Glad to see Hopoi back, but can we get him in the gym with some old-school Valpo guy like Rob Cavanaugh to learn the Valpo method for foul shooting? Hell, my wife took a basketball class from Virgil Sweet himself, and she could shoot better than Carter's 48%. Better yet, next year have him room with Dylan Moles, who shot 98% (53-54) in a recent season. Somehow, he just needs to improve at the line.
VIRGIL SWEET!!!!!! YES! 🙏🏻👍🏻‼️‼️‼️ Just read the friggin book.
Lets start with the middle finger on the air valve……….
Funny story. I played at Concordia Prep, NY, w..a..y back in the day. My coach was Elmer Dobberstein who required us all to shoot FTs underhand ala Rick Barry. BTW, the set shot was also required of all guards 😫 (and no one was doing that anymore). Long story short: our teams always averaged over 80% on FTs in my 4 years. My conclusion: it’s not the style, it’s the repeated, rigorous disciple. So many coaches say go shoot 100 FTs, but if the proper mechanics are not welded into the muscle memory by disciplined repetitions it won’t produce CONSISTENT results. Elmer and Virgil knew the key.
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/2035109260762255843
I AM SO PLEASED WITH THIS DECISION. Carter is a Kiwi. This was a major transition year for him. This is a reset. He’s “only” a 6’10” soph 🙄. He’ll add 10-15 lbs. He’ll develop in the gym. He is gonna have an amazing soph jump IMO.
I am now waiting with wringing hands for Shon to sign back on.
Much like many of us remember the “Baby Boilers” at Purdue from years ago, I thought I heard Rakim reference something similar in a postgame press conference. I’m not sure how intentional—or tongue-in-cheek—it really was, but the phrase “Baby Beacons” stuck with me. Maybe I imagined it; the season has been a blur at times.
Either way, with Carter cementing his place in next year’s rotation, the core of the “Baby Beacons” appears to be intact heading into year two. That alone is noteworthy. Even the most observant fans likely didn’t expect this level of continuity to kick off the offseason.
Roger’s vision of a two-year developmental plan built through high school and prep recruiting is starting to take shape. In an era dominated by roster turnover, that kind of patience stands out.
Valparaiso will be an interesting case study next season compared to most programs. The NCAA transfer portal already has over 1,000 intended entries—and it hasn’t even officially opened yet.
If continuity still means anything in college basketball, the Baby Beacons are about to find out—and so is everyone else.
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/2035109260762255843
I AM SO PLEASED WITH THIS DECISION. Carter is a Kiwi. This was a major transition year for him. This is a reset. He’s only a 6’10” soph 🙄. He’ll add 10-15 lbs. He’ll develop in the gym. He is gonna have an amazing soph jump IMO.
I am now waiting with wringing hands for Shon to sign back on.
My thoughts exactly!
Glad to see Hopoi back, but can we get him in the gym with some old-school Valpo guy like Rob Cavanaugh to learn the Valpo method for foul shooting? Hell, my wife took a basketball class from Virgil Sweet himself, and she could shoot better than Carter's 48%. Better yet, next year have him room with Dylan Moles, who shot 98% (53-54) in a recent season. Somehow, he just needs to improve at the line.
The book still exists. Someone just needs to ask the high school where it is at
It occurred to me that Roger is not doing something new — he’s just reinventing the wheel in a good way. Isn’t he doing what every Junior College coach has had to do for decades — that is, assume you have two years with each bunch of recruits to make a statement (at our level, augmented, of course, with a few key xfers)? This is a brilliant take on the new world and he might be building the prototype for mid-majors.
So far Valpo has the highest retention in the MVC with SIU following behind. A lot of talk on the internet about season tickets for next season. Might even consider some myself
The base that’s already returning was part of a core that kept VU in almost every game this past season. With their improvement, perhaps more returnees, and incoming new talent, Valpo joins a cluster of Valley teams competitive for an NCAA bid. And if that amazing possibility becomes a reality, then suddenly VU’s MBB fortunes are transformed.
Although it’s still a big hill to climb from here, it’s no longer a pipe dream. The playbook for reviving a mid-major program into a contender in the era of the portal and NIL cash could be written here.
Great that Carter is back. A couple of pounds added and he'll be an even better presence defensively and rebounding. Hopefully his offensive skills can improve just a bit.
Roger Powell's father passed away today. Condolences to Roger and family
So far Valpo has the highest retention in the MVC with SIU following behind. A lot of talk on the internet about season tickets for next season. Might even consider some myself
You know the seats next to me are open! Give Max a call in the ticket office!
Random observation while casually following March Madness. Arkansas made it’s second sweet 16 in a row since John Calipari moved over from UK for the 24-25 season. In a USAToday piece today >> https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/tourney/2026/03/22/john-calipari-sweet-16-arkansas-basketball-march-madness-darius-acuff-ncaa-tournament/89183690007/ << he was asked about his recruiting strategy. He said he can’t ditch what he knows best and start mining the transfer portal. So, he’s still going after talented (blue chip) HS players. Period. And builds from there. Nothing more than a repeat of the old “UK one-and-done.” But now it is kinda contrarian
Gee, 🤔……….. where have I recently, over the last year or two, heard something similar⁉️
@vulb62 I see the point you are trying to make, but the problem is be can afford to keep the talented players be finds. Most schools outside of the p5 can't
@rezynezy Rez, thanks for reacting. Always appreciate your input.
Here’s one piece of my point: based on his UK years, Calipari doesn’t care if he keeps anyone. He’ll just recruit, rinse, repeat. But John has demonstrated over the years that he will seldom lose his “good” kids to other programs; he’s content to lose them to the NBA however 😅.
In my not-so-subtle comparison, I am throwing praise at Roger (at the MM level) for also recognizing that there are some good/very good (JT, Coop, All) HS players out there who can PLAY, but in the stampede to the portal they get overlooked.
Here’s the other piece of my point: As I stated in a previous post, Roger has found, I believe brilliantly, the MM counterpart of the Calipari Method. Of course, VU can’t compete on the NIL level, but we can compete at the overlooked HS star level and then rely on Roger, his staff, and the players themselves to use a series of two-year cycles to establish a much more solid and competitive program - augmented, of course, with ‘overlooked’ NAIA, DII transfers (which, coincidentally, fits the base model — but with a bit more experience and maturity).
As a result, I have concluded that Roger is ahead of the MM bow wave for survival. Most don’t get it yet. Roger does. And I think this past season has borne out that concept.
So now, what’s Shon waiting on? A paycheck for limited minutes on a P5 bench?
Has he not seen what happened at Xavier and Wake with All and Coop who were Valpo stars with a lot more talent? Shon’s still a raw work in progress despite his sizable presence and his improvement over the course of this past season. Does anyone think any P5 coach is gonna continue the development process and ‘hope’ he progresses for the money being laid out? At that level, it’s perform or sit.
But I guess, right now, no news is better than his name popping up in the portal.