I thought it was worth discussing which awards we think our guys might win this year:

Awards I’m very confident in:
Cam - 1st Team
Tate - At least 3rd Team and all newcomer team
Lucas - All defensive team
Marquise - All Frosh and all bench teams

Awards I’m a little less confident in:
Cam - POY
Lucas - DPOY
A second player on the all defensive - maybe Cam, Tate or Aher
Marquise - 6th man

Long shots:
Keith - all newcomer team
Tate - newcomer of the year

I probably missed something, but I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts!

Nice list! Here are my thoughts:

-Tate never getting Newcomer of the Week still blows my mind, but I agree he should be in the running for Newcomer of the year. He's a huge reason we're the two seed. Prim will probably get it though.
-I think Krut should win PotY, but Green will because he's been flashier.
-Domask will deservedly win Freshman of the year; but I think Marquise absolutely should win 6th man; he was a game breaker far too often off the bench
-Lucas will be all defensive team, but I think Robbins gets DPOY with all his blocks, if not him than maybe Brown from UNI; he's probably overdue. I see Lucas as next years front runner.

Ultimately i think we get:
-Cam gets 1st team
-Marquise gets sixth man, all bench, and all freshman
-Lucas all defense
-Tate all newcomer and third team
-Uguak MAYBE sneaks into defense
-Clemons all newcomer... I think that UNI performance and our record with him stands out

Aher should get all defensive team...I mean, he shut down the consensus player of the year twice.

I don't think Cam's going to win POY. I think (at least this year) there's a combination of Loyola fatigue/jealousy/dread going around the league. I think the writers and coaches around the league would love to deny any recognition they reasonably can from Loyola, just because they're sick of hearing about us, worried about the long term dominance that our program might be embarking on, and the fact that UNI won outright (while having the best NET/RPI/KenPom rankings at season's end since Wichita State left the league).

While Loyola was picked for FOURTH, Cam's numbers (per se) didn't improve all that dramatically over last season. His shooting percentage right now is actually a little bit lower than it was in his freshman year. His assists almost doubled, and his rebound were just slightly better. He's also the focal point of everyone's defense. But I think big guys get downgraded because of their size. If you were a coach from, say, Bradley or Valpo or Evansville, would you rather give your vote for POTY to a guy from Loyola for the third straight year, or the sophomore from UNI who shoots 42.2% from the field, but makes a lot of spectacular shots?

And I think everyone realizes Loyola will be really, really good next year. UNI loses their best defensive player, their backup center, and their best percentage three point shooter. Bradley loses Brown and Kennell. Indiana State loses Jordan Barnes, Christian Williams, and Bronson Kessinger. Missouri State loses Keandre Cook, Da Silva, and West.

Loyola loses no one from their top 10 rotation, and gains their best three point shooter back into the lineup.

You've got to put Williamson on the defensive team-- it would look suspicious if not vengeful if you didn't. You've got to put Hall on the newcomer team. You've got to put Krutwig on the first team. You've got to put Kennedy on the freshman team. I think that's going to be it.

Lucas is without question the best defensive player in the conference, and I’d argue one of the best in the Country. He’s proven that over, and over, and over again in his three years. Unfortunately, defense is one of those things that stats really don’t fairly show, so I don’t think he’ll get the credit he deserves. At least not this year.

Green will probably win POTY. Krut should. He’s the hub in the wheel of our entire offense, and doesn’t just exist on the periphery like a Green does. He also has the albatross, fairly or not, of having two teammates win it the last two years. Giving it to the same team three years in a row has to play into some voters’ minds.

You are totally right, 01.

It will be Isaiah Brown from UNI for Defensive POTY and AJ Green for POTY.

I think Mullins should win Coach, but it will probably go to Jacobson.

If Tate Hall made first-team MVC this year, it may be a stretch, but he was the second-leading scorer for the next-best team in the conference and that margin was slim (2 OT games.) And, many of his best games were during MVC play. Kennedy should be right there in the running for Freshman of the Year. Williamson and Aguak: here's the question; if you were on offense and one of those guys was guarding you, would you feel joy? Look at Bradley for example. When Uguak was off the floor, we were something like net -27. When he was on the floor, almost the opposite. Sure, he had one of his better offensive games, but it was his D that made the diff. They should be in consideration for 1st or 2nd team all-Defensive players.

I really like your enthusiasm, but I think you need to pump the brakes on a few things here. Tate has been great, but there are 5 guys who deserve first team, and Tate is not one of them. If Marcus Domask didn’t exist, I’d think Kennedy might have a shot.

AJ Green will win POY this year because UNI won the conference.

Krutwig will win POY next year because we will win the conference.

Krutwig will be the MVP of the tournament... because we will be dancing.

Every other accolade is meaningless.

All Conference Teams announced at 10am this morning.