Horizon League Announces Preseason All-League Men's Basketball Team

Oct. 11, 2007

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Butler University senior guard A.J. Graves leads a group of ten players earning men's basketball Preseason All-Horizon League recognition following a vote by League coaches, sports information directors and media members.

Graves was the only unanimous First-Team selection among the League's panel of voters. Butler senior guard Mike Green also was named to the Preseason First-Team All-League squad, along with senior guards Brandon Cotton of the University of Detroit Mercy and Avery Smith of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay junior forward Mike Schachtner.

The Preseason Second-Team unit includes Milwaukee senior forward Paige Paulsen and sophomore guard Vaughn Duggins of defending League champion Wright State University, along with three juniors---Loyola University Chicago guard J.R. Blount, Cleveland State University forward J'Nathan Bullock, and University of Illinois at Chicago guard Josh Mayo.

Graves earned Preseason Player-of-the-Year honors after receiving All-America Honorable Mention from the Associated Press last winter, when he helped lead Butler to a League-record 29 victories and a spot among the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. Graves finished fifth in the League in scoring at 16.9 points per game, hitting a circuit-leading 98 three-point field goals. He also ended the year second in the national rankings with his .948 free-throw percentage. Graves' performance, which also included the Most Valuable Player honor in Butler's NIT Season Tip-Off championship run, enabled the Bulldogs to post a 29-7 record, share the League's regular-season title (13-3) and become the first League team to be ranked among the top ten in the national polls.

Green was named the League's Newcomer of the Year in 2006-07, adding that honor to his Second-Team All-League certificate. He finished 11th on the loop scoring charts (13.9 points per game) and second in assists (4.00 per outing) while also ranking eighth in rebounding (6.0 per contest). Green scored 20 or more points three times and recorded a pair of double-doubles last winter while averaging nearly 35 minutes per contest for the Bulldogs. Cotton earned Second-Team All-League status for the third consecutive year, averaging 18.1 points per game last season, including 14 games of 20 or more. That mark ranked him third on the League scoring charts and makes him the circuit's top returning scorer. Cotton has scored 1,464 points in his Titan career, the most among active players in the League.

Smith finished seventh in the League scoring race at 15.5 points per game and reached the 20-point mark eight times last season, including a 36-point effort versus Oakland University and a 32-point outing against Detroit. He finished 11th on the League charts in assists (2.68 per game) and field-goal percentage (.435) while placing tenth in free-throw accuracy (.774) and steals per contest (1.16) last season. Schachtner garnered Second-Team All-League honors in 2006-07 after finishing tenth in the League with a 14.9 points-per-game scoring pace. He was the only player ranked among the League's top five players in all three shooting-percentage categories---second at the free-throw line (.912), third from behind the three-point arc (.456) and fifth from the floor (.493).

Among the Preseason Second-Team honorees, Paulsen earned a spot on the League's All-Newcomer Team in 2006-07, averaging 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. The transfer from Northern Illinois University ranked tenth on the loop rebound charts and reached double figures in scoring 17 times last season. Duggins was also a member of the All-Newcomer squad, averaging 9.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.48 assists per game to help the Raiders to their first-ever League title last winter.

Blount was the only Rambler to start all 32 games last season, averaging 12.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest to help Loyola to its best record (21-11) since the 1984-85 campaign. He scored in double figures 22 times with five games of 20 or more points. Bullock ranked fifth in the League with a 6.5 rebounds-per-game norm while also compiling a rate of 13.5 points per appearance (13th-best in the League). He crossed the 20-point mark five times among 22 double-figure scoring performances. Mayo finished second on the team with a rate of 12.2 points per game and handed out 86 assists last year. He ranked among the League's top three-point threats last season, shooting 41 percent behind the arc with 49 treys.

The 2007-08 Horizon League men's basketball season opens Nov. 9 with Butler, Cleveland State, Green Bay and Milwaukee in action. Green Bay then visits Ohio State for the first round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off and Youngstown State faces UCLA in the opening round of O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic on Nov. 12, with Butler taking part in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout the following week (Nov. 21-24). The 90-game League schedule begins Dec. 6 with four loop match-ups, as Valparaiso plays its first League contest at Wright State, while Butler travels to Detroit, Green Bay plays at Loyola and Milwaukee visits UIC. Wright State hosts Butler two days later in a re-match of last year's League Championship final.

The 2008 Horizon League Championship begins March 4 at campus sites, with the third through sixth seeds hosting seeds 7-10. From there, action shifts to the home of the regular-season champion, with the second round and semifinals slated for March 7 and 8, respectively, ahead of the March 11 championship. The higher seed remaining after the semifinals earns the right to host that event---televised live on ESPN---with the League's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line.

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2007-08 Horizon League Men's Basketball Preseason Teams

Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League
A.J. Graves, Butler (6-1, 160, Sr., G)-& *
Brandon Cotton, Detroit (6-0, 175, Sr., G)-#
Mike Green, Butler (6-1, 184, Sr., G)-#
Mike Schachtner, Green Bay (6-9, 225, Jr., F)-#
Avery Smith, Milwaukee (6-3, 175, Sr., G)

Preseason Second-Team All-Horizon League
J.R. Blount, Loyola (6-1, 180, Jr., G)
J'Nathan Bullock, Cleveland State (6-5, 240, Jr., F)
Vaughn Duggins, Wright State (6-3, 180, So., G)
Josh Mayo, UIC (5-10, 165, Jr., G)
Paige Paulsen, Milwaukee (6-7, 220, Sr., F)

& - Preseason Player of the Year / * - First-Team All-League in 2006-07 / # - Second-Team All-League in 2006-07