All-Region Hype NW & SW

I think what All-Region really means is ambiguous and I've talked to many people who have different thoughts on the matter. So, before I make my pics, I'll elaborate on what I think the all-region team represents. I've heard two dominating theories, both of which I disagree with (to some extent).

The first theory is the all-region team is a regionals tournament team. I guess the logic here is that regionals is the only meaningful tournament for a majority of the good teams in the region. Still, I think there is more to all-region than just one tournament, and even the people who subscribe to the tournament team view definitely know who their looking for before hand.

The second theory claims that the all-region team is a reword for work put in all season. I think this is unfair because it overly benefits those who have played stronger competition. Also, I think the ability for teams to peek for the series is important.

So, this brings me to my theory. The all-region team is about the series. Basically, players should be rewarded for how they perform when there is something besides sectionals seeding on the line. I think this explains a few all-region decisions from the past few seasons in the SW (no Assa in '06 and no Rory in '07). Still, it makes me wonder how Mike Stout, Senior, Claremont got it last year (the UPA should check with schools before the post all-region teams to make suer their info is correct. I guess someone should also tell them that MStout was a Junior last year and goes by Michael not Mike). Anyway, with those qualifications in mind, here goes my all-region breakdown in terms of people I think are locks, likely, and deserving (I'll only write about the regions I know well, and watching TiV, SI, and Centex doesn't mean you know all the regions well).

NW
The parity and depth in the NW this year makes it hard to decide on an all-region team. Once a player makes all-region it's typically hard to leave them off the list the following year. That being said, I think there is a lot of potential for some of last years all-region recipients to be left off the list this year. I think the team that wins the region will get two players on the all-region team. There is a chance the second place team will also get two, but that more depends on who finishes second. I also think each top 4 team will have at least one representative.

Locks:

Mark Sherwood, Stanford - I think this is an obvious choice. Sherwood is widely considered one of the best college players in the country, and is the focal point of everything Stanford does.

Likely:

Dusty Becker, Oregon - Having made it last year, I only see dusty being left out if UO fails to make a game-to-go. I guess putting Dusty here tells you something of what I think of Ego's chances (um, good).

Mark Leduc, UBC - UBC is a very top heavy team and Leduc manages to stand out among their top players. If the T-birds make the top 4 at reagionals, I don't see how you can leave him off the list.

Danny Karlinsky, UCSC - Danny is the face (or at least perceived voice) of the Santa Cruz program, and his leadership // throws put him among the top handlers in the region. SC winning sectionals is a good start, now if they finish top 5 at regionals Danny will repeat as all-region.

Kevin Stout, Oregon - If UO makes nationals, KStout is on the all-region team. If not, he'll have to once again be the clearly dominant athlete at regionals to make the team (yeah, I think he'll do it).

Deserving (there's some order to this list, see if you can figure it out):

Nate Castine, Western Washington - Great player and nice guy. Western might be a year away, but if they make enough noise, it'll probably be because of Castine. Definitely all-region '09.

Nick Chapman, UCSC - Chapman is the go to receiver for the Slugs, along with one of their best cutter defenders. If UCSC makes nationals, I have to assume they'll get two people on the all-region team. I think Nick is at least second in line from the Slugs, but there is always a chance one of his teammates will steal his thunder at regionals.

Charles Denby, Cal - The perception that Cal has no stars hurts Charles's chances, but his insistence on getting open under helps. Still, I think Cal will have to win regionals for Charles to make it.

Choongil Fleischman, Cal - I think Choon's chances are better than Charles's because of his impact on D. If Cal is in the game-to-go, I think Choon deserves all-region.

Tom James, Stanford - If they win, he's in, in my book. Great on D, and has to do a lot for Stanford to be successful against athletic teams.

Michael Liu, LPC - I don't really think LPC has a chance of getting anyone on all-region, mostly because of the prejudice against them. That being said, enough people like 808 to give him a chance if LPC makes UPA Nationals (they'll go to D-III if they don't make UPAs, I think).

Joe "BJ" Sefton, Washington - Washington's finish at sectionals helps BJ a lot here. If they can make the top 5 at regionals, it'll be because they relied heavily on BJ (and Dutch). Anyway, if they're in it on Sunday, BJ will have a shot at all-region.

James Yeager, UCSC - Amazing handler defender, and the anchor of the Slug's dline O. If the Slugs make nationals there's a pretty good chance Yeager played huge at regionals.

FOTY: Jeremy Norden, Whitman - I think he's had this locked up since Vegas. That being said, I think Cassidy Rasmussen should get some dap if UCSC wins regionals.

SW
Doling out SW all-region spots seem pretty straight forward to me (at least compared to the NW). It's true that there is a depth of candidates, but I think the lack of depth in terms of teams helps in determining who gets it. I'd give the winner of the region three spots on the team, the second place team two spots, and 3rd team would get one, with the last spot a little more up for grabs. With that said, it'll be hard to keep Colorado and Arizona from getting two guys each on the team, no matter where they finish.

Locks:

Jolian Dahl, Colorado - Word.

Austin Gregerson, Arizona - In my opinion Austin is the best player on Arizona (even if he doesn't have the same psychological effect on the rest of the team as Gafni or Kershner). He's both one of the best throwers and receivers in the country, in addition to playing some of the best deep D.

Joe Kershner, Arizona - Everyone's favorite Arizona player, and understandably so. He's a well rounded player, and amazingly explosive.

Michael Stout, Clarmeont - On the team last year, and only more beastly this year (and hopefully less injured at regionals). I really don't see any way to leave him off the list, also, it'd be cool if brothers were on different all-region teams consecutive years.

Mac Taylor, Colorado - Arguable the best player on Mamabird, and certainly the one that creates the most matchup problems.

Likely:
Jeffrey Silverman, UCSB - Missed a lot of the season, but clearly the key player for SB at sectionals (and likely will be at reagionals). If they get only one representative, I'd go with Jeff.

Deserving:

Daniel 'Maniac' Bobrowsky, Claremont - Claremont relies on a pretty tight rotation, and there are a lot of candidates for a possible second representative, I think Maniac stands out the most. Because MStout hasn't been as much of a threat with the disc since his labrum surgery, having maniac step up as a primary cutter // thrower has been huge for the brains. His hucks are amazing, as is his D and ability to get open.

Martin Cochran, Colorado - Martin is an interesting case. He's made the team the past two years, but if Colorado doesn't win the region this year, I don't see them getting three all-region representatives. Still, his impact on Mamabird is immense, allowing people to not play out of position.

Eric Gafni, Arizona - Gaf is a big-time leader and receiver for Sunburn. In addition, he's not hesitant in putting up hucks (like the rest of the 'zona guys). If Arizona wins the region, I think he'll get their third spot.

Rory Orloff, UCSB - Rory was hurt at sectionals, which hurts him a little, but he can easily make that back at regionals. Hopefully he'll be able to play, I wouldn't with missing your last two years of eligibility for injury reasons on anyone. If the Tide goes to nationals, Rory is easily on the all-region squad. If they make the game-to-go, I guess he and Jeff will just have to fight to the death to determine who get all-region.

Steve Prodan, SDSU - As Steve goes, so goes the feds. When he's able to get the disc you can count on break mark hucks and easy goals for SDSU. Otherwise, their O often becomes stagnant. With the results SDSU has put up this year it wouldn't be too surprising to see them in contention on Sunday, if they're there, Steve deserves a lot of credit.

Chris Shepard, Arizona - Shep is a great thrower and a reliable anchor for the Arizona offense, weather dline or oline. Without his calm handling, their other stars wouldn't be able to shine.

Ben 'Seraph' Tong, UCLA - Seraph is probably the most explosive player I've ever played with. He has all the tools, and is clearly the focal point for UCLA when they're successful. It sometimes seems like he gets frustrated with his team to easily, but other times it seems like he makes every big play in their victories (like over SDSU at sectionals).

FOTY: Markham Shofner, Claremont - Word.

I realized I left out two teams that have good chances of being in contention on Sunday of their respective regionals, Whitman and UCSD. Don't worry, I had my reasons. Whitman because I've haven't seen much of them, and because I don't think Jeremy has a shot at all-region as a freshman. And UCSD because I think they're even more of a faceless army than Cal.

I won't give up who I think will actually get all-region, because that'd give away my pics for regioanls, and I'm not quite ready to do that. Anyway, feel free to comment, but please actually address the post instead of just throwing out more names. it's lame to not respond, but instead try and just make your own mini post (I guess I'm just asking for it now, fuck).