McMillan, Freeman-Liberty Named to MVC Most-Improved Team; Kiser Earns All-Bench Honors

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team continued to haul in Missouri Valley Conference honors on Wednesday morning as the league announced its 2020 All-Bench and Most-Improved teams.

The Brown & Gold accounted for 40 percent of The Valley’s Most-Improved Team, as junior Mileek McMillan (Merrillville, Ind. / Merrillville) and sophomore Javon Freeman-Liberty (Chicago, Ill. / Whitney Young) both received the honor. Two of the team’s five returning players this season were named to the Most-Improved Unit, exemplifying the program’s overall improvement. In addition, senior John Kiser (Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville) was named to the MVC All-Bench Squad. Valpo was the only school with three combined honorees between the All-Bench and Most-Improved teams.

After making just one start and averaging 8.1 minutes per game as a sophomore, McMillan has started all 30 games that he’s played as a junior. He has boosted his scoring average from 2.8 points per game to 9.2 points per game, while his rebounding average has over doubled from 1.5 to 3.2. McMillan made 10 3-pointers all of last season and has 36 this season. He shot 42.3 percent (30-of-71) from 3 during MVC play this year. The Northwest Indiana native entered conference action with 32 career 3s over 74 games and made 30 3s in 18 conference contests. McMillan finished the regular season third on the team in scoring in 2019-20 after finishing ninth on the squad a year ago.

After not receiving first- or second-team All-MVC honors as a freshman, Freeman-Liberty finished second in the league in scoring, seventh in rebounding, sixth in assists and first in steals as a sophomore. The First Team All-MVC selection went from averaging 11.0 points per game last year to 19.3 points per game this year. He upped his rebounding average from 4.3 to 6.0 and boosted his assist average from 2.0 to 3.2. The MVC All-Defensive Team choice set Valpo’s single-season steals record and will likely lead The Valley for the second straight year, currently at 2.4 steals per game. He had one game of 25 points or more and two games of 20 points or more (one against a Division-I team) as a freshman, and now owns seven games with 25+ points, 13 games with 20+ points and 29 games with 10+ points as a sophomore.

Kiser is averaging 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game over 29 contests (six starts) during his senior season. He is tied for second on the team in rebounds per game and shoots a team-best 82.6 percent at the free-throw line. The Noblesville, Ind. native had a career-high 12 points to go along with eight rebounds in a Jan. 18 victory over Indiana State. He has a season plus-minus of +48, third on the team behind Javon Freeman-Liberty and Donovan Clay. Kiser went from a walk-on as a freshman to a key contributor for the next three seasons. He is regarded by coaches and teammates as the “glue guy” who makes significant contributions that do not show up in the box score. He adds 2019-20 All-Bench Team to 2017-18 MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention on his list of accolades.

These honors come just 24 hours after Freeman-Liberty was named to the All-MVC First Team and MVC All-Defensive Team and Valpo freshman Donovan Clay (Alton, Ill. / Alton) was tabbed to the league’s All-Freshman Squad. Freeman-Liberty finished second in the MVC Defensive Player of the Year voting, just one point behind UNI’s Isaiah Brown. It was the first time in the history of the award that a single point separated first from second. Freeman-Liberty finished third in the voting for Larry Bird Player of the Year, which was won by UNI’s A.J. Green.

The MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams will be announced on Thursday morning.

2020 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE ALL-BENCH TEAM

Student-Athlete, School Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown (Last School)

#Marquise Kennedy, Loyola Fr. G 6-1 Chicago (Ill.) Brother Rice High

Ville Tahvanainen, Bradley Fr. G 6-4 Helsinki (Finland) Helsinki Basketball Academy

Garrett Sturtz, Drake So. G 6-3 Newton (Iowa) Newton High

Antonio Reeves, Illinois State Fr. G 6-4 Chicago (Ill.) Simeon High

John Kiser, Valparaiso Sr. G/F 6-5 Noblesville (Ind.) Noblesville High

2020 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MOST-IMPROVED TEAM

Student-Athlete, School Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown (Last School)

*Liam Robbins, Drake So. F 7-0 Davenport (Iowa) Assumption High

Trae Berhow, UNI Jr. G 6-5 Mayer (Minn.) Watertown-Mayer High / Pepperdine