2015 Canadian Tour

valpotx · August 11, 2015, 11:12:09 PM

As stated many times last season, Jubril is not a flashy player. He is a glue guy, and we win when he plays many minutes. He is not an offensive powerhouse, but does all of the small things to help the guys around him. Just like with me defending Vashil over the last few seasons, you need to understand that not everyone can be a superstar all over the court. Vashil and Jubril have very important roles to play on our team, and we don't win without them.

StlVUFan · August 11, 2015, 11:14:25 PM

I thought it was a very enjoyable game to watch, and it offered up so much promise even as it showed us with a few things to work on.

nkvu · August 12, 2015, 12:28:45 AM

A few thoughts. Jubril played like crap for 3/4 of the game. Yet in the fourth quarter he was outstanding. He defended well on switches and caused a couple of turnovers. If hitting a couple of threes shows real improvement on his three point shot that must be respected it will open up other things. And he made free throws!! I went from wanting Bryce to bench him to cheering him on.

Smits. First time I've seen him play and I am exited about what he brings. A sweet shot and his size alone makes him a rim protector. Better than I expected. Can't wait to see him against better competition.

Overall I wasn't impressed until the team got it together in the fourth quarter. I thought they were slow in recognizing that these guys could shoot a bit and that open shooters could knock down shots. Yet when they needed to put the hammer down they did. I liked that. I thought that I would be disappointed if they didn't win by 20 and they won by 20.

All in all I look forward to seeing how they do against the two best Canadian teams. If they win both I'll know this could be a breakout season.

justducky · August 12, 2015, 12:52:00 AM

Quote from: Chairback on August 11, 2015, 09:49:33 PMjabril should not be shooting threes.

Quote from: vu72 on August 11, 2015, 09:59:56 PMunlike others, Jubril's improvement from the 3.

Jubril had the green light for the three as a freshman but that changed to red when he couldn't keep his 3 point % above 25. So last years playing time came about with his reinvention into a mobile but powerful ball handling center. This year may require a new reinvention because we now have less of a need for last years Jubril. The way I see it Jubril with a 3 is an enormous team asset which gains him additional playing time both at the 5, and the 4, and the 3. If he can hit better than 30% I think the green light wlll stay on as long as his shot selection is prudent. If Jubril has to be guarded out to the 3 point line you will be surprised how frequently he may be able to take those defenders to the hole off the dribble.

wh · August 12, 2015, 01:51:40 AM

I was tied up this evening and didn't have an opportunity to check in on the game. I know it's only 1 game, but does anyone have any "way-too-early" thoughts about how big a role our new guys like Hammick and Smits might play this year? Thanks in advance!

vu72 · August 12, 2015, 07:13:44 AM

Quote from: wh on August 12, 2015, 01:51:40 AM
I was tied up this evening and didn't have an opportunity to check in on the game. I know it's only 1 game, but does anyone have any "way-too-early" thoughts about how big a role our new guys like Hammick and Smits might play this year? Thanks in advance!

I will chime in on that! Hammink is electric! It will be hard to keep him off the court. He showed range, good defense and an ability to slash to the rim. Smits is the offensive threat we haven't seen at the 5 since Cory Johnson(who shouldn't have had to play there!) He showed good defense and passing as well.

I don't have a clue how Bryce will handle this but based on what I saw last night, if Vashil and, say, Skara went down , we wouldn't miss a beat. I guess one thing that could happen is that Bryce turns up the defensive pressure as foul trouble won't be a concern.

vu72 · August 12, 2015, 07:22:37 AM

Stats posted on Paul Oren's Twitter page:

https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/631293777445912576

Kyle321n · August 12, 2015, 09:26:14 AM

Quote from: vu72 on August 12, 2015, 07:13:44 AM
Quote from: wh on August 12, 2015, 01:51:40 AM
I was tied up this evening and didn't have an opportunity to check in on the game. I know it's only 1 game, but does anyone have any "way-too-early" thoughts about how big a role our new guys like Hammick and Smits might play this year? Thanks in advance!

I will chime in on that! Hammink is electric! It will be hard to keep him off the court. He showed range, good defense and an ability to slash to the rim. Smits is the offensive threat we haven't seen at the 5 since Cory Johnson(who shouldn't have had to play there!) He showed good defense and passing as well.

I don't have a clue how Bryce will handle this but based on what I saw last night, if Vashil and, say, Skara went down , we wouldn't miss a beat. I guess one thing that could happen is that Bryce turns up the defensive pressure as foul trouble won't be a concern.

I'll second the Hammink is electric train of throught. He's quick, long and had a knack of getting in passing lanes. I could see him starting at the 3 later in the season along Alec and Vashil. He's a more polished version (and bigger body) of Skara and having both those guys on the court while Alec gets a break will be nice. He'll add something we didn't have last season when Alec was resting.

Smits is going to be a stud in the HL. It's great that he gets a season to practice against Vashil and to work on the defensive aspect of his game. I don't think he had many 7 footers to play against in HS so getting one everyday in practice will be a huge benefit. His shot is smooth as silk. His offensive game is really refined. Having Roger Powell put the finishing touches on it will make him a real threat. Defensively I saw him get out of position once, but he has recovery speed for a big man and got a block on that play. He was credited with 3 blocks but he disrupted more shots than that I believe. 6 points, 3 boards and 3 blocks in 9 minutes though, I think he'll probably average 15-20 a game and really I'd love to see a rotation where Smits, Vashil, Walker, Walker and Carter are out there and they fall into a 3-2 zone with the twin towers patrolling the paint. Good luck getting a shot off on our guards who play shut down D and then you won't get a rebound from the 2 giants inside.

a3uge · August 12, 2015, 12:02:34 PM

Jubril is one of those players that will frustrate you to your core when you watch him, but when you go back and look at his stats, he's actually a positive impact when on the court. When you watch him, it looks like he couldn't rebound a fat girl off a breakup. But then you look at his rebounding percentages, and they're actually pretty good. His defense seems lazy, but then you look at his defensive numbers and he had the second highest conference dRtg on the team. He's not a high motor guy, and doesn't play with a whole lot of emotion... Which is fine, since he seems to get the job done as a solid backup.

I presume Jubril will get more minutes than Smits this year - he has the ability to play the 4 and Smits may be a work in progress.

valpo64 · August 12, 2015, 12:50:14 PM

There was an earlier comment that said he thought AP will score perhaps less with the increased scoring potential of those surrounding him. I think he could score even more because the defense will not be able to help/double team as much as they did last year. While his shooting was off, he sure did get shots off in the short amount of time he played. I don't think he got that many shots off per minutes played last year, at least on a consistent basis as I remember.

valpo64 · August 12, 2015, 04:17:57 PM

Is there any type of audio or video coverage for Thursday night's game?

SanityLost17 · August 12, 2015, 08:36:06 PM

Based solely on watching this one game...

Smits is a bigger offensive threat than Vashil and deserves most of, if not all, of the backup minutes at the 5 spot.
DWalker, Skara, and Hammink are all making a great case for lots of playing time this year.
Just because Jubril hit a few shots does not make up for how terrible he looked early on. He just seems like he hasn't improved much from his freshman year? When he was making those mistakes as a freshman we were thinking "oh, he is young". Well, he is not a freshman anymore. If he doesn't fix the turnover situation he will get 5 minutes per game or less this year.

This was only one game, in August, so it all comes with a grain of salt.

valpotx · August 12, 2015, 09:04:30 PM

http://valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/news/2015-16/14761/crusaders-take-down-mcgill-improve-to-3-0/#.Vcv7EaMo7IU

valpopal · August 12, 2015, 09:28:46 PM

Quote from: SanityLost17 on August 12, 2015, 08:36:06 PM
Based solely on watching this one game...

Smits is a bigger offensive threat than Vashil and deserves most of, if not all, of the backup minutes at the 5 spot.
DWalker, Skara, and Hammink are all making a great case for lots of playing time this year.
Just because Jubril hit a few shots does not make up for how terrible he looked early on. He just seems like he hasn't improved much from his freshman year? When he was making those mistakes as a freshman we were thinking "oh, he is young". Well, he is not a freshman anymore. If he doesn't fix the turnover situation he will get 5 minutes per game or less this year.

This was only one game, in August, so it all comes with a grain of salt.

I'm not going to be concerned about Jubril. We saw him mature during last season, so much so that he performed great in conference play and led the team with a field goal percentage of almost .600 (.593)! He also averaged less than one turnover per game last year while playing almost 20 minutes (19.8). If the two 3-pointers (twice his output for all of last year) as well as his 3-4 free-throw shooting are indications that he has developed a jump shot to be respected and will be more effective at the foul line, that can only help his game.

Pgmado · August 12, 2015, 10:46:55 PM

Looks like we have an early question for Over/Under.

Jubril Adekoya -- O/U 5 mpg.

wh · August 13, 2015, 01:48:14 AM

Wednesday's very interesting trip report. Looks like Valpo and Baylor players and coaches will be spending some time together over the next couple of days.

http://www.valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/canada/#.Vcw42bqUDjQ

Smj · August 13, 2015, 07:27:20 AM

All I have to say is this. .... How is Bryce going to know who to play with 14 real options .. (really could play a lot of them for a lot of minutes - maybe we should petition the ncaa for longer games)

covufan · August 13, 2015, 10:55:08 AM

Quote from: Smj on August 13, 2015, 07:27:20 AM
All I have to say is this. .... How is Bryce going to know who to play with 14 real options .. (really could play a lot of them for a lot of minutes - maybe we should petition the ncaa for longer games)

They're young, up the tempo so that everyone gets quality time until they're tired!

oklahomamick · August 13, 2015, 11:09:50 AM

Our game tonight can be seen using the website, http://portal.stretchinternet.com/oua/

On Monday, Murray State Racers scored a 63-59 exhibition win against Carleton University Ravens. Should be a good game.

Kyle321n · August 13, 2015, 11:27:27 AM

I'm going to miss this one (the one on the Canada tour I was looking forward to).

Hopefully they have it in their on demand section.

govalpogo · August 13, 2015, 06:25:58 PM

Very ugly/sluggish quarter from Valpo. Carleton looks good as their reputation would suggest. Let's get some rhythm before half! No Vashil yet either...

Valpofan00 · August 13, 2015, 06:32:03 PM

Wow we suck at guarding the 3. Get jurbil off the floor.

govalpogo · August 13, 2015, 06:43:21 PM

They are just bombing away!

nkvu · August 13, 2015, 06:51:09 PM

Game's half over and I'm still waiting for our defense to show up. Looked like they had their shoes nailed to the floor trying to get out on shooters. Don't think I saw this many open looks in any game last year. Maybe the whitewater rafting took something out of them yesterday.

valpopal · August 13, 2015, 06:55:32 PM

I like the way Jubril's jump shot looks so much smoother this year: 3-4 in the first half after hitting the two 3-pointers the other day.