Who is the best in US at collegiate level?

[VBfanatic]

I will go for Jeff Ptak of IPFW for the best volleyball player in US at collegiate level right now.
At 6'5", with a 44" vertical jump, touching 12 feet in practice this fall, Ptak is going to lead the USA University Team in Far East this summer. He broke the most kills in a match record since the establishing of rally-scoring system in US last month at Loyola with 43 kills in 4 games!!!
And to all those people who say he is just a "blaster" rather than a 'smart hitter', I have to say that he has all the possible shots in the game of volleyball.

Who is your choice?

[Midwest12]

Okay which IPFW player are you???

I don't disagree with you about Ptak...just curious

[vbfan4life]

I have never seen Jeff play since IPFW doesn't play in where I am at. However, I will have to go with Costas, despite his subpar ways lately.

[CaliforniaVBfan]

Just curious.

Ary you not considering Toppel because he seems to be ineligible for All American because of his injury absence - a numbers situation - or because you really think he is not at par with Ptak, Costas, and Keenan at the level of play? In my opinion, Toppel has been unstoppable since he returned to the court.

[vbfan4life]

I am not considering Toppel since he is not eligible, but that guy can really play.

[Nuff Said]

KEENAN! His stats lately have been simply amazing.

[Ms X]

vbfan4life said:

I am not considering Toppel since he is not eligible, but that guy can really play.

Why is he not eligible? Just because he's not eligible to be an All American does not mean that he is not eligible to be a candidate for the best collegiate player. I think you misread the topic.

[FanOfStanford]

I have to vote for TOPPEL, not because I am biased but because the Cardinal have gone from #10 to #4 AVCA ranking in one week. The return of TOPPEL's unstoppable offense made the difference, it gave the team the extra confidence.

Toppel stayed off the court long enough to assure that he was fully healed before he returned. Curt may now be able take his team into the playoffs but may have to pay dearly for it personally. I do hope that the AVCA has some discretion in the decisions it makes, so in the future an injured player will not return to the court prematurely for the sake of the numbers game.

For me and in response to this topic Curt Toppel will always be a 2003 All American and POY. However, a reward to validate his contributions to the sport would be nice.

GO CARDINAL

[SC1]

Are we talking about best US born player in college today?

Or best US collegiate player today?

Best US born today...

1 Toppel
2 Kennan
3 Ptak

Best Collegiate player

1 Toppel
2 Kennan
3 Ptak
4 Theocharidis

[sweetieVBfan]

my top 5 list:

best us-born:
1. sean rooney - pep
2. curt toppel - stan
3. brad keenan - pep
4. chris tamas - pacific
5. jeff ptak - ipfw
6. shane davis - loyola
7. delano thomas - hawaii

best collegiate:
1. costas theocharidis - hawaii
2. rooney
3. toppel
4. keenan
5. tamas
5. fred winters - pep
6. carlos moreno - byu
7. rafeal paal - byu

and, is duncan budinger back with lbsu? i think he is. same deal as pedro azenha?

[aweezy]

all i know is that when i saw brad keenan play he looked like he was retarded or something, literally. Hes sooooo goofy, curt toppel hands down the best college player. I was also impressed by bocage at the middle for the cardinals.

[vbfan4life]

I haven't seen Costas Theocharidis, Curt Toppel, or Brad Keenan in action this year. I lack the time to attend the games due to the strenous activities that I am required to do. Amongst those 3, who is the best player and why or do you think that it should be someone else besides one of those 3?

[Wisconsin Native]

I've been watching unbiasedly all year, and have come to a couple conclusions of my own. As a regular on volley talk, I am quite dissapointed in the lack of "talk" (hehe) about Pepperdine's Kevin Endsley. In fact, I would like to "volley-talk" (hehe) him up a little bit. Although he may not get the most minutes, or the most points, I do believe he's brought the most "heart" to the team...you know what I mean? I mean, he's out there every day, practicing hard, showing the coach what he's made of, yet gets no time. Coach doesn't even give him the time of day. However, I would like to say that if he was on MY team, I'd definately give him the "time of day"...you know what I mean? Anyway, I guess I'm getting a little carried away...and I guess I do have a little bias, since we're both from Wisconsin and all...you know what I mean? Anyway, if nothing else, he's still got an infectious smile. Kevin, I love you.

[UH fan]

At their best, I think Curt Topple is the best, Costas second, and Keenan third. Mind you, the gap is very, very small. I would say this because of each of their strengths. Topple, when healthy and on, is probably unstoppable. Costas probably has the best all-around game and when he is hot, he is one of the dominanting hitters in the game. Being a Hawaii fan, though, I've seen him at times when he hits into the block when he doesn't have to. I put Keenan third because of his lack of proven backrow efficiency. This is just my humble opinion.

You also have to look at consistancy. When healthy, Topple seems to be the most consistant, while Costas has been in a recent slump. Keenan has been majorly quiet this year, mostly he's been overshadowed by Rooney's excellent play.

[cheesehead]

Wisconsin Native, I feel you...
North Shore Pride...