Game #3 - @ Southern Illinois Univ-E'ville Cougars 11/15/17 7pm - FoxSports MW

[VU2014]

That was a heck of a alley-oop and breakaway dunk
https://twitter.com/jbuckets25/status/931295219303280640

[a3uge]

Related to play in the paint, the other stat that stands out is Blocks (or the absence of same).  We had a grand total of TWO.  SIUE had 4. A shorter less athletic  SIUE got 20 Points-in-the-Paint and we only had 2 whole blocks the entire game -- and they were by 1st year players Maleek and Marcus.  I know it is water under the bridge from two years ago but when you are used to Vashil averaging close to 10 bpg by himself, you get spoiled I guess. Can't that skill be coached?

This is partially a product of bad stat keeping. Smits had a nice block off the backboard, and Linsen had a block in the last minute that weren't counted.

[Chairback]

3 years BK could be top 3 all-time in assists if he continues at his current pace

How did Nebraska let this guy leave?  I can't believe we have him for 2 more years after this.  Imagine him as a SR.  I think he is great. 

[wh]

That was a heck of alley-oop and breakaway dunk
https://twitter.com/jbuckets25/status/931295219303280640

Joe's just getting warmed up. Can't wait to see the full package.

[justducky]

I was encouraged by my first glimpse at how Smits and J are progressing.

So was I. Even when they did travel their moves now almost look legitimate.  By March these two could be BIG assets playing some polished basketball.

[VULB#62]

Related to play in the paint, the other stat that stands out is Blocks (or the absence of same).  We had a grand total of TWO.  SIUE had 4. A shorter less athletic  SIUE got 20 Points-in-the-Paint and we only had 2 whole blocks the entire game -- and they were by 1st year players Maleek and Marcus.  I know it is water under the bridge from two years ago but when you are used to Vashil averaging close to 10 bpg by himself, you get spoiled I guess. Can't that skill be coached?

This is partially a product of bad stat keep*ing. Smits had a nice block off the backboard, and Linsen had a block in the last minute that weren't counted.

I'll accept that. So now we are even with a much smaller  OVC bottom feeder. The minutae is not my point. We have two seven footers and a 6-8 physical German rebounder but none of them have demonstrared the ability to protect the rim like we had with Mousse and Vashil. In that period, teams needed to literally game plan around the 10' arc cuz they knew it would be forcefully protected. With the height we have we should be doing everything we can to optimize that advantage on defense. If i recall correctly, wasn't GBs Brown destroyed by us on this board and by Bryce because he was not a rim protector?  His height actually became a liability because we could game plan around him because of his inability to use his height on defense. My point : We have to rapidly develop Jays and Derriks blocking skills.

Btw, like others, I have also noticed that both big kids are  much improved around the basket (despite their traveling  ). And they don't seem as lost on defense as they were last season.

But we need a rejector.  If only Marcus was 6-10! Sorry, but I can't help loving that kid cuz he embodies pure enthusiasm. And we have him for 3 years.

[ValpoDad89]

Seriously, I love the way we scheduled this year. Easy foes up front to develop chemistry and cohesiveness and then we play some P5 schools mixed with some decent minds to see where we are made and then onto the MVC schedule. This team will surprise a LOT at the end. Plus, so well coached. Man, Bryce leaving blew but Matt was and is the man to take this program to further heights. His recruiting, assistant hires and in game coaching are just proving that.

[Valpower]

Related to play in the paint, the other stat that stands out is Blocks (or the absence of same).  We had a grand total of TWO.  SIUE had 4. A shorter less athletic  SIUE got 20 Points-in-the-Paint and we only had 2 whole blocks the entire game -- and they were by 1st year players Maleek and Marcus.  I know it is water under the bridge from two years ago but when you are used to Vashil averaging close to 10 bpg by himself, you get spoiled I guess. Can't that skill be coached?

This is partially a product of bad stat keep*ing. Smits had a nice block off the backboard, and Linsen had a block in the last minute that weren't counted.

I'll accept that. So now we are even with a much smaller  OVC bottom feeder. The minutae is not my point. We have two seven footers and a 6-8 physical German rebounder but none of them have demonstrared the ability to protect the rim like we had with Mousse and Vashil. In that period, teams needed to literally game plan around the 10' arc cuz they knew it would be forcefully protected. With the height we have we should be doing everything we can to optimize that advantage on defense. If i recall correctly, wasn't GBs Brown destroyed by us on this board and by Bryce because he was not a rim protector?  His height actually became a liability because we could game plan around him because of his inability to use his height on defense. My point : We have to rapidly develop Jays and Derriks blocking skills.

Btw, like others, I have also noticed that both big kids are  much improved around the basket (despite their traveling  ). And they don't seem as lost on defense as they were last season.

But we need a rejector.  If only Marcus was 6-10! Sorry, but I can't help loving that kid cuz he embodies pure enthusiasm. And we have him for 3 years.

So, if Valpo forces the opposition to shoot poorly and relatively infrequently from the paint by altering their shots, no credit is given because there wasn't a block?  Talk about cherry-picking stats.

[govalpogo]

Seriously, I love the way we scheduled this year. Easy foes up front to develop chemistry and cohesiveness and then we play some P5 schools mixed with some decent minds to see where we are made and then onto the MVC schedule. This team will surprise a LOT at the end. Plus, so well coached. Man, Bryce leaving blew but Matt was and is the man to take this program to further heights. His recruiting, assistant hires and in game coaching are just proving that.

One thing I like about the schedule is that it ramps up in such a way that every game is the biggest game of the year (up until Ball St I suppose).   How do you get excited for SIUe?  By playing them on the road after 2 cupcakes!  How do you help assure that SELA isn't a trap?  Put it after SIUe! 

[talksalot]

Both SELA and SAMFORD were upended on Thursday...

[vu84v2]

Seriously, I love the way we scheduled this year. Easy foes up front to develop chemistry and cohesiveness and then we play some P5 schools mixed with some decent minds to see where we are made and then onto the MVC schedule. This team will surprise a LOT at the end. Plus, so well coached. Man, Bryce leaving blew but Matt was and is the man to take this program to further heights. His recruiting, assistant hires and in game coaching are just proving that.

I think that Matt Lottich is an excellent coach - no argument there.

The schedule is awful. There are eight meaningful games in which the students are on campus, with one of them prior to January 10th. Not much opportunity to build up any excitement with the students, nor the entire fan base. Playing games against schools like Trinity or North Park are absolutely pointless. You want to attract more fans and interest? You have to play competitively (and preferably win) against recognizable solid (but not necessarily Power 5 + 1) competition. While a few people on this board may get excited about the first three games, most potential fans do not. Consider the 'water cooler test': this week, basketball fans that I know talked about the Wisconsin-Xavier, Duke-Michigan State, Kansas-Kentucky and Marquette-Purdue, but they also talk about UW-Milwaukee-Iowa State and Central Arkansas-UCLA. Valpo playing North Park, Trinity and SIU-E draws zero interest.

[M]

Maybe you can call up those teams and get them to schedule us?

[vu84v2]

There were several posts that suggested that the schedule is great and that it was desirable. I recognize that scheduling is difficult and (in previous posts) have suggested that Valpo has done an excellent job of scheduling in many recent seasons. But I cannot accept that this schedule be viewed as anything but poor.

[talksalot]

s... this might help the ol' RPI a little..

Tulane (who beat SELA) is pounding Colorado State in Jamaica by 28
South Carolina (who lost to Illinois State yesterday) bounced back over UTEP 80-56

[covufan]

That was a heck of a alley-oop and breakaway dunk
https://twitter.com/jbuckets25/status/931295219303280640

With the speed and athleticism of this team, we may need a thread just for posts of dunks.  That way we can just go to one thread for all of the dunks!

[Valpower]

There were several posts the suggested that the schedule is great and that it was desirable. I recognize the scheduling is difficult and (in previous posts) have suggested that Valpo has done an excellent job of scheduling in many recent seasons. But I cannot accept that this schedule be viewed as anything but poor.

I can when I think about it as a strategy for developing an expanded rotation of newer players, into a new system, in a new league.   It allows a certain freedom to experiment with player combinations, build their confidence in the system, and establish a routine for winning.  If I take a somewhat short-term and superficial view of putting butts in seats (how appealing is the opponent to fans) it's certainly a poor schedule.  But if I think more about it in the long term (how to get the team to peak when it counts) I think this schedule is good. We'll see.

[justducky]

There were several posts the suggested that the schedule is great and that it was desirable. I recognize the scheduling is difficult and (in previous posts) have suggested that Valpo has done an excellent job of scheduling in many recent seasons. But I cannot accept that this schedule be viewed as anything but poor.

I can when I think about it as a strategy for developing an expanded rotation of newer players, into a new system, in a new league.   It allows a certain freedom to experiment with player combinations, build their confidence in the system, and establish a routine for winning.  If I take a somewhat short-term and superficial view of putting butts in seats (how appealing is the opponent to fans) it's certainly a poor schedule.  But if I think more about it in the long term (how to get the team to peak when it counts) I think this schedule is good. We'll see.

We needed to schedule this season for the benefit of our 18-19 at large hopes. Did we? What foundation work has been accomplished with our 2017 OOC schedule?

[wh]

I'd like to believe that the relative strength of our OOC schedule is aligned with the team's ability and potential, but I have my doubts. Any time ml, Todd, Matt, or Bryce prior ever talk about scheduling it's always in negative terms - how they weren't able to find a date that worked with an opponent they wanted, how nobody good wants to play at the ARC, blah, blah, blah. Scheduling sounds like an annual exercise filled with good intentions but short on desired results. What it doesn't sound like is a strategic masterpiece.

[Valpower]

We needed to schedule this season for the benefit of our 18-19 at large hopes. Did we? What foundation work has been accomplished with our 2017 OOC schedule?

We'll see, though we may never agree on whether what we achieved this season is attributable to the schedule or not. My feeling, as I've suggested, is that the easy opponents in the early part of the schedule, gradually increasing in difficulty and leading to two ranked opponents (and a tougher conference slate later in the season), are serving the cause. We've got different talents this year requiring a different system. The groundwork is laid by giving them an opportunity to learn it without being overwhelmed or discouraged early on.

Now, if you advocate for an Oakland-style trial by fire against realistically unbeatable opponents, you've got your own ideas about how to develop talent that differ from mine. I respect that.

[Valpower]

I'd like to believe that the relative strength of our OOC schedule is aligned with the team's ability and potential, but I have my doubts. Any time ml, Todd, Matt, or Bryce prior ever talk about scheduling it's always in negative terms - how they weren't able to find a date that worked with an opponent they wanted, how nobody good wants to play at the ARC, blah, blah, blah. Scheduling sounds like an annual exercise filled with good intentions but short on desired results. What it doesn't sound like is a strategic masterpiece.

Except for the P5 (bad intentions, good results).

[FieldGoodie05]

I'd like to believe that the relative strength of our OOC schedule is aligned with the team's ability and potential, but I have my doubts. Any time ml, Todd, Matt, or Bryce prior ever talk about scheduling it's always in negative terms - how they weren't able to find a date that worked with an opponent they wanted, how nobody good wants to play at the ARC, blah, blah, blah. Scheduling sounds like an annual exercise filled with good intentions but short on desired results. What it doesn't sound like is a strategic masterpiece.

Just took a gander at our fellow MVC OOC schedules, appears only UNI put together a strong OOC.

Am I missing something here?  Do we think that we are Wichita State or Butler?  Last I checked we have been consistently top of conference.  But done nothing in the NCAA's with our crappy seeding.  Enter MVC, I suspect this alone drives improvement.

Let's get there first in this conference and see where that seeds us in the NCAA's.  Afterall, what does OOC schedule strength achieve other than higher NCAA seeding.

I'm not directing this at any one individual, just seems an overall theme.  Been a fan for 16-years, nothing compared to many of you.  But man alive, we are worse than children on "OOC" and "ARC renovations".

[vu84v2]

I have not seen any mention of the number of Valpo people in the St. Louis area that turned up for the pregame alumni event and the game. This was stated as the primary reason for scheduling a road game at SIU-E - one of the worst D1 teams in recent years. My guess is that, after you exclude the Lottich family, it was less than 15.