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My vote for player of the year in the Missouri Valley Conference goes to ... Wichita State's Joe Ragland.

Save the angry emails and calls, Bluejay Nation. The Valley prohibits the four voters from each school (coach, two media members and sports information director) from selecting players on the team they are associated with.

So even though I believe that Creighton's Doug McDermott should, and will, win the award, I can't vote for him.

I suspect some who could vote for McDermott won't because of the "to-the-victors-go-the-spoils" principle that often is in play in voting for such awards. Wichita State won the regular-season championship, wrapping up the title with Wednesday's win at Illinois State.

"The coach of the year should come from the championship team and the MVP should come from the championship team," Indiana State coach Greg Lansing said.

The last time the player of the year award went to someone from a non-championship team was in 2003, when Creighton's Kyle Korver won it. The last coach of the year from a team that didn't win or share the Valley championship was Northern Iowa's Eldon Miller in 1994.

Like Korver did in 2003, McDermott has garnered a fair share of national attention throughout this season. His name already was in the mix for national player of the year when the Valley began conference play in late December.

Given what's transpired in the past two months, McDermott remains the favorite but hardly looks to be the slam dunk pick he was in December.

The 6-foot-7 sophomore continues to lead the Valley in scoring and 3-point shooting, is second in rebounding and third in field-goal percentage. McDermott has won the player of the week award five times this season. The only player who ever won it more often in a season was Bradley's Hersey Hawkins, who claimed the honor six times in 1987-88 when he was both the Valley and national player of the year.

"If you look at that side of it, you'd have to vote for Doug," Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery said. "But you still have to reward the team. If there is an MVP, it's Wichita's team because of what they've done and how they've met every challenge."

If you buy that thinking, then the player of the year either has to be Ragland, the Shockers' superb point guard, or 7-0 center Garrett Stutz. My vote goes to Ragland because of his overall impact on Wichita State's success this season.

The 6-foot senior averages 13.7 points per game and is shooting 56.6 percent from the field and 47.5 percent from 3-point range.

Three of his best performances have come in three of Wichita State's biggest games. He had 31 points against UNLV, 30 in Saturday's BracketBusters win at Davidson and 24 in the 21-point victory at Creighton Feb. 11.

"He dominated that game in Omaha," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "Joe Ragland has had some of the most dominant performances of the season of anyone, including Doug McDermott."

Stutz has averaged 17 points and 9.1 rebounds in Valley games and has posted eight of 10 double-doubles against league teams. Overall, he ranks seventh in the Valley in scoring (14.1 average), third in rebounding (7.9) and fifth in field-goal percentage (.581).

"In many years, what he's done would be enough to be player of the year," Bradley coach Geno Ford said. "He's certainly had a year that warrants consideration, but I think he could have the curse of being on such a well-balanced and deep team.

"Sometimes, guys that play on senior-laden teams with so many good players, the votes can get chopped up."

We'll learn how the balloting shakes out Tuesday, when the Valley will announce its individual awards, as well as its all-conference teams. Marshall said he will be disappointed if Ragland and Stutz aren't selected to the first team.

"I think it would be a travesty if they didn't make that," he said. "Joe has really elevated his game. Garrett Stutz has been a dominant force for the better part of the Valley season. In my opinion, they're both first-team all-conference."

As far as the player of the year award, Marshall acknowledged that voters face a difficult decision.

"Doug has had a great year," he said, "and it comes down to whether you think the team that is the No. 1 seed and that wins the regular season deserves the most valuable player. It comes down to that."

Such thinking does have its drawbacks. The Shockers had a similar team — balanced and senior-laden — the last time they won the Valley title in 2006. The player of the year award went to Paul Miller, the team's leading scorer.

Miller wasn't the best player in the Valley that season. He wasn't even the best player on his team, but the voters had to select someone.

That criticism won't apply if Ragland or Stutz wins this season.

"Doug McDermott is very deserving, but I'd have no problem if Garrett Stutz or Joe Ragland would get it," Indiana State's Lansing said. "It's going to be a tough call."

Contact the writer:

402-679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

twitter.com/PivOWH

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