Messages

I agree with WH.

Parking is a SUBSTANTIAL issue for my group, which has had season tickets for 7 or so years, and includes a "seasoned" fan.  So much is that difficulty, that the "seasoned" fan may not be able to come much longer.  To my eye, the easy fix seems to be crushed gravel on the empty lot where the hospital sat.  Put a couple of entrances onto LaPorte, and the problem is substantially (but not fully) solved.

We have not had many sellouts in the last couple of years, but when we do, it's bad.  It is hard to navigate the streets.  Newcomers, out-of-towners, elderly, and folks with very small children should not be asked to park at the Law School.  That's not good marketing.  And, it's just not safe.

I wouldn't bet against you.  What if the suspension is later deemed unfounded?

Kind of a dumb question, but if the period of "suspended play" continues much longer, does Jubril and the team have the option of redshirting this year?  Did he play too many games already?  Does suspension for cause count toward sufficient reasons for missing games?  If the fact-finder (whoever that is; HC, NCAA) determines that Jubril did nothing wrong, then the suspension would be without cause?  Obviously, I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I like to look at positive options.  If the option is there, may want to think about that soon.  Jubril can just get another degree.

I disagree with your first sentence.  More wins is always better.  Kind of agree with your second sentence.  The reward is not as great, but there is a reward.  Being a 1 seed in the conference tourney likely means playing NKY, and then either Oakland OR GB in order to win the tourney, whereas being a 2 or 3 seed likely means playing both Oakland AND GB.  I'd rather have the former.  Agree with your last two sentences.

Crusadermoe makes a good point.  Of the 8 games, 6 are at home, and the two away games should be wins.  Which means that 8-0 should be the target.  7-1 likely means a loss to Oakland or Green Bay at home - either way, that could spell trouble if Valpo does not then win on their home court.  In February, only 3 of 9 are at home, so having an L in that month is not quite so bad.  On a side note, having only one home game after February 11 really shortens the season.  A home game after that date means no NCAA tournament.

Simply echoing VULB#62.  I really appreciate the Commissioner's write-ups and WH for re-posting.

bsmith21, I agree that a team can be successful in the HL without a true point guard (case in point, VU did fairly well in 2015-16 with EVic running the point, and he is not a true PG).  However, I disagree with your expectations.  It is not good enough that VU does well in the Horizon League.  There are 14 other games on the schedule, and if we want this team to be thought of highly come early March, then it must be successful against Oregon, UK, ISU, RI, etc.  For that, VU needs a REALLY GOOD PG.

[team game]

VULB#62 brings up a very good point, but I have a slightly different take.

Oh, and don't forget that this is a team game, so the other 11 guys have to show up too and not just stand around on game night.

This is a team game, and I don't want the team performance denigrated for the sake of hoping Alec shows NBA cred.  Remember that last year Felder showed NBA cred, but the "team" aspect of Oakland was not good.  Other Horizon Leagues stars of the past have also showed NBA cred, but their team did not perform as well as hoped/expected.  Alec has played within a team system that has worked well for him and the team.  That should continue.  I guess what I'm saying is that I hope that Alec improves his game so that his stats are better, but not to the extent of NOT doing things (good screens, assists, etc.) that also improve the team.  How many team losses is an NBA caliber season for Alec worth?  I'd say "none."

I read this forum every day, but I obviously don't post much.  I do enjoy reading it.  After reviewing the schedule, I felt compelled to write a short note.  I am really pleased with the schedule.  It has a good combination of tough games and easy games.  It's back down to two non-D1 home games.  It also shows geographic breadth, which I assume will help with recruiting (given that Lottich went to Stanford, he may be looking more in the West - just a hunch).  It also exhibits a real confidence in this year's team.  Given the uncertainty of the team relative to last year, the team could have scheduled some real creampuffs.  That would have destroyed RPI, but at the end of the year, they would have had a much better W/L record, which helps in marketing and recruiting.  Again, I think that there is a real show of confidence in this year's squad.  If I had to nitpick, it would simply be this: the final two games are away games.  Since the Horizon League tournament is no longer in Valpo each year, it shortens our season by about 2 weeks.  This is now several years in a row that the final games are away.  When we reasonably expected to host the tournament each year, that wasn't a problem.  Now it is.  Seems that there should be a rotation.

Thanks to everyone who posts regularly.  I enjoy reading.  Now I'm just looking forward to the Commissioners annual pre-season analyses.

A lot of what we saw last night was typical early season basketball - flashes of talent and execution, and some misfires.  The good news is that some of these things can be fixed.  For example, I saw IPFW do a good job of spreading Valpo out, and then using the openings for open slashes to the basket and open jumpshots.  That can be fixed, even if the fix is simply playing zone defense (which we have not seen yet).

I see the battle for minutes brewing.  That will go a long way toward sharpening things up, because the players will be highly motivated to do exactly what the coaches tell them to do, and to make things happen on their own watch.

The days of Skara being a semi-secret weapon, who comes seemingly out of nowhere, are over.

A web-site called College Sports Madness has predicted that Valpo will once again be a 13 seed, and they rank Valpo as 67th in the country, out of 144 teams ranked.  It doesn't make sense to have the same seed as the previous year considering that the team is replacing Chadwick with Hammink and Smits.  However, the 67 may be realistic.  The good news is that the site ranks Valpo ahead of some traditionally solid programs.