Horizon League Power Rankings (Dec. 6 – Dec. 13)

The Horizon League drops to 11th in conference RPI following a rough week for some league members.

The league returned to non-conference play following a week of conference matchups, and some teams fared much better than others.  See who’s up, who’s down in this weeks power rankings!

In descending order…

10. Youngstown State (Overall Record: 4-4, Conference Record: 0-2, RPI: 229)

Recent Results: Lost to Robert Morris 90-60, Beat Malone College (non-DI) 78-62

If there’s one thing we can tell about these Penguins, it’s that they’re not ready to contend in the Horizon League.  Youngstown State was absolutely throttled by an average Robert Morris team, and that has earned them the unenviable distinction of the worst team in the Horizon League.  Coach Jerry Slocum probably doesn’t deserve to coach this team next year, but in all likelihood, he will.

Up Next: Thursday at North Carolina State (5-3)

9. UIC (3-6, 0-2, 252)

Recent Results: Lost to Illinois State 53-43

Yes, I know they lost the only game they played this week, but to be honest, the only reason they moved up in the rankings was because of how poorly Youngstown State has played.  Against the Illinois State Redbirds, senior Paul Carter was the only guy out there with any game.  He accounted for 16 of the team’s 42 points and 11 of the team’s 29 rebounds.  The Flames need Zavion Neely to step up or else they could be back in the cellar in no time.

Up Next: Tuesday at Northern Illinois (2-4)

8. Green Bay (3-7, 1-1, 151)

Recent Results: Lost to Duquesne 81-71, Lost to Buffalo 78-64, Lost to Wisconsin 70-56

If not for a hard-fought loss against the Badgers, Green Bay might be even lower than the eighth spot.  Facing a shortage on guards after Seth Evans was ruled out against Wisconsin (flu), Coach Brian Wardle took the redshirt off freshman Kam Cerroni.  Cerroni, coming back after tearing his ACL in high school, had a game he soon hopes to forget.  There’s not going to be anybody else for Coach Wardle to pull off the bench at this point in the season.  He has to hope that guys will come together and learn on the fly.  An easier schedule in the next couple weeks should help with that.

Up Next: Monday vs. North Dakota (3-6)

7. Valparaiso (4-4, 2-0, 107)

Recent Results: Lost to (#18) Purdue 76-58, Lost to Toledo 75-72

A horrendous loss to Toledo drops Valpo to seventh this week.  The loss gives former Green Bay coach Tod Kowalczyk his first victory with the Rockets.  Coach Homer Drew would probably like nothing more than to get healthy over the next few games so the Crusaders can continue their solid play in the conference portion of the schedule.

Up Next: Saturday vs. IPFW (7-2)

Ja'Rob McCallum hopes to lead the Panthers with a strong December

6. Milwaukee (5-6, 1-1, 117)

Recent Results: Lost to Wisconsin 61-40, Beat South Dakota State 82-70

As bad as the Panthers looked against the Badgers, they were that good against the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State.  Ja’Rob McCallum and Tony Meier have been outstanding over the past few games, and they’re the two biggest reasons Panther fans have hope for the rest of this season.  Senior leaders Anthony Hill and Tone Boyle need to find their stroke again.

Up Next: Tuesday at DePaul (3-6)

5. Wright State (3-5, 0-1, 163)

Recent Results: Beat Air Force 76-61, Beat Tusculum College 60-47

Wright State is a weak number five here, but beating Air Force pushes them ahead of Valpo and Milwaukee.  If they can follow that up with a couple of wins against MAC foes in the next week, then I’ll feel a little bit better about them being in this spot.  If not, look for them to drop a couple notches.  I’m just not too impressed by what they’ve done so far.  Let’s see if they prove me wrong.

Up Next: Tuesday vs. Central Michigan (2-6)

4. Detroit (5-5, 1-1, 196)

Recent Results: Lost to Western Michigan 71-69, Beat Eastern Michigan 68-65

The Titans needed all of Ray McCallum‘s 31 points to overcome Eastern Michigan on Saturday.  They’re in the top 100 in points and rebounding yet they toil in mediocrity.  The big question is why?  Why can’t the Titans put it together?  Why are they losing to teams like Western Michigan when they were predicted to be the second best team in the Horizon League?  Perhaps they were overrated coming into the season.  We’ll find out soon enough as the Titans re-enter conference play just before the New Year.

Up Next: Saturday at Central Michigan (2-6)

3. Loyola (8-3, 0-2, 194)

Recent Results: Beat SIU-Edwardsville 78-50, Lost to (#5) Kansas State 68-60

The Ramblers really turned it on in the second half against SIU-Edwardsville and continued that into their game against Kansas State.  Unfortunately, they weren’t able to upset the Wildcats, but they showed that they can play with almost anybody.  I like the Ramblers, a lot…  They have great team chemistry, and I think we’ll see that as they enter mid-season form.

Up Next: Saturday at DePaul (3-5)

2. Butler (4-4, 1-0, 53)

Recent Results: Lost to Xavier 51-49, Beat Mississippi Valley State 91-71

Losing to Xavier was tough since it was such an entertaining, albeit low-scoring game.  The Bulldogs just haven’t looked to be in sync yet as the season has progressed.  They have a few more tough games against good schools that should test their mettle and give some of the younger players like Chrishawn Hopkins and Khyle Marshall a taste of what it’s like to play in big games.

Up Next: Saturday vs. Stanford (5-2)

How did DJ Khaled make these power rankings?

1. Cleveland State (10-0, 2-0, 21)

Recent Results: Beat West Virginia Tech 94-62, Beat Sam Houston State 74-62

“All I do is win, win, win no matter what…”  These eloquent lyrics from DJ Khaled describe exactly what Cleveland State has done so far this year.  They continue to be ignored by the pollsters, but perhaps a win at West Virginia this week will be exactly what it takes for the Vikings to get some love.  Apparently having the most wins in all of college basketball isn’t enough…

Up Next: Saturday at West Virginia

Five Impact Rookie Guards

Ever year, the Horizon League gets bigger.  On the Sweet 16 Panther team in 2005, Adrian Tigert was playing center at 6’7” a majority of his time on the floor.  This season, Tigert might get mugged if he were to go down low with big men like Eli Holman, Anthony Hill, Andy Polka and Andrew Smith.  The players aren’t always taller, but they’re bigger bodies, wider and stronger.

The fact of the matter is, however, that the Horizon League has always been a guard-dominated league.  I’ve made the argument that this may be the best collective back court in the history of the conference, and I stand behind that.  Not only is the returning guard corp very strong, but newcomers entering the conference are also of very high quality.  Let’s take a look at five rookie guards that will make an impact in the Horizon League.

Calliste is the Pepperoni Pizza Combo guard

Jason Calliste sat on the bench last season while he watched the Detroit Titans rattle off 20 wins, challenge Butler in two games, and ultimately finish seventh in the Horizon League.  Calliste averaged 24 points and 11 assists as a senior at the Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Growing up in Canada, Calliste honed his skills as a guard by taking thousands of shots and working on passing skills.  Calliste, more than any of the newcomers, embodies the “combo” guard (How appropriate, I just polished off a bag of pepperoni pizza combos). Calliste can run the fast break and a set half-court offense, which should allow Titans coach Ray McCallum Sr. the opportunity to give Ray McCallum Jr. a rest running the point.

McCallum comes into the conference with much fan fare

Ray McCallum Jr. is coming into the league with easily the most fan fare.  While he’s an incoming freshman and not an established college guard like Kaylon Williams, McCallum comes in with quite possibly the most fan fare of any player of Horizon League history.  Fans of the conference will remember the attention Butler got when Gordon Hayward turned down big-time schools for his chance with the Bulldogs, but McCallum’s hype far outstrips even that.  The fact of the matter is that McCallum wouldn’t even have thought of Detroit had his father not been the coach there, and with that comes expectations for him to blow away competition.  His ability to run the point is proven, and he can score from anywhere on the court.  Pairing him with Calliste will more than make up for the departure of Xavier Keeling and graduation of Woody Payne, and making Chase Simon, Detroit’s leading returning scorer, effectively a third heat.

Jay Harris joins an already high-powered Valpo offense.

While Ray Jr. is coming into Detroit as a highly regarded recruit, another top 150 player settled in down a state in Indiana.  Jay Harris is one of the highest-rated players to come into coach Homer Drew’s Valparaiso team in a long time, but many outside of northwest Indiana don’t even know it because Harris was outshined by the commitment of Ray Jr.  Starring for Oswego East in Illinois, Harris averaged a rocking 28.7 points per game for his senior season.

The intriguing thing about Harris is that he is such a high-scoring guard, and he’ll be entering the highest-powered offense in the Horizon League.  There’s not a lot of space to throw the ball along, with Cory Johnson among league leaders in scoring and Brandon Wood atop the list.  If there’s anything you should take to the bank, it is that the Crusaders walk into the 2010-11 season as the odds on favorites to score the most points, and Harris is a big part of that.

Hopkins, flying into a hoop near you.

Butler fans don’t have to go too far to find the home of incoming guard recruit Chrishawn Hopkins, who is a native of the city and attended Manual High School.  Hopkins struggles with defense, and will benefit from the Bulldog coaching staff’s defensive mentality.  If Hopkins can reduce his turnovers, Shelvin Mack will pass the torch to him whenever Mack finally heads to the NBA.  Hopkins will, however, be thrown into the mix early in his college career, and likely will be a part of the Butler rotation.  He’s extremely athletic, can play above the rim, shoots very well from three-point land (42%) and is a numbers junkie; he averaged three blocks and three steals his senior season to go along with 26 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.  He won’t be shouldering the whole load while a freshman, but it’s good for Butler fans to know they have great scoring coming to campus to offset Gordon Hayward’s departure.

Butler fans will remember Williams, who only played 19 minutes in this blowout loss at Hinkle.

The problem with all of these incoming recruits is that we don’t know how they’ll react to the college game.  Many players turn out to be busts because they can’t adjust to the speed of the game, or the complexity.  The difference with the last player on our list is we know he’s ready for the big show.  Kaylon Williams, who transferred into Milwaukee this season, spent last year at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa.  The year before that, he teamed up with James Haarsma (sitting out this year at MKE) on the Evansville Aces.  Williams led the Aces and the Missouri Valley Conference with 4.87 assists per game as a freshman before transferring.  He’s a distributor, plain and simple.  The Panthers have lacked a true point guard since Chris Hill graduated in 2006, a four-year span that saw the Panthers led by shooting guards converted to point guards.  Williams has size at 6’4” 185, something that will benefit him on the defensive end against guards in the Horizon League that tend to be strong.

One of the biggest benefits Williams brings to the Panthers is consistency.  The point guard only hit above 10 assists twice at Evansville, but only had one game in which he did not record an assist, a one-point loss at Wichita State where Williams pulled in seven rebounds and shot four of six from the field.

With the way guard play has already been in the Horizon League, and the players added here, suffice to say that the collective back court in the conference could rival any high-major conference.  And that means one thing: we have a really exciting season ahead.