You knew it was coming, didn't you?
To be quite honest, I thought narrowing down the top 10 was the easiest part. In my personal opinion, I thought the top 10 was rather clear cut. You might be able to argue the overall order, but generally speaking, I feel these are the 10 best players in the NSIC...
10. Kevin Levandoski - SR - SG - St. Cloud State
2013-14 Stats - 10.5 PPG 73-185 39.5% FG 20-63 31.7% 3FG 65-89 73% FT 63 REB 2.9 RPG 73 A 40 TO 11 BLK 51 STL 22 G 18 GS 29.9 MPG
This one might seem slightly controversial. However, if we're talking from a pure defensive and hustle standpoint, I highly doubt there is a better defensive guard in the league. While Levandoski isn't the prototypical point/shooting guard in terms of shooting ability, what he does provide is an excellent floor game that is almost unmatched and a defensive presence on the wing that provides quite a challenge for many. As weird as it might sound, St. Cloud State might have the best point guard/shooting guard duo in the league with Levandoski and Poydras. Unfortunately, it might be a long year for the Huskies just for the fact that they're going to rely completely on their guards to carry the team this year, and that's not necessarily a recipe for success. However, when I see guys that play the game the right way...guys that play with effort and hustle, I feel they should be rewarded for it. I suppose we could give Levandoski the "Kellen Taylor/Ross DeMasi Award for glue guy that holds the team together." Like I said, this is probably my most controversial entry in the top 10, but I don't think there's much arguing for my next listing.
9. Brett Ervin - SR - C - Minnesota-Duluth
2012-13 Stats - 16.2 PPG 157-312 50.3% FG 27-58 46.6% 3FG 81-111 73.0% FT 119 REB 4.6 RPG 60 A 48 TO 9 BLK 8 STL 26 G 25 GS 31.5 MPG
Honestly, Brett Ervin might be the most offensively dynamic center in the NSIC. He is a matchup nightmare for everyone. There is no doubt that Ervin can essentially score at will in the low post, on the outside, and creates for everyone since 60 assists for a center is just insane. Granted, these numbers are from two seasons ago since Ervin missed all of 2013-2014 due to injury. However, all signs point to him being right after his monster exhibition game against D1 Notre Dame. Didn't really have a good game against Minnesota, but then again, I wouldn't have expected him to have a good game against Elliason. In the NSIC North, I think Ervin is going to easily be the most unstoppable player in the low post. I don't see a single center in the North that could possibly match up with him defensively. Bachand is probably the toughest competition Ervin is going to see and even I don't think Bachand is going to be able to stop him. Ervin might struggle against the NSIC South post players, but considering he'll only see them once this season, it'll not be something he'll lose sleep over.
8. Reece Zoelle - SR - SG/SF - Minnesota-Duluth
2013-14 Stats - 16.1 PPG 168-364 46.2% FG 47-115 40.9% 3FG 53-66 80.3% FT 168 REB 6.2 RPG 44 A 49 TO 5 BLK 20 STL 27 G 26 GS 34.2 MPG
Zoelle is a beast. That is all. Well, okay, there's more to it. How crazy is it that I think UMD has two top 10 players in the league this year? It just goes to show the progress that Matt Bowen might be making at UMD...although it takes more than two to tango in a tough NSIC. Either way, Zoelle is a nightmare just for the fact that he's a sniper for a shooting guard that can rebound like crazy. The guy is a guard and was the team's top rebounder last season. On top of that, you can get A LOT of minutes out of him with very little drop-off. Zoelle is really one of those guys that year in and year out, has developed into one of the best players in the NSIC. He wasn't a freshman phenom or a sophomore stud, but what he was is a guy that has dramatically improved year-in and year-out of his four year college career and now that he is in his senior year and with the return of Ervin, I expect this guy to absolutely rake in the NSIC North.
7. Terez VanPelt - SR - PG - Concordia-St. Paul
2013-14 Stats - 18.1 PPG 146-339 43.1% FG 29-74 39% 3FG 168-201 83.6% FT 87 REB 3.2 RPG 82 A 64 TO 1 BLK 25 STL 27 G 27 GS 35.7 MPG
Terez VanPelt ever since coming into the NSIC has been one of it's most prolific scorers. He was the league's third leading scorer in 2012-2013 (only behind Cameron McCaffrey and Clayton Vette), and second in the league in scoring last year (only behind Brock Lutes). VanPelt is an athletic freak that is downright unguardable. It's such a shame that he wasted three years of his collegiate career under Kelly Boe because under the right tutelage, this guy probably would be an All-American. It'll be interesting to see what sort of player he will become under Joey James in his first year as Concordia's head coach. While VanPelt lost a good chunk of his supporting staff from last year, he has to feel extremely relieved that he gets his battery mate Clay Olstad in the backcourt back this year. Watching VanPelt and Olstad in the same backcourt together gave teams nightmares to defend. I think the one thing that keeps VanPelt from being one of the best players in the league is his lackadaisical defense and his tendency to get complacent at points in the game. VanPelt is a guy that is at his best when he's on the attack constantly. If him and Olstad can get on the same page this year, they will be upsetting some teams in the NSIC South this year.
6. Daniel Jansen - JR - C - Augustana
2013-14 Stats - 17.3 PPG 177-361 49.0% FG 35-84 41.7% 3FG 130-193 67.4% FT 173 REB 5.8 RPG 39 A 44 TO 15 BLK 26 STL
Jansen is in my personal opinion one of the two best centers in the league. I think there's only one guy that is physically more dominant than him in the low post and I think just about everyone and their mother knows who I'm talking about. Jansen is just a downright beast in almost all facets of the game. He can score inside, he can knock down the three ball effectively, and he dramatically improved his free throw percentage from his freshman year...although I still wouldn't quite put 67.4% as "great", it's still a lot better than the 49.7% he shot as a freshman. My one beef with Jansen's overall game is he tends to get out of sync at times. He'll have his outstanding games and then come back and lay an absolute dud. Consistency has always been a bit of a problem for Jansen, but the fact remains he's still one of the best centers the league has to offer, especially on the offensive end. I think from an offensive standpoint, he has the ability to go toe-to-toe with Brett Ervin who I argued was the best offensive center in the league...I think with how similar the two are, what separates Ervin from Jansen is his ability to shoot free throws. I don't think Jansen does enough on the glass either. Although, I do think Jansen is a more fundamentally sound center, so that's why I give Jansen the nod and why I consider him a little better than Ervin.
5. Riley Bambenek - SO - SG - Winona State
2013-14 Stats - 14.3 PPG 171-372 46.0% FG 54-128 42.2% 3FG 88-116 75.9% FT 117 REB 3.4 RPG 78 A 54 TO 6 BLK 32 STL 34 G 34 GS 29.5 MPG
Here's some food for thought. Riley Bambenek is the first freshman to lead Winona State in scoring since Zach Malvik did it in 2003-2004. Yeah...I think we all know what sort of player Malvik developed into in his time at Winona State. While there are many behind him that have better stats, I don't think any of them are as all-around fundamentally sound as Bambenek. I've never seen a freshman play all facets of the game extremely well. Running the offense, shooting, passing, straight up defense, press defense, execution...Bambenek was the complete package in his freshman year. Now that he's a year older, I think he's going to be even tougher to stop. I feel the one area Bambenek needed to improve on was his free throw shooting because someone that's as good of a shooter as he is should be shooting 80%+ from the free throw line. The one area where I feel he might lack compared to other guards is strength, but Bambenek is more of a lean, hustle player that relies on his overall athleticism more so than his strength. Is it a bit of a stretch to call Bambenek a top 5 player in the NSIC? Considering what he did in his freshman year and that he is going to have more of a leadership role his sophomore year, I don't think it's a stretch at all.
4. Brock Lutes - SR - PG/SG - Bemidji State
2013-14 Stats - 21.3 PPG 207-413 50.1% FG 61-159 38.4% 3FG 99-116 85.3% FT 97 REB 3.6 RPG 61 A 71 TO 6 BLK 25 STL 27 G 26 GS 34.9 MPG
In his first year in the NSIC, Lutes was a Community College transfer phenom. Here's some food for thought, this guy led the NSIC in scoring with Zach Noreen, Jake Schalow, and Maxie Rosenbloom, all of which scored in double digits per game. He doesn't have Noreen, Schalow, and Rosenbloom to support him there anymore, so I'm wondering if Lutes is going to be averaging 30+ points per game a season? Nevertheless, Lutes is an athletic scoring freak. 50% for a guard that took 413 shots...that's unreal...and almost unfair. From a physical strength standpoint, Lutes' athleticism is almost unmatched...you'd think if there weren't two other guards in the NSIC that are even better. To be honest, I'm not sure what to expect of Lutes this year since he doesn't have the same supporting staff around him and someone to take off the scoring load to take the pressure off him. Although, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
3. Assem Marei - SR - C - Minnesota State
2013-14 Stats - 16.3 PPG 206-349 59.0% FG 0-0 0% 3FG 111-200 FT 55.5% FT 261 REB 8.2 RPG 39 A 63 TO 53 BLK 22 STL 32 G 32 GS 23.6 MPG
Let's face it, Marei's athleticism in the low post is downright freakish. He's almost downright unstoppable. It seems like when Marei catches it in the low block, the only person that can stop Marei is Marei...which does happen...it's part of the reason why he only averages 23 minutes a game. Marei's only real weakness is he plays so aggressive on the low block that he picks up pretty cheap offensive fouls and has a knack for committing frustration fouls on the defensive end as well. However, like I said, from a pure, physical standpoint, no one can match up with Marei. The only player that was capable in the last two years was Clayton Vette from Winona State and he is LONG gone (and even then, Vette was not a good defensive player). If Marei can play with his head in the game and shoot better from the free throw line, he's going to frustrate a lot of teams this year.
2. Casey Schilling - JR - PG - Augustana
2013-14 Stats - 18.0 PPG 170-347 49.0% FG 45-111 40.5% 3FG 154-201 76.6% FT 253 REB 8.4 RPG 88 A 64 TO 37 BLK 53 STL 30 G 30 GS 32.4 MPG
It's scary to think Schilling is probably the second best guard in the league with these sort of numbers. They are just freakish, especially his rebounding numbers. 8.4 RPG is just insane for a point guard/shooting guard. You can almost write in stone that Schilling (barring injury) is going to be a 1st Team All-Conference, 1st Team All-Region, and maybe even an All-American. The guy is just that good and I only expect him to get better with him getting a few big weapons back. Could he lead Augie to that illustrious NSIC Conference title? It's certainly possible, but I don't think there's much arguing the #1 guy on this list.
1. Zach Monaghan - SR - PG - Minnesota State
2013-14 Stats - 15.4 PPG 169-360 46.9% FG 68-166 41.0% 3FG 132-191 69.1% FT 99 REB 2.8 RPG 282 A 79 TO 6 BLK 64 STL 35 G 35 GS 33.1 MPG
How insane is this? Monaghan averaged 8.1 APG and had a 3.5/1 A/TO ratio. On top of that, the guy was a prolific scorer on a team full of scorers...on a team that had five guys average double figure scoring. Monaghan's athletic ability is just insane. His passing ability is just insane. The guy is the ultimate creator and there's a reason why he led the NSIC's best team to a #1 seed in the regional and are predicted to host the regional yet again. With a point guard like Monaghan and a center like Marei, how is this team going to be stopped? I suppose the only thing is the large amount of question marks that need to be answered after MSU lost so much supporting staff. However, when you've got an elite point guard and an elite center, I'm sure MSU will find a way to make it work. Monaghan was an All-American last year and I fully expect him to get the same honors, if not greater honors this year.
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