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.
6: HORIZON LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR IS LOCKED DOWN
Last year, it was a battle between Kay Felder and Alec Peters for the Horizon League Player of the Year. While Felder is now suiting up for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Peters has returned back to college for one more year and it would seem that Peters is the best mid-major player in America. He had an okay first day in Los Angeles but he made sure to end the event in strong form. The 6-foot-7 forward hit on three 3-pointers during one spurt mixed in with an out of area putback. He showed off improved athleticism at the basket, a much stronger physique, and a go-getter mentality that should enable for ginormous numbers on any given night during his senior campaign.
When discussing rivalries in the Horizon League, one clearly stands above the rest. In what has been dubbed the Metro Series, the rivalry between the conference's two Detroit-area schools, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies and the Detroit Titans, is filled with passion and intensity. Much of the intrigue involved in this series stems from the frustration Oakland felt for the years leading up to their addition to the Horizon League. Prior to Oakland joining the conference, these two teams only met 12 times on the hardwood and had not played each other since 2003.
The two teams did not meet again for over a decade. Oakland's program continued to improve, but the Golden Grizzlies were denied the chance to prove they should be held in a similar regard to Detroit. Oakland finally got their chance at redemption when they joined the Horizon League in 2013-14. Since joining the conference, Oakland has turned the tables on Detroit and won five of the six meetings between the two as conference foes.
• Nike didn't keep stats on the scrimmages, but if they had, I'm fairly certain the lone mid-major representative, Valparaiso's Alec Peters, would have come out as the academy's most efficient scorer. The 6'9" forward made his pick-and-pop threes at a ridiculous clip—it seemed like well over 50%—and ran the floor in transition for plenty more points. When he was paired in ballscreen actions with Morris, their teams were unstoppable.
It’s not as if Peters came out of nowhere: He’s been one of the nation's most efficient offensive players for the past two seasons. As a junior in 2015-16, he made 43.8% of his treys, and had a 127.1 offensive rating while using 22.9% of Valpo's possessions. Still, seeing Peters thrive in this Nike setting, surrounded by major-conference competition and playing before a large audience of NBA scouts, led me to believe he'll be one of the nation's best perimeter forwards for '16-17 and a potential draftee next June. He declared for the 2016 draft but pulled his name out, and also turned down the opportunity to leave Valpo for another school as a graduate transfer after the Crusaders’ coach, Bryce Drew, took the Vanderbilt job this off-season. Peters could have chosen any number of national-title contenders and been immediately eligible, but, he said, "I couldn't see myself playing anywhere other than Valpo." Peters could see himself improving after the Nike experience, though: He headed back to Valpo with four pages of handwritten notes on everything from LeBron James's speech to the campers, a film session with Anthony Davis and hands-on instruction from Rasheed Wallace.
• Nike didn't keep stats on the scrimmages, but if they had, I'm fairly certain the lone mid-major representative, Valparaiso's Alec Peters, would have come out as the academy's most efficient scorer. The 6'9" forward made his pick-and-pop threes at a ridiculous clip—it seemed like well over 50%—and ran the floor in transition for plenty more points. When he was paired in ballscreen actions with Morris, their teams were unstoppable.
It’s not as if Peters came out of nowhere: He’s been one of the nation's most efficient offensive players for the past two seasons. As a junior in 2015-16, he made 43.8% of his treys, and had a 127.1 offensive rating while using 22.9% of Valpo's possessions. Still, seeing Peters thrive in this Nike setting, surrounded by major-conference competition and playing before a large audience of NBA scouts, led me to believe he'll be one of the nation's best perimeter forwards for '16-17 and a potential draftee next June. He declared for the 2016 draft but pulled his name out, and also turned down the opportunity to leave Valpo for another school as a graduate transfer after the Crusaders’ coach, Bryce Drew, took the Vanderbilt job this off-season. Peters could have chosen any number of national-title contenders and been immediately eligible, but, he said, "I couldn't see myself playing anywhere other than Valpo." Peters could see himself improving after the Nike experience, though: He headed back to Valpo with four pages of handwritten notes on everything from LeBron James's speech to the campers, a film session with Anthony Davis and hands-on instruction from Rasheed Wallace.
Kay Felder -This pains me, because I like to see "unknown" guys from smaller schools make it big in the NBA. But I'm not sure what the precedent is in the modern NBA is for a 5'9" guy who can't shoot the ball real well being an effective NBA player. Felder is a great playmaker, and he led the entire nation with a 50.0% assist rate this past season, but the fact is that NBA teams aren't going to help defend a guy who can't really shoot and who is never going to be able to finish at the rim against NBA defenders.
