anymore

The advent of positionless basketball and the NBA examples of 6’11 players handling the ball, shooting from deep and running the floor, young players who happen to be tall aren’t just stuck in the low post anymore.

Bradley coach Brian Wardle has two productive centers. Koch Bar and Ari Boya combine to score 10.6 points and grab 11.9 rebounds per game. They rank second AND third to Robbins in the blocked shot race.

Wardle says younger players are getting greater skill training than in previous generations.

 

 

Great Showdowns

Northern Iowa’s overtime win against Loyola demonstrated the resurgence of big men in the Valley. UNI center Austin Phyfe scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots, while handing out three assists.

Krutwig’s team came out on the short end of this contest but ‘King Krut’ posted a double-double with 19 points, 14 boards and four assists. The league’s most versatile big man played 40 of the game’s 45 minutes. Phyfe was on the floor for 38.

Missouri State’s Dana Ford doesn’t see this as a big change. Ford played in the Valley and previously served as an assistant in the league. His junior college transfer Gaige Prim might be the conference’s most ‘traditional’ center. Injuries have limited the 6’9 Prim’s minutes, but he’s averaging over 13 points per game and may be the Valley’s most physical post player.

Ford says there is quality play going on in the post.

 

 

Valparaiso may start the league’s shortest center in Mileek McMillan. The 6’8 junior is holding his own. His 16 points and a late game block helped Valpo to their recent win over Evansville. Head coach Matt Lottich says the league and basketball isn’t as ‘position-based’ as it used to be and that the Crusaders use McMillan’s versatility to their advantage.

 

 

Tonight’s Center Showdowns

Drake’s Robbins battles Indiana State freshman Tre Williams and Prim faces off with UNI’s Phyfe. McMillan has to battle Bradley’s ‘twin towers’. Southern Illinois’ Barret Benson is the next center to try his hand at slowing down Krutwig.

More and more Valley teams are playing ‘through the post’. Watch the games tonight and see how each Valley coach utilizes his big man.

Do Good

Updated Information

Last night seven Valley ‘true centers’ scored in double figures and two (Robbins and Bar) recorded double-doubles. Phyfe out dueled Prim, 17 points to 10 and Benson’s Salukis defeated Krutwig’s Ramblers. However, Krutwig had a ‘typical night at the office’ with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Benson countered with 13 points and nine rebounds of his own. That was Benson’s third time reaching double digits in his last four games.

 

Editor: For more on Valley teams trying to play big, see ‘Does It Take a Big to Win‘.