Summit League Basketball: Who is the 2017-18 star on each team?

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 16: Mike Daum (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

South Dakota State Jackrabbits – Mike Daum

25.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.4 APG

South Dakota State was the lone representative from the Summit League in last year’s NCAA tournament. Mike Daum was a huge reason why. Daum is one of the best players in the country, and while his numbers jump off the page, he is also the first player you notice in the game when watching South Dakota State play. Daum is 6’9” and is a virtual swiss army knife on the floor. He can post a team up the whole game and score 30 or he can move around and shoot threes and still score a ton of points.

Daum was one of the two players in the entire country last year to score 50 points in a game. Daum shot virtually 90% from the free throw line, 42% from the 3-point line, and over 50% overall from the floor. Daum is one of the most exciting players in the country. He is the reason that South Dakota State is successful. Give Daum the ball and just get out of his way.

Western Illinois Leathernecks – Dalan Ancrum

8.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.0 APG

Western Illinois lost their two best players last year to graduation. Dalan Ancrum is the most experienced player on the roster. Ancrum is a very good shooter on the wing. In 60 attempts last year, he shot over 50% from three. Ancrum also shoots 90% from the free throw line, where he takes advantage of every trip.

Western Illinois only won 8 games last year so the Leathernecks are going to have to find some more help for Ancrum. Losing the best two players on this team from a year ago, it doesn’t appear that Western Illinois will be better, but Dalan Ancrum will do his best to keep his team in games.

Next: Stars of the Big 12 for 2017-18

The Summit League Tournament is the most important stretch of games for each of these players and although it is a long way off, the regular season will still be fun to watch. Each of these players has the ability to explode for a huge game and possibly help the Summit League take another upset victory. Will this be the year that the conference gets another NCAA Tournament victory?