If I can get out of my neighborhood by Friday I plan to go to the game. Unfortunately for the Raiders their path for winning on the road hasn't been cleared yet either. They'll have to play at UIC before that happens.
WSU 73
Valpo 77
80-67 Valpo wins, with at least 5 foot stomp/arms crossed/pouty faces from Donlon.
We are at home, so this will be a win:
Valpo 81
WSU 72
Quote from: HC on January 06, 2014, 08:39:31 AMwith at least 5 foot stomp/arms crossed/pouty faces from Donlon
i'll take the over
Valpo needs to win and hold home court. I am trusting the ValparaiZone will be filled with loud supporters and motivate the team, especially Carter, who I am hoping will have a big game. After all, this will be the first home conference game while classes are in session, and there should be little homework or other distractions the opening weekend of the semester. Plus, it will be the first chance for students to see this new Crusader in action:
(http://i44.tinypic.com/wj6yid.jpg)
This game will be on ESPNU, so the student section should be ROCKING. There's virtually no homework to do since it's the beginning of the semester, and the student section should be mostly dudes (sorority recruitment is usually at this time).
Wright State simply can't win on the road. They lost to North Carolina A & f*** T on the road. In a league where everyone's going to hover around .500 in conference, you HAVE to win your home games. Hard to label this a must win, but if Valpo wants a 2-seed in the conference tourney (a great goal to have), then they really need to win this game. This seems kind of pointless to talk about at this point though, as anyone not Green Bay will end up with a 15 seed. But who knows what will happen come tourney time... it's called March Madness for a reason.
Quote from: a3uge on January 06, 2014, 04:40:02 PMNorth Carolina A & f*** T
now THERE'S a t-shirt
But if Valpo wants a 2-seed, I'd say they're setting their sights a lil low...
Quote from: a3uge on January 06, 2014, 04:40:02 PM
This game will be on ESPNU, so the student section should be ROCKING. There's virtually no homework to do since it's the beginning of the semester, and the student section should be mostly dudes (sorority recruitment is usually at this time).
Wright State simply can't win on the road. They lost to North Carolina A & f*** T on the road. In a league where everyone's going to hover around .500 in conference, you HAVE to win your home games. Hard to label this a must win, but if Valpo wants a 2-seed in the conference tourney (a great goal to have), then they really need to win this game. This seems kind of pointless to talk about at this point though, as anyone not Green Bay will end up with a 15 seed. But who knows what will happen come tourney time... it's called March Madness for a reason.
They also lost to VMI by 20, a team that lost to William and Mary by 20. Hopkins is now playing for them, scored 11 in 29 minutes with 4 assts and 4 TOs. Darling Cole isn't doing much for the Raiders either.
Quote from: a3uge on January 06, 2014, 04:40:02 PM
This game will be on ESPNU, so the student section should be ROCKING. There's virtually no homework to do since it's the beginning of the semester, and the student section should be mostly dudes (sorority recruitment is usually at this time).
Wright State simply can't win on the road. They lost to North Carolina A & f*** T on the road. In a league where everyone's going to hover around .500 in conference, you HAVE to win your home games. Hard to label this a must win, but if Valpo wants a 2-seed in the conference tourney (a great goal to have), then they really need to win this game. This seems kind of pointless to talk about at this point though, as anyone not Green Bay will end up with a 15 seed. But who knows what will happen come tourney time... it's called March Madness for a reason.
Realistically, we need to win our next 3 games - WSU at home, Detroit away, and Milw at home - to have any chance of capturing a league championship. Even then we still have 6 quality opponents to play on the road.
Quote from: wh on January 06, 2014, 08:53:20 PM
Quote from: a3uge on January 06, 2014, 04:40:02 PM
This game will be on ESPNU, so the student section should be ROCKING. There's virtually no homework to do since it's the beginning of the semester, and the student section should be mostly dudes (sorority recruitment is usually at this time).
Wright State simply can't win on the road. They lost to North Carolina A & f*** T on the road. In a league where everyone's going to hover around .500 in conference, you HAVE to win your home games. Hard to label this a must win, but if Valpo wants a 2-seed in the conference tourney (a great goal to have), then they really need to win this game. This seems kind of pointless to talk about at this point though, as anyone not Green Bay will end up with a 15 seed. But who knows what will happen come tourney time... it's called March Madness for a reason.
Realistically, we need to win our next 3 games - WSU at home, Detroit away, and Milw at home - to have any chance of capturing a league championship. Even then we still have 6 quality opponents to play on the road.
I think their ceiling would be a double bye. I don't think they have a shot at the regular season championship. I think everyone will struggle on the road and be inconsistent, so sneaking into a double bye isn't out of the question.
It'll be interesting to see if the Athletic's department actually tries to advertise this game, which is going to be on ESPNU. I found it incredibly frustrating that they created a graphic for social media without highlighting the national TV appearance. They also still refuse to provide links to the ticketing website with the interactive maps. It'll be a shame if the ARC appears empty on TV Friday because nobody felt the need to actually advertise this game.
A pps preview since I've got a lot of time on my hands thanks to snow day #3.
http://cbbpps.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/previewing-the-enemy-wright-state/ (http://cbbpps.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/previewing-the-enemy-wright-state/)
According to reports, Wright State's Kendall Griffin and J.T. Yoho will miss the game due to injuries. Jerran Young and AJ Pacher are "questionable."
They're still very deep, especially on the perimeter. Now if Pacher doesn't play that really hurts them. He's been their best player this season.
We really need to step up our defense for a full 40 minutes.
Valpo 75
WSU 62
WS 69
Valpo 67
WS D will create too many turnovers. I also predict either Bryce or Donlon will get ejected from the game. It will be physical.
An ejection prediction, I like it!
There have been a lot of advertisements in the newspapers. I believe it is a Family Night game - four tickets for $40 with $20 in concessions.
It is Cub Scout Night also. I'll be there with my 9 year-old Cub Scout.
At the other side of town, the Valpo High boys are playing Portage. That won't be a huge crowd, but it will take away a few people. There will be a handful of people who attend the high school game (7:30 start) and then come over to VU for the second half of the Wright State game at about 9 p.m.
I'm expecting a very good crowd. Upper deck full except the corners, that's my prediction. And a rocking student section with the full pep band intact.
Quote from: Valpo89 on January 09, 2014, 01:14:15 PMAt the other side of town, the Valpo High boys are playing Portage.
Yeah...this is dumb. I'm remembering Lloyd Carr's adamant refusal to move games to Friday night, in spite of TV remonstrations, because "that's the high school's night" and he didn't want to take away from that.
I realize we have an odd number of teams, but gosh, the old Thur-Sat travel partner schedule worked like clockwork in comparison to the current HL travesty.
Now we're playing on Sundays, Friday nights, and other dumb ideas.
There will be good halftime entertainment for this game as well, the Chicago Sky Squad:
http://youtu.be/-PDaQKWSwgE (http://youtu.be/-PDaQKWSwgE)
Quote from: valpopal on January 09, 2014, 02:26:54 PMThere will be good halftime entertainment for this game as well, the Chicago Sky Squad: http://youtu.be/-PDaQKWSwgE (http://youtu.be/-PDaQKWSwgE)
Finally some halftime entertainment that can put the ball in the hoop. Those little kids last Saturday could handle the ball, but they just didn't have the ability to finish. I would project them to be a pass first PG with questionable defense and invisible scoring.
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on January 09, 2014, 02:06:06 PM
Quote from: Valpo89 on January 09, 2014, 01:14:15 PMAt the other side of town, the Valpo High boys are playing Portage.
Yeah...this is dumb. I'm remembering Lloyd Carr's adamant refusal to move games to Friday night, in spite of TV remonstrations, because "that's the high school's night" and he didn't want to take away from that.
I realize we have an odd number of teams, but gosh, the old Thur-Sat travel partner schedule worked like clockwork in comparison to the current HL travesty.
Now we're playing on Sundays, Friday nights, and other dumb ideas.
As you hinted, the Friday games are due to the Horizon's agreement with ESPNU. I don't know why they couldn't be on Thursday, but it's been that way for years.
I doubt that Valpo could say they don't want Friday games because the League sets the schedule and they want their best teams/games on ESPNU.
Eddie, I'm guessing we're stuck with Friday nights because ESPN wants the national ratings for the B1G Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, American Athletic, and what Big East games they'll have. The HL just wouldn't bring in the ratings to ESPN on a Thursday night that a Michigan St-Ohio St., Oklahoma-Kansas, Duke-UNC, etc. can and does. If the HL had Thursday nights with ESPN, we'd be on either ESPNU or ESPN 3. We take what we can get.
Ah, for the days of a Bo Schembechler, who would (could!) say, "we're teeing the ball up at noon on Saturday...you can bring your cameras if you want"
Quote from: Valpo89 on January 09, 2014, 01:14:15 PM
There have been a lot of advertisements in the newspapers. I believe it is a Family Night game - four tickets for $40 with $20 in concessions.
You would think there would be some sort of online presence announcing this (Twitter, ticket website, valpoathletics.com, anywhere). I read 89's post and let 3 families know about the deal who most likely will be going now. The reality is our marketing of the basketball program is poor. The product is there but the effort is not. It takes more than billboards on 30/65 exit to get fans in the stands.
I believe it was on their Facebook page, something regarding this game was along with a link to the ticket office.
Quote from: Valpo89 on January 09, 2014, 01:14:15 PMI'm expecting a very good crowd. Upper deck full except the corners, that's my prediction. And a rocking student section with the full pep band intact.
I am not opptimistic that the general public will show up in great numbers. My guess is for 3300 tops and might be much less. I hope that I am dead wrong.
Spread: Valpo -4
Sounds about right. In our favor, WSU is dealing with some injuries right now and they have yet to win on the road. To our detriment, we are still changing lineups and rotations after 17 games. Hopefully, home court will carry the day.
Valparaiso has come up short late in games this season
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/valparaiso-has-come-up-short-late-in-games-this-season/article_2ecb6aa0-3e37-58f6-8e41-896ef1870fd5.html (http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/valparaiso-has-come-up-short-late-in-games-this-season/article_2ecb6aa0-3e37-58f6-8e41-896ef1870fd5.html)
GORCHES: Team first for Valpo freshman Jubril Adekoya
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/24862970-556/gorches-team-first-for-valpo-freshman-jubril-adekoya.html (http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/24862970-556/gorches-team-first-for-valpo-freshman-jubril-adekoya.html)
What is that final paragraph supposed to mean?
There Adekoya goes again with that team-first thing. But if everybody on Valparaiso can think that way, maybe, just maybe, the team can start playing cohesively for close to 40 minutes.
It appeared Gorches has a very high standard for this young Valpo team. Maybe he thinks the team is underachieving.
Quote from: a3uge on January 06, 2014, 04:40:02 PMThis game will be on ESPNU
If memory serves, this means an ESPN3 blackout unless you subscribe to ESPNU?
Annoying! Will have to weigh our options: send one parent, or both stay home for the radio broadcast.
Quote from: agibson on January 10, 2014, 10:26:40 AM
Quote from: a3uge on January 06, 2014, 04:40:02 PMThis game will be on ESPNU
If memory serves, this means an ESPN3 blackout unless you subscribe to ESPNU?
Annoying! Will have to weigh our options: send one parent, or both stay home for the radio broadcast.
Unless you have a very basic TV package I would think you get ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Perhaps what you are implying when you say ESPN3 is blackout is that the computer is your only way to watch. An upgrade to include ESPNU if you don't have it already can't be very much.
someone will post a pirate link here, i'm sure.
i mean, i don't know who, but you know, someone.
Quote from: vu72 on January 10, 2014, 10:41:21 AMUnless you have a very basic TV package I would think you get ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Perhaps what you are implying when you say ESPN3 is blackout is that the computer is your only way to watch. An upgrade to include ESPNU if you don't have it already can't be very much.
We're on comcast currently, with their "triple play" which might default to one of the lowest tiers of digital cable. We get a couple of hundred channels (or more?) but the selection of sports channels seems... eclectic.
We get Comcast Sports Net, and we get NBC Sports Network (very useful for british soccer! my usual saturday morning ritual now), but I'm 99% sure we don't get ESPNU.
We get the BigTenNetwork, and FoxSportsOne, and maybe Fox College Sports (does that still exist?). We get maybe one more of the sometimes-useful soccer networks, but not, I think BeInSport or Fox Soccer Network.
So, a mixed bag.
My recollection is that, last I checked, to get ESPNU we had to add a whole other sports tier. So, it wasn't negligible. Maybe $10 a month more, or some such? Maybe $20?
Not really sure why I mentioned ESPN3, except that you could imagine a world (and maybe it's even true for the archive?) where anyone with ESPN3 access could see the game that way. But, I think, they actually do specifically check your subscription and black you out if you happen not to have ESPNU (even if you do have ESPN).
I always say listen on the radio/computer even if you do get ESPNU!
Quote from: chef on January 10, 2014, 12:56:30 PM
I always say listen on the radio/computer even if you do get ESPNU!
I always do. I prefer play-by-play with my basketball games.
Quote from: justducky on January 09, 2014, 10:15:42 PM
Quote from: Valpo89 on January 09, 2014, 01:14:15 PMI'm expecting a very good crowd. Upper deck full except the corners, that's my prediction. And a rocking student section with the full pep band intact.
I am not opptimistic that the general public will show up in great numbers. My guess is for 3300 tops and might be much less. I hope that I am dead wrong.
WSU fans really travel well, so in the "every-little-bit-helps" department, there's that.
In Checking our local provider Charter you need Gold Service, 20 Dollars per month to get ESPNU the top tier service. The U sells the game to the highest bidder at least in Wisconsin. WAKE is a good deal. :(
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 10, 2014, 03:36:57 PM
Quote from: chef on January 10, 2014, 12:56:30 PM
I always say listen on the radio/computer even if you do get ESPNU!
I always do. I prefer play-by-play with my basketball games.
Isn't the feed out of whack? You know, seeing what happened a few seconds ahead of Todd's call(or the other way around!)?
Quote from: vu72 on January 10, 2014, 03:48:16 PM
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 10, 2014, 03:36:57 PM
Quote from: chef on January 10, 2014, 12:56:30 PM
I always say listen on the radio/computer even if you do get ESPNU!
I always do. I prefer play-by-play with my basketball games.
Isn't the feed out of whack? You know, seeing what happened a few seconds ahead of Todd's call(or the other way around!)?
DVR.
/drops mic
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 10, 2014, 03:37:42 PM
Quote from: justducky on January 09, 2014, 10:15:42 PM
Quote from: Valpo89 on January 09, 2014, 01:14:15 PMI'm expecting a very good crowd. Upper deck full except the corners, that's my prediction. And a rocking student section with the full pep band intact.
I am not opptimistic that the general public will show up in great numbers. My guess is for 3300 tops and might be much less. I hope that I am dead wrong.
WSU fans really travel well, so in the "every-little-bit-helps" department, there's that.
Well, I just checked the ticket site (if it can be believed) and there are about 50 seats left on the chairback side and about 200 on the lower reserved side. The upper deck is a sea of availability.
The weather looks bad with a forecasted near 40 temp (good) but a 100 % chance of precip, probably in the form of rain, but if the temp drops--ice? Not exactly the stuff that makes you want to leave the comfort of your living room when you can watch it on the tube.
I am getting back to the ARC with my wife for the first time since North Park. I am optimistic this game will be well attended.
I understand the love for High School basketball, but it continues to confuse me that the public chooses to attend those games over D-I athletics. Keith Carter alone is worth the price of admission. I am very excited to see him live.
The word "ESPN" will draw the student section. When I was a student, it was often frustrating finding a seat for these games. As a regular (missed 4 home games in 4 years) many 'fair weather' and 'Look I am on TV' fans really dominate the front sections.
With Griffin and Yoho out, and Pacher Questionable, it may be a short bench for the Raiders. For a team that only scores 69.1 points a game, losing your 3rd leading scorer (Yoho) is big in some views statistically, but this is a team structure around everyone scoring. If Pacher is out, this changes the game entirely. The question of the game will be how Valpo will respond to the physicality of their conference leading defense. Valpo handled a tougher defense opponent well (SLU). As usual, if Valpo can keep turnovers down, we will see an impressive team on the court. Hopefully today is the day we see a complete game (Solid 1st and 2nd halves).
Prediction: Valpo 78 - WSU 64
Seats for the Game: Chairback G, Row K, Seat 5 and 6
Quote from: ProudValpoAlum705 on January 10, 2014, 04:03:52 PMChairback G, Row K
must be from Chesterton
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 10, 2014, 03:49:59 PMDVR.
/drops mic
true but that wouldn't work if the (live) radio were ahead of the (live) TV...you could never catch up
Quote from: ProudValpoAlum705 on January 10, 2014, 04:03:52 PM
As usual, if Valpo can keep turnovers down, we will see an impressive team on the court. Hopefully today is the day we see a complete game (Solid 1st and 2nd halves).
I am really hoping to see a complete game. The Oakland game was the first time this season that I felt we played really really well in the first half. However, something happened at halftime (sadly I was there to witness).
I believe this team is getting close to putting together a whole game and feel Wright State will be a great test. As you said lets keep the turnovers down and play two halves of basketball and get the win tonight!
My guess is the commentators will downplay our team and uptalk WSU. However, I believe they will be presently surprised to see a great Valpo win where the team played an excellent and complete game.
Valpo 70 - WSU 62
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on January 10, 2014, 04:15:48 PM
Quote from: ProudValpoAlum705 on January 10, 2014, 04:03:52 PMChairback G, Row K
must be from Chesterton
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 10, 2014, 03:49:59 PMDVR.
/drops mic
true but that wouldn't work if the (live) radio were ahead of the (live) TV...you could never catch up
True, and that has happened on occasion.
I don't care, myself. I can't bear the ESPN announcers that do HL games (I don't mind the HLN game of the week guys as much when they're on HLN and maybe espn3 but not really an ESPN production). I'll live with the time-shift.
I hope Lexus continues to shoot the three...he had been locked in lately.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
If you listen to the games off the internet feed (valpoathletics.com), the radio feed should always be behind the TV feed.
Vest, Griffin, and Yoho are not in uniform. Everybody else will play.
http://www.feed2all.eu/watch/231933/2/watch-wright-state-vs-valparaiso.html (http://www.feed2all.eu/watch/231933/2/watch-wright-state-vs-valparaiso.html)
NIGHTMARE
An embarrassment on TV. Against the Wright State bench. This is a sorry example of college basketball.
I'm not entirely sure of Valpo's offensive strategy. Seems like half of the time they're running a PNR with Gueye or Vashil before turning it over/watching the bigs throw up a laughable shot, or they try to drive wildly into the lane and chuck something up. Need to start driving and kicking to the perimeter for an open look. Anything would be better than the crap were putting up now.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Peters was 4-14. The next most shots taken were 6. He's shooting way too much. And what's going on with Capobianco? He barely played tonight. Was it just match-ups?
What did Bobby do to make Bryce so mad? He couldn't even get garbage minutes tonight. It's kind of insane to think that he can only find a couple minutes of playing time in a game where nothing was working on offense.
My mom told me If i can't say something nice. .... ........ ..........
We don't have an offensive strategy, so we end up just standing still. Our guys do not play with ANY passion, and that makes it unbearable to watch us play at times. We get down, we start walking around, not rotating, running into the defender, etc. It is basically an undisciplined team, which is on Bryce. Our mistakes are not due to our age, as many people try to say. You learn the basketball fundamentals much earlier than college, and we just don't play like we ever learned them. How can you throw continuous passes directly to a defender? How do you not make a shot all alone under the basket? How do you get 4 people to go to the ball under the hoop, and leave EVERYONE else open for wide open 3s? How do you get within 1 and then make 1 shot over the last 10 minutes? We are going to be a bottom 3 team in conference play this year, which is absolutely terrible considering the league being average this year.
This season has turned me into such a negative person when watching us play, just by watching the lack of fundamentals and watching our guys act like they don't care that they are getting completely whooped by teams that are average. To think, I used to be teased about being too positive about our teams of the past...
in the words of the immortal Larry Brown, "we played like strangers".
and what was up with fouling at the end? as ridiculous as pulling your goalie down 5 goals.
we always have one horrid conference home loss. let's hope this was it.
Did they say 8 minutes with one field goal in the first half and 10 minutes in the second half with only one field goal. ... was that accurate?
I wouldn't doubt it. We looked completely inept on offense for such long stretches. One stretch had 4 or 5 turnovers in a row, where we literally threw it right to their defenders.
I wish this season was over already .
Paul
You think there will be some that transfer out?
If I'm a coach in the HL, I'm immediately fouling Vashil if he gets the ball with the bonus. He has to have the ugliest free throw shot I've ever seen.
Things this team doesn't have....a gameplan, superstar, desire, or leadership. Things this team does have....excuses, injuries, illnesses, and depression.
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This game changed my mind on 2 things: first WSU isn't as bad as I want them to be, although I'm not ready to consider them a threat to GB yet and second our team is not very good. We have identity on either end of the court. Hopefully that comes with experience. I disagree that this all on Bryce. Guys are missing easy buckets, throwing balls right to defenders, not catching passes.....the thing he does need to fix now is our strategy on offense. Everyone in the league knows our plays. I'm surprised we didn't throw more passes away to be honest with how quickly WSU was getting the lanes and beating our guys to their spots.
Can we call Capo a bust yet? I said it when he came here that I didn't have high hopes for the guy after hearing things from my IU pals. I hope he gets a chance and is able to contribute again, but I just don't know.
Who would transfer out, seems like a ridiculous thing to say. The freshmen are playing and the other guys are seniors?
Quote from: HC on January 10, 2014, 10:51:40 PM
Who would transfer out, seems like a ridiculous thing to say. The freshmen are playing and the other guys are seniors?
Yes, they are playing. However, they might be getting frustrated with (1) losing (2) the way we are losing. They look lost on both ends of the court. With all the substitutions and different line ups, some freshman may get confused. All that would be frustrating as a new player coming into a program. Doesn't seem too ridiculous.
Quote from: valpotx on January 10, 2014, 10:13:03 PMWe don't have an offensive strategy, so we end up just standing still.
TX is 100% right. We don't have an offensive. We have this odd hand off at the top of the three point arc offense. It's the same thing over and over. We just do these hand offs.
This offense is creating the high volume of turnovers. We do not run set plays, EVER. We are only successful when we can get out and run and be in transition.
For those questioning why Bobby didn't play much did you see his D when he was in the game? It sucked.
Also, why was Lexus taken out in the early in 2nd half when we had momentum going? He was all over the place and was pulled. The kid doesn't get tired.
So transferring out to another new program and going through it all over again makes sense? I would be willing to bet that not one of our core four freshmen has had that thought cross their mind, and if it has then good riddance. They are focusing on getting better and figuring out how to win.
With this seemingly being a rebuilding year maybe it will keep he bigger programs from poaching our coaching staff! I'd say get us this year, because brighter sky's are ahead for this group.
noticed in last two games that Lexus is the flow on this team. ... confused by how long he sits at times.
It is not a total bust but i think it is going to be a long season. Sometimes feel that all the combination changes have made it difficult for players to get a flow and rhythm with each other. (too much to pick from - maybe)
When the post game interview is posted could someone add it here?
I recall being a freshman and playing a DI sport. We lost several games and despite receiving playing time, I was frustrated about losing and not understanding the system. That lead me to think about transferring.
I'll only say a few things, because I understand everyone's frustrations and many of the points on here are valid. We missed dunks, lay-ups and open three pointers. I don't see how any of that is on Bryce. Wright State did a tremendous job on Lavonte - switching every screen. We ran several set plays for him and he couldn't get a look. He was not nearly 100%, but the biggest factor was Wright St.'s defense. One other point, Valpo runs a lot of set plays, more than most teams. Tonight WSU took those plays away and our young players didn't react well after the set plays were bottled up.
Holy disappointing. What an embarrassment on ESPNU. Against a short-handed Wright St. At home!?! I was so pissed at our coaching staff, I could scream. No strategy, no discipline, no game plan, no fundamentals, no leadership, HELLA BLEAPIN TURNOVERS ... just a giant cluster-F of ineptitude. Bryce is just collecting a paycheck at this point?!?
We have nose-dived like no tomorrow since such promising appearances against Murray St and UCF. Hell, our trio of losses at Illinois/ Ohio/ Evansville were far more promising than tonight's abomination. How does this coaching staff not at least produce some semblance of that same promising team, at home, 45 days later? Has the shakeup with Carter disrupted our flow this much? Even so, why can't our coaching staff figure out how to at least make us competitive, at home, against a hamstrung conference opponent?
At least Lloyd McClendon was on the mic in the 2nd half to give our institution a little credibility.
I guess I don't understand the dramatic turnaround either. We lose on a last second shot to a top 35 team in St. Louis and play very solid on the road at places like Illinois and then, we lay an egg at Oakland and worse, get pummeled by WSU. The matchups are a mystery, the turnovers are what? 340th out of 345 D1 teams? Sure, the coaches don't make bad passes but for some reason the team is backsliding and quickly. The kids are losing confidence. If we don't get the ship righted, and quickly, it could be a very long remainder of the season.
Really insightful comments about all the issues we're dealing with right now. Is there a more knowledgeable fan base anywhere?
I want to credit Wright State for playing an excellent game. The Oakland game was ours for the taking and we frittered it away. Tonight was completely different. Wright State outplayed and out coached us at both ends of the court from beginning to end. The fact that they had guys out with injuries made their performance even more impressive. I don't have any idea why they have struggled this year, but they certainly were impressive tonight.
Vashil looks like the best candidate I have seen in over a decade who could and should be converted to the underhand freethrow. Is there anyone still alive who remembers how to teach it other than maybe setshot? I had a 5'th grade coach that had me shoot underhand but my results were very similar to Vashils. How many in a row has he missed? I think it is at least 13.
He started off with such promise shooting FTs this year too! I believe it is at 13 in a row missed as well.
Quote from: justducky on January 11, 2014, 01:07:33 AM
Vashil looks like the best candidate I have seen in over a decade who could and should be converted to the underhand freethrow. Is there anyone still alive who remembers how to teach it other than maybe setshot? I had a 5'th grade coach that had me shoot underhand but my results were very similar to Vashils. How many in a row has he missed? I think it is at least 13.
Either no one is working with him or he is ignoring what he is being taught. Rather than his shooting elbow being out front and tight, it is at about a 45 degree angle to the right and he shoots the ball back across his body. He shoots a jump shot exactly the same way, which takes him forever to load and release.
Williams is the best slasher and passer on the team. I believe he should be playing 35 mins a game. Alec peters is ice cold right now. I don't know why D.C. isnt getting any minutes.
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A few pointers...I was watching the game at a BBQ joint and they looked rather slugish.
1. This is a very young team overall which will turn the ball over at times when you don't expect. This is generally a rebuilding year.
2. Sometimes we overhype the player skillset - I think this has happened with Carter, where we were already giving him the Horizon player of the year award. He obviously has a ways to go before he gels. Valpo's talent level this year is not as good as we think it is.
3. Drew is decent coach; he got outcoached last night. Even John Wooden and the great Tom Smith got outcoached now and then.
4. Why do guys have a problem with Billy Donlan? He is coaching well at WSU and building his career from the ground up.
I was impressed with Valpo's size last night, so I checked their roster versus those who had court time. They had starters at 6'8" and 6'10". Coming off the bench was a 6'7", a 6'10", and a 7 footer. They had size as well as bulk. My memory is not good, but I don't recall any string beans on their squad.
Read more: http://wrightstate.proboards.com/thread/2699/game-18-valparaiso?page=9#ixzz2q67SX7sw (http://wrightstate.proboards.com/thread/2699/game-18-valparaiso?page=9#ixzz2q67SX7sw)
This was a fan from Wright State. We have the size inside, but besides the pick-and-roll last night, we don't have much have an inside post game. We just had more passes inside last year that opened the 3 pt shot. We had more cuts to the basket and more dribble penetration. Now, we just hand the ball off and make 3 feet awkward passes. We don't stretch other defenses out.
Some more thoughts. I wish Yeo would have redshirted. He looks like Taylor Swift playing basketball. The guy is nowhere near D1 ready.
Has Carter gained eligibility yet? I can't wait till he suits up in a Valpo uniform.
Coleman has to get more minutes, but please don't have him throw an inbound pass ever again.
Wright State's offense looked dreadful. I can see how they lost to North Carolina A&T or whatever school that was. Valpo was just completely incompetent on offense. Poor game plan, poor execution, poor everything.
I'm not going to give Billy any credit for being a wonderful coach this year. They had one of the worst OOC schedules in all of D1. They were picked 2nd in conference with 1st place votes. They lost 8 non conference games. If they somehow win the league, they'll be a 16 seed. At this point the only chance for a HL team to win in the tourney is to have GB win the Conf.
Carter is eligible.
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The worst part about Vashil's free throw shooting is how it suddenly dropped off in the middle of the season. Following the Mercer game he had made 12-16 (75%), but ever since then he has shot 9-32 (28%). My immediate reaction was that either him or the coaches saw this progress at the beginning of the year and backed off the amount of practice time that he gets at the line. It's just unacceptable to have that much regression over the course of one season.
a3uge - funniest Carter comment...
An absolutely awful performance.
Anybody know what is up with Bobby? Is he hurt or has he been playing so poorly that Bryce has put him on the bench?
Another thing I noticed that drove me crazy last night was when it seemed like a player would get hot, make a nice shot, a couple of good defensive plays, a few nice passes, Bryce took them out of the game. If my memory is correct, when we cut the lead to one, with Lexus, Keith, LVD, Alec, and Vashil we took a bunch of them out of the game and WSU pushed the lead back up and took the air out of our game and then when they came back in many of them seemed flat and slow. I understand guys need to sit sometimes but why do a wholesale change, when you can do it slowly with one guy at a time? I fully believe that Bryce should've let that group stay in longer until they got the lead.
Before anyone loses sleep or anymore hair over this team, just remember...this isn't last years team. Give this team a year or two.
I expected this team to be just above .500 in league play with a couple good wins and a couple bad losses. We're young and the freshman class can be really really good when they are juniors/seniors. The freshman are making freshman like mistakes. The problem is, the seniors are also making freshman like mistakes. This teams best basketball is in the future with Peters, Williams, Adekoya, Carter, and the rest. We played right into WSU's strengths. The young guys know what to expect from a Billy Donlon WSU team from now on.
Teams like Green Bay, Wright State, Oakland are just better, battle tested teams with players that have been around the block a few times. If this was last years team playing like this, then we would have something to worry about. Just CALM DOWN people, everything will be okay :thumbsup:. This isn't the year. Unless we turn things around, we'll be in the middle of the pack. Maybe we can get hot during HL tourney time but who knows.
Looking at the poor shooting in this game, it is hard to believe Valpo leads the Horizon League in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage, and until now had led the league in scoring offense. Shooting 32% and 27% from the 3-point line will not get the job done.
Also, the defensive aggressiveness seems diminished recently. In the second half of the last game Oakland committed 0 turnovers, and for the two halves of this game Wright State only committed 4 turnovers. (In the press conference Donlon acted like he couldn't believe that stat since his team is one of the worst in the nation on turnovers.) During the first ten minutes of the second half last night, Valpo at last seemed to be tightening the defense, which led to offense as well.
I will note that the offense looked a bit lost at times because Dority, who was in a lot of pain due to a back injury, seemed severely limited, and he is usually counted upon for much of the movement on offense. But there is no excuse for the poor performance of the team, all of whom seemed dejected after the game. Let's hope that dejection turns to determination.
Here are a few of my photos of high-percentage shots that did go in the basket:
(http://i41.tinypic.com/2up3fux.jpg)
(http://i39.tinypic.com/k2g1z5.jpg)
(http://i42.tinypic.com/53jkad.jpg)
I completely agree with everyone that our offensive flow was terrible.
However, this was the most PHYSICAL defense we have seen BY FAR all season long. When we did drive to the basket it was very physical. I counted a half dozen times that WSU defenders would put BOTH hands on the driver to keep themselves betweeen the offensive player and the basket. WSU is a good team. They lost to a lot of crap teams early in the season because the referees were whistle happy. The foul disparity in some of their early loses was crazy. That is no longer the case and WSU is back to being a legit contented for a Horizon League crown. Also, WSU is very good at being physical with cutters away from the ball. Bumping you off your line and quitting a quick hold in to slow you down.
We are simply not that physical, or perhaps not quick enough? Either way, when teams move the ball quickly against us, they are going to get an open look sometime in the shot clock. Luckily, WSU is a poor shooting team or last night could have been much worse.
It is as if The NCAA has e-mailed every D-1 referee and told them that all the off season literature, seminars, and instructions towards those specific points of emphasis has now been declared a success and so going forward "Never Mind".
I now have no reason to believe that league play will be anything other than HL Wrestlemania 2014 just like it has always been in the past. My views are much like StLVUFan has stated in the past in that one set of rules with one set of interpretations be consistently called from the first game of the season to the last. That said I take my hat off to Donlan because away from the ball his defenders make it impossible to get open for back door cuts because they are pushed, bodied, handchecked, tripped and held. Jordan Coleman is the only 3 we have at this moment that can handle that type of combat.
Exactly--everyone thought WSU would pay the price for their defense with the new rules, and they did--in 2013. Not any more.
Can we stop it with inane transfer talk? The team isn't 3 and 15. And so what if they did? Is anyone on a .500 team irreplaceable anyway?
It's ridiculous that they are no longer calling the hand checks/bars on defenders. It just plays into WSU and CSU's hands as that is how they play defense, keeping their hands on their offensive player on any drives. It completely throws off an offensive team's game, as they have been used to getting these calls.
I understand that this team has 3 freshmen getting significant playing time, but in the same time, the team features 4 seniors.
So how do you define a young team?
A young, inexperienced team is exemplified by the fact that at least at one point last night, NONE of our 5 players on the floor had any college experience until this year. They were playing against a team who didn't lose anyone from last year's team as I recall. Experience and strength will come but as of now, our deficiency in these areas will cost us.
I have now uploaded a set with 27 of my photos from the game, including shots of the halftime entertainment attempting to imitate the style of Jordan Coleman's first-half slam dunk as seen below. You can check out the pictures at the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157639661747503/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157639661747503/)
(http://i43.tinypic.com/2psnkfb.jpg)
(http://i43.tinypic.com/28u1jzc.jpg)
Quote from: 78crusader on January 02, 2013, 09:27:57 PMI'm done. Not done rooting for VU. But done thinking this team has a chance for a special season.
Quote from: truth219 on January 02, 2013, 09:32:09 PMValpo is so inconsistant. They looked so bad tonight. Dority isn't all that
Quote from: wittynamehere on January 02, 2013, 09:48:14 PMSorry for the rant - I'm frustrated by this home loss to what I thought would be a lesser conference foe.
Quote from: humbleopinion on January 02, 2013, 09:51:32 PMI guess we'd best learn to savor any victory that the team is able to notch. They have shown the potential to let any D1 team be a challenge this year. I just hope they don't exhibit that potential often in the next couple of months.
Quote from: justducky on January 02, 2013, 10:03:05 PMWell, we just played a very hard fought game where our overall mental execution (first half especially) was not that bad and still got spanked at home. Back to the drawing board.
Quote from: HC on January 02, 2013, 10:03:31 PMCoach Drew was outcoached both on the court and in preparing his team for the game. Hopefully they can pull it together
Quote from: valporun on January 02, 2013, 10:20:32 PMBased on how things have gone with this team, will it stop those who thought this team would be so special? They haven't proven any of you right, and they've played more to their own individual weaknesses, rather than to the team strengths. Strengths that I don't think exist anymore. It is going to be an even longer season with the way this team has lost touch with their game, the missed layups, shooting bad shots, turnovers like they are fresh out of the oven...We have so many things that need to be fixed, and no chemistry in the lineups or rotations. It just makes it hard to watch this team with any sense of seriousness right now.
Quote from: Smj on January 02, 2013, 10:36:28 PMInconsistent - with flashes of excellence. However, when it is bad it is really bad. I see one game and think - wow we are going to be tough to beat and then the next game I wonder how we are going to win the next game. ... We seem to play to the competition - with that - the win just goes to the team that has the last run...
Quote from: Smj on January 02, 2013, 11:35:19 PMThe refs tonight really let them play. This does not usually seem like it is good for us.
Quote from: wh on January 02, 2013, 11:46:32 PMThis was a total team loss. We were out scouted, out coached and out played. ... [They] got away with a lot of crap. I thought I was watching a playground game where players were supposed to call their own fouls but no one did....As others have pointed out, this team continues to have an identity crisis. There are players that have clearly not accepted their roles. I am really starting to wonder about the wisdom of having a team full transfers.
Quote from: Smj on January 03, 2013, 02:46:24 AMThis season: (http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0Cbza8f6ZjA/ThgsRrIEt2I/AAAAAAAAOwk/ckK6saSdnXo/Takabisha1.jpg)
Quote from: lowposter on January 03, 2013, 08:16:03 AMThis is a great wake up call, lets see if VU hits the snooze button or jumps up and gets going.
Quote from: vuchicago on January 03, 2013, 10:03:22 AMWow well sounds like the defending Horizon League coach of the year should just quit.
I'm disappointed as everyone else about last night's game and the inconsistency so far, but these type of games seem to be the norm throughout the Horizon League this year and I expect plenty of upsets. Just gotta take it game by game.
Quote from: valpo84 on January 03, 2013, 11:58:48 AMBy the way, told my wife 3 minutes into last night's game that the refs were letting them play and we needed to get tougher. It never happened and the refs stayed consistent the rest of the night.
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 03, 2013, 03:04:48 PMLastly, may I remind everyone that we had a very similar game almost exactly one year ago and it turned out to be our only conference home loss of the entire season. You can assign signature significance to this one game if you like, but count me out.
Quote from: justducky on January 11, 2014, 12:38:42 PMIt is as if The NCAA has e-mailed every D-1 referee and told them that all the off season literature, seminars, and instructions towards those specific points of emphasis has now been declared a success and so going forward "Never Mind".
I wouldn't bet the farm on that just yet. We'll have to see when they start drawing conclusions from evaluations. I get the sense that Mark Adams is not letting go of this that easily.
I do think referees are prone to lapsing into old habits just like the rest of us.
I don't blame Billy Donlon and Gary Waters for exploiting this, but I refuse to applaud them for it all the same. I'm too busy criticizing the refs to applaud them. They get no blame, but they also get no credit from me.
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on January 11, 2014, 08:51:09 PM
Quote from: 78crusader on January 02, 2013, 09:27:57 PMI'm done. Not done rooting for VU. But done thinking this team has a chance for a special season.
Quote from: truth219 on January 02, 2013, 09:32:09 PMValpo is so inconsistant. They looked so bad tonight. Dority isn't all that
Quote from: wittynamehere on January 02, 2013, 09:48:14 PMSorry for the rant - I'm frustrated by this home loss to what I thought would be a lesser conference foe.
Quote from: humbleopinion on January 02, 2013, 09:51:32 PMI guess we'd best learn to savor any victory that the team is able to notch. They have shown the potential to let any D1 team be a challenge this year. I just hope they don't exhibit that potential often in the next couple of months.
Quote from: justducky on January 02, 2013, 10:03:05 PMWell, we just played a very hard fought game where our overall mental execution (first half especially) was not that bad and still got spanked at home. Back to the drawing board.
Quote from: HC on January 02, 2013, 10:03:31 PMCoach Drew was outcoached both on the court and in preparing his team for the game. Hopefully they can pull it together
Quote from: valporun on January 02, 2013, 10:20:32 PMBased on how things have gone with this team, will it stop those who thought this team would be so special? They haven't proven any of you right, and they've played more to their own individual weaknesses, rather than to the team strengths. Strengths that I don't think exist anymore. It is going to be an even longer season with the way this team has lost touch with their game, the missed layups, shooting bad shots, turnovers like they are fresh out of the oven...We have so many things that need to be fixed, and no chemistry in the lineups or rotations. It just makes it hard to watch this team with any sense of seriousness right now.
Quote from: Smj on January 02, 2013, 10:36:28 PMInconsistent - with flashes of excellence. However, when it is bad it is really bad. I see one game and think - wow we are going to be tough to beat and then the next game I wonder how we are going to win the next game. ... We seem to play to the competition - with that - the win just goes to the team that has the last run...
Quote from: Smj on January 02, 2013, 11:35:19 PMThe refs tonight really let them play. This does not usually seem like it is good for us.
Quote from: wh on January 02, 2013, 11:46:32 PMThis was a total team loss. We were out scouted, out coached and out played. ... [They] got away with a lot of crap. I thought I was watching a playground game where players were supposed to call their own fouls but no one did....As others have pointed out, this team continues to have an identity crisis. There are players that have clearly not accepted their roles. I am really starting to wonder about the wisdom of having a team full transfers.
Quote from: Smj on January 03, 2013, 02:46:24 AMThis season: (http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0Cbza8f6ZjA/ThgsRrIEt2I/AAAAAAAAOwk/ckK6saSdnXo/Takabisha1.jpg)
Quote from: lowposter on January 03, 2013, 08:16:03 AMThis is a great wake up call, lets see if VU hits the snooze button or jumps up and gets going.
Quote from: vuchicago on January 03, 2013, 10:03:22 AMWow well sounds like the defending Horizon League coach of the year should just quit.
I'm disappointed as everyone else about last night's game and the inconsistency so far, but these type of games seem to be the norm throughout the Horizon League this year and I expect plenty of upsets. Just gotta take it game by game.
Quote from: valpo84 on January 03, 2013, 11:58:48 AMBy the way, told my wife 3 minutes into last night's game that the refs were letting them play and we needed to get tougher. It never happened and the refs stayed consistent the rest of the night.
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 03, 2013, 03:04:48 PMLastly, may I remind everyone that we had a very similar game almost exactly one year ago and it turned out to be our only conference home loss of the entire season. You can assign signature significance to this one game if you like, but count me out.
:clap:
Yeah, I should have done it sooner, but I just wanted to save y'all some time.
So I posted a bunch of your old posts from the Loyola loss last year. You're welcome.
Kind of funny that the more things change...
As for how I personally feel, well, STL said it perfectly at the end there (at the end of MY post because he just posted in between us d'oh now TWICE COME ON MAN). Too bad it was prophetic.
(Also, the person who claimed that "Loyola was top 4 HL material" and "wouldn't get blown out" did NOT get quoted, you're welcome, although I will put this right here for him/her: 5-11! And blown out by 18 at MILWAUKEE--that's last year's model Milwaukee, "Old Milwaukee" not "Milwaukee's Beast". OK, well other that that they didn't get blown out. But they weren't in the top 4. They were in the next 4 though.)OK, I'll reprint STL's again here because it's worth it.
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 03, 2013, 03:04:48 PMLastly, may I remind everyone that we had a very similar game almost exactly one year ago and it turned out to be our only conference home loss of the entire season. You can assign signature significance to this one game if you like, but count me out.
Spot on comments. There are some talent gaps but there is some learning going on.
(http://i42.tinypic.com/289yo8x.jpg)
i slept on my thoughts of the game because my intitial reactions were not good. however, i watched a lot of games yesterday (and broadcast a hs game Friday) and sometimes you have to step back and look at the big picture of a season.
1. Teams are going to give us their best shot -- we are 2x defending HL regular season and last year's HL tourney champs. We have young players who do not understand yet what that means and what is required. We have to play at a higher intensity every game. UMass, Wichita State, Florida all learned valuable lessons yesterday.
2. Coach Drew has made a lot of in game and other adjustments. It does require execution. The pick and roll was an effective strategy for an aggressive defense. But the big men have to follow the 3Cs -- catch, collect and convert. Vashi -- slow down. Yes the WSU defense was very effective. But this offense is built on sets that are decades old. Watching an old tape of part of the ORU Valpo 1999 AMCU tourney championship had the same O sets. The passing (lot less dribbling) was crisper and there was more experienced players at post. That team in conference finsihed 2d after slow starts too. The frosh really came on towards the end of the season. There was a lot of coaching at the end when 5 frosh were on the court and time outs and fouling was still going on. That group has to learn how to win. Bryce and company are still offering their offense plenty of sets, plays and opportunities. Players have to execute in the end. Too many missed layups, too many missed FTs, too much dribbling.
3. Watching past couple games, the frosh looked like they have hit the proverbial "freshmen wall." We look sluggish. So hopefully, the 2d wind comes soon. There are a lot of guys getting minutes at a high level they haven't before. And, if we are picking on The Carter for not playing well then Chrishown Hopkins, a 2x final four participant, was defended by Huckaby for getting into "game shape." Yeo's minutes need to be reduced as he looks like a frosh. No reason to redshirt him. Peters needs to quit rushing his 3 -- set your feet big man.
4. Huckaby and Barbar are the worst pairing all season. Get them off HL games if they are going to repeat themselves ad nauseum. OMgoodness, jiminy crickets. Did you know WSU had 3 starters out. Boo freaking hoo. They still have 5-7 guys on the court from last year. Pachar, Darling, etc played tons of minutes. When we had injuries no one cried for us for 2 hours on national tv. Huckaby had nothing helpful to say. He couldn't even interview Lloyd. Maybe ask, "Lloyd, you had the pleasure for the past few years of being the hitting coach of Miggy, what makes him so good?" Get him off the air, please. He should not be able to do another HL game ever. ESPN, I will watch, but will be turning off the sound going forward. Todd is so much better, or silence.
5. Finally, I don't even know where to begin on what is a foul in the HL. The Commish needs to rectify this immediately and send a memo to the coaches as to what is going to be the standard. Mrs. Valpo84 gets very frustrated because we teach her what are the rules and then refs do not follow so how is anyone supposed to know and understand. Consistency is all that we ask for. Others made excellent comments on this.
But everyone, let's relax and show some patience. This team needs to improve throughout the season and there is a lot of talent. We've heard Kampe and Donlon already start to stress about the next couple years. We were spoiled by some earlier successes. It's like a rookie pitcher in the majors (this is for TX), first time around no one has seen him or knows his stuff. Second time adjustments are made. It's now our turn to make adjustments back to what people are doing to stop the kids. Great players and teams make the adjustments and improve. At least we're not Carolina....
Quote from: valpo84 on January 12, 2014, 11:20:19 AM4. Huckaby and Barbar are the worst pairing all season. Get them off HL games if they are going to repeat themselves ad nauseum. OMgoodness, jiminy crickets. Did you know WSU had 3 starters out. Boo freaking hoo. They still have 5-7 guys on the court from last year. Pachar, Darling, etc played tons of minutes. When we had injuries no one cried for us for 2 hours on national tv. Huckaby had nothing helpful to say. He couldn't even interview Lloyd. Maybe ask, "Lloyd, you had the pleasure for the past few years of being the hitting coach of Miggy, what makes him so good?" Get him off the air, please. He should not be able to do another HL game ever. ESPN, I will watch, but will be turning off the sound going forward. Todd is so much better, or silence.
Most of what I dislike specifically about Barber I can't quite put my finger on, but I think you have nailed it as much as possible. Part of it is just the sound of his voice, which is entirely subjective and even I don't understand why the sound of his voice makes we want to go drag my fingernails across chalkboards for 2 hours.
The rest of what I have against him I have against every ESPN pbp team that ever does an HL game, and it's not necessarily his fault but the network's. I won't rehash it for the thousandth time as I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing my rant ;)
Not listening at the time, I couldn't tell for sure, but I got the distinct impression that when they were interviewing McClendon they completely abandoned play by play. I hope I'm wrong, but unfortunately I have high confidence that I'm not wrong.
Recently I heard a discussion on WSCR about NFL announcers that touched on the same general area and they talked about how the announcers fly in to do the game and they already have their rundown of story lines. They have very little time, so instead of actually learning about the team, they ask about their preconceived story lines so they can have their talking points ready to sprinkle throughout the game (maybe Jim didn't have that many to work with and that's why he hammered the few he had into the ground so much). I don't know if this applies also to CBB announcers, but I can readily believe it.
I'm afraid maybe the real object lesson here is that ESPN just absolutely sucks at CBB ;) Of course, they're probably not the only network that does...
Most network PBP guys have full-time jobs in local markets. Thom Brenneman (The Reds), Sam Rosen (The NY Rangers), Kevin Burkhardt (MSG), etc. Thus, there's many times they don't arrive at the park until an couple hours before the game. It's the same situation with most ESPN announcers - they have multiple gigs. It's very hard to do proper prep under these circumstances.
Quote from: chef on January 12, 2014, 08:01:46 PM
Most network PBP guys have full-time jobs in local markets. Thom Brenneman (The Reds), Sam Rosen (The NY Rangers), Kevin Burkhardt (MSG), etc. Thus, there's many times they don't arrive at the park until an couple hours before the game. It's the same situation with most ESPN announcers - they have multiple gigs. It's very hard to do proper prep under these circumstances.
I do get that. As I've said, I actually don't blame the announcers. It is a real problem, but the blame belongs elsewhere. In ESPN's case, I believe the pbp holes that I always notice are the fault of the network.
Of course, tonight's game at the Nutter Center wasn't on ESPN. Yet still, in the 2nd half, Kelsey Barlow traveled on 2 consecutive possessions, and there were a few other things of note that happened, and Barber and Cornette ignored all of it because they were having some conversation about something relatively unimportant. I'm sure something happened in the game that triggered the tangent, but they talked over 2 whole minutes of action -- and this time there was no network dictating that they do that by filling the screen with some graphic.
Quote from: ChiValpoFan14 on January 11, 2014, 10:35:27 AM
Before anyone loses sleep or anymore hair over this team, just remember...this isn't last years team. Give this team a year or two.
I expected this team to be just above .500 in league play with a couple good wins and a couple bad losses. We're young and the freshman class can be really really good when they are juniors/seniors. The freshman are making freshman like mistakes. The problem is, the seniors are also making freshman like mistakes. This teams best basketball is in the future with Peters, Williams, Adekoya, Carter, and the rest. We played right into WSU's strengths. The young guys know what to expect from a Billy Donlon WSU team from now on.
Teams like Green Bay, Wright State, Oakland are just better, battle tested teams with players that have been around the block a few times. If this was last years team playing like this, then we would have something to worry about. Just CALM DOWN people, everything will be okay :thumbsup:. This isn't the year. Unless we turn things around, we'll be in the middle of the pack. Maybe we can get hot during HL tourney time but who knows.
I might have agreed with you - before the season started. I might even agree with you now had we played inconsistent, mediocre basketball from the get-go, but that's not what happened. We opened the season with an impressive home win over Murray State, a team now 9-7 and on a 4-game win streak. We took 13-5 Mercer to the wire at home in a game we probably should have won only 6 weeks ago. We lost by 2 to mid-major powerhouse St. Louis (14-2) on a last second tip-in only 5 weeks ago. In every one of those games we played with confidence, passion and purpose. Yes, we made a lot of "beginner's mistakes," but we had a lot of great moments as a team, as well. Talent was on display everywhere.
These and other OOC games gave us the fans every reason to expect that this years team would be highly competitive in conference. Given these expectations, it seems perfectly reasonable to wonder why the team that played so well against quality OOC opponents can't seem to play at the same level now. Personally, I'm not ready to put a "rebuilding" stamp on the season and dial down my expectations accordingly. That just doesn't make sense to me given what we were able to do in OOC. I'm sure I'll come around if we continue to lose, but I'm not ready at this point to concede that as our destiny.
Quote from: chef on January 12, 2014, 08:01:46 PMMost network PBP guys have full-time jobs in local markets. Thom Brenneman (The Reds), Sam Rosen (The NY Rangers), Kevin Burkhardt (MSG), etc. Thus, there's many times they don't arrive at the park until an couple hours before the game. It's the same situation with most ESPN announcers - they have multiple gigs. It's very hard to do proper prep under these circumstances.
That seems to be a bit generous. Do they hear they're going to do a ballgame a couple hours before? Even if they have multiple "gigs," college hoops is one of their gigs, which should require a general knowledge of the game that can be applied to any game. Moreover, Huckaby and Barbar have done HL on a regular basis the past couple years. They should have more depth to the analysis, and they should be paying attention to the specific game they're watching -- identifying the trends, opportunities and what both teams should be doing. Not parroting each other's repetitive blather.
Chef is one of the most distinguished radio voices in America. I'm sure (and know) you are very diligent in your preparations. Moreover, you tell a story and the "whys". Within seconds, we know what type of game we're envisioning in our heads and painting a picture of how both teams are playing. On TV, we have a visual of the game and can watch the specific action. The commentators are there to put it in perspective, to tell us something we're missing, to provide stats and information about the teams. The BCS Championship coaching room was a terrific innovation because the viewer had input real time about things we don't normally focus on, the signs the Auburn FB gave about the direction of a play as an example. Finally, on preparation, I can tell you that for games that we broadcast (and it is "only" HS and only local cable) it doesn't interfere with my day job and we do just fine, without a spotter, a director giving us stats and info in our ears, multi-page Media Relations Game Day notes, and reams of video available on the internet. Would love some of that for prepping. It's just really disappointing that they can't be better and raise to a higher standard. I'll step down gingerly from the soap box.
The Raiders really should have been beat last night, which makes Friday night's Valpo performance that much more disappointing.