I'll try to turn our luck by starting this game thread.
I think Illinois state is facing some injuries. Valpo showed some signs on offense at Bradley let's hope they can bring that and the rebounding on saturday and get that elusive first MVC Victory.
Valpo 72-61 win.
This might be a game that we win, as it is the injured Salukis versus the injured/suspended Crusaders.
Valpo 73
SIU 66
I'd bet that the Vegas Line is either even or -2, -3 Valpo favored. SIU had three guys playing over 30 minutes against Evansville--we could get worn out if you use more players.
Opponents have been taking Pippen out of the game by being physical with him and putting in smaller players that can shoot the outside shot that draws him out to the perimeter,
Quote from: underdawg on January 04, 2018, 09:32:21 AMI'd bet that the Vegas Line is either even or -2, -3 Valpo favored.
Nailed it! The line is Valpo by 3 by the computer or a pick-em game using "other contributing factors". We have a 56% chance of winning the game.
Bradley is favored by 1 at Evansville (or pick-em)
Indiana State is favored by 4 at home over Drake (or by 2)
https://twitter.com/MikeReisSIU/status/948956502651555841
https://soundcloud.com/mikereis-siu/lees-sports-saluki-flashback-the-valparaiso-series
This team needs to find their winning ways. Box out, control the ball, play aggressive defense, movement on offense.
Valpo 73
SIU 62
Our bigs are weak, tentative, and need a lesson in toughness, hustle, nose for the ball, overall aggressiveness, and FINISHING FOR GOD'S SAKE. They play like pussies. They need to get mean. Perhaps Tony V. could come and consult and demonstrate division 1 big behavior at practices.
Quote from: Just Sayin on January 04, 2018, 12:21:00 PMThey play like pussies
Exactly the words I used when I was watching the game last night. It's extremely embarrassing!
In addition to the play by the teams in this game, I will be observing the officials. I hoped for better officiating in the Missouri Valley than what we saw in the Horizon League, and I don't mean simply the calls against Valpo because I expect that the new team in the league likely will get the short end of foul calls, kind of like a hazing. However, the Bradley game got ridiculous. There were 55 fouls called and 67 free throws between the two teams. Nine players had 4 or 5 fouls.
In the second half there were 37 fouls called (only a few purposely given at the end of the game). The game became almost unwatchable because of the numerous stops in play. As much as I criticize the lack of flow in our offense or the weakness of the centers in going for rebounds, the over-exuberance by the officials to call every touch foul, some seemingly imaginary, certainly hampered the offense and the big men's ability to be aggressive.
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/949345097878994944
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/949345799581945857
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/949346407965708288
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/949347233400487936
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/949347500678434821
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/949348322438975488
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/949348826648928262
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/949348562470662144
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/949347896767500289
This game is being billed as - White Out 219 - Appreciation day. What the heck does that mean? Are people expected to wear white or are they just talking about the snow? I think I saw something about a towel give away but am not sure.
Does anybody know what it's about? I just love it when there is a promotion and it never gets mentioned or promoted.
Quote from: VUBBFan on January 05, 2018, 03:56:46 PMThis game is being billed as - White Out 219 - Appreciation day. What the heck does that mean? Are people expected to wear white or are they just talking about the snow? I think I saw something about a towel give away but am not sure. Does anybody know what it's about? I just love it when there is a promotion and it never gets mentioned or promoted.
Just found out what 219 appreciation day means
MVCHoops (https://twitter.com/hashtag/MVCHoops?src=hash) 0:00
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2-1-9. Pts, RBs, TOs. Smits stat line for tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/949655956593565697
https://twitter.com/THefferman/status/949637786780536832
Will the students be back on campus for this one?
The spread: Valpo -3.5
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on January 05, 2018, 06:06:23 PM
2-1-9. Pts, RBs, TOs. Smits stat line for tomorrow.
Now THAT is brutal! ::)
Ward, aren't you being a little hard on the Beaver (Smits)?
Forget the students who may trickle into town...., let's grind out a win!! Play it in an empty gym for all I care.
But I will start bashing the students again if they don't show up during "Greek week" and all of that rot.
Huge contingency of SIU fans here. Sections D&E almost full. Haven't seen that many opposing team fans since Butler.
Should be fun. Even w/o students. Our guys look pumped in warm-ups. Great energy.
Smits is in the starting lineup for Jay. Mileek is the starting PF. No Kiser and as expect no Joe. I actually love the move of benching Jay. Maybe it will light a fire under his ***. As someone said in the Bradley thread he needs to get tested for Low-T lol. He needs to get some energy out there and getting fight for those boards. Not saying Derrik has been great but maybe this can motivate Jay or get his adrenaline pumping.
https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/949736260956024832
Game is blacked out for me - anybody got a non-ESPN feed? >:(
I'm watching it. Another great start by the crusaders. NOT
Micah has established a pretty good on court relationship with smits. Bradford has penetrated the lane finding a cutting smits several times.
I'm not saying he's finishing....
Quote from: PlumStreetBum on January 06, 2018, 03:17:55 PM
Game is blacked out for me - anybody got a non-ESPN feed? >:(
It's on COMCAST CHANNEL 200 in Chicago area
Wow, Bradford plays a pretty good point guard. Maybe Bradford as a distributor makes more sense than Bradford as a volume shooter.
Edit, 671 on DirecTV
Channel 41219 on DISH
Finished the half on a 23-2 run!
Conscious effort to feed the post and play inside-out. Derrik and J with a combined 15 points. Getting some good looks from 3 as a result. Looks like a winning formula.
Looks like the whole team celebrated their 20th birthday yesterday.
Super promising game with Tevonn playing poorly; Bradford looks like he can run the point with Bakari playing more of a SG role. The bigs have played great offensively. Golder is showing a great touch.
Pippen vs Smits reminds me of 90s basketball
Much needed solid game today. The bigs are stepping up. Good to see shots going down for Golder too! Hopefully this breaks the ice on shooting.
I like Bradford passing except when he drives too far into the lane without a plan. He has done that twice in the last two minutes. He just is still not stong enough to go in and draw a foul in those situations if a play closes down.
Smits is showing some good moves. And it was nice to see Sorolla actually trying to score. They both still let so many rebounds hit the ground and get slow starts to the ball. But baby steps I guess.
Quote from: a3uge on January 06, 2018, 04:38:57 PM
Super promising game with Tevonn playing poorly; Bradford looks like he can run the point with Bakari playing more of a SG role. The bigs have played great offensively. Golder is showing a great touch.
That might not be a bad idea. Flow seems better with that set up.
Marcus does some incredibly athletic stuff (that block on the SIU break, getting an ORB and, while falling, bouncing it off an SIU defender out of bounds). And when he is in the game he seems to have the highest intensity level as well. He smiles a lot too, which to me means he thoroughly loves the game.
Good weekend for both MBB and WBB in the MVC.
Long time coming but other than the first 10 minutes, a very nice performance all around. Team picked up Tevon and the bigs played their best game so far. Nice to see.
Quote from: nkvu on January 06, 2018, 05:02:57 PM
Long time coming but other than the first 10 minutes, a very nice performance all around. Team picked up Tevon and the bigs played their best game so far. Nice to see.
I saw a concerted effort by both Smitts and Jay to box out. Neither was a monster going for the ball, but at least they are establishing DRB territory. Would love to see these guys each put on 15-20 lbs. of muscle by next season. Marty too (Check that -- uh, convert baby fat into 15-20 lbs of muscle).
I am shocked by the coaching! Who among us would have said that Micah should have been the primary ball handler and that We win easily with Tevonn get 2 points? 28 points from the 5? 23 assts? Fantastic 3 point shooting? A marvelous game all around. Well coached to be sure. :clap:
Quote from: nkvu on January 06, 2018, 05:02:57 PM
Long time coming but other than the first 10 minutes, a very nice performance all around. Team picked up Tevon and the bigs played their best game so far. Nice to see.
We're 3-1 in the MVC and 14-3 overall if you discount the first quarter of each game :/. Lottich has yet to find a starting lineup that really produces. I hope he tries Bradford, Bakari, Tevonn, Golder, and Sorrola at some point. That small ball lineup was really rolling.
Quote from: vu72 on January 06, 2018, 05:11:39 PM
I am shocked by the coaching! Who among us would have said that Micah should have been the primary ball handler and that We win easily with Tevonn get 2 points? 28 points from the 5? 23 assts? Fantastic 3 point shooting? A marvelous game all around. Well coached to be sure. :clap:
Ya know, Tevonn never gives way to emotion. He just plays his game. I don't think his points matter to him as long as he knows he contributes. Despite a 1-10 FG day he still had a team-leading 8 RBs. Puzzling thing is that he had zero FTs. Good thing was that he only played 27 minutes and that is good considering the chance for a mono relapse.
Hazen didn't touch the floor again.
Hopefully Kiser will be back in action soon.
For the record, I'm going to be insulting Smits before every game from now on. ;D
Quote from: valpolaw on January 06, 2018, 05:22:46 PM
Hazen didn't touch the floor again.
Hopefully Kiser will be back in action soon.
He was in at the end of the first half. He sort of had a rebound where he tipped it to Bakari. But yes, he didn't even get garbage time minutes, which was surprising.
That game felt like a good fart. Clearing room for more!!!
Gotta wonder about Matt pushing Parker into a starting role early on as a freshman. From a confidence building perspective using 20/20 hindsight, this set of circumstances could crush a young ego. Hope it doesn't.
Is it possible that Parker isn't a 4, but due to the number of SFs we have, he can't play his natural position?
Quote from: valporun on January 06, 2018, 05:38:17 PMIs it possible that Parker isn't a 4, but due to the number of SFs we have, he can't play his natural position?
By definition a SF must be able to shoot, but if he develops that stroke he looks to me more like a small 5 with Adekoya type skills.
Amazing what can happen when the big men show up—28 points & 10 rebounds (with only 3 fouls!)— and the shooting improves: 3-pointers 56%, free throws 76%. Only negatives: Walker an unbelievable 1-10 (though he still led with 8 rebounds), and the turnovers still too high at 16, although they were countered somewhat by the high number of assists: 22 (led by Bradford's 6). Matt mentioned during the halftime interview that things changed after the poor start when he told the team to stop being "tentative." I think that has been the consistent message on this board as well. Let's see if this can be repeated against Drake, a tougher test than Southern Illinois.
Quote from: VULB#62 on January 06, 2018, 05:31:24 PM
Gotta wonder about Matt pushing Parker into a starting role early on as a freshman. From a confidence building perspective using 20/20 hindsight, this set of circumstances could crush a young ego. Hope it doesn't.
Bradford was horrible last year, and doesn't seem too lack confidence. A year makes a big difference. Plenty of players like Vashil, Joseph, Michael Rogers, and Matt Kenny had poor freshman seasons but turned into contributors
Quote from: valporun on January 06, 2018, 05:38:17 PM
Is it possible that Parker isn't a 4, but due to the number of SFs we have, he can't play his natural position?
A SF should still be able to shoot well. Besides, it's college basketball... Positions 1-4 are rather exchangeable. Mileek and Parker are true 4s and didn't get much time. Valpo and SIU were both rolling 4 guard lineups.
FIVE guys in double figures... and none of them named "Walker"...Nope. I would have lost that bet. Nice to see Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Joseph making the LOOOONG trip from Montreal for the game. Personal Bests for Max and Jaume.
Nice pre-game plaque for Dick Blythe (Think patriarch of Blythe's Sporting Goods)... 1956 Graduate of SIU... co-captain of the saluki's that last year. Class act!
Credit to the poster who started the game thread. 💪
FANTASTIC showing by our boys today! That last 30 minutes was the best stretch of basketball we've seen in a long time. The bigs had a great opportunity with SIU's big shotblocking presence out and both Smits and Sorolla took full advantage. They showed better touch around the rim than I've seen from them in a long time. The inside game was allowed to set up the outside game to tremendous results. It rained 3's at the ARC today.Defense was strong and we WON THE REBOUNDING BATTLE LIMITED SECOND CHANCES SHARED THE BASKETBALL and MADE FREE THROWS. What a difference these simple things made. Almost looked like a different team just by doing the little things well. This team HAS TALENT It's just been a matter of execution. I think this game may have shown that we've turned the corner and can expect better results ahead.The balance of VU's scoring was great to see as well. On to Reed Timmer and the undefeated Drake Bulldogs. We belong . We can compete in this league. We are good. Go Valpo!
Quote from: M on January 06, 2018, 05:54:24 PMCredit to the poster who started the game thread. 💪
could not agree more! Time to fire up the Drake one (ESPN3 7pm on the 10th) Drake is 4-0 in play after eeeeeking out the win today.
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Easy guy...I'm going to set it up my way!
I've been pretty critical of the half court offense...it's looked so much better the last two games. Really happy for our two big guys, Micah and Max after they all had nice games. Let's hope it's not just a 30 minute thing and they can carry this over Wednesday night.
1-3 in the mvc is like 3-1 in the horizon league
Just watched the postgame conference, and I was pleased to see Lottich and Derrik both say the difference in this game was that the team, especially Smits and Sorolla, was more determined to be "aggressive" (following the example put forth by Tevonn), a word I have used in a couple of my recent posts about what characteristic was needed to be borrowed from Walker by the rest of the team, especially the big men. Plus, they proved that being aggressive doesn't necessarily mean more fouls, since the two big men combined only got called for 3 fouls. This is a step in the right direction, but a real test of sustainability will come against Drake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQoxrQPcbt0&t=0s
Lucky sevens: Derrik Smits and Jaume Sorolla stand tall in Valparaiso win
Michael Osipoff
Post-Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-southern-illinois-valparaiso-st-0107-20180106-story.html
Offense clicks as Valparaiso uses 23-2 run to take control over Southern Illinois
Paul Oren Times Correspondent
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/offense-clicks-as-valparaiso-uses---run-to-take/article_a6942dd7-da12-5a2d-9aad-5ed6b593e230.html
https://twitter.com/THefferman/status/949817939645157377
Anybody who has had Mono knows even when you "get better" there are days that you just feel lethargic. I have a feeling Tevon's 1-10 performance yesterday was a result of tired legs, but he made up for it by working his tail off in all other phases of the game. That is why he is one of my top 5 all time favorite players in a Valpo uniform. A lot of guys save their energy so they can make shots, he is not one of those guys.
As for the rest of the game, I am not sure how excited to get.
1. We are not going to shoot over 50% from 3 very often, maybe once every 10 games, if that. At the same time Walker is not going to shoot that poorly very often, so perhaps those 2 things even out.
2. The bigs played really really well, but SIU was really small with their injuries. I want them to have that kind of performance against a Northern Iowa who has 2 or 3 capable big men.
3. I think we are starting to see the team adjust to Burton being gone. Once we get Kiser back there is a chance we could go .500 in league play, which I would see as an overwhelming success in year 1 with this team.
I just really want to go to Arch Madness, so we need to make sure that we avoid the Thursday night game so I can take a Friday off work and drive down there. Thats all I want. haha
Bakari has now hit 11 of 16 shots from the 3 over the last 4 games. :clap:
For those more closely in tune with the university's academic calendar, I was wondering how many home games the Crusaders will be playing this season while the students are on break? It's something we talk about a lot, but I've never stopped to consider how often it comes into play.
Didn't the HS reports on Parker mention that he needed to work on his outside shot, but was already fine tuned on his inside game? It was the exact opposite of what was said about Peters coming in. Lottich seemed to be playing him with the intent that he would get outside shots to work on, which was probably a selling point for Hazen committing to Valpo. I don't remember Hazen doing anything except floating around the perimeter, and that is not his game as of yet. His transition is going to be more akin to Dan Oppland, versus what Peters had to work on. Dan became a pretty good FT and 3-pt shooter, after not showing as much during his first 2 seasons.
Good showing by Smits and Sorolla. For those teams in the MVC that also have a true Center, I think that our current roster is built out well to compete. For those that have fast-paced big guys, we will lose.
Quote from: wh on January 07, 2018, 12:17:37 PM
For those more closely in tune with the university's academic calendar, I was wondering how many home games the Crusaders will be playing this season while the students are on break? It's something we talk about a lot, but I've never stopped to consider how often it comes into play.
There were two home games during Thanksgiving break and two during Christmas break.
Congrats for the win over my Salukis---we got back on the bus defensively after the first 12 minutes of play--and Bol and 6-7 Wiley were our best big defenders--but you got to go with what you got--I'm not feeling very well today--but congrats for a great win
Quote from: underdawg on January 07, 2018, 01:19:36 PM
Congrats for the win over my Salukis---we got back on the bus defensively after the first 12 minutes of play--and Bol and 6-7 Wiley were our best big defenders--but you got to go with what you got--I'm not feeling very well today--but congrats for a great win
Underdawg, it's nice to have well meaning intelligent point of views from league mates. Hope you stick around on the board!
Quote from: underdawg on January 07, 2018, 01:19:36 PM
Congrats for the win over my Salukis---we got back on the bus defensively after the first 12 minutes of play--and Bol and 6-7 Wiley were our best big defenders--but you got to go with what you got--I'm not feeling very well today--but congrats for a great win
At least you had the best player on the court - Fletcher. He didn't get enough help, but his individual performance was worth the price of admission by itself.
https://twitter.com/_amleavitt/status/950383254443618304
Quote from: VU2014 on January 08, 2018, 09:16:04 AM
https://twitter.com/_amleavitt/status/950383254443618304
I suspect that SIU wasn't very big particularly with a couple of their starters out but at the same time the combined contribution from our 5's was nothing short of outstanding. 28 points, 10 boards only 3 turnovers and only 3 fouls in 38 minutes. :clap: :cheers: :clap:
It was great to see our "bigs" get more aggressive, want the ball and be ready to take a shot if available. Their rebounding also improved but I think it could still be better. Love to see a consistent effort and results from both guys. I hope this was a big turn-around game for us and now we can bring Drake back down to earth and lelt people we are now more confident and ready to compete in the MVC. Great effort!
Quote from: VUBBFan on January 05, 2018, 03:56:46 PMThis game is being billed as - White Out 219 - Appreciation day. What the heck does that mean? Are people expected to wear white or are they just talking about the snow? I think I saw something about a towel give away but am not sure.
Does anybody know what it's about? I just love it when there is a promotion and it never gets mentioned or promoted.
I was completely unaware of any white out. I did notice some 219 activities. On the video screen they had some highlights of various VU athletes native to the region. A nice idea. (At the time, I didn't realize it was some kind of "219 Day".) I think Saturday's game, and at least a couple of others over break, was also free to _any_ students (not just VU) with ID.
I did see some towels being twirled around. I've never really understood those.
In other developments, it seems like Centier has dropped their sponsorship of made Valpo long distance shots. Who'd have guessed that was a calendar year contract? This was my first game of the year at the ARC, but I'm guessing that it may have disappeared as of Jan 1.
In other branding news, I happened to catch some of the (re-?)broadcast of the game Saturday evening on TV. They seemed to have worked particularly hard on background shots around campus and the community. They had the chapel, maybe from two different angles (one included the welcome center, shot close to it). A shot of downtown Valpo. A shot of kids sledding at Forest Park. Really nice!
Quote from: VU2014 on January 08, 2018, 09:16:04 AM
https://twitter.com/_amleavitt/status/950383254443618304
It seems maybe we could come up with a better word but to challenge our big men's pride and dignity has evoked in them a response that was extremely positive.
Quote from: VU2014 on January 06, 2018, 09:21:23 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQoxrQPcbt0&t=0s
One advantage to playing an entire month on the road is no post game press conferences with that annoying humming/buzzing sound in the background.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpNSscwuCl0
I really liked the 219 idea and hope they bring it back. Like a lot of new ideas, it needs some fine tuning. I would like to see an all out marketing effort region wide to bring as many in from surrounding areas as possible, then have the students they highlighted on the video board come out during a timeout. Let this be the one game someone from say, Laporte or Portage attends, and sees the kid they cheered for at their high school on the court being acknowledged.
I know one of the great struggles in marketing this program is with the traditionally fierce local high school rivalries, how do you not have Valparaiso University automatically labeled as "Valpo's College". It's a tough challenge that our marketing department has yet to solve, but I think something like this is a really good effort that should become an annual thing.
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on January 09, 2018, 07:29:00 AMhow do you not have Valparaiso University automatically labeled as "Valpo's College"
The Times had a headline referring to the high school girl's team as the "Crusaders" this last weekend.
They were selling long-sleeved 219 shirts for $20.