11/2/13, 7pm - Robert Morris @ Valpo -- Game Thread

[Smj]

Not much to say to start this thread but I would definitely like to see them come out strong in the first half.   I do wonder If Bryce will have some decisions about players that will not get much playing time.

Anyone know how Capo's knee is heeling?

[valpopal]

From the RMU website:

Men's Basketball Rated Sixth in NAIA Division II Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll Men's Basketball-CH - Wed, Oct. 30, 2013 at 11:15 AM  Kansas City, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) released the Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll on Tuesday, October 29^th and Robert Morris is rated sixth in the ratings.

Head Coach Al Bruehl and the Eagles are returning to the NAIA Division II this season after spending the last 11 seasons in the Division I ranks, where they advanced to five NAIA Fab Fours and nine NAIA National Tournaments.  RMU also won 10 CCAC Conference regular season championships and eight conference tournament titles.

The Eagles return starters Sean Montgomery and Kashaune McKinney from last year's team that went 17-14 and lost in the A.I.I. Tournament semi-finals.  Montgomery was a 2012-2013 NAIA Division I All-American Honorable Mention selection and All-Independent First Team choice.

Fellow CCAC Conference member and 2013 NAIA Division II National Champion Cardinal Stritch University (Wis.) sits atop of the preseason poll, garnering 13 of the 14 first place votes.  The Wolves are followed by #2 Indiana Wesleyan University, #3 Embry-Riddle University (Fla.), #4 Southern Oregon University, and #5 Northwood University (Fla.).  Other CCAC schools represented in the preseason poll are Saint Xavier University at #11 and Olivet Nazarene University is receiving votes.

The Eagles take on NCAA Division I Valparaiso University (Ind.) in an exhibition on Saturday, November 2^nd at the Athletics-Recreation Center on the campus of Valparaiso University.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7pm and fans can listen to the game live at www.eaglesportsnetwork.com.  RMU opens up its regular season on Thursday, November 7^th when it takes on Point Park University (Pa.) on the first day of the Ohio Christian University Tournament to be held in Circleville, Ohio.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Head Coach Al Bruehl and the Eagles are returning to the NAIA Division II this season after spending the last 11 seasons in the Division I ranks, where they advanced to five NAIA Fab Fours and nine NAIA National Tournaments.

[valpotx]

I wonder why they moved down a level, considering they had been #1 many times in previous seasons. 

Valpo 86
RMU (IL) 64

[classof2014]

Looked at RMUs roster, tallest player is listed at 6' 7" I would imagine us to dominate on the boards and down low. I think we should see a bit more consistency from Valpo in this game since first game jitters should be out of the way.

87 - 54 win Valpo

[Smj]

Who is traveling further for the game....   (3.5 hour drive)   anyone beat that?

[wh]

Crusaders set for final preseason game

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/crusaders-set-for-final-preseason-game/article_e091b330-651b-5b1f-9a15-04a9f5fce01a.html

[VU75]

I wonder why they moved down a level, considering they had been #1 many times in previous seasons

My guess would be that there are so few NAIA D1 in this area. They were the only D1 school in their conference, the closest D1 school is in Springfield another in Iowa, after that you have to go to Missouri/Kansas to find D1 schools.

[milanmiracle]

And did anybody notice that Indiana Wesleyan is ranked #2? Coached by former VU alum Greg Tonagel. I suspect they'll have a pretty good season, and they've picked up a 6'8 transfer from Indiana State who averaged 10+ points per game and is in the top 15 all time for 3 pointers made in ISU history.

[bbtds]

And did anybody notice that Indiana Wesleyan is ranked #2? Coached by former VU alum Greg Tonagel. I suspect they'll have a pretty good season, and they've picked up a 6'8 transfer from Indiana State who averaged 10+ points per game and is in the top 15 all time for 3 pointers made in ISU history.

RJ Mahurin was a starter on the Sycamore team last season. His brother, Lane Mahurin, is a 6-7 freshman forward on the IWU team this season. Getting to play with his brother and not having to sit out a year were big motivations for making the move. Being able to help your new school possibly win a national championship, be it NAIA Div.II or not, has to be a great motivator too.

http://www.iwuwildcats.com/article/3284.php

RJ Mahurin had 18 points last night against Southern Wesleyan in a tournament at IWU's Luckey Arena. The IWU Wildcats are currently beating Missouri Baptist at Luckey Arena by over 20 with 4 minutes to go as I write this.

You can catch the end of the game on this free stream
http://www.wiwutv.com/wiwusports/sportsstream/

[historyman]

Looked at RMUs roster, tallest player is listed at 6' 7" I would imagine us to dominate on the boards and down low. I think we should see a bit more consistency from Valpo in this game since first game jitters should be out of the way.


87 - 54 win Valpo

I think the score would have been something like this if not for #24 for Robert Morris, Kashaune McKinney, putting up 38 points on 7 of 14 from three, 6 of 7 on 2 pointers and 5 of 5 from the FT line. We didn't have a lock down defender to shut this guy down. McKinney certainly was not a typical NAIA player. He could have played for many of the Div.I programs. 

The fact that McKinney was able to get 21 shots off says a lot about his skill as an offensive player.

[ARCInsider]

Enjoyed being back at the ARC tonight and catching my first live game of the year.  A few observations for those who may be interested:

*Moussa and Vashil have a long way to go with their back to the basket games.  Both guys mishandled several good passes and there were very few good post moves.  Moose did catch at the three point line and make a spin move for a layup he was fouled on...nice athleticism.  Defensively, on the other hand, they will be monsters. 

*Yeo is going to play, and play a lot.  Great basketball IQ, smooth shot, high level of athleticism.  Bryce had him in during the closing minutes of the game with the first unit.

*Peters is definitely the heir apparent to Rowdy.  Quick first step, nice jumpshot, good ups, and already displaying leadership....RMU went on a run and following a VU foul it was Alec getting the team together and doing the talking.  Loved seeing that from him.  The kid is going to be a star.

*Lexus is going to be a more than capable back up for Dority in the early-going....when Carter is eligible, not sure how many minutes he will get.  I will say, he actually looked better to me than Dority at times tonight.

*Chadwick can shoot and is going to contribute.

*Capo was as lumbering as ever...he doesn't look healthy.

*Davidson just doesn't look ready.  He does look like he has put on some muscle and I think he will eventually be a Matt Kenney-type.

Overall, a sloppy but encouraging effort from the boys...this team is going to be a lot of fun to watch this season.

[valpotx]

I wonder why they moved down a level, considering they had been #1 many times in previous seasons

My guess would be that there are so few NAIA D1 in this area. They were the only D1 school in their conference, the closest D1 school is in Springfield another in Iowa, after that you have to go to Missouri/Kansas to find D1 schools.

NAIA D-1 and D-2 can be in the same conference?

[chef]

No they can't and that's the reason for the move. The conference shifted to NAIA II, and RMC didn't want to. However, after a year as an independent they realized they needed to get back into the conference. Thus they had to move to D-II.

[valpopal]

Got home late tonight, so I will just add a few quick observations about the game. First, I am impressed by how cool and collected the freshmen seem to be. I admit that I hoped to see them develop over time, and I'm sure they will, but this already appears to be a solid group of young players. Clay, Lexus, and Alec especially seemed more poised than one might expect in only their second exhibition game. 

I was pleased to see Chadwick contribute well during his time on court. Coleman showed an instinct for getting to the ball with a game-leading 11 rebounds. Dority has established himself as the team leader: you could tell by the way he was vocal in team huddles as well as by his example when he took over with about five minutes left in the game, hitting back-to-back threes and then getting to the line on a drive, all within one minute of game time.

Moussa and Vashil had some impressive dunks; but if they could control the ball better when receiving passes, they would have even more. Bobby is still hurting and bent to rub his sore leg a couple of times. I hope he is 100% by the season opener next Friday. Nick needs a bit more strengthening. Jubril passed well but needs to find his shot. And Alec was 0-3 on free throws, which I doubt we will see again the rest of the season.

Lexus is very quick and a smooth ball handler just as Buggs was, as predicted, and he is not yet the defensive player Erik was; but Lexus appears to be a stronger offensive threat, certainly more than Erik was as a freshman. Below is my photo of a sensational circus shot made by Lexus in the first half:

[classof2014]

I was at the game last night. Overall I was very pleased with how they played and I can say Lexus, Clay, and Alec are going to be one of the best groups of players Valpo has seen. The game would've been lopsided if it weren't for McKinney, 38 points bravo to him and he could easily be playing at many different DI level schools.

Saw the potential of Moussa, made a couple of nice moves around the basket and looked like the game against Hillsdale was just a bad game. Vashil played well they both have bricks for hands though, would be nice to see them catch a ball but there's without a doubt that Valpo is gonna lead the league in blocked shots and might set a school record in doing so.

I was incredibly impressed with Lexus yesterday, was 6-7 from the floor. He's going to be a star in this league, reminded me a lot of Keifer Sykes or Kendrick Perry, he has that ability to score when he wants to and he will see significant playing time.

Clay definitely has that basketball sense. Not the most flashy player but he's incredibly intelligent and has a deadly shot and has great vision. He will see plenty of PT this season and last night is why he should be on the court.

Alec, played well not as good as the first game but overall he gets in the middle of things and didn't make any dumb decisions or force up shots which is what I like to see. Had 7 points including a big 3 in the second half when RMU cut it close again. He will be the next Rowdy.

As for Adekoya and Davidson, I think both won't see the court much this season and Adekoya is incredibly athletic, it seems he needs to get a better shot and that's it but he does have good passing abilities.

Chadwick played much better and has a decent shot, when we need offense he will see time cause he can score and him being rather big makes it a mismatch on the perimeter.

Capo, can't say a whole lot. Definitely looks a little banged up. Hopefully he'll be healthy for Murray State.

Jordan Coleman looked great, first double double in a  Valpo uniform. His outside shot looks really good too. He's gonna be a big time contributor this season. Wouldn't be shocked if he's capable of a triple double. Not saying he's gonna have one but last night had 10 point, 11 boards, and 4 assists.

Dority, looked like a leader out there. He also looks to be much more under control when going to the basket and seems to make better decisions. I think getting consistent PT this season will be huge for him and he is the definite leader of the group. He's gonna have a fantastic year and show why he was 6th man of the year last year and will turn some heads as one of the HL's leading scorers.

I know the game was close but that was because of McKinney having a monster performance. The freshmen don't look like freshmen and aren't making the "freshmen" mistakes and seem to have knowledge and poise that's hard to teach. Without a doubt this group of freshmen is gonna do something special at Valpo. Very we pleased with the performance last night and look forward to Murray State on Friday!

[historyman]

Since I didn't see the game against Hillsdale I wanted others to comment about Valpo's play first.

I agree with the comments made about this Valpo team and especially this freshman class. What an outstanding class the coaching staff has put together. We certainly are reloading and not rebuilding.

Yeo showed the quality I saw in the scrimmages during the summer. Just as equally impressive is the leadership quality exhibited by Alec Peters especially for a freshman. Alec only took 5 shots all night but certainly made an impact on the game by fighting for rebounds and playing good defense. Lexus Williams was the freshman that impressed me the most from what I was expecting. As stated I think Williams will be a great back up for Dority. Lexus hit both of his threes and made 4 of 5 two pointers, many of them on fast break lay ups. When Keith Carter is eligible there will be some tough decisions on who gets to play.

As far as Dority I have seen none of the forcing of play that we saw last year. He exhibited senior leadership qualities and shot the ball extremely well when Robert Morris kept coming back at us. It's evident that LeVonte is more comfortably when running on the fast break.

Yes, there was some sloppy play on Valpo's part. A lot of the time Valpo would work the ball inside only to have Gueye or Vashil fumble it away. That was on the set plays. Later in the game when both teams were running and trying to beat the other team down the floor is when Moussa and Vashil were at their best. Both can get rebounds and slam down a put back, even on their own fumbling attempts at a lay up. I believe Gueye made 4 of his 12 points on put backs on his own missed shots under the basket. Also both were excellent at blocking shots put up by the opponent on the fast break.

I would like to see Alec Peters get better from the FT line. Actually the whole team needs to get better at the FT line since we shot less than 50% (8 of 17). If we had hit our FT, especially Alec, LeVonte and Vashil, the game wouldn't have been as close. It was good to see Moussa hit his 2 FT attempts.

I was expecting a lot less from Chadwick and was pleasantly surprised. He was able to put up good shots, he made 1 of 4 two pointers but he made his only three point attempt. Adekoya was very athletic getting up and down the floor but had a tough time making any shots. He was 0 for 2 on threes and 0 for 2 on two pointers. He made 1 of 2 FT's for one point on the night.

There's not much you can say about Davidson. He's more of a typical freshman on a team with a class of excellent freshman who seem ready to play. If he works hard he can earn playing time in the future. He played 7 minutes, had 1 assist and no shots.

[Smj]

Really like Lexus at the point....   He is always looking for the pass and still was a scoring threat.   I think he had a couple of the best plays of the night.   Dortity is much better at the 2 - he looks to shoot first - which is fine at the 2 but not at the point.   I was super impressed with Chadwick.   He was quiet but stats looked good.   
I think our playing style is going to need to change because our big guys are not going to be scoring leaders.   I think this is going too be a fun group to watch..........

[valpopal]

I have now posted a set of 29 photos from last night's game, including the pictures below, to the following link that I hope everyone enjoys: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157637267523493/

[classof2014]

Chances are once Carter become eligible Dority moves to the 2 and Coleman to the 3. Peters gets bumped out of the starting lineup. I do think though Lexus, Clay, and Alec will all get plenty of PT off the bench, so will Vashil and I think David won me over. So we'll have 10 players who can play regularly. I don't think we'll see Bryce's typical 8 man rotation. I think many more guys will get PT this year compared to last season.

[Pgmado]

As long as Alec Peters is at Valparaiso, he'll be in the starting lineup.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

As long as Alec Peters is at Valparaiso, he'll be in the starting lineup.

High praise!  We'll have to track that...

[sliman]

As long as Alec Peters is at Valparaiso, he'll be in the starting lineup.

I thought we looked effective both games with Peters at the 4 and Coleman (or Yeo) at the 3.  It gives us added quickness defensively and makes at least four guys a threat from the outside.  The added size this year makes for some interesting combinations depending on the opponent. 

[lowposter]

Don't fall in love with size.  Basketball is a game of quickness.  Rare indeed is the big with quicks.

I wouldn't be surprised with any NAIA team having a D1 level player.  Most good programs do.  These young men are often pushed out by the D1 programs early and develop, are an inch or two small but are still players, or develop late.  Recruiting at the D1 level is basically done when young men are 15 -16 years old.  There are plenty of players who do not develop until late teens/early 20s.

lowposter

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Recruiting at the D1 level is basically done when young men are 15 -16 years old.  There are plenty of players who do not develop until late teens/early 20s.

And plenty that have peaked at 15-16, which gives the lie to all these supposed rankings.

[insert Mr. Show "recruiters" sketch for the umpteenth time]

But I suppose we should be grateful, because that combined with team vs. individual play gives us memorable Marches.