Messages

Jim was only at Valpo for 2 years, but he left an impression that will carry with us for a lifetime. I can say without question the greatest character over the last three decades to be involved with Valpo basketball. He was not only the life of the party but a very sharp basketball mind, and was in charge of many scouting reports during the historic 1997-98 season. Diagnosed with brain cancer a little more than 2 years ago, it's been a brutal last 24 months, to what was an incredible life.

Dunking Dutchman, officially an over.

They have never had a single kid recruited straight out of a region HS.

They brought in a new coach who had to revamp the roster, they had a ton of spots to fill. He got a bunch of friends/AAU teammates, most who came from the same JUCO, who wanted to stick together. Here we are 5 years later, 2 kids who are 7 years removed from high school in the region are still playing college basketball there. By next year, no one will be talking about Drake's region recruiting dominance.

Maybe the best crowd in both total attendance and enthusiasm in over 30 years. Definitely appeared to be a shoulder that sidelined Appel in the second half. It was mentioned multiple times.

I've seen it mentioned a couple times that Gordon threw it away with :35 left, I just went back and watched, because I was almost convinced that I remembered it wrong, and it was definitely Taylor on that turnover.

I will look to post more frequently in upcoming weeks. For a full preview on every Beacon player listen to the latest episode of Union Street Hoops. Looking forward to an extremely exciting season.

leaning toward Sheboygan sharpshooter

Sackey played 31 minutes, and had 3 turnovers. I think with his style of play, 6 assists and 3 turnovers in 31 minutes is acceptable.

Really encouraged by Sackey's overall game. Got to a lot of loose balls, including rebounds, and most importantly got to good spots on the court and then made the right decision. Had 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. He's as important as any player on the team.

Valpo finished 6th in the league, the tie-break is only used for determining the tournament seed. Thus it's definitely an over. The 3 wins in the conference tournament is up for debate.

The berating of officials is overrated. Ben Jacobson is clearly the best coach in the league and far and away the most successful. He doesn't berate officials. Jay Wright doesn't berate officials, and neither does Tony Bennett. I'd take those two over any coach in the country on teams that exceed their talent level year in year out. Bryce picked up about 1 technical a year. I understand the point about standing up for your players, and I think Matt does that more than he's given credit for. As for the post game, nothing good comes from ripping the refs in the press conference. In fact, only bad things come from it. I think Zion's minutes were lost yesterday because Nick was playing so well in the backcourt.

I love everybody's passion on here, and will never bemoan fans for showing their displeasure when a team hasn't met their expectations. However, the one thing I disagree with is the complaints about Matt's sideline behavior. I understand he doesn't act like a ranting maniac like Musselman, and that's a good thing, but he does work the officials, and does it in an almost identical way that Bryce Drew always did. I don't think with :05 to go when Javon gets run over and there's a no call, that veteran officials like Terry Wymer and Roger Ayers are swallowing their whistle because they don't think Matt has been riding them enough, and I also don't think it's a factor in our record this year. I think now that Nick and Ryan are both finally healthy, and yesterday's game was a step forward. Here's hoping you'll all see a nice late season run.

Had one bad 4 minute stretch when Javon needed a breather, but keep in mind that coincided with Kiser on the bench with 4 fouls. Kiser's leadership and understanding of what to do and where to be on both ends of the court cannot be understated. There's a reason why Kiser is averaging over 30 minutes a game.

The Chef is available at every game. So there will be other opportunities.

According to the official Play-by-play, 14 of the 20 tackles made while Seewald was in the game were made by players listed as 1st or 2nd teamers on the Truman State pregame depth chart. Maybe this will put to bed the "Seewald did it against the third team defense" narrative.

Tracy Dorow didn't use Bob Brooks for strength and conditioning. Bob has worked with women's volleyball for the past 15 years and they've had very few injuries. He is a highly trained professional that Valpo is very lucky to have on their staff. To speculate that the ladies have had numerous injuries because of his training procedures is out of line.

A couple points on Bakari. He had foot surgery this summer and missed the entire off-season. I don't think he's 100 percent healthy right now. However, I think he's actually moving the basketball much better this season. Last year he had 93 assists and 88 turnovers. Thus far this season he has 28 assists and just 14 turnovers. I think the poor shooting has likely been caused by the lack of play leading up to the season.

Guys, I'm just getting caught up. Now that the season is here, I'll try and check each day. As been correctly pointed out, radio only tomorrow. Espn3 and espn+ for pretty much every game going forward. Mileek has made huge strides, that's why he's starting. Javon is starting because he's an exceptional player. He does everything well. Honestly has no weaknesses. I think we're all expecting this to be a great season.

Surprising ... a very reliable source said Mileek would only be playing the 4 spot.

This is incorrect. Again, Mileek will definitely play some at the five.

Honestly, your source is not correct on this subject. Sorolla, Smits and McMillan will all play minutes at the 5. I think Mileek could average about 10 minutes a game at the 4 and 10 minutes at the 5.
Bakari, Javon and Ryan are the most likely starters. Sorolla appears to have a leg up at the 5 and Deion could start at the 1, allowing Bakari to play off the ball more. Golder and Mileek would be first 2 off the bench. A lot could change but that appears to be where the rotation stands right now. Sackey will definite see significant minutes also.

It looks like Mileek has dropped about 15 pounds and he's moving around the court so much quicker and more comfortably. He's showing great quickness is small areas, allowing him to make quick moves in the post for easy buckets. Defensively he's really excelling, playing a lot at the 5. His outside shot has also taken a step forward. He's been a high motor high energy guy in the practices I've witnessed. He will have a much greater impact on this season.

After viewing segments of multiple practices, the one thing that sticks out with me is the incredible leap forward by Mileek. He looks like a completely different player.

I understand the frustration with J on offense, but his defense has been stellar. He's an elite defender, which is why we shut down Bradley in the last 6 minutes on Saturday. Tough to blame him tonight, for whatever reason the officials refused to let him play defense. I think what's been extremely difficult has been the inability in so many games this year to get a fair shake from the zebras. Hopefully things will change in our second year in the league.

Not mentioning Bakari's illness was a mistake. It was mentioned numerous times throughout the radio broadcast. There's no new news concerning Burton, but it was mentioned that his loss really hurt the team. I don't think it's any secret why Parker has not played much lately. He hasn't produced offensively and the team is struggling offensively.
And finally....the show has a dress code. As for going forward, I expect a much better performance tonight. I think it's great Valpo has so many passionate fans, and I'm sure that's one thing that will never change.