Messages

That's some pretty good exposure for a small Midwest D1 school. No doubt, far more national coverage than if we would have been knocked out in the first round of the NCAA tourney. And they're playing for the championship. win or lose, we'll get even more exposure. I feel the NIT was the better way to go this season.

Playing devil's advocate - If we got in as a 16 seed and got pounded the first game, would the talk be that we should have taken an NIT bid and tried to get deep?
If the above scenario played out, we would have been a foot note for 1/2 of the first weekend. Right now they are getting positive exposure. Tough to put a price on that. If they win out, this will be remembered next season by the selection committee if we find ourselves in the same situation.

Funny guy Historyman! Actually, the interest has grown and is still growing. Much like the men's game, there are always elite teams, and many also runs. Obviously there are far more elite teams on the men's side than the ladies side. Probably because there far more men playing than women. I think one reason for the big disparity is the quality of coaching. In some manner, more is asked of the coaching staff for the ladies game than the men's. The men's game has better talent to work with. I feel the women's coaches that realize the most success do so, because they are able to assess and individual players strengths and weaknesses and put them, and their teams in the best position to be successful. Getting the most out of the talent you have separates the good coaches from the great coaches. Granted, the elite teams are elite because they are able to attract better talent because of their success, but the mark of a really good coach is one that can increase their success measurably from season to season. Based on talent alone, we were better than a 10-21 team this season. I'm sure everyone has their own opinion of why we finished with that mark.
There must still be a decent interest in the women's game as they are still issuing scholarships to play, and attendance at the pre-college tournaments is still on the rise. 

I like your enthusiasm. I still don't feel it will matter until they bring someone in that knows how to coach "bigs."

From my perspective, the talent level with the team has gotten better each year with the current coaching staff. Granted, they have had some players back out at the last moment, but by and large, the remaining talent has improved each year. This improved talent is not showing up as it should in the win / loss column. It's not conceivable that all of these players are arriving at Valpo, only to under achieve. It's the system that they are working in that is falling short. As a student of the game, I tend to focus on movement without the ball, and positioning in the paint. We struggle setting and coming off of screens, and our footwork inside is horrible. On defense, we don't switch well, and allow too many uncontested shots. On both ends of the floor we do poorly at blocking out. The players we've had, and do have, posses the talent to show remarkable improvement in all of these things. Either the coaching staff doesn't see this, or they aren't sure how to work through it. I've said for some time that we are losing these games in practices. I don't think we have a really good and knowledgeable "bigs" coach, which is a shame, given we had better size this last season than we've had in the previous three. I firmly believe with the talent we had, we absolutely should have been a middle of the pack team. That should have been the only acceptably outcome this season.     

It's my opinion that, if the only thing that changes with this team is, Seniors out, Freshman in, we will be having this exact debate after next season.

I refrained from posting the past several games as I was starting to sound like a broken record. For the life of me, I just can not figure out what this staff is thinking, or trying to accomplish. I believe that all but 2 games, we came out with the same starting 5. Even after back to back to back to back losses. Absolutely no logic to this approach. If it's not working, then why do we continue? We finally have a little size to work with, and we have no coach that knows how to coach size. Our bigs spent most of the season out of position inside. I could go on but it would just be more of the same observations for the entire season.
The main thing the last 4 years has proven is, there is a vast difference between DI and DII athletics, from both the coaches and players standpoint. We underachieved this season with the talent we had. The one player that Dorow brought with her didn't even start for us this season.
After 4 years of a failed philosophy and underachieving talent, I think it would be in the best interest of the school and the team to scrap the experiment and make a coaching change. They owe it to the players, students, alumni, and school. 

Beating GB on their floor was a tall order indeed, but losing the way we did is disheartening. We shot 33% from the floor and 50% from the stripe. Not acceptable. Unfortunately, this isn't what cost us the game. First the possitives:
* We kept up with them on the boards. That's an improvement.
* Our bench outscored their bench. Something to look at.
The obvious dagger was the turnovers. Our turnovers added up to 35 points for them. Our guards are not controlling the ball, nor are they making good decisions with it. It's not just a guard or two. It's all of them. There isn't a guard I saw that looked comfortable trying to run things. Makes one appreciate the leadership and control we had last season. One of these ladies has got to step up and take charge with the ball. It all starts with that.
I think it's time to reassess this team and start putting our best 5 on the floor from the opening tip. Our starting five combined for 10 points. Ten!. This should be a huge "flag" moment for this coaching staff. Against a team like GB, you have to put yourself in the best position to be successful. It's nice to have a strong bench, but when your starting five dig a hole as they did, your asking an awful lot from your bench. Time to mix things up force your starters to compete for playing time. It might just be what they need to get on track. We will have to play much better if we hope to beat the Panthers on their home floor.

After realizing her potential last season, I didn't think it made sense not to start her then. She may have been further along defensively if they had. I just don't see the changes being made that need to be, for this team to have success. We can't continue down the same path as last year and hope for the best, while those in our conference seem to be getting better.

So are we recruiting NAIA players, or are we competing at the D1 level with NAIA coaches?

[This isn't a squad that can get down big and dig back out]

I agree, this was a bad loss. This should have been the one game to show some improvement and get on the right track. This isn't a squad that can get down big and dig back out. That seems to be the theme now. The one stat that stands out to me: Our center played 27 minutes and pulled down 1 board, and put up 3 pts at the stripe. Granted, she was credited with 6 blocks, but she must be counted on for more boards and more points. As I said before, we just don't have a coach on staff that knows how to work with the bigs.
Off to Kentucky. Need to see improvement. 

I watched most of the game as well.  Not sure you can say they can't dig out of a hole when they were down by 17 and lost by 3.  The second half we played much more aggressive.  Linfor will be a very good player as she continues to develop skills.  I certainly agree on the rebounding.  They seemed bigger then us, not sure if that was true.

They were able to claw back against a mediocre team like the Redhawks, and still came up short. Get down that far against better teams like the ones we face in conference, and I don't see it happening. At 0 and 5 and heading to Kentucky, this coaching staff has to consider some changes in philosophy. What they are doing hasn't worked for several years now. It's tough to compete with anyone if your team has lost confidence in what you're trying to do.

I agree, this was a bad loss. This should have been the one game to show some improvement and get on the right track. This isn't a squad that can get down big and dig back out. That seems to be the theme now. The one stat that stands out to me: Our center played 27 minutes and pulled down 1 board, and put up 3 pts at the stripe. Granted, she was credited with 6 blocks, but she must be counted on for more boards and more points. As I said before, we just don't have a coach on staff that knows how to work with the bigs.
Off to Kentucky. Need to see improvement. 

I think a loss to ND was expected. The margin of defeat was the real story. We needed to see some improvement from the previous game. We fell short of this goal.
The San Diego tournament was disappointing. It's the same old story. Our positioning and foot work inside will be our detriment this season. We got outrebounded 49 to 24. We pulled down 3 offensive boards while shooting 40%. I don't think we have a coach on staff that is willing or able to work with these ladies on their inside game. Our inability to get position and block out has been apparent in every game so far, yet we continue with more of the same.
I fear we're heading towards another very long season.

Lost a great opportunity to come out of the gate strong. If we were going to lose this one, we did so how I envisioned we would. We don't have anyone concentrating on teaching these ladies positioning and footwork down in the block. I've been saying this for years, and it continues to hold true. We gave up 42 offensive rebounds! When you're shooting 26%, there's your game right there. We only turned the ball over 10 times. That's the lowest I've seen it in a long time. Protecting the ball wasn't an issue.
Another concern is offensive output from the guards. Dean and Miller combined for 48 minutes of play, and a total of 2 points. The 2 only looked at the basket 6 times. That's once every 8 minutes. That has to change.
Let's hope the coaches saw the same game or it's going to be another very long season. 10 days of rest and then ND. Not expecting miracles, but should expect improvement.

They seem to have more talent potential this season then last. Noticeable improvement is a must this year. I believe they must be more creative on offense. The vanilla offense they ran last season was predictable and unproductive. They should be able to mix things up a lot more with the roster they have.
They also need a strong court leader. We have a lot of guards once again. I'm hoping a couple of them can truly step up to a point guard role and direct traffic. We had several that tried last season, but we only had one true point guard.
Our bigs have to play BIG. We were killed last year on the inside game. Positioning and footwork has to be a priority in practice for us to have any success.
I wish these ladies the best of luck this season. Let the games begin!

It's been posted. GB will be hosting the Women's Tournament. The 15-16 schedule has been posted as well. Glancing over it, I can see where it could be a rough go early. Unless we've made major improvements over the summer, It could be game 7 before we have a shot at a "W". I hope I am wrong.

Good Question. I believe, unless someone knows otherwise, that Marburger has left campus and returned to Iowa. Maybe another situation like "Ladd".

Let's hope not, she seemed like the top recruit.

However counting scholarships we should only have four for 2016 available and Stoller would be #5....not a good sign.

Yeah, I agree. She may have been the pick of the litter this year. Looks like they may have gone after Stoller to replace someone.

I expect that Jessi Wiedemann has played her final game as well, due to lingering injury issues.

I had heard that the girl from Iowa had a change of heart and has left the campus

Godwin will leave team but stay at Valpo. Anne Hamilton is going to transfer.

Have any of these rumors been confirmed?

Good Question. I believe, unless someone knows otherwise, that Marburger has left campus and returned to Iowa. Maybe another situation like "Ladd".

I had heard that the girl from Iowa had a change of heart and has left the campus. Anyone else hear that?

This would be great news if it was all about the talent. Something's going to give.

Another season comes to an end. Can't be surprised by the outcome. Lost to a team with lessor talent. Par for the course. Even when we were hitting our shots, we played with no control. No other game this season depicts the flaws of a program more so than this one. This staff has no idea how to prepare for the second half of a contest. Our track record is clear in that respect. We have never been coached on how to finish a game. These players are not coached on how to block out. The stats don't lie. How many offensive rebounds did they get in the second half. We got beat by the second worst fundamentally sound team in the league. Unfortunately, we are the worst. Until this team gets back to the fundamentals, they will never have success. I feel bad for the seniors. As for Sharon, if she plans on playing beyond this year, she needs to work on her footwork, and grabbing the ball. too many lost opportunities down low from lost passes, and lack of position underneath. I would find a good mentor that knows the inside game. She got very little direction at Valpo. They just don't have a good bigs coach. That's why they will never had good bigs. For Carr, I thought she did well considering. She struggled at times shooting but I thought her floor presence will be missed. So many passes fumbled inside, and the shooters just weren't consistent this year. I thank her and Sharon for their contributions this season, and haven't really seen anyone who could fill either of their shoes going into next year. As someone else mentioned, we have no bigs, and none coming in. My assessment of the players returning:
Franklin - keep playing your game, but work on your D. This will be huge next year.
Hamilton - Play summer ball - somewhere - you must get better and be more consistent.
Walker - you are a star. It'll be up to you to make the players around you better. As you go, the team goes.
Dean - disappointing season - I honestly thought you'd be the X factor. Time for a heart to heart with yourself. You have the talent - do you really want to put in the work? I wonder.
Hamlet - Learn the game - the clock can be your friend - no place next season for Ill timed shots. need to work on the mental aspects of the game. your emotions get the best of you too often.
Miller - It's starting to come around - you have good instincts - need to see the floor better. Have to anticipate better.
Coaching Staff - If you remain, you MUST find help working with the inside game. I've been at this a while, 10+ following Valpo, and another 17 coaching elsewhere, and I don't think I've seen a poorer display of footwork and positioning on the inside as I have with this team. If you don't do anything else, do yourself a favor and watch this final game and concentrate only on the inside footwork and positioning. That will shed much light on why this game was your last this year.
You Must Get Back to Fundamental Basketball or You Will Never Enjoy Success.

We certainly have been in a shooting slump. Unfortunately, our shooting woes are affected by the rest of our lackluster game. Rather than rehashing the specifics which I, and others have pointed out before I will leave it at this. This squad does not play good fundamental basketball. We are at a disadvantage every time we step out on the floor, and it has less to do with skill sets, and more to do with fundamentals.

Anyone who thinks our lack of success has anything to do with our talent hasn't a clue about the game. This program will only see success when the coaching philosophy changes. I have coached and been involved in the sport for 40+ years and have never seen a program get so little from the talent they have. I feel for these players. they deserved so much more.

Sometimes you just don't have the guns to win the fight. Our best game would have come up short vs Wright State. You have to credit the ladies for putting up a good fight in the first half. The stat that sticks out in the first half was our rebounding. we were handling them on the boards. We had 23 boards in the first half, to their 16. Unfortunately they bettered us by 11 in the second half. Mingo was the difference in this game. 27pts to go along with 11 assist. Not many teams in this league would have an answer for her. Going into the half down 2 probably made their locker room attitude pretty intense. I'm sure their coaching staff lit a fire under their butts. They came out with a whole different intensity level in the second half. They went from 1 offensive board in the first to 12 in the second. Again, we just didn't have the guns to stay in the fight.
We did some really good things in the first half. Hopefully we can build on that and keep improving.

All around good team effort. Our bench came up big in this one. I felt our D in this game was a deciding factor. The players did a much better job of knowing where to be and where the zone help was supposed to come from. It was good to see Karungi step up and play to her size. We needed that. Can't say enough about Franklin. Forget she's a freshman. She's growing into one of the premier players in the league. I thought our guard play was solid, but we still have to do better at protecting the ball. The coaches came in with a solid plan in this one and the players executed well.
Hope we can build on this. It's going to take our best game Saturday at Wright State.