Poll
Question:
Who Will Win?
Option 1: Iona
votes: 6
Option 2: Valpo
votes: 26
Well, that sure is a disappointment. I for one would much rather be playing on the road in the CBI against a major conference team than hosting Iona.
Oh well, more home basketball I guess.
Any details on the game yet? I guess the question is do they know what time it will be?
7:05
We are playing in the CIT, just in case others didn't know since it wasn't mentioned.
Details of the game are up at the VU Athletics home page.
Valpo: RPI 71, Sagarin 90
Iona: RPI 68, Sagarin 79
The only team with a higher RPI/Sagarin in the 24-team field is Marshall (54/78)
Obviously, neither rating figures prominently in the pairings.
What does CIT Stand For ???
So...is there a bracket after the first round then?
Quote from: VUfan on March 13, 2011, 09:13:10 PM
What does CIT Stand For ???
Collegeinsider.com Tournament
Students are back on campus this week, right?
According to the write up on their site it looks like Valpo committed last week. Now the marketing post makes a lot more sense. They knew they were hosting Friday.
Quote from: govalpogo on March 13, 2011, 09:14:07 PM
So...is there a bracket after the first round then?
That's what somebody said on the Valpo Basketball Facebook page.
If they do use RPI after the first round, then if we win it looks like we could get a bye.
http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html (http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html)
Interesting format - all 24 teams play in Round 1. Then 4 of the remaining 12 teams get a second round bye.
Personally, I see this as an excellent opportunity to extend the season and play in what should be a very competitive tournament. Ok, it's not the NIT, but so what? The NIT is so watered down this year with low RPI teams that lost their conf. tournaments, who cares? Our A.D. deserves a lot of credit for stepping up and paying a large amount of money so we could host. I hope we have a big crowd on Wed. Our team and our athletic department deserve our full support.
I hope they win, but this is a disappointment. No offense to Iona, but that's not beating Washington in the CBI.
I came back and edited this because it comes off as too negative. I am happy that Valpo had a good season and qualified for a post season tournament, but I wish it could have been vs. a BCS school
Iona Message Board (http://ionahoops.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general)
In case anybody is interested . . .
So a win in the first round (we've only played Iona once... 2008-09 in the Virgin Island's Paradise Jam... Gaels won 75-55)
but the "Top 4 Seeds get second-round byes" based on~among other things~ RPI and Geographical Location...
So... here are today's RPIs for the 24 teams in the tournament...
1 Marshall 55
2 Iona 70
3 Valparaiso 72
4 East Tennessee State 91
5 East Carolina 96
6 Portland 104
7 Rider 105
8 Air Force 110
9 Northern Iowa 112
10 Furman 115
11 San Francisco 120
12 Oral Roberts 131
13 Idaho 137
14 Jacksonville 142
15 Quinnipiac 144
16 Northern Arizona 150
17 Santa Clara 158
18 Hawaii 161
19 Ohio 163
20 Buffalo 166
21 Western Michigan 175
22 Tennessee Tech 189
23 SMU 207
24 North Dakota 271
So... Let's have a great crowd on Wednesday... and hope for a another home game a week later...
Quote from: talksalot on March 13, 2011, 09:54:21 PM
So a win in the first round (we've only played Iona once... 2008-09 in the Virgin Island's Paradise Jam... Gaels won 75-55) . . .
What a bad year that was, ugh.
sounds like we got one of the better first round matchups. luckily we've had some time to rest up from our brutal stretch. i think we can win this and win solidly.
www.collegeinsider.com/tournament (http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament)
This has an interesting article about the tournament. It also states that we had committed to this tournament last week. Interesting that we didn't hold out hope for the NIT.
Quote from: Valpo2010 on March 13, 2011, 11:06:29 PM
www.collegeinsider.com/tournament (http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament)
This has an interesting article about the tournament. It also states that we had committed to this tournament last week. Interesting that we didn't hold out hope for the NIT.
I'm sure our being in the CIT was contingent on not being offered a spot in the NIT.
Quote from: valpofan56 on March 13, 2011, 11:20:07 PM
Quote from: Valpo2010 on March 13, 2011, 11:06:29 PM
www.collegeinsider.com/tournament (http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament)
This has an interesting article about the tournament. It also states that we had committed to this tournament last week. Interesting that we didn't hold out hope for the NIT.
I'm sure our being in the CIT was contingent on not being offered a spot in the NIT.
As stated in that very article, that's exactly what it was. If we'd been offered the NIT, we would have gone to the NIT with the CIT's sincere blessings.
I think the Valpo athletic department was being realistic in accepting this invitation early on. The NIT was never really an option for a 4th place Horizon League team. I am not disappointed with the CIT. My disappointment still lies in how we threw away the end of our regular season and conference tourney. The CIT gives me something to do on Wednesday night at least.
In case anyone is interested, here is the CBI field: http://www.collegesports-fans.com/ncaa-tournament/cbi-basketball-tournament.html (http://www.collegesports-fans.com/ncaa-tournament/cbi-basketball-tournament.html)
Looking at the field for the CIT, we have a great chance to win the whole thing, and be a possible home site all the way through. I'm guessing that was part of the thinking on the part of the AD and coaches. Think about this, as long as we are winning, we are practicing. If we keep winning, we likely do not travel. Good for the student-athletes and the fans. It's a nice going away party for the seniors and invaluable experience for the younger guys. This is mid-major tourney and we should make the Horizon proud. Based on the field for the CBI at that link, there is only one BCS conference. We'll save for a later date the fact that the NCAA Tourney took way too many BCS teams and scheduled the better mid-majors either against each other or in difficult matchups (our buddies Oakland we're hosed and Butler v ODU is just not fair to eliminate one of those team).
What's the computer availability for this?
Just for those of you who care...yes, we accepted last week, but only on the condition that we not get picked for the NIT. If we had been chosen for that, we would not be playing in the CIT. This is a great opportunity to keep playing, in a field of pretty good teams. Not as good as the NCAA or the NIT maybe, but it's not the worst field ever either. I for one, am very happy this team gets a chance to play some more....
Valpo's RPI (71) the 18th best team out of those who did not go dancing. Above 15 teams who are in. 4th best not in NIT. 3rd best in the CIT. 2nd best of CBI teams.
I wonder when they'll announce the CIT seeds? Before or after the first game? (Which is tonight.)
Maybe not until after the first round?
Valpo-Iona should certainly be one of the most competitive games, so much for seeding!
It sounds like we did put up a financial guarantee to host. I wonder what the details were.
Good of the university to support the team like this. Hopefully the fans will do their part,
and come out for the game!
One link for streaming, from the CIT web page, is
http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=379 (http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=379)
which actually has the Valpo game listed at 9 PM EDT.
Looks like it'll be free live? Not sure if there will be an archive, but that might be for a fee?
Twitter also says:
@JasonBelzer:
Remember, all the games of the @CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) will be broadcast for free on Fox Sports broadband this year!
In last week's Mid-Major Top 25 Iona entered the poll at #21. To Valpo's #24.
Pomeroy has the Gaels at #60 overall, to Valpo's #105. He has the next game in his computer already, picking Iona to win 74-73, winning with 56% probability. Should be a good one!
Quote from: agibson on March 14, 2011, 05:03:20 AM
One link for streaming, from the CIT web page, is
http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=379 (http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=379)
which actually has the Valpo game listed at 9 PM EDT.
Interesting... http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html (http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html) has "ALL TIMES EST" and lists our game as 8pm... so now that we are in Daylight time, does that mean 9 or is that simply a typo? I assume that it is a typo and the game is 7CDT/8EDT since that is what the athletic dept has.
We are garnering some good lead articles at espn.com's college hoops page.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6214404 (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6214404)
The AP has
"Former NCAA tournament darlings Northern Iowa and Valparaiso highlight the 24 teams selected to play in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament on Sunday."
as their first sentence. Not bad!
Quote from: valpo04 on March 14, 2011, 06:17:15 AM
Quote from: agibson on March 14, 2011, 05:03:20 AM
One link for streaming, from the CIT web page, is
http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=379 (http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=379)
which actually has the Valpo game listed at 9 PM EDT.
Interesting... http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html (http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html) has "ALL TIMES EST" and lists our game as 8pm... so now that we are in Daylight time, does that mean 9 or is that simply a typo? I assume that it is a typo and the game is 7CDT/8EDT since that is what the athletic dept has.
Whoops - I see I was a bit too quick, in fact. That b2livetv.com page said 9:00 _EST_. Which is, I guess correct.
I have no doubt that Valpo has the time right - 8 PM eastern, 7 PM standard (with a daylight savings time wrinkle, that's only 1 AM in France... hmm.... if there's an archive I think I'll still wait until Thursday). I was just amused that there were (or seemed to be?) conflicting times floating around.
Quote from: agibson on March 14, 2011, 06:34:51 AM
Quote from: valpo04 on March 14, 2011, 06:17:15 AM
Quote from: agibson on March 14, 2011, 05:03:20 AM
One link for streaming, from the CIT web page, is
http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=379 (http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=379)
which actually has the Valpo game listed at 9 PM EDT.
Interesting... http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html (http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html) has "ALL TIMES EST" and lists our game as 8pm... so now that we are in Daylight time, does that mean 9 or is that simply a typo? I assume that it is a typo and the game is 7CDT/8EDT since that is what the athletic dept has.
Whoops - I see I was a bit too quick, in fact. That b2livetv.com page said 9:00 _EST_. Which is, I guess correct.
I have no doubt that Valpo has the time right - 8 PM eastern, 7 PM standard (with a daylight savings time wrinkle, that's only 1 AM in France... hmm.... if there's an archive I think I'll still wait until Thursday). I was just amused that there were (or seemed to be?) conflicting times floating around.
Well 9 EST would be 10 EDT... I think these sites are just designating the time as "standard time" which is wrong as of Sunday!
Are there going to be any promotions offered for this game for students?
Seems like it would sure help to have a strong student section on Weds.
For anyone old enough to remember the movie "Meatballs" with Bill Murray, CIT reminds me of this song:
We are the C.I.T.s so pity us. / The kids are brats; the food is hideous. / We're gonna smoke and drink and fool around. / We're nookie-bound!... / We are the North Star C.I.T.s!
Quote from: Valpo89 on March 14, 2011, 08:35:11 AM
For anyone old enough to remember the movie "Meatballs" with Bill Murray, CIT reminds me of this song:
We are the C.I.T.s so pity us. / The kids are brats; the food is hideous. / We're gonna smoke and drink and fool around. / We're nookie-bound!... / We are the North Star C.I.T.s!
Bill had some great moments in that movie. When I think of it I think of his rousing sports speech that ended in everyone chanting "It just doesn't matter."
Quote from: milanmiracle on March 13, 2011, 09:33:45 PM
I hope they win, but this is a disappointment. No offense to Iona, but that's not beating Washington in the CBI.
I came back and edited this because it comes off as too negative. I am happy that Valpo had a good season and qualified for a post season tournament, but I wish it could have been vs. a BCS school
No offense to Valpo, but that's not beating Washington. I wish we could be playing a BCS school. Go Gaels!
There's no making some people happy...I'm just happy that the team is being rewarded for such an outstanding season with a chance to keep playing...and for you that aren't aware, IONA is not a patsy basketball team. They have a long standing tradition of being pretty good....Jim Valvano started his head coaching career there and took them to the tournament with Jeff Rowland....anyway, let's hope the Crusaders get to play a couple more games against these "bottom" teams...damn I can't figure some of you people out..... ???
Quote from: rlh on March 14, 2011, 11:12:55 AM
There's no making some people happy...I'm just happy that the team is being rewarded for such an outstanding season with a chance to keep playing...and for you that aren't aware, IONA is not a patsy basketball team. They have a long standing tradition of being pretty good....Jim Valvano started his head coaching career there and took them to the tournament with Jeff Rowland....anyway, let's hope the Crusaders get to play a couple more games against these "bottom" teams...damn I can't figure some of you people out..... ???
I think its pretty easy to figure out... knowing we weren't making the NCAA, there was hope that we would make the NIT and get a chance to play a "major." Not making the NIT and "settling" for the CBI/CIT, I'm sure people were hoping that we'd still get a shot at a "major" team, like we did in the CBI. Instead we are playing in the consolation prize tourney against another mid-major foe.
I personally don't care and I am glad they are in a tourney with the opportunity to keep playing, but I can certainly understand the disappointment others feel.
Hello Valpo Fans!
I am an alum/fan of the Iona Gaels.
I can see we are both somewhat disappointed that we ended here rather than in one
of the higher profile tourneys.
Coming from a 1 bid conference, we knew that we were not dancing when we stumbled
in our conference (MAAC) championship game a week ago. We did however have hopes
for the NIT.
It looks like both of our teams got caught in the perfect storm of season conference champs
falling in conference tourneys - our conference was one of them with our season champ (Fairfield)
losing in our tourney semis.
Since the new auto bid rule was adopted for the NIT, the highest number of autos had been 8 -
this year, I believe that jumped to 14.
Anyway, we are now here. I just wanted to stop by and say HI. Let's have a great game and show
everyone why we both deserved higher consideration.
Good luck to you guys and let's both have some fun!
Quote from: Mr. Doom on March 14, 2011, 11:54:57 AM
Hello Valpo Fans!
I am an alum/fan of the Iona Gaels.
I can see we are both somewhat disappointed that we ended here rather than in one
of the higher profile tourneys.
Coming from a 1 bid conference, we knew that we were not dancing when we stumbled
in our conference (MAAC) championship game a week ago. We did however have hopes
for the NIT.
It looks like both of our teams got caught in the perfect storm of season conference champs
falling in conference tourneys - our conference was one of them with our season champ (Fairfield)
losing in our tourney semis.
Since the new auto bid rule was adopted for the NIT, the highest number of autos had been 8 -
this year, I believe that jumped to 14.
Anyway, we are now here. I just wanted to stop by and say HI. Let's have a great game and show
everyone why we both deserved higher consideration.
Good luck to you guys and let's both have some fun!
Thanks, Mr. Doom. The perfect blend of disappointment and optimism -- I love it.
Both teams should be rested. I assume we're healthy, but I haven't heard anything lately so I don't know for sure. What's your injury situation?
Nice post from Mr. Doom. Seems like we have a couple of posters who might want to change their webnames to his!
I will be interested to find out how big the gaels are and what matchups we should be watching.
If I read their record correctly, they beat Richmond! Don't know what the circumstances were but, Richmond will be a very tough out in the NCAAs. Richmond beat Purdue! We are going to have our hand full with these guys. It will be a tough game which I hope we can win.
Quote from: Mr. Doom on March 14, 2011, 11:54:57 AM
Hello Valpo Fans!
I am an alum/fan of the Iona Gaels.
I can see we are both somewhat disappointed that we ended here rather than in one
of the higher profile tourneys.
Coming from a 1 bid conference, we knew that we were not dancing when we stumbled
in our conference (MAAC) championship game a week ago. We did however have hopes
for the NIT.
It looks like both of our teams got caught in the perfect storm of season conference champs
falling in conference tourneys - our conference was one of them with our season champ (Fairfield)
losing in our tourney semis.
Since the new auto bid rule was adopted for the NIT, the highest number of autos had been 8 -
this year, I believe that jumped to 14.
Anyway, we are now here. I just wanted to stop by and say HI. Let's have a great game and show
everyone why we both deserved higher consideration.
Good luck to you guys and let's both have some fun!
When I first saw the name Mr. Doom, I assumed that milanmiracle or rink had changed their user name when they switched to the new board (inside joke). ;)
Personally, I take some consolation in the fact that about a third of the 100 teams in the NCAA and NIT have lower RPI's than either Valpo or Iona. Also, either one of us is more than capable of running the table in the CIT. That's more than enough to hold my excitement. The fact that some BCS conference's 8th place team isn't in the tournament means nothing to me. By the way, don't worry about about watching the game. I'll be there in person and will be happy to report out after the game as to where your team went wrong. ;)
I'm not sure how the CIT came up with the first round games. If it was for exciting games, the VU - Iona matchup could be a great game. Of the 24 teams in the CIT, I'd say that Iona and VU could have each played a lower RPI team, and then met in the semi-finals or somewhere else along the way.
I saw a post in the Iona forum that someone had linked to that had a good point in that if a team was going to shell out the bucks for a home game, they might have a problem with getting paired with a team with a much lower RPI such as Iona. This theory makes sense to me but I don't know if there is any truth to it.
I think it will be a good game. I bought my ticket last night.
A brief rundown on the Gaels.
We came off a 21 win season last year. 3 years earlier we won 2 games all year resulting in hiring Rick Pitino
asssistant coach Kevin Willard as our HC. In 3 years he returned us to a 20 win team. After last season he moved
to the Big East taking HC job at Seton Hall.
At that point our administration took what many considered a gamble, by hiring a HC who had no prior D1 coaching
experience. We hired C.W. Post (D2) HC Tim Cluess. He had a great reputation in the N.Y. City metro area as a pure
winner on the high school, junior college and D2 level; however, no D1 coaching experience. He also brought an entirely
new style of ball. Willard was a very defensive oriented coach. Cluess loves to run.
With new coaches, an entirely new system and several new players (including a Junior College All-America - Mike Glover)
we opened the season in a 3 game tourney in Cleveland by losing to Kent State, Cleveland State and Bryant. There
were already screams being heard in New Rochelle, N.Y. (Iona's home) about the impending disaster. Our next game was
against Richmond and most wondered how bad that would be. This turned out to be a great game which Iona won in double
OT 81 - 77. The turnaround had started. Our next game was against Albany - we won that also by shooting 18 for 30 from
3 point with starter Kyle Smyth 8 for 13 from 3.
We were on a 7 game win streak until we visited the undefeated Orange at the Dome in Syracuse. We played a great game
though ultimately losing by 6. Mike Glover scored 25 shooting 9 for 11 from the field with 16 rebounds.
We had ups and downs the rest of the way - we were on a 9 game win streak before losing our conference championship game.
Up front we start 6'7" and 6'8" with 6'10" soph coming off the bench.
Mike Glover can be a beast up front. Our PG Scott Machado is our 2nd leading scorer and has been at or near the top in NCAA
assists all year - he finished 3rd in the nation.
We shoot 3s .370 as a team; however, our top 3 point shooter, Kyle Smyth, is our one significant injury problem. He went down in the
first half of championship game and did not come back. I have serious doubts that you will see him.
We do like to play an up tempo game and will run the court with anyone. Our D has been a work in progress; however, it has picked up
recently.
Went over and re-introduced myself to the False Prophet's Board as they were entertaining the idea of Valpo possibly playing at the Mabee Center in a later round of this tournament. They are just as uptight as ever . . . ;D
Quote from: valpofan56 on March 14, 2011, 03:20:42 PM
Went over and re-introduced myself to the False Prophet's Board as they were entertaining the idea of Valpo possibly playing at the Mabee Center in a later round of this tournament. They are just as uptight as ever . . . ;D
Yeah, I looked at that and found it odd they were tearing Valpo for joining the Horizon League. The Summit League is terrible; we're the last team to win a NCAA tourney game for the conference (1998).
As far as Iiona:
Top 100 RPI Wins:
- 42 - Richmond
- 78 - Long Island
- 88 - Hofstra
- 98 - St. Peters (2 of 3)
- 99 - Fairfield
Sub-200 RPI Losses:
- 253 - Bryant
- (199 - Sienna)
And Valpo's for comparison:
Top 100 RPI Wins:
- 36 - Butler
- 40 - Missouri St.
- 44 - Cleveland St
- 51 - Oakland
- 97 - Milwaukee
Sub-200 RPI Losses:
And for fun's sake, lets do Oral Roberts:
Top 100 RPI Wins:Sub-200 RPI Losses:And they wonder why we joined the Horizon?
Quote from: a3uge on March 14, 2011, 04:18:25 PM
Quote from: valpofan56 on March 14, 2011, 03:20:42 PM
Went over and re-introduced myself to the False Prophet's Board as they were entertaining the idea of Valpo possibly playing at the Mabee Center in a later round of this tournament. They are just as uptight as ever . . . ;D
Yeah, I looked at that and found it odd they were tearing Valpo for joining the Horizon League. The Summit League is terrible; we're the last team to win a NCAA tourney game for the conference (1998).
Technically, we aren't the last team to win an NCAA game...when Oakland won their "play-in" game, they officially won an NCAA game, and got an extra "full share" of money for it.
Quote from: ValpoHoops on March 14, 2011, 05:18:44 PM
Technically, we aren't the last team to win an NCAA game...when Oakland won their "play-in" game, they officially won an NCAA game, and got an extra "full share" of money for it.
If it doesn't count in bracket-pools, it doesn't count as a legitimate tournament win :lol:
OK, here is some stats. Interestingly enough, Iona looks on paper to be reasonably similar to Valpo. Their top 5 scorers go 6'7", 6'3", 6'4", 6'1" and 5'11". They are comprised of one senior, three juniors and a sophomore.
Iona goes 8 deep but their last game three guys scored all but 9 points.
They average 79 ppg while allowing their opponents 69. They average 47% overall and 37% from the 3. They shoot 65% from the foul line. They average 12.8 TOs per game but have an impressive 17.4 assts per game. They also get 7.5 steals per and 3.2 blocks.
They don't have a big following as they average just 2121 attendance at their home games.
So it looks like an athletic team that may press and like to run. So do we. That could make for a wild game with lots of scoring.
I'd love to have Mr. Doom confirm my analysis.
Quote from: vu72 on March 14, 2011, 06:02:11 PM
OK, here is some stats. Interestingly enough, Iona looks on paper to be reasonably similar to Valpo. Their top 5 scorers go 6'7", 6'3", 6'4", 6'1" and 5'11". They are comprised of one senior, three juniors and a sophomore.
Iona goes 8 deep but their last game three guys scored all but 9 points.
They average 79 ppg while allowing their opponents 69. They average 47% overall and 37% from the 3. They shoot 65% from the foul line. They average 12.8 TOs per game but have an impressive 17.4 assts per game. They also get 7.5 steals per and 3.2 blocks.
They don't have a big following as they average just 2121 attendance at their home games.
So it looks like an athletic team that may press and like to run. So do we. That could make for a wild game with lots of scoring.
I'd love to have Mr. Doom confirm my analysis.
If that's all the taller most of their scorers are, then I really like our chances.
maybe cory and kevin go off and have a field day? :thumbsup: it'd sure be nice to end the season on a high note.
Quote from: vuweathernerd on March 14, 2011, 07:01:24 PM
maybe cory and kevin go off and have a field day? :thumbsup: it'd sure be nice to end the season on a high note.
Hopefully if Kevin and Cory have a field day it won't be the end of the season ;)
vu72, though I haven't confirmed your stats, they do seem reasonable - overall, a pretty good feel for our team.
As to our high assists, that is primarily due to our junior PG, Scott Machado who has, at times, been referred to as an assist machine.
Our starting lineup fluctuates between the one you cite and 2 seniors, 2 juniors and 1 soph. The one soph is Kyle Smyth who has been hurt during both of our last 2 games - he is our most proficient 3 pt shooter - however, not our only one.
If he is not available Wednesday, that will mean more playing time for a freshman who I think has the most beautiful pure shot on the team. His shot reminds me of a Ray Allen shot - now watch him look horrible, just to make me wrong.
We started off the season with a very short rotation - as the season has gone on that has grown to the point that we can now
go 9 or 10 deep with most being legitimate scoring threats.
Quote from: valpofan56 on March 14, 2011, 07:38:07 PM
Quote from: vuweathernerd on March 14, 2011, 07:01:24 PM
maybe cory and kevin go off and have a field day? :thumbsup: it'd sure be nice to end the season on a high note.
Hopefully if Kevin and Cory have a field day it won't be the end of the season ;)
well played, good sir.
There were some interesting names on the selection committee of the CIT:
Jack Bennett (Former head coach, Wisconsin-Stevens Point)
Jim Harrick (Former head coach, UCLA, Georgia, Rhode Island)
Jim Kerwin (Former head coach, Western Illinois University)
Perry Watson (Former head coach, University of Detroit Mercy)
Rich Zvosec (Former head coach, University of Missouri-Kansas City)
Quote from: Mr. Doom on March 14, 2011, 01:57:45 PM
There were already screams being heard in New Rochelle, N.Y. (Iona's home)
So is the Gaels biggest fan 55 year old Richard Rosebud Petrie? His father was from Danville, IL.
(I know some of the older posters will get this reference)
Quote from: bbtds on March 14, 2011, 11:37:59 PM
Quote from: Mr. Doom on March 14, 2011, 01:57:45 PM
There were already screams being heard in New Rochelle, N.Y. (Iona's home)
So is the Gaels biggest fan 55 year old Richard Rosebud Petrie? His father was from Danville, IL.
(I know some of the older posters will get this reference)
Richie went to Valpo and graduated in '77. Rob and Laura are Gael fans though. ::)
Quote from: chelseadal on March 15, 2011, 09:37:05 AM
Quote from: bbtds on March 14, 2011, 11:37:59 PM
Quote from: Mr. Doom on March 14, 2011, 01:57:45 PM
There were already screams being heard in New Rochelle, N.Y. (Iona's home)
So is the Gaels biggest fan 55 year old Richard Rosebud Petrie? His father was from Danville, IL.
(I know some of the older posters will get this reference)
Richie went to Valpo and graduated in '77. Rob and Laura are Gael fans though. ::)
That line about "screams being heard in New Rochelle, NY" reminded me of the episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show where Richie goes screaming through the house because he was being chased by a big dog. (I know, I watched too much TV as a child)
Actually that was the only part that Larry Mathews, the child actor, ever played on TV. He did one episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited" in 2004 as an adult where Rob and Laura sold Richie the house in New Rochelle and moved to Manhattan.
Larry Mathews worked behind the scenes on the TV shows Soap and Benson and some other TV shows. He also does voiceover parts.
Quote from: bbtds on March 15, 2011, 12:08:41 PM
Quote from: chelseadal on March 15, 2011, 09:37:05 AM
Quote from: bbtds on March 14, 2011, 11:37:59 PM
Quote from: Mr. Doom on March 14, 2011, 01:57:45 PM
There were already screams being heard in New Rochelle, N.Y. (Iona's home)
So is the Gaels biggest fan 55 year old Richard Rosebud Petrie? His father was from Danville, IL.
(I know some of the older posters will get this reference)
Richie went to Valpo and graduated in '77. Rob and Laura are Gael fans though. ::)
That line about "screams being heard in New Rochelle, NY" reminded me of the episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show where Richie goes screaming through the house because he was being chased by a big dog. (I know, I watched too much TV as a child)
Actually that was the only part that Larry Mathews, the child actor, ever played on TV. He did one episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited" in 2004 as an adult where Rob and Laura sold Richie the house in New Rochelle and moved to Manhattan.
Larry Mathews worked behind the scenes on the TV shows Soap and Benson and some other TV shows. He also does voiceover parts.
The Dick Van Dyke show was a great comedy, but Larry Matthews is the worst child actor in the history of television.
Quote from: valpo04 on March 14, 2011, 11:19:10 AM
Quote from: rlh on March 14, 2011, 11:12:55 AM
There's no making some people happy...I'm just happy that the team is being rewarded for such an outstanding season with a chance to keep playing...and for you that aren't aware, IONA is not a patsy basketball team. They have a long standing tradition of being pretty good....Jim Valvano started his head coaching career there and took them to the tournament with Jeff Rowland....anyway, let's hope the Crusaders get to play a couple more games against these "bottom" teams...damn I can't figure some of you people out..... ???
I think its pretty easy to figure out... knowing we weren't making the NCAA, there was hope that we would make the NIT and get a chance to play a "major." Not making the NIT and "settling" for the CBI/CIT, I'm sure people were hoping that we'd still get a shot at a "major" team, like we did in the CBI. Instead we are playing in the consolation prize tourney against another mid-major foe.
I personally don't care and I am glad they are in a tourney with the opportunity to keep playing, but I can certainly understand the disappointment others feel.
Great post, I can't sum it up any better than that. I am not knocking Iona in any way, but I would like to have Valpo beat a name team even if Iona is the better program.
There's a big difference in being disappointed (which we all are) and being negative. The person in question has yet to post anything in a positive way all season. I am not happy we didn't win the league as we probably should have, but I also realize we had a tremendously exciting year and it's great that the team gets to keep playing.
There is also a difference between keeping a positive attitude and blindly selling everything Valpo as perfect. Sometimes we just suck on a given night. Sometimes we recruit players who have no right to be on a Division I court except to lift a cheerleader. Sometimes coaching decisions are even actually the wrong ones. It happens and it's okay to put it out there for debate.
Are we seriously having this debate again?
Valpo starts slow and comes on strong to win 74 to 69. Iona is a vary good team, this will be a nice win. Enjoy the the game. :)
Valpo opens CIT play tonight at home against Iona
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/article_75a77ff8-bb10-5b3e-ac14-38ed94afb185.html (http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/article_75a77ff8-bb10-5b3e-ac14-38ed94afb185.html)
Quote from: rlh on March 15, 2011, 09:27:09 PM
The person in question has yet to post anything in a positive way all season. I
He was actually very positive after the Missouri State game! As was jj.
Quote from: agibson on March 14, 2011, 05:48:35 AM
Pomeroy has the Gaels at #60 overall, to Valpo's #105. He has the next game in his computer already, picking Iona to win 74-73, winning with 56% probability. Should be a good one!
Realtimerpi has a prediction up as well.
http://realtimerpi.com/bin/rtr/rpi/scouting?team1=281&team2=253&gender=1&home=&date=03-16 (http://realtimerpi.com/bin/rtr/rpi/scouting?team1=281&team2=253&gender=1&home=&date=03-16)
Valpo 78 - Iona 75, Valpo with a 57% chance of winning.
Will we try to outrun them? We might be able to beat them at their own game, but it feels less certain.
Or, can we bring back some of the tough defense we've seen at times this season?
Assuming the quote's in context, Mark Lazerus and Matt Kenney got it about right re seeding, in the Post Tribune piece.
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/4335268-556/crusaders-get-a-fresh-start.html (http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/4335268-556/crusaders-get-a-fresh-start.html)
Quote
The Crusaders have the third-best RPI in the field of 24 successful mid-majors, with only Marshall and Iona rated higher. So the players find it a little strange, naturally, that Iona and VU were matched up in the first round.
"I didn't really get how they picked the teams," Kenney said.
Appears it's been decided we get a bye if we win.....
http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html (http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html)
No surprise, but, nice! And Ohio, and Northern Iowa as well (and E. TN State). So, we won't see any of those teams until the semi-finals.
If they're going regional, I guess we could think of two other regional teams in our "quarterfinal pod", and three teams from another quarterfinal to form our "semfinal pod".
Not sure which makes more sense for the semifinal - "Northern Iowa + E TN S" (with Valpo + Ohio) or "Northern Iowa + Valpo".
There are some schools from pretty far out west, but none of them with byes (no respect for Mountain West's Air Force, nor the WAC's Hawai or Idaho).
It's almost harder to build our "quarterfinal pod". Western Michigan is a likely suspect if they win - particularly since we didn't play them this season. Otherwise, I don't see any particularly natural geographical fits.
With Marshall losing, if we beat Iona tonight, I would imagine we would likely be the #1 overall seed for the duration of our time in it. That would be nice!
Hmm... Now I wonder if they'll start the next round with a fully seeded, pre-determined bracket, or if they'll reseed after each round (a la CBI, and the old NIT?).
On March 13 their press release said "The entire field will be seeded, based on a number of factors including RPI, strength of schedule, conference ranking, and geographic location. " Which I thought might mean they'd seed all 24. Which didn't come true. It could still mean that the seeds will hold for the whole bracket after the first round.
But, their recently updated "Schedule/Results" page says
Quote
FORMAT: 12 teams will advance with four teams receiving a bye into the quarterfinals, based on seeding. The seeding will be determined using RPI, strength of schedule, conference ranking and geographical location.
The tournament format is similar to that of the old NIT model, which had not pre-set bracket, with the results from the previous round determining the matchups in the next round. Ideally teams can be kept within their geographic region to cut down on travel.
Which makes it sound like they might re-seed every round...
Quote from: agibson on March 16, 2011, 04:29:42 AM
Quote from: agibson on March 14, 2011, 05:48:35 AM
Pomeroy has the Gaels at #60 overall, to Valpo's #105. He has the next game in his computer already, picking Iona to win 74-73, winning with 56% probability. Should be a good one!
Realtimerpi has a prediction up as well.
http://realtimerpi.com/bin/rtr/rpi/scouting?team1=281&team2=253&gender=1&home=&date=03-16 (http://realtimerpi.com/bin/rtr/rpi/scouting?team1=281&team2=253&gender=1&home=&date=03-16)
Valpo 78 - Iona 75, Valpo with a 57% chance of winning.
Will we try to outrun them? We might be able to beat them at their own game, but it feels less certain.
Or, can we bring back some of the tough defense we've seen at times this season?
And I notice one Vegas line. PK. Even bet. Flip a coin.
Here's what I'm thinking going into this game: The last time the pressure was "off" was the Missouri State game. They played relaxed, got an early lead, and you never got the sense that Missouri State would get back in the game. Homer was able to dust off the play book and use some old plays, like the halfcourt alley-oop play to Rogers that he always used to run with Raitis Grafs. Iona, yes, is supposed to be a good team that is ranked ahead of VU. But so was Missouri State. After they got down, they acted like the ARC was the last place in the world they wanted to be. Maybe that can happen again tonight.
Quote from: Valpo89 on March 16, 2011, 08:59:20 AM
Here's what I'm thinking going into this game: The last time the pressure was "off" was the Missouri State game. They played relaxed, got an early lead, and you never got the sense that Missouri State would get back in the game. Homer was able to dust off the play book and use some old plays, like the halfcourt alley-oop play to Rogers that he always used to run with Raitis Grafs. Iona, yes, is supposed to be a good team that is ranked ahead of VU. But so was Missouri State. After they got down, they acted like the ARC was the last place in the world they wanted to be. Maybe that can happen again tonight.
I like the way you think, 89 ;)
Sounds reasonable that with the chance to rest some, most/all of the players should be ready to go for it. Best of luck to the team, including the coaches!
Let's "Just Do It" ... Go Valpo!!
Quote from: Valpo89 on March 16, 2011, 08:59:20 AM
Here's what I'm thinking going into this game: The last time the pressure was "off" was the Missouri State game. They played relaxed, got an early lead, and you never got the sense that Missouri State would get back in the game. Homer was able to dust off the play book and use some old plays, like the halfcourt alley-oop play to Rogers that he always used to run with Raitis Grafs. Iona, yes, is supposed to be a good team that is ranked ahead of VU. But so was Missouri State. After they got down, they acted like the ARC was the last place in the world they wanted to be. Maybe that can happen again tonight.
Wrong!
If you don't have height you must hit your 3 pointers. Period
Well, Iona got the message but Valpo didn't
No wonder we weren't invited to the NIT. A disappointing end to a season that showed some promise. I hope we didn't spend too much money on this tournament with nothing to show for it! :(
Quote from: okinawatyphoon on March 16, 2011, 08:57:41 PM
No wonder we weren't invited to the NIT. A disappointing end to a season that showed some promise. I hope we didn't spend too much money on this tournament with nothing to show for it! :(
Sorry guys. The Gaels came in and took it. On to the Quarters. Wish it was the NCAAs. Oh well.
Sorry guys - tough loss to end season. I know we didn't see anywhere near your best.
Hopefully, we'll see you guys down the road in the near future.
Come back and take the Horizon next season!
Sad. Truely a sad end to the season. Glad it wasn't in the NIT on National TV. I think now we really overachieved during most of the season and only played to our true level at the end. Iona has given the Horizon League a blueprint on how to play us next year. Sag off ten feet on Buggs and make us play 4 on 5 on offense. And unless we can dig up a true 5 with some skills, we will not be able to compete as we cannot shoot the 3 as a team consistantly enough to make up for it over the course of a season.
So, was Brandon sick or what? Have you ever seen him on the bench for 14 minutes in the second half when we are down--or ever? Something was up.
Our problem all year--we could have won several more--is we were a bad 3 point shooting team. Not just tonight, we were something like 8th or 9th in the conference. Couple that with our free throw shooting and there you have it.
Some real mysteries of late with Ryan kind of disappearing etc. Why didn't Matt assert himself earlier?
I think you will see Jay and Brandon playing more together next year. Erik is a great defender but as someone else said, teams have figured him out. Perhaps a healthy Tommy Kurth will help also as he at least can shoot free throws.
We will be hard pressed to improve on this year unless we get someone big to help or Vucic or Cam really step it up. Otherwise we will be bombing away with the same result--some great games and others like tonight.
I was going to ask the same thing. I couldn't believe how much he was on the bench. Early in the game he came in and nailed a couple of shots. I came here as soon as I got home to see if he was sick or something. Very weird.
Quote from: vu72 on March 16, 2011, 09:27:41 PM
So, was Brandon sick or what? Hav eyou ever seen him on the bench for 14 minutes in the second half when we are down--or ever? Something was up.
Our problem all year--we could have won several more--is we were a bad 3 point shooting team. Not just tonight, we were something like 8th or 9th in the conference. Couple that with our free throw shooting and ther you have it.
Some real mysteries of last with Ryan kind of disappearing etc. Why didn't Mattt assert himself earlier?
I think you will see Jay and Brandon playing more together next year. Erik is a great defender but as someone else said, teams have figured him out. Perhaps a healthy Tommy Kurth will help also as he at least could shoot free throws.
We will be hard pressed to improve on this year unless we get someone big to jelp or Vucic or Cam really step it up. Otherwise we will be bombing away with the same result--some great games and others like tonight.
Quote from: vu72 on March 16, 2011, 09:27:41 PM
So, was Brandon sick or what? Hav eyou ever seen him on the bench for 14 minutes in the second half when we are down--or ever? Something was up.
Our problem all year--we could have won several more--is we were a bad 3 point shooting team. Not just tonight, we were something like 8th or 9th in the conference. Couple that with our free throw shooting and ther you have it.
Some real mysteries of last with Ryan kind of disappearing etc. Why didn't Mattt assert himself earlier?
I think you will see Jay and Brandon playing more together next year. Erik is a great defender but as someone else said, teams have figured him out. Perhaps a healthy Tommy Kurth will help also as he at least could shoot free throws.
We will be hard pressed to improve on this year unless we get someone big to jelp or Vucic or Cam really step it up. Otherwise we will be bombing away with the same result--some great games and others like tonight.
Hey, let's give Iona some credit. We didn't have our A game -- at least in outside shooting -- but Iona's pressure was a factor part of the time. I don't know if we've seen a mid-major team all year that had the overall quickness they showed. We've faced teams that had 2-3 players very quick, but they had five on the floor most of the time and we didn't react very well. In fact, our reactions were slow all night -- tipped passes, fumbles, etc. Some ugly memories of the Loyola game.
Quote from: vu72 on March 16, 2011, 09:27:41 PM
We will be hard pressed to improve on this year unless we get someone big to help or Vucic or Cam really step it up. Otherwise we will be bombing away with the same result--some great games and others like tonight.
I just don't see how you think Vucic will improve enough to make a real difference. I agree with what another poster said that he will have a career a lot like Calum MacLeod. Tall but no big man skills.
I don't know how much you could tell on the web, but trust me when I say this was a completely half-hearted effort. The entire team looked disinterested, especially on the defensive end. We were constantly beaten off the dribble. Their players went around us like we had concrete in our shoes. No one ever stepped over to take a charge. Double teams came late. No one blocked out. Sloppy misses underneath the basket. Fumble-itis the entire game. Clutching up against the press. Outhustled for loose balls. They overplayed the passing lanes all game and we acted completely confused. Our coaching staff looked like they took the week off too. We looked totally unprepared for anything they did offensively or defensively. Did anyone watch any tape? Obviously Iona did. They did the best job of not defending Eric that anyone has done all year. What a wasted opportunity.
What a truely fitting end to the season. We again drop the ball when it really counts. I have to ask if something changed in the dynamics of this team at the end. Somehow we became a very different team with 5 games to go. I have no inside info whatsoever. I just feel like for such a promising team to simply bottom out, that maybe something went down late in the season to totally upset the chemistry. There has to be something more than just a good team suddenly becoming a bad team.
A rough game to watch tonight. My write up on the game is now up. I am going through my pictures, and should have them up in about a half hour.
http://confessionsofasportsjunkie.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/gaels-bring-valpo-season-to-an-end/ (http://confessionsofasportsjunkie.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/gaels-bring-valpo-season-to-an-end/)
Quote from: Mr. Doom on March 16, 2011, 09:13:43 PM
Sorry guys - tough loss to end season. I know we didn't see anywhere near your best.
Hopefully, we'll see you guys down the road in the near future.
Come back and take the Horizon next season!
Your team came in well prepared and on fire. Well done. Our play-by-play guy thinks you should be able to run the table.
I truly think we spent all our best bullets a month ago and kind of regressed to our mean, as the saying goes.
Folks, it's kinda hard to win when the other team shoots almost 60% from the field and over 50% from beyond the arc.
All through the game, I kept wanting to tell Todd Ickow, you can stop telling us now that so-and-so is not a good FT shooter because that clearly wasn't working either ;)
It was as if our basket was a dixie cup and theirs was the ocean. Not much you can do about that.
What concerns me are thoughts running around my head wondering if the guys were subconsciously setting themselves up to fail because they were bummed about not getting an invite to the NIT. I'll never know, but I can't help but wonder.
*If* that were true, it would be a disconcerting sign for the future.
One thing's for certain: Erik Buggs better develop an outside shot over the summer or he's going to fall down the depth chart. You've got to be able to make the other team guard you. Maybe he just needs to believe in himself.
The low-post double team that worked so well earlier in the season (including the first half of the regular season) turned out to be a gimmick that was very scoutable. Down the stretch it started failing epically.
Then there's Brandon Wood's game tonight, which leaves some unanswered questions heretofore alluded to.
Basically this game came down to who hit their shots and who didn't, and who got the steals and who didn't. The latter is controllable, the former, not so much. I don't think there were a lot of lucky bounces, I just think Iona played with a little more intensity defensively and they were very opportunistic (which was richly rewarded).
23-12 is still a mighty fine record. That and 12-6 in conference are our best yet in the HL. I think it's clear now just how far we still have to climb on this particular mountain, but I see no reason to give up hope for the future. It's still doable.
Quote from: cmack on March 16, 2011, 10:07:55 PM
What a truely fitting end to the season. We again drop the ball when it really counts. I have to ask if something changed in the dynamics of this team at the end. Somehow we became a very different team with 5 games to go. I have no inside info whatsoever. I just feel like for such a promising team to simply bottom out, that maybe something went down late in the season to totally upset the chemistry. There has to be something more than just a good team suddenly becoming a bad team.
As I say, I think we were playing over our heads earlier. However, I would also say that this kind of thing is still a challenge that teams deal with all the time, and some of them deal with it better than we did.
But I also think the rest of the league just caught up with us. We were pretenders, in other words. The postseason posed it's own challenge. You lose your opportunity to go to the Dance, then you wait around hoping and praying you'll go to the NIT (because your coach is the eternal optimist instead of a hard-core realist - did anyone really bank on getting the NIT invite? Not me) -- so much so that your disappointment is too much to recover from.
True? I have no idea. Possible? Perhaps...
Quote from: bbtds on March 16, 2011, 10:03:51 PM
Quote from: vu72 on March 16, 2011, 09:27:41 PM
We will be hard pressed to improve on this year unless we get someone big to help or Vucic or Cam really step it up. Otherwise we will be bombing away with the same result--some great games and others like tonight.
I just don't see how you think Vucic will improve enough to make a real difference. I agree with what another poster said that he will have a career a lot like Calum MacLeod. Tall but no big man skills.
As I have said in the past, unless we can figure out how to recruit some skilled big people, we will be doomed to play people out of position. Cory and Ryan did yeoman service in playing the 5 and 4, but it isn't really fair to expect them (and by extension) the team to excel with them playing out of position as they have the last two years. And you can say that in the past, the Horizon League has been a guard dominated league, but I think that is changing. Unless we figure out why we can't recruit skilled big guys, we will never seriously challenge. I just don't see Cam (after 3 years of decreasing playing time) and Vucic doing this for us. I haven't seen any report that Vucic will be a player. As I observed before, he appears to be a Calum McCloud type - tall but not a contibuter. as I see it, we have one scholarship left for next year. Any hope for a big that can actually contribute?
The secret stash of European 7-footers is gone. And skilled big men are going to go to bigger better programs. I would settle for a muscle-bound, bruising 6-7 power forward if we could get one. I am tired of 6-9, 185lb. power forwards with perimeter shooting skills.
Tonight showed what I have said several times....in the past several weeks, teams have figured out how to play us. Go inside, we can't do much about it if you have good strong men inside, like tonight, or Anthony Hill or Brown from Green Bay, Polka from Loyola. We have to get bigger to make the next step and hopefully we will. If we aren't hitting our outside shots like tonight, we are always going to be in trouble until we get an inside game of some sort. Kudos to Cory and Ryan for the battle they put up all year, but Kevin, Hrvjoe and Cam have to step up next year and give us an inside presence, or we need to get one from a recruit. Whichever, it has to be done to move up.....i loved this team, and loved this season....now we need to use this as a springboard for more.
Quote from: StlVUFan on March 16, 2011, 10:19:12 PMI think it's clear now just how far we still have to climb on this particular mountain, but I see no reason to give up hope for the future. It's still doable.
I have no plans of giving up hope for the future and hopefully no one else will either. I'm going to spend the next 2 weeks relaxing in St. Thomas and put this season in my rear view mirror. Talk to everyone soon.
I have to put a fair amount of the blame for this loss on Homer and the coaching staff. It was clear from the first minute of the game exactly what Iona was doing on defense with Buggs. After it was clear that Erik wasn't able to make them change what they were doing, he should have been yanked from the game and never put back in. Valpo's offense relies a lot on backdoor cuts and with Iona playing a box and 1 and sagging off Buggs it plugged everything up on the inside, preventing us from getting anything in close to the basket. Couple that with terrible outside shooting, which we really would have needed if we were going to beat that defense, and we were doomed.
I heard Bryce talking after the game and he said that Brandon, Ryan and another player were all struggling with illness or injury and had not been able to practise much. I know for a fact that Ryan was really unwell in the last two games of the season and so was going to struggle with energy and fitness for this one. A disappointing end but I am still really proud of the team and also Cory and Ryan for playing out of position in the 4/5 and being up against bigger and stronger bodies as rlh pointed out.
Pictures are now up. I tried to get a few of the seniors. I look forward to getting a few more next season.
http://confessionsofasportsjunkie.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/valparaiso-crusaders-vs-iona-gaels-photo-gallery/ (http://confessionsofasportsjunkie.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/valparaiso-crusaders-vs-iona-gaels-photo-gallery/)
Some nuggets that didn't get into my story from tonight.
* Broekhoff has been very sick and lost 11 pounds during the last night (not all of it from his hair). If you looked at him close enough during the game, you could see that his face had definitely lost some weight. It was noticeable enough for me to ask Homer about it in the postgame and he responded with the 11 pounds.
* We asked Homer about Brandon Wood and why he played so little and Drew responded that Brandon was struggling with a back injury that limited him.
Quote from: koala on March 16, 2011, 10:49:17 PM
I heard Bryce talking after the game and he said that Brandon, Ryan and another player were all struggling with illness or injury and had not been able to practise much. I know for a fact that Ryan was really unwell in the last two games of the season and so was going to struggle with energy and fitness for this one. A disappointing end but I am still really proud of the team and also Cory and Ryan for playing out of position in the 4/5 and being up against bigger and stronger bodies as rlh pointed out.
Homer said that Ryan has lost 11 pounds in the last week. I thought he looked a little emaciated, but didn't realize it was that bad...and Brandon has a back problem and just couldn't get loose. I was hoping that with the time off all that would take care of itself, but apparently not. Not sure how much difference it would have made tonight anyway.
There you go and that is why Ryan also struggled in the last two games of the season as well he has been one sick young man and what a shame Brandon was not 100% either. Sure does make sense now why they were down and why Ryan's shots kept falling short. Shows great courage that they even played tonight.
QuoteThe secret stash of European 7-footers is gone. And skilled big men are going to go to bigger better programs. I would settle for a muscle-bound, bruising 6-7 power forward if we could get one. I am tired of 6-9, 185lb. power forwards with perimeter shooting skills.
I agree. Milos aka "the marshmallow beast" turned out to be soft and Cory was often undersized. We need a guy like Glover from Iona. Or someone like J'Nathan Bullock. I was hoping Richie Edwards was going to be that guy, but apparently that's not really his game.
I hope that he gets better. I wondered what was going on because he just did not look the same.
Quote from: koala on March 16, 2011, 11:11:15 PM
There you go and that is why Ryan also struggled in the last two games of the season as well he has been one sick young man and what a shame Brandon was not 100% either. Sure does make sense now why they were down and why Ryan's shots kept falling short. Shows great courage that they even played tonight.
I also noticed Ryan looked thin last night, and I commented on it at the game. However, Iona's players at all five positions appeared noticeably much stronger and a lot more muscular. I hope our team looks at photos from the game and takes away the lesson that it needs to spend a great deal of time the next six months in the weight room.
Quote from: csd72 on March 17, 2011, 12:29:17 AM
I hope that he gets better. I wondered what was going on because he just did not look the same.
Quote from: koala on March 16, 2011, 11:11:15 PM
There you go and that is why Ryan also struggled in the last two games of the season as well he has been one sick young man and what a shame Brandon was not 100% either. Sure does make sense now why they were down and why Ryan's shots kept falling short. Shows great courage that they even played tonight.
Quote from: cmack on March 16, 2011, 10:29:22 PM
The secret stash of European 7-footers is gone. And skilled big men are going to go to bigger better programs. I would settle for a muscle-bound, bruising 6-7 power forward if we could get one. I am tired of 6-9, 185lb. power forwards with perimeter shooting skills.
And yet, other schools in the Horizon League seem to be able to find true bigs that can play. Ours seem to wash out like Arden, Brian (the head case)Calum, Cam (though I really thought he might develop based on his Freshman year) and now maybe Vucic. What is wrong with our recruiting? Do we have a problem evaluating bigs, or do we just have to settle for the tallest guys we can find & cross our fingers that they might someday develop a low post game? We have to fix this.
I think we're spending more time than necessary looking for solid point and shooting guards, with the occasional true forward. Sadlly, when we're trying to find big men, we're finding what can get to fill out the roster, instead of something that can help almost immediately. Most of the big men we've found are projects at best, and they've picked pine on the bench, or flamed out, and left... if they even got to VU at all. I'm getting tired of our recruiting to the 5 years ago Horizon League that was guard-centric. Now we need to be focusing on what Valpo needs to compete, not what the league determines is the game. Get some bigs that are physical, and go hard to the basket, not soft and fading away from the rim. Also, I don't want to our 4 or 5 shooting from 19 feet out. I want them inside commanding the paint, posting up for those cheap lay-ups that get us free throws, and confident free throw shooters come from that. Our soft play inside led to many of the mistakes that cost us games.
Will there be any video footage of the press conference?
Quote from: nkvu on March 16, 2011, 09:14:57 PM
Sad. Truely a sad end to the season. Glad it wasn't in the NIT on National TV. I think now we really overachieved during most of the season and only played to our true level at the end. Iona has given the Horizon League a blueprint on how to play us next year. Sag off ten feet on Buggs and make us play 4 on 5 on offense. And unless we can dig up a true 5 with some skills, we will not be able to compete as we cannot shoot the 3 as a team consistantly enough to make up for it over the course of a season.
Sad thing is, it's no different if Kurth plays. Not being able to shoot and refusing to shoot are the same thing in my book. Let's hope Jay Harris has a breakout year and BWood stays.
Quote from: milanmiracle on March 17, 2011, 11:16:39 AM
Quote from: nkvu on March 16, 2011, 09:14:57 PM
Sad. Truely a sad end to the season. Glad it wasn't in the NIT on National TV. I think now we really overachieved during most of the season and only played to our true level at the end. Iona has given the Horizon League a blueprint on how to play us next year. Sag off ten feet on Buggs and make us play 4 on 5 on offense. And unless we can dig up a true 5 with some skills, we will not be able to compete as we cannot shoot the 3 as a team consistantly enough to make up for it over the course of a season.
Sad thing is, it's no different if Kurth plays. Not being able to shoot and refusing to shoot are the same thing in my book. Let's hope Jay Harris has a breakout year and BWood stays.
I think some of you might be overlooking just how exceptional our guard play could be next year. I'm looking foreward to Kurth returning to play along with Boggs. Given that and Matt, Brandon and a larger, more mature Jay you are as guard rich as anybody. I beleive that Erik will be assigned a Jarryd Loyd role (come off the bench- create turnovers- drive the lane). Even in that role it is critical that Erik improve both his 3-point and free throw shooting. If he does not his minutes should drop dramatically.
Quote from: Valpo89 on March 14, 2011, 08:35:11 AM
For anyone old enough to remember the movie "Meatballs" with Bill Murray, CIT reminds me of this song:
We are the C.I.T.s so pity us. / The kids are brats; the food is hideous. / We're gonna smoke and drink and fool around. / We're nookie-bound!... / We are the North Star C.I.T.s!
I just couldn't get this line out of my mind, so I looked it up on YouTube. Enjoy! It's better than last night's game. :)
Meatballs Final campfire (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4N66sWvZiQ#)
Quote from: justducky on March 17, 2011, 12:14:08 PM
Quote from: milanmiracle on March 17, 2011, 11:16:39 AM
Quote from: nkvu on March 16, 2011, 09:14:57 PM
Sad. Truely a sad end to the season. Glad it wasn't in the NIT on National TV. I think now we really overachieved during most of the season and only played to our true level at the end. Iona has given the Horizon League a blueprint on how to play us next year. Sag off ten feet on Buggs and make us play 4 on 5 on offense. And unless we can dig up a true 5 with some skills, we will not be able to compete as we cannot shoot the 3 as a team consistantly enough to make up for it over the course of a season.
Sad thing is, it's no different if Kurth plays. Not being able to shoot and refusing to shoot are the same thing in my book. Let's hope Jay Harris has a breakout year and BWood stays.
I think some of you might be overlooking just how exceptional our guard play could be next year. I'm looking foreward to Kurth returning to play along with Boggs. Given that and Matt, Brandon and a larger, more mature Jay you are as guard rich as anybody. I beleive that Erik will be assigned a Jarryd Loyd role (come off the bench- create turnovers- drive the lane). Even in that role it is critical that Erik improve both his 3-point and free throw shooting. If he does not his minutes should drop dramatically.
This is probably a whole different topic in and of itself, so I'll make my rundown breif.
BWood - Just the fact that he's thinking about leaving early tells you how good he really is.
Harris - A true freshman who can shoot and pass. Can get flustered at times, but isn't afraid to take shots. Needs to improve game management and shot selection. Should improve with a year of experience.
Buggs - Great defender, can't shoot to save his life. Still has moments of...I drove the lane, now what do I do?
Kenney - Has plenty of skills, but is still trying to find his niche on the team. 3 pt shooting dropped off dramatically.
Kurth - Doesn't turn the ball over, but doesn't create, refuses to shoot and is an even bigger liability on offense than Buggs. Solid defender.
disappointing loss.
Iona was tough. They did a great job and I think they will probably win this.
I don't think our guys ever recovered from the 2 road losses. Yes we had injuries, illness, long end of season with no rest, etc etc., but mentally I think they quit after that.
Wish the best to all the seniors and Brandon who will probably leave if he gets the opportunity. Hope to see some new blood and hope the returning guys can shrug this off and break some of those records next year.
A couple of quick observations. As I watched the game last night, it just looked like the team was lacking in energy. As Iona couldn't miss, maybe when they hit those shot it just took the wind out of our sails.
Also, as Brandon Wood goes, so goes the team in most cases. (He's our best offensive player, so this is not a criticism -- if anyone shuts down the opposition's best player, their chances are pretty good of winning.) The numbers: Wood had 8 games this season in single digits -- Valpo was 3-5 in those games. He had 5 games where he shot <30% from the field, and Valpo was 1-4. (The team when 1-1 when he didn't play -- the costly loss to UWGB at the ARC was one of those.) Last night, Wood was 3-10 and had 7 total points, and Iona was really hitting shots.
Hey, all in all, if we would have said that the team would go 12-6 in conference and win 23 games for the year, most of us would have been pleased with that outcome. It was a fun season. Hope Brandon stays -- this team could be really good next year.
Yes, it was a disappointing loss. If we hit our 3's and FT's more like our average, and defended their 3's closer to our average, it would have been a close game.
All in all, it was a good season. The games since the Missouri St. win have been disappointing - possibly because of higher expectations after our games up to the Missouri St. game. Top 4 in conference and 23 wins is a very good season. Even though we are losing some key members of the team, things are looking good for next season.
Quote from: valporun on March 17, 2011, 10:15:18 AM
I think we're spending more time than necessary looking for solid point and shooting guards, with the occasional true forward. Sadlly, when we're trying to find big men, we're finding what can get to fill out the roster, instead of something that can help almost immediately. Most of the big men we've found are projects at best, and they've picked pine on the bench, or flamed out, and left... if they even got to VU at all. I'm getting tired of our recruiting to the 5 years ago Horizon League that was guard-centric. Now we need to be focusing on what Valpo needs to compete, not what the league determines is the game. Get some bigs that are physical, and go hard to the basket, not soft and fading away from the rim. Also, I don't want to our 4 or 5 shooting from 19 feet out. I want them inside commanding the paint, posting up for those cheap lay-ups that get us free throws, and confident free throw shooters come from that. Our soft play inside led to many of the mistakes that cost us games.
So you don't think Homer, bryce et al are trying to recruit bigs that are physical and go hard to the rim?? Do you think the coaches are retarded? The fact is that for every D1 big there are about 200 D1 guards. We take "projects" because we have to hope they develope because they aren't lined up to play at Valpo. We get a Bouchie and he turns out to be a nut case. Occasionally we get a Urule or Cory and frankly we never tried to get the kid from Green Bay who we probably could have gotten.
We, and the coaches, all understand what we need. If you know any bigs who would be of interest to Valpo make sure you call Luke Gore.
We need to cut loose the projects and the raw players. Valpo is simply not a place that develops raw talent. They leave as they come in. Grabbing the tallest flagpole we can find and trying to develop him is a waste of a scholarship. I am sure Vucic is a nice kid, but he is not a basketball player and never will be.
Apparently some think that recruiting is easy. Just tell a big guy we want him, and he comes....remember there are a lot of colleges looking for these guys and they have their choice of schools. Purdue is a perfect example of how you hope you're right even at a big school, and sometimes you miss. Their three bigs behind Jujuan Johnson are still developing, but are certainly not there yet. I promise you that Homer, Bryce, Luke, Chris, Jake and anyone else involved is looking bigs that can play. The problem is getting them. If they are already developed, our chance of getting them away from a larger schools isn't that good.
Down the block from an apt in Manhattan where I spent a lot of time some years back was a bb court that always seemed packed with kids playing HORSE, 3 on 3, or just slamming the ball--and each other--around. Tough guys, aggressive. Diving, driving. And there are corner courts like that all over the city.
Four of the five starters from Iona were from four boroughs of NY, and the fifth was from Newark, a similar environment. As I watched their style of play last night, I could imagine every one of them learning the game like that, in their own neighborhoods. Keep playing that way and they'll go far.
On bigs, it is a weak argument to say we haven't developed bigs. Chris Ensminger was a rail thin freshman who became a double-double machine, Joachim Gomes was terribly raw when he started at Valpo and left a hugely improved and stronger power forward and is an Olympic player today. Bouchie had huge upside had he stayed. Grafs and Viscovic and Tony V all became power bigs. Kenny Harris was improving and getting stronger. Our big issues started with the unfortunate health issues of Kenny, Bouchie would have solved that but left early. You don't just find 6'8" power guys in abundance. And, we recruit bigs all the time. We have had decent 7 footers come in for visits, but they pick other schools. We had a nice power guy potential transfer look seriously at us, but he picked elsewhere a couple years ago. We also had the big last year who bolted (good bad or indifferent). Biefeldt would really be a good get, so there's another power guy who we are recruiting. But suddenly Beilein sees who we are recruiting and now Michigan is recruiting him plus the Illinois situation so blame that on our coaches too. And Vucic will be better next year.
Second, this team didn't quit. They hustled and played hard the end of the season just like the first 26 games. They were gassed mentally and physically and were a step slow. Not from effort but because the step wasn't there. (I'm surprised we haven't discussed whether the early trip ultimately was good or a detriment later in the season). Harris hit the freshman wall but actually looked like the freshest v Iona. Little also looked fresher and was beating people to the hole. This team relied on being quicker. When Kenney went down again after the 2d Butler game, minutes piled up on a thin guard group, and Kenney wasn't as aggressive when he came back. He looked healthier but still not quite there. It is disappointing because of what might have been, but saying this team quit or wasn't playing hard are weak arguments. Putting yourself in holes early in games was a huge problem. That also takes its toll. This team still scrambled back to within 8 at the end against Iona after being down 17. That's not quitting. We've gone from 8 wins to 23 in 2 years, yeah these guys can't play or coach. (For rlh and stl, sarcasm clearly intended).
I'm disappointed about the season, but those players and coaches are also disappointed much more than you can imagine and much more so than some of the more biting critics on here. And look, criticism and analysis is fine and a spirited debate is great, and there is some tough analysis that can be brought to some games. But bring facts, examples and data too. Maybe all the situations around the world have made the commentary on here and other teams' boards and media sites more acerbic. But you know what, Valpo also teaches us and Homer is really good at teaching this too that Basketball or your job is not the most important thing in life -- your relationship with Christ is. And whether you win or lose a game, a promotion, a job, Christ is there always and forever. And, we should be very proud of this group for on and off the court behavior. There's no issues in the locker room. This was a great "team" and family. This past week's events in Japan and the other crises around the world bring that home. Not to get all preachy (it is a Lutheran school first and foremost), there is a bigger picture and our STUDENT-athletes get it, our coaches get it. Read the article about Cory again, read quotes from Jake or talk to him. Sparks is another example or Tonagel or JHawk. Talk to former players. Listen to Arden's music.
Quote from: valpo84 on March 17, 2011, 10:27:17 PM
On bigs, it is a weak argument to say we haven't developed bigs. Chris Ensminger was a rail thin freshman who became a double-double machine, Joachim Gomes was terribly raw when he started at Valpo and left a hugely improved and stronger power forward and is an Olympic player today. Bouchie had huge upside had he stayed. Grafs and Viscovic and Tony V all became power bigs. Kenny Harris was improving and getting stronger. Our big issues started with the unfortunate health issues of Kenny, Bouchie would have solved that but left early. You don't just find 6'8" power guys in abundance. And, we recruit bigs all the time. We have had decent 7 footers come in for visits, but they pick other schools. We had a nice power guy potential transfer look seriously at us, but he picked elsewhere a couple years ago. We also had the big last year who bolted (good bad or indifferent). Biefeldt would really be a good get, so there's another power guy who we are recruiting. But suddenly Beilein sees who we are recruiting and now Michigan is recruiting him plus the Illinois situation so blame that on our coaches too. And Vucic will be better next year.
Second, this team didn't quit. They hustled and played hard the end of the season just like the first 26 games. They were gassed mentally and physically and were a step slow. Not from effort but because the step wasn't there. (I'm surprised we haven't discussed whether the early trip ultimately was good or a detriment later in the season). Harris hit the freshman wall but actually looked like the freshest v Iona. Little also looked fresher and was beating people to the hole. This team relied on being quicker. When Kenney went down again after the 2d Butler game, minutes piled up on a thin guard group, and Kenney wasn't as aggressive when he came back. He looked healthier but still not quite there. It is disappointing because of what might have been, but saying this team quit or wasn't playing hard are weak arguments. Putting yourself in holes early in games was a huge problem. That also takes its toll. This team still scrambled back to within 8 at the end against Iona after being down 17. That's not quitting. We've gone from 8 wins to 23 in 2 years, yeah these guys can't play or coach. (For rlh and stl, sarcasm clearly intended).
I'm disappointed about the season, but those players and coaches are also disappointed much more than you can imagine and much more so than some of the more biting critics on here. And look, criticism and analysis is fine and a spirited debate is great, and there is some tough analysis that can be brought to some games. But bring facts, examples and data too. Maybe all the situations around the world have made the commentary on here and other teams' boards and media sites more acerbic. But you know what, Valpo also teaches us and Homer is really good at teaching this too that Basketball or your job is not the most important thing in life -- your relationship with Christ is. And whether you win or lose a game, a promotion, a job, Christ is there always and forever. And, we should be very proud of this group for on and off the court behavior. There's no issues in the locker room. This was a great "team" and family. This past week's events in Japan and the other crises around the world bring that home. Not to get all preachy (it is a Lutheran school first and foremost), there is a bigger picture and our STUDENT-athletes get it, our coaches get it. Read the article about Cory again, read quotes from Jake or talk to him. Sparks is another example or Tonagel or JHawk. Talk to former players. Listen to Arden's music.
Not sure what you meant by pointing out StL and I, but we have never been negative about this team. We've even been accussed of being too positive. I agree with just about everything you said and I'm sure StL does also. I believe you will notice that I posted how much I loved this team and enjoyed watching them play. Not sure what else is to be said.
Quote from: valpo84 on March 17, 2011, 10:27:17 PM
On bigs, it is a weak argument to say we haven't developed bigs. Chris Ensminger was a rail thin freshman who became a double-double machine, Joachim Gomes was terribly raw when he started at Valpo and left a hugely improved and stronger power forward and is an Olympic player today. Bouchie had huge upside had he stayed. Grafs and Viscovic and Tony V all became power bigs. Kenny Harris was improving and getting stronger. Our big issues started with the unfortunate health issues of Kenny, Bouchie would have solved that but left early. You don't just find 6'8" power guys in abundance. And, we recruit bigs all the time. We have had decent 7 footers come in for visits, but they pick other schools. We had a nice power guy potential transfer look seriously at us, but he picked elsewhere a couple years ago. We also had the big last year who bolted (good bad or indifferent). Biefeldt would really be a good get, so there's another power guy who we are recruiting. But suddenly Beilein sees who we are recruiting and now Michigan is recruiting him plus the Illinois situation so blame that on our coaches too. And Vucic will be better next year.
So Ensminger lifted some weights, okay if that counts as development. Gomes did get marginally better by then end after 3 years of cringing every time he touched the ball so I will give you that one. Bouchie had upside if he would have stayed--I am not sure how this means we developed his talent. Zoran and Raitis were talented players from the beginning. The walked in the door as strong players. Tony V was just a big bruiser who wasn't really good at basketball but damn he was intimidating. I would take him back in a heartbeat. Kenny Harris may have developed but I was pretty nervous that he was just an oversized high school player in a Valpo uniform.
I never accused us of not recruiting talented big men. I just don't think we ever win the prize. We get beat out by bigger schools everytime except for the occasional european.
And if Vucic makes even a mild impact on one game in his Valpo career, I will have myself a flying pig as a pet.
Quote from: cmack on March 17, 2011, 06:07:40 PM
We need to cut loose the projects and the raw players. Valpo is simply not a place that develops raw talent. They leave as they come in. Grabbing the tallest flagpole we can find and trying to develop him is a waste of a scholarship. I am sure Vucic is a nice kid, but he is not a basketball player and never will be.
Guess I missed the point of your post when you say "simply not a place that develops raw talent. They leave as they come in." And, as to Ensminger, there probably would have been a post that read like this when he was signed "Why are we signing a 6'10" flagpole who shoots from the outside. Sure he scored a bunch his senior year of HS, but he's a project and will never be an impact player." Or from his freshman year, "man, Ensminger is gauky and has no post presence. Somebody put him on the Steak n Shake diet. He needs to find the weight room. Will he ever contribute more than a couple boards and points a game." Or finally senior year, "Chris is not quick enough for the teams we're playing. 15 points and 11 rebounds a game are nice, but there's nights he needs to dominate more." Sorry, had to have a little fun there. And I think there was a Board or chat room during Gomes' years and it was not pretty, but he learned his body and listened to coaching. Zoran and Raitis were more skilled coming in and no one had heard of Latvia and Eastern Europe yet. But Grafs was not filled out and probably was described as Euro-soft his ffirst couple years.
We are always going to struggle to get the prized big man. The best big men are now 1 and done at the top schools (think the line of bigs at Ohio State the past few years -- Greg Oden, Koufos, Sullinger) or 2 and out at the next tier (maybe Perry Jones although more 1 and done). Hence the big schools need to stock pile and replenish every year. And, the mid-majors will fight over the scraps. UNC-A had a nice center the other night, DJ Cunningham, how did he get out of SE Ohio with 10 D1 schools in the state? Maybe he likes the mountains? It's not because no one had seen him. I don't disagree with you if the premise is it's tough to find and get bigs. And, I think next year Vucic will be much better and be a serviceable back up center his senior year. We'll go nose to tail on that pig if he is.
For rlh, the note on sarcasm was to help you know that my comment about the coaches and players was not to be taken at face value. There tends to be some confusion on this board from time to time about whether people are using sarcasm and whether it is properly recognized. In this case, it was to to designate that I (not you or STL) was not saying that the players couldn't play or the coaches couldn't coach and to avoid going down a rabbit hole on that topic (as you pointed out - "not sure what else is to be said." To be clear, I have generally agreed with your assessment of this year's team.
Before I bruise the horse, we aren't the only team that has this issue. I mentioned Cunningham in my last post. A quick google found out Wright State had recruited him and offered. I'm sure it's a long story, but they have resurrected the topic this week with Cunningham's NCAA appearance for UNCA. The specific criticisms could have been cut and pasted to the post above and they had me chuckling. And, I swear I wrote the above post before googling. By the way, Brownell is doing a good job building a program down at Clemson. Although they lost yesterday, they won the first game and are starting to show some toughness that prior Clemson teams lacked, especially in the tourney.
http://raiderroundball.yuku.com/topic/2557 (http://raiderroundball.yuku.com/topic/2557)
Quote from: valpo84 on March 18, 2011, 05:13:52 AM
For rlh, the note on sarcasm was to help you know that my comment about the coaches and players was not to be taken at face value. There tends to be some confusion on this board from time to time about whether people are using sarcasm and whether it is properly recognized. In this case, it was to to designate that I (not you or STL) was not saying that the players couldn't play or the coaches couldn't coach and to avoid going down a rabbit hole on that topic (as you pointed out - "not sure what else is to be said." To be clear, I have generally agreed with your assessment of this year's team.
I took it as simply a signal to make sure I knew you were joking with that final comment about our coaches not being able to coach. Honestly, you needn't have worried. As I read it, I could tell anyway.
I have gotten into the habit of writing the way I speak out loud and even picturing myself doing so (comes from writing sermons from time to time), and the phrasing you used immediately struck me as the kind of biting sarcasm one makes at the end of a pointed rant. It was recognizable.
And I appreciate your take on this stuff. Knocking Homer for failing to develop bigs is a bit like knocking the dog for settling for scraps that fall from the master's table ;)
we need an Eli Holman(detroit), Andrew Smith(butler), Anthony Hill(milw), Alec Brown(GB), Andy Polka(loyola), Paul Carter(UIC), type player. PERIOD
And believe me, the staff is working VERY hard to find one.
Quote from: crusaderdad on March 18, 2011, 08:53:48 AM
we need an Eli Holman(detroit), Andrew Smith(butler), Anthony Hill(milw), Alec Brown(GB), Andy Polka(loyola), Paul Carter(UIC), type player. PERIOD
And believe me, the staff is working VERY hard to find one.
I agree, but Paul Carter and Eli Holman are only at Horizon League schools due to extenuating circumstances. Both were recruited to Big Ten schools (Minnesota and Indiana respectively).
Quote from: crusaderdad on March 18, 2011, 08:53:48 AM
we need an Eli Holman(detroit), Andrew Smith(butler), Anthony Hill(milw), Alec Brown(GB), Andy Polka(loyola), Paul Carter(UIC), type player. PERIOD
And believe me, the staff is working VERY hard to find one.
Heck, I'd settle for Matt Howard!!!
+1
Okay, I have no idea how accurate Scout.com is, but they had Matt Howard as being offered by Valpo, Xavier, West Virginia, and Miami (OH). That's hardly flying under the radar.
http://notredame.scout.com/a.z?s=109&p=9&c=2&cid=557468&nid=1936664&fhn=1&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fnotredame.scout.com%2fa.z%3fs%3d109%26p%3d9%26c%3d2%26cid%3d557468%26nid%3d1936664%26fhn%3d1 (http://notredame.scout.com/a.z?s=109&p=9&c=2&cid=557468&nid=1936664&fhn=1&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fnotredame.scout.com%2fa.z%3fs%3d109%26p%3d9%26c%3d2%26cid%3d557468%26nid%3d1936664%26fhn%3d1)
Andrew Smith would be a better under the radar example. I'd take him in a heartbeat too.
Quote from: milanmiracle on March 18, 2011, 09:31:11 PM
Okay, I have no idea how accurate Scout.com is, but they had Matt Howard as being offered by Valpo, Xavier, West Virginia, and Miami (OH). That's hardly flying under the radar.
http://notredame.scout.com/a.z?s=109&p=9&c=2&cid=557468&nid=1936664&fhn=1&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fnotredame.scout.com%2fa.z%3fs%3d109%26p%3d9%26c%3d2%26cid%3d557468%26nid%3d1936664%26fhn%3d1 (http://notredame.scout.com/a.z?s=109&p=9&c=2&cid=557468&nid=1936664&fhn=1&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fnotredame.scout.com%2fa.z%3fs%3d109%26p%3d9%26c%3d2%26cid%3d557468%26nid%3d1936664%26fhn%3d1)
Andrew Smith would be a better under the radar example. I'd take him in a heartbeat too.
Actually, I'm pretty sure Purdue really wanted Howard but didn't have a scholarship for him because that was the Moore, Hummel, Martin, Johnson recruiting class.
Yep, Scott Martin committed to Purdue for the last slot in that recruiting class. He said yes before Howard. RLH may be able to back me up on that one.
That's the story I heard too...so I don't doubt it was true. As I understand it, Scott's parents wanted him to go to Notre Dame all along. Not sure why he went to Purdue first, unless it was because of Robbie, although both have said it had nothing to do with the other going there
There was a story on Notre Dame's Scott Martin in Sunday's Indy Star talking about his decision to leave Purdue for ND and relating it to the possibility of a Purdue/Notre Dame match up in the NCAA tourney. Of course that will never happen at least this year.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103200380 (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103200380)
Wasn't that a sad picture of Rob Hummel crying at the end of the Purdue/VCU game?
Just for the record Iona's in the CIT final tonight. That is a fact not hot air .
my wife works on campus and brought home The Torch today. Nice letter to the editor by Paul Oren, not sure if Paul is on here or not, but he called out the students for their lack of support of the team not only in the Iona game but also the games against Loyola and Green Bay. It is sad that it takes bribes from the athletic department to get a small section of seats set aside for the students (who get in for FREE) to come out to a game.
Quote from: sectionee on March 28, 2011, 09:39:10 PM
my wife works on campus and brought home The Torch today. Nice letter to the editor by Paul Oren, not sure if Paul is on here or not, but he called out the students for their lack of support of the team not only in the Iona game but also the games against Loyola and Green Bay. It is sad that it takes bribes from the athletic department to get a small section of seats set aside for the students (who get in for FREE) to come out to a game.
Maybe we should give them more. Free parking, more giveaways, maybe a guest coach every quarter. -Geno Auriemma
I hate how the bad apples and fair weather fans draw the attention away from the students that deserve some kudos for their support. There was a dedicated group at the front of students that weren't just there because it was a big game. They weren't just there because Mom and Dad could see them on the ESPN or for the free pizza and doughnuts. They were there every night. Took the bus to Milwaukee in February. Went back again for the Tournament. I was proud to stand next to them at a lot of the games this year, even Iona and Green Bay, the latter with only about 20 students showing up. Before we continue to harp where harping is needed,
let's applaud those fans that did make the commitment because they genuinely care about Valpo basketball... :clap:
kudos to you and your buddies down there! I don't know who the kid in the orange shirt is, but that dude has some team spirit and a healthy set of lungs! My son kept wanting to go down there and dress up with all of them, but alas, he is only 4. Next year we need each of you to bring about 10 friends, then have those friends bring 10 more to the next game.
Quote from: VUfan on March 28, 2011, 08:21:38 PM
Just for the record Iona's in the CIT final tonight. That is a fact not hot air .
Looks like Iona lost to Santa Clara in the CIT final. What that says to me is that no one really cares about the CIT, or others would have commented more about it. Second, Iona was one of the better teams in the CIT. So perhaps our dear Crusaders ended up being closer to a meaningful post season that we might have thought.
Quote from: valpo95 on April 03, 2011, 06:29:38 PM
Quote from: VUfan on March 28, 2011, 08:21:38 PM
Just for the record Iona's in the CIT final tonight. That is a fact not hot air .
Looks like Iona lost to Santa Clara in the CIT final. What that says to me is that no one really cares about the CIT, or others would have commented more about it. Second, Iona was one of the better teams in the CIT. So perhaps our dear Crusaders ended up being closer to a meaningful post season that we might have thought.
I saw that the other day but didn't know anyone cared...and Iona was the second seed in the tourney, Valpo was the third
I can share my perspective on caring/not caring about the CIT, since I was just thinking about this the other day.
The NCAA tourney is the only postseason tourney that I will follow even if HL entry(s) are eliminated -- as long as there's at least one mid-major still in it.
With the NIT, the only time I remember caring after all HL reps were eliminated was a couple of years ago when Baylor made their run to the championship game.
With the CBI in 2008 and the CIT this year, as soon as Valpo was eliminated, I stopped caring.
Don't know why, but that's the way it's been for me.
Quote from: StlVUFan on April 03, 2011, 09:54:11 PM
I can share my perspective on caring/not caring about the CIT, since I was just thinking about this the other day.
The NCAA tourney is the only postseason tourney that I will follow even if HL entry(s) are eliminated -- as long as there's at least one mid-major still in it.
With the NIT, the only time I remember caring after all HL reps were eliminated was a couple of years ago when Baylor made their run to the championship game.
With the CBI in 2008 and the CIT this year, as soon as Valpo was eliminated, I stopped caring.
Don't know why, but that's the way it's been for me.
in defense of the nit, a mid-major did knock off a bcs school in the championship. kudos to wichita state!