MVCfans.com 2014 Player of the Year and All-MVC teams

[PantherSigEp]

Tekele Cotton over DJ is a no brainer folks. I saw DJ put up 43 pts in a game and still wasn't all that impressed with him. Half of his points came from phantom fouls where he was freed by illegal screens and then threw up such wild shots that officials must've thought there was contact.

I always came away impressed by Colt Ryan and what he did in Marty's system but DJ, currently, does not excite me as an opposing fan in the same fashion Ryan did.

There are a good number of guards like Milton Doyle or Desmar Jackson that I'd rather have on my team than DJ. I can understand the desire to defend him but you have to understand that his numbers are severely inflated compared to the rest of the league. This isn't even an opinion, It's a plain fact. Look at the shot attempts per game If you honestly believe he is a 22 ppg player for every team in the Valley then it's no wonder why you continue, as a fanbase, to put up with the mediocre product that Simmons has put out on the floor for the past 7 years.

DJ might, might be the Aces best guard but he isn't even your best player. Mock is the player all 9 other MVC coaches would likely pick from the Aces to have on their roster and I don't think it's even close. The sad thing is that Marty refuses to use him to the best of his abilities and potential in order to continue implementing a failing and ineffective offensive system

[uniftw]

Decent player but if he wasn't having every play run for him he wouldn't be all that special.

So who do you elevate from one of the lower teams to replace Balentine with? Walt Lemon still plays well above average minutes, doesn't score as much, doesn't shoot better from 1, 2, or 3, turns the ball over more, and doesn't have as many assists. He gets more steals and rebounds.

Anthony Beane is third in minutes, shoots marginally better from 2 and 3, has more turnovers than assits, and averages 6 ppg less.

Desmar Jackson shoots a little better from 2, not near as well from 1 or 3, and has more turnovers than assists. He does rebound the ball pretty well.

Richard Cater doesn't shoot as well from 1, 2, or 3 and has fewer assists and nearly the same turnovers.

To me, it doesn't seem like anyone really got robbed by having Balentine placed on the first time rather than them.

Tekele Cotton should be on the first team before DJ

This

[uniftw]

Tekele Cotton over DJ is a no brainer folks. I saw DJ put up 43 pts in a game and still wasn't all that impressed with him. Half of his points came from phantom fouls where he was freed by illegal screens and then threw up such wild shots that officials must've thought there was contact.

I always came away impressed by Colt Ryan and what he did in Marty's system but DJ, currently, does not excite me as an opposing fan in the same fashion Ryan did.

There are a good number of guards like Milton Doyle or Desmar Jackson that I'd rather have on my team than DJ. I can understand the desire to defend him but you have to understand that his numbers are severely inflated compared to the rest of the league. This isn't even an opinion, It's a plain fact. Look at the shot attempts per game If you honestly believe he is a 22 ppg player for every team in the Valley then it's no wonder why you continue, as a fanbase, to put up with the mediocre product that Simmons has put out on the floor for the past 7 years.

DJ might, might be the Aces best guard but he isn't even your best player. Mock is the player all 9 other MVC coaches would likely pick from the Aces to have on their roster and I don't think it's even close. The sad thing is that Marty refuses to use him to the best of his abilities and potential in order to continue implementing a failing and ineffective offensive system

Also this.

I've posted numbers on numbers on numbers to prove that. He is a volume shooter - by design of the offense. He isn't the Aces best player...he isn't the Aces best shooter...he might be their weakest defender

Feel free to disagree with me it's the simple fact of DJ.

Also to those saying Marty's system isn't gimmicky...I guess your right. Typically gimmicks work and keep teams off balance...Marty's system is extremely predictable and the exact same thing every second of every game of every year.

[honestjoe88]

So yall are saying that DJ doesnt deserve to be on the first team because he shoots too much and gets to the free throw line because of phantom calls that come out of the motion offence. If there was an illegal screen the refs would call it, and ive seen many of games where they have called them on the aces. Its the nature of the game some calls get called some dont, but you cant discount the effort he puts out every night. Usually playing more minutes then everyone on the court and hes still putting up more points then most players with tired legs. The league is down this year, we have one quality team in Wichita after them everyone else in the league is just about equal. In my opinion DJ deserves every bit of first team in the down year the valley has had.



Oh and DJ probably works harder to get open then anyone else in the league, keep that in mind, and most of the time he is putting up shots with 2 or 3 defenders in his general area.

[Wufan]

So yall are saying that DJ doesnt deserve to be on the first team because he shoots too much and gets to the free throw line because of phantom calls that come out of the motion offence. If there was an illegal screen the refs would call it, and ive seen many of games where they have called them on the aces. Its the nature of the game some calls get called some dont, but you cant discount the effort he puts out every night. Usually playing more minutes then everyone on the court and hes still putting up more points then most players with tired legs. The league is down this year, we have one quality team in Wichita after them everyone else in the league is just about equal. In my opinion DJ deserves every bit of first team in the down year the valley has had.



Oh and DJ probably works harder to get open then anyone else in the league, keep that in mind, and most of the time he is putting up shots with 2 or 3 defenders in his general area.

Here's my take:

DJ is a good shooter and a good passer. He has good handles, and enough quickness to make him dangerous. His best attribute is moving without the ball. He runs good sets and runs well off of screens (a lot of screens) and has a quick release. He plays a TON of minutes, shoots A TON and plays for a bad team in a conference that is down this year. He is not a good defender. When you equalize minutes and shots taken with other top 20 players, Ballentine comes out somewhere in the middle of that group. You can give him credit for being able to do more and do it longer than other players (more shots/more minutes because he's capable), but you have to balance that with a 9th place finish in the Valley. At the end of all of that analysis, I put Balentine somewhere in the 8-12 range for players this year. He's very good (and only a sophomore), but IMO, not first team good.

[Snaggletooth]

Somehow, when the sun comes up tomorrow, DJ is still going to be first team all conference, and all you biased experts (not the word I really wanted to use) can spend all day tomorrow posting that he shouldn't be.

Evansville (9th place team) ended up 2nd in the league in awards with 4 - does that make them the biggest underachieving team in the league?

[rlh04d]

So yall are saying that DJ doesnt deserve to be on the first team because

I don't think he deserves to be on the first team because he isn't the best offensive player in the conference, and he isn't good defensively. Meanwhile Cotton is likely unanimously the best defender in the conference and is a strong offensive player as well.

DJ is a good player, but this just further shows that awards are for offense. The game is 50/50 offense and defense, but defense is always ignored in things like this. Yet it's what actually matters in winning and losing games.

[ACECARD]

Somehow, when the sun comes up tomorrow, DJ is still going to be first team all conference, and all you biased experts (not the word I really wanted to use) can spend all day tomorrow posting that he shouldn't be.

Evansville (9th place team) ended up 2nd in the league in awards with 4 - does that make them the biggest underachieving team in the league?

Very possible, but that doesn't have anything to do with DJ being All Conference, which he is, and all the protestations in the world isn't going to change that fact. I'm still waiting for someone, like you, to start a thread stating that purple is the ugliest color in the world.

[shocktheheart]

Somehow, when the sun comes up tomorrow, DJ is still going to be first team all conference, and all you biased experts (not the word I really wanted to use) can spend all day tomorrow posting that he shouldn't be.

Evansville (9th place team) ended up 2nd in the league in awards with 4 - does that make them the biggest underachieving team in the league?

Very possible, but that doesn't have anything to do with DJ being All Conference, which he is, and all the protestations in the world isn't going to change that fact. I'm still waiting for someone, like you, to start a thread stating that purple is the ugliest color in the world.

Purple is the ugliest color in the world...don't need a thread to state the obvious.

[ACECARD]

Evansville (9th place team) ended up 2nd in the league in awards with 4 - does that make them the biggest underachieving team in the league?[/quote]
Very possible, but that doesn't have anything to do with DJ being All Conference, which he is, and all the protestations in the world isn't going to change that fact. I'm still waiting for someone, like you, to start a thread stating that purple is the ugliest color in the world.[/quote]

Purple is the ugliest color in the world...don't need a thread to state the obvious.[/quote]
It isn't my favorite color either, I liKe Air Force Blue.