Like most other mid-major leagues, the Horizon League saw its own version of realignment. Butler put the conference on the map at the end of the previous decade and used that success to eventually go to the Big East. Valparaiso also left for the Missouri Valley a few seasons ago. However, the league found Northern Kentucky, a newcomer who has done well. The conference is in a good place.
Horizon League 2010s All-Decade Team
Starters
Guard – Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Keifer Sykes played for Green Bay from 2011-15. He is the only player in the decade to win the player of the year award twice. For his efforts in 2014, he was also an honorable mention on the AP All-American team. Sykes set the school’s single-season scoring record for a sophomore.
He averaged 16.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game for his career. He is second in league history in points produced and third in made two-point field goals. Sykes is also fifth all-time in points. He helped the Phoenix win one regular-season title and make two NIT appearances.
Guard – Ray McCallum, Detroit
Ray McCallum was a Titan from 2010-13. He won newcomer of the year in 2011 and player of the year in 2013. For the 2012-13 season, he led the Horizon League in scoring and steals. McCallum earned first-team honors twice, becoming the first Detroit player to make it in almost ten years.
For his career, he averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. He led the conference in made field goals twice. McCallum finished his career in the top ten in league history in offensive rating, points produced, and offensive win shares. He took Detroit to one NCAA Tournament and one NIT. He left after his junior season and was drafted by the Sacramento Kings.
Forward – Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Alec Peters played for Valpo from 2013-17. He was the league’s player of the year in 2017. Furthermore, he was a two-time member of the AP All-American team as an honorable mention. Peters became the first sophomore in Crusader history to reach 1,000 points and finished his career as the school’s leading scorer and rebounder.
He averaged 17.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game during his career. His 41.6 percent career percentage from behind the arc is the best all-time in conference history. Peters is also the league’s all-time leader in offensive rating and offensive win shares. He helped Valparaiso make one NCAA Tournament and two NITs, including finishing as the NIT runner-up in 2016.
Forward – Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
Drew McDonald was part of the Norse program from 2015-19. He was the player of the year in 2019, also earning AP All-American recognition as an honorable mention. He was a member of the Horizon League first-team three times. McDonald left Northern Kentucky as their leading scorer and rebounder.
McDonald averaged 15.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for his career. He is just one of three players in conference history to have 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Furthermore, he finished first in league history in defensive rebounds and defensive rebounding percentage. McDonald helped NKU win two regular-season titles and play in two NCAA Tournaments.
Center – Loudon Love, Wright State
Loudon Love just finished his junior season for the Raiders. He is the only current player on the team, having captured the most recent player of the year honor. He has made the first-team twice in his playing career and currently sits second on the school’s all-time rebounding list.
Love has averaged 14.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game through three seasons. He sits in the top ten of nine career conference categories with one year left to play. Thus far, Love has helped Wright State win two regular-season titles and make one NCAA Tournament.
Bench
Guard – Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Ryan Broekhoff played three seasons in this decade for Valparaiso. He won the player of the year award in 2012 and was also recognized as an honorable mention on the AP All-American team. Broekhoff appeared on the league’s first-team twice.
During his three seasons in the 2010s, the Australian averaged 13.6 points and seven rebounds per game. He also shot 41.9 percent from beyond the arc. Broekhoff finished his career second in league history in offensive rating, fifth in player efficiency rating and win shares, and sixth in defensive rebounds. He won two regular-season titles and made three postseason appearances, including one in the NCAAs.
Guard – Kay Felder, Oakland
Kay Felder was a star for Oakland. He put the Horizon League on notice when he won freshman of the year in 2014. Two years later he was the player of the year and a third-team AP All-American. Felder’s last season in Oakland saw him finish as a Wooden Award finalist and lead the NCAA with 9.3 assists per game. He also had 30 games of 20 or more points that season.
For his career, he averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game. Felder had two career triple-doubles, the only ones in school history. His ability to help his teammates score put him as the conference’s all-time leader in assists. Felder assisted on 43.1 percent of his teammates’ buckets, third-best in NCAA history.
Guard – Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State
Kendrick Perry played for the Penguins from 2010-14. He made the first-team three times during his career, the first to ever do so in program history. He finished first in school history in steals and made free throws, and is YSU’s Division I leader in career points.
Perry averaged 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and two steals per game for his career. His career steals total was also good enough for second all-time in conference history. He is in the top ten in four career advanced metrics categories as well as in points. Perry made one CIT appearance with Youngstown State.
Guard – Antoine Davis, Detroit
Antoine Davis just finished his sophomore season in Detroit. He is the Horizon League’s next superstar, having been named freshman of the year a season ago and making the first-team in both years. Davis has scored in double-figures in all 60 of his career games, scoring 17 or more points on 44 occasions. In just two seasons, he already has 15 games of 30 or more points and three of 40 or more.
Davis has averaged 25.2 points and four assists per game over his first two seasons. He broke Steph Curry’s made three-pointers record for a freshman in 2018-19. As long as Davis stays a Titan for two more seasons, he should rewrite the school and conference record books.
Forward – Alec Brown, Green Bay
Alec Brown rounds out the team, playing for the Phoenix from 2010-14. He was a two-time member of the conference’s first-team and the defensive player of the year as a senior. He became the first Green Bay sophomore to be named a first-teamer in almost 20 years. Brown finished as the school’s leader in career blocks and Division I era leader in rebounds.
For his career, he averaged 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. Brown’s blocking ability also puts him second in Horizon League history in that category. He helped Green Bay win one league title and make a CIT and NIT appearance.
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