Please Visit Our Sponsor 1931 N. 15th Ave. Melrose Park, IL 60160 Horizon League Links Butler Detroit Cleveland State Illinois-Chicago Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wisconsin-Green Bay Wright State Valpo Youngstown State Horizon Connection Horizon League Blog	Valparaiso Crusaders 11/02/07 by Joe Dlugosz Ever since the Horizon League added Youngstown State several years back there had been talk of adding a tenth team. The rumor had long been that Valparaiso would be that team, and finally this past off-season it finally came to fruition. The Crusaders will make the jump from the Mid-Con to the Horizon. It is quite a jump to go from a bottom third RPI conference to a top third RPI conference in the Horizon League, but the Crusaders bring back a solid mix of experience all positions that should give them the opportunity to compete. The Crusaders return four players who averaged between 11 and 12 points a night, respectively. Among them a 6’8” sharp shooting guard, a 6’8” post-player, a 6’6” wing and a more traditional 6’1” guard who shoots better than 50% from the floor. Samuel Haanpaa is the 6’8” sharpshooter who knocked down 75 three-pointers last season, while shooting better than 45% from beyond the arc. Both of those numbers would have placed Haanpaa in the top four in the Horizon League. The sophomore won the Mid-Con newcomer of the year award and is not hesitant to shoot from way beyond the arc. His long range touch could prove valuable with the three-point line moved back in the NCAA this season. Urule Igbavboa is the 6’8” post presence. The 220 pounder is like a rock of consistency for the Crusaders and really turned it on at the end of last season, finishing with three straight double-doubles to close out the 06-07 season. The 6’6” senior wing is Shawn Huff. Huff knocked down the second most three-pointers among the Crusaders last season and ranks ninth in school history with a career 39.3% three-point shooting average. On the season Huff started all 31 games for the Crusaders and averaged 11.4 points per game and shooting a team best 78% from the charity stripe. On a notably slow Crusader team, Huff is among the quickest. Junior guard Brandon McPherson rounds of the foursome of double digit scoring returnees. McPherson generally handles the bulk of the point guard duties for the Crusaders and dished out a team high 101 assists against just 67 turnovers, a mark that would have been seventh in the Horizon League. McPherson possesses a great shooting touch, hitting nearly 45% of his three-point attempts and almost 52% from the floor. Junior guard Jake Diebler is the fifth returning starter for the Crusaders. The 6’2” 190 pound junior saw more minutes than any other Crusader and chipped in over five points a game to go along with a team best 47 steals. Diebler routinely takes on the opponent’s top scoring guard and has excelled in his role as a defensive stopper. Senior guard Jarryd Lloyd came off the bench last season and provides another deft outside weapon for the Crusaders. He struggled through his worst shooting season as a Crusader, hitting just 33% of his long range attempts, but still boasts a 41% career three-point shooting percentage, including a 51% effort as a sophomore. Two freshmen enter the backcourt mix for the Crusaders this season. Michael Rogers, a Jamaica native stands 6’5” and has some scoring pop. Howard Little is a 6’4” 195 pound guard who is coming off a year of prep school in California. A couple of skyscrapers up front will try and work their way into the lineup this season. Seven-footer Calum MacLeod came to the United States to play basketball at Gonzaga, but left after playing sparingly. He’s now landed at Valpo and has shown some ability to get the ball in the hole; putting up five double digit scoring efforts last season and shooting a team best 58.7% from the field. MacLeod is most certainly a project, but even a modest improvement on the defensive end to go with his decent offensive game could turn him into a threat. Incoming freshman Bryan Bouchie has basketball in his blood; his father was 1979 Indiana Mr. Basketball and won a national championship in 1981 at Indiana. At 6’10” and 225 pounds Bouchie definitely has some potential to be a star in the Horizon League. The last recruit of head coach Homer Drew’s class is 6’7” German forward Benjamin Fumey. He has some experience playing at the international level, having competed for the German under-20 team. The Crusaders certainly appear to have the pieces in place to compete in the Horizon League. The one thing that is always brought up when either a player or team goes on to compete at a higher level is speed. The jump from Mid-Con to Horizon may not seem like too big of a leap, but what is it that separates low-major from mid-major from high major. The size is there across the board, but it usually comes down to speed. If Valpo has it they’ll do fine, but if the Crusaders come out a step slow in the Horizon League it could be a long season. Email: Click Here to Threaten Big Joe

Copyright 2007, John C. Thomas.