NLL Insider

Today was originally gonna be the day we dropped the four top dawgs in the NLL Insider Top 50.

Change of plans.

With a flurry of questions both emailed to us and posted on the boards, we wanted to set the record straight before naming our last four.

So, after the jump, your questions are answered…

Are we including John Grant in the Top 50? No. Not cuz Grant didn’t have a sensational 2008, but the Top 50 is gonna be an annual end-of-year rundown of the top ball players heading into the New Year. So with Junior on the shelf for the season and possibly beyond, we left him off this year. Know we had mentioned it earlier, but it was a question that kept coming up, so there ya go.

With that said, think everyone has figured out that the Final 4 will in fact include John Tavares, Athan Iannucci, Dan Dawson and Colin Doyle (listed in no particular order). Those four rankings will go down as such… #4 Monday, #3 Wednesday and then both #2 and #1 on Friday. I know some of you were pretty amped for an announcement today, but…

Another big question that keeps getting thrown out there was the criteria for the rankings. So, as stated above, guys that were going to miss this season were left off. I know Scott Evans got plugged in at #15, but the list was compiled so far in advanced of his blown knee, it was kinda hard to replace him at that point. No knock on the guy that woulda been at that #51 spot, but his inclusion at #15 mighta looked just a little bit iffy. I just wouldn’t have made sense.

I was actually thinking of slipping Gary Gait in there in place of Evans, but one of the main pieces of criteria was that guys were ranked based on the 2008 they had, so with Gait not having played since 2005, he was kinda outta the mix.

Guys that were injured for the entire season, so that includes ball players like Sean Greenhalgh and Craig Conn, two dudes that no doubt are Top 50 based on rep and past success, were left off this year. I really wanted to make this thing about what guys were doing “today” and not what they did five years ago. Obviously it was tough not to have a player’s reputation factor in on where we plugged ‘em in this year, but for the most part, think we did a pretty good job of simply taking their 2008’s into account. And besides, if guys were simply just ranked based on their reps and past honours, then the Top 50 would be virtually the same every year. That’s not what the NLL Insider Top 50 is gonna be about.

And although guys like Tracey Kelusky, Dan Carey and Luke Wiles had some serious down-time due to injuries this year, rather than leave them completely off the list, we just dinged ‘em for it in the rank. All three had big impacts in the NLL when they did play, especially Kelusky during the Necks post-season drive, and both TK and Wiles had strong showings in the summer as well. Colorado’s offense seemed to completely fall apart with Carey outta the mix, only showing just how important and clutch he was previous to his unfortunate concussion.

Although player’s NLL seasons were taken most into account, guy’s summer stuff was also included in the decision making process, just to a lesser extent.

And to the concern online that I give Western guys a back seat cuz I don’t watch the game out West, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I had an insane amount of $7 tags on my Visa bill last year due to all the games I made sure I caught from out West on B2. Trust me, I watched and kept in touch with a ton of players and team staff from the West, to the point where I feel I know both divisions equally well. Also, you might wanna check this out…

And think that covers the bases, but if there’s anything else you want answered, don’t be afraid to shoot me an email, addy below.

Hit the boards to give your opinion on the Final 4 and make sure to check back next week as we announce our best four guys heading into the 2009 NLL season. Are JT, AI, DDD and Popeye Doyle in your best four box players heading into the year? Any major omissions? Let us know and make your case. The best comments may find their way into a future issue of Inside Lacrosse.

#50 Matt Roik, San Jose Stealth
#49 Jon Sullivan, Minnesota Swarm
#48 Billy Dee Smith, Buffalo Bandits
#47 Steve Toll, Rochester Knighthawks
#46 Jarett Park, New York Titans
#45 Bruce Murray, Colorado Mammoth
#44 Shawn Evans, Rochester Knighthawks
#43 Peter Lough, Toronto Rock
#42 Matt Vinc, New York Titans
#41 Jeff Shattler, Calgary Roughnecks
#40 Craig Point, Minnesota Swarm
#39 Scott Ranger, Calgary Roughnecks
#38 Brian Langtry, Colorado Mammoth
#37 Sean Pollock, Minnesota Swarm
#36 Jake Bergey, Boston Blazers
#35 Pat O’Toole, Rochester Knighthawks
#34 Kyle Sweeney, Philadelphia Wings
#33 Luke Wiles, Toronto Rock
#32 Ryan Boyle, New York Titans
#31 Chris White, Buffalo Bandits
#30 Jordan Hall, New York Titans
#29 Shawn Nadelen, Philadelphia Wings
#28 Cam Woods, Toronto Rock
#27 Mike Accursi, Buffalo Bandits
#26 Dan Carey, Colorado Mammoth
#25 Pat Maddalena, New York Titans
#24 Andy Secore, Edmonton Rush
#23 Ryan Ward, Minnesota Swarm
#22 Tracey Kelusky, Calgary Roughnecks
#21 Josh Sanderson, Calgary Roughnecks
#20 Shawn Williams, Rochester Knighthawks
#19 Blaine Manning, Toronto Rock
#18 Nick Patterson, Minnesota Swarm
#17 Eric Martin, San Jose Stealth
#16 Scott Evans, Rochester Knighthawks
#15 Scott Self, Edmonton Rush
#14 Anthony Cosmo, Boston Blazers
#13 Geoff Snider, Philadelphia Wings
#12 Lewis Ratcliff, Toronto Rock
#11 Ryan Cousins, Minnesota Swarm
#10 Brodie Merrill, Portland Lumberjax
#09 Bob Watson, Toronto Rock
#08 Gavin Prout, Colorado Mammoth
#07 Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo Bandits
#06 Casey Powell, New York Titans
#05 Jeff Zywicki, San Jose Stealth

Hit this link for NLL Insider’s Top 50 archive and keep checkin’ back every week as we countdown the top 50 best in the pro game, with #1 being named just before the NLL season kicks off.

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