So I'm watching the Summit League title game. A 17-15 North Dakota State team is up on second-seeded Omaha. Someone not there is Mike Daum. The three-time Summit League player of the year is not playing. His team went home (well, I think home is near the arena where this is happening), courtesy of an upset loss to a then-9-win Western Illinois team. SDSU fell behind, a 78-percent FT shooter missed two in the final to minutes to stop a late rally, and the team that won the conference and was five games ahead of the third-place team will go to the NIT.
And all I could think of was Alec Peters.
For those who don't recall, Peters was a monster for Valpo. As a sophomore, he had the Crusaders in the dance, pushing Maryland to the limit. He shot 85 percent from the line, 46.7 percent from 3 and was a good big for a good defensive team. The next year, he was better, 18.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, shot 44 percent on 5.6 3s a night. Valpo went 30-7 with the No. 8 defense in the country. They were No. 31 in KenPom at the end of the regular season. They were ready to do something cool in March.
Then they caught a frenetic, weird Green Bay team. They lost in OT. The kinda cool dream was just a run to the NIT final. Then his coach left for Vandy, and he had a choice. He coulda gone most anywhere. I think Maryland was rumored. Vandy woulda worked. He could've given himself another good shot at the dance. But he was loyal in the way that makes old schoolers warm and fuzzy. Valpo promoted an assistant. A chunk of the team came back. He stayed.
They were good the next year, but not as good. Oakland was on their level, and everyone knew one of those teams would deny the other, owing to the cruelty of March. Instead a 9-23 Milwaukee team held Valpo 13 points below the previous season low in a 43-41 loss (Oakland also got upset). His career ended in the NIT vs. Illinois.
That's not to say the loyalty was bad. It was what it was. A really, really good player was limited by this structure. He had a chance to change, valued something more, couldn't get where he wanted, and a decorated career faded a bit with a final chapter that wasn't quite what you'd wish.
Which brings us to Daum. He's been to three tournaments. He's the ninth-leading scorer in NCAA history, and should move to eighth or seventh by year's end. That wouldn't have happened if he'd gone to his home state and brought Nebraska back to the dance, or followed his former assistant coach and formed an inside-outside death machine with Ethan Happ. If he's lucky, he'll end his career in MSG in an event people give a little lip service to. Maybe I'm in the minority for imagining how cool that could've been, but it's something to think about at least.