Doping out the All-MVC basketball team

All-MVC picks come out Tuesday.

Voters are not allowed to vote for people from the team they cover/represent. The voting body consists of two media members, coach and media relations person from each school, plus some of the TV people such as Mark Adams who work MVC games.

▪  Had I been allowed to vote for WSU, I would have placed Landry Shamet and Markis McDuffie on the first team and considered the temptation to place either Shaq Morris or Conner Frankamp at No. 5 in place of Alize Johnson.

Filling the top six spots with three Redbirds and three Shockers seems reasonable. Johnson’s double-double parade makes a strong argument for his inclusion on first team.

The tough thing about All-MVC voting, especially when Shockers are off the table, is judging a strong individual talent on an average or below-average team. Eight MVC teams possessed one or two standouts, but none of them could pull their team over 9-9 in the MVC.

The Paris Lee/Shamet vote for Player of the Year will be interesting. Lee got a head start. He’s a senior. MVC voters love their senior point guards.

Shamet closed the gap over the past three weeks, in my view. He’s quite impressive and handling a tough job as a (redshirt) freshman.

What would I have done if allowed to vote for Shamet? Tough one. Flip a coin?

I lean Shamet, because of WSU’s strong finish and his role in that. Should Lee win, as I expect, there is no room to complain. He’s played very well this season and deserves the honor.

Todd Golden voted for Markis McDuffie.

▪  Coach of the Year will also be interesting. Illinois State’s Dan Muller gets points for 17-1 and winning without injured MiKyle McIntosh. WSU’s Gregg Marshall gets points for 17-1 and losing five seniors, two now in the NBA, and cruising.

I’d vote for Marshall, if allowed, and expect him to win.

I’m uncomfortable voting for Coach of the Year and will likely ask off that duty in the future. It’s not my job, nor do I want the job, of deciding which coaches get bonus money for that award.

▪  Down year for freshmen. Shamet will win Freshman of the Year and it should be unanimous outside of the Wichita votes. Johnson will win Newcomer of the Year and the All-Newcomer team will be dominated by a strong class of transfers.

My ballot:

ALL-MVC

1 #1 Paris Lee - Guard - Illinois State

2 #23 Deontae Hawkins - Forward - Illinois State

3 #24 Alize Johnson - Forward - Missouri State

4 #20 Jeremy Morgan - Guard - Northern Iowa

5 #35 Milton Doyle - Guard - Loyola

6 #11 MiKyle McIntosh - Forward - Illinois State

7 #33 Sean O'Brien - Forward - Southern Illinois

8 #0 Donte Ingram - Guard/Forward - Loyola

9 #3 Jaylon Brown - Guard - Evansville

10 #25 Bennett Koch - Center - Northern Iowa

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM BALLOT

1 #05 Darrell Brown - Guard - Bradley

2 #12 Dru Smith - Guard - Evansville

3 #12 Koch Bar - Center - Bradley

4 #25 Nate Kennell - Guard - Bradley

5 #35 Jayden Hodgson - Guard - Bradley

ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM

1 #24 Alize Johnson - Forward - Missouri State

2 #24 Aundre Jackson - Forward - Loyola

3 #40 Thik Bol - Center - Southern Illinois

4 #13 Clayton Custer - Guard - Loyola

5 #10 Phil Fayne - Forward - Illinois State

LARRY BIRD PLAYER OF THE YEAR BALLOT

1 #1 Paris Lee - Guard - Illinois State

2 #24 Alize Johnson - Forward - Missouri State

3 #20 Jeremy Morgan - Guard - Northern Iowa

COACH OF THE YEAR BALLOT

1 Dan Muller - Coach - Illinois State

2 Porter Moser - Coach - Loyola

3 Brian Wardle - Coach - Bradley

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR BALLOT

1 #24 Alize Johnson - Forward - Missouri State

2 #24 Aundre Jackson - Forward - Loyola

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR BALLOT

1 #05 Darrell Brown - Guard - Bradley

2 #12 Dru Smith - Guard - Evansville

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR BALLOT

1 #24 Aundre Jackson - Forward - Loyola

2 #3 Keyshawn Evans - Guard - Illinois State

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM BALLOT

1 #1 Paris Lee - Guard - Illinois State

2 #20 Jeremy Morgan - Guard - Northern Iowa

3 #12 Tony Wills - Guard - Illinois State

4 #40 Thik Bol - Center - Southern Illinois

5 #3 Jaylon Brown - Guard - Evansville

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR BALLOT

1 #1 Paris Lee - Guard - Illinois State

2 #20 Jeremy Morgan - Guard - Northern Iowa

This story was originally published February 27, 2017 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Doping out the All-MVC basketball team."