No way Powell goes anywhere. Yes more money elsewhere and facilities, but he seems to Love the process, the rebuild and the faith based approach following in the Drew's footsteps. I hope I'm not wrong.
Loyola- Chicago now has even uglier NET and KenPom numbers than Evansville. I don't know if Roger would view that as a challenge or if it might send him running? He definitely seems to view the world differently than many in his profession and that is a good thing!It seems as if a lot of media attention has come from the Bradley win. Powell is now being mentioned as a candidate for some open coaching positions of teams decide to move on. Most notably be is being mentioned for Loyola Chicago
No way Powell goes anywhere. Yes more money elsewhere and facilities, but he seems to Love the process, the rebuild and the faith based approach following in the Drew's footsteps. I hope I'm not wrong.
If Powell could rebuild Valpo in the way we all used to know, I think he would stay for a long while until the perfect better job opened up. In the good old days of about 4 years ago, we would be looking at this current roster of returning players and thinking that we would contend for the league title next year. In the current portal environment, Valpo is essentially a rebuild almost every year. If we get some luck this year, we can return some core guys.
Unfortunately the reality of college basketball currently might necessitate a different line of thinking for Powell or any in his situation. If an opportunity arises at almost any job in a higher ranked league, I think it would be really tough to turn down. We know the pitfalls of Valpo and there are many. It is always voted the worst job in the league and when you compare Valpo to the top of the league, the disparity in resources, facilities, etc is enormous. Powell is smart and he loves the underdog role at Valpo, he also loves the community. On the other hand, he wants to win and win consistently. It is the ability to sustain anything at Valpo that makes me think he may need to jump for a solid opportunity (as opposed to waiting for a more perfect one).
Let’s hope for some magic in his ability to recruit his current players to return. If they are willing to do so, then I do think we will have Powell back. If they are mostly transferring, then it is hard to blame him if he considers other opportunities.
First off, for the umpteeth time, players don’t come to one school or another based on facilities. I have asked this directly from several including Brandon Wood. Secondly, the assumption that Valpo is way behind other Valley schools in terms of “resources” is pure and simple speculation. Zero of us know how much NIL money we have nor how much other Valley schools have.
What we do know is Coach Powell has a keen eye for freshman talent and the signing of two highly regarded kids already seems to confirm that going forward. The formula of talented overlooked freshman coupled with fifth year veterans with some size is what we should expect going forward.
First off, for the umpteeth time, players don’t come to one school or another based on facilities. I have asked this directly from several including Brandon Wood. Secondly, the assumption that Valpo is way behind other Valley schools in terms of “resources” is pure and simple speculation. Zero of us know how much NIL money we have nor how much other Valley schools have.
What we do know is Coach Powell has a keen eye for freshman talent and the signing of two highly regarded kids already seems to confirm that going forward. The formula of talented overlooked freshman coupled with fifth year veterans with some size is what we should expect going forward.
This is the correct answer. Even Belmont doesn't have as much money as a lot of people think they do. However, in terms of facilities, if you take away the ARC, Valpo has some of the better facilities in the conference. The training facilities are highly accredited by current and former players and the Schrage Wing and basketball performance lab are really nice digs.
First off, for the umpteeth time, players don’t come to one school or another based on facilities. I have asked this directly from several including Brandon Wood. Secondly, the assumption that Valpo is way behind other Valley schools in terms of “resources” is pure and simple speculation. Zero of us know how much NIL money we have nor how much other Valley schools have.
What we do know is Coach Powell has a keen eye for freshman talent and the signing of two highly regarded kids already seems to confirm that going forward. The formula of talented overlooked freshman coupled with fifth year veterans with some size is what we should expect going forward.
This is the correct answer. Even Belmont doesn't have as much money as a lot of people think they do. However, in terms of facilities, if you take away the ARC, Valpo has some of the better facilities in the conference. The training facilities are highly accredited by current and former players and the Schrage Wing and basketball performance lab are really nice digs.
I don't want to get in an argument here, we are all Valpo fans and want the same positive things for Valpo BUT we need to take off the Valpo colored glasses and look at reality. The above is simply NOT the correct answer. I am not going to get into specifics on a chat board but I do actually know the specifics. The people on this board that are around the program probably know who I am. This is not to pound by own chest but rather to just lend clarity and perhaps credibility to this post. The culture that Powell has created and the job that he, his staff, and these athletes have done this year is incredible. Let's just enjoy it as we have not had a season like this since joining the MVC.
@backagain2024 no one is transferring claiming that the gym is the reason. In the NIL era the primary motivator will always be the green. Maybe the facilities reason was true 10+ years ago, but not today BIL Valpo doesn't have the green to keep their good athletes. Barely any MVC schools have that cash as well
As I started some of this line of conversation, I just want to be clear that I think Coach Powell is doing an excellent job and that his strategy of combining promising Freshmen with some Seniors is probably the best possible strategy in today's college basketball. I just lament that we will no longer see players like Ryan Broekhoff, Alec Peters, etc. develop and become a great part of Valpo's legacy. I also lament that great progress in one season is more likely to be lost in the following season.
First off, for the umpteeth time, players don’t come to one school or another based on facilities.
No, but I heard our previous president say loudly and often what a dump our facilities were, and how we were the bottom of the conference. I am certain he was stumping for a fundraising campaign that never got started, but I have to imagine that had some impact on recruiting.
"BTW Roger Powell is a clown"
Homer Drew was also savagely underestimated, at least until The Shot.
Roger Powell is doing everything in his power to revive this program on the court and with the VU community. His willingness to put himself out there authentically, wearing it on his sleeve, cloaks the fact that he's a very smart guy who knows that only an all-in attitude and practice will get the job done.
We may (most certainly will) lose are best players but what Coach has said on several occasions is that success leads to more and better players wanting to come to Valpo--as in guys like Deese and Barnes. I would also think that freshman, and in particular those overlooked by bigger schools because they are filling their rosters with transfers, will be looking for a Coach like Roger who will not only develop them but also play them so their value will shoot up enormously. Riding the pines at a BIG isn't helping your NIL value.
