We need a win.
(https://media1.tenor.com/images/bac3c0424e91a6918af5f99559b9f73c/tenor.gif) please send us on a winning streak. Please & thank you. Amen.
🙏
I hate slow boring basketball. It's hard to believe that can be a thing with a shot clock. Play faster, play harder, play smarter.
Quote from: M on January 21, 2018, 07:12:12 PM
Play faster
Very doable with this next opponent. E-ville is fast pace and loves to jack up 3s but it could be a blood bath if they have a hot shooting night. If its one those nights for E-ville it might be tough for us to keep up with our lack of offensive firepower with this team.
I'm predicting we get the win on Wednesday with good perimeter defense slowing their guards down.
Valpo is favored by 5 or 2 depending on the line...
This is a team that lost 104 to 40 at Cameron Indoor...
NOV 10 FRI 296 Arkansas State 5-13 W 77 - 63
2 NOV 13 MON 312 North Carolina Central 7-9 W 68 - 55
Cancun Challenge - Evansville, IN
3 NOV 16 THU 238 Southeast Missouri 8-11 W 66 - 50
4 NOV 18 SAT 303 Binghamton 8-11 W 66 - 61
Cancun Challenge (Riviera) - Cancun, Mexico
5 NOV 21 TUE CBSSN vs 118 Fresno State 12-6 W 59 - 57
6 NOV 22 WED CBSSN vs 156 Louisiana Tech 10-9 L 61 - 63
MVC/MWC Challenge - Albuquerque, NM
7 NOV 29 WED MWN @ 155 New Mexico 9-11 L 59 - 78
8 DEC 2 SAT Non Div I - Oakland City W 98 - 56
9 DEC 5 TUE @ 188 Bowling Green 10-7 W 91 - 76
10 DEC 9 SAT 123 Canisius 13-8 W 65 - 58
11 DEC 16 SAT 217 Austin Peay 8-10 W 78 - 74
13 DEC 20 WED 1 Duke 17-2 L 40-104
and then conference, their two wins are at the Ford Center over Bradley 68-44 and 64-55 over Missouri State; they are on a 3-game losing streak, @ Drake Home to Indiana State and @Bradley
0 Ryan Taylor G 6-6 195 R-Jr. Gary, Ind. / St. John's Northwestern Military
1 Marty Hill G 6-5 180 Jr. Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Champlin Park
5 Solomon Hainna F 6-6 195 Sr. Inglewood, Calif. / Palisades Charter
10 Evan Kuhlman F 6-8 220 Fr. Liberty Township, Ohio / Lakota East
12 Dru Smith G 6-3 190 So. Evansville, Ind. / Reitz
14 Dainius Chatkevicius F 6-9 240 Jr. Klaipeda, Lithuania / West Oaks Academy
15 Dalen Traore C 6-9 230 Sr. Ivory Coast / Northwood Temple Academy
20 Jared Chestnut G 6-2 175 Sr. Evansville, Ind. / Harrison
25 Duane Gibson G 6-3 195 R-Sr. Cleveland, Ohio / Villa Angela-St. Joseph
30 Noah Frederking G 6-4 210 Fr. Okawville, Ill. / Okawville
33 K.J. Riley G 6-5 180 So. Bronx, N.Y. / Howard (Texas) College
35 John Hall F 6-7 215 Rf. Philadelphia, Pa. / Standard of Excellence Basketball Academy
50 Blake Simmons G/F 6-5 210 R-Sr. Newburgh, Ind. / Castle
## Player gp-gs min avg fg-fga fg% 3fg-fga 3fg% ft-fta ft% off def tot avg pf dq a to blk stl pts avg
00 Taylor, Ryan 14-14 497 35.5 99-242 . 4 0 9 34-89 . 3 8 2 43-50 . 8 6 0 6 36 42 3.0 32 0 16 31 1 9 275 19.6
50 Simmons, Blake 20-20 702 35.1 83-177 . 4 6 9 39-82 . 4 7 6 32-41 . 7 8 0 9 57 66 3.3 36 1 41 46 9 17 237 11.9
12 Smith, Dru 17-17 522 30.7 75-128 . 5 8 6 20-42 . 4 7 6 54-64 . 8 4 4 8 49 57 3.4 47 1 83 49 7 39 224 13.2
33 Riley, K.J. 21-9 498 23.7 40-82 . 4 8 8 0-4 . 0 0 0 80-105 . 7 6 2 9 67 76 3.6 43 1 60 46 5 17 160 7.6
14 Chatkevicius, Dainiu 21-9 397 18.9 48-87 . 5 5 2 0-0 . 0 0 0 18-32 . 5 6 3 34 81 115 5.5 39 0 2 19 23 5 114 5.4
30 Frederking, Noah 21-8 395 18.8 36-90 . 4 0 0 18-43 . 4 1 9 17-20 . 8 5 0 8 26 34 1.6 13 0 19 20 0 7 107 5.1
25 Gibson, Duane 14-12 334 23.9 40-92 . 4 3 5 0-0 . 0 0 0 16-27 . 5 9 3 4 40 44 3.1 44 3 32 36 7 18 96 6.9
15 Traore, Dalen 21-12 269 12.8 14-39 . 3 5 9 0-1 . 0 0 0 32-41 . 7 8 0 23 38 61 2.9 38 1 5 11 3 3 60 2.9
35 Hall, John 21-2 272 13.0 26-64 . 4 0 6 1-4 . 2 5 0 6-9 . 6 6 7 20 40 60 2.9 35 0 9 11 4 3 59 2.8
10 Kuhlman, Evan 14-2 172 12.3 13-30 . 4 3 3 4-12 . 3 3 3 4-4 1.000 4 17 21 1.5 13 0 5 3 2 1 34 2.4
01 Hill, Marty 9-0 127 14.1 13-36 . 3 6 1 6-11 . 5 4 5 1-2 . 5 0 0 8 15 23 2.6 7 0 9 7 0 3 33 3.7
05 Hainna, Solomon 3-0 42 14.0 1-4 . 2 5 0 0-1 . 0 0 0 10-14 . 7 1 4 2 4 6 2.0 7 0 2 2 0 2 12 4.0
Team 39 50 89 14
Total.......... 21 4227 488-1071 . 4 5 6 122-289 . 4 2 2 313-409 . 7 6 5 174 520 694 33.0 354 7 283 295 61 124 1411 67.2
Opponents...... 21 4225 489-1126 . 4 3 4 164-470 . 3 4 9 225-327 . 6 8 8 180 462 642 30.6 406 9 281 295 85 163 1367 65.1
PEORIA, Ill. – University of Evansville senior Blake Simmons became the 49th player in program history to reach the 1000-point mark as the Purple Aces were defeated by Bradley, 66-53, on Saturday evening inside Carver Arena.
Simmons led UE (12-9, 2-6 MVC) with 12 points, all from long range. Ryan Taylor, who was held scoreless in the first half, finished with 10 in the second frame. Dru Smith scored nine.
Box Score (PDF)
"We did not get off to the start that we wanted, but our guys fought back and I give them credit," Aces head coach Marty Simmons said. "We cut it close near the end of the first half, but Bradley had a good run to finish the half and also got off to a good start in the second half. Our guys fought back, but I do not think our decision-making was good down the stretch. It was tough, hard-fought game on both sides."
Four Braves (14-7, 4-4 MVC) scored double figures, led by a 17-point game from Darrell Brown. Donte Thomas notched 13 points and 12 boards.
Bradley got the early jump on the Aces, scoring the first five points of the game. K.J. Riley got UE on the board with a pair of free throws before the Braves punched right back. An and-one by Elijah Childs spearheaded a 9-0 run as the Braves capped it off with a pair of triples to open up a 14-2 advantage. Evansville missed its first four shots while Bradley opened the game at 4-for-7.
After a timeout, Blake Simmons found Dainius Chatkevicius for a layup for the Aces' first field goal of the night. Simmons then knocked down a three a minute later to make to get UE within seven at 14-7. A 7-0 run was finished off with a Dru Smith bucket as the Aces got within five. The UE defense held Bradley to 1 of its next 8 from the field following their hot start.
A pair of BU shots saw them retake a 9-point lead at 20-11 midway through the half before Noah Frederking found Chatkevicius cutting to the basket for an and-one. Simmons hit a triple on the next trip down the floor to make it a 20-17 game and with just over five minutes remaining in the period, John Hall connected on a basket to cut the Bradley lead to just one.
The 1000th point of Simmons career was a big one as it countered the Braves 3-point possession making it a 26-25 game heading into the final four minutes of the half. From there, the Braves were able to finish the period on a 10-0 run as Donte Thomas hit a three with just five ticks remaining to send the Brave into halftime up 36-25.
Simmons milestone was the second major one to happen for UE in the last three season at Carver Arena. On February 23, 2016, Egidijus Mockevicius grabbed the 1,198th rebound of his career to break the program record, which was set by Dale Wise in 1961.
Out of the break, the Braves reeled off six in a row to open up a 42-25 lead in the first three minutes of the period. Smith got the team on the board with a layup at the 16:48 mark before Ryan Taylor got into the scoring column. The junior missed his first eight shots of the night, but he never gave up, knocking down three field goals in a row as part of a 14-2 run. Smith completed the rally with a trey to make it a 44-39 game with 12:21 on the clock.
In the following four minutes, the Braves regained the momentum, going on a 10-2 run to see their lead grow back to 13 at 54-41. Over that span, the Aces hit one of their four attempts while turning it over five times. Simmons was true from downtown once again with seven minutes left to get the Aces back within 11.
UE continued to chip away. With under five minutes remaining, a great shot by Taylor got the lead under ten before a pair of free throws by Smith got UE within six (56-50) as three minutes were on the clock. UE was unable to get any closer as the Braves offense finished the game on a 10-3 run to earn a 66-53 victory.
BU finished the game shooting 42.6% while the Aces finished at 31.6%. The rebounding statistic also went Bradley's way by a 41-34 final.
Wednesday evening will see the Aces make their first trip to Valparaiso since the school joined the Missouri Valley Conference last year.
Valpo 66
Evansville 61
https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/955526658450223104
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/955484101259284481
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/955484309217038337
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/955484559872790534
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/955487432648085504
We are 8 games into MVC play. How does our Conference SOS compare to the rest of the league? I notice we have played 5 games against the current top 4 teams in the conference and 2 of the remaining 3 games (Bradley/UNI) were on the road. Just glancing at the schedule, it would appear we have a 6 game stretch here of "winnable" games. Not saying by any means we would be favored in all 6 games, just saying we have a chance to win each of the next 6.
Season Goals:
If I am the coaching staff, I would set a semi-realistic goal of finishing 6th. Try to avoid the opening Thursday game of Arch Madness. Currently we are only 2 games back of 5th. A MVC record of 9-9 would likely get 6th place, correct? Would require us winning our remaining home games and stealing 2 road games (ILL St., SIU, Evan., Loyola, Drake). Or perhaps dropping 1 home game and stealing 3 on the road.
Perhaps 8-10 is our ceiling for this season, but I would say 9-9 would be a moral victory.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on January 22, 2018, 03:23:30 PM
We are 8 games into MVC play. How does our Conference SOS compare to the rest of the league? I notice we have played 5 games against the current top 4 teams in the conference and 2 of the remaining 3 games (Bradley/UNI) were on the road. Just glancing at the schedule, it would appear we have a 6 game stretch here of "winnable" games. Not saying by any means we would be favored in all 6 games, just saying we have a chance to win each of the next 6.
Season Goals:
If I am the coaching staff, I would set a semi-realistic goal of finishing 6th. Try to avoid the opening Thursday game of Arch Madness. Currently we are only 2 games back of 5th. A MVC record of 9-9 would likely get 6th place, correct? Would require us winning our remaining home games and stealing 2 road games (ILL St., SIU, Evan., Loyola, Drake). Or perhaps dropping 1 home game and stealing 3 on the road.
Perhaps 8-10 is our ceiling for this season, but I would say 9-9 would be a moral victory.
According to Kenpom, Valpo's conference SOS is #1, but there's not a huge gap between #1 and #10 because of how evenly most of the teams are rated in the conference. FWIW, that site is projecting Valpo to finish 7-11 in league play, which along with Evansville and UNI, is projected to be the weakest records in the league. You are correct that a 9-9 record will likely finish 5th or 6th, based on the site's projections.
Yep, get the 6th seed or better. That's a genuine difference and reward vs. #7. Good point about the schedule. I had thought of that in playing MSU twice already. Our two home losses were Loyola and MSU so I am feeling just a tiny bit better.
Quote from: crusadermoe on January 22, 2018, 09:50:05 PM
Yep, get the 6th seed or better. That's a genuine difference and reward vs. #7. Good point about the schedule. I had thought of that in playing MSU twice already. Our two home losses were Loyola and MSU so I am feeling just a tiny bit better.
Yes, it would appear that all of our home games are winnable considering we have already played the top 3 teams at home. Also, there are a few road games that on paper appear to be steal-able. It is not out of the question for us to get to 9-9 although 8-10 is more likely and 7-11 is the probable outcome. I would be super happy with a 9-9 finish. Would show that we improved in the 2nd half of conference play and would be a good spring board to the future.
Side Note --- Does anybody else remember that at the start of the season Tevonn pretty much nailed 70% of his pull up jumpers? At this point of the season I can't remember the last time he hit one. I mean seriously, he just was DRAINING them to start the season. Now they look awful. If this team wants a chance at 9-9 he is going to have to start hitting his pull up jump shots as that appears to be his signature shot when he is playing well. Hitting a few of those opens up opportunities at easier drives to the basket as defenders have to look for it.
He doesn't have nearly as much space now as he did earlier in the season when he was hitting all those jumpers. Hopefully the staff can draw up some sets to get him a little more space with the ball.
You're right. Tighter coverage is probably the biggest factor.
I wonder if he just worked out like a mad man in pre-season and prior, but was taken down a notch physically due to the mono. You never get the consistent high intensity work outs again during a season due to travel & classes and such. It's like a football player coming back late in a season. The team just doesn't run and train as hard late in the season.
You hope NBA has some film on him from early games when he was so dominant while healthy.
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/955917848643362817
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/955918882589630466
We really need a win, and to find those winning combinations on the court.
Valpo 72
EK 62
Rumor is this highlight package took till January 21 to make because they did have enough highlights to string together ;) But honestly look who most of these highlights are against.... North Park, Trinity and Southern Utah... I see saw one from the NU blowout.
https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/955949541974568963
Does anyone really care about who and what is on the video highlights? it does nothing for me.
Rivalry renewed: Evansville and Valparaiso to continue long-standing history
Pat Hickey, pat.hickey@courierpress.com
Jan. 23, 2018
http://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/college/evansville/2018/01/23/rivalry-renewed-evansville-and-valparaiso-continue-long-standing-history/1059154001/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
https://twitter.com/courierpress/status/955941492576550912
Michigan City grad Ryan Taylor 'one of best scorers in country' for Evansville
Michael Osipoff
Post-Tribune
Jan 23, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-valparaiso-evansville-ryan-taylor-st-0124-20180123-story.html
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/955982065945726982
Quote from: VU2014 on January 23, 2018, 05:52:36 PMNorth Park, Trinity and Southern Utah...
Good thing these weren't road games.....the team would have been in Cedar City when they should have been in Logan.
A video preview of Marty Simmons talking about Valpo and the players thoughts on the ARC. Marty has some nice things to say about the Valpo fan-base.
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/956028231983026179
https://twitter.com/UEAthletics/status/955978597231136768
Quote from: VU2014 on January 21, 2018, 07:21:42 PMVery doable with this next opponent. E-ville is fast pace and loves to jack up 3s but it could be a blood bath if they have a hot shooting night. If its one those nights for E-ville it might be tough for us to keep up with our lack of offensive firepower with this team.
UE is the 344th fastest in the nation, aka the 7th slowest offensively. This looks like another MVC grinder. Besides the 39 point outburst in the final 10 vs UNI, 11 of the last 12 "quarters" from Valpo offensively have been less than 18 points. Many less than 15. They will need to make some jumpers tonight against the pack line style D of UE.
Fast was the wrong choice of words but their a good 3 point shooting team. If UE has a hot shooting night it will be a rough night. I just don't see us having the offensive firepower on this team to rack up enough points with a team that is having a strong shooting night. Valpo needs to play strong D. If this game starts to get away from Valpo. Coach Lottich needs to go zone earlier and go to a smaller lineup.
26-degrees and partly cloudy and light winds.
Staff/Faculty Appreciation Night
Foam Finger Night
running out of excuses.... Hope for a good crowd...
Evansville 63
Valpo 59
I'm seeing Valpo -3.5 (vs. Evansville) betting lines
The handicappers like Valpo
https://jesseschule.com/evansville-vs-valparaiso-free-pick-january-24-2018-jesse-schule-3143/
Here's a link to the Evansville Game Notes
http://gopurpleaces.com/documents/2018/1/23/012418_mbbnotes_atvalpo.pdf
MVC NCAA
CATEGORY Rank Rank Actual
Scoring Offense 9 315 67.2
Scoring Defense 5 31 65.1
Scoring Margin T-8 180 +2.1
Free Throw Pct. 2 24 .765
Field Goal Pct. 3 132 .456
Field Goal Pct. Defense 8 166 .434
3-Point FG Pct. 1 5 .422 Best in the league in making 3s
3-Point FG Pct. Defense 10 - .349 worst in the league in stopping 3s
Rebounding Offense 9 - 33.0
Rebounding Defense 1 - 30.6
Rebounding Margin 4 116 +2.5
Blocked Shots 8 239 2.9
Assists 6 200 13.5
Steals 8 224 5.9
Turnover Margin 4 - +0.00
Assist/Turnover Ratio 6 234 1.0
Offensive Rebounds 8 305 8.3
Defensive Rebounds 8 223 24.8
This will be our 84th meeting with the Purple Aces. We have only played Butler and St. Joes more. After next season they move to No.2. They has five seniors and a red-shirt junior so lots of experience. I checked a couple of their box scores and they were out rebounded and shot the ball like we have. This is a very winnable game and I would think a must if we expect anything from this season.
Easy plan. Rebound, defend and shoot half way decently, especially from the foul line!!
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/956321862874796033
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/956315597238931456
Still time to change, but right now it looks like this could be the lowest attended D-1 game this season. It feels like church in here.
Tevonn picks up his first foul 30 seconds into the game >:( Needs be smarter then that.
Quote from: wh on January 24, 2018, 06:47:55 PM
Still time to change, but right now it looks like this could be the lowest attended D-1 game this season. It feels like church in here.
How many Wednesday night classes are there? Wasn't there some snow and other weather issues in Valpo today? Probably with the cold too, a lot of people have found it easier to stay home, watch on ESPN3, and be able to put the kids in pjs, and let them lay on the floor to watch the tv, and then they'll be asleep by the time they would normally be home from a weeknight game, with school the next day.
Four really stupid fouls to start. Two on Bakari.
Hope Bradford has game today but of course he doinked his first two free throws. Same old same old.
Feed to Golder for the jam was nice though.
Hate to admit it but Bradford is a bust. The guy just isn't a D 1 basketball player. His ceiling is a poor man's Erik Buggs. Time to cut our losses and use his scholarship elsewhere.
Micah Bradford... (https://i.giphy.com/media/EiCQzmzE5HLaw/giphy.webp)
How on earth can you be a Division I basketball player and not be able to shoot free throws? It's ridiculous.
How do you host recruits during MVC home games with this putrid smelling mess.
I'm beginning to feel embarrassed by how poorly we execute. It's a wonder we EVER get more FG attempts than our competition. If we had a single player other than Bakari who could actually shoot.................
Quote from: bigmosmithfan1 on January 24, 2018, 07:49:06 PM
How on earth can you be a Division I basketball player and not be able to shoot free throws? It's ridiculous.
Each one was worse than the one before. Maybe he should try the Rick Berry method and shoot them underhand. He might accidentally make one.
We are not good at playing basketball.
QuoteEach one was worse than the one before. Maybe he should try the Rick Berry method and shoot them underhand. He might accidentally make one.
I wasn't referring to a single player, I was referring to the whole team. We are inexcusably bad at the FT stripe.
I want to believe in this team and in Lottich and the process but they make it so incredibly difficult. This process is incredibly difficult to see. The improvement just doesn't seem to consistently be there from game to game and the same issues keep constantly biting us. Where is the light at the end of this long dark tunnel?
They had a special halftime birthday celebration for "The Crusader." You should have seen the expression on his/her/it's face. So touching. Also of great interest, I don't ever recall The Crusader's birthday ever being commentated before, but talksalot explained that it is his/her/it's 77th. That's special!
Sorry for the sarcasm. I'm a little edgy right now. ;)
Tevonn is a one trick pony, offensively of late.
Really. Bad. Basketball.
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on January 24, 2018, 08:11:07 PM
Tevonn is a one trick pony, offensively of late.
Tevonn should never be a #1 scoring option on any team. He's a very good player but teams can game plan around him
We are a bad basketball team.
Also, where the heck are the students? Studying? Sitting around in the dorms? How much is there to do in Valpo on a Wednesday night?
I think what's most concerning is not just that this team makes the same mistakes over and over again, but there seems to be no effort to game plan around our weaknesses. Our defense is simply awful and our shooting is bafflingly bad. Tevonn deserved a lot better than this for his senior year.
Informal fan poll: Have we embarrassed our new conference with our performance so far ?
When we need to hit a shot or a free throw, we couldn't hit water if we fell out of a boat.
As bad as our team is....the coaching staff is not much better....
How does McMillan not get more playing time?
No press with 2 minutes to go?
Set pieces out of timeouts are bad. Do we get open looks from set plays?
Not very disciplined....it has been discusseD....
Poor performance. Half empty building. Less than 100 students. Valpo Basketball 2018 y'all.
This team is getting worse, not better. This is not just on the players, folks.
Can you really blame the students for not wanting to watch the team get embarrassed?
I really hope Valpo doesn't get last the first year in the mvc but it's not looking pretty
I like how people on here complain about crowds and students, like it's somehow their fault for not wanting to see a 2 hour long free throw contest.
Quote from: a3uge on January 24, 2018, 08:58:32 PMI like how people on here complain about crowds and students, like it's somehow their fault for not wanting to see a 2 hour long free throw contest.
You mean a two hour free throw clank-fest.
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on January 24, 2018, 08:53:50 PM
Informal fan poll: Have we embarrassed our new conference with our performance so far ?
How would we have embarrassed the league? We did our part in the OOC and helped the league's RPI.
Perfect encapsulation of the season so far. Evansville gifts us a potential 4-point play to get back in the game... and one of our guards clanks the free throw. There is no excuse for a *guard* ever being less than deadly at the FT line... ever.
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on January 24, 2018, 08:59:49 PM
Quote from: a3uge on January 24, 2018, 08:58:32 PMI like how people on here complain about crowds and students, like it's somehow their fault for not wanting to see a 2 hour long free throw contest.
You mean a two hour free throw clank-fest.
Even if Valpo makes 8 more free throws, it's still a terrible way to spend 2 hours. College basketball is virtually unwatchable at this point.
Well, we continue to suck.
All I can say.
Quote from: a3uge on January 24, 2018, 09:02:35 PMQuote from: VUGrad1314 on January 24, 2018, 08:59:49 PMQuote from: a3uge on January 24, 2018, 08:58:32 PMI like how people on here complain about crowds and students, like it's somehow their fault for not wanting to see a 2 hour long free throw contest.
You mean a two hour free throw clank-fest.
Even if Valpo makes 8 more free throws, it's still a terrible way to spend 2 hours. College basketball is virtually unwatchable at this point.
Yeah senseless turnovers and a complete inability to score can make for some really tough viewing.
2008-2009 was the worst season of Valpo basketball I have ever watched. This season is giving it a run for the money.
In 08-09 we had Cory Johnson sitting out his transfer year and then hit the jackpot with Wood and Rowdy the following year.
I'm not seeing where the cavalry is coming next year...
Quote from: a3uge on January 24, 2018, 09:00:05 PMQuote from: VUGrad1314 on January 24, 2018, 08:53:50 PMInformal fan poll: Have we embarrassed our new conference with our performance so far ?
How would we have embarrassed the league? We did our part in the OOC and helped the league's RPI.
Not sure how much we really helped with the two massive national TV beatings we took and the loss to Riverside.
Take away Bradford's jersey and don't give it back to him till he makes 200 free throws. He doesn't deserve any minutes. Quite frankly he doesn't deserve a scholarship for the sport of basketball.
I said the same last year. I didn't need the the extra year and patience....I got burned last year for being less harsh on Bradford last year. Glad you guys came around and saw it my way.
Bradford now can't pass or shoot. Bakari only scores in garbage time. Our head coach is soft and has no fire.
Someone tell me about The Process. Because what I see out there is not going to make us a better team moving forward.
How the hell is Mileek McMillan sitting on the bench nearly the entire second half? 4-4 for the game on 3s. Had a real nice athletic rebound in that first half. Let the kid develop.
Why do our coaches half to pow wow at every timeout. Head coach, make a damn decision.
A team takes on the personality of its head coach. Lottich shows ZERO passion out there. ZERO fire or intensity. He's not been willing to fight for the players (see Max having to earn his own technical - although I do think that ref was looking for any reason to give one out there).
Golder didn't make a jump shot in warmups or the game. Attack the rim or give it and go set a screen. Speaking of warm ups...I'm so tired of seeing our guys go at 12% through their shooting lines and taking shots they don't take in a game. I know today they were in the locker room until there was a minute left before the game and before the half but this happens every game. I've never picked Valpo to lose, but I'm done picking them to win until I'm given a reason to believe again.
I hate to say this but our coaching is not there. Even the casual fan can tell you we don't know what we are doing on offense and it's not getting better.
How does McMillian not play more in the 2nd half? Also, Hazen should start to get minutes over Max.
I think the staff needs to have a heart to heart with Bradford and tell him to transfer. What is his shooting %? Has to be 20%ish if that.
1) Practice should be cancelled until the team shows up for warmups at the next game. Obviously, whatever is being done in practice now isn't working.
2) Bradford should be required to imitate Helm's free throw technique every time he steps to the foul line. I don't care if he feels uncomfortable at first and misses some shots, he's already missing the shots with his own style of shooting.
3) I have said it before, Lottich is too passive with the officials. The terrible foul call on Joseph followed by the quick technical foul call should have been enough to trigger Lottich. Hell, maybe he would even ignite the team by showing them he has their backs.
4) The attendance was terrible (2,219: smallest home crowd all season), even against a fellow Indiana team that was predicted to be a possible conference rival that would draw a good crowd. Also, the student body should be ashamed of themselves for their absence. (I'm tired of hearing excuses.) Also, the move to the MVC was supposed to create greater attendance, but that has not happened, and this should cause some serious introspection in Athletics.
I keep thinking we've hit our bottom and it just gets worse. I hope we start to come back up soon.
I have season tickets so i am an invested fan. Our team is bad, both coaches and players. However, i think Martin Linssen is my favorite. He has passion and always gives 100%
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
This team can't stop tripping over its own feet. Every time they make a great play them do something stupid like turn the ball over or give up an easy lay in the post by someone missing an assignment on the defensive end.
Coaches need to reevaluate lineups and who they are giving minutes to. I know they are much smarter then me but some of this is common sense and seems like stubbornness.
There are some bright spot. Smits is slowly starting look like he can be an effective low post scorer. Bakari is knocking down 3s. Golder can energy spark off the bench. Sorolla shows glimpses of strong defense. But much of the roster we're not getting enough from. Tevonn has been forced into the #1 option and it hasn't gone well. Max isn't a bad player but we are force to rely on him because we can't get any production Micah Bradford. Max is ideally a glue guy and not someone you want playing 30 minutes a game. You can't play Parker. You shouldn't play Bradford but we're forced to because he's the only option. John Kiser is another glue guy but isn't a strong offensive player and is still only a Sophomore. Mileek McMillan has looked good in spurts and was 4-5 from 3 and somehow only got 12 minutes. Linssen brings it but he can't keep himself out of foul trouble more then half the time.
There is a talent gap between our team and most other MVC teams. Most of our impact talent is underclassmen and the guy we hope to play superman in Tevonn isn't a great #1 scoring option. We have a talent issue and an experience issue. And it's fair game to start questioning the coaches on minutes distributions for certain player, imo. This team misses Joe Burton more then ever. He wouldn't turn us into a 1st place team but he could pushed Tevonn to a #2 or #3 some nights and take the pressure off of him.
This season is just so frustrating for so many reasons.
Quote from: wh on January 24, 2018, 08:08:10 PMI don't ever recall The Crusader's birthday ever being commentated before, but talksalot explained that it is his/her/it's 77th. That's special!
some discussion if it was 77 or 78... the Uhlan became the Crusader rather quietly at the beginning of WWII.
We've done this a few times... Benny the Bull came a few years ago...we had Cake eating contests... guess not in the marketing "plan". Thanks to the Rolling Sounds Audio for the birthday song mix...
We don't really have a team, per se, rather than a collection of individuals out there on the court.
As far as future pieces of the puzzle, I like what I've seen from Mileek. Linssen has had flashes of being good. Golder is a more athletic Howard Little. Evelyn reminds me of Lavonty Dorety. Smits has improved but still has major work left. Sorolla seems to have stalled. Hazen appears to be on the dark side of the moon. And Kiser, although he's a grinder, should be the 9th man on most teams. I'm seeing a lot of "meh" on the roster.
This program is in some major trouble. We need talent and we need it to gel together fast. Otherwise we're looking at the MVC cellar for a few years.
OK... is there ANYONE who wants to start the conversation about the late-night game coming up on Saturday against 3 big time scorers... who can shoot from anywhere...
You mean set the over\under on how badly we'll get whipped? It IS a national TV game after all... Just try to keep it under 20... Please...
Bradford has got to go. Start Golder or Kiser, and Joseph can be the back up PG.
Quote from: talksalot on January 24, 2018, 09:50:17 PMOK... is there ANYONE who wants to start the conversation about the late-night game coming up on Saturday against 3 big time scorers... who can shoot from anywhere...
No! Send EddieCabot a personal message and tell him he is next up. Beg if need be and grovel if you have to. We need a transfusion of fresh blood.
I didn't see any of game live. I had a bad internet feed when I tuned late in the 2nd half so I just watched LIVE STATS. The first GLARING STAT I saw was McMillan. Like so many have said, how do you align his three 3 pointers and his 12 minutes of play? More Maleek! He seems like the guy with the most "upside" value this year and you don't run with him while he is hot? I don't see big holes in his game. It's just a learning curve so let him learn!!
Tediously the same in the stats line:
1) Bad shooting by the guards
2) Five combined rebounds by two 7-footers.
........it's Groundhog Day
A 4 guard lineup can only offer what it offers no matter who is running the point. It worked pretty well for 3 games and has gone downhill ever since. If it is not providing us with opportunities to win then why are we still using it?
Time to develop our 4s and 5s. Our underclass 1s, 2s and 3s will sort themselves out in the process.
Sorry Max, and sorry Tevonn but it is time to switch gears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvV6Kg51NPI&feature=youtu.be
I just watched the St. Mary's game over again (why? I have no clue). The team and offense is unrecognizable :( The only similarities are the uniforms and the court.
If you get a chance just watch the first 10-15 minutes. The offense moves so much better. The 2015-2016 had better players but that team was like a well oil machine. Even if the talent level isn't the same I'd love to see some semblance of an efficient offense like this. It's really almost sad watching this 2017-18 team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-5QzOSVS2Q
Quote from: wh on January 24, 2018, 08:08:10 PM
They had a special halftime birthday celebration for "The Crusader." You should have seen the expression on his/her/it's face. So touching. Also of great interest, I don't ever recall The Crusader's birthday ever being commentated before, but talksalot explained that it is his/her/it's 77th. That's special!
Sorry for the sarcasm. I'm a little edgy right now. ;)
That was the lamest "halftime show" ever. I think even the people in the mascot outfits were cringing on the inside. No one was paying attention.
Whatever happened to the Jesse White Tumblers, or the Frisbee dog, or the guys on unicycles?
Players don't seem to have roles...the team has no identity. Is there a tactic or strategy when playing or is it just a bunch of individuals?
I asked about the halftimes a couple of years ago. Was told ml isn't big on spending money for halftime entertainment. Believes the game is the event, and people's decision to attend is based on that.
Probably should've done the kids club stuff on the Crusader's birthday....oh well. Maybe next year.
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on January 25, 2018, 07:29:16 AMI asked about the halftimes a couple of years ago. Was told ml isn't big on spending money for halftime entertainment. Believes the game is the event, and people's decision to attend is based on that.
The philosophy of having young kids play a quick game during halftime is that their families will come. Thats probably more than what any half time "entertainment" could bring.....
I would like to see some fun contest during halftime. Similar to what the NBA does.
Quote from: oklahomamick on January 25, 2018, 08:11:02 AM
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on January 25, 2018, 07:29:16 AMI asked about the halftimes a couple of years ago. Was told ml isn't big on spending money for halftime entertainment. Believes the game is the event, and people's decision to attend is based on that.
The philosophy of having young kids play a quick game during halftime is that their families will come. Thats probably more than what any half time "entertainment" could bring.....
I would like to see some fun contest during halftime. Similar to what the NBA does.
I'm personally not big on half-time shows. I'm sort of with ML's thinking of the game is the show. I'd rather see that money go elsewhere like paying top assistants or something to tangibly improve the team. I just want to win.
There are better ways to improve the gameday experience then spending $ for a 15 minute show. Example: improve the concessions, update the concourse, fix the sound system, help fix improve the pep band (get the music department involved). Also they should use the talent they have on campus for half-time shows.
If we were winning this probably wouldn't even be talked about. Winning heals all.
https://twitter.com/courierpress/status/956479703623200768
Taylor, UE break out of slump against Valpo to win first Valley road game
Pat Hickey, pat.hickey@courierpress.com
Jan. 24, 2018
http://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/college/evansville/2018/01/24/taylor-ue-break-out-slump-against-valpo-win-first-valley-road-game/1063554001/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Quote from: mj on January 24, 2018, 09:42:47 PM
We don't really have a team, per se, rather than a collection of individuals out there on the court.
As far as future pieces of the puzzle, I like what I've seen from Mileek. Linssen has had flashes of being good. Golder is a more athletic Howard Little. Evelyn reminds me of Lavonty Dorety. Smits has improved but still has major work left. Sorolla seems to have stalled. Hazen appears to be on the dark side of the moon. And Kiser, although he's a grinder, should be the 9th man on most teams. I'm seeing a lot of "meh" on the roster.
This program is in some major trouble. We need talent and we need it to gel together fast. Otherwise we're looking at the MVC cellar for a few years.
I was going to come on here and rant, but no need, you guys have covered it very well! Just to add a little fresh air to the discussion or perhaps to help get a few off the ledge, remember that we are starting a freshman and two sophomores with four sophomores and freshman coming off the bench. The loss of Joe Burton was bigger than anticipated. Tevonn is getting more attention than he can process and the result of all this is what you might expect, moving up a few notches conference wise.
The good news is that we do have some cavalry coming in. Remember a four star 6'7" three point shooter in Ryan Fazekas as well as a potential Illinois Mr. Basketball. That's so far. As for poor Micah, I do feel sorry for him. Obviously he isn't trying to miss shots and as his percentages continue to drop the pressure only gets worse.
I would add only that Mileek should be playing more minutes and as for coaching? Perhaps we are seeing just how much a guy like Alec Peters can cover for coaching inexperience.
Guess I will be Kevin Bacon in Animal House -- "everybody just calm down." Would suggest some folks go to the tanning salon as seasonal disorder is running rampant.
1. We all knew this was going to be a transitional year. But it has been exacerbated by departure and injuries. "When the going gets tough...."
2. We (well maybe me) have repeatedly said back to November this was an offensively challenged team. There are no shooters. ("Oh, but Bluto, we have guys shooting 36% from 3, oh ....") There should have been at least one shooter at least, that dude who shall remain nameless at Clemson, who could be having a big year (after that 8 game suspension), But nooooooo, someone told him transfer and now he sits the bench. Alec Peters isn't walking through that door between now and March. The other "shooter" has departed. Hence, we have an offense that has to try to go inside and still can't hit an 8 foot pull up. Or, hey let's try to get to the line, well, maybe not so much.
3. Guys are still playing hard. Look, I have season tixs to the Cavs, I know what not playing hard and terrible coaching are. (PM if you want to any games, prices are negotiable). In fact, I think in some situations they are trying too hard. Example 96, Valpo cuts the lead/ties it with about 8 mins to go. Looks like the big mo is about to switch, all we need is a go to scoring possession. 3 straight possessions guys try to do something more than they should -- long 3 by Golden, horrible entry passes, etc. We panicked, like young teams do. That's where the senior leadership has to take control with Tevonn and Max. Turnovers, missing FTs and "brain farts" (did Todd's partner really say that on air) is no way to go through life, Crusaders."
4. "I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part!" That sequence is then followed by the series of events with Max and boom we're down 8 or 9 again. You can only climb that hill so many times. And, yes, I tweeted that we were in the MVC Reffing Twilight Zone and being hazed by the MVC refs. And to the TV, I was yelling at Matt to get the T. It's time, you don't want to jeopardize a game outcome or momentum swing, but there are times YOU HAVE TO GET ONE, and we are way past that time.
5. Everyone needs to lighten up about the coaching. Sometimes, and FW can maybe back me up on this, you have a team that just can't do what you want them to do. This team is exasperating. When they're going good, they click on all cylinders. When it starts to go down hill, it goes down hill. The coaches have to be equally frustrated. But let's also remember that most of these guys are not his recruits and he has not had a chance to establish his program yet. This is year 2 of the Process. He started in April 2016 (late in that recruiting season). He had to keep his star player; battle over another one; find assistants as Jake and Roger left; and recruit. His guys have talent -- Fazekas, JLF, Bakari, Golden, McMillan -- for next year. Add back the Centers, Marty, Hazen, Kizer and you have the ingredients. What we need, and it's been said repeatedly is a knock down 3 shooter and a floor general (we have the schollies now). The upheaval of rosters with transfers and possible early departures is going to result in a clunker year every once in awhile for mid-majors. If they come every 10 years that's not too bad. If we string 2-3 of these struggling seasons together, then we can have coaching discussion. Or, if that doesn't work, "my advice to you is to start drinking heavily" before and after games.
6. The one thing this team should focus on (and I remember this from a few years ago when there was a stretch like this and Bryce started emphasizing this) is going back to fundamentals. ("is that a pledge pin on your uniform?") Don't try to make the spectacular play (tip ins and flushes), grab the rebound first, go with the 3Cs (catch, collect and convert), make the easy pass to an open player, not trying to thread the needle at 90mph (couple examples in crunch time last night), make post entry passes that Centers can catch (big guys do not like passes at our feet), free throws and on the defensive end get the rebounds, block out. Just some examples.
In this twitter fueled instantaneous overreaction world we live in, and when a team is struggling, I remember fondly Dick Harlan (God bless his soul), who could always make the difficult times in VU hoops be discussed in a positive, constructive and respectful manner. We can be funny and a bit snarky (use those little memes), but take a deep breath, think about all the solar systems that could be like atoms on your fingernail, and remember it's just college basketball.
You make some good, rational points, valpo84. Here's what I will offer two words as a counterpoint as to why fans are totally right to be on edge right now (and yes, why our AD shouldn't be afraid to have a quicker hook than most think is warranted if the ship doesn't get righted): Ball State.
Remember Ball State? Not now, but what they used to be. Five NCAA appearances and three NIT appearances from 1989 to 2000. Then they lost their coach to a larger school, but no problem, right? That 2000 team was young, and the new coach was inheriting a talented squad (in fact, three guys on that roster would go on to play in the NBA). Almost immediately, there were transfers. (You might remember Josh Murray, who singlehandedly knocked VU out of the old Mid-Con tourney that one year for IUPUI - yeah, Tim Buckley didn't want him). Don't worry - the coach is just bringing in guys for "his system" they said. In year two, despite beating Kansas and UCLA in the non-conference, the team missed the tourney, largely because the coach couldn't get out of his own way. Within two more years, BSU's nearly 20-year streak of winning seasons was over.
By the time BSU finally fired the coach, all momentum for one of the top mid-major programs in the country was gone. The program has struggled until the last couple of years, but still has not gotten close to returning to the NCAA tournament, 18 years later.
The point is this: for midmajor programs, "sustained success" can turn into "mediocre floundering" in a heartbeat. Particularly when your facility is years behind your conference mates and is basically a glorified high school gym. If you've missed on a hire or something is otherwise amiss, you had better fix it, and fast. Once you've lost "it," it's extremely difficult to get back.
(On a counter-counter point: I make fun of Butler a lot on here for using the "health" excuse to submarine Brandon Miller to make it look like they didn't can a guy after one losing season, but to their credit, they were well aware of the level of results that were unacceptable to them as a program and took action accordingly. That's a big reason why they've sustained the level of success in their program. Behind the happy, phony piousness and the "Butler Way" nonsense is a ruthless pursuit of winning basketball. Valpo could take at least a few notes.)
We have 3 wins and 11 losses in our last 14 games. That's just ugly and there's no excuse even if this is a "transitional year". This isn't a YMCA rec developmental league.
Bigmo is absolutely correct. Midmajors have a short shelf life if things go bad. The history of Valpo basketball might buy us an extra season or two but after that, there's no safety net.
We basically can't whiff on any of our new recruits. You can make a mistake on one (Bradford) or two (potentially Hazen) but you're in dangerous territory when you start looking at three or more. This program is at a crossroads.
I am more optimistic than most on this board. With Joe Burton, this team was decent. Not great but decent. You loose arguably the best player on the team mid season without a true number 1 on the team to take the load (Walker is a good player, but he has always been an inconsistent scorer) and this is what you get. Team is young, and as pointed out, some recruits have not played well at all. If next year, Fazekas and Freeman don't pan out then yes we can worry, but if they are as good as advertised we should have a lineup that can compete.
G - Evelyn - JR
G - Freeman - FR
F - Fazekas - JR
F - McMillen - SO / Goulder - JR
C - Smitts - JR
Would take Big's point a step further. We have NO margin for error in the backtracking of this program. Unlike Ball State, we don't have Worthen Arena and an honest to goodness athletic marketing budget.
3 years of mediocrity in a row and we are in serious trouble. That being said, I agree with vuny, and tack on that we still have 2 scholarships open for next year. Let's see what happens.
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on January 25, 2018, 12:13:40 PM
Would take Big's point a step further. We have NO margin for error in the backtracking of this program. Unlike Ball State, we don't have Worthen Arena and an honest to goodness athletic marketing budget.
3 years of mediocrity in a row and we are in serious trouble. That being said, I agree with vuny, and tack on that we still have 2 scholarships open for next year. Let's see what happens.
So you are giving the program rope till Derrik et al graduate?
Quote from: mj on January 25, 2018, 11:39:50 AM
Bigmo is absolutely correct. Midmajors have a short shelf life if things go bad. The history of Valpo basketball might buy us an extra season or two but after that, there's no safety net.
We basically can't whiff on any of our new recruits. You can make a mistake on one (Bradford) or two (potentially Hazen) but you're in dangerous territory when you start looking at three or more. This program is at a crossroads.
This is precisely my argument for being concerned with the MVC move. I think I'd be just as worried in the HL with this team, but Belmont's big fish in a medium sized pond has real staying power (concept).
I'm 70% happy with the MVC move but I'm still 30% worried we back-slide on recruits as a result of CONSISTENT muddling league finishes. What recruit chooses 7/10th Place Valpo, what's the draw?
Quote from: mj on January 25, 2018, 11:39:50 AM
Bigmo is absolutely correct. Midmajors have a short shelf life if things go bad. The history of Valpo basketball might buy us an extra season or two but after that, there's no safety net.
Look no further than SIU. Over 6 seasons in the early 2000's, they were 155-46 (26 wins a year), made 6 NCAA tourneys and 2 Sweet 16s . Over the next ten years, they've gone 146-173, with only one 20-win season.
I don't know exactly what happened under Chris Lowery, but it seems that SIU was reluctant to pull the plug on him as things spiraled downward, due in part to the success he had early on when taking over a program built by Bruce Weber and Matt Painter. (For reference, Lowery owns the SIU record for most wins (29 in '06-'07) and most losses (23 in '11-'12) in a season. Hinson has done an OK job, but they're a shell of the program they were a little over a decade ago.
I think it's way too early to question the coaching staff, but I do think it's important that things get turned around quickly before too much momentum is lost.
Quote from: mj on January 25, 2018, 11:39:50 AMWe basically can't whiff on any of our new recruits. You can make a mistake on one (Bradford) or two (potentially Hazen) but you're in dangerous territory when you start looking at three or more. This program is at a crossroads.
Not sure you were implying that Micah was Matt's recruit, but he wasn't. He committed for Bryce and reaffirmed his commitment once Matt was named head coach. I can name a bunch of kids who looked pretty unimpressive their freshman year. Think of folks like Jake Diebler who averaged 0.9 ppg his freshman year and finished at 7.9. How about Brandon McPherson who started at 1.3 and finished at 15.0. Shawn Huff started at 4.4 and finished at 12.6 and even Dan Oppland started at 4.6 and finished at 20.1.
Freshman are freshman and Seniors are Seniors. Evansville had 2 Red-shirt seniors, 3 seniors, 1 red-shirt juniors and 1 junior, on their team and it looked like it. That's 6 guys able to drink beer legally. We have 2 seniors and ... a bunch of freshman and sophomores.
Quote from: valpo84 on January 25, 2018, 09:43:46 AM5. Everyone needs to lighten up about the coaching. Sometimes, and FW can maybe back me up on this, you have a team that just can't do what you want them to do. This team is exasperating. When they're going good, they click on all cylinders. When it starts to go down hill, it goes down hill. The coaches have to be equally frustrated. But let's also remember that most of these guys are not his recruits and he has not had a chance to establish his program yet. This is year 2 of the Process. He started in April 2016 (late in that recruiting season). He had to keep his star player; battle over another one; find assistants as Jake and Roger left; and recruit. His guys have talent -- Fazekas, JLF, Bakari, Golden, McMillan -- for next year. Add back the Centers, Marty, Hazen, Kizer and you have the ingredients. What we need, and it's been said repeatedly is a knock down 3 shooter and a floor general (we have the schollies now). The upheaval of rosters with transfers and possible early departures is going to result in a clunker year every once in awhile for mid-majors. If they come every 10 years that's not too bad. If we string 2-3 of these struggling seasons together, then we can have coaching discussion. Or, if that doesn't work, "my advice to you is to start drinking heavily" before and after games.
I am beginning to wonder about how this fan board has changed, the operative word being fan. None of you know what has been going on with this team, none of you are in the locker room or at practice. The reason the "offense is unrecognizable" is because it was changed to accommodate the skill sets of Tevonn and Burton, how many of you have talked to the coaches about that... I would guess 0. Don't say "why didn't they change the offense once Burton left and Tevonn got sick", you don't know how long it takes to install an offense, one that they are certainly trying to tweak to accommodate the personnel changes. Most everyone praised Matt last year for handling the Carter, Skara and Adekoya issues, yet now despite additional problems beyond his personal control this forum is putting him on the hot seat. Widely acknowledged as the best coach in the MVC, Ben Jacobson hasn't done a thing this year in the conference. :censored: happens. I understand that the buck stops with Matt, I don't agree with everything he does, but at least I know that I will never agree with everything and everyone and I don't have to air petty grievances about specific young players or young coaches on a public message board.
Concur FW. We talked about the necessity to make adjustments night in/night out in the MVC. Teams are adjusting on D to us. This is not the Horizon where we could dictate what we wanted to do, and teams could try to adjust but didn't have the talent to stop us. The MVC teams have more depth, better coaching and a number of very experienced teams. If you are going to be consistently better everyone said, we need to move up in conference. Well, if we are the mid-major program we believe we are and believe we want to be, we have to work through this season and the growing pains.
Another example with UNI for teams having down years--Vanderbilt 7-13, 2-6 conference. Sometimes it's just not your year. Did Bryce and that coaching staff suddenly lose their competency? Bryce also has his big class coming in next year. 8-)
Quote from: vu72 on January 25, 2018, 01:30:48 PMI can name a bunch of kids who looked pretty unimpressive their freshman year.
How about players that weren't very impressive their freshman year and went downwards for the majority of their sophomore year? Name one of those.
Quote from: vuny98 on January 25, 2018, 12:00:15 PM
I am more optimistic than most on this board. With Joe Burton, this team was decent. Not great but decent. You loose arguably the best player on the team mid season without a true number 1 on the team to take the load (Walker is a good player, but he has always been an inconsistent scorer) and this is what you get. Team is young, and as pointed out, some recruits have not played well at all. If next year, Fazekas and Freeman don't pan out then yes we can worry, but if they are as good as advertised we should have a lineup that can compete.
G - Evelyn - JR
G - Freeman - FR
F - Fazekas - JR
F - McMillen - SO / Goulder - JR
C - Smitts - JR
I'm definitely optimistic about our future. That looks like a pretty good roster and a good chunk of the core will have played a year together. Add in the fact that we have 2 scholarships available. Sprinkle in maybe another talented high level transfer (redshirt) & keep an eye on Daniel Sackey who was the Canadian PG recruit who visited during the Loyola game. He looks like an impressive player and would probably get minutes over Micah Bradford. Much more athletic and quicker then Micah and probably could shoot better then 31.3% and 41.7% from the FT Line. He looks like he'd be a strong recruit.
Quote from: VU2014 on January 25, 2018, 03:15:41 PM31.3% and 41.7%
After last night make that 25.3 and 41.5 :(
Sounds like I picked a good game to miss! That was the first streamed game I haven't watched in a few years, due to work commitments. I hope that these guys are learning from each loss, and take it into next year, otherwise we are in for more of the same in 2018-2019.
Quote from: valpotx on January 25, 2018, 07:45:48 PMotherwise we are in for more of the same in 2018-2019.
SO... I decided to look at the valley Next year... "who are the current seniors that won't be around to pick on Valpo next year...."
seniors in the Valley Player ppg
Bradley Donte Thomas 10.5
Drake Reed Timmer 18.1
Drake DeAntae McMurray 10.9
Drake Graham Woodward 10.2
Drake Ore Arogundade 6.7
Drake Cj Rivers 5.4
Evansville Blake Simmons 11.7
Evansville Dalen Traore 2.7
Indiana State Brenton Scott 15
Indiana State Qiydar Davis 10.8
Indiana State Brandon Murphy 7.6
Indiana State Demonte Ojinnaka 2.1
Loyola Aundre Jackson 11.9
Loyola Donte Ingram 11.6
Loyola Ben Richardson 5.6
Loyola Carson Shanks 1.3
Loyola Nick Dinardi 0.4
Missouri State Alize Johnson 14.9
Missouri State Jared Rhodes 9.1
Missouri State JT Miller 8.3
Missouri State Ronnie Rousseau 6.2
Northern Iowa Bennett Koch 12.7
Northern Iowa Klint Carlson 9.2
Northern Iowa Hunter Rhodes 1.3
Northern Iowa Ted Friedman 1
Southern Illinois Jonathan Wiley 7.2
Southern Illinois Tyler Smithpeters 7.1
Valpo Tevonn Walker 15.3
Valpo Max Joseph 7.8 (out of 71.2 ppg... and Burton's 11.5)...total 34.6 points of 71.2
oh, AND this one...
Illinois State NONE There are no seniors on the Redbird roster
Valpo's leading returning "scorers" for next year...
Bakari 11.4
Markus 8.2
Derrik 7.4
Micah 5.3
Jaume 5.2
Mileek 3.5
John 3.2
Martin 2.3
Parker 1.1
+Fazekas +Freeman-Liberty Hmmm Maybe it won't be so bad going forward...
Quote from: talksalot on January 25, 2018, 08:59:07 PM
Quote from: valpotx on January 25, 2018, 07:45:48 PMotherwise we are in for more of the same in 2018-2019.
Valpo Tevonn Walker 15.3
Valpo Max Joseph 7.8 (out of 71.2 ppg... and Burton's 11.5)...total 34.6 points of 71.2
oh, AND this one...
Illinois State NONE There are no seniors on the Redbird roster
Valpo's leading returning "scorers" for next year...
Bakari 11.4
Markus 8.2
Derrik 7.4
Micah 5.3
Jaume 5.2
Mileek 3.5
John 3.2
Martin 2.3
Parker 1.1
We're going to need some guys to take their game to the next level to find success next season. We'll also need Fazekas to be as good as we think he can be.
Javon looks like he's going be a huge part of this team going forward but I hate placing lofty goals on freshman. If he could be what Tevonn was his Freshman year I think I'd be happy: 10.3 PPG, 44.4 FG%, 34.2 3P%, 2.5-3.4 FTM-FTA (I think Javon can get to the line more), 3.4 REB, 1.1 STL, 27.1 MIN. Tevonn was a great defender. I've heard Javon is pretty good defender and has quick hands but I doubt he'll be a better perimeter defender and rebounder then Tevonn.
Losing both Tevonn and Max is going to be a hit to our perimeter defense in my estimation next season.
Quote from: VU2014 on January 25, 2018, 10:41:15 PM
Quote from: talksalot on January 25, 2018, 08:59:07 PM
Quote from: valpotx on January 25, 2018, 07:45:48 PMotherwise we are in for more of the same in 2018-2019.
Valpo Tevonn Walker 15.3
Valpo Max Joseph 7.8 (out of 71.2 ppg... and Burton's 11.5)...total 34.6 points of 71.2
oh, AND this one...
Illinois State NONE There are no seniors on the Redbird roster
Valpo's leading returning "scorers" for next year...
Bakari 11.4
Markus 8.2
Derrik 7.4
Micah 5.3
Jaume 5.2
Mileek 3.5
John 3.2
Martin 2.3
Parker 1.1
We're going to need some guys to take their game to the next level to find success next season. We'll also need Fazekas to be as good as we think he can be.
Javon looks like he's going be a huge part of this team going forward but I hate placing lofty goals on freshman. If he could be what Tevonn was his Freshman year I think I'd be happy: 10.3 PPG, 44.4 FG%, 34.2 3P%, 2.5-3.4 FTM-FTA (I think Javon can get to the line more), 3.4 REB, 1.1 STL, 27.1 MIN. Tevonn was a great defender. I've heard Javon is pretty good defender and has quick hands but I doubt he'll be a better perimeter defender and rebounder then Tevonn.
Losing both Tevonn and Max is going to be a hit to our perimeter defense in my estimation next season.
Quote from: VU2014 on January 25, 2018, 10:41:15 PM
Losing both Tevonn and Max is going to be a hit to our perimeter defense in my estimation next season.
Luke Gore said in a recent postgame that Tevonn is the best defensive player to play for Valpo in Luke's time with the program. He went so far as to say Tevonn is the best defensive player on the court in every game he has ever played. He also said that Tevonn should be named league defensive player of the year every year.
I'm still having a tough time dealing with the fact that Mileek McMillan played hardly any of the second half after hitting 3 threes in the first half. He starts the game, gets hot shooting the three which is what we really needed and why we stayed close in the first half and we used him to promote the game for local (Lake County) fans.
https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/955526658450223104
And then we go away from what was working! Why? Why? Why?
Quote from: bbtds on January 26, 2018, 04:53:39 AM
I'm still having a tough time dealing with the fact that Mileek McMillan played hardly any of the second half after hitting 3 threes in the first half. He starts the game, gets hot shooting the three which is what we really needed and why we stayed close in the first half and we used him to promote the game for local (Lake County) fans.
https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/955526658450223104
And then we go away from what was working! Why? Why? Why?
How was his defense?
It was at least as good as anyone else who was playing.
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on January 25, 2018, 09:30:22 PM
+Fazekas +Freeman-Liberty Hmmm Maybe it won't be so bad going forward...
We are also adding a 6'7" and 6'4" starters to replace a pair of 6'1" starters. We will play a totally different style most likely.
A lot of people talking about our youth. We also have a young and inexperienced coach who was able to hide some of his flaws last year with an NBA player on the roster. I do not for a second believe we have the 10th best talent in The Valley this season. Without Burton 6th or 7th seems very reasonable but not 10th.
So coach needs to improve just as much as the players on the court. Get players in positions where they can thrive. I understand that the defense in this league is much better. I hope he makes some strides as well so he is also coaching at a higher level next year when we can hopefully move up into the top 5.
Agree to a point on Mileek. He needs more minutes to develop. But while his 3 pt shooting has been a nice surprise, that's been about half his total shot attempts. Offensively, he's basically a 6'8 shooting guard. He looks completely lost on defense, and his rebounding is nowhere near where it should be with his size and athleticism. He also fouls way too much.
But, as I said, his needs some more time on the floor to develop, and as we get to the point where we're locked into a play in game for St. Louis, we should look to play him, Golder, and Marty more to get them ready to be key contributors next year.
He definitely fouls too much and is out of positions on defense, which would improve with more experience....but his rebounding is right on par with the rest of our bigs :lol:
He did have one real athletic rebound in the first half that showed yet another glimpse of what is possible!
I'd like to see Mileek get on the court a little more too but let's be honest he's not forcing the coaches hands with his play. Mileek has shown glimpses but he's still really raw. I've like some of things I've seen from his game but he has a lot to work on. He still makes too many silly fouls, leaves a lot to be desired on from a rebounding perspective. I'm really high Mileek's future but he has a lot to work on & I trust the Coaching Staff knows best how to handle his development.
So you're cool with how they handled his PT in the last game?
Quote from: M on January 26, 2018, 01:22:44 PM
So you're cool with how they handled his PT in the last game?
I would have liked to see him play more especially when he had the hot hand from 3.
Quote from: VU2014 on January 25, 2018, 10:41:15 PMJavon looks like he's going be a huge part of this team going forward but I hate placing lofty goals on freshman. If he could be what Tevonn was his Freshman year I think I'd be happy: 10.3 PPG, 44.4 FG%, 34.2 3P%, 2.5-3.4 FTM-FTA (I think Javon can get to the line more), 3.4 REB, 1.1 STL, 27.1 MIN. Tevonn was a great defender. I've heard Javon is pretty good defender and has quick hands but I doubt he'll be a better perimeter defender and rebounder then Tevonn.
I knew I would have to keep repeating this for 3 to 5 years. LET JAVON BE JAVON!
Quote from: VU2014I'd like to see Mileek get on the court a little more too but let's be honest he's not forcing the coaches hands with his play. Mileek has shown glimpses but he's still really raw. I've like some of things I've seen from his game but he has a lot to work on. He still makes too many silly fouls, leaves a lot to be desired on from a rebounding perspective.
Whose overall game was better than Mileek's that got to play instead of Mileek?
Quote from: bbtds on January 26, 2018, 03:20:13 PM
I knew I would have to keep repeating this for 3 to 5 years. LET JAVON BE JAVON!
Agreed. I was just pointing out that if we got similar level of production from Tevonn's freshman year I'd be happy. They're games are different. I feel like there is already a considerable amount of expectations on the young man and he hasn't even finished his senior year of high school yet.
Quote from: VU2014 on January 26, 2018, 03:31:18 PMI feel like there is already a considerable amount of expectations on the young man and he hasn't even finished his senior year of high school yet.
BINGO! He's almost guaranteed to disappoint. If he does anything near Tavonn I'll be very happy. Sometimes the hype machines can go overboard. If the hype websites aren't overdoing it on JAVON then that's a big plus.
I kind of feel the hype that Keith Carter got on the Chicago websites we're what might have played the most into the NCAA not granting him another year. In NCAA thinking "how could Valpo land a transfer like Carter without there being something dubious since SLU says so."
Quote from: VU2014 on January 26, 2018, 03:31:18 PM
Quote from: bbtds on January 26, 2018, 03:20:13 PM
I knew I would have to keep repeating this for 3 to 5 years. LET JAVON BE JAVON!
Agreed. I was just pointing out that if we got similar level of production from Tevonn's freshman year I'd be happy. They're games are different. I feel like there is already a considerable amount of expectations on the young man and he hasn't even finished his senior year of high school yet.
With accolades come expectations. Good or bad. If we looked back on the expectations of Alec Peters I think you would be able to read similar comments.
Over 5 years ago now. http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=970.msg17682#msg17682
We got lucky with landing 2 program changing recruits in Broekhoff and AP the last 8 years. Rowdy wasn't the instant contributor AP was but none the less both altered the trajectory of this program. Knock on wood we have one coming down the pipeline.
Quote from: vu72 on January 26, 2018, 03:37:40 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on January 26, 2018, 03:31:18 PM
Quote from: bbtds on January 26, 2018, 03:20:13 PM
I knew I would have to keep repeating this for 3 to 5 years. LET JAVON BE JAVON!
Agreed. I was just pointing out that if we got similar level of production from Tevonn's freshman year I'd be happy. They're games are different. I feel like there is already a considerable amount of expectations on the young man and he hasn't even finished his senior year of high school yet.
With accolades come expectations. Good or bad. If we looked back on the expectations of Alec Peters I think you would be able to read similar comments.
I think there tends to be a bit more hype on the Chicago recruiting websites than say the Central Illinois recruiting websites.
A couple "highlights" from the Aces forum. Side Note to Aces fans that think our programs isn't up to snuff: Our previous 3 Horizon League teams would have knocked Evansville on it's own @$$ home and away... http://www.purpleacesfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1272
It was interesting to read the Evansville fan-bases perspective. They have some passionate fans and a lot of them aren't very happy with the state of their program and Marty Simmons. What also blew my is hearing that I guess some fans aren't happy with the Ford Center lol. Wow. I'm personally not a fan of the atmosphere of mid-major college programs playing in big over half empty hockey arenas like that but all things considered that's a nice arena.
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby NumbersDontLie » Wed Jan 24, 2018 1:34 pm
Anyone that has complaints about the Ford Center needs to check out Valpo's facilities tonight. They play in a glorified HS gym that would be the envy every D3 school around. Of course that means nothing in the grand scheme of things, and their capacity (5,000) would probably be big enough to house UE's home crowd most games.
We'll see how we match up with their size.
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby indymoon » Wed Jan 24, 2018 7:52 pm
You're right and it looks like all bleachers except for lower level across from benches.
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby muni cup14 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 8:03 pm
So far i believe i found a MVC team worse than UE . :roll: :roll:
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby svmar10 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 8:04 pm
When Valpo comes here to play I want all of you arena whiners to explain to their fans how bad we have it playing in the pitiful "Ford Center". Geez Louise!
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby Ad1770 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 8:09 pm
Color me impressed with this first half. Valpo is still in the mold of a Horizon League team, but UE has looked pretty good this half. (Qualifier, it took Loyola 4 years to fully have a MVC style team, I can see it being the same time span for Valpo.)
This does not change my stance on Marty though.
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby Aces101 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:03 pm
Sorry Valpo - you're not in the Horizon League anymore
Re: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby pafan » Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:16 pm
Quoteacecard wrote:
I still think they are a Thursday team.
No question.
Tonight's game was won at the free throw line. The Aces scored 46 from the floor and 29 from the stripe; Valpo scored 53 from the floor and 12 from the line. Which isn't an especially exciting brand of basketball, but it works if you can earn the calls.
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby Ad1770 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:41 pm
Hammer, meet nail. They didn't shy away from the contact on the offensive end, and earned every free throw tonight. This doesn't make up for the two games dropped at home, but it helps.
Still doesn't change my position, and it won't, but I will take the win. After all, I did pick UE to win 6 conference games this year.
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby IBLEEDPURPLE » Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:45 pm
Any road win in the Valley is a good one even if it is against a rookie team from the Horizon League. Valpo is not yet used to MVC play and they should be the team that finishes last this year. It is not going to be Drake, the surprise of the season so far.
We need to hold serve at home the rest of the season and find a way to finish 6th and stay out of the Thursday game, this has to be the goal the rest of the way. I did not watch the game or listen to it but it sounds familiar to the two home games we won where we had a couple bigs in the lineup.
Go Aces..way to get a W on the road.
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby muni cup14 » Yesterday 5:26 am
How did Valpo. beat Drake.A win is a win,but man was this game was ugly.
I think the commentater made a misstake,he ssid their were about 700
UE fans who made the trip.
QuoteRe: Game Thread: Aces @ Valpo 1/24 @ 7 pm
Postby pafan » Today 12:55 pm
The MVC as a whole plays slow. Especially UE, UNI, and Drake under Ray Giacolleti. There was a season maybe 3 or 4 years back when the MVC set a new NCAA record for fewest possessions per game for a conference.
That doesn't help Aces games look exciting.
Watched the first half to see Mileek. He's got a long way to progress before he can be kept on the floor with consistency.
Coach must have him as first man back on defense after an offensive possession, because he never once crashed the boards. He stood around without fail. I'm thinking he's more aggressive than that, but wow.
Defensively he's just a big body at this point. But I have faith.
Offensively, 75% of the time he stood in a ready position at the three point line by the Evansville bench. Now I'm sure partly that's within our scheme, but what a waste. I think coach is afraid to have him set picks, because he usually runs over the defender or tries to eat them.
A LOT of game awareness and experience until he can play big minutes. I also found myself getting caught up in FINALLY SOMEONE IS SCORING. But if he can't make consistent defensive stops then he's only going to get 12 minutes a game.
I still really like Mileek and Linssen, but they are both PF and both huge projects. Is Fazekas fast enough to Guard the SF position?
Ideally Mileek might be able to Guard SF, but not this year. He would truck them...
Next year, speculating starters minutes
Bakari (exp Jr)
Javon (exp Frosh)
Golder (exp Soph)
Fazekas (exp Jr)
Two headed monsters (exp Jr)
In this scenario Fazekas, Javon and Bakari can fill it up offensively. Golder will get less streaky and the bigs aren't a liability.
This years team has nothing but inexperienced liability with Tevonn getting hounded. I'm optimistic.
Yes, our last three HL teams would have beat the snot out of Evansville, as well as most of the other MVC teams. I love it when people think that our struggle this year is due to changing conferences. We would be middle of the pack in the HL this season without Burton, which leads to last in the MVC at this point. It isn't like we would be the best team in the HL, and are showing that the best HL team is last in the MVC. What morons...