No one else has started this topic so I will.
IPFW has always been a thorn. What's projected for this year?
I predict a typical first game where Valpo plays sluggish at times and has not found a good rotation. Talent and depth lead the way, with depth being important given the likely high early season foul total. Valpo 74 IPFW 59
This team needs to play without looking at the scoreboard - whoever is in the lineup constantly apply pressure as though the game is tied.
Valpo 78
IPFW 58
Banner raising will pump up the team. ... they will come out a bit wild but then settle into a groove to win by 15+..... (BTW - I am so happy to be able to make this game. I have the best wife. She said she wanted to go to a Valpo game for our anniversary)
Go Valpo!
Quote from: Smj on November 10, 2015, 04:33:56 PMShe said she wanted to go to a Valpo game for our anniversary
Nice! Do you think it's legit?
I guess either way, do you have to decide what flavor of jewelry, a nice dinner, etc. makes up the balance?
I'm not sure an apple donut's going to cut it!
Actually she might be a bigger Valpo fan than me. Also - got us a place to stay above Pikk Inn downtown (someone said it is a neat room overlooking the downtown park) ... cupcakes made special at Designer Desserts and they are going to put something on the screen for her during the game. .... I think that is enough.
Go Valpo!
None of the first set of games (IPFW, Iona, URI, IU-Kokomo) are streamed. Why is that? Doesn't seem like the best media strategy to whip up fan enthusiasm going into what might be a watershed season.
Looks like the game will be on ESPN3:
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index?type=upcoming&startDate=20151113 (http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index?type=upcoming&startDate=20151113)
VU 74
IPFW 62
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 11, 2015, 09:21:14 AM
None of the first set of games (IPFW, Iona, URI, IU-Kokomo) are streamed. Why is that? Doesn't seem like the best media strategy to whip up fan enthusiasm going into what might be a watershed season.
The audio/video links are now up at valpoathletics
OK, never mind :-[
Correction - so far, only the IPFW video link is posted. Iona a a BIG home game. We can control that, yes? @ URI is not our call.
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 11, 2015, 10:46:03 AM
OK, never mind :-[
Correction - so far, only the IPFW video link is posted. Iona a a BIG home game. We can control that, yes? @ URI is not our call.
Iona will be webcast. Sometimes it takes them a few days to get the link live. The URI game is on ESPN2
Every home game that is not a network TV broadcast will be streamed on ESPN3.
Quote from: chef on November 12, 2015, 10:11:04 AM
Every home game that is not a network TV broadcast will be streamed on ESPN3.
Wish it were still HL streamed. Won't be able to see anything on ESPN3 :(
Quote from: covufan on November 12, 2015, 10:16:55 AM
Quote from: chef on November 12, 2015, 10:11:04 AM
Every home game that is not a network TV broadcast will be streamed on ESPN3.
Wish it were still HL streamed. Won't be able to see anything on ESPN3 :(
There were advantages, to be sure, from the fan's perspective.
On the plus side, for those with permissions, the ESPN3 archives are often _very_ rapidly available.
Double Header action tomorrow night in the ARC... 5pm the VU Volleyball team (23-7, 9-5 Horizon) meets up with Youngstown State (9-20, 3-11 Horizon) ... Then, we'll be having the Banner Raising for the great year the Valpo Men's basketball team had last year... ahead of the tip-off with IPFW Mastodons scheduled for 7:30... Dinner at the Concession Stand ! What a great Friday night date night.
Yeh, I know this is a basketball thread... but with at least one win in the two matches this weekend, Valpo Volleyball would secure the third seed for the upcoming Horizon League Championship. We have Cleveland State on Saturday at 4pm in the ARC.
Valpo 80
IPFW 66
Both Walkers have great games.
Jabril has 3+ turnovers and takes horrible outside shots and takes a seat.
The spread Valpo -17
This game could test our depth very quickly. We will be playing with last years team less E who likely won't be ready. Derrik is out with an ankle and Shane would be limited but probably won't play due to suspension. So depth will come from Jabril and Schara plus Max. Lexus appears to be the number 3 point. Let's hope the bigs don't get into foul trouble.
Quote from: vu72 on November 13, 2015, 07:56:11 AM
This game could test our depth very quickly. We will be playing with last years team less E who likely won't be ready. Derrik is out with an ankle and Shane would be limited but probably won't play due to suspension. So depth will come from Jabril and Schara plus Max. Lexus appears to be the number 3 point. Let's hope the bigs don't get into foul trouble.
The idea, from the coaches' show, of practicing 8 at the beginning of the season, with this schedule coming up, is kind of horrifying.
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=7URH5zvEHfY#)
Quote from: agibson on November 13, 2015, 08:45:08 AMThe idea, from the coaches' show, of practicing 8 at the beginning of the season, with this schedule coming up, is kind of horrifying.
Fortunately we will only need to play 5 people at a time so I am a bit less worried. There are always some injuries and illnesses so as long as we have Keith, Vashil and Alec supported by 6 or 7 other healthy bodies we should be able to compete.
For the entire season we might never have 11 or more fully healthy bodies suited up for any one game, so if we can not compete with a depleted bench then we might as well find that out sooner rather than later.
Couple of ways to think about this one...IPFW always seems to play well against us...team pumped up for the banner raising could mean that they'll go off and score around a hundred, or the misses will be copious...my thinking is a little of both...I'm thinking we'll be down at half, something like 28-21...then go off in the second half and win 74-59...if we go off the whole game, we could score over 100...either way, I predict a WIN!!!
i expect Shane to play.
Shane warming up. Derrik in a boot cast.
Cecchini had the discretion to have his players serve their suspensions at a game of his selection. Could be the case with Shane.
Quiet around here....
Not much to say...unimpressive first half.
Paul
Paul - If you can't be a bit more of a realist, I don't understand why you insist on hanging around here.
Even the number one team in the country can struggle with the 200th team in the country for a half, especially early in the season. Eventually class wins out. After the amount of time you've spent here and with your notorious skepticism for Valpo basketball, you should know that.
Game 1 with a target on their backs and they survived the upset bid. Can honestly say I never really feared Valpo losing, but was frequently frustrated with what the score was. IPFW made a lot of difficult shots and played very hard, give them lots of credit. Everyone also knows that you just simply cannot leave that many points on the foul line. Love Skara, Jubril, and Hammick in at the same time.
Bottom line: 1-0. We are on our way!
WiscoCrusader--
Gee, all I said was the first half was unimpressive. Actually, the first 25 minutes of the game were unimpressive for VU. I'll bet most people who watched the game would share that assessment.
Paul
The bottom-line description of this game is that IPFW played a great game, but Valpo played a mediocre game and won by 14. I'll take that as a good sign, end of story.
Great crowd and student section tonight. Certainly for just playing IPFW.
Tonight is what I expected for the first real game. One thing I liked was when the game was within 5 points there was no panic at all with them.
While not perfect, there were a few stretches where they clicked and it was impressive. The 7-0 run happened in a blink of eye and it seemed like it all happened in 1 min. Once they get their sea legs this is going to be fun!
Skara is something else. I truly believe he could be a POY candidate when he is a senior. Seems to have no fear and can hit big buckets when needed.
Looking forward to Sunday's game.
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 13, 2015, 07:16:53 PM
Cecchini had the discretion to have his players serve their suspensions at a game of his selection. Could be the case with Shane.
Reporting on Twitter (Oren and Osipoff) that the games he'll miss are TBA. Sounds discretionary? If it's basically a team rules violation, maybe that makes sense.
Paul -
Every single game we play you come onto the forum at half time and talk about how unimpressive we are playing, and we end up winning 90% of those games.
It gets old, honestly.
Thanks for the valuable contribution though.
I liked what I saw in Hammink. I agree that to win by 14 in a game in which they didn't seem to find their rhythm is a good sign. 3 point shooting will have better games (under 30% until Alec drained a big one towards the end). Vashil will have better games. Peters, 24 points. Should be an interesting year.
Regarding the first half. Guys -- calm down. The mark of a truly good team is how they adjust to opponents' emotion. Everyone has their sights on Valpo. Agreed? OK, an analogy:
Though this is a different sport and at a different level, the constructs apply. My son played on an elite soccer team prior to going on to play at the collegiate level. Eagles was the best in the state and actually all of New England. Every opponent came out to kill in the opening portion of the game. Mostly on pure adrenaline. Eagles learned very early on to ABSORB that emotion (without playing into it) and then turn the flow of the game in their favor and eventually overcome and overwhelm. It was 100% predictable. It actually was a thing of beauty to witness. The games would start with a great deal of frenzied activity in the midfield and into the attacking third by opponents. As the superiority of Eagles began to show and the adrenaline began to ebb, you could visually see the possession and action move to midfield and then to the opponent's third, and eventually the walls came down and the rest of the game was controlled by Eagles.
In the mid major BB universe, Valpo IMO is like Eagles. They have to have the composure and confidence to ABSORB the initial onslought, not play into the frenzy, and remain under control. And then, when the opponent's energy has been disapated, methodically change the flow of the game to suit our game plan.
I am thinking, though I could not watch the game (only game tracker), that Valpo did that tonight. I think we will see many games where we will not blow people out of the building in the first 10 minutes. But watch the game as it evolves (as long as our players understand how good they really are) and you'll see the tide perceptively turn and flow of the game will be in Valpo's favor. It's a thing great teams have in common. Look for it with this squad -- they have the makings.
Quote from: drewsaders11 on November 13, 2015, 10:33:17 PMI liked what I saw in Hammink.
Agreed. Looks like he'll be exciting. Slashing to the basket. Seemed to be going up for a windmill dunk at one point before getting fouled. Some quality stuff too, not just flash.
At one point we went big, and it seemed like he was playing the 2 guard! Maybe it was his 3 to Skara's 2.
Quote from: agibson on November 13, 2015, 10:47:04 PMAt one point we went big, and it seemed like he was playing the 2 guard! Maybe it was his 3 to Skara's 2.
Except for Keith our small guard play by Tevonn, Darien and Max was a long way from being great. With EVN down and Lexus still recovering that trio will need to step it up for Iona and Rhode Island.
I'm still trying to figure out what's up with Lexus. Is it really possible that Max has so far passed him up, that he's healthy, and still only getting human victory cigar minutes like Davidson?
Quote from: agibson on November 13, 2015, 10:28:07 PM
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 13, 2015, 07:16:53 PM
Cecchini had the discretion to have his players serve their suspensions at a game of his selection. Could be the case with Shane.
Reporting on Twitter (Oren and Osipoff) that the games he'll miss are TBA. Sounds discretionary? If it's basically a team rules violation, maybe that makes sense.
I recognize that some may disagree, but I think what Shane and Jubril did was very minor and not deserving of a 2-game suspension. That said I'm hoping that Bryce chooses to sit Shane for our upcoming non D-1 games so as to not hurt the team's chances against any of several tough OOC opponents coming up.
Quote from: wh on November 13, 2015, 11:54:53 PM
I recognize that some may disagree, but I think what Shane and Jubril did was very minor and not deserving of a 2-game suspension. That said I'm hoping that Bryce chooses to sit Shane for our upcoming non D-1 games so as to not hurt the team's chances against any of several tough OOC opponents coming up.
Many of us would agree that it's minor (I've done way worse) but, sorry, the punishment is most likely what's agreed upon between those who receive a scholarship to play sports in college and those who give it, which makes it avoidable and, therefore, deserved.
Quote from: agibson on November 13, 2015, 11:16:13 PM
I'm still trying to figure out what's up with Lexus. Is it really possible that Max has so far passed him up, that he's healthy, and still only getting human victory cigar minutes like Davidson?
The bottom line is that he is healthy and ready to go. Max has passed him by. This team is not made up of mid-major players. Guys like Tevonn and Max have Big Ten bodies. Lexus looks like a little kid next to those guys. As for the game, it reminded me of many Valpo games in years past, against superior opponents. Valpo could hang around by making a bunch of 3's and then, in the end, lost because the other team had superior athletes and size. IPFW shot 41% from the 3. They hung around. They are not Chicago State. They will win some games this year. In the end, Valpo showed that they have the athletes and size that most teams won't have this year. A 14 point win without Derrik and E is just fine with me.
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.
I just watched the post game presser and was not happy with what I heard from Coach Drew. I mean most was very good of course, but what he said about Derrik is NOT what we wanted to hear. Basicly folks, it is a major injury and an evaluation is underway to determine if he will red shirt. That is my interpretation. Oh how things change. If Vashil wasn't back and Derrik is out the prospects for a great year change in an instant. That is the reality in college basketball.
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=0PYs_lCkYAE#)
Are we really concerned that we beat a good IPFW team by "only" 14 points?
Are we getting a bit arrogant? ;D
http://www.thesummitleague.org/sports/mbkb/2015-16/releases/20151014gom4zz
WIU was picked last in the Summit. IPFW was picked 4th.
Therefore Valpo >>>>>> Wisconsin.
I was glad to see jubril play in extended mins. He did an okay job. I think he still hasn't reached his potential.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
Quote from: vu72 on November 14, 2015, 08:33:46 AMThe bottom line is that he is healthy and ready to go. Max has passed him by. This team is not made up of mid-major players. Guys like Tevonn and Max have Big Ten bodies. Lexus looks like a little kid next to those guys.
We haven't seen enough of Lexus to really be certain of anything. By my memory a fully recovered Lexus should be in a very close competition with Max for playing time. Throw EVN back into the mix and maybe Max and Lexus both take a backseat to him. We should have a much clearer picture by January.
NCAA Press Release as of November 24, 2015.
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/ipfw-failed-monitor-aspects-its-financial-aid-program (http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/ipfw-failed-monitor-aspects-its-financial-aid-program)
Quote
Over the course of four years, the school failed to monitor its financial aid and meal processes due to incorrect practices that caused the school to misapply NCAA rules and incorrectly calculate financial aid elements. The impermissible financial aid given to 52 student-athletes totaled more than $42,000.
Two years of probation, starting now.
but no post-season ban...at least that's the way I read it.
Quote from: talksalot on November 25, 2015, 03:13:52 PM
but no post-season ban...at least that's the way I read it.
Yeah, seems like mostly a warning.
And maybe that's all that's merited for what may have just been an accounting error. If a systemic one.
They were also fined $15,000. I would think that could be a small "hurt" on their limited athletic budgeting, especially when their largest income comes from their basketball program, where they usually draw around 800 to 1,100 people.
Quote from: valpo64 on November 25, 2015, 04:32:06 PM
They were also fined $15,000. I would think that could be a small "hurt" on their limited athletic budgeting, especially when their largest income comes from their basketball program, where they usually draw around 800 to 1,100 people.
They probably draw about the same for their men's volleyball program which has previously won national championships and finishes near the top every year. I remember seeing a bunch of banners in their Gates Center for men's volleyball.
The 'Dons will have matches against Stanford, Sacred Heart, Harvard, Lewis, Loyola (Homecoming), Quincy, Lindenwood, Lourdes, Charleston, Ball State, Grand Canyon, McKendree and Ohio State at the Gates Center. They have matches on the road at St Francis-PA, Penn State, George Mason, NJIT, Ohio State, McKendree, Ball State, Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, Lindenwood, Quincy, Loyola and Lewis.
"Over 4 years.... 52 student athletes totalled more than $42,000." That's.... $42K/52 = $807.70. Per student over 4 years ($202 annually per student ???). Yeah, sure looks like an admin issue. Good to see the NCAA is on top of rampant corruption in our nation's big-time universities.