That doesn’t mean he’s completely on board with the coach’s picks, though.
Junior wing Tanner Holden was named to the all-league first team for the second straight season. Junior post Grant Basile was a second-team selection for the second time in a row.
The Raiders’ A.J. Braun was an all-freshman team pick.
Holden made a strong bid for the player of the year award, but that was shared by Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis and Oakland’s Jamal Cain.
He’s third in the conference with a 19.9 average while shooting 50.4% from the field. He led the league in 20-point games with 18 and scored in double figures in 28 of 31 games.
He’s also the national leader in free throws with 173 and second in free-throw attempts with 223 (77.6%).
“He’s so efficient,” Nagy said. “If we’re playing someone, and they score 24 points but take 24 shots, that’s what we want. If he scores 24 and only takes 15 shots, he helps us.
“He gets to the free-throw line, and he makes shots.”
Basile is fourth in the league in scoring at 18.3, second in rebounding at 8.5 and first in blocks at 2.2 per game. He’s third in the HL in field-goal shooting at 51.1%.
“Not only is he scoring well and efficient there, he’s doing other things — rebounding the ball and making it hard to score around the basket,” Nagy said.
Davis averages 23.7 points, third in the nation, but is shooting a pedestrian 42.1%. He’s third in the league in assists at 4.6 per game.
Cain averages 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds, hitting 49.1% from the field.
Though it’s not a surprise that those two shared the league’s top honor, Nagy’s point about Holden’s efficiency is valid.
He averages 13.8 shots per game, Cain 14.9 and Davis 19.0. Basile was better at maximizing his opportunities, too, attempting 13.3 shots per game.
Purdue Fort Wayne’s Jon Coffman, who led his team to a league co-championship after finishing 10th last season, was named coach of the year.
Cleveland State’s D’Moi Hodge was picked defensive player of the year, and Northern Kentucky’s Sam Vincent was freshman of the year.
Joining Holden, Cain and Davis on the first team were Hodge and Purdue Fort Wayne’s Jarred Godfrey.
The other second-team picks were Cleveland State’s Torrey Patton (a Trotwood-Madison grad), NKU’s Marques Warrick, Oakland’s Jalen Moore and Youngstown State’s Michael Akuchie. Youngstown State’s Dwayne Cohill, a former Dayton Flyer, was a third-team selection.
The Raiders failed to put anyone on the all-league third team or all-defensive team, which was perplexing to Nagy.
Tim Finke was named one of the top five defenders last season, and the coach believes the 6-foot-5 junior has been even better this year.
“Tim would’ve been my defensive player of the year. But they’re going to look at stats like steals. Tim doesn’t steal the ball. He just locks people down and guards them and beats them up,” Nagy said.
“I say this all the time: If I was handing out MVP, Tim is our MVP because of his heart and the effort he gives. What Tim does for our team — and I wish everyone would get to his level — is defense. If they did, we would be champions.”
IUPUI’s Macee Williams was named HL women’s player of the year for the fourth straight season.
Youngstown State’s John Barnes, who led his team from a 10-8 record last season to a 24-5 mark this year, was named coach of the year.
No Raiders received any postseason recognition.
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