For the second time this year Kevin has been named Player of the Week. Congrats! Did anyone expect anything like this from him before the season started? Come on, be honest. With his injury history etc we all wondered how the 5 would be handled. We now know.
What a battle for POY between Kevin and Ryan! Keep it going! :thewave:
http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/valpos-van-wijk-notches-second-player-of-the-week-honor.html (http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/valpos-van-wijk-notches-second-player-of-the-week-honor.html)
Kevin expected it, that is why he stayed in Valparaiso all summer to work on his body and injury so that he was able to do the things he does now
Quote from: vu72 on January 16, 2012, 10:27:31 AM
For the second time this year Kevin has been named Player of the Week. Congrats! Did anyone expect anything like this from him before the season started? Come on, be honest. With his injury history etc we all wondered how the 5 would be handled. We now know.
I was thinking the same thing during the game yesterday. Kevin has been more of force than I ever would have expected based on the times he made it into the game last year. We now see what the coaches saw when they recruited him.
it's amazing what can be done when you don't have constant back pain and can actually play for more than 10 minutes a night every weekend.
Stunned! He played well when he played, but not a force like this. Knock me over with a feather.
If you looked at some of his stats prior to the injury there was a glimpse of the potential, but I would not have expected anything like this. To have this kind of recovery from a back injury is amazing in its self let alone to put up the kind of numbers he has been putting on the board.
I thought he was dominate last year and couldnt understand why he was only a 10-15 minute per gamer until it was disclosed.
Kevin is a load. Keep up the hard work.
lowposter
I guess I didn't shout it from the mountaintops as I am a rather infrequent poster, but I was very excited about Kevin taking over the 5 position. It seemed clear that in the minutes he got last year that he would be a tough and physical presence in the post with an ability to score. The back was a concern, but it does surprise me that so many expected so little. Now, did I expect All-Conference 1st team level this year? I would not have predicted that this year, but certainly next.
Quote from: cmack on January 18, 2012, 10:45:15 PMIt seemed clear that in the minutes he got last year that he would be a tough and physical presence in the post with an ability to score. The back was a concern, but it does surprise me that so many expected so little.
I think another thing we weren't taking into affect with what Kevin could do this season was that he would be the main focus in a more up-tempo offense under a new head coach. He doesn't have anyone behind him that is his equal at the 5, but he's doing exactly what we said he would do. I don't know what he did over the offseason to strengthen his back, but he did wonders in getting back into playing condition for this season.
In June Kevin had his back worked on by a chiropractor in Crown Point. He used some kind of special treatment per Kevin himself. And don't think about asking Kevin about his back. He'll snap at you that it is "JUST FINE, NOTHING WRONG!!!!"
I remember a coach characterizing Cory Johnson as a 'bull in a china shop' in an announcement of him transferring to Valpo. That characterization is much more apropos to KVW, as he is an absolute banger inside.
Quote from: valpotx on January 20, 2012, 02:08:50 AM
I remember a coach characterizing Cory Johnson as a 'bull in a china shop' in an announcement of him transferring to Valpo. That characterization is much more apropos to KVW, as he is an absolute banger inside.
I think you're right about Kevin. For Cory...whirl and flail seems more accurate.
As a fan, it will be interesting to see whether there is any correlation between Kevin's play and the number of available scholarships for next year.