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His game is negated a bit by a roster without a lot of shot makers.

BIG understatement! Huge! I doubt that we will fully appreciate his improvements until our 24-25 team takes the floor in November.

Darius had only one turnover in the final 19 minutes of the game and for the two minutes in the first half when he sat and Jahari ran the point we turned it over three times in a row without getting a shot off. Darius helped key the rally finding good shots for others and scoring himself but it's tough for anyone to play 35-38 minutes per game, be the primary ball handler and decision maker on virtually every possession and defend the point. Unfortunately it appears Rev has no other options at the point. Darius certainly could be a better finisher but he's been more assertive calling his own number lately and the results are coming albeit maybe not as fast as we would like but coming. There are other reasons why we are not winning. On another note, I think our shot selection and sharing of the ball is improving and it may be because Stafford was out with an injury. Weatherspoon and sometimes Edwards can struggle with shot selection and time and score decisions. I have faith in Rev.

Deaveiro easily leads the team in minutes played with 432. 73 assists vs 36 TO's is still a solid ratio especially considering he is point captain of a fast paced and frequently pressed offense which features no recognizable inside threats and weak outside shooting to boot. I am really looking forward to his senior year of directing a more broadly talented and mature group as he simultaneously teaches Justus McNair the ropes and pitfalls of MVC point play.

Roundabout I think I just said that Darius will be the one senior who I don't want to lose and despite his slow development I'll give a belated thanks to Matt and his bunch for signing him.    WOW!  I never thought I would say that.

The process is slow and uneven but we seem to be inching our way along!

According to Roger, the staff are gonna pound the transfer portal going after some "dudes" to complement the underclass core.

Upcoming conference play should be entertaining and I'm already getting excited about the 24-25 season.

If they want to continue playing, put your name in the transfer portal. Truthfully, I highly doubt anyone in the country will bite,

If Conner gets healthy and back in shape he might draw a bit of interest. Never say never but it is harder for me to imagine Palm continuing in D-1 basketball.

I thought that Coach Powell had a young team ready, for the most part, to break the Samford press.

Our ball handling was good against an excellent full and half court defense!    BUT!!  We played 40 minutes with no true center scoring threat. AND!!  WE couldn't stretch their half court defense because we have too few experienced and confident players who who can even hit open 3's let alone those which are highly contested.

There is a lot of high upside young talent, but this Team has some glaring roster construction needs that the staff didn't have adequate time to recruit for in the offseason...

Sad but true.

I've mentioned is before but I wouldn't mind if Palm and Barrett didn't use their final year of eligibility at Valpo... sounds harsh but we could really use those scholarships elsewhere

Also sad but true! Even with good health and average year to year development their just isn't much program upside to seeing either return for 24-25. Lastly but obviously, these two are not great fits for the Roger Powell style of play.

the Palm exit.

Jerome played his way to the end of the bench under Lottich and he appears to be doing the same thing under Powell. Lets at least give him an A for consistency.

Just realized that this game is tomorrow and that I should be able to attend.    Heck, I haven't even found the time yet to watch the Chicago St loss.

This team is young and completely inexperienced.  I really enjoy watching this team and I'm not giving up on them.  They are getting beat up and going thru growing pains.   They have to be one of the youngest teams in D1.

You can see the talent is there and they are being thrown into the fire as freshman and sophomores. 

I truly enjoy watching this team, more than any valpo teams in the last 5 years.   

Agreed. This season is nothing more than a dress rehearsal for next year. In the meantime it's fun to watch this young group buying into the process and working their tales off.

Totally agree with every word quoted above! Double thumbs up to Chairback and wh     

Fun game to watch.  Whatever our game plan was I think it needs revision!

I had high hopes for year one of the Powell era 

The question for you would be why? What was there that would give anyone high hopes for year one. The recruits were a bag of no names and lower level guys. There was hope that maybe one or two of them could play. Beyond that it was hopefully that the culture and effort on the floor will have changed over the last few years. It appears the effort is there but the roster is lacking.

It was always going to take a few years to turn it around.

My expectations were modest so I don't view us as being far off track. Best case with a near total healthy team I was thinking a handful of OOC wins, maybe another 5 in Valley play resulting in an ending NET near 230. With a total rebuild youth project MVC team, those results could be pretty respectable. Despite our struggles to compete with bad OOC teams both player and team developments are happening and that will eventually get us where we want to go.

No promises but I'll try to make it to the Chicago St game. It could be a good one!

Maybe Lual will be the big we are looking
for?

Our luck with project centers and injury prone players has not been great. If healthy how long will it take him to mature into an impact player? Will his recovery and maturity match with our other competitive timetables? As scholarships become available where will Roger focus?

Just checked our stats and DeAverio easily leads his teammates in minutes played. He doesn't have a great shooting % but is 8 of 23 from 3 and has retained his solid assist to turnover ratio with 51 vs 23. He may be our biggest surprise of the season.

Can we assume that Williamson will return for Sat? We may need the added depth. At home this is a game we could win. It is also a game that might test our open floor fast paced strategy. Seems like this could be a good test both for our players and for our coaching staff scouting and game planning.

In recent years our most successful backup small center was Jubril Adekoya. There seems to be some similarities between Sepp and Adekoya in their offensive and defensive play near the basket. Away from the basket Jubril could either attack with his dribble penetration or back a smaller defender down while also being a big threat from 3 point range. Obviously Sepp is well taught but far from having reached his full potential. How good will he get and what will be his future role in the fast paced Powell offense?

Schwieger has completely disappeared. Explanations?

Sepp put up a few points but his court movement is that of a 6-10/6-11 player and not one who is 6-7.

He has demonstrated what he can do with few major flaws in his freshman game but does he have any 3 point shot? If he could hit 30% from 3 his value to the team would explode upward.

We are down big while playing hard and defending pretty well. That describes where we are at and I guess I'm OK with it.

I have no problems with us using that last scholarship if we could pick up a proper fit, high impact player. I think the Rev would be as selective as they come in sorting out the details and their long term benefits or risks to the rebuilding program.

As long as the Rev doesn't let him come in and say "I will dominate the Missouri Valley" shades of Mo Kone.

My memories of Mo Kone dominance are a little thin. 

To be fair we don't have a deep bench and while others were not playing great Sciarroni was on the court excited to play and was pretty active on defense;

He may have been active on defense but I double checked the stat sheet and didn't find any interceptions or solo tackles.

There was a story about Bryce and Powell pushing to have Nick Davidson transfer back in the day.

Different era but if Roger had Nick on the bench tonight he might have played 25+ minutes. We were really, really bad for that first 25 minutes and Davidson would have been an improvement.

If the right transfer fell our way for second semester it looks like it could still be done. Obviously for 24-25, McNair would then remain in and someone would need to go. We will likely lose one or more voluntarily but if not they are not renewed automatically from one season to the next. Roger had to throw this team together very quickly and in the process several Lottich players just stepped to the sidelines. I doubt that the same implied moral obligation that pressured Bryce not to bump still applies in the reshuffled world of every man for himself impulse transfers.

Several games straight I've experienced 2nd half ESPN+ problems. Is it just my system or have any of you had issues?

I'm not pleased with our play but I'm not overly disappointed either. I expect we will have a lot of results like this in the next 2 months. Sepp played like someone who has the potential to contribute but it is too early for me to foresee his defensive and scoring roles. Edwards looks like the leader for 3'rd option scorer but he hasn't grabbed that honor yet and I am somewhat uncertain if he ever will. Unfortunate but given our roster, inexperience and injuries I don't see any easy answers to our problems but time and muted expectations should help Roger and the staff find solutions.

I'm not convinced you can play players at that pace for 40 minutes without less minutes and a deeper rotation. 

This relates to a question I raised before the start of the season, and I have never heard adequately resolved. I liked Coach Powell's idea of an up-tempo game plan, but it appeared this strategy would be more difficult when the action became limited to fewer participants, mostly due to injuries and a decision to redshirt Scroggins. The team has now been restricted in the last three games to an 8-player rotation, including a number of freshmen who have yet to fully build Division-1 strength and stamina. My question was why didn't VU fill the final scholarship spot. Does anyone have an answer? It would have been nice if there were a planned surprise of a mid-year addition to the team. However, otherwise the lack of a 13th scholarship player on the bench seems merely a self-imposed handicap.   

Just my opinion but the grand plan seems to have little focus on this year other than to develop the players and their player mentality. Maybe it doesn't matter to Roger or us if we could win 6 MVC games by using that last scholarship or settle for less wins by opportunistically holding it in reserve for a perfect fit situation. In fact I'd be surprised if the staff doesn't already have a handful of players in mind as this first semester progresses. Long term I'm still viewing this choice positively and think it is very likely to work out in our favor. Meanwhile lets be patient!

The Ajiboya high lite reel didn't impress me in the least but he has some talented high mobility quickness. Similar take on Edwards. Both of these projects could pay off big time as they develop their offense.

Maturity and discipline shown by Cooper as he stayed in the fray with 4 fouls. Nothing but pluses with this kid. 

All out quick paced play resulted in only 10 VU TOs. That is a solid number for a thrown together group like this!

51 bench minutes for our 3 vs 70 bench minutes for their 4. That was a factor for our second half production.

Drake gives us an accurate gauge of how difficult our MVC season will be. We fought and hustled, hit many of our too few wide open shots, defended pretty well but still lost at home by 18. We should all like the direction we are going but it will be a lengthy trip with many obstacles. Lets not get too discouraged as Roger works to get the team caught up with league.

50% from 3!

Attempts? Is it 2 of 4 or maybe even 4 of 8?

Couldn't make it AGAIN!

Still can't get a handle on this team.

Join the club! Nothing is surprising me because I have no idea what to expect but an 0-20 MVC record now looks off the table.