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Evansville is HUGE!  They are way bigger than us.  Great first half, very entertaining.  Williamson WILL be a star for us if we can keep him.

Evansville favored by 6.5, the over/under is 141.5 as of 2 hours ago!

So speaking of games from 50+ years ago, as a student I definitely recall the Evansville game at Hilltop from the 68-69 season. Those were the Bruce Lindner days. We had already beaten them at Evansville and had a one point lead with seconds to go...and then, one of their players caught the inbound pass at today would have been well past the 3 point line, turns and heaved it at the basket...well, we lost by 1.

I don't think that I paid attention to such a thing when I was at Valpo, but does Valpo also entertain Professors from other schools that are doing a 'residency' at Valpo?  I don't remember if he referred to it as a residency, but when I was doing my MBA at TCU 15-16 years back, one of my Economics Professors had mentioned that he was staff at some Ivy League school, but was essentially on loan to TCU for a few semesters. 

I presume this would mean "visiting" to include "residency" though the professors on our site would certainly better answer your question.

Here are a couple I found who are "visiting":

https://www.valpo.edu/college-of-business/mahdi-bohloul-ph-d/

https://www.valpo.edu/political-science/paul-olander/

https://www.valpo.edu/theology/about/faculty/marty-tomszak/

It was an improvement though Roger now knows what it takes to win in the Valley and we are a few players short.  Whether or not the current guys will mature into those needed players is a question he and his staff need to answer.  We need some help in my opinion.

Say what you will about Wardle, but his Braves just beat Missouri State by 26!

[Hard to gauge attendance thus far. The team has played two regular-season home games.]

The level of interest in the Women's team has dropped off the cliff.  Attendance so far this season is averaging a little over 300 while Volleyball drew an average of a little over 500.  That's all about winning, or at least putting a competitive product on the floor.

Right now our "five out" strategy is getting out-rebounded by 10 a game and our 3 point shooting stands at 29%.  It's not going to work.

Hard to gauge attendance thus far. The team has played two regular-season home games. One of them came during Thanksgiving break and the other came on Reading Day. The team will have played 10 of their first 12 games away from home. Then four straight home games.

Fair enough, though last year we averaged 353 over 15 home games.

When did she get hurt, I was long gone early last night

Looks like with 4:15 to go in the fourth.

[The Jackson twins are legit dawgs]

The Jackson twins are legit dawgs.  I hope they stick around in a potential coaching change, as they have a bright future.  Both of them remind me of Jenna Stangler from my time on campus, as being very lanky/still getting used to their longer limbs, but very skilled at their current age.  If they stick around for 4 years, Valpo will do well in years 3 and 4.  Raeven Raye-Redmond has some potential, as well, since she has a nose for finding the ball on defense.  I don't quite understand her lack of play for the bulk of the season (maybe lacking a consistent shot at this time), as she is definitely a spark plug when inserted into the lineup.  When Jill Harris was healthy, we were fairly competitive, so I look forward to her return, if she will do so this year?

And remember that Layla Gold was an Indiana All-Star yet Evans is getting very little from her.  The big blow is if Liv Brown is done for a long time. The ankle injury looked pretty bad. Without her, well you know.

The level of interest in the Women's team has dropped off the cliff.  Attendance so far this season is averaging a little over 300 while Volleyball drew an average of a little over 500.  That's all about winning, or at least putting a competitive product on the floor.

Right now our "five out" strategy is getting out-rebounded by 10 a game and our 3 point shooting stands at 29%.  It's not going to work.

On probably the only positive note:  two of the top three VU scorers were first years. And a great angle is that those two are identical twins!  From Ft. Wayne even.

Perhaps, but, unlike the men, who have zero seniors contributing anything, the women have team members who have been starters for a couple of years and a total of six seniors, three of which are fifth year players. Evans is playing with the people she recruited years ago.  Talented freshman to be sure.  Can we give a few more years to turn it around?  I think not.

Women get boat-raced by 28 having made a couple of free throws with no time left. Embarrassing.

Hitting the portal is great but my concern is more hanging on to the players who may be contributors...and in some cases such as Schwieger and Williamson....major contributors. I can just as easily see them leaving as I can see other players joining.

Unfortunately, that's the world we live in at the moment. Verbal Commits tells us that a record 1834 players entered the portal for 2023.  There are what? 365 D1 schools or so?, that's about 5 per school!  Heck, there are already 12 in the 2024 portal!
Roger is doing all he can do given that fact that Valpo isn't able to offer a Ben Krikke type, 140k to come play for him. Based on what he has told us, he is trying to first, attract the kind of kid who is loyal or wants to be in an environment where the concept of "team" is important.  It's a tough assignment to be sure.

It appears that Connor and Jerome are done after this season.  Based on playing time and style, my guess is that perhaps two more will hit the portal. Who leaves?  Good question.  If so,  we'll have four spots to fill.  Given the presumed availability of Scroggins and Manyang, we'll already be adding two big bodies to the rotation next year.

Hate to take positives in another loss, but think about this:  68 of 78 points were scored by freshman and sophomores, seniors scores zero and true freshman contributed 51 of 78.  We are so short handed, the guys played their asses off.

DeViero has taken the most shots, made none, missed his free throw,  has turnover already...when are coaches going t o figure out he cannot shoot consistently or hit anything are at decent rate?  He continues to be a big offensive liability.  I think we should be playing someone who at least is somewhat of a offensive threat.  We really lack offense.

Might have spoken a little quick on this one. DeAvero now 2 of 4 from the 3, 3 of 6 from the floor. He is leading the team in rebounds, assists and...turnovers! Williamson is going to be a stud.  Valpo in a dog fight with 8 to go.  Barrett is a lost cause, unfortunately.  Can't even make a free throw.

No live internet feed to watch the game?

Pay wall.

Apparently GCU has once again (shocking I know) misrepresented the cost of their programs and degree.  I know we've had some previous discussions regarding the academic quality of GCU degrees and wasn't sure where to post this.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/politics/biden-grand-canyon-university-tuition/index.html

It's her COVID year and no one was sure if she would return in any event.  John has some very good candidates for replacement and, as Charles de Gaulle once said, "The cemeteries are full of irreplaceable people"!

Here is a partial bio on a recently signed player:

Hailey Wade – GK – Fishers, Ind. – Hamilton Southeastern H.S. – Indiana Fire Juniors

Wade comes to Valpo after being named Indiana Player of the Year following her senior season. A two-time First Team All-State and All-District honoree, Wade is on the watch list for the 2023 High School All-American Game. She surrendered just 10 goals in the last two seasons for Hamilton Southeastern while recording 19 clean sheets in that span.

OK guys, we all know this is going to be a long season and in part because are guys are gassed, mainly because they have 18 and 19 year old bodies. Other than DeAveiro, we got 13 minutes from someone not a freshman or sophomore.  We started two freshman and two sophomores. Add the constant pressure they were under and you get tired legs, terrible shooting and the resulting score.

Maybe you guys missed this:

https://www.valpo.edu/stories/2023/12/18/valparaiso-university-continues-to-boost-science-of-reading-in-indiana/

The "interim" thing is interesting to me.  I'm wondering if perhaps this guy was about to retire and was approached to cover for the University until a permanent person was selected.  I don't recall any other new head coaches being given the title of "Interim".

The rapid and unexplained exit of the previous coach really left the program in trouble as it was the very beginning of the season.  Seems like this is just a stop gap measure, though he seems eminently qualified for the job.

But... And... If ... you go to the Indiana Tech Bowling web page, their new head coach is an "interim" head coach too who just took over this season.   

And so the mystery continues.

I think the situation at Tech is similar as their interim was only in his second year with the program after playing for them the previous four years.  What's weird is that they announced their schedule on September 26th with "Tom Osborne entering his ninth year as head coach".  Then nothing, not an announcement about his leaving or of the current interim being selected.  It seems like Valpo made him an offering he couldn't refuse!

If we can't find a way to rebound, we could get boat raced.  They are going to be sky high with confidence.

The "interim" thing is interesting to me.  I'm wondering if perhaps this guy was about to retire and was approached to cover for the University until a permanent person was selected.  I don't recall any other new head coaches being given the title of "Interim".

The rapid and unexplained exit of the previous coach really left the program in trouble as it was the very beginning of the season.  Seems like this is just a stop gap measure, though he seems eminently qualified for the job.

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?

The injury question with Lual is certainly legit.  I believe that if healthy, he can be an impact player.  Remember that coming of high school (class of 2022) he was ranked by 247 as the 17th best center and a top 150 player overall.  I would think that working with Roger will only improve the skills.

This video is from THREE years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWL4aSvqn4s

am also curious as to what number of white males currently serve as President of either our Ivy League elite large endowment private schools, or high-ranking flagships? I don't have a count, but it seems like every time I turn around the president of a college i see has a woman and/or minority president.  I fully applaud the appointments when the candidates are equally qualified.

Not sure these sites will answer your questions by might help.

https://www.aceacps.org/diversity-inclusion-dashboard/

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/executive-leadership/2023/04/14/moving-needle-college-presidency

https://www.aceacps.org/summary-profile-dashboard/