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VALPARAISO

The first season in the Horizon League couldn’t have gone much better for the Valparaiso Crusaders.  Making the jump up from the Summit League the Crusaders put up 22 wins, finished fourth in the Horizon League and earned a post-season berth.  It’s going to be a touch act to follow up though, as off-season losses were greater than anyone could’ve expected with the transfer of Bryan Bouchie and Samuel Haanpaa signing a professional contract.  Just five players with experience return for Valpo.  The good news is that three of them are senior starters, including pre-season second team all-league selection Urule Igbavboa.

 

The 6’8” 230 pound senior forward, Igbavboa, finished second in the league in rebounding, fourth in field goal percentage and in the top 20 in scoring with 11 points a game.  He stepped it up at the end of the season for the Crusaders, hitting in double figures scoring in the final six games of the season and hitting better than 70% from the field in the Horizon League tournament.

 

Two of the most sure handed guards in the league are the last two senior starters that return for Valpo.  Brandon McPherson and Jake Diebler were a big part of the Crusaders having the second best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Horizon League.  The 6’2” McPherson is the team’s top returning three-point threat, hitting nearly 41% of his attempts from beyond the arc.  McPherson averaged better than ten points a game and should handle the point guard duties for the Crusaders.  Off-season knee surgery has prevented McPherson from even practicing at the time of this article.

 

Diebler, at 6”3”, sported a 2.71 assist-to-turnover ratio, good for second in the league and nearly a full point ahead of the third place finisher.  The team’s defensive stopper Diebler led the club in steals and was second on the team in assists while chipping in nearly five points.  Diebler also had off-season surgery on his ankle, but has been practicing.

 

Sophomores Howard Little and Michael Rogers are the last two Crusaders with experience on the court.  Little saw action in 35 games chipping in just over two points a game.  Rogers started nine games and appeared in 31 overall adding just over three point and three rebounds a game.  Their roles should increase this season, but a handful of newcomers will vie for time in the Crusaders backcourt.

 

Freshman guard Erik Buggs stands just barely six-feet tall and just barely cracks 150 pounds, but he is exceedingly quick and is the point guard of the future for the Crusaders.  He earned a McDonald’s All-American nomination in high school and instantly becomes the fastest player on Valpo’s roster.

 

Another freshman Logan Jones can play either guard spot.  The 6’1” 170 pounder was a prolific scorer in high school and could see himself being counted upon with the departure of so many big time shooters in the Valpo backcourt.

 

The final figure in the Crusaders backcourt is 6’4” freshman De’Andre Haskins.  Haskins is from California, but spent a season in prep school in Indiana.  Haskins is another big time scorer with great leaping ability who averaged 31 points as a high school junior and 25 points last season.  With his height and athleticism he has the potential to be a future star for the Crusaders.

 

Up front German native Ben Fumey has spent a year practicing with the team and will finally see game action this season.  In an experienced frontcourt he will have to shake the rust off for the Crusaders.  Having competed for the German U-20 national team the 6’8” 235 pounder has some experience to rely upon.

 

In a very thin frontcourt Australian native Cameron Witt could find himself learning on the job.  The 6’9” 205 pound forward has good athleticism and can play inside or out.  He put up decent numbers for the Australia U-20 team, but will have to adjust in a hurry this season.

 

The Crusaders turned a lot of heads last season when they pulled off a 20-win campaign and made the transition from the Summit League to the Horizon League look easy.  However, the loss of several key contributors will take its toll this season on a Crusader team that doesn’t go very deep up front and doesn’t have much experience beyond the three starting seniors.  Several newcomers will have to grow up in a hurry for the Crusaders to achieve similar results in this campaign.

E-MAIL JOE