The guy nobody's talking about...

[chef]

I never have a problem with justified criticism of Valpo athletes and coaches on this forum. However, I found it strange to take a shot at Ryan Broekhoff. What more could you want from him? The comment that he's always overshooting and clanking it off the rim was just silly. Heck he led the league in 3-point shooting last year. Although he hasn't been shooting lights out from the perimeter this year, I can't remember him taking a single bad shot. Is there anybody that doesn't think it's only a matter of time before his three-point percentage goes up significantly?

[valpofan56]

I'm sorry I don't drink the same kool-aid everyone else does. I'd rather be a harsh critic of all of the sports and coaches at Valpo, than to butt-kiss and enjoy the rose-colored sunshine so many of you wish I was a part of regularly. From this point on, I'll post if I choose, but I'm very close to being done with this forum for good.

Good bye !!!!!

I disagree with almost everything you post from an opinion standpoint, rlh, but if you were upset and considering leaving the board I'd encourage you to stick around. No need to be a jerk to someone who was unfairly attacked for expressing his opinion (a fairly mild critique of Ryan anyways).  It's not like valporun said he thinks Ryan should have his scholarship revoked.  He simply stated that he needs to shoot better for Valpo's offense to be effective, and he's right.  That's not an attack on Ryan, it's a fact and I think it's actually a compliment to his ability.  When Ryan is shooting well it takes the pressure off the rest of the guys on the team who probably can't handle it as well as he.  When his shot isn't falling it allows the opposing defense to easier spread themselves out to everyone else, but when his shot comes back he will force defenses to pay more attention to him and the rest of the team will flourish as a result.  The best part of it all is Ryan is so unselfish that he would gladly take all of the attention with his threat to knock down shots and pass the ball to his open teammates for easy baskets and never be jealous. Nobody thinks Ryan isn't shooting well for anything to do with him.  It's far more likely he's just catching some unlucky bounces so far and I'm sure his precentage will rise as the season progresses and as it does, Valpo will be better for it.

[historyman]

I agree that valporun has been overly chastised for his critique of Ryan. Don't go anywhere valporun. You are exactly what this board needs. It's a classic example of the "don't ever criticize my team" mentality that too many posters on this board continually show. Why do they always tell someone to leave just because they make criticisms. People who post critically about a team are not always trying to tear players down they just actually care a lot about how the team performs and those posters are not near as severe as I have seen on other Horizon League boards. If many on this board had their way there would be only rosy and glowing comments about the team but Valpo would still finish in 4th, 5th or 6th in conference and be praised all day long.   

[koala]

Blimey you are still not getting it, no one is saying valporun can't critique or have his say what I am saying is why single out Ryan.   We all know his shot isn't dropping but we know it will hopefully sooner rather than later.   It just seems unfair that he has a go at Ryan when others had really bad games against Ohio State but he doesn't critique them......why?   I thank all the posters that have gone into bat for Ryan and can see more to a game of basketball than just the top scorer     

[valporun]

I singled out Ryan because he was the next weapon, after Kevin was taken out by the tough interior defense. Yes, koala, I could have really taken it out on Will Bogan for being 2-for-8 from the field, but I'm not as familiar with Bogan. He's only played about eight games for the Crusaders. I could have picked on Vucic for shooting the ball ten times, but who knew that he would actually be effective against Ohio St.? Hrvoje had 7 points on 3-of-10 from the field, and a free throw. He scored as many points in 16 mintues as Ryan had in 36 minutes. Yes, Ryan did get after the ball for rebounds, steals, and the other intangibles, but when we needed his shot to fall, it missed the mark. Ryan was the only player I could have any real criticism about. Everyone else was doing exactly what should have happened when Ryan and Kevin were basically taken out of the game. Based on what Kevin had done to start this season, he was going to be the interior focus of the Buckeyes defense. This means Ryan needed to be more consistent with hitting his shots. He didn't have the hot hand in a game where he really should have had the hot hand.

I usually try to stray away from going based on stats, but I had to here to prove that Ryan wasn't Ryan when the scoring column needed Ryan.

[valpotx]

Every shooter has games where their shot just won't drop.  I remember Lubos had a few stretches where he just couldn't find his shot in a game here and there, but then would tear it up over the next 10 games.  Not worried at all by anything other than the amount of turnovers we had as a team when we really needed solid ball control.  That is when it got out of hand, it seemed like we had 4 turnovers over a 5-6 possession stretch in the second half when we needed to get shots.

[bbtds]

Every shooter has games where their shot just won't drop.  I remember Lubos had a few stretches where he just couldn't find his shot in a game here and there, but then would tear it up over the next 10 games.  Not worried at all by anything other than the amount of turnovers we had as a team when we really needed solid ball control.  That is when it got out of hand, it seemed like we had 4 turnovers over a 5-6 possession stretch in the second half when we needed to get shots.

Agree on turnovers being the real issue during the stretch in the 2nd half against OSU when Valpo went from 4 points down to around 20+ points down. Matt Kenney was the biggest culprit and he certainly deserved criticism for his play in that game. I also remember Valpo missing lay up after lay up during that stretch. Richie Edwards I believe missed about 4 or 5 lay ups right under the basket. Also that is when OSU caught on fire and couldn't seem to miss an outside shot and the refs gave them every close call.

[valpopal]

Valporun stated: "I usually try to stray away from going based on stats, but I had to here to prove that Ryan wasn't Ryan when the scoring column needed Ryan."

Let's look a little more closely at Ryan's stats in the game at Ohio State. I'm sure Ryan would be the first to acknowledge his shot didn't fall as he would have liked, though valporun's claim that he was "overshooting and clanking it off the rim" doesn't apply. He only took 8 shots and made 38%, while the rest of the team, including Harris, shot 33%. (Take out Harris and the rest of the team shot only 24%.) However, a couple of Ryan's three-point attempts were in and out of the basket. Had just one more of his three-point shots stayed down, Ryan would have wound up with 10 points (50% shooting) and 11 rebounds, as well as a couple of assists, and he had two blocks. Also, like the rest of the team, Ryan didn't get any free throws, which is where he usually adds some of his points. In fact, Valpo only shot two free throws at the very end of the game.

So, in effect, we are hearing complaints about a game in which Ryan came one shot short of a 50% night and a double-double against a team that is currently ranked #2 in the country. In fact, potential player of the year Sullinger had 14 points and 13 rebounds, as well as only one block, despite taking more shots and spending most of his time as the center a few feet from the basket.

Again, Ryan seems like the kind of competitor who would be upset by his performance, and he would wish that he could have gotten a few more open shots, but that is what happens when you play against one of the country's best teams on their court, and I can't fault him.

[justducky]

Just in passing I would like to note that whoever it is that isn't being talked about, has only been mentioned once (and then only as a sideline) in the last 15 posts. I think the topic point has just been proven.

[vu72]

OK, everyone back away from the board for a second and nobody will get hurt!  Run, stick around, you add regular commentary that is important.  I don't agree with your analysis but, needless to say, others surely don't agree with mine!! 

Let's focus on Butler, a game much more important than OSU.

[crusaderjoe]

Valporun, I've posted with you for years, so please don't take this personally or the wrong way, but the fan in me hopes that Ryan reads this thread, and in an effort to give you the ol' "FU", promptly lights up Butler for 45 in a winning effort.

[valpopal]

Ohio State just dismantled an elite Duke team, beating them by 22. Ohio State held the Duke players to only 3-15 from the 3-point line. Seth Curry, who came into the game with more than a 57% mark from the 3-point line, was 1-6 from the arc tonight. Ryan Kelly, who came in averaging nearly 15 points per game, scored 0 points tonight. Andre Dawkins, who came in averaging more than 10 points, also scored 0 points tonight. This should end the complaints about Valpo's game against Ohio State and the criticism of Ryan's shooting in the game.

[nkvu]

This should end the complaints about Valpo's game against Ohio State and the criticism of Ryan's shooting in the game.

Amen!  Ohio State is just very very good, and simply plays extraordinary defense.

[wh]

Nice article about Jay:

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/vu-s-harris-a-natural-shooter/article_04567f53-311c-54bb-bdb4-9e84486fb1a5.html