All-Chicago Team (Chicago Player of the Year in bold.)
Milton Doyle, Loyola—14.9 ppg, 3.6 apg, 1.2 spg
- Doyle had a major impact the second he stepped on the floor for Loyola, despite being a freshman. The Chicago native led the Ramblers in scoring, assists, steals and blocks this season, collecting MVC Freshman of the Year honors. Doyle’s 32-point performance against Campbell was an amazing scoring display, and he also showed his ability to dominate games with his superb play down the stretch in an overtime win against Northern Iowa in January.
JerShon Cobb, Northwestern—12.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 35.2 3P%
- Cobb appeared in only 25 games for Northwestern because of injuries, but when he was healthy he was the Wildcats’ best player. The junior guard was the team’s best distributor and often its best scorer, finishing second on the team with 12.2 points per contest. He was the Wildcats’ best 3-point shooter as well. Cobb’s season was highlighted by a pair of 22-point performances at the Las Vegas Invitational in November and a season-high 23 points against Minnesota in February.
Brandon Young, DePaul—16.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.8 spg
- In another disappointing season for DePaul, Young was one of the few bright spots. The senior ranked top-10 in the Big East in scoring and assists, and No. 3 in steals. Young posted more than 20 points in nine games, including three times in his final four outings.
Christian Thomas, Loyola—13.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 53.5 FG%
- Doyle received most of Loyola’s attention, but Thomas was the best player on the team this season. The junior forward was the team’s best inside presence, something the Ramblers desperately needed. And he also showed the ability to shoot from the outside with 16 3-pointers. Thomas ranked No. 4 in the MVC in effective field-goal percentage and in the top 10 for offensive rebounding percentage and turnover percentage, per KenPom. Thomas finished the season with three double-doubles, including a 21-point, 12-rebound performance against Southern Illinois in January.
Matt Ross, Chicago State—11.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg
- Ross was one of Chicago State’s anchors as the Cougars performed successfully in their first season as members of the WAC. The senior forward was a double-double threat every night and was also a defensive menace. Ross posted seven double-doubles in 32 games and even flirted with a triple-double in the season opener against Indiana. Against the Hoosiers, he recorded nine points, seven rebounds and six blocks.
All-Chicago Defensive Player of the Year
Matt Ross, Chicago State
- Ross was a solid defensive player in every way. He led his team with 1.3 blocks per game and also swiped 1.1 steals per contest. He also did a great job on the defensive glass, finishing No. 8 in the WAC in defensive rebounding percentage.
All-Chicago Sixth Man of the Year
Tre Demps, Northwestern
- Demps thrived as Northwestern’s first man off the bench this season. The sophomore guard averaged career-highs of 11.0 points and 2.2 assists per game while also shooting career-bests from the field. Demps shot 34.3% from 3-point range, good for second on the team for players who averaged at least 20 minutes.
All-Chicago Freshman of the Year
Milton Doyle, Loyola
- Doyle is already one of the more-feared players in the MVC after just one season. The combo-guard can do a bit of everything and gives Loyola head coach Porter Moser a great piece around which he can build the Ramblers’ future.
All-Chicago Coach of the Year
Chris Collins, Northwestern
- Collins breathed life back into Northwestern’s program in just his first year at the helm. Though the Wildcats finished in 10th place in the Big Ten and only 14-19 overall, Collins had Welsh-Ryan Arena rocking after a string of great wins in January and early February. During that stretch, Collins and his Wildcats knocked off then-nationally ranked Illinois, eventual Final Four squad Wisconsin, and eventual NIT finalist Minnesota.
