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I would rather have Dylan Haper 6'4" PG from Don Bosco than Flory from Kokomo.

Don Bosco (Dave Maravilla) will never send one of his guys to Valpo.

I was sitting across from the VU bench in the media section, basically in line with Bryce when he hit the shot.
After the shot, chaos ensued. Lots of writing for The Times.
Listen to PO's podcast from five years ago to learn more. He released it again this morning.

Absolutely unreal we have gone a week without a peep. Not even a "We'll be meeting with Coach Lottich soon to discuss the direction of the program."

I have a feeling there will be no "peeps," and it will be business as usual.
Apathy will continue.

I can imagine it, and it is real ugly! Our average attendance probably drops below 1000!

Average home attendance this year was 1,603 and 32.06% of seating capacity.

And you know, the attendance figures are usually just a somewhat educated guess by the sports information staff. I don't think there's any science to it.
I'm afraid 1,600 is highly inflated if you actually count AIS - Asses in Seats (tributed to Everybody Loves Raymond).

Wonder if the 24 hour rule is in place on announcing something.

You have to think the quicker you announce something, either way, the better.

No way these discussions or plans, either way, are not waiting for the ok to hit the send button.   

The phrase "just rip off the band-aid" comes to mind. Although I did vote No above.

Don't forget, out of the 11 wins, two were non-Division I. So the record is really 9-21.

Was Tom Smith's contract just not renewed or was he let go prior to the end of his contract?  Anyone from that era know?

I think Smith left on his own, frustrated with a lack of support that was probably promised to him when he took the job.
Or maybe the writing was on the wall, can't remember. I think there was a bit of controversy at the time, but it didn't keep him from being inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fam after he had a successful run at a Division II school in Missouri.

Valpofb16, when did Bryce start playing at VU? 1993?

Bryce was a freshman in 1994-95. At the time, David Redmon was a senior and the Mid-Continent Conference lost its automatic bid because the "big boys" at the time bolted for what would become the Horizon League. Wright State, Cleveland State, UIC, Northern Illinois, Green Bay and Milwaukee led the exodus. All of them were traditionally better than Valpo at the time.
Due to that exodus, the Mid-Con tournament champion did not get the automatic NCAA bid OR get to play in the NIT. Valpo ended its season with a dramatic triple-OT win over Western Illinois at the ARC. Bryce and David both shined.

I am waiting to hear the spin on how great this program is progressing. I also feel bad for Padilla and Small - I would imagine they would like to improve this but wont have revenue to do this. We are currently operating as a Division 1 program in name only.

Don't you mean "progressing nicely?"

If I were the new AD, I'd be scheduling program evaluations with the players of both programs the day after the season ends. That's the quickest way to find out whether keeping either staff for another year is at all tenable.

Question No. 1: Do you believe this program can consistently compete for an MVC championship under the current head coach and staff?

6pm start games are great for middle school or JV games. Doesn't work for D1 college games.  It's hard to rush from work and get to a game. 


Got a chance to spend some time with a group of current students and asked them why students don't go to games. All said team performance and coaching. They were so matter a fact about it. 

Did anyone notice how a majority of the students who attended the first half of the Bradley game left at halftime?
Only down 12 and they gave up.

buffing a turd.

This may be the single greatest phrase ever written on this board.

Great post and congratulations to Ben. I'm sure he could have gone somewhere else at any point in his career, but I'm told he loves Valpo and has ridden out the storm.
Thanks to Ben for his effort throughout the four years. Hopefully he will be named first team all-conference as well.

One more post to say something positive on my way out the door for awhile. I was in attendance at tonight's game. While we made a lot of mistakes, the gritty, never quit attitude we displayed, especially in the 2nd half, lasting right to the final gun was amazing. You made us proud, guys!! Best wishes the rest of the way!

Yes I agree, the guys don't give up. There are just a lot of bonehead plays throughout the game that leave me shaking my head.
I told my wife last night (yes, we did a Valentine's 'date' to watch the Beacons) two things: 1. I think if someone else was coaching these players, we would see something a lot different (hopefully better) on the court; 2. While walking out after a four-point loss, I could only shake my head and kind of say, "Whatever." In the old days, a four-point loss would have bothered me and Crusader fans, and the atmosphere at the game would have had an entirely different feel.
Obviously, those days are gone. Can anyone get that back?

Going into the final possession of regulation, I told my wife, "The Beacons have trouble executing in these situations."
And that led to Krikke having a shot blocked. Ugh.
But you all are right - when the loss is expected, it's not as disappointing to fans. Even when you blow a game in the final minutes.
If this was 10 years ago, a lot of us probably would have had trouble sleeping.

Come on, that can't be true?  Every mascot has some sort of screen where it actually sits at their eye level.  If they don't have the ability to see, that is another major bungle of the mascot/nickname result

I heard this from a reliable source. I certainly couldn't make this up.

Anyone notice the Beacon and Blaze mascots didn't make an appearance at Family Night during the Evansville game?
Apparently, the people inside the suits can't see, and they need a "seeing-eye human" to guide them around.
VU officials couldn't find four "volunteers" to handle the task last game.

There was a man in the band, who appeared to be older than a student, wearing a Crusader shirt last night. They showed him on TV - I stayed home to watch the broadcast but listened to Todd on the radio. Didn't want to listen to Kaplan.

From that list, Donlon would be my pick.
But I will always be a Tonagel fan.

64 - I get where you are coming from, and we disagree at times, but this program is a complete mess and change is ALWAYS difficult. A dismissal is never smooth or a Hallmark moment, whether it is in sport or business. We are also talking about employees in volatile positions making great income.

Yes, it sucks to lose your job. But when you are someone who has made a substantial income the last few years ... you would think he has saved a lot. He and his family will be fine, and he will bounce back somewhere else.
As for Tonagel, I have heard that he has used "Dream Job" to describe his interest in becoming Valparaiso head coach. He isn't the type to just jump from job to job. He has a lot of kids, and while they have roots in Marion, Valpo would be his ideal destination job. His brother and family live in Valpo, so that would be another positive.

The school hired a new VP of enrollment, a VU grad from 2004 coming from Loyola. She said she took the job due to the challenge.
Well, she's got a big challenge.

Anyone checked on the dead horse to see if he's tired of being beaten on here? We get it...YOU WANT LOTTICH SENT PACKING NOW!! Look at our interim options...Gore, Bowen, Townsend....MORE OF THE SAME!!! Might as well deal with Lottich until the season ends, because none of the three assistant coaches are going to be a breath of fresh air.

Hey, Jeff Saturday will be available after tomorrow.

I'm having trouble being inspired to attend this game, instead of just watching on my couch and listening to Todd.

One thing I've always said, there's a reason basketball players end up at VU ... and not at a Big 10 school (or other Power 5).
Usually, the reason is a flaw (or combination of flaws) that is exposed either during the recruiting process, or the reason for a transfer.

Fine line between being critical and being objective. You still want the coaching staff too feel open/comfortable enough to talk. This isn't a power 5 team where you have multiple media members/beat writers and radio covering the team. The team and radio travel on the plane together. Don't want to create a tense environment.

The Post Tribune stopped covering the team last year. The Times basically stopped covering the team last year, when Paul Oren left to start The Victory Bell. The Times coverage isn't going to get any better for a couple reasons - 1. The team stinks; 2. The Times laid off its long-time sports editor, it currently has a young guy who has only been around for about one year and he's probably overwhelmed just trying to get a paper out every day. Bad Beacons teams are not going to be high on the coverage list.
So, there IS no one to ask tough questions. PO does as much as he can. The newspapers not covering the team, I believe, contributes to the lack of attendance. Only die-hards like people on this board actually know the schedule. It's a death spiral.