After going 28-5, winning both the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles, the Crusaders return to the court for 2015 with the bullseye on their backs. Valpo loses only one senior, David Chadwick (8.8 mpg, 2.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg), and returns every other player from that team. Added to the mix are Lexus Williams, who returns after missing 2014-15 with a knee injury, recruit Derrik Smits (Zionsville HS, Zionsville, Ind.), and two transfers who had to sit out last season in Shane Hammink (LSU) and Chandler Levingston Simon (UMKC), who have two and three years of eligibility remaining, respectively. After primarily using an eight-man rotation last season, there are 14 players vying for playing time on a stacked Crusaders roster.
Alec Peters (16.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg) is still the unquestioned leader of this team. He was First Team All-Horizon League and NABC First Team All-District 12, as well as earning MVP nods at the Challenge in Music City and the Horizon League Championship. Possibly his biggest achievement was reaching the 1,000 point mark in the NCAA Tournament versus Maryland, becoming the first player in program history to hit that mark by the end of his sophomore season. Before this season has fully started, Peters has already picked up where he left off, being named to the watch list for the Karl Malone Award and earning a nod to the Preseason All-HL First Team. In the exhibition game against Indianapolis, Peters had a career-high 34 points to go with six rebounds, an assist, and one block.
The Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year, Jubril Adekoya (4.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg), should once again make a large impact for the Crusaders off the bench this year. His role is projected to be diminished with Vashil Fernandez being granted a fourth year of eligibility, but Adekoya should still make a mark on the team. The Tinley Park, Ill. native had a career-high 14 points last season against Youngstown State and added 10 points against UIC earlier in the season. Adekoya scored four points and added six rebounds against Indianapolis.
The only region product on the Valparaiso roster is Nick Davidson (1.9 ppg, 0.5 rpg), from Andrean High School in Merrillville. He appeared in 15 games for the Crusaders last season, tallying a career-high eight points in a win at James Madison. He would be named to the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll. Davidson didn't score in under a minute of action in the exhibition against Indianapolis.
As the only freshman on the Valpo, roster, Derrik Smits might feel overshadowed, even at 7'1". It doesn't help that his father, Rik, played 12 NBA seasons and was an All-Star in 1998. Derrik, however, is making a pretty big name for himself. He was an Indiana All-Star last year at Zionsville High School, where he averaged 14.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game his senior season. In his first game at Valpo, he scored four points and added three rebounds, an assist, and a block against UIndy in the exhibition matchup.
Lexus Williams returns to the court after missing all of last season with an injury. He does still have three seasons of eligibility. In his freshman year of 2013-14, Williams would be named to the HL All-Freshman Team. He averaged 6.5 points and 2.4 assists per game, as well as leading the team with 35 steals. He scored a career-high 22 points in a February win at Detroit.
Vashil Fernandez (6.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.9 bpg) was granted a fourth year of eligibility by the NCAA, allowing him to return for what becomes his second senior season with the Crusaders. Fernandez was named as the HL Defensive Player of the Year last season, as his 2.9 blocks per game ranked 11th nationally, and his block percentage of 12.97% was sixth in the nation. He set a Crusader single-game record with eight blocks against Goshen in December, and had a program-record 98 blocked shots last season. Fernandez scored a career-high 15 points last season against UIC. He started the exhibition game with Indianapolis, scoring seven points and tacking on six rebounds and four blocks. Vashil has represented the Jamaica national team since 2012.
David Skara (5.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg) returns for his second season with Valpo. Last season, he would be named to the All-Tournament Team at the Horizon League Championship, where he led the Crusaders with 12 points in their title game victory over Green Bay. He scored a career-high 17 points against IU South Bend last season. Against Indianapolis, Skara had two points, three rebounds, and an assist off the bench.
The second of four seniors on the Valparaiso roster, Darien Walker (10.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg) has made a major impact on the Crusaders after just one season. He would be a national finalist for the Riley Wallace Award and would earn All-Tournament Team honors at the Challenge in Music City. Darien would be the second-leading scorer on the team, behind only Alec Peters, and led VU in scoring four times, including a season-high 21 in both games against Detroit. Darien previously played one season apiece at Arizona Western College and John A. Logan College, both community colleges. He scored nine points with eight rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block against Indianapolis.
One of two products of Canada's Vanier College, along with Tevonn Walker, Valpo's Max Joseph (1.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg) will look to break full-time into the rotation of coach Bryce Drew this season. He appeared in 28 games last season, scoring a career-high nine points in a win over UIC. While Keith Carter was injured, Joseph committed just nine turnovers in 164 minutes of action over 10 games. In the exhibition opener against Indianapolis, he scored two points and added four rebounds and a steal.
The other Vanier College product at Valpo is Tevonn Walker (10.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg). He provided the highlight-reel moment of last season with a SportsCenter Top 10 dunk at Milwaukee. That would be part of the reason why Tevonn was named as the Lou Henson Award National Player of the Week, as well as the same honor in the Horizon League for his 12 point, six rebound effort. Tevonn would be named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team and led the Crusaders with 37 steals. He had a career-high 22 points at Oakland in the conference opener. Tevonn had three points with two rebounds, an assist, and two steals in the victory over Indianapolis.
E. Victor Nickerson (6.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg) will be out temporarily at the start of the season after wrist surgery in September. Last season, his first of eligibility after transferring from Charlotte, he would lead the Crusaders in scoring three times, including a season-high 16 in a win over Oakland. He would be named to the HL All-Tournament Team after scoring 11 in the title game victory over Green Bay. Nickerson would wind up second on the team with 64 assists. He did not appear in the exhibition matchup with Indianapolis after recovering from wrist surgery.
Keith Carter (8.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg) returns for a full season after missing 10 games with a foot injury last season. He still averaged a team-high 3.7 assists per game and was second on the team with 30 steals. He had his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Youngstown State. Carter transferred from Saint Louis, where he played his freshman season, and made his Valpo debut after the first semester of 2013-14. He will be a senior this season. In the exhibition game against Indianapolis, Carter scored eight points to go with three rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Valparaiso also adds in two transfer players who become eligible this season. Shane Hammink previously played two seasons at LSU, appearing in 47 games and totaling 74 points and 64 rebounds. In his Valparaiso debut against Indianapolis, Hammink scored two points with three rebounds and one assist, steal, and block. He has appeared for the Netherlands national team, mostly at the youth level, although he has played for the senior national team since last summer. Hammink's father, Geert, played 11 years of professional basketball after being a first-round NBA draft pick.
Chandler Levingston Simon also becomes eligible this season for the Crusaders after transferring from UMKC. He will have three years of eligibility. Levingston Simon appeared in eight games his freshman season with the Kangaroos. He did not play against Indianapolis, for unknown reasons. Levingston Simon's father, Cliff Levingston, played 11 seasons in the NBA and won two titles. His siblings David and Kelsey both played Division I basketball as well.
Valparaiso is the favorite to repeat in the Horizon League, after they received 36 of 43 first-place votes in preseason polling, followed by Oakland, Milwaukee, and Detroit. CBS Sports, in a poll of 11 writers, unanimously picked the Crusaders to win the league, and also ranked them as the 41st best team in the nation. Valpo will open the regular season at home this Friday, November 10, against IPFW. Horizon League play opens Saturday, January 2 hosting UIC, and the Crusaders welcome conference newcomer Northern Kentucky to the ARC on Thursday, February 11. For the first time ever, the Horizon League Championships will be at a neutral site, Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.
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