Union Street Hoops

[valpospartan]

Paul, why doesn't The Times ever publish the MVC BB standings?

[talksalot]

Paul, why doesn't The Times ever publish the MVC BB standings?

Let me rephrase the question into a statement:

Paul, Thank your Editor for not publishing the MVC standings this year.  We look forward to having them next year.

[a3uge]

Some good conversation in this podcast about Paul's article that ruffled the UNI fan's feathers with the foul discrepancies lol. Paul says they're "touchy" like we are. I wouldn't call us "touchy" but we care and we're passionate. We're much more passionate then any fan-base in the Horizon League did. But some good convo about Paul's research.

They touch on Parker Hazen going from starting to not sniffing a minute. Some very interesting conversation here and Paul brought up maybe he might transfer and that's why he isn't getting any minutes, but Paul made it clear he hasn't heard that.

A great interview with Buggs talking about his career at Valpo and the struggles of his team's freshman year.

I've said this before, but I would assume Hazen wants a D1 scholarship, and that's why he wouldn't transfer.

[vu72]

I'm wondering whether or not this mysterious upper body injury will be healed before the end of the season.  If not, might the plan be to plead for a red-shirt given his very limited playing time up to the time of the "injury"? 

[M]

I'm not going to pretend to know how that works, but he's played more then Hazel right? Think it's already been said Hazel wouldn't be able to red shirt.

[VU2014]

I'm wondering whether or not this mysterious upper body injury will be healed before the end of the season.  If not, might the plan be to plead for a red-shirt given his very limited playing time up to the time of the "injury"? 

The ESPN broadcast for the Loyola game was told Marty's "upper body injury" was something to do with his back.

I also think it's too late to redshirt him. I'm sure the coaches would like to have that one back. May have been young coaching and evaluation mistake. The reason we were told Mileek and Marty weren't Redshirted was because the coaches wanted "competition".  He's only played in 163 minutes this season and most of those came in the OOC. Marty just wasn't ready and he's a guy who needs to refine his physique this offseason and lean down to get a little quicker on his feet. He's already plenty strong but he has bad footwork and that's what puts in him foul trouble when players attack the rim.

The rule is the player can only play in less then 30 percent of the games. He's well passed 30%. He only has 5 DNPs. "Burning" Marty's freshman year should a learning experience for Coach Lottich because the competition argument just hold up in my book.

[M]

Red shirting is so risky due to injuries (or suspensions). I don't like them.

[valpotx]

Marty's FR season isn't too different from what Antti Nikkila did for us, and he turned out to have fairly productive JR and SR seasons for us.

[4throwfan]

Valpotx, that may be true, but if Nikkila would have been redshirted, then maybe he would have given 3 or 4 productive years, rather than two.

I'm not a fan of redshirting for that purpose, especially in an age of graduate tranferring, but I believe that increased window of production was the point of the earlier posters.

[vu72]

We are red shirting a bunch even in football where there is no scholarship money.  Not sure what the planning is in that regard but obviously it is the same logic that applies to basketball. Another year in the weight room, another year of learning the system another year of mental maturity.

[M]

and another year, potentially, of tuition money

[VULB#62]

In MBB that extra year is covered by an athletic scholarship.  Regarding non-scholarship football, redshirting is more difficult to swallow, as M mentions.  One thing that helps is that FB is Fall only instead of spanning both fall and spring.  So it's a bit more manageable, but families of red shirted players still have to manage tuition and credits more closely and shoot for a December graduation after that 5th season.  It ain't easy and for that reason many red shirted players in the past have opted not to return for their final season of elegibility.  But that was in the past and returning to a guaranteed losing season was not that attractive.  Things are changing for the better in that regard.  Teams like Drake and Dayton, with winning traditions, have historically red shirted bunches of freshmen and wind up retaining the bulk of them in their 5th year.

[talksalot]

I didn't have the student-support post to go to... so I'll put this in here...

Last Saturday night, we inducted the 1923-24 Basketball team into the Hall of Fame.  the "Victory Five"...won 22 games in a row to start the season. 

The TORCH, Wednesday, February 20, 1924 (page 4) had an article discussing student support for this team... coming home after 4-games 4-wins in 4 days...
Monday night at Luther, Tuesday night at Columbia, Wednesday night at Dubuque, Thursday Night at Campion (in Wisconsin). 

(The February 13th Torch, ended their coverage with this:  "The team will return from the trip about noon Friday.  Detailed word as to when will be reveled here during the week.  A big turnout at the station to meet them, whether they win or lose, would show that the student body is behind them"

(Event took place on Friday February 15th)
VICTORIOUS TEAM WELCOMED HOME
Last Friday afternoon the team after their most successful trip through the week arrived in Valpo, to be greeted by the Band and hundred or more basketball enthusiasts.  Several cars owned by residents of the city were loaned to the fans for the purpose of furnishing transportation to the members of the team from the Station to the Hill.

With the Band leading the procession, a triumphant parade made its way through the town, marching up Lincolnway and then up College Avenue to the campus.  Here more students gathered to give the Victory Five a royal welcoming with school cheers and applause.

Never before have the students displayed such sincere effort in their attempts to show the team their appreciation.  The quintet have done their best; now let's continue with ours.

==========
The night that was published, they included a page 1 article about the "Record Crowd expected for the game with National Powerhouse Adrian College Tonight!" (a Wednesday, February 20, 1924) and the probably Western Conference Championship game on Saturday (February 23) with St. Viator.  Both games have Intramural games as the lead in, starting at 7.

so 94 years ago TODAY, we played National Powerhouse Adrian College in front of a record crowd on a week night game that tipped off at 8pm... and we won!!!  35-33.

Feel the karma.

[talksalot]

so.. a few weeks later... the 22-game winning streak came to a halt on the road at Kankakee, against St. Viator's College...  The Torch writing is a thing of beauty.  I really think Paul and Mike should try to summarize a game thusly.

From the Torch, March 5, 1924


ST VIATOR 25  VALPO 17

Valpo received her first defeat last Saturday (March 1, 1924) evening at the hands of the strong St. Viators quintet at Kankakee. The final tally gave the Viators five credit for 25 points while Valpo had annexed but 17. The first half of the game was unusually slow. It snapped up for awhile at the beginning of the second period but slowed down again before the end of the second twenty minutes. The Brown and Gold squad were supported on the sidelines by a crowd of Valpo fans estimated at between three hundred and fifty and five hundred. Their spirits ran high even in defeat and the cheering of the Valpo section drowned out that of the St. Viators fans though the Valpoites were outnumbered about five to one.

The unusually large floor seemed to bother the Brown and Gold squad throughout the whole game. They couldn't find each other as they do on an ordinary floor. On top of this there seemed to be a jinx riding every ball that Valpo shot at the basket. If half of the shots taken by Valpo that ordinarily would have counted for two . points had gone through the hoop instead of rolling around the edge and then falling off on the wrong side, Coach Shadoan's team would have won by a twenty-point margin. St. Viators did not play any better basketball than they did here on the previous Saturday night, but the dope had just picked them for victors and everything worked to that end. Valpo's fighters made a good showing with the opening of the second half and for the first five minutes of that period they showed the crowd to some extent of what they are capable of in the way of basketball. Two shots were caged in as many minutes. The crowd went wild, thinking that the Brown and Gold quintet had hit their old-time stride, but the spurt did not last long enough to take the Valpo gang out of the dangerous territory. The game was clean from start to finish. Several fouls were called but none of them were intentionally committed.

The sportsmanship of both teams and of the crowd was all that could be desired. With between five and six thousand people watching the game, yet when a foul was called on either team and the man prepared to shoot, hardly a sound could be heard in the mammoth gymnasium. Harris registered most of the Valpo counters, having four free throws and six field goals. Andy made one basket and Caddy shot one free throw. Many of the Valpo shots were headed straight for the basket and in reality should have been counters, but one after another they would either drop straight out of the ring or else roll around the edge and fall off on the wrong side. As far as scoring was concerned the honors were about evenly divided on the Viators quintette. Barrett was high man with three field goals and two free throws. L. Winterhalter and McGrath were tied for second honors with two baskets apiece. The Viators' playing was anything but spectacular and Coach Shadoan's- quintette running in regular form would have had an easy time with them.

Referee:   Crooks, Illinois  (You can't make this stuff up)

[talksalot]

and one last trip down memory lane from that memorable season... you start 22-0, then go 2-4 the rest of the way.  Two of the losses were on a trip through southeastern Michigan... Playing the Michigan State Aggies... and ending the game at Detroit.  Interesting, I can't find which Detroit team it was.   We are not listed on the UDM website historical games for that season... and Wayne State's history doesn't go back that far.   The Torch referred to them in one article as "Detroit Bright", but I can't find any reference to that on line...   anyway... that Michigan State Aggies game must have been a thing that would have Paul entirely up in arms as Valpo was apparently HAZED mercilessly by the officiating in that game...

Here' the article from March 12, 1924

AGGIES WIN 22 TO 12 Valpo met her first defeat on the trip at the hands of the Michigan Aggie five. It was not a basketball defeat but rather a defeat at indoor football. Captain Anderson's crew have been in some rough contests this season, but none of them came anywhere near the dope handed out by the Aggie five. Coach Shadoan's five were not playing in their best form and the unusual roughness of the game tended to destroy what team work there was. Scott was put out of the game on personals before the game had gotten well under way. Referee Ritter then failed to see fouls for the rest of the contest. The V. U. five held up fairly well throughout the first half. With twenty minutes of play over, the score stood at 12-9 with the Aggie five in the lead. In the second period the local outfit did not fare so well. The game got rougher, Anderson injured his arm, and things in general went bad for the Brown and Gold five.


Now, I'll tell you that the Aggies were in their last season under that name... the school was re-chartered the next year as "Michigan State University" and their mascot was changed to the "Staters"; but the newspaper guys didn't like that name, so they made up the nickname "Spartans" one day at the paper.    "No student, alumnus or college official had called up the editor to complain about our audacity in giving the old school a new name, so we ventured into headlines with it. Happily for the experiment, the name took. It began appearing in other newspapers and when the student publication used it, that clinched it."

[talksalot]

OK, I lied... one more... the end of the year recap by the Torch Editorial Board, April 5, 1924.


"Twenty-four victories out of twenty-eight games played." Show us the Valpo student who is not proud of the record made by the Brown and Gold Victory Five. The alumni, the faculty, and the citizens of Valparaiso, as well as the students, rejoice over Valpo's success in the basketball season just finished. Besides making a record seldom equalled by any basketball team, Valpo has again won a title in the Western Interstate Conference. It is easy to talk about taking the title, but winning it was no simple matter, for every conference contest was a close one—the result was in doubt until the final whistle. That they might overcome their opponents in these games, the Brown and Gold net men were required to live up to the strictest of training. It was not a question of ability which decided the winner in our games with other members of the conference. In nearly every instance they were evenly matched. Our men were victorious because they were willing to pay the price of constant training and because every minute they were in the game the desire to do their best for Valpo was within them. The Victory Five has gained the admiration of sport writers and basketball fans throughout the Middle West. Newspapermen who are not interested in the school have praised our team from the athletic standpoint. But we who are in school here, to whom our school and its name are dear, can only feel our appreciation to the Victory Five; we cannot express it

[M]

Hopefully our team can annex 75-80 points tonight 😂. Thanks for sharing that.

[VU2014]

"Valparaiso director of athletics Mark LaBarbera joins Union Street Hoops to cover a variety of topics, including the move to the Missouri Valley Conference, facility renovations and attendance issues at the ARC."

http://www.nwitimes.com/digital/audio/union-street-hoops/podcast-union-street-hoops-the-mark-labarbera-episode/article_2b705c4c-18e1-11e8-82a7-731e1a8de062.html

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/967171804207951872

[NativeCheesehead]

I think ml has done a really good job overall, but why do I feel like listening to this will just piss me off.

[VU2014]

I think ml has done a really good job overall, but why do I feel like listening to this will just piss me off.

Well worth the listen.

[FieldGoodie05]

I think ml has done a really good job overall, but why do I feel like listening to this will just piss me off.

Well worth the listen.

Very nice to get updates on the overall Athletic Program.  He is a solid AD in my book.  Progress is years and Summit to HL to MVC.

Keep up the good work and keep up the push for a Student Rec Center first!  I could not agree more emphatically on that priority.

Neat to hear the rec center could be stepped in phases.

[valpopal]

I like Mark a lot and think he has done a fine job, but I felt little more than frustration listening to this interview. This basketball season should have served as a wake-up call. However, I heard no concrete changes we can look forward to seeing in promotion, facilities, and attendance, student or overall. I have little optimism anything is going to change that will make the game experience more entertaining and enjoyable. When Mark said attendance was good early in the season but declined after a losing streak, I had to shake my head. The home attendance average for the five games played while Valpo was undefeated and building an 8-0 record was only 2617. I heard nothing in this interview that suggested we would see anything other than more of the same.

[NativeCheesehead]

Mark's legacy really boils down to one thing. NCAA Tournament wins. He's young enough to be AD another ten years or more and has shown no signs of wanting to move higher.

I keep going back and forth on this. Sure, he doesn't coach or recruit, but he's the ultimate decision maker in that department. The moves in conferences don't mean a whole lot if we're sitting here in ten years celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Shot having not won any tournament games since FSU.

Facilities upgrade would be wonderful. New parking would be amazing. Hang another Sweet 16 banner and I'll walk from Wal Mart to a gym with a leaky roof to see my team play.

[vu72]

I like Mark a lot and think he has done a fine job, but I felt little more than frustration listening to this interview. This basketball season should have served as a wake-up call. However, I heard no concrete changes we can look forward to seeing in promotion, facilities, and attendance, student or overall. I have little optimism anything is going to change that will make the game experience more entertaining and enjoyable. When Mark said attendance was good early in the season but declined after a losing streak, I had to shake my head. The home attendance average for the five games played while Valpo was undefeated and building an 8-0 record was only 2617. I heard nothing in this interview that suggested we would see anything other than more of the same.

Not sure what you expected.  he acknowledged the problems and said they were working on a revised plan.  Obviously there is a long time between now and next season.

[VU2014]

One of many things I found interesting in this interview was just how involved or knowledgable ML was in recruiting. He stated the #1 priority is recruiting and getting Valley level players. We need more Valley level players he said. So which players on this roster aren't Valley caliber players? I'm not trying to pick on anyone but maybe he's talking about: Parker Hazen (only a FR, mulligan year imo), Micah Bradford (he's played a little better lately but it's been another rough season), Marten Linssen (only a FR, mulligan year imo). Kiser isn't the most physically talented guy but he's proven himself to be solid glue guy contributor and he could get better if he added a reliable 3 point shot.

He said Valpo needs to "cast a wider net" then most other MVC schools from a academic performance standpoint. It makes it tougher to recruit top talent.