Valpo at InSU 1/22 at 12m (noon) ESPN+

[AB]

No Kithier last ten minutes. Hopefully it isn't a severe injury. No Anderson second half. Team appears to have found some chemistry on offense, trusting the process instead of going one on five. Freshman PG's are getting valuable minutes. A win is a win on the road.

[hailcrusaders]

Thought for sure we were going to blow it during that 3:00 min scoreless drought down the stretch. ISU is no good this season but we needed that win and got it. Rarely easy to win on the road regardless. Two in a row, let's hope we can build on this momentum!

[wh]

I would not have been a happy camper had they blown it, but they didn't. All wins are good wins! On to the next one!

[Chairback]

When TK didn't return it effected us big time. Hope he can bounce back quickly. 

Glad we called a timeout on the last play. 

Winning and competing is good. 

[valpo64]

We need Anderson in the lineup, hope the back thing improves.  While D DeV has played well in general, he needs to be a scoring threat. 

[oklahomamick]

Good win.  Two more and we .500. 

[justducky]

While D DeV has played well in general, he needs to be a scoring threat.

Agree. He is listed as 6'0" 170 lbs. Is that even close? He looks tiny on offense and microscopic on defense.

[wh]

ISU comeback falls short in loss to Valparaiso
Sycamores lose fourth in a row

By Todd Aaron Golden Tribune-Star

https://www.tribstar.com/sports/local_college_sports/isu_sports/isu-comeback-falls-short-in-loss-to-valparaiso/article_d079050a-819d-50e2-aaba-22caaf4c7a0f.html

[justducky]

We have only 1 1/2 pages of comment after an exciting and important road victory. Have we accepted that this team has too many functional issues (defense-rebounding) to really explode? I should add Trevor to our problem list. He is our best 1 and our best 2 while physically only able to play 26 minutes instead of the 80 minutes needed. Also can Kobe finish this season as one of the 10 best players in the Valley?

Meanwhile Drake put in a fantastic defensive effort to come back at UNI (with Green) for an overtime win. I watched SIU-Bradley also for more good basketball. How did we lose to the Salukis again? Yes I know I was in the ARC and watched but even shorthanded we seem to match up well with both them and Bradley.

[humbleopinion]

We have only 1 1/2 pages of comment after an exciting and important road victory.

Perhaps it is because a well-prepared team that holds on to win a game causes cognitive dissonance for many of the posters.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this game. It's interesting how Matt is choosing to use Sheldon. Sheldon has a lot of talent, but he does not always corral his enthusiasm.  We are still trying to decide who our go-to guy is.  At the beginning of the season we all seemed to think that it would be Kobe, but that hasn't materialized. Yesterday it was Krikke at the end.  A couple weeks ago it was Kevion.  At Loyola, Sheldon was picked at the end of the first overtime.  Sadly, Kithier has been missing at the end of too many games. Maybe it's a good thing for opposing teams to wonder who will be chosen.  It also means that games are exciting when the choice matters down the stretch.

[vu72]

We have only 1 1/2 pages of comment after an exciting and important road victory. Have we accepted that this team has too many functional issues (defense-rebounding) to really explode? I should add Trevor to our problem list. He is our best 1 and our best 2 while physically only able to play 26 minutes instead of the 80 minutes needed. Also can Kobe finish this season as one of the 10 best players in the Valley?

Meanwhile Drake put in a fantastic defensive effort to come back at UNI (with Green) for an overtime win. I watched SIU-Bradley also for more good basketball. How did we lose to the Salukis again? Yes I know I was in the ARC and watched but even shorthanded we seem to match up well with both them and Bradley.

Didn't take the time to break down defensive rebounds versus offensive, but in total, we have out-rebounded our opponents in four of the last five.  As for Kobe, I don't think he is a top 10 player, maybe a top 25 player.  He just seems to disappear from time to time and I don't think he is being used properly.  Our offense runs through Ben and Thomas.  Kobe might be the fourth option after a guy like Sheldon.
The people on this board like to think we should win every game which in the Valley just isn't going to happen. Loyola lost yesterday, UNI lost yesterday. Valpo is one game out of fifth place and we have a LONG way to go.

[vu84v2]

Watched most of the second half yesterday. Liked the offensive efficiency for most of the half, with the ball going through Krikke more. For King, I think he gets many good looks - he just can't get the ball into the hole sometimes. My guess is that will change over time, but not sure.

Hopefully, Kithier is OK. For this team this year, I think playing Kither and Krikke together is a good strategy. This is especially true when King is in the lineup, since the guy guarding him is likely to be undersized.

The team is still struggling to close out games. I would like to see better execution and discipline down the stretch. Taylor's three in the last minute was a bad decision. But I did like that once it got tied they went back to Krikke.

[valpopal]

Again, there was no article about the Valpo win over ISU in this morning's NWI Times, just a brief summary statement in the "Sports Digest" section. Clearly, the hometown newspaper has abandoned any focused coverage of the team.

[wh]

We have only 1 1/2 pages of comment after an exciting and important road victory.

Perhaps it is because a well-prepared team that holds on to win a game causes cognitive dissonance for many of the posters.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this game. It's interesting how Matt is choosing to use Sheldon. Sheldon has a lot of talent, but he does not always corral his enthusiasm.  We are still trying to decide who our go-to guy is.  At the beginning of the season we all seemed to think that it would be Kobe, but that hasn't materialized. Yesterday it was Krikke at the end.  A couple weeks ago it was Kevion.  At Loyola, Sheldon was picked at the end of the first overtime.  Sadly, Kithier has been missing at the end of too many games. Maybe it's a good thing for opposing teams to wonder who will be chosen.  It also means that games are exciting when the choice matters down the stretch.

Only on this board would someone use "cognitive dissonance" as a descriptor in a bb game thread. MVC alpha board. 

[IndyEIT777]

We have only 1 1/2 pages of comment after an exciting and important road victory.

The problem is we just barely beat two teams that didn't have their best player. I didn't watch the game live and watched it later, but the fact is that we can't hit layups consistently and cry about not getting a foul called going up and missing each time. To me, that tells me our players are soft.


We have to win the next three home games for there to be any discussion about trying to avoid Thursday. Even if we do that, I still am not seeing any real progress with running actual offensive sets and giving up way too many wide open 3s (we also give up way too many uncontested layups). I hope we see some improvements in those areas before long because right now no matter which round we play in St. Louis, I see us as a one and done.

[justducky]

Perhaps it is because a well-prepared team that holds on to win a game causes cognitive dissonance for many of the posters.

Cognitive smognitive! Could we dumb it down a little for the good of the masses? I mean my  thinking is already clouded and my speech muddled so I am far too stupid to engage in harmonized silence to preserve any remaining dignity. 

As for Kobe, I don't think he is a top 10 player, maybe a top 25 player. 

He is barely on our radar thus not even a blip on the Valley screen. Not what I was expecting but maybe he and or Matt can further adjust his roles?

It's interesting how Matt is choosing to use Sheldon. Sheldon has a lot of talent, but he does not always corral his enthusiasm.

Early season I expected Sheldon to wrestle minutes from Kevion but it hasn't happened. FG% and 3 point % are much of it but Taylor also has a superior maturity of judgement (usually  ) that 3 extra years of college basketball have provided. I continue to think Sheldon might or maybe could catch up by season end?

[usc4valpo]

Perhaps just ducky with the vast vocabulary is Moira Rose in disguise...

[usc4valpo]

We also need to see more from young Sheldon

[justducky]

We also need to see more from young Sheldon

Yes! Go to TBS for that instead of ESPN.

[valpotx]

You guys must be watching something different in the games, versus what I see.  Kobe has, by far, the most overall polish on the team, on offense.  No one else has the composure when closely guarded within the arc (Trevor is fairly similar), or has the repertoire of moves to get to the basket.  Ben and TK can do so, but it is really the same moves every time.  There is a reason that he often gets the ball as the shot clock is winding down.  He is one of our only guys that can work his way to the basket, without needing screens.  Yes, he has several times not completed the moves, with the ball just rimming out, but you can tell that he is high level. 

[wh]

Of 130 scholarship players in the MVC, Kobe is:
• 8th in scoring
• 9th in 3-Pt. Pct.
• 22nd in 2-Pt. Pct.
• 22nd in rebounding

Not bad for a guy who was moving furniture for a living a year ago at this time and hadn't played or practiced for over a year.

[justducky]

Of 130 scholarship players in the MVC, Kobe is:
• 8th in scoring
• 9th in 3-Pt. Pct.
• 22nd in 2-Pt. Pct.
• 22nd in rebounding

Not bad for a guy who was moving furniture for a living a year ago at this time and hadn't played or practiced for over a year.

Ok. Since cherry picking is legal I'll point out that in MVC play his field goal % trails Ben by 9, Kevion by 2, Thomas by 4, Eron by 7 and only leads an injured Trevor by a couple. Also his Valley A to TO numbers are better only when compared  to Gordon.  Your turn to search for low hanging fruit.  To date his MVC highlight reel isn't matching what he produced at Wisconsin thus my hopefully temporary disappointment.

[Chairback]

Kobe is getting better and better each game.  I agree he isn't at the form he was at when he left Wisconsin, but he is making huge strides in getting there.

If a couple of those baskets drop that he missed it would be faster, but he is getting there. 

I have yet to see someone stop him when he drives. He's only stopping himself at this point.

I can totally see some dominant performances coming soon if Matt and team can incorporate him in the offense better.  There was a stretch in the ISU game where they couldn't contain him. 
   

[wh]

Of 130 scholarship players in the MVC, Kobe is:
• 8th in scoring
• 9th in 3-Pt. Pct.
• 22nd in 2-Pt. Pct.
• 22nd in rebounding

Not bad for a guy who was moving furniture for a living a year ago at this time and hadn't played or practiced for over a year.

Ok. Since cherry picking is legal I'll point out that in MVC play his field goal % trails Ben by 9, Kevion by 2, Thomas by 4, Eron by 7 and only leads an injured Trevor by a couple. Also his Valley A to TO numbers are better only when compared  to Gordon.  Your turn to search for low hanging fruit.  To date his MVC highlight reel isn't matching what he produced at Wisconsin thus my hopefully temporary disappointment.

I have no idea why you have a bug up your butt about Kobe King. He's our leading scorer, and your superfluous comparisons aside, he's clearly our most consistent offensive performer. He has been in double figures in 9 of 11 games without the wild swings from one game to the next that that are common with our other main players.

[JD24]

King has, at least so far, been a "let's the game come to him" player. That's not a bad attribute but sometimes I'd wish he'd be more aggressive and be the lead dog a bit more because he seems to have that ability and the team needs it.