Thursday, March 10, 2011

The 14-Game Tournament's 2011 All-Ivy Team

The Ivy coaches have spoken, and their results have been posted here.

Now it's time for The 14-Game Tournament's All-Ivy Teams and Individual Awards. The awards listed below are based, exclusively, on performance during the Ivy League season and, unlike those from the league office, will come with some brief explanations. Also, the teams will be restricted to the same size as the Ivy office's (4 Honorable Mentions, 5 First- and Second-Teamers).

With that housekeeping out of the way, let's reveal the picks:



Honorable Mention:

G Brandyn Curry, Harvard
Led the Ivies in Assist Rate (37%) during league play, but his TO Rate remained in the 20s, which won't cut it for an elite point guard. Shooting percentage hovered around average, but his main strength was getting to the line. A strong defender, Curry has the ability to make an impact on both ends of the floor.

G Sean McGonagill, Brown
Used the 11th highest percentage of his team's possessions during Ivy play and produced the third most points per game. Much like Curry, his gaudy Assist Rate weakens a bit upon seeing his terrible TO Rate. Exhibited a production level well beyond what a rookie should.

G Noruwa Agho, Columbia
Agho led the league in points produced per game but did it solely on the basis of his massive usage rate, not his offensive efficiency. The junior struggled primarily from inside the arc (70-for-169, 41%) and the line (63%). When he was on, he played like a first teamer. For Columbia to be successful next season, that level of performance will need to be more consistent.

F Tyler Bernardini, Penn

After an abysmal start to the season, Bernardini picked things up in league play. He was pesky defensively (3% steals) and knocked down almost 40 percent of his threes on the other end of the floor. His 16.3% defensive rebounding rate was impressive for a wing player.



Second Team:

G Brian Barbour, Columbia
It was an amazing breakout season for Barbour, who finished ninth in the league in points produced per game on the strength of a 55% FT Rate and a 94% conversion rate from the stripe. The sophomore limited his turnovers offensively, while forcing plenty on defense. The Barbour/Agho backcourt will, once again, be tough to defend next season.


G Christian Webster, Harvard
Despite struggling with turnovers (24% TO Rate) throughout the Ivy campaign, Webster was deadly efficient with space from behind the arc, knocking down 24 threes (8th) at a 43% clip (4th among players with 2 att/gm). His dribble drive game has grown enough to be a legitimate threat to draw fouls (44% FT Rate).


F Jack Eggleston, Penn
The first of only two of the 14 players on this list to exhaust his eligibility, Eggleston started the season on fire, before cooling off for a couple of weekends and tanking his first team hopes. What remains is still a very strong profile: 5th in DReb%, 12th in points produced per game and 2nd in 3PT%.


F Kyle Casey, Harvard
It almost looked to be a lost season for Casey at the halfway point after the recovery from a broken foot took far longer than expected. The sophomore came alive in league play, shooting 58 eFG% from the field and grabbing 21% of the defensive boards. He couldn't consistently dominate games, which keeps him off the first team, but in spurts he showed flashes of the player of the year candidate everyone thought he would be.

F Ian Hummer, Princeton
A prototypical undersized Ivy power forward. Hummer has great post moves and a solid 54 eFG shooting percentage on an intense 28% usage rate. He gets his fair share of blocks and was the eighth best defensive rebounder in the Ivies.


First Team:

G Zack Rosen, Penn
Rosen once again carried an improving Penn squad - this time to the team's first .500 Ivy record since 2008. The junior finished fifth in points produced per game with the ninth best offensive rating (111) among players scoring double-digits per game. He finished second in Assist Rate (36%) while scoring decently efficiently (50 eFG%).

G Chris Wroblewski, Cornell
After two years stocked with weapons, Cornell and Wroblewski was reminded what it's like to only have a few go-to guys in key moments in games. Wroblewski's 48 eFG% was disappointing, but his 35% Assist Rate still keeps him among the best point guards in the league. Wroblewski also limited his turnovers (17%) and contributed strongly on the defensive boards for a guard (13% DReb).

F Kareem Maddox, Princeton
The league's most versatile defender, Maddox can shut down any position from point guard to center. He also shot extremely well (57 eFG%) and bullied his way to the line with great success (58% FT Rate). As Princeton bigs often do, Maddox also racked up an impressive 19% Assist Rate. It's hard to argue that he isn't the league's most well-rounded player.


F Keith Wright, Harvard
Aside from a 3-for-12 debacle at Yale, in which he still scored 12 points, Wright reached double figures in every Ivy game and never shot worse than 50 percent of the field. He recorded seven double-doubles and blocked five or more shots twice. Opposing teams focused on silencing Wright to different extents, but the junior let his teammates take advantage of the attention being paid to him and still managed to produce when needed.

C Greg Mangano, Yale
Speaking of double-doubles, Mangano racked up eight during Ivy play and wrapped up the league slate averaging one. He had more poor shooting performances than Wright, primarily because Yale didn't have the same amount of weapons, forcing Mangano to push the issue into the teeth of intense defensive attention. Mangano was also a force defensively, easily leading the league in block rate (7%) and defensive rebounding rate (28%).


Ivy Rookie of the Year

Sean McGonagill, Brown
If it were a projection of future productivity, the response might be different here, as Harvard's Laurent Rivard and Penn's Miles Cartwright seem poised to put up big numbers when they get more of an opportunity, but McGonagill was easily the most productive rookie this season. He really came alive when captain Peter Sullivan went down with an injury, as surprising leap for a freshman. It's also important to note that between him and Dockery Walker and the good sophomore class, Brown coach Jesse Agel has been doing a solid job getting quality players to come to Providence.


Ivy Defensive Player of the Year


Kareem Maddox, Princeton
In desperate need of a post presence, Mangano would clearly be the defensive player of the year. But the fact that Maddox can help anywhere very effectively gives him the slight edge for DPOY. Maddox's length helped him post a 5% Block Rate (both on bigs and wing shooters), while his athleticism allowed him to keep his defensive rebounding rate right at 20%. He managed to do all of this will maintaining an anemic 2.3 fouls per 40 minutes, a truly amazing accomplishment.


Ivy Coach of the Year


James Jones, Yale
No doubt Sydney Johnson (Princeton) and Tommy Amaker (Harvard) did outstanding jobs this season, but the man that got the most out of the least was James Jones. The Bulldogs were a solid lower division team even before losing All-Ivy forward Michael Sands. Jones kept the ship steady and even pulled off a couple stunners early on and despite a post-exam swoon, navigated his team to solo third in a tough league. It's almost silly to expect anything less from a coach that's been doing this year in, year out for the course of the last decade.

Ivy Player of the Year

Greg Mangano, Yale

Without Keith Wright, Harvard probably doesn't get its share of the Ivy title. Same could be said for Princeton and Kareem Maddox. Both played phenomenally this season and are very deserving of Player of the Year honors. Without Mangano, however, it's hard to imagine where Yale would have ended up, but seventh wouldn't be an unreasonable estimation. In his games against Harvard, the only times when the Crimson could really take control of the game were when Mangano was on the bench for a breather or foul trouble. Most impressively, however, the 6'11 junior averaged a double-double in league play - a truly remarkable achievement.

Wright and Maddox were both restricted by the strength of the weapons surrounding them, and the ability to go away from unfavorable matchups that both faced at times this season. Mangano did not have that luxury, at least to the same extent. He was forced to produce and he did. And for that, he is our Player of the Year.

2 comments:

  1. i agree with your list way more... good work.

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  2. Thanks for this informative and well thought-out service this basketball season. This blog has been an invaluable resource. And although I'd prefer Wright as POY to Mangano, M sure did play tough against the Crimson.

    ReplyDelete