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If Oakland ever wants to truly compete year-in-year-out as being one of the top mid-majors in the country they need to get rid of King Kampe, or at least he really needs to retool his coaching style.

The lets see if we can outscore our opponent night-in-night-out is a recipe for mediocrity. Yes, they were able to appear in the tourney in a poor Summit League where that coaching style works. Yes, from time to time they can compete with the big boys in the B1G but by trying to put up 90 every night and not playing much defense the opposing team will more likely than not be able to put up 90 as well. Some nights you score 91 they get 85, some nights its the opposite. Which leads to a .500 record; which is what Oakland is. A mediocre team, more than capable of pulling off an upset but nonetheless still a mediocre team.

The reason why Valpo is so strong is their defense. One of the tops in the country, it allows you to overcome offensive blunders, poor shooting performances, and perhaps those buckets that just seem to spin out at the last second. Don't get me wrong, Valpo is by far the most talented team in the Horizon League, would the be 6-0 if they played a run-and-gun style of offense? Perhaps. The reason why they win games by 15-20 points is their defense.

Take a look at some of the other more successful HL teams. One in particular is Wright State. There's a reason why they always seem to finish in top of the HL. It certainly isn't because they're the most talented teams. This is a perfect example of the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. They play defense, which allows them to beat teams like Oakland and Detroit that may be more talented but certainly not better coached.

So if Oakland ever wants to succeed King Kampe's style of having 6 guys play the whole game, have one player take nothing but 3s, another one just throw-up shots left and right and hope they fall, will never work on a consistent basis. Period. End of story.

We will win this one like most of the others. Wright State has a good defense but Valpo is simply too athletic for them to handle. Their defense keeps the game respectable up 10 at half and wind up winning by 14.

Valpo 66
WSU 52

Tradeoff is freshman year Smits verse 5th year senior Smits; good tradeoff in my mind. Unfortunate that he does lose this season but in the long run this could be beneficial.

Big win, against a good team, on the road, on ESPN2, and at an odd time no less.

Both offenses looked slow and tired to start the game, reasonably so with the morning start time which was more like 9AM for the Crusaders. Nice to have these two "practice games" before the Oregon trip. This was a game Valpo usually loses in past years. RI hung in there and made it interesting in the end, if a few more shots would've fallen for Valpo the margin would've been closer to 10. Anyways, Valpo was the better team, and a win is a win, and a nice win against a team that may very well be back in the tourney come March.

3-0; not a bad way to start the season, against 3 quality teams no less.

A fantastic start to the season. Valpo is one of the most athletic mid-major teams. They were simply bigger, faster, and stronger than Iona. Iona is a very good mid-major team that will have a great chance at getting back to the tourney in March.

The only thing this team may be sub-par at is free throw shooting, and today they did a great job in the category anyways. Nice win against a very good team. Now time to turn the attention to Tuesday morning in Rhode Island infront of a nation audience, all-be-it a waking up one, but still a national stage.

[OVER]

1) Alec Peters -- 18.0 ppg
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2) Darien Walker -- 38.0% 3PFG%
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3) Tevonn Walker -- 1.5 steals per game
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4) Keith Carter -- 4.5 assists per game
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5) Vashil Fernandez -- 3.0 blocks per game
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6) E. Victor Nickerson -- 15 minutes per game
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7) David Skara -- 80% FT%
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8) Jubril Adekoya -- 60% 2PFG%
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9) Nick Davidison -- 10 3-pointers
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10) Max Joseph -- 1.5/1 assist-to-turnover ration
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11) Shane Hammink -- 8 games started
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12) Derrik Smits -- 55% FG%
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13) Lexus Williams -- 10 games with 10+ minutes
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14) Chandler Levingston Simon -- 9 games played
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15) Bryce Drew -- 2.5 technicals
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16) Valparaiso -- 24 regular season wins
OVER

I have a sense of foreboding about this coming season.   Not sure why. Can't put my finger on it. However, getting shellacked by the Canadian team we played this summer and then apparently getting spanked by a mediocre Big 10 team in the recent scrimmage does not exactly inspire confidence.   Beating a Division II team by eight points at home does not help, either. Yes, I realize the Canadian team was a good team and University of Indianapolis is no slouch, but still...

Paul

These are all practic games. The coaches are using lineups they wouldn't normally use. Even as a player its in the back of your mind that these games mean nothing and probably don't go 100% on every play like they would during games that matter. Preseason is preseason; I'm sure many of the players use these games to work on their mechanics, yes they want to win but in the end its just practice.

So long they don't go all Tampa Buccaneers with the jersey style I really don't care. It's better than a few years ago when the roads were highlighter yellow with white lettering and numbering that you could barely see.

It might be another 28-6 record (or it could be 25-9) despite having a better, more experienced and deeper team.  What brought me down to earth was the Carlton loss on the Canadian trip.  From all reports we never showed up and played uninspired basketball.  From a veteran team with so much expected of it, that is unacceptable.  But it could be a tiny insight into this team's personality. I still don't see a shared "step-on-their-throat-when-they're-down" mindset.  But that's why they play the games and I want to be proven wrong.

You mean the exhibition game with a 24-second shot clock we played without the best defensive player in the Horizon last year? We very well may be 28-6 or 25-9, but I don't think an exhibition game down players with different rules, no scouting/gameplan, and inconsistent lineups really tells us anything.

I would agree. The last thing you want to do in an exhibition game is get injured. Bryce and the rest of the coaching staff was using this game more or less as practice. It allows them to experiment with lineups and positions that we may never see again. During normal games this season our best players will be on the court 30+ minutes. Not about half the game. Exhibition games need to be taken with a grain of salt. To Valpo it was more or less a practice game. Yes, they want to win but, in the end they all knew these games mean absolutely nothing and the last thing you would want is an injury that could potentially jeopardize the season.

This team will do just fine.

Usually there's a reason why somebody transfers "down" chances are they have talent but they probably won't tear up the HL. There really has only been two transfer downs that have turned out well LaVonte Dority from South Florida and Julius Mays from North Carolina State, which he then left for Kentucky.

Just looking at recent history for Valpo we've had some quality transfer "down" players: Ben Boggs from Virginia Tech, Will Bogan from Ole Miss, Moussa Gueye from Alabama, Bobby "No 3s" Capobianco from Indiana, and LaVonte Dority from South Florida; LVD was the only star player out of that group everyone else were quality players but not superstars by any means. Usually you have better luck with transfer "ups" from smaller programs or JUCO because they show the talent that they can play at the higher level.

This isn't even going into the quality of person they may be getting. Like many have said Oakland doesn't have a good history with bringing in good people.

Oakland is a threat to Valpo, in the form of a tournament upset. They are perfectly capable of beating anyone because of the uptempo style they play. In the HL that uptempo and gimicky style Kampe runs just won't work. He's an okay coach that thinks out of the box, some things work while most don't. Don't understand basically going with a six player lineup. He has some good players and brought in some decent transfers. How often do transfers from a bigger program to a smaller work out. If they had B1G, Big 12, SEC, talent they most likely would've remained with the team they were on or if they transferred gone to a similar level team, not dropping to the level of an Oakland. Will there two recruits have success, probably, but will they tear up the HL and put Oakland over the edge? Not a chance.

If Oakland wants to consistently challenge for the HL crown Kampe needs to completely change his style of coaching. It's almost like he still coaches like Oakland is a DII program. If he doesn't change his style to a more typical D1 program Oakland will be sporadic from year-to-year. Oakland will be good next year but it's going to be more of the same. They will be a good team because they have talent but they won't win the tournament. They are capable of upsetting Valpo and are the most likely team in my mind to do so but they aren't a true contender.

If Oakland wants to become what Valpo is; Kampe needs to change or Kampe needs to go. 

Truly any of these teams can upset Valpo and get to the dance.

1.) Milwaukee
2.) Oakland
3.) Wright State
4.) Detroit
5.) Cleveland State

I think this is the order of teams that have some sort of chance of knocking off Valpo and become the HL's Cinderella. Rob Jeter is a terrific coach, so is Donlon; every year it seems one of those two teams makes a run and comes out of nowhere. Kampe is a good coach, he does get into his own head quite often and over thinks certain situations; ie nobody on the FT line when Petros a 50% FT shooter is chucking up bricks. Detroit always seems to give Valpo fits and I think Waters style of play, low scoring and physical, can catch a team off guard and can win a 55-53 type game.

It's great seeing guys like Vashil and Alec get the national recognition as top-tier talent they rightfully deserve. It's also great seeing Valpo get preseason attention on a national stage this early. Obviously expectations are quite high as they should be and Valpo could turn into that great story of a small mid-major competing with the high-dollar, high-profile schools, come March.

Just curious, but do court pieces essentially snap together nowadays?  I have never really thought about how a basketball court is laid, but it looks like they are essentially interconnected, not sealed together.

I would imagine in most multi-purpose arenas in college and the NBA the floors are more or less squares of wood that are snapped together. This is done so the floor can be easily removed for other events, concerts, hockey, conferences, etc... While a smaller gym like Valpo is a legitimate wood floor that is lade plank-by-plank.

Obviously very few mid-majors get at-large bids. You have to be the best of the best, basically have one loss in the OOC maybe one or at most two losses in league play, and lose the championship. Then I'd say we should be an at-large team. Margin for error is minuscule when hoping for an at large; even when you do everything right, you still might not be good enough in the eyes of the selection committee.

It's amazing to see how far this team has come over the past few seasons. From making it back to the tournament for the first time in nearly a decade to what can potentially be a national championship contender. 

This team can be by far the best team in school history. Am I saying we are a national championship team? Not by any means. If we do play to our potential we can easily be in the discussion of the best of the best. This is all just preseason wishful thinking but if everything goes as I hope this could easily be a Top 15 team.

Looking back over the past few seasons, everything panned out the way I was hoping for. Bryce and the rest of the coaching staff were able to use the Rowdy teams as a stepping stone into the future. The 12/13 team made it back to the tourney for the first time in 9 seasons, and during those 9 seasons there were some pretty lean years mixed in.

Without that team would the coaching staff been able to convince Alec to come to Valpo, he had a choice of many different schools, many that held more weight at the time than Valpo. Bringing in transfers like EVN, KC, and Hammink. Getting able to get guys like Tevonn and David to come in. As well as the latest big name in Smits. Everything went as planned after the 12/13 team. The 13/14 year was a down year but you knew the talent was there for the future and without Rowdy, KVW, Buggs, and Kenney; a team of this quality would simply be just a dream.

The coaching staff has done an absolutely phenomenal job recruiting. Arguably when Alec's 4 years are up he could easily be the greatest player to grace the court in a Valpo uniform. Vashil is the best defender in school hisotry. I'm sure many teams are kicking themselves for passing up on Tevonn, who is one of the best players in the HL, heck even kids like Skara and a little known transfer in Darien Walker come out of nowhere.

All in all, I want to thank the 12/13 team. For without that team none of this talk of a potential top 25 team would be possible. As painful as it was to see them be simply outmatched against Michigan State in the tournament, knowing an era was coming to an end. At the same time that was the beginning of a new chapter in Valpo basketball.

Anyways, is it November yet?

The odd man out at the 3, if everyone remains relatively healthy throughout the season, Darien would be the odd man out most of the time. I'm sure though for the most part it will be an in-game decision. If Skara is having an off night, maybe Darien gets more time, or if EVN is having a big game, somebody doesn't see the court as much. That's the luxury of being so deep. Just about anyone on the team can have a 20+ point performance. We don't need to rely on one or two guys for the bulk of our scoring. Just look at the championship game, Alec had an off night, yet we still won the game rather easily because a guy like Skara stepped up; while GB basically relied on Sykes for the scoring and he was having issues and they had nobody else to fall back on.

When I toured campus years ago and went through the dorms they didn't really stick out in my mind. What did stick out in my mind was the quality of education I would receive if I committed four years of my time to this institution. That is what separates Valparaiso University from many other institutions throughout the country.

Needless to say it was one of the greatest life decisions I made when I chose to be a Crusader.

We should have stuck with Relvao.  I think it is pretty simple – if we offer a kid a scholarship, we should follow through with that commitment. It is just the right thing to do, at least in my opinion.

Paul

Don't we also owe it to Vashil to allow him to play his fourth season?

He's put in 4 years to our program and was allowed to play 3, he was granted a 4th. It sucks for Relvao that he got the short straw but that's how the game is played, unfortunately. We owe more to Vashil than we do Relvao, who's to say Relvao wouldn't have been just another Clay Yeo and leave after a season.

Relvao is gone. It is worth it for a Sweet 16 appearance. A shot like this--gotta take it. And if successful, better recruits will follow.

Couldn't agree more. You know what Vashil brings to the table on and off the court. He's the best defender in Valparaiso's history and is one of the best defenders in the country.

I am trying to keep my expectations down a bit because I know the higher your expectations are the more you'll be disappointed. Honestly though I can easily see Valpo being a Northern Iowa, Wichita State, Gonzaga, Butler, St. Mary's caliber program next season. Last season they were a good mid-major team, this season they easily could be an elite mid-major program.

The amount of change that is happening at Valpo is astonishing. When I was a freshman in the fall of 2010, I lived in Alumni Hall, which I know is going to be phased out in the near future, as it should. Much of campus is different, or at least I believe. My senior year they tore the hospital down, Huegli Hall was being raised, the welcome center was in Kretzmann, when I went on my first campus tore the talk of the town was the new union going up.

I really wish Valpo held more onto the past, you still have some older buildings but they will be gone soon. Is Niels still there? I know they plan on getting rid of it.

Part of me will be sad to see Alumni Hall go, its where my first memories of college were formed and some of my best as well. Alumni Hall to me represented what college was, it was the drunken smells, the loud noises, sweating it out in August with no A/C, dealing with cold showers. I understand why they need to upgrade.

I just wish that Valpo did more to preserve the past. Other than the Chapel there isn't one building that shows me a glimpse to Valpo past, once the Zig-Zag dorms are gone. As much as Heckler has done great things for the university, I feel he's destroying the past while paving the way for the future.

The history of Valparaiso University is just as important as the future.

The issue isn't alumni or student support, it is the local support that needs to increase. Outside of the City of Valparaiso there isn't much interest in Valpo basketball. The city accounts for 30-40 thousand residents, while the region of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties alone is around 3/4 of a million people. The university needs to do a better job marketing in Northwest Indiana, that's the immediate fan base. Go to place like Merrillville, Portage, LaPorte, Hammond, heck even Gary and market Valpo as Northwest Indiana's team. People hold a sense of pride of where they grew up and where they live. Only a fraction of Northwest Indianans call Valparaiso home, you need to reach out to the rest of the region and get them on board as Valpo not just being the City of Valparaiso's team but Northwest Indiana's team as a whole.

No offense to a player the quality of Nick but why not recruit stronger players. No matter what Vashil's potential 4th season would be much greater than Nick's potential to be a sub his senior year. Vashil can do something historic this upcoming season and would definitely help the transitioning for our next group of bigs in Smits and Relvao. The best we're looking at for a quality player like Nick is being a regular sub his senior season while Vashil could easily break many records at Valpo and help put Valpo over the edge to become a national championship contender.

If the opportunity for Vashil to come back does indeed present itself, I don't see why he wouldn't agree to come back.

Did you read my post??  I will name a few...

Bridget - New Wife
Maia - New Daughter
Lots of travel in a foreign country most likely with out New Family
Master's degree in International Commerce & Policy
Potentially good stable job in his chosen field

I think you are assuming that his dream is to play in the NBA.  Is it?

I would imagine it is his dream to play in the NBA, the potential to make millions is there in the NBA, will he get to that level if indeed he is NBA material is slim but the opportunities to go into international business will be there a year from now. Also if Vashil does peruse a career in international business he'll most likely need to travel a lot anyways.

Obviously the only one that truly knows whether or not Vashil will be back is Vashil, who knows if he's even made a decision. I don't know what are Vashil's career aspirations, is it to be a businessman or play professional basketball, either one is a great option.