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It's not a question of "if" but "when." And after that performance tonight, he should be let go immediately. Valpo needs to show that we're serious about athletics.

Valpo has a week before two games against Elon and Stonehill. Those are winnable games and might give an interim coach some confidence before heading into the meat grinder of conference play.

Lottich, by all accounts, is a decent person. But he's lost control of this program. We deserve better.

I figured we should start a new thread to recap this season. What was good. What was bad. Where to we go from here.

Here are my thoughts in no particular order:

Obviously, when compared to pre-season expectations, this season was a disappointment. There were a lot of blown games and missed opportunities. I think we were better than our 6-12 record suggested. Probably not a lot better though.

I've been on the fire Lottich bandwagon for awhile, but I've got to admit that I'm somewhat bullish on Valpo for next year. Maybe I'm overly optimistic but I thought this team really started to show their potential during Arch Madness. Edwards demonstrated a "composed aggressiveness" that could make him one of the best players in the league. It just seemed like this team was playing like, a team. Of course, we missed our shots and that was that, but it's not like we were blown out or not competitive.

I'm waiting to see how many players transfer, if any. If Krikke, Kithier, King, and Edwards all stay, then that's a pretty good nucleus to build around. I like Preston's game a lot; he reminds me of Jake Diebler in some ways. Add a healthy Young. I think there's some reason for optimism. Of course, if we have a repeat like like off-season then Lottich should be shown the door immediately.

If I had to draw a parallel, this season feels like more of the 09-10 season in the Horizon League than the 08-09 dumpster fire season. It's not a direct comparison by any means and I'm not suggesting that we're about to lead the MVC anytime soon.

This is a follow up to tjjvalpo's comment in the Diebler thread.

Has Matt Lottich lost control of this team? Unfortunately, I have a pit in my stomach that says yes.

I have no inside knowledge of the team. Rather, my feeling is based on the following things.

1) how the team played the past few games

2) Gordon's video of the Northern Iowa road trip

3) past history of Lottich's teams

My feeling is that Lottich has lost control and that we're not playing as a team. We have 5 guys on the court in Valpo jerseys doing their own thing. I don't see a lot of joy out on the court.

I'm afraid that we're going to see another wave of transfers in the off-season (Edwards, Young, Barrett, etc).

This post should be taken with a grain of salt. Maybe it's not all doom and gloom. Thoughts?

Ever wonder about who has left other Horizon League programs? Or who the new faces are? I've tried to compile a list of all roster changes for the upcoming year.

To clarify, I've defined "Left" as not playing for the program due to graduation, transferring, kicked off team, etc. If they transferred, I've tried to indicate their new program.

"Incoming" means players that have never actually stepped on the court for the team. Freshmen are indicated by their hometown. Transfers have their old program listed and whether they can play immediately or must sit out. I've assumed all Junior College transfers will play immediately. 

Let me know if I've missed anything. I'm sure mistakes were made.

Valpo

Left

Will Bogan- graduated
Alex Rossi-  Illinois Wesleyan
Ben Boggs- graduated
Erik Buggs- graduated
Matt Kenney- graduated
Ryan Broekhiff- graduated
Kevin Van Wijk-graduated

Incoming

David Chadwick (Rice-sat out last year)
Keith Carter (SLU, eligible 2nd semester)
Moussa Gueye (Alabama-eligible immediately)
Clay Yeo- Triton, IN
Lexus Williams- Chicago, IL
Nick Davidson- Merrilville, IN
Jubril Adekoya- Tinley Park, IL
Alec Peters- Washington, IL
E. Victor Nickerson (Charlotte, must sit out season)

Wright State

Left 

Bobo Drummond- Iowa Western CC
Joe Brimanti- New Hampshire
Jacoby Roddy- Lincoln Trail CC

Incoming

Mark Howell- Grand Prairie, TX
Daniel Mayer- Billings, MT
Chrishawn Hopkins (Butler-sat out last year)
Steven Davis- redshirted

Green Bay

Left

Nick Arenz- Winona State
Ryan Bross- Concordia
Brennan Cougill- graduated
Sultan Muhammad-?
Daniel Turner- graduated and left program, 1 year of eligibility remaining
Kam Cerroni- St. Norberts
Cole Stefan- University of North Dakota

Incoming

Turner Botz- Little Chute, WI
Tevin Findlay- Malton, Ontario
Lamin Fulton (Northwest Florida State CC)
Vincent Garrett (Rutgers-eligible immediately)
Kenneth Lowe- Little Chute, WI
Alfonzo McKinnie (Marshall- sat out last year)

Cleveland State

Left

Josh Ivory- ?
Tim Kamczyc- graduated
Junior Lomomba- Providence

Incoming

Derek Sloan- Moreland Hills, OH
Ismaila Dauda (Polk State JC)
Demonte Flannigan- Richmond Heights, OH
Jon Harris- (Miami Ohio- eligible immediately)

Youngstown State

Left

Blake Allen-graduated
Damian Eargle-graduated
Danny Reese- ?

Incoming

Ronnye Beamon- redshirted
Marcus Keene- San Antonio, TX
Jalon Plummer- Belleville, MI
Kyle Steward- Detroit, MI


UIC

Left

Daniel Barnes-graduated
Gary Talton- graduated
Anthony Kelly- graduated
Josh Crittle- graduated
Austin Angel (walk-on)
Ngijol Songolo (walk-on)
Matt Gorski (dismissed from team)

Incoming

Marcus White- Chicago, IL
Kelsey Barlow (Purdue-sat out last year)
Lance Whitaker- Barlett, IL
Pat Birt- Plano, TX
Jordan Harks (Central Arkansas-eligible immediately)
Frank Dounis- Park Ridge, IL
Han-Christian Lauer- Klein-Winternheim, Germany
Markese McGuire- Elkhart, IN


Detroit

Left

Gabriel Dos Santos- State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota
Ray McCallum- NBA!!!
Tome Ivezaj- ?
Jason Calliste- graduated but now at Oregon
P.J. Boutte- IUPUI
Doug Anderson- graduated
Nick Minnerath- graduated

Incoming

Patrick Onwenu (Highland CC)
Matthew Grant- Los Angeles, CA
Jarod Williams- Danville, VA
Patrick Ackerman (Penn State- must sit out season)
Paris Bass- Birmingham, MI
Carlton Brundidge (Michigan- sat out last season)

Milwaukee

Left

Paris Gulley-graduated
Demetruis Harris- graduated
James Haarsma-graduated
Ryan Haggerty-graduated
Christian Wolf-graduated
Joe Tagarelli (walk-on)

Incoming

Akeem Springs (Northern Illinois-must sit out season)
Malcolm Moore (UTEP- eligible immediately)
Cody Wichmann-Pulaski, WI
Connor Weas (Lawrence University- walk-on)
Trinson White (Indian Hills CC)
Dan Studer (UW-Stevens Point- walk-on)
Steve McWhorter (Indiana State)
JeVon Lyle (Iowa Western CC)
Matt Tiby (Kirkwood CC)
Brett Prahl-East Troy, WI
Alex Prahl-East Troy, WI

Oakland

Left

Korab Imami- Tiffin
Jordan Howenstine-graduated
Drew Valentine-graduated
Matt Poches- Ferris State
Ryan Bass- ?

Incoming

Ralph Hill (Dayton- sat out last year)
Jalen Hayes- Lansing, MI
Nick Daniels- Westland, MI
Artis Cleveland- Birmingham, AL
Kahill Felder- Detroit, MI
Tommie McCune- Saginaw, MI

Did anyone know that President Heckler's daughter was an English professor at VU?



http://www.valpo.edu/english/faculty/heckler.php

I've been thinking about this for awhile and decided to see what other people think. At some point in time Homer Drew will no longer be the coach of Valpo basketball. It's not a question of if, but rather when. I've recently seen a number of young coaches (Shaka Smart, Brad Stevens, Chris Mooney) taking mid-majors deep into the tournament. Can Bryce be that next great young coach?

I'm not saying I want Homer to step aside right now. I'm not saying that Homer needs to go. Homer has earned the right to retire whenever he wants. But I'm interested in seeing what Bryce will eventually bring to the table as a head coach.