So... what's happened to these teams since we hosted them on the 10th.
Salukis got pounded by Drake at home
Salukis became unglued in the second half and lost to Bradley at home
Salukis lost to UNI in Iowa on Saturday on national TV
That Bradley game was something else... SIU had a 21 point lead at the half... and then...
It was a hot start for the Salukis from the opening tip as they were able to jump all over the Braves, knocking down their first six shots from the field to go up 16 points early. Forward AJ Ferguson was a key part of Southern's early success as the Houston native was aggressive driving to the rim with nine points in the first six minutes.
The Salukis finished the first half shooting 59 percent (16-27) from the field and 7-for-14 from behind the arc while holding Bradley to just 33 percent (9-27) shooting. Johnson and Ferguson led Southern with 12 points in the first half. Johnson along with Trent Brown and Troy D'Amico each knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as SIU went into the locker room with a 45-24 lead.
With Bradley on an 11-1 run midway through the second half and within eight points, D'Amico would knock in a 3-pointer from the top of the key to end the Braves run and push the SIU lead 58-47 with 10:18 left to play.
The Braves would continue to chip away at the SIU lead until Connor Hickman put the Braves on top for good with an and-one layup with just under a minute left in the game. BU's Duke Dean was strong down the stretch, scoring eight of Bradley's points over six minutes before eventually tying the game at 67 with a layup. Dean also connected on a pair of 3-pointers during the 13-4 run.
SIU was led by Johnson with 18 points, seven assists, and four rebounds. Ferguson finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Clarence Rupert had 10 points and seven rebounds.
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and the UNI game on Saturday went like this...
Southern Illinois had a chance to tie it with under five seconds left but Xavier Johnson's 3-point attempt was off, and the Salukis dropped their third-straight game on the road at Northern Iowa, 61-57.
It was a defensive slugfest from the start inside McLeod Center as both teams combined for 23 points at the midway point of the first half with UNI holding a 12-11 advantage.
Trailing 28-24 with two minutes remaining in the first, the Salukis closed the half on a 6-1 run to take a 30-29 lead into the locker room. SIU would get inside scores from Clarence Rupert, AJ Ferguson, and Troy D'Amico during the run continuing to pound the paint where SIU held an 18-12 advantage.
Ferguson and Rupert picked up the Saluki offense with 10 points apiece as SIU leading scorer Xavier Johnson was held scoreless (three attempts) for the first time this season in the first half. Rupert was a menace on the glass with eight rebounds in 15 minutes of action in the first.
Johnson would get on the scoreboard early in the second half and finish with 17 points including the last eight points for the Salukis.
SIU came out of the locker room in the second half and built a five-point lead at 41-36 following a putback dunk from Scottie Ebube. UNI would put on the defensive pressure though, holding SIU scoreless for the next six minutes to regain the lead and allow the Panther crowd to get back into the game.
Down eight with under a minute, SIU would get back-to-back 3-pointers from Johnson before his potential game-tying three with five seconds would not fall and the Panthers would convert a free throw to close out the win.
Johnson would lead SIU with all 17 of his points coming in the second half -- shooting just 5-for-18 from the field. Ferguson finished with 12 points for SIU while Rupert was the only other Saluki in double-digits with 10 points.
Three UNI players scored in double-figures led by Bowen Born who led the Panthers with 16.
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X-avier (for those reading this aloud) Johnson came into the Valpo game #2 in all of D1 basketball in ppg at 24.3... he didn't make his first basket until there was 5 minutes in the first half, while he did end up with 22 points... including 10-10 from the line. he was 5-13 from the field; it was Ebube (Eh-Boo-Bay, again, for those reading this aloud) and Ferguson who's drives to the basket really upset our apple cart.
We've done OK at the Banterra Center, and Quatro's Pizza is the real deal, and of course Insomnia Cookies... OK, Fine. I'm sold. I'll be in Carbondale. hopping on the cleverly named Amtrak train... the "Saluki" from Homewood at 9am Wednesday morning; and the Return trip on Thursday morning, leaving C'dale at 7:30am. $60 round trip.
Lets keep this ship right side up.
I just looked at our record versus experience this year versus last. Giving a freshman a 1 and a fifth year a 5, our top eight minute players average 1.75 years of experience with a 6-13 record through 19 games. Last year our top eight averaged 3.38 years of experience and had a 7-12 record. Could the change in coaching have had an impact?? ::)
Can we continue to play well, especially on offense? We really need a good defensive game.
Salukis 77
Beacons 73
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SIU 80
Valpo 70
SIU will not lose four in a row and are at home.
our offense is improving..... Defensively we still have to many issues to fix and matchup issues. If anyone on our team is capable of stopping Johnson, I'm open for suggestions. Schweiger will have another nice game. 14 and 8. 74-62 SIU. Even in losses they still guard teams. I'm sure the line will be atleast -10.5
Valpo 62
S. Ill. 76
SIU 77
Valpo 62
Southern Illinois 77
Valpo 70
SIU is currently a 14 point favorite with a total of 137.5 I believe we keep it close.
SIU 74
Valpo 68
Great preview!
The number 77 came up for me, then I saw it did for others, too!
I'm pretty close to historyman:
SIU 77
Baby Beacs 71
I enjoy watching this young team. Young guys stepping up in recent games.
Great start for Valpo. Up 15-10. five assists on 6 baskets
Really like what I'm seeing , aggressive to the basket , getting up the court quickly ! Up 3 with 10:45 to go!!
This team is improving. I don't know what the second half will bring, but a solid 20 minutes in the first half.
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Shoulda called a timeout 3 possessions ago.
Not hitting free throws like last game..
I will be so disappointed when the season ends and a week later Cooper transfers to a middle of the pack Big 10/12 school for a 50k per year NIL deal. As much as I believe the way Roger is building is the right way to do it, I have my doubts that it can succeed for a small school in the NIL era.
How many times has Valpo played ~30 good minutes just to have the other 10 ruin it? Now 1-6 in games decided by two possessions or less. Some serious progress is obvious even just the last few weeks but there's still a bit more to be done to truly be competitive in the Valley.
That being said, Schwieger is a stud. With development, experience, and a little more muscle, he could be, dare I say it, better than Krikke.
SIU's pressured our guards in the start of the second half, resulting in turnovers, fast break point. They had a little extra gear. That was the game right there. Missed free throws and shot selection were the other factors. Team is definitely improving unlike last few years, were we laid eggs on the road. Effort was very good tonight. The SIU crowd was a non factor and aside from a missed charge on Darius, refs were fairly equal.
Except Johnson, anyone convinced SIU is that much more talented than Valpo? Lastly, can we focus on the improvement of the team the remainder of the season. Lets enjoy this, because we have the right coaching staff in place and are getting the most out of our roster limitations/experience. Can we worry about roster shakeups in the offseason, because we don't know what the hell will happen?!. As far as we can all see, the team seems pretty bought in to the coaching staff/culture at the moment. Just maybe, just maybe...they all want to come back next year. Show up Saturday to Mo State! Full Stop
Missouri State takes down Drake tonight.
Quote from: AB on January 24, 2024, 09:23:14 PMLastly, can we focus on the improvement of the team the remainder of the season. Lets enjoy this, because we have the right coaching staff in place and are getting the most out of our roster limitations/experience. Can we worry about roster shakeups in the offseason, because we don't know what the hell will happen?!. As far as we can all see, the team seems pretty bought in to the coaching staff/culture at the moment. Just maybe, just maybe...they all want to come back next year. Show up Saturday to Mo State! Full Stop
If the team has bought into Roger Powell as much as we have then I wouldn't be predicting defections. :)
Its fun to watch these kids even when they lose. Their improvement from early December has been enormous.
Quote from: justducky on January 24, 2024, 09:41:31 PM
Quote from: AB on January 24, 2024, 09:23:14 PMLastly, can we focus on the improvement of the team the remainder of the season. Lets enjoy this, because we have the right coaching staff in place and are getting the most out of our roster limitations/experience. Can we worry about roster shakeups in the offseason, because we don't know what the hell will happen?!. As far as we can all see, the team seems pretty bought in to the coaching staff/culture at the moment. Just maybe, just maybe...they all want to come back next year. Show up Saturday to Mo State! Full Stop
If the team has bought into Roger Powell as much as we have then I wouldn't be predicting defections. :)
Its fun to watch these kids even when they lose. Their improvement from early December has been enormous.
I think it's evident that these guys really like playing together and they've bought into the program. The attitude difference between this years team and last years is...unbelievable. I'm not sure that we had a team last year rather than a collection of individuals who happened to play on the same court.
Quote from: vok22 on January 24, 2024, 08:42:09 PMI will be so disappointed when the season ends and a week later Cooper transfers to a middle of the pack Big 10/12 school for a 50k per year NIL deal. As much as I believe the way Roger is building is the right way to do it, I have my doubts that it can succeed for a small school in the NIL era.
Were that to happen and I don't think it will not, you can likely kiss Roger Powell goodbye. I doubt he took the Valpo job to coach the farm team for other schools.
Turnovers at the start of the 2nd half doomed Valpo. Also poor free throw shooting, especially after beating UIC because of free throw shooting, really hurt. Playing on the road is especially tough on young teams when the tide turns in the game.
We don't have a backup point guard on this team. Williamson shows offensive potential but he is a pretty terrible point guard right now. The 4 minute stretch he was playing point they outscored us like 16-3. I checked the box score last night and it said he didn't have any turnovers but he should have had several. I'm not going to re-watch the game, but I don't think I have gone crazy.
If he can settle down and learn how to be a leader and control the offense he could be REALLY good, but he doesn't seem to have the natural point guard instincts right now. His offensive upside is tremendous, but at his size he really needs to be a point guard so I he grows into the position between this year and next year.
I would say we played better than SIU for 32 minutes. But the 8 minutes we played bad, it was like high school JV bad. I still had more fun watching last nights game then any game I watched in the last 3 years.
Yeah, having Justus McNair backing up
Darius next year should help.
Watching the game, I wondered if we might see Coach Powell receive his first technical foul. He seemed upset with the officials a few times, especially when Stafford was injured by an SIU player running into him. The Rev's occasional glare at officials is pretty intimidating, but I am curious what it would take to make him mad enough or to think it was tactical as a motivational move to get a technical.
Quote from: valpopal on January 25, 2024, 09:47:09 AM
Watching the game, I wondered if we might see Coach Powell receive his first technical foul. He seemed upset with the officials a few times, especially when Stafford was injured by an SIU player running into him. The Rev's occasional glare at officials is pretty intimidating, but I am curious what it would take to make him mad enough or to think it was tactical as a motivational move to get a technical.
That dynamic had been missing from Valpo basketball for the past several seasons. Just saying that for a friend.
That 7-8 minute stretch where we had 4 turnovers in a row and missed shots after that point, leading to a 23-3 run, was a killer. I was surprised that we kept it close after experiencing such a thing, which shows a rare sign of maturity with our young team.
I agree with the worry on Cooper bolting after this season, but if he has the right folks around him, he would stay for at least one more season, before considering such a thing. He would just be placed into a lower impact role at a P5, whereas if he left after his SO or JR seasons, he could make an immediate impact pretty much anywhere. I want him to stay all 4 years, and may get pleasantly surprised if he does so, but he would be wise to stay a minimum of two seasons.
Quote from: valpotx on January 26, 2024, 01:54:11 AM
That 7-8 minute stretch where we had 4 turnovers in a row and missed shots after that point, leading to a 23-3 run, was a killer. I was surprised that we kept it close after experiencing such a thing, which shows a rare sign of maturity with our young team.
I agree with the worry on Cooper bolting after this season, but if he has the right folks around him, he would stay for at least one more season, before considering such a thing. He would just be placed into a lower impact role at a P5, whereas if he left after his SO or JR seasons, he could make an immediate impact pretty much anywhere. I want him to stay all 4 years, and may get pleasantly surprised if he does so, but he would be wise to stay a minimum of two seasons.
Just out of curiosity I searched Cooper's brother Carson at Wright State and he hasn't played at all this season....
Did we get the better of the twins or are they redshirting him or what? Powell got here late. Was Carson picked by wright state BEFORE cooper? or were they both late to commit? Just curious how that dynamic turned out.... Who was the more highly regarded recruit and why hasn't Carson played?
I think the brother was signed before Cooper. And I thought I heard Coach say we were the only offer Cooper had. ?? If that is true, hopefully there would be some loyalty there, especially in light of Coach recruitring class kids.
Quote from: valpo64 on January 26, 2024, 09:10:28 AMI think the brother was signed before Cooper. And I thought I heard Coach say we were the only offer Cooper had. ??
Just visited Raider Nation and all I could find is that he was a late walk on and is redshirting. I'm not sure Carson got any offers. Should we try to steal him before they wake up? ;)
well according to both college's websites, their stats from the prep year are:
Carson: 12.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.3 apg
Cooper: 11.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.3 apg
Interesting...wouldn't it be great to "steal" 2 brothers that turn out to be top notch players? Maybe? :)
Wow, if I only had one offer out of HS, my personal loyalties would keep me at that program for 4 years. Think of Alec Peters getting offers, but the biggest programs shying away from him in HS and saying he wasn't ready, and him carrying that chip with him over his entire time at Valpo. I would think it pretty weak of someone to bolt for NIL money, after being spurned in such a way during HS.
You would think. But....................
Why are we talking about whether one of our best players will leave? I'm going to trust that Roger will build a winning program, regardless who suits up for the Beacons.
Since it is a fan board, we see how good he is and can be over time, and are worried that this new age of NIL won't ever let us keep someone like him :lol:
Quote from: valpotx on January 26, 2024, 07:58:29 PMWow, if I only had one offer out of HS, my personal loyalties would keep me at that program for 4 years. Think of Alec Peters getting offers, but the biggest programs shying away from him in HS and saying he wasn't ready, and him carrying that chip with him over his entire time at Valpo. I would think it pretty weak of someone to bolt for NIL money, after being spurned in such a way during HS.
I'm around a lot of HS kids including a few major athletes in football and basketball. Based on conversations with the kids directly and some of their surrounding people, NIL is a big deal and they all think they are worthy of it.
So in terms of Schweiger, thinking that he wouldn't leave due to the potential presence of NIL for him is setting up a situation to be very disappointed.
In addition to the player(s) potentially leaving, the concern is that the coach doesn't want to deal with a situation in which every decent player he brings in is a one and done may have that coach move on.
Based on the overall circumstances at Valpo, this should be a worry for all fans of the program.
The generational view has definitely changed, I will acknowledge that aspect. The NIL stuff first surfaced when I was on campus, even though the actual case would not come until 10-11 years later. We would talk about it in the baseball clubhouse quite often, and being at Valpo, didn't see how it was relevant to any of us, but we could see how someone would make the case that schools in the SEC/Big 12/Big 10/etc, could look around and see their universities making millions of dollars off their players and just continuing the cycle of facility upgrade > make more money > more upgrades. However, we viewed the scholarship equivalent as the payoff, as every other student was unlikely to have substantial scholarship money to pay off their degrees. Gen Z and after are much more about immediate gratification, and it really isn't their fault, as much as the times that they have grown up, as you can go 'viral' with a simple tweet and are immediately recognizable. There are a lot of folks that have a goal to become YouTube/TikTok famous or a famous gamer, versus aspiring to be successful in a trade or business.
Who is to say we can't come up
with NIL money? Trust the Rev.
Also, Cooper's step Mom went to
Valpo. They know the school.
Quote from: valpo64 on January 26, 2024, 09:10:28 AM
I think the brother was signed before Cooper. And I thought I heard Coach say we were the only offer Cooper had. ?? If that is true, hopefully there would be some loyalty there, especially in light of Coach recruitring class kids.
....and how much loyalty have Valpo players showed in the past? I don't think Cooper or any player in his position would stay for 4 years.
Coach Powell is not an idiot and I'm sure he could foresee NIL issues at Valpo that he'd need to deal with along with other potential transfer issues. However if the first player, who appears to be a hidden gem, that he recruits leaves immediately for a better program and more NIL...Wisconsin anyone?....Coach Powell may begin to have second thoughts about his decision before it is too late. Right now there's no "NIL" guys other than Cooper on the roster unless they are in a state of delusion....which ALWAYS exists with young adults these days....but it could develop into an ongoing issue which dormants the program completely unless things change.
"Have faith in Coach Rev" I guess is maintaining a positive attitude but it is also very naive.
Cooper not going anywhere.
Powell is not Lottich.