The HoriZone Roundtable Post-Season All-#HLMBB Teams and Awards – 2024-25

We can say one thing: This regular season certainly wasn’t boring.

Because of that, our voters had quite a few ideas about who should be named to our annual all-Horizon League teams. And as for our post-season awards? Two of them were pretty clear choices, and the other two were…not.

So, without further ago, let’s get started!

All-Horizon League First Team

Jalen Jackson, Purdue Fort Wayne (Player of the Year)
Jackson was a near-unanimous pick for our voters, and it shouldn’t exactly be much of a surprise to anyone who’s seen him in conference play. At 19.5 points per game, he outpaced his conference colleagues by more than a point and a half, as well as 3.6 assists per game, with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Mastodons fell short of ultimately taking the regular season title, but Jackson’s contribution were too great to go unnoticed.

Brandon Noel, Wright State
Noel’s individual performance was every bit in line with the expectations that led him to be named the preseason Player of the Year. However, given how things went this season for the Raiders, coupled with Jackson’s stellar showing, First Team honors will be essentially the extent of his accolades. He finished the conference slate with 18.4 points and 8.1 rebounds a game, and he remained the Wright State’s foundational piece throughout this campaign.

Alvaro Folguieras, Robert Morris (Defensive Player of the Year)
The sophomore, affectionately known as El Pulpo (which is Spanish for The Octopus), had a massive year, and was the key piece to a Colonial squad that far outperformed the ninth-place preseason prediction that both we and the official Horizon League poll made. Folgiueras scored 15.3 points per game, along with 8.6 boards and 3.5 assists per contest. His defense was also outstanding, which resulted in being named the HoriZone Roundtable Defensive Player of the Year as well.

Rasheed Bello, Purdue Fort Wayne
So, the Horizon League tends not to pick more than one player from a team unless that team won the regular season title. However, our staff was not exactly swayed by that, as Bello far outpaced any other player voters selected. And it’s not hard to see why. When Jackson didn’t lead the Mastodons in scoring, it was Bello. That was good enough for him to average 17.7 points per game, landing him fifth in the conference. He was also an outstanding ball-handler, averaging 4.4 assists per game and sported a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, not to mention that he led the league with two steals a contest.

Jamichael Stillwell, Milwaukee (Newcomer of the Year)
Stillwell earned his reputation as a double-double machine during the non-conference schedule, and he certainly carried that forward against Horizon League foes. And sure enough, Stillwell finished the conference slate averaging a double-double, with 12.9 points and a league-leading 10.7 rebounds per game. He was also pretty good on defense, with 1.3 steals per contest as well. As the highest-ranked transfer, Stillwell also has the distinction of being named our Newcomer of the Year as well.

All-Horizon League Second Team

Paul Zilinskas, IU Indy
When Paul Corsaro made the move from UIndy, he had several of his players there join him. One of them was Zilinskas, who proved to be more than up to the task of taking on higher-level opponents. His 17.2 points a game in conference play was goth enough for fifth among all players. And as Corsaro championed an offense heavy in three-point shooting, Zilinskas was his primary marksman, shooting nearly 40% from beyond the arc.

Themus Fulks, Milwaukee
As our Milwaukee writer David Cunningham coined his play, he was very much “Fulks around and find out,” especially in key moments of the season. The Panthers’ point guard was all over the place when they needed him, whether it was a key assist or a bucket in the clutch. His 5.9 assists per game were tops in conference play, and he also scored 13.9 per game, and that number improved throughout the final stretch of the season.

Orlando Lovejoy, Detroit Mercy
The Eastern Michigan transfer and Detroit native earned the title of Mr. 313 this season, finishing up an impressive inaugural campaign for the Titans. He finished fifth in the conference with 17.7 points per contest, and he was also great on the glass as well, grabbing an average of 5.2 boards per contest. In addition, he served as one of Detroit Mercy’s primary ball-handlers, dishing out 3.6 assists a game.

Trey Robinson, Northern Kentucky
The Norse had a down year, compared to previous seasons. But Robinson remained the stalwart in the lineup. He finished sixth in the conference in scoring, averaging 16.5 per game in league play. He also finished just a tick behind his NKU teammate Keeyan Itejere on the glass, averaging 15.9 rebounds per contest. Throughout his whole career, he has been the main player that coach Darrin Horn could rely upon when he needed help, especially during some of the rough patches this year.

Tevin Smith, Cleveland State
Smith was a threat both on the offense and defense for the Vikings, especially during their league-high 13-game winning streak. His 15 points a game in conference play was good enough for 10th overall, and he also finished among league leaders in assists at 2.2 a game. He also had 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, putting him among the best that the Horizon League has to offer on defense.

All-Horizon League Third Team

Allen Mukeba, Oakland
Mukeba was an integral part of the Oakland offense, particularly up front. His 8.6 rebounds per league contest placed him second only behind Jamichael Stillwell. And his 14.8 points per contest, most of which were comprised of points in the paint, put him 11th in the conference. He was also good for 1.2 blocks per game as part of a fearsome frontcourt tandem along with Buru Naivalurua. The Grizz may have had an up and down year in the conference, but Mukeba was, by and large, their most consistent piece.

EJ Farmer, Youngstown State
Injuries and a late-season illness derailed what was shaping up to be a great campaign for Farmer. He did everything that was asked of him when he was on the court, averaging 15.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. In fact, he recorded three of the top five scoring performances this year for the Penguins. With only 13 league games played, the HL may not end up giving Farmer recognition. But he’s been voted into this spot, so who are we to deny it to him?

Kam Woods, Robert Morris
Folguieras may have First Team accolades, in our estimation. But the contributions by Woods were significant to the Colonials’ overall success as well. He averaged 5.5 assists per game and, along with DJ Smith, provided stability in ball-handling that RMU has had trouble with in years past. His 15.7 points per game actually exceeded Folguierias’ by less than half a point, and he was especially pesky on defense, stealing the ball 1.7 times per contest.

Amarion Dickerson, Robert Morris
Dickerson, as a defensive force, was a monster. His 2.4 blocks per game were among the tops in the entire NCAA. He was also one of the best in the conference in rebounds, grabbing 6.3 boards a contest, making him an outstanding complement to Folguieras in the paint. He was also a very efficient scorer, averaging 14.6 a game.

Nico Galette, Youngstown State
When Ethan Faulkner took over for Jerrod Calhoun as head coach of YSU, he essentially to an “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” approach to recruiting, specifically from the transfer portal. No Penguins typifies that approach more than the Sacred Heart transfer Galette. He averaged 11.2 points per game in league play, and his 7.2 boards per contest placed him seventh overall. In a rotation with loads of talent up and down the bench, Galette was always one of the main pieces of the YSU puzzle.

Coach of the Year

Andy Toole, Robert Morris
The Colonials experienced a near-complete overhaul during the off-season, but with players and coaching. But Toole new-look team far outperformed their preseason expectations, courtesy of one of his few holdovers from last season, Alvaro Folguieras, and key transfers Amarion Dickerson, Kam Woods, DJ Smith, Josh Omojafo and Ryan Prather. RMU secured the top spot in the Horizon League tournament by winning 13 of its last 14. This campaign was far and away the best in the Colonials’ tenure in the HL, and Toole’s moves even before the first tip-off paid off in a huge way.
Others considered: Daniyal Robinson, Ethan Faulkner

All-Freshman Team

Je’Shawn Stevenson, Cleveland State (Freshman of the Year)
Witha backcourt as deep as Cleveland State’s, minutes could have been at a premium for freshmen. Stevenson, however, showed everyone that he wasn’t an ordinary freshman, and he expounded on his opportunities early in the season and key personnel for the Vikings went down with injuries. He finished the season with 9.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.5 steals a game.

Jeremiah Johnson, Green Bay
Nate Johnson, Detroit Mercy
Desean Goode, IU Indy
TJ Nadeau, Detroit Mercy

Sixth Man of the Year

Gabe Dynes, Youngstown State
When Dynes came off the bench, opposing teams knew that they’d have their hands full on the glass. His blocks in the two seasons that he’s been in the Horizon League have been a source of dread, and this year, his 2.9 per game in league play, and 3.1 overall, put him in rarified air nationally. He has also been outstanding around the rim, averaging 6.3 boards per game.

All-Defensive Team

Alvaro Folguieras, Robert Morris
Gabe Dynes, Youngstown State
Amarion Dickerson, Robert Morris
Tevin Smith, Cleveland State
Trey Robinson, Northern Kentucky