We MUST Hold our own at the ARC. Period.
Grizz have an RPI of 132 and a strength of schedule at 262
They are 1-1 on the road against D1, Beating Robert Morris and losing the Michigan State.
They only have one win over a team ranked in the top 180... their blowout of Wright State on Thursday night.
I thought they beat Georgia. Is Ga. ranked that low?
Quote from: crusadermoe on December 30, 2016, 06:48:11 PMI thought they beat Georgia. Is Ga. ranked that low?
whoops... missed that one... the Dawgs are #36...
Valpo 81
Oakland 69
Valpo with a 76-70 victory!
Even though this game means so much to kampe and they probably been talking about playing valpo since preseason, crusaders win.
And Petros still sucks
Valpo should have Tarrance Price deliver the game ball now that he is back in town.
Quote from: M on December 31, 2016, 08:22:56 AM
Valpo should have Tarrance Price deliver the game ball now that he is back in town.
The look on Kampe's face would be "Price-full" more or less.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/685620309798555648/7E97ZFlO.jpg)
(http://images.performgroup.com/di/library/omnisport/86/d9/greg-kampe-122116-usnews-getty-ftr_1evb7i7ref0ma18lxx0ccnmr3y.jpg?t=562485193&w=960&quality=70)
We need to send a message to Oakland and the rest of the HL - this team will win at home!
Close, but our experience and FT shooting prevail.
Valpo 78
Oakland 71
They have the talent, depth and sufficient experience to be a major problem. We need to find a way to beat them Friday because they could be a much better team by late in the season. Can Kampe put it all together for a big HL run? Looks to me like the pieces are there for him to have that chance.
Looks like a weather forecast for Friday of clear but cold 15 degree temperatures. Will this be the best crowd of the year?
Quote from: oklahomamick on December 30, 2016, 11:59:41 PMAnd Petros still sucks
Not me! I refuse to touch that one. ;D
Quote from: justducky on December 31, 2016, 11:16:51 PMWill this be the best crowd of the year?
Classes don't start until January 11, and the dorms are not open until Sunday.
Don't expect much from the students. There will be some...those who live close enough, off-campus or can find a place to crash, and who understand the magnitude of the game and want to get on TV. There will be many more who simply stay home and watch.
Wish we could go a year or two without playing a big home game on ESPN with the students gone. Seems to happen with our big games an awful lot...
Quote from: oklahomamick on December 30, 2016, 11:59:41 PM
Even though this game means so much to kampe and they probably been talking about playing valpo since preseason, crusaders win.
And Petros still sucks
Hey, that's my line! :)
Quote from: justducky on December 31, 2016, 11:16:51 PM
"Will this be the best crowd of the year?"
I still feel the same about the Horizon League's poor scheduling of this game as I mentioned when the date was announced at the start of September: "What bothers me more about the Horizon League scheduling is the lack of insight when scheduling important games between likely conference leaders or teams with rivalries. The opening home game for Valpo is against Oakland. These two teams are expected to be fighting for the conference championship, and they have developed a strong rivalry with a history of dramatic games. In addition, that game will likely be covered by ESPN for a national audience. Yet, the Horizon League schedules the game a week before spring semester begins, guaranteeing an absence of students and a lessening of the great atmosphere one would expect at the ARC for a Valpo-Oakland game. In addition, the Valpo game at Oakland will be while school is in session, so Oakland gets the advantage of playing in front of its student body." :crazy:
Seems to me ESPN probably has bigger and better games to broadcast deeper into the conference schedules. I don't agree with it, but when your fed the "TV scraps" you eat or starve.
Despite what Bill Potter said on Union Street Hoops, I'm thinking our option for nationally televised games are extremely limited and we adjust accordingly. My top example is the 4PM start to VU @ UIC...on a Friday. If not for the idea of "take what you're given" I don't think we would have chosen to play Friday during senior citizens dinner hour!
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on January 01, 2017, 09:47:23 AM
Seems to me ESPN probably has bigger and better games to broadcast deeper into the conference schedules. I don't agree with it, but when your fed the "TV scraps" you eat or
The league has the Friday night time slot every week. Not always on espn2, however.
But, this game could have been any week. The power leagues VERY rarely play on fridays.
Man you're not kidding that the P5 don't much like Fridays. Went through 4 upcoming weeks of Friday and B1G and ACC play zero on Friday. Geesh.
Sure be neat if jubril came running out in his jersey for this game.
Quote from: valpopal on January 01, 2017, 09:39:34 AM
Quote from: justducky on December 31, 2016, 11:16:51 PM
"Will this be the best crowd of the year?"
I still feel the same about the Horizon League's poor scheduling of this game as I mentioned when the date was announced at the start of September: "What bothers me more about the Horizon League scheduling is the lack of insight when scheduling important games between likely conference leaders or teams with rivalries. The opening home game for Valpo is against Oakland. These two teams are expected to be fighting for the conference championship, and they have developed a strong rivalry with a history of dramatic games. In addition, that game will likely be covered by ESPN for a national audience. Yet, the Horizon League schedules the game a week before spring semester begins, guaranteeing an absence of students and a lessening of the great atmosphere one would expect at the ARC for a Valpo-Oakland game. In addition, the Valpo game at Oakland will be while school is in session, so Oakland gets the advantage of playing in front of its student body." :crazy:
Valpo has 1 or 2 league home games every year while the students are away. Seems very unfair for the HL to do this year after year. Hopefully, the Valpo community understands the magnitude of the Oakland game and steps up to fill the ARC.
I thought the crowds for Chicago State and Santa Clara were pretty respectable considering the circumstances. I'd imagine Friday night will be a decent enough crowd.
Should be a decent crowd. Valpo High's boys team has a home game against Portage, which may take away a few of the diehard VHS/fringe VU fans. But there's no question which game will be better.
Quote from: Valpo89 on January 03, 2017, 09:43:11 AM
Should be a decent crowd. Valpo High's boys team has a home game against Portage, which may take away a few of the diehard VHS/fringe VU fans. But there's no question which game will be better.
It's too bad that Valpo High's only loss of the season was against Mileek McMillan and TJ Lux's Merrillville Pirates, 62-60, at, of all places, Huntington University, at a Christmas tournament. That tournament also included Valpo High beating Parker Hazen and the Columbia City Eagles rather easily, 54-44.
BTW, VHS finished 3rd in that tournament by beating Huntington North (a battle of teams nicknamed Vikings) on virtually a home court at Huntington U, 46-36. Merrillville and Mileek finished 2nd losing to Hamilton Southeastern 83-75 in the championship game at Huntington North High School.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Warm-up at Hawaiian Beach Night during the @ValpoBasketball (https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball) game this Friday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. Free themed t-shirts to the first 1,000 fans! pic.twitter.com/UtFwV30vAW (https://t.co/UtFwV30vAW)</p>— Valpo Athletics (@valpoathletics) January 4, 2017 (https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/816709812457242626)
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Kampe's preview of Valpo game:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFekObtqPJs
Quote from: Grizz on January 04, 2017, 03:12:48 PM
Kampe's preview of Valpo game:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFekObtqPJs
What a great promotion of the Valpo/Oakland rivalry! Should be another exciting game!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NOZyb9XC7E
any one with a student ID to any school... FREE for all 4 games this weekend! just posted on the Valpo Athletics FB page. All you have to do is sit in the Student Section ~~
Women Thursday and Saturday; and both Men's games Friday and Sunday.
Quote from: talksalot on January 04, 2017, 07:40:00 PM
any one with a student ID to any school... FREE for all 4 games this weekend! just posted on the Valpo Athletics FB page. All you have to do is sit in the Student Section ~~
Women Thursday and Saturday; and both Men's games Friday and Sunday.
Try to wear something brown or gold, vice green or any other colors!
Does the ID need to be current? I could see alumni digging out their old id cards and trying to get in for free.
here's the full quote on the posting... it does say "Valid"
Hey Crusader Fans! We have a ticket special running for our four games in four days. Anyone with a valid School ID can get into the games for FREE and sit in the student section. Help us cheer on our teams as they open conference play at home, starting this Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. for VALPO Women's Basketball and Friday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. for Valpo Men's Basketball, being televised on ESPN. #GoValpo
and I wanted to be the first to post this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82u5zmT8GIw
Peters ready for Oakland's game plan
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/peters-ready-for-oakland-s-game-plan/article_336b54d5-7f60-511f-88a8-0106b9583435.html
There will be no shortage of mutual respect when Valparaiso and Oakland meet at the Athletcs-Recreation Center during a nationally televised Horizon League contest tonight.
On one side will be longtime Oakland coach Greg Kampe. On the other will be the player that he has been trying to stop for the last three seasons, Valparaiso star Alec Peters.
Kampe has long devised game plans to try shutting down Peters, and the coach has often been successful, holding the Valparaiso senior to just 12.3 points per game in six career meetings with the Grizzlies. On the flip side, the Crusaders are 4-2 in those contests with Valparaiso going on to win the last two regular-season titles.
"Oakland and Valpo games are always important," Kampe said. "We put a little more time into preparing for them, and they probably put a little more time in preparing for us. Coaches aren't supposed to say that, but it's true."
Much of Kampe's preparation over the years has been looking for ways to shut down Peters. As a freshman, Peters averaged 12.5 points per game in two meetings, while the teams each held serve on their home court.
As a sophomore, Peters was hounded by defensive stalwart Dante Williams and was limited to 9.0 points in two games that were also won by the home team. Last season, Peters scored 15.5 points per game in two Valparaiso victories. The two teams have yet to meet in the Horizon League tournament.
"We've game planned for Peters in each of his three years," Kampe said. "His freshman year, he was a role player and we knew it was imperative to stop him. As a sophomore and junior, he's been the man and we felt to win the game that we needed to stop him. We do some game planning and we have some special little things. Valpo knows us and we know them about as well as someone can know each other."
Whatever Kampe and the Grizzlies have in store for Peters tonight, the preseason Horizon League Player of the Year is looking forward to battling against a team that has held him to just 8.3 shots per game in six meetings. Peters has averaged more than 12 shots per game during the rest of his career.
"I invite it," Peters said. "(Kampe) is going to have a good game plan. He's going to try to shut me down. Shut a lot of the things we do down. It's a good challenge for us. Every time we play them it's like a fight. It's almost like a brawl."
While Oakland has held Peters to his least amount of points against a conference opponent, Tevonn Walker has shined against the Grizzlies, averaging 17 points in four meetings. Walker scored 24 points in a blowout win at Oakland last season and scored 22 points against the Grizzlies as a freshman.
"On the flip side of Peters is Walker, and he always has his best games against us," Kampe said. "He's a big-game guy. He's a guy that can go 10 minutes without doing anything and then he says 'It's time to win' and he flips that switch. I have tremendous respect for Walker."
"It's flattering," Walker said when told of Kampe's comments. "It's just a matter of all the work that I've been putting in. It's a team sport and the rest of my guys make it easy for me to do well on the court."
Oakland won its first two conference games over Wright State and Northern Kentucky last weekend, while Valparaiso opened up Horizon League play with a road victory over Illinois-Chicago. The two teams finished at the top of the conference and appear set for another season-long collision course. The winner of tonight's game will stay undefeated and take the early advantage in the race for the top overall seed in the conference tournament.
"It's not just one of 18 games, because history shows it's going to be a great game and that one of us, if not both of us will be fighting for the league championship," Kampe said. "Neither team has to talk about the rivalry, because we've both got veteran teams that have been through it before. This game will be one of the most physical games we play all year. Every possession will have an importance to it."
Chesterton's Chris Palombizio eager for Oakland's game against Valparaiso
Michael Osipoff
Post-Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-valparaiso-oakland-chris-palombizio-st-0106-20170105-story.html
Chris Palombizio possesses a high level of self-awareness.
When Oakland plays Valparaiso on Friday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center, he knows he will have to keep his emotions in check.
It will be a homecoming for the former Chesterton star, a 2015 graduate who's now a freshman for the Grizzlies.
Add the fact that Oakland is considered the top challenger to Horizon League favorite Valparaiso, and he's going to be particularly amped for the ESPN2 game.
"I'm really excited," Palombizio said. "I've always looked forward to playing at home. The main thing, I just have to play my role and not try to do anything spectacular. I just have to do what I can to help us come out with a 'W' and not force anything.
"I'll want to be a lot more aggressive, looking for my shot more. But I have to stay composed and listen to my coach, just do what I do best and that's rebound and shoot."
Palombizio has played every game for the Grizzlies (12-3, 2-0), coming off the bench for a team he describes as 11 deep. Going into the game against the Crusaders (11-3, 1-0), the 6-foot-6 swingman is averaging 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.8 minutes.
He's shooting 33.0 percent (15-for-45) from the floor, including 8-for-26 from 3-point range, and 10-for-13 from the foul line.
"Early in the season, I wasn't making my shots, and that's understandable as a freshman," Palombizio said. "I just come into the game, try to rebound and play defense, whatever I can to contribute."
After graduating from Chesterton, Palombizio went to Don Bosco Prep. He enrolled at Oakland for the second semester last year, taking a redshirt.
"The biggest adjustment is just the athleticism and doing the little things," Palombizio said. "In high school, you can get away with staying straight up and you can't in college. If you're chillin' on defense, you're going to get yanked."
Palombizio committed to Western Michigan before his junior year, reopening his recruitment before his senior year. He chose Oakland last fall, signing in the early period.
Valparaiso entered the picture toward the end.
"They stepped in really late, a couple weeks before the signing period," Palombizio said. "They were getting ready to offer me, but I already had my eyes on the schools that were recruiting me.
"I didn't hear from them in high school, so I wasn't going to go out of my way to leave my recruiting process. I was around the whole time in high school and they didn't show interest. I love Oakland. It fits my style."
Crusaders coach Matt Lottich is well aware of Palombizio's ability.
"You have to guard him — he can really shoot," Lottich said. "I'm sure he's going to be looking forward to this opportunity to play here. But he can really, really shoot. Keep a hand in his face and make it tough for him."
Palombizio expects to have a large contingent of family members and friends at the ARC supporting him and the Grizzlies. His father, Dan, the 1981 Indiana Mr. Basketball at Michigan City Rogers who went on to play at Purdue and Ball State, bought 40 tickets. And Chris was trying to gather as many tickets as possible from teammates.
The only limiting factor might be that Chesterton plays Merrillville on Friday and Ky Palombizio, his cousin, is a junior for the Trojans.
"That's a big game for them and I hope they get the win," Chris Palombizio said. "But pretty much everyone in town who's around is coming to our game."
Great. Another Don Bosco "Prep" connection. Wonder if Ivan will have the gall to show his face tonight.
Quote from: wh on January 05, 2017, 09:13:37 PM
Peters ready for Oakland's game plan
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/peters-ready-for-oakland-s-game-plan/article_336b54d5-7f60-511f-88a8-0106b9583435.html
"I invite it," Peters said. "(Kampe) is going to have a good game plan. He's going to try to shut me down. Shut a lot of the things we do down. It's a good challenge for us. Every time we play them it's like a fight. It's almost like a brawl."
Phil Wille approves of this quote! :thumbsup:
Yep. Phil made his mark that day.
Which of the Champagne brothers did he hit? He got thrown out, right? And I think several players got a "5-minute major."
Now that was a rumble!
Quote from: crusadermoe on January 06, 2017, 04:17:16 PM
Yep. Phil made his mark that day.
Which of the Champagne brothers did he hit? He got thrown out, right? And I think several players got a "5-minute major."
Now that was a rumble!
For anyone who wasn't there, both Kampe and Grizz tell a revisionist history account of that night - one that has the Champagne knucklehead as getting the better of Phil. I was there and had a perfect sight line. The knucklehead had been pushing, shoving, kneeing, even pulling jerseys all game. Wille came in and started giving KH a taste of his own medicine. Eventually the 2 locked horns and started falling to the ground. On the way down KH threw a sucker punch punch that landed. As they crashed to the floor in a clutch, Wille landed a sharp upper cut that landed flush on the jaw and clearly took the fight out of KH. A big scrum followed. Other players pulled them apart. You could clearly see that both players had been punched. Subsequently, both players were ejected. As Phil took his leave, the crowd gave him a standing ovation to which he responded by pumping both fists in the air. It was clearly a triumph of good over evil and one of my best memories as a Crusader fan.
I second wh's version of the events, and was also one of those giving him a standing ovation, as well as a few choice words/profanities towards Champagne.
Atmosphere here in the arc was great tonight!!
I'll leave the XOs analysis of this one to people smarter than I but I will say this. Regardless of the final score...one team took the floor ready to play tonight, one did not.
Just ugly and on national TV
Every time we needed to get the defensive rebound, our guys were not in position, or let them jump over us to steal it away. There were way too many lackadaisical passes, jumping before we knew what to do with the ball, and just plain stupid drives that were not going to work out (Joseph and Hammink). This was not a good loss, regardless of Oakland being picked second. We will still win the league, but this is our Wright State loss from last season.
One of the worst efforts I've seen from Valpo in a long time. Credit to Oakland. This is their most meaningful win in several years for them. Unfortunately, it still doesn't mean all that much with Horizon's tournament format. But they voted for it...
So I thought I'd share this while I'm waiting for my uber.
Originally thought I was going to be out of town this weekend and so I gave away my tickets. When my meeting was canceled I hit up some friends and got a seat in section I, which is right across the gym from where I usually sit. After halftime the seats in front of us ended up filled by a couple of gentlemen about 50. Didn't think much of it at the time until I overheard bits and pieces of their conversation, which included "F$&! This school. " "Valpo is a bunch of hypocrites." " I hope they lose every F$&@ing game" etc. I was getting a little pissed off and noticed they were both wearing Don Bosco Prep windbreakers.
What a classy "Christian" Academy.
Well that was ugly. Clearly our young coach was schooled by Kampe. We clearly are not in the same league athleticly with Oakland. What happened to Lexus? He disappeared in the second half? Oakland is the team to beat. Hats off to Oakland. Clearly the favorite for the NCAAs.
Quote from: valpotx on January 06, 2017, 10:01:08 PMWe will still win the league
I wish I was as optimistic about that as you are. I'm not yet convinced we will win the league though.
The guy that they came to watch played like absolute crap, so congrats to them on being Don Bosco. Maybe they can get Ivan Vujic to coach on Oakland's team.
One thing was clear to me. Take Alec out of the game (sometimes 3 defenders were crowding him) and no one else was capable of stepping up. On the other side, seems like more than one OU player could drain a three when left open. And, man, some of those misses seemed to be destined to ricochet to an OU player.
But it's a long season and much can happen. Not unreasonable to believe that after this hyper adrenaline shot OU comes out flat at UIC. S%$# like that happens in the HL.
It's really all about getting hot at the right time (and setting yourself up for a decent seed for a winable tournament game). Last year Valpo ended the regular season with two poor games vs UWGB and Milwaukee (which they still won), and Tevonn had completely lost confidence. UWGB obviously had momentum going into that Valpo game. Without a home court advantage anymore, winning the regular season isn't as important as going into the tournament with good health and the whole team playing well.
Valpo is clearly still adjusting to life without Jubril. When he was playing the offense looked a lot more fluent and a bit different than the typical Bryce Drew system. He was really opening up the lane for a 1 on 1 from Peters or easy Hammink layups by stretching the floor.
Luckily these games mean next to nothing other then to serve as a scouting tool and maybe a confidence booster.
I am disappointed that Hammink continues to make the same bonehead plays game after game. I feel good about the steps Sorolla has made at both ends. He will be beast. Alec played like crap, I don't care what his numbers were.
Rebound inn sunday and just get the kinks worked out come tourney time!
Quote from: a3uge on January 06, 2017, 10:32:20 PM
Valpo is clearly still adjusting to life without Jubril. When he was playing the offense looked a lot more fluent and a bit different than the typical Bryce Drew system. He was really opening up the lane for a 1 on 1 from Peters or easy Hammink layups by stretching the floor.
Jubril: His absence was a major factor. He can shoot the 3. He could take pressure off Alec. He could help neutralize OU's athleticism. He's experienced. Damn, I miss his presence in the line-up.
BTW, the ESPN coverage showed a graphic that was prophetic -- OU is #1 in three major HL defensive categories (which I can't remember). This is an incredible turnaround for Kampe. He changed his scheduling philosophy AND is playing defense. HOLY COW.
The atmosphere? It was awful. The team came out flat and barely showed signs of life. Pathetic all around. Fans never got into it.
I've said it before: No Jubril, no NCAA. Couldn't have been more evident tonight, even with Sorolla's excellent game.
Quote from: vu72 on January 06, 2017, 10:12:13 PMWe clearly are not in the same league athleticly with Oakland.
We were out defended, out shot, out hustled and out coached. Even with Jubril we likely would have lost. Unless Oakland goes back to their Kay Felder play and mentality, they should remain the HL team to beat.
Btw, the announcers were praising the defense of Dorsey-Walker on one particular play against Peters, and that was a foul before he even attempted to strip it. The guy had his fingertips in Alec's chest, clear as day on the replay they showed, which according to the foul call initiatives in the last few years, you cannot do anymore. You are no longer allowed to use your arms in that manner, like you were able to do several years back. I hate how they call that type of stuff in non-conference, and as soon as conference season begins, it magically goes away.
I'm curious to get some thoughts here that don't really correspond to the game itself. I thought the "in-arena" music tonight was the worst I've heard in a long time. There was some sort of Hawaiian night promotion which seemingly came out of the blue. I saw one person in the stands wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Was the music picked to represent some sort of island theme? I heard more Beach Boys than I was used to.
Regardless, here is my question...should the music be catered to the older chairback fans or to the younger student fans? I thought Kentucky's gameday atmosphere was outstanding as they had an in-house DJ that was spinning music. The vibe was upbeat from the moment I entered Rupp. I know the ARC isn't Rupp, nor does it pretend to be, but there was absolutely no energy in the building tonight. The music was flat. The only thing to ever look forward to music wise is if Valpo goes on a run and Timber gets played for 10 seconds before we get an ad for a muffin.
I'm not quite old enough to be complaining about the music being too loud and to be yelling at kids to get off my lawn. Stop playing music from the 50's, 60's and 70's at games. It's old, it's tired and it drains the energy. Create a strong gameday atmosphere that doesn't revolve around Dion and the Belmonts.
Good point. I thought the music was awful. A key point was when OU took a timeout right before the 12 min media, which apparently then turned into the 12 min media. So crowd on its feet, clapping along with Timber, then we cut the music for bounce the ball into the garbage can, then into music for the theme. Theme nights scream desperation to me. You want to give away a tshirt? Fine. Let's make it a brown and gold shirt with a big valpo logo that people can wear into the community. This blue garbage I got last night will go in the drawer next to the never worn 90s night monstrosity from last year.
Music was bad, like it is most games.
Crowd wanted something to cheer for but anytime Valpo got it close Oakland hit a 3 or Shane turned it over in spectacular fashion or Alec turned it over.....
Funny, as we were putting our coats on to go out into the near-zero temperatures at the end of the game, a fan commented: "The music was the only redeeming quality on an otherwise miserable evening," and others around agreed. It was nice to go one game without hearing "Handclap," "I Love It," and the other usual offerings. However, I will agree there was a flatness that I never felt before at a conference game, especially against Oakland—partly because the seemingly lackluster play on the court by Valpo, acknowledged by Lottich after the game, set the tone. However, as one of my friends noted during the game, there's a lot less necessity in winning than there used to be. So much more used to be at stake in every conference game played. Winning or losing the game now seems to matter little. Even winning the conference season doesn't mean much: the tournament won't be coming to Valpo but will be in Detroit, basically a home court advantage for Oakland. At a recent postgame news conference, Shane Hammink almost revealed a similar feeling among the players when he was asked about the most important lesson from last year's conference play, and he said: "Don't lose in the conference tournament." On the other hand, I will agree last night's giveaway shirts were not the kind anyone will proudly wear in the future.
My thoughts on the games last night:
-Give them credit. They were the better team last night and outplayed us.
-They looked very athletic which bothered us on the 2nd chance rebounds. They fought for those critical rebounds for second chance point. We looked some what complacent on the boards. (we actually out-rebounded them 39-35)
-I'm actually very please with Derrik and Jay's offensive game development but they definitely look like freshman defending the paint. Great learning experience for them.
-They forced turnovers and we were too loose with ball security. They're transition game was fantastic last night.
-Field Goal %: Oakland 47.% to 36.2%. You'll lose almost every time with that differential. We didn't knock down shots.
Overall these losses are not all bad. Taking one off the chin like this will help us later in the season.
Quote from: Pgmado on January 07, 2017, 02:26:04 AMI'm curious to get some thoughts here that don't really correspond to the game itself. I thought the "in-arena" music tonight was the worst I've heard in a long time. There was some sort of Hawaiian night promotion which seemingly came out of the blue. I saw one person in the stands wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Was the music picked to represent some sort of island theme? I heard more Beach Boys than I was used to. Regardless, here is my question...should the music be catered to the older chairback fans or to the younger student fans? I thought Kentucky's gameday atmosphere was outstanding as they had an in-house DJ that was spinning music. The vibe was upbeat from the moment I entered Rupp. I know the ARC isn't Rupp, nor does it pretend to be, but there was absolutely no energy in the building tonight. The music was flat. The only thing to ever look forward to music wise is if Valpo goes on a run and Timber gets played for 10 seconds before we get an ad for a muffin. I'm not quite old enough to be complaining about the music being too loud and to be yelling at kids to get off my lawn. Stop playing music from the 50's, 60's and 70's at games. It's old, it's tired and it drains the energy. Create a strong gameday atmosphere that doesn't revolve around Dion and the Belmonts.
It was billed as Hawaiian Beach Night.
I agree with almost everything above save one thing. I thought Sorolla dominated the paint in the second half on defense. He seemed to block nearly every attempt his guy took down there. Can't wait to see what he develops into as he learns to block shots from the help side.
Quote from: M on January 07, 2017, 10:08:42 AM
I agree with almost everything above save one thing. I thought Sorolla dominated the paint in the second half on defense. He seemed to block nearly every attempt his guy took down there. Can't wait to see what he develops into as he learns to block shots from the help side.
Sorolla made a few freshman mistakes but he played very well the second half. When it was time to equal up on the three point shots when the Crusaders were down by more than 10 (a possible Tarrance Price-full moment) they threw the ball away trying to get lay-ups and should have started putting up threes. Joseph hit one but didn't attempt another. Why?
Also, I'll show my age here, I kind of liked the difference in the music. It was probably incongruent with the other forms of music and maybe a few better transition music pieces could have been chosen.
I hate the muffin commercials for Family Express. Good point PGMADO.
As I mentioned earlier, atmosphere was awful which was surprising for a very good non-student crowd.
Never felt like a Valpo-Oakland game, and maybe that has as much to do with Oakland's play as anything else.
But the whole night was lame. Other than Sorolla's coming-out party, an awful Friday night.
Postgame Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6jjQuisong
Quote from: Pgmado on January 07, 2017, 02:26:04 AM
I'm curious to get some thoughts here that don't really correspond to the game itself. I thought the "in-arena" music tonight was the worst I've heard in a long time. There was some sort of Hawaiian night promotion which seemingly came out of the blue. I saw one person in the stands wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Was the music picked to represent some sort of island theme? I heard more Beach Boys than I was used to.
Regardless, here is my question...should the music be catered to the older chairback fans or to the younger student fans? I thought Kentucky's gameday atmosphere was outstanding as they had an in-house DJ that was spinning music. The vibe was upbeat from the moment I entered Rupp. I know the ARC isn't Rupp, nor does it pretend to be, but there was absolutely no energy in the building tonight. The music was flat. The only thing to ever look forward to music wise is if Valpo goes on a run and Timber gets played for 10 seconds before we get an ad for a muffin.
I'm not quite old enough to be complaining about the music being too loud and to be yelling at kids to get off my lawn. Stop playing music from the 50's, 60's and 70's at games. It's old, it's tired and it drains the energy. Create a strong gameday atmosphere that doesn't revolve around Dion and the Belmonts.
If they start playing rap music, the place will be empty. Just Sayin'
Quote from: VU2624 on January 07, 2017, 10:06:01 AM
Quote from: Pgmado on January 07, 2017, 02:26:04 AMI'm curious to get some thoughts here that don't really correspond to the game itself. I thought the "in-arena" music tonight was the worst I've heard in a long time. There was some sort of Hawaiian night promotion which seemingly came out of the blue. I saw one person in the stands wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Was the music picked to represent some sort of island theme? I heard more Beach Boys than I was used to. Regardless, here is my question...should the music be catered to the older chairback fans or to the younger student fans? I thought Kentucky's gameday atmosphere was outstanding as they had an in-house DJ that was spinning music. The vibe was upbeat from the moment I entered Rupp. I know the ARC isn't Rupp, nor does it pretend to be, but there was absolutely no energy in the building tonight. The music was flat. The only thing to ever look forward to music wise is if Valpo goes on a run and Timber gets played for 10 seconds before we get an ad for a muffin. I'm not quite old enough to be complaining about the music being too loud and to be yelling at kids to get off my lawn. Stop playing music from the 50's, 60's and 70's at games. It's old, it's tired and it drains the energy. Create a strong gameday atmosphere that doesn't revolve around Dion and the Belmonts.
It was billed as Hawaiian Beach Night.
Sometimes life's a beach!
I wonder if reporters get tired of asking the same questions and getting the same responses at these post game press conferences?
I watched the game. I'm not a good observer of the game. Matt L. said he won't play people who take possessions off or don't get back on defense, but I'm not sure who might be at risk. Maybe SH? Was Tevonn neutralized because there were so many similar athletes?
Unfortunately, we aren't as deep as Oakland. And with 2 slow-footed (though improving) freshmen, we especially lack enough guys to keep up with their 10-deep quickness. That will be a huge problem in a tournament game if we fall behind and are not able to slow the game to our pace.
This team played like a tired team , especially Alec. that is a major Coaching problem going forward. ???
I thought they looked more distracted then anything. We will see tomorrow if they're refocused.
Other than hoping for a Valpo win last night, the matchup had NOTHING to look forward too. It was like going to a Valpo-Oakland game in say 2001 or 2002, right, valpotx or pgmado? I mean I was excited to watch the game, but nothing about this game really made me too excited like previous matchups with a Kay Felder or Keith Benson-type shooter who could take the game in his own hands. Even Alec was unimpressive to me...
I don't know about the music, but it probably beat playing the same songs from both Ozzie and the pep band, since the band has been off for a couple of weeks now. I would guess the music was a last minute response to the Hawaiian theme night that might have been thrown in to bring some excitement to a game that would have mostly local fans in, instead of a mix of locals and Valpo students. Watching online, it seemed the crowd was dead, not only because Valpo didn't really play well, but also because the local student crowd that came on free tickets didn't bring ANY energy as they had NO connection to this team like they would VHS or one of the surrounding high schools they cheer their heads off for weekly. This was just an overall bad night of basketball for the Crusaders team and the Valpo community as a whole just felt ho-hum about a big game, when they come with ZERO energy.
The outcome of this season continues to hinge on the outcome of the Jubril situation. It has already cost us 2 wins that we'll never get back, a possible future Top 25 ranking, and a higher NCAA tournament seed than we have any possibility for now. Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO.
Lastly, the lack of information about Jubril's penalty is nothing short of bizarre. I understand the need for confidentiality, but no one can tell me that announcing the number of games he has been suspended violates anyone's privacy rights. Or, are we expected to believe the penalty still hasn't been decided after all this time. That's absurd. Or if it hasn't, it's becoming a scandalous miscarriage of justice. Either way, why aren't Paul, Todd and Michael asking the AD and coaching staff ON the record, "Is there any update you can share with us about the Jubril suspension?" Or simply, "Can you say at this point whether a final decision has been rendered?" Enough time has passed that ML or Matt should offer up something - anything.
I think first and foremost the energy in the game comes from the team. If they can't bring the energy and don't take care of the ball against a team that has finally decided to play defense against a normally superior offensive team then maybe those players should NOT START. THAT would send a real message. Walking the walk and not just talking the talk, coach!!
Has the program reached a zenith and will it fall to the mediocrity that many on here predicted after the Drews' departure? Or will it rise up and show us that they are the superior program in the Horizon League? I throw down the challenge!!
One thing that the loss accomplished -- it was the first time this year that there was both a story and a picture on the front page of the Times sports section. Perhaps a win will merit such publicity some day.
That's bizarre knowing all the big hs games that happened that night. Luckily only like 7-8 people get the newspaper anymore.
Agree with wh, I don't think it's a problem for the university to answer a simple yes or no to the question, "Is Jubril unquestionably done for the year?" But this was discussed last year in that the local media don't really care about this team. In the post we get substandard reporting (the article about the Skara issue that tried to blame Vu a great example.) In the Times we get an outstanding reporter who, as it was pointed out to me last year, also happens to teach at the university. So it doesn't seem like we're going to get anything on this until the university wants us to. I'll reserve full judgement on this until if/when all the details come out. But there's something very hypocritical when Valpo says, "We'd like you to support the team, buy tickets, merch, etc. But we're going to hold back key information that may influence your enjoyment of the product." If he's done just say that. If there's a chance he comes back, just say that. That one question can be answered yes or no, without violating anyone's privacy. This has been hanging over the team and fans for too long.
Jubril in street clothes again. There goes someone's theory that he might be reinstated at the beginning of the 2nd semester. The mystery continues...
If things went 100% our way we would have l jubril, skara and carter.... 🙏🏻😁
Quote from: wh on January 08, 2017, 08:24:28 AM
Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO.
Oakland is in the driver's seat for an nit bid. Nobody is in the driver's seat for the conference tournament.
Quote from: a3uge on January 08, 2017, 12:48:57 PM
Quote from: wh on January 08, 2017, 08:24:28 AM
Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO.
Oakland is in the driver's seat for an nit bid. Nobody is in the driver's seat for the conference tournament.
Oakland is heads above better than EVERYONE else in the league right now and unquestionably would be favored to win the tournament. I call that being in the driver's seat. If you have a term you like better, that works too.
Quote from: wh on January 08, 2017, 01:11:05 PM
Quote from: a3uge on January 08, 2017, 12:48:57 PM
Quote from: wh on January 08, 2017, 08:24:28 AM
Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO.
Oakland is in the driver's seat for an nit bid. Nobody is in the driver's seat for the conference tournament.
Oakland is heads above better than EVERYONE else in the league right now and unquestionably would be favored to win the tournament. I call that being in the driver's seat. If you have a term you like better, that works too.
Yeah, we were leagues better than everyone else last year. We weren't in the driver's seat to win the conference tournament because there was no advantage to being better than everyone else.
When did the 2nd semester start?
January 11th
Quote from: wh on January 08, 2017, 08:24:28 AMThe outcome of this season continues to hinge on the outcome of the Jubril situation. It has already cost us 2 wins that we'll never get back, a possible future Top 25 ranking, and a higher NCAA tournament seed than we have any possibility for now. Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO. Lastly, the lack of information about Jubril's penalty is nothing short of bizarre. I understand the need for confidentiality, but no one can tell me that announcing the number of games he has been suspended violates anyone's privacy rights. Or, are we expected to believe the penalty still hasn't been decided after all this time. That's absurd. Or if it hasn't, it's becoming a scandalous miscarriage of justice. Either way, why aren't Paul, Todd and Michael asking the AD and coaching staff ON the record, "Is there any update you can share with us about the Jubril suspension?" Or simply, "Can you say at this point whether a final decision has been rendered?" Enough time has passed that ML or Matt should offer up something - anything.
If he's going through the Honor Council process, and I'm not saying he is, it is quite probable that the hearing(s) have not yet been held. If that is the case, it's possible that the team doesn't know if he'll be eligible or not.
As an aside, a couple of years ago there was a situation at the end of the fall semester when it seemed that every athlete who was underaged was caught at a party and hit with a underage drinking charge. There were at least two basketball players involved...including Jubril. I can't recall if any of the sports acknowledged the specific situation other than some non committal remarks such as "the athletes did not act in a proper fashion" or some lame bs such as that. I think Jubril acknowledged it himself on social media but the coaches and school did not nor did the same for all of the sports who athletes involved. The silence has also occurred with a few other cases I'm aware of in which players were suspended for some period but the absence was never acknowledged at all by the coaches. So my thought is that we will get nothing in terms of whatever happened in this case and the only way we find out is if the athletes themselves reveal it.
Couldn't potential honor council meetings be held over skype or conference call over break? This team misses him badly. Jubril has never been the best player on the court but he has been a glue guy for this team for years and brought depth. This season he also brought a decent 3-pt shot that helped space the floor and keep defenders honest. It would be nice to see him back on the court as quickly as possible.
Does anyone know if Jubril has been participating in practice? Or is he completely not involved in basketball activities?
Once again I am skeptical this is going on so long because of the honor council but if it is, due to NCAA rules of no special treatment the university would need to be very careful to not rush any portion of the investigation hearing so as not to be seen as favoring an athlete just to get him on the court faster. If nothing is held over break for any other student, then there should not be anything held for Jubril either. That way lies even more trouble that affects the entire team, not just one student athlete
Only halftime OU @ UIC, but the athleticism of UIC guards has UIC up 37-31 at halftime. OU not getting open looks at the three, Odiase handling the paint.
I'm beginning to think we are a PG away from 14-2 or 13-3.
P.S. And maybe Coach Lottich and his staff could use a little seasoning. But that is to be expected with a first year (first ever) HC. I'm still optimistic with Coach Lottich.
58-57 Oakland final
It's almost as if some teams have good games while others play poorly...
UIC leaves 2 timeouts on the board. Bad bad bad last minute there.
Also Oakland got bailed out. They called a brutal jump ball when UIC got fouled
Quote from: wh on January 08, 2017, 01:11:05 PM
Quote from: a3uge on January 08, 2017, 12:48:57 PM
Quote from: wh on January 08, 2017, 08:24:28 AM
Moreover, Oakland now is clearly in the driver's seat for the regular season and conference championships and the League's auto bid. There is still an opportunity to salvage the season, but unless Jubril returns we have very little chance IMO.
I am not too worried about Oakland, Kampe will find a way to screw it as has been his tradition over the last five seasons.
2016 2nd Seed lost in Round 1
2015 4th Seed lost Round 1
2014 5th Seed lost Round 2
2013 4th Seed lost Round 1
2012 3rd Seed lost Round 1
His only victory in the last 5 seasons came as an underdog.
Oakland is in the driver's seat for an nit bid. Nobody is in the driver's seat for the conference tournament.
Oakland is heads above better than EVERYONE else in the league right now and unquestionably would be favored to win the tournament. I call that being in the driver's seat. If you have a term you like better, that works too.
Haven't had much time to reflect on the Oakland game until now. Something that impressed me about Oakland was their unique defensive scheme. They played aggressive, in-your-face defensive against our 1-4 positions, while leaving our bigs completely unguarded. That defender played a 1-man zone in the painted area. Anytime Alec tried to post up, the floater was right there to help deny the inlet pass, or double team him if he did receive the pass. Anytime he drove the baseline, the floater was waiting underneath to cut him off and force him to give up the ball, force a collision, block the shot, whatever. More than that, his refusal to leave the box regardless of where Derrik or Jay went completely blew up our bread-and-butter "picket fence" play, the one where Shane and Tevonn drive down the lane after a series of picks.
In effect, they took us completely out of our offense, and the frustration was apparent on our players' faces. They knew what they were doing was working, and that elevated their confidence even more.
The one positive is that this gimmick defense would never have worked (or even attempted) had Jubril been playing. Jubril can hit from anywhere on the court, and has far superior offensive skills in the low post than either of our 2 freshmen. Leaving him unguarded anytime/anywhere would be suicide.
So, give Kampe his due for a great game plan, but recognize that if Jubril returns, our next match-up will have a completely different look and feel.
Also, if message board dudes are smart enough to figure that out you know our coaching staff has it figured out too (well I hope). Seems a simple solution on offense would be to put in a smaller line up and run Alec at the 5. Hopefully, hopefully, Jubril will make his return soon and we can ride with a full strength team.
Quote from: M on January 09, 2017, 03:00:48 PM
Also, if message board dudes are smart enough to figure that out you know our coaching staff has it figured out too (well I hope). Seems a simple solution on offense would be to put in a smaller line up and run Alec at the 5. Hopefully, hopefully, Jubril will make his return soon and we can ride with a full strength team.
Actually, we did change up some things against UIC. Offensively, Alec set up inside far less, which in turn opened the lane for Shane and Tevonn. I'm sure they were much happier, but at what cost? As mentioned before, one of the 15 best players in the country got off 7 freaking shots in the flow of the offense, and the outcome of the game was still in doubt practically to the end - at home against a team with one of the worst records in D-1 no less. That's a game that we probably would have lost against anyone decent.
It would be like an NFL team with a superstar running back deciding to only give him 5 carries because they know the opposition will be keying on him. It would never happen, yet that's exactly what happened yesterday. Here we have a guy that other teams would kill for, and we use him as a freaking decoy instead of finding new ways to get him open.
Here's a suggestion that will send the right message. The first time someone fails to find him when he's open, yank the culprit immediately. The next time Alec sets up in the low post and works like a mad man to wall his man off and Shane or Lexus stand there holding the ball until he can't hold his position any longer, yank them.
I was by no means suggesting Alec not get more shot attempts or quality touches. I'd think playing the 5 would give him loads of opportunities to be a threat outside and off the dribble. Figuring who plays with in the smaller lineup with him that you trust would be the bigger task.
Spot on WH. So, where is Alec most lethal? Low post? Moving around the perimeter? Finding peripheral spots? Getting open inside of 18'? Whatever the answer is, freakin build an offense around that. Then, and only then, develop plays for the other spots on the floor. This is my simple-minded solution to the this. But, then, I'm just a football guy enjoying Valpo basketball and hoping..... hoping....
Quote from: Pgmado on January 07, 2017, 02:26:04 AMI'm curious to get some thoughts here that don't really correspond to the game itself. I thought the "in-arena" music tonight was the worst I've heard in a long time. There was some sort of Hawaiian night promotion which seemingly came out of the blue. I saw one person in the stands wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Was the music picked to represent some sort of island theme? I heard more Beach Boys than I was used to. Regardless, here is my question...should the music be catered to the older chairback fans or to the younger student fans? I thought Kentucky's gameday atmosphere was outstanding as they had an in-house DJ that was spinning music. The vibe was upbeat from the moment I entered Rupp. I know the ARC isn't Rupp, nor does it pretend to be, but there was absolutely no energy in the building tonight. The music was flat. The only thing to ever look forward to music wise is if Valpo goes on a run and Timber gets played for 10 seconds before we get an ad for a muffin. I'm not quite old enough to be complaining about the music being too loud and to be yelling at kids to get off my lawn. Stop playing music from the 50's, 60's and 70's at games. It's old, it's tired and it drains the energy. Create a strong gameday atmosphere that doesn't revolve around Dion and the Belmonts.
Considering the average age of a season ticket holder is probably 84 years old - and they're paying customers - I can understand why the music selection is more subdued. Not my preference in the least, but I can understand.