Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
Anton Grady Leaving Cleveland State It seems like Cleveland State gets hit hard by graduate transfers every year, and Anton Grady is the latest. They had already lost Trey Lewis to Louisville, and now star big man Anton Grady is gone as well, though he hasn't yet decided on a destination. Certainly these two defections will seem to end any realistic chance of Cleveland State challenging for the Horizon League title next season.
Amy Carlton played on the women’s basketball team for five years. Being a student-athlete taught her time management and teamwork skills. She graduated from Oakland in 2014 and is in her first year of the DPT program. She is returning to the team to serve as a graduate assistant next season.
To my team and coaches: “Thanks for an amazing five years. You are all the reason I come into practice every day smiling. Growing up with all brothers, it’s nice to come out of college with sisters. To my coaches: Thanks for all the incredible opportunities. I have learned so much and will never forget all the experiences along the way. Looking forward to working with you all next year.”
Close… But Not Close Enough. Several O26 underdogs came oh-so-close to pulling off upsets only to come up empty against their higher-seeded counterparts. Harvard, a #13 seed, led North Carolina at the 1:15 mark before losing its edge and eventually falling by two. Wofford missed a game-winning three-point attempt in a narrow loss to #5 seed Arkansas. UC Irvine nearly toppled #4 seed Louisville – only to turn the ball over on its final possession – while fellow #14 seed Valparaiso was stifled by Maryland on its game-tying, buzzer-beating attempt. All told, seven low-seeded mid-majors lost by seven points or fewer in the round of 64, the majority of which had a chance to tie or win their games in the final minute. Unfortunately, ‘close’ isn’t close enough.
After nearly toppling Maryland in March, Valpo should be even better next season. (Joe Raymond/Associated Press)
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Valparaiso. Losing conference defensive Player of the Year Vashil Fernandez (2.9 BPG) will hurt, but nearly everyone else returns for this season’s Horizon League champions. Stretch-four Alec Peters (16.8 PPG) will likely enter 2015-16 as the preseason Player of the Year, while the Crusaders’ already-good backcourt – led by Darien Walker (10.7 PPG) and Tevonn Walker (10.3 PPG) – should be even better with the return of injured point guard Lexus Williams. To boot, Bryce Drew welcomes 7’0” freshman Derrik Smits, son of Indiana Pacers great Rik Smits, along with LSU transfer Shane Hammink (6’7”) and Portuguese import Daniel Relvao (6’9”).
■Thinking at different points that Nairn, Clark, Bryn Forbes and Alvin Ellis probably were on their way out of the rotation, then watching all of them matter in the postseason.
Next year's team has the potential to be strong and tough, right from the start. It will look like an Izzo team, not one that has to transform into one.
"I wish I could hit the gym right now," Bryn Forbes said. "In the last three weeks, I learned you have to step up in crunch time."
2011
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December: The Court in Calihan Hall is dedicated to former coach Dick Vitale.
2012
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March: The Titans win the Horizon League Championship, the first in 13 years, and they advance to the first round of the NCAA tournament.
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2013
January: A whistleblower lawsuit is filed against UDM by ex-assistant men’s basketball coach Carlos Briggs.
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June: Former Titan basketball player Ray McCallum is drafted by the Sacramento Kings.
Senior Corey Petros received an invite to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament that will be held April 8-11 in Virginia. 64 college seniors from across the nation are invited to the four-day, 12-game tournament to showcase their talent in front of NBA representatives. Petros is the fourth Oakland player in the last five years to be invited to the tournament
In his one season at UIC as a graduate transfer, Harris was quite the entertaining scorer. Although he shot just 38.4 percent from the field, he was near unstoppable during a hot streak. Harris averaged 19.8 points during UIC’s final five games as he carried the team to the Horizon League semifinals.
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All-Chicago Newcomer Team
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Jay Harris, UIC
Forbes is going to have to fight for minutes, even with Trice leaving, because reinforcements are coming on the perimeter. But the way his season ended suggests he could be a key piece as a senior. There's no questioning the purity of his jump shot. His defense is improving. He should do more with the ball.
More could come with improved play from the current roster and an infusion of talent.
Matt Costello and Bryn Forbes will be seniors next season, and each will have to take on bigger roles while Nairn and fellow freshman Marvin Clark will need to build off strong finishes to the season.
Some transfer news from earlier this week: Cleveland State guard Trey Lewis is another who is going to transfer for his senior year. Lewis averaged better than 16 ppg for the Vikings this year and is graduating, and already has high-profile suitors like Louisville courting him. Like too many of these graduate transfers now, this will be his third school in four years.
Again: this waiver needs to be trashed ASAP. Giving a benefit to student-athletes to transfer for academic reasons is perfectly fine. It doesn’t take a private eye to see that the vast majority of these graduate transfers have zilch to do with academics. The rule is being thoroughly abused, to the point where it’s almost pointless to even give players redshirt years when they’re just likely to jump ship anyway. And if a player transferred before-such as Lewis did-then a school has no choice but to make him redshirt one year. Something needs to be done about it, as any rule encouraging transferring specifically for athletic reasons is bad for the sport and for education. Perhaps it’s eliminating redshirt years, perhaps it’s limiting a student-athlete to one transfer before losing a year of eligiblity. It is becoming an embarrassment to the sport. Undoubtedly, it’s something the schools have brought on themselves to a significant extent, but that doesn’t make the transfer rate right. It’s time it is fixed by and for all sides.
There's a significant difference in depth, and if MSU can exploit it, the Spartans have a better chance of running and having more energy late. Matt Costello and Bryn Forbes will be huge factors. Can Marvin Clark Jr. and Alvin Ellis also do the job and carve out quality minutes? Duke's main sub is junior forward Amile Jefferson, with help from 7-footer Marshall Plumlee. This enables the Blue Devils to go big when needed, moving Winslow to a wing position if that helps matchups. Guard Grayson Allen gets a couple of minutes here and there. Cook and Tyus Jones rarely get breaks.
Trice and Branden Dawson, the two seniors, have been together since the seventh grade. Denzel Valentine and junior transfer Bryn Forbes won a state title together at Lansing Sexton, but they were raiding the fridge "drinking all the Capri Sun juice boxes" long before that, said Valentine's father, Carlton. The freshmen, specifically Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn and Marvin Clark, were no strangers, either.
