Kyle Binder interview with Scott Gleeson from USA Today regarding 2013-14 outlook. Interesting points:
---They stress the importance of playing BCS opponents in preparing for the post-season. Then they cite the only 2 decent OOC opponents on WSU's and GB's respective schedules to support their premise.
---Look at Gleeson's BR - a messed up bed and whiskey bottles in the corner below what appears to be a crucifix. You gotta love telecommuting... lol
http://www.horizonleague.org/sports/mens-basketball (http://www.horizonleague.org/sports/mens-basketball)
Quote from: wh on September 17, 2013, 04:02:05 PMKyle Binder interview with Scott Gleeson from USA Today regarding 2013-14 outlook. Interesting points: ---They stress the importance of playing BCS opponents in preparing for the post-season. Then they cite the only 2 decent OOC opponents on WSU's and GB's respective schedules to support their premise. ---Look at Gleeson's BR - a messed up bed and whiskey bottles in the corner below what appears to be a crucifix. You gotta love telecommuting... lol http://www.horizonleague.org/sports/mens-basketball (http://www.horizonleague.org/sports/mens-basketball)
And not one mention of a team besides Wright St and Green Bay. That's not really analyzing the Horizon League because in a lot of peoples' view this season the HL will be a lot more than just a two team race. You have to at least mention Valpo, the winner of the last two regular seasons, Detroit, tourney winner two years ago and possibly Cleveland St, Youngstown St and Oakland.
I'm sure Coach Drew will use this (and the other "expert previews") as motivation for the team. I'm sure they want to do their best, but it never hurts to have a little chip on your shoulder.
From the WSU board, here's the full USA Today preview for the Horizon.
USA Today's Horizon League Preview
1. Wright State
2. Green Bay
3. Cleveland State
4. Oakland
5. UIC
6. Youngstown State
7. Valparaiso
8. Detroit
9. Milwaukee
First Team
Travis Bader, Oakland
Kendrick Perry, YSU
Alec Brown, Green Bay
Cole Darling, Wright State
Kamren Belin, Youngstown State
Second Team
Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Jordan Aaron, Milwaukee
Corey Petros, Oakland
Jordan Fouse, Green Bay
Hayden Humes, UIC
Player of the Year: Kendrick Perry
Rookie of the Year: Lexus Williams, Valparaiso
Recruiting roundup
Top Class: Valparaiso
Worth watching: Oakland
Sleeper: Cleveland State
Read more: http://wrightstate.proboards.com/thread/2666/hl-previews?page=2#ixzz2fOnrLz8w (http://wrightstate.proboards.com/thread/2666/hl-previews?page=2#ixzz2fOnrLz8w)
Odd that they put two YSU guys on the first team, but predicted them to finish 6th. Maybe they didn't realize that "YSU" and "Youngstown State" were the same team. :crazy:
The details of the USA Today Preview should provide a number of examples with specific motivation for Valpo. I'd like to see Capobianco make the first or second team. I also think the team will be inspired by the seventh-place prediction.
As for Williams as Rookie of the Year: given enough minutes, I think Peters or Yeo could have as much of a chance for that honor. In addition, I believe Carter will likely be the starting point guard for conference play rather than Williams, which could give him a chance for Rookie of the Year since I think transfers are eligible as well as freshmen. In fact, I thought the title was Newcomer of the Year.
The one question with WSU will they be able to score? Last year they had the worst offense in the league PPG wise, with only 62.0 PPG. They did finish 4th shooting wise but will their offense hold them back again this year.
People remember their start in the HL last season, starting 4-0, but they did beat UWM, CSU, GB, and Loyola, 3 out of the 4 worst teams in the HL. They were good last year but I don't believe they are a lock for the top spot in the HL. The main question around their team is scoring, we know they can play defense but if they can't score they will be good but probably won't be able to win the HL just on defense alone.
_____
On the other hand, having Jordan Aaron on the HL 2nd team made me laugh. He was a mediocre player on a team that saying they are terrible is a compliment. Not to mention he had a 37% shooting percentage, not very good... The only think USA Today got right was the PoY in Kendrick Perry, other than that it seemed like they just put names into a hat and picked at random...
Funny how nobody has even mentioned Lexus Williams on this board. Where do they find this stuff? Nothing against Lexus, and I hope he does very well, but a guy like Alec Peters, who was widely recognized as one of the top players in Illinois and who had offers from several BCS schools or Clay Yeo, who was an Indiana All Star, would seem more likely to garner this sort of prediction. This stuff is laughable on many fronts. With Carter and last year's Sixth Man of the Year playing point, I doubt Lexus will see the floor much his freshman year.
Talk about throwing darts at a bull's ass, and hoping to hit on something...
Quote from: classof2014 on September 20, 2013, 08:38:23 AM
The one question with WSU will they be able to score? Last year they had the worst offense in the league PPG wise, with only 62.0 PPG. They did finish 4th shooting wise but will their offense hold them back again this year.
People remember their start in the HL last season, starting 4-0, but they did beat UWM, CSU, GB, and Loyola, 3 out of the 4 worst teams in the HL. They were good last year but I don't believe they are a lock for the top spot in the HL. The main question around their team is scoring, we know they can play defense but if they can't score they will be good but probably won't be able to win the HL just on defense alone.
_____
On the other hand, having Jordan Aaron on the HL 2nd team made me laugh. He was a mediocre player on a team that saying they are terrible is a compliment. Not to mention he had a 37% shooting percentage, not very good... The only think USA Today got right was the PoY in Kendrick Perry, other than that it seemed like they just put names into a hat and picked at random...
Given WSU's ridiculously slow pace of play, the 62.0 ppg number isn't as bad as it appears. Scoring sure isn't their strong suit, but they aren't the most inefficient team in the league.
Quote from: hailcrusaders on September 23, 2013, 06:47:44 PM
Quote from: classof2014 on September 20, 2013, 08:38:23 AM
The one question with WSU will they be able to score? Last year they had the worst offense in the league PPG wise, with only 62.0 PPG. They did finish 4th shooting wise but will their offense hold them back again this year.
People remember their start in the HL last season, starting 4-0, but they did beat UWM, CSU, GB, and Loyola, 3 out of the 4 worst teams in the HL. They were good last year but I don't believe they are a lock for the top spot in the HL. The main question around their team is scoring, we know they can play defense but if they can't score they will be good but probably won't be able to win the HL just on defense alone.
_____
On the other hand, having Jordan Aaron on the HL 2nd team made me laugh. He was a mediocre player on a team that saying they are terrible is a compliment. Not to mention he had a 37% shooting percentage, not very good... The only think USA Today got right was the PoY in Kendrick Perry, other than that it seemed like they just put names into a hat and picked at random...
Given WSU's ridiculously slow pace of play, the 62.0 ppg number isn't as bad as it appears. Scoring sure isn't their strong suit, but they aren't the most inefficient team in the league.
I agree that it always seemed as if WSU was playing at a snail's pace, but the facts don't support this premise. As you can see below, WSU averaged only 1 possession/game less than Valpo in conference play. We were much more efficient offensively - 1.15 PPP(1st) vs. 1.0 PPP(8th). In defensive efficiency WSU was ranked 1st. We tied for 3rd.
TEAM-RECORD-Pos/G-Off.Pts/Pos-Def.Pts/Pos
MIL 3 13 53 1.16 1.35
CSU 5 11 63 0.97 1.11
LOY 5 11 63 1.03 1.04
GBU 10 6 64 1.06 0.98
WSU 10 6 64 1.00 0.94
UIC 7 9 65 1.04 1.05
Val 13 3 65 1.15 1.04
YSU 7 9 68 1.04 1.07
Det 12 4 70 1.15 1.08
I think this shows that they didn't win games by slowing the pace. They won by playing very physical, lockdown defense, which overcame their offensive woes, more often than not. With the new rule changes this season designed to cut down on "manhandling" on the defensive end, teams like WSU and GB are going to have to improve their offensive efficiency to be as successful as they were a year ago.
Rule changes:
http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2013-06-24/ncaa-playing-rules-oversight-panel-approves-changes-foul-call (http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2013-06-24/ncaa-playing-rules-oversight-panel-approves-changes-foul-call)
Over on the Detroit board "Commissioner" has posted a thorough and enlightening season preview for Wright State. He plans to do one for every HL team. I will re-post them here as I see them:
Horizon Analysis - Wright State
by Commissioner » Tue Sep 24, 2013 10:59 pm
I'm writing up some longer analyses of the various Horizon league teams this year, in no particular order. This is the first one, on Wright State.
Wright State:
2013: 10-6, 3d (T) Horizon; 23-13 overall, CBI.
At first glance, what's not to like about the 2014 Wright State Raiders? The Raiders return 12 players from last year's surprising 23 win team, including all five starters and 9 players who averaged 14 minutes or more per game. In addition, Butler transfer Chrishawn Hopkins (9.1 ppg in 2012) becomes eligible at the end of fall semester. The likely 10-man rotation will include 9 juniors or seniors. Not surprisingly, Wright State has been the favorite of most national prognosticators to win the Horizon this year.
But a closer examination suggests that the Raiders are not so formidable as they first appear. Let's start with last year's surprising season. To start, remember, that if this is the same personnel that won 23 games last year, it is also the same personnel picked to finish dead last in last year's pre-season polls. The prognosticators were wrong in their assessment of WSU's talent, but were they all that far wrong? Perhaps not.
Until the CBI, when they beat Tulsa (RPI 124) and Richmond (RPI 91) at home, the Raiders beat just one team all season with an RPI below 150 – Detroit, whom they skinned twice, once in the regular season and then on a last second shot in the conference tournament. Indeed, the Raiders were a remarkable 6-0 last year in conference games decided by one possession (that is, 1 to 3 points). You might call that clutch play or good coaching. But others would call that luck, particularly given that the Raiders were one of the league's worst free throw shooting teams, finishing 7th in the conference. Split those six nailbiters 3-3, and the Raiders would be looking at a 7-9 conference record and a 6th place finish.
Similarly, the Raiders' projected conference record, based on actual points scored and allowed, would have been just 8-8, with an overall record of 19-17 (That is, the average team with Wright State's points scored and points allowed would have finished 8-8 in conference and 19-17 overall, vs. WSU's 10-6 and 23-13). Again, you can call it clutch play and good coaching, or you can call it plain luck, or maybe some of each. But it suggests a decline is more likely than an improvement.
The stats show a number of weaknesses in Wright State that suggest that they overperformed last year. The Raiders were a so-so shooting team, 4th in the Conference (just .001 ahead of #5 Green Bay). They were 6th in 3-point shooting percentage and 7th in 3 pointers made. As noted, they were 7th in free throw shooting. Hopkins has a reputation as a scorer, but at Butler he was not a good shooter, hitting just 35.3% from the floor and 26.7% from 3-point range, so he may not improve things as much as some expect. In freshman wing JT Yoho, they did have the league's #2 3-point shooter, but Yoho's lack of defense often kept him on the bench.
In addition, the Raiders were not a good rebounding team, finishing 6th in the conference with an average deficit of 1.3 rebounds per game. Their offensive rebound percentage was last in the league, not a good sign for a so-so shooting team, and their defensive rebounding percentage was just 4th. Nor did the Raiders take good care of the ball. They were 8th in the league in total turnovers, ahead only of Valparaiso, which played a much more up-tempo game. And they were 7th in Assists/Turnover ratio, ahead only of 8th place Cleveland State and last place Milwaukee. This is another area where the addition of the veteran guard Hopkins may not really help – at Butler he had more turnovers than assists, by a considerable margin.
So how did the Raiders end up with 23 wins? Besides winning close games, the key to WSU's success last season was a swarming defense. The Raiders forced 15.8 turnovers per game, a remarkable number given their relatively slow-paced style of play (Only Detroit, playing a much more up-tempo style, forced more, an average of 16.4 per game. Similarly, they were second to Detroit in steals per game.) The Raiders come at teams in waves, constantly changing match-ups and keeping their own players fresh (which may have helped garner all those one-possession wins).
Even beyond the addition of Hopkins, there is reason to believe the Raiders could improve in 2014. The team's best player, 6-8 forward Cole Darling, missed 13 games last year with injuries, including the final 10. The sharpshooter Yoho should be more consistent and can pick up his defense; junior point Reggie Arceneaux has also been inconsistent for two years but may be ready to blossom. Junior forward Tavares Sledge is another player who has yet to reach the potential he showed as a recruit. The team's tremendous depth allows it to go big or small as the circumstances demand, and they can accordingly match up well with any team in the league.
Despite these advantages, color me a Wright State skeptic. It's not that I think they're going to completely collapse or anything, and in fact a cream puff non-conference schedule almost guarantees an overall 18 win season and a CIT bid in a worst case scenario. But as I've tried to demonstrate above, I think their success last season is a bit misleading. They look to me more like a team heading for a come-down than a charge to the top. And that's before we consider the possible effects of injuries. 6-5 senior guard Matt Vest, the only player to start all 36 games last season, had hip surgery in the off-season. His recovery remains uncertain. Darling has had a series of shoulder problems that have hindered him throughout his collegiate career, and as noted missed the last quarter of last season with a foot injury and recurring shoulder problems. 6-10 senior forward A.J. Pacher also had off-season surgery. Wright State's depth could be sorely tested.
There's a reason why Wright State is generally considered the Horizon pre-season favorite, and frankly, they've earned it. But there's also an old adage, "buy low, sell high." Last year was a good time to buy Wright State low. This year? Wright State will be a tough opponent in every game, and a factor in the race, but don't anoint them champs yet.
Probable Starting Line-up:
F: Tavares Sledge 6-9 Jr.; 4.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
F: Cole Darling 6-8 Sr.; 11.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg
G: Kendall Griffin, 6-4 Sr.: 6.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.0 apg.
PG: Reggie Arceneaux, 5-9 Jr.: 8.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.5 apg; .346 3P%.
G: Matt Vest, 6-5 Sr.: 5.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.2 apg.
Other Key Players:
F: A.J. Pacher 6-10 Sr: 5.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg.
F: Jerran Young 6-6 Sr: 8.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg
F: J.T. Yoho 6-6 So: 6.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, .422 3P%.
G: Chrishawn Hopkins 6-1 Jr.: (2012 Butler) 9.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.5 apg.
G: Miles Dixon 6-1 Sr: 8.5 ppg.
I think we have the most knowledgeable group of message board fans in the HL, but there are some excellent students of the game from other fan bases, as well. Commissioner is definitely one of the best.
WH,
He has his Valpo preview up now.
Commissioner's season preview for Valpo:
This is the second of my Horizon 2014 team analyses.
Valparaiso
2013: 13-3, 1st Horizon, 26-8 Overall, NCAA
After a two-year run at the top of the league, Valparaiso loses all 5 starters and its top 6 players in minutes played last season, including 2012 Conference Player of the Year Ryan Broekhoff and 2nd team all-conference selection Kevin Van Wijk. But the cupboard was not left entirely bare, and there's quite a bit of new talent, so Valpo approaches the season with confidence.
This year's Valpo edition starts with size. The one sure starter up front is 5th year senior and Indiana transfer Bobby Capobianco. The 6-10, 235 lb. Capobianco averaged 5.9 ppg and 4.5 rebounds in 2013 while shooting 55% from the floor. Capobianco's game is too limited for him to become a break out star, but he's a very good player and will be a solid regular. Likely to join Capobianco up front is 6-10, 245 lb. Jamaican Junior Vashil Fernandez. Fernandez averaged just 7 minutes per game in 27 games last year, but Valpo has anticipated big things from the big guy since his signing. If Fernandez can't step up, the Crusaders will turn to 7-0 Alabama transfer Moussa Gueye. Gueye is not an offensive threat, but he rebounds and alters the shot of most anybody trying to get in the lane. I think it is unlikely that both Fernandez and Gueye will start, but the option to go huge across the front line is a nice one to have. But if only one starts, as I think likely, I think Fernandez gets first chance because of his greater upside. Also available is David Chadwick, a 6-9 5th year senior transfer from Rice. Chadwick lends depth but if he's playing more than 10-15 minutes per game it's not a good sign for Valpo.
A trio of freshmen are likely to battle for the final spot in the front line: 6-7 Jubril Adekoya, 6-8 Alec Peters, and 6-4 Clay Yeo. Peters, who chose Valpo over Boston College, Butler, St. Louis and a number of other offers, is probably the best of the trio. Adekoya also fielded a host of mid-major offers before choosing the Crusaders. Yeo is not as good a player as Peters and Adekoya, but he's a bigger scoring threat on a team that needs to find points, and a better ball handler on a team that, at least early, will be weak at PG. He's also a three point threat, which this team needs. As a result, I think he'll get the nod. Alternatively, if none of the frosh are ready Coach Bryce Drew could go with 6-5 senior guard Jordan Coleman on the wing. Coleman averaged 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in just under 15 minutes per game last season.
Valpo's best player may be a guy who's played all of 39 minutes of college ball and won't be eligible until mid-December. Former St. Louis coach Rick Majerus once called Billiken transfer Keith Carter the best floor leader he'd ever coached after Andre Miller. As a freshman last year, Carter was injured in the Billikens' second game of the season, missed 7 games, returned to play 21 minutes against Eastern Illinois on December 19, and then announced two days later he was leaving the program. He'll be eligible for Valpo's game against NAIA member Southeastern on December 22, and the Crusaders need him badly. A key weakness to last season's squad was lack of depth at the point, which Detroit, in particular, used to its advantage. Carter will be the Crusaders' point once eligible.
Until then, they'll muddle through the non-conference schedule with South Florida transfer Lavonte Dority at the point. Dority is a shooting guard at heart, but was often forced to play the point last season when starter Erik Buggs hit the bench. He averaged 8.6 points in just 21 minutes per game, but had more turnovers than assists. Dority likes to chuck it up, but he's not actually shown himself to be a good shooter, averaging less than 32% from the floor in two seasons at USF, and 37% last year, including 31% from behind the arc. Still, he's the kind of guy who can light it up on a hot night. He'll probably slide over to the #2 slot when Carter comes in, although he could be used as a spark off the bench with the starting gig going to Coleman or another touted freshman, Nick Davidson. And still another freshman, 5-11 Lexus Williams, will back up the point or could even take the job from Dority until Carter is eligible. Williams is quick, sees the floor well, and should eventually be a good player, but probably isn't ready to step in to a major role this year. Nonetheless, given Dority's weaknesses as a point guard Williams will be given the opportunity to play if he shows well in practice.
Valpo's biggest problem this year may be getting points on the board, an odd situation for a school that is usually at or near the top of the conference in scoring and points per possession. If Drew lets him, Dority would be happy to chuck up 20 shots a night and average about 14-15 ppg, but that's probably not the best move for a winning team. Capobianco should average in double digits and is capable of the occasional big night, but he's not a true, consistent scoring threat. So someone has to step up there – it could be Fernandez or Coleman, or perhaps Carter, or one of the freshman – all are possibilities but none the obvious candidate.
In two years at Valpo Bryce Drew has shown himself to be one of the nation's best young coaches, but this year will easily be his toughest test to date. He's got to bring together a team of freshmen and transfers, mix in a new point guard ten days before the conference schedule begins, and find somebody who can score points. And there's not much time to do this: they've got games with Murray State, Mercer, Central Florida, and at Illinois, Ohio U. and Evansville, before the end of November. Then St. Louis visits on December 7. So don't be surprised if Valpo is slow out of the gate.
But ultimately, there's talent here. Valpo is a likely middle of the pack team, perhaps finishing as high as 3rd or a low as 7th or even 8th. If I had to pick winners today, I'd likely pick league favorite Wright State to beat Valpo when they meet on January 10 in the ARC. But Valpo should get better as the year goes along, and if I had to pick today I'd pick Valpo to win a March rematch of last year's Horizon Tournament championship game with WSU. Other Horizon teams definitely don't want to let Valpo sneak through this year, because the Crusaders are only going to get better in 2015 and 2106 as Carter and the freshmen mature.
Probable Starting Lineup:
PG: Keith Carter, 6-0 Soph. Played 3 games with St. Louis in 2012-13.
SG: Lavonte Dority, 6-1 Sr., 8.6 ppg, 1.9 apg.
F: Clay Yeo 6-4 Fr.
F: Bobby Capobianco 6-10 Sr., 5.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, .551 FG%
C: Vashil Fernandez 6-10 Jr., 1.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg
Other Key Players:
G: Jordan Coleman, 6-5 Sr.: 4.4 ppg.
PG: Lexus Williams, 5-11 Fr.
SG: Nick Davidson, 6-3 Fr.
F: David Chadwick, 6-9 Sr.: (2012 Rice) 1.5 ppg, 0.9 rpg.
F: Jubril Adekoya, 6-7 Fr.
F: Alec Peters, 6-8 Fr.
C: Moussa Gueye, 7-0 Sr.: (2013 Alabama) 1.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 blocks pg.
The only thing I would change is I think Moussa will start before Vashil. Other than that I think it covers it pretty well. I think the dimension of the team will completely change once KC becomes available.
Personally I think we have more of a chance of finishing 3rd than 8th.
If Vashil starts over Moussa I will personally eat my Valpo banner. So Moussa, who would have been a starter at SEC Alabama, decides to come off the bench at Valpo? Right. Vashil has a ways to go.
As for the freshman, picking Yeo to be a contributor over Peters is way off. Sure he can score but so can Peters who is 4 inches taller and shot over 40% last year from the 3. Peters is a Ryan Broekhoff prototype. I expect Peters to start at the 3 with Moussa and Bobby up front and to start out, Dority at the point with Coleman at the 2. We'll see Williams getting some point time and Yeo some at the 2 or 3. Vashil, Chadwick and Adekoya all getting some time at the 4 and 5 spots. That's 10 guys possibly in the rotation. Something has to give at Bryce will probably go with his normal 8 person rotation, which means that after Carter is elgible Williams goes to the bench, Vashil's time in limited and either Coleman or Yeo's time is cut as well.
Nice choices to have...
Get ready for Alec:
Alec Peters 2013 Washington (IL) at the GRBA Championships (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHrxnB6r4Yo#ws)
Get ready for Clay, too:
Clay Yeo Senior Night Tribute, Valley at Triton (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GomNurZf0Y0#)
And, to think he's added 18 pounds of muscle since this video!
Mostly I'm impressed that he wrote an entire VU preview without any sneaky cheap shots at Capobianco for the Anderson takedown.
I'd like to think I could have done the same were I in his shoes, but an early part of improving one's character is not fooling yourself.
LAA, maybe he didn't mention it because Anderson graduated, and Detroit won't have a huge impact on anything in the conference besides trying to knock off any top dogs? I don't see Bobby doing what he did in Detroit with the "mauling" this season.
Dude, if I were a UDM fan, and clearly didn't have a rational view nor understanding of that play, I would be mentioning that until Bobby Capobianco Jr. suited up for the Crusaders (coached by Will Phipps) and then I would start bringing it up aGAIN.
Quote from: vu72 on September 27, 2013, 08:57:40 AMAs for the freshman, picking Yeo to be a contributor over Peters is way off. Sure he can score but so can Peters who is 4 inches taller and shot over 40% last year from the 3.
I think if you could see Yeo play you would think otherwise. He is just surprising a lot of people and will make the team even stronger. I have nothing bad to say about Peters. He is pretty much what I expected but I think Yeo will score more if given the chance. Peters is the shooter. Yeo is the total points scorer. Yeo will do more without the help. Peters is excellent, Yeo is better.
Quote from: historyman on September 28, 2013, 10:30:23 PMPeters is the shooter. Yeo is the total points scorer. Yeo will do more without the help. Peters is excellent, Yeo is better.
High praise! That will be exciting to see develop, and I hope you're right.
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on September 28, 2013, 10:33:06 PM
Quote from: historyman on September 28, 2013, 10:30:23 PMPeters is the shooter. Yeo is the total points scorer. Yeo will do more without the help. Peters is excellent, Yeo is better.
High praise! That will be exciting to see develop, and I hope you're right.
Longer term this sounds great but I have to wonder how this will play out for this season. Will Yeos ballhandling limitations restrict him to playing only the 3 and the small 4, and if so just how uncommon will it be to see both Peters and Yeo on the floor at the same time? So here we are with more new talent and depth at the 3, 4, and 5 than we can use (much of it untested); and even bigger early season questions at the 1 and the 2.
I am optimistic that this can be a strong February team but I just don't see this sorting itself out quickly.
Quote from: justducky on September 29, 2013, 02:28:44 PM
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on September 28, 2013, 10:33:06 PM
Quote from: historyman on September 28, 2013, 10:30:23 PMPeters is the shooter. Yeo is the total points scorer. Yeo will do more without the help. Peters is excellent, Yeo is better.
High praise! That will be exciting to see develop, and I hope you're right.
Longer term this sounds great but I have to wonder how this will play out for this season. Will Yeos ballhandling limitations restrict him to playing only the 3 and the small 4, and if so just how uncommon will it be to see both Peters and Yeo on the floor at the same time? So here we are with more new talent and depth at the 3, 4, and 5 than we can use (much of it untested); and even bigger early season questions at the 1 and the 2.
I am optimistic that this can be a strong February team but I just don't see this sorting itself out quickly.
I agree with this with a few surprises thrown in. We could surprise Central Florida, Saint Louis (lost to Santa Clara last year), LMU or even Illinois (but not as likely). I think beating Mercer, Murray State, Ball State or James Madison would not be surprises but are just as likely to lose.
Quote from: justducky on September 29, 2013, 02:28:44 PMWill Yeos ballhandling limitations restrict him to playing only the 3 and the small 4, and if so just how uncommon will it be to see both Peters and Yeo on the floor at the same time?
I think you will see that Yeo's ball handling skills will not limit him as much as you think. He's as good at ball handling as probably Jordan Coleman.
Quote from: historyman on September 29, 2013, 03:59:47 PM
Quote from: justducky on September 29, 2013, 02:28:44 PMWill Yeos ballhandling limitations restrict him to playing only the 3 and the small 4, and if so just how uncommon will it be to see both Peters and Yeo on the floor at the same time?
I think you will see that Yeo's ball handling skills will not limit him as much as you think. He's as good at ball handling as probably Jordan Coleman.
I am not too concerned about his ballhandling at the 3 but since we can only put 5 players on the floor at one time, has he developed enough to compete with Coleman and Davidson and later on Dority for a little playing time as a 2? We do not know where our points are going to come from and here we have 2 of our best scoring prospects that may rarely be on the floor together.
If Yeo is better--not questioning your opinion--then we really have something. Peters has proven, against big school competition, to do it all and thus received many D1 offers. If Yeo is the more complete player, GREAT. Can't wait to see all the freshman!!
Yeo, at 6'4" can replace the smaller 3's we've used last year. Peters adds height. I can imagine Peters at the 3 and Yeo at the 2. So much for wondering where the points will come from...
Quote from: vu72 on September 29, 2013, 06:04:11 PMPeters has proven, against big school competition, to do it all and thus received many D1 offers.
I don't know. His HS team underachieved, and Yeo's (maybe) over-. They beat some quality teams and some quality players on the way (ask Fazekas and Marquette among others).
Plus, with Yeo committing so early, that kind of took him off the market, whereas Peters was into his senior year when he committed.
It's interesting--I never really imagined them competing for minutes, because they're so different, but in the early days here, they likely will be.
Pre-season analysis of new member Oakland by Commissioner:
Horizon Analysis - Oakland
by Commissioner » Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:42 pm
This is the third of my Horizon team pre-season analyses, covering the Oakland Grizzlies. Earlier reviews of Wright State and Valparaiso are at viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1177 and viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1179.
Oakland
2013: 10-6, 4th place Summit League: 16-17 overall, CIT.
Go around Horizon League fan boards, and there's always a certain disgruntlement with the Horizon League. It should be better, bigger, smaller, get rid of its remaining privates, add more privates, require tougher scheduling policies, and on and on. Not around Oakland. Grizzly fans are ecstatic to escape the Summit League for the higher plateaus of the Horizon. And they've got a team that ought to be competitive right away.
My personal view, though, is that many fans around the league are a bit too excited about the addition of Oakland. Obviously that's not the case around the corner of Livernois and McNichols, but even leaving aside local biases, Oakland's strength is often overestimated. Let's start with the obivious – the Griz had a losing record last season. Big picture, the Grizzlies have one of the smallest arenas, lowest average attendances, and smallest basketball and overall athletic budgets in the Horizon. Oakland's basketball success in the last decade has largely come from pummeling inferior Summit competition. In non-conference play over the past 5 years, Oakland is just 26-42 against D-I opponents. This is in part because they have tended to play very difficult non-conference schedules against lots of top high-majors, but not entirely so: for example, they are just 5-5 against the MAC and 0-2 against the MVC in that time, leagues much closer to the Horizon in level of play than is the Summit. In other words, success in the Summit won't automatically translate into success in the Horizon. And while Loyola has been the Horizon's weak sister for the last decade, long term their endowment, history, and location give them more potential, at least if they are really serious about getting serious again about basketball. Nor is it clear, as I've noted elsewhere, http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net (http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net) ... e-strength, that Oakland's "murderer's row" scheduling philosophy will help the Horizon's overall RPI, though it should help Oakland's.
Be that as it may, Oakland is here, and they should field a very competitive team this year. The immediate effect of the Oakland for Loyola swap is certainly to make the Horizon a better league in 2014.
Oakland's game starts with Travis Bader, a 6-5 wing who averaged 22.1 ppg last season, 5th best in the nation and second (after Creighton's Doug McDermott) among returning players. He also led the nation in 3 pointers made. If you think Ray McCallum played a lot last year, note that Bader averaged almost two minutes MORE per game than McCallum, while playing in every game. Bader was on the floor for 95% of Oakland's minutes last year. He should bring lots of attention to the Horizon this year and it wouldn't be surprising if he followed Ray McCallum and Norris Cole as an All-American selection.
Bader is by no means the only talent. The returning point guard is 5th year senior Duke Mondy, a Providence transfer who averaged 12 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.4 rebounds last season. In the middle Oakland has a third contender for all-conference honors in 6-10, 260 lb. junior Corey Petros. who averaged 12.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, shooting 56% from the floor.
The question is whether there is enough behind these three to propel the Grizzlies to the top of the standings. Coach Greg Kampe has state that he wants to turn the point over to touted freshman Kahlil Felder from day one. Felder is good but there's always some risk in a freshman point guard. If Felder does start, Mondy slides over to the #2, and the final starter will be one of a pair of junior transfer forwards, Ralph Hill from Dayton or Tommy McCune from West Virginia. McCune was a highly rated high school recruit who was booted from West Virginia after various brushes with the law and violations of team rules. He transferred to Oakland, where Kampe kicked him off the team last year. But after being booted McCune stayed in school, is said to have worked hard, and has been given one final chance. My guess, however, is that Hill gets the starting nod. If Felder can't handle the point, both McCune and Hill could start.
Another player who figures in is 5-9 senior guard Ryan Bass, who averaged 9.3 ppg last year. Bass, however, was slowed last season by a lingering knee injury, and there are rumors that he still is feeling various aches and pains. Oakland's bench is already thin, and earlier this month it was announced that 6-9 back-up forward Raphael Carter will miss the entire season to have femoral acetabular impingement surgery, whatever that is (it sounds bad, and I wish him well). 6-6 forward Dante Williams averaged 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 15 minutes per game. 6-5 sophomore forward Lloyd Neely was a disappointment last year, and played just 150 minutes on the entire season. Oakland is thin; if McCune gets kicked off the team, they'll be thinner. An injury to Bader would be a disaster.
The loss of Carter points up another potential weakness – while Petros is a force in the middle, with Carter out he will be the only Grizzly in the rotation topping 6-6, except for McCune, who despite his 6-8 stature weighs just 200 pounds and really is a perimeter player. Fortunately for OU, Petros has been pretty good at staying out of foul trouble.
Oakland's style, like Detroit's, is up-tempo, and UD/Oakland games ought to be a high scoring spectacle. If the Titans don't defend the trey better than last year, Bader could go for 50 against UD.
In the bigger picture, if Felder is good; if McCune stays out of trouble and plays like the Big 10/Big East recruit he once was; if Ralph Hill is quite a bit better than he was at Dayton; and if they avoid injuries, Oakland could be extremely good. More likely, they'll be one of several contenders in a wide-open Horizon League race. I'll say a top 4 finish is likely, but I don't see Oakland winning it.
Probable Starting Lineup
PG: Kahlil Felder, 5-9 Fr.
SG: Duke Mondy, 6-4 Sr., 12.0 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.4 rpg.
SF: Travis Bader, 6-5 Sr., 22.1 ppg, .394 3P%.
F: Ralph Hill, 6-6 Jr., (Dayton 2012) 1.4 ppg.
C: Corey Petros, 6-10 Jr., 12.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg, .565 FG%.
Other Key Players:
G: Ryan Bass, 5-9 Sr., 9.3 ppg, 2.7 apg, 2.5 rpg.
F: Tommy McCune, 6-8 Jr., (West Virginia 2012) played 13 games, 4.5 mpg.
F: Dante Williams, 6-6 Jr., 3.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg.
F: Lloyd Neely, 6-5 Soph., 1.1 ppg.
Titan All Americans Calihan Swanson Sparrow Ebben DeBusschere Murray Haywood Long Tyler Duerod Phillips Green McCallum
I noticed on Twitter that the HL pre-season ballots are out and that results will be announced at Media Day on Oct. 15. It will be interesting to see how the HL predictions compare to the stuff that's been released by the national publications. The season's right around the corner!
Here is my personal preview of what the HL will look like come March.
1st: Wright State
Wright State is poised to finish first in the HL. They are a well-coached team that is great on the defensive end. They return just about everybody and add a potential scorer in Butler transfer Chrishawn Hopkins. Last season this was a team that lacked offense and Hopkins might be the key player to spark the offense. There are some questions though, what if Hopkins isn't quite that guy and with the recent arrest of Tavares Sledge, this leaves some questions on where they will get production. So long their defense at worst stays where it was last season and if they can improve on their scoring they should win the HL regular season.
2nd: Valparaiso
Maybe it's my natural bias towards Valpo but I think they are poised to make a run for their third straight HL Regular Season Title. As we know a majority of their production graduated but with additions like Keith Carter and Moussa Gueye they should be a very difficult team to beat. Let us not forget, Capo is a force in the HL and once he becomes a regular starter he can be a match up nightmare for any defense. Adding the 7 foot 270 lbs Senegal native who was a defensive force in the SEC should sure up their defense and make teams much more one dimensional. Let us not forget about the incoming freshman. The question around the team this summer has been, where will the scoring come from? Could it be a freshman? Why not? Clay Yeo and Alec Peters should be able to make an immediate impact on the team and become a regular in the Valpo rotation if not start.
3rd: Cleveland State
Last year was an anomaly for the Vikings. They lost their best player, Anton Grady, due to a knee injury. With Grady back, who is one of the best players in the HL they're ready to be back as one of the elites in the HL. With Charlie Lee managing the point and Bryn Forbes who can be lights out from beyond the arc. Gary Waters should once again have his team poised to make a run in the HL.
4th: Oakland
Oakland has one of the best scorers in all of college basketball in Travis Bader. They return a majority of their team from last years .500 squad. With two other strong players in Cory Petros anchoring the middle and Duke Mondy this team could turn a few heads. There are some questions to how good they really are. They're making a big step up from playing in the Summit League where they only finished 10-7 in league play. One thing they can do is score but defense is another story and that will hold them back in the HL this season.
5th: Green Bay
One of the most overrated HL teams in my opinion. They do have one of the best all around players in Keifer Sykes but Alec Brown is a nothing more than a tall twig that is a decent shooter. Let us not forget the issue surrounding their head coach during the off-season as they saw a lot of players opt to transfer from the program. This was also a team that greatly underachieved last season, they were supposed to challenge for the HL crown and yes they did almost beat Valpo in the tournament but the fact is they didn't and they were handled pretty easily by them two other times. This team has a lot of questions around it and how will the team preform, will Alec Brown step-up and become an elite in the HL or will he continue to be nothing more than a twig that is a decent shooter.
6th: Youngstown State
The only good thing about this team is Kendrick Perry, without Perry this team would be among the very bottom of the league. They do have some young quality players in Kam Belin and Bobby Hain but I don't believe they're ready to make a run to the top. I do think Perry has the ability to win some games for the Penguins but he can't win them every game in every situation
7th: Detroit
Michigan transfer Carlton Brundidge does become eligible but after Brundidge there isn't much else there. They lost too much and aren't bringing back comparable talent to past teams. This should be a tough season for Titan fans as Detroit rebuilds.
8th: UIC
After a mediocre season last year the flames lose two of their best players in Josh Crittle, Gary Talton, and Daniel Barnes. Purdue transfer Kelsey Barlow does become eligible and Hayden Humes is a good player unfortunately for the Flames I don't see enough depth this season as they continue to be one of the HL bottom feeders.
9th: Milwaukee
Calling Milwaukee a bad team is a vast understatement they are flat out awful. They might win two to three games in HL play this year. They do return Jordan Aaron but that's all they have going for them an inconsistent shooter that had decent numbers because he would shoot the ball 25 times a game. They are by far the worst team in the HL if not one of the worst teams in the country. This is going to be a team people put a W on the schedule when they see Milwaukee pop up.
__________________________________
1st Team
Kendrick Perry (PoY): Kendrick Perry is by far the best player in the HL. He's a threat whenever he has the ball and can single handily beat any team that YSU plays.
Travis Bader: One of the country's leading scorers. He is poised to produce terrific numbers in the HL and continue on his scoring ways.
Anton Grady: Back for his "sophomore" season. After an early season-ending knee injury Grady is back for the Vikes and will be one of the best if not the best forward in the HL.
Keifer Sykes: Very similar to Kendrick Perry, he should have another great season and is only a junior. He is by far the best player on the Phoenix.
Bobby Capobianco: A big man who can shoot the three also a terrific rebounder. Capobianco is poised to have a great year. Let us not forget last year he as an assist away from a Triple Double, this was from the bench as well. The Indiana transfer should have a great season as he becomes a leader on a young Valparaiso squad.
New Comer of the Year: Keith Carter, becomes available at the semester break for Valpo. He could very well be the next terrific guard that the HL seems to produce. It wouldn't shock me if he finds his way onto the first team. Rick Majerus said he was one of the best players he has every recruited and finished second for the Mr. Basketball in the talent rich state of Illinois his senior season.
Defensive PoY: Moussa Gueye, he might be the key to Valpo's season. He will be a defensive force standing at 7' 270 lbs he's the biggest player in the HL. The Alabama transfer was one of the best shot-blockers in the SEC and he can also rebound as well.
___
There's my prediction for the HL this year...
Since we're sharing, here's my preview of it I wrote for Mid-Major Madness (http://www.midmajormadness.com/) and will be published soon.
QuoteThe Horizon League had 7 teams play in the postseason tournaments last season, but coming into the season it was believed that Detroit and Valparaiso would compete for the conference title. With these top two teams losing a 90% of their starting lineups, Loyola-Chicago leaving for the Missouri Valley and Oakland joining the league, who will lead the conference and dance in March?
1. Green Bay Phoenix
Last year: 18-16 (10-6), Lost in HL Tourney Semifinals, Lost in CIT 1st round
Key Departures: Brennan Cougill (9.0ppg, 5.3 rpg), Sultan Muhammad (5.7ppg, 23.4 mpg), Kam Cerroni (5.8ppg)
Key Returners: Keifer Sykes (15.9ppg, 4.3apg), Alec Brown (14.1ppg, 6.0rpg), Jordan Fouse (6.8ppg, 7.9rpg)
Green Bay returns their best 3 players, and arguably 3 of the top 5 returning players in the conference. After an offseason filled with turmoil, the Phoenix are looking to capitalize on their experience. Sykes will be in contention for Player of the Year, Fouse will be filling a bigger role which suits him well, and Brown will be trying to prove that he is the NBA talent people have been talking about for 3 years now. An 8-2 conference record at home seems very repeatable and if they can fix their road woes this should be the team representing the Horizon League in the Big Dance.
2. Wright State Raiders
Last year: 23-13 (10-6), HL Tourney Runner-Up, Lost in CBI Semifinal
Departures: None.
Key Returners: Everyone
The Raiders return all 12 of their rotation from last season. Their formidable defense led the Horizon league giving up only 0.910 points per possession and 58.5 points per game. Although their 23 wins were bolstered by a fairly weak schedule (Only 2 non-conference games played in the top 150 RPI) they continued to play well in conference. With the addition of Chrishawn Hopkins from Butler, this team should prove to be a tough team to knock off in the Horizon League. Hopkins, Reggie Arceneaux and Cole Darling make for one of the tougher match up issues for anyone in the league. Wright State fans don't need to be reminded that this was the same squad that was buzzer beater away from hosting the conference championship.
3. Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Last year: 16-17 (10-6), Lost in Summit League 1st Round, Lost in CBI 1st round (1-1 vs HL last season)
Departures: Drew Valentine (10.2ppg, 6.5rpg)
Key Returners: Travis Bader (22.1ppg, .394 FG%), Corey Petros (12.5ppg, 8.2 rpg), Duke Mondy (12.0ppg, 5.1apg)
This is the new kid on the block, and I'm not exactly sure how they will compete against the Horizon League. Their returning players all dominated the Summit league, but their defense was woefully lacking (1.081 points per possession would have been last in the HL). Will they sink or swim in the new conference? I'm putting them as my third place team, with the assumption their offence can carry them ala Detroit last season. One stat I'll be watching this season is Travis Bader's shots per game. Last season he put up 15.8 per game, can he crack 20?
4. Valparaiso Crusaders
Last year: 26-8 (13-3), HL Tourney Champions, 14 seed in NCAAs (Lost to #3 Michigan St)
Departures: Ryan Broekhoff (15.7ppg), Kevin Van Wijk (12.4ppg), Matt Kenney (8.3ppg), Erik Buggs (7.0ppg), Will Bogan (6.4ppg), Ben Boggs (5.6ppg)
Key Returners: LaVonte Dority (8.6ppg, .371 FG%), Bobby Capobianco (5.9ppg, 4.5 rpg)
A dream season ended with a 2nd round exit in the NCAA tournament for the Crusaders. And after that exit came the graduation of 6 of their top 7scorers last season. Valpo lost 75.84% of the minutes played, 77.23% of their scoring, 75.20% of their rebounding, and 82.44% of their assists. Now for the good things: They return the sixth man of the year LaVonte Dority, they return a big man in Bobby Capobianco, and they had arguably the best recruiting classes in the league. With the second semester addition of Keith Carter, the Crusaders are reloading not rebuilding. With a little luck and some fantastic Freshman performances, Valparaiso could repeat as conference champions.
5. Cleveland State Vikings
Last year: 14-18 (5-11), 1st round of HL Tourney
Departures: Tim Kamczyc (8.1ppg, 3.6rpg), Junior Lomomba (5.8ppg, 2.3rpg)
Key Returners: Bryn Forbes (12.7ppg, 3.5rpg), Charlie Lee (11.6ppg, 4.8apg), Marlin Mason (8.0ppg, 5.3rpg) Anton Grady (13.7ppg, 5.5rpg in 6 games)
Anton Grady returns after tearing a meniscus in his knee. Losing Grady last season led to the emergence of Freshman Bryn Forbes to lead the team in scoring. Unfortunately this also led them to a 5-11 conference record and a first round exit to UIC. A young team should improve and could prove a good challenge for the top tier of the Horizon League.
6. Youngstown State Penguins
Last year: 18-16 (7-9), Lost in HL Semi-finals, Lost in CIT 2nd round
Departures: Blake Allen (12.4ppg, 3.1apg), Damian Eargle (11.8ppg, 6.6rpg, 3.2bpg)
Key Returners: Kendrick Perry (17.3ppg, 5.5rpg, 4.1apg), Kamren Belin (11.1ppg, 5.4rpg), DJ Cole (6.9ppg, 3.4apg)
Losing 3.2 blocks per game is tough for the Penguins, and Eargle was a huge contributor last season, earning Defensive Player of the Year. Luckily they return First Team All-League Kendrick Perry, one of the most dynamic players in the league. Perry should challenge Sykes for player of the year. Along with sophomore Kamren Belin, they will have a great backcourt, but the front court will remain a question mark. If they can find someone to fill Eargle's mask... err... shoes, they should be able to make a run towards bigger things.
7. Illinois-Chicago (UIC) Flames
Last year: 18-16 (7-9), Lost in HL Tourney Quarterfinals, Lost in CIT 2nd round
Departures: Gary Talton (12.3ppg, 4.4apg), Daniel Barnes (12.1ppg, 4.4rpg), Josh Crittle (10.5ppg, 5.5rpg)
Key Returners: Hayden Humes (10.3ppg, 5.2rpg)
Humes returns for his senior season and he's accompanied by former Purdue guard, Kelsey Barlow. Together they should provide an offensive spark to a team that is losing their top 3 starters. The third best defensive team in the Horizon is hoping their offense improves from a dismal 62.8 points per game. I wouldn't say they are a bad team, but I believe they are missing pieces to become a conference championship contending team.
8. Detroit Titans
Last year: 20-13 (12-4), Lost in HL Tourney Semifinals, Lost in NIT 1st round
Departures: Ray McCallum (18.7ppg, 5.1rpg), Jason Calliste (14.4ppg, 3.3apg), Nick Minnerath (14.6, 5.9ppg), Doug Anderson (12.1ppg, 110% dunk-itude)
Key Returners: Juwan Howard Jr. (7.6ppg, 3.2rpg), Evan Bruinsma (5.6ppg, 4.3rpg)
When your star player is a 2nd round NBA draft pick, you know you've got a good one. When you lose 80% of your starting lineup, you know you could be in trouble. Detroit could be reeling from the loss of player of the year Ray Jr., but more importantly they could be in trouble losing key role players in Calliste and Minnerath. Hopefully another junior, Juwan Jr. can fill a portion of McCallum's shoes and Detroit won't be below water two years after being a tournament team.
9. Milwaukee Panthers
Last year: 8-24 (3-13), Lost 1st round in HL Tourney
Departures: Paris Gulley (14.7ppg, 3.5rpg), Demetrius Harris (9.1ppg, 5.3rpg), James Haarsma (6.5ppg, 4.5rpg)
Key Returners: Jordan Aaron (14.4ppg, 4.0apg, .371 FG%), Austin Arians (6.6ppg, .382 FG%), Kyle Kelm (5.1ppg, 3.6rpg)
This is a team in the Horizon league. They were coached by Bo Ryan and Bruce Pearl at one point. They aren't anymore. They lost their top scorer and their top two rebounders. This could be a really rough season again for the Panthers. This was the only team to shoot below 40% in the league last season and it'll be interesting to see if they can improve their shot selection.
Nice write-ups, Kyle321n and classof2014. Your thoughts about Green Bay are about as different as any two opinions could be at this point. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.
I'm a big believer in Fouse, and I'm not sure if 2014 is considering his increased role. But I completely agree with him on Brown. Tall twig who can shoot a 3 or two.
Kyle likes him some Fouse.
EDIT: lol
Quote from: classof2014 on October 01, 2013, 02:12:47 PM
Here is my personal preview of what the HL will look like come March.
1st: Wright State
Wright State is poised to finish first in the HL. They are a well-coached team that is great on the defensive end. They return just about everybody and add a potential scorer in Butler transfer Chrishawn Hopkins. Last season this was a team that lacked offense and Hopkins might be the key player to spark the offense. There are some questions though, what if Hopkins isn't quite that guy and with the recent arrest of Tavares Sledge, this leaves some questions on where they will get production. So long their defense at worst stays where it was last season and if they can improve on their scoring they should win the HL regular season.
2nd: Valparaiso
Maybe it's my natural bias towards Valpo but I think they are poised to make a run for their third straight HL Regular Season Title. As we know a majority of their production graduated but with additions like Keith Carter and Moussa Gueye they should be a very difficult team to beat. Let us not forget, Capo is a force in the HL and once he becomes a regular starter he can be a match up nightmare for any defense. Adding the 7 foot 270 lbs Senegal native who was a defensive force in the SEC should sure up their defense and make teams much more one dimensional. Let us not forget about the incoming freshman. The question around the team this summer has been, where will the scoring come from? Could it be a freshman? Why not? Clay Yeo and Alec Peters should be able to make an immediate impact on the team and become a regular in the Valpo rotation if not start.
3rd: Cleveland State
Last year was an anomaly for the Vikings. They lost their best player, Anton Grady, due to a knee injury. With Grady back, who is one of the best players in the HL they're ready to be back as one of the elites in the HL. With Charlie Lee managing the point and Bryn Forbes who can be lights out from beyond the arc. Gary Waters should once again have his team poised to make a run in the HL.
4th: Oakland
Oakland has one of the best scorers in all of college basketball in Travis Bader. They return a majority of their team from last years .500 squad. With two other strong players in Cory Petros anchoring the middle and Duke Mondy this team could turn a few heads. There are some questions to how good they really are. They're making a big step up from playing in the Summit League where they only finished 10-7 in league play. One thing they can do is score but defense is another story and that will hold them back in the HL this season.
5th: Green Bay
One of the most overrated HL teams in my opinion. They do have one of the best all around players in Keifer Sykes but Alec Brown is a nothing more than a tall twig that is a decent shooter. Let us not forget the issue surrounding their head coach during the off-season as they saw a lot of players opt to transfer from the program. This was also a team that greatly underachieved last season, they were supposed to challenge for the HL crown and yes they did almost beat Valpo in the tournament but the fact is they didn't and they were handled pretty easily by them two other times. This team has a lot of questions around it and how will the team preform, will Alec Brown step-up and become an elite in the HL or will he continue to be nothing more than a twig that is a decent shooter.
6th: Youngstown State
The only good thing about this team is Kendrick Perry, without Perry this team would be among the very bottom of the league. They do have some young quality players in Kam Belin and Bobby Hain but I don't believe they're ready to make a run to the top. I do think Perry has the ability to win some games for the Penguins but he can't win them every game in every situation
7th: Detroit
Michigan transfer Carlton Brundidge does become eligible but after Brundidge there isn't much else there. They lost too much and aren't bringing back comparable talent to past teams. This should be a tough season for Titan fans as Detroit rebuilds.
8th: UIC
After a mediocre season last year the flames lose two of their best players in Josh Crittle, Gary Talton, and Daniel Barnes. Purdue transfer Kelsey Barlow does become eligible and Hayden Humes is a good player unfortunately for the Flames I don't see enough depth this season as they continue to be one of the HL bottom feeders.
9th: Milwaukee
Calling Milwaukee a bad team is a vast understatement they are flat out awful. They might win two to three games in HL play this year. They do return Jordan Aaron but that's all they have going for them an inconsistent shooter that had decent numbers because he would shoot the ball 25 times a game. They are by far the worst team in the HL if not one of the worst teams in the country. This is going to be a team people put a W on the schedule when they see Milwaukee pop up.
__________________________________
1st Team
Kendrick Perry (PoY): Kendrick Perry is by far the best player in the HL. He's a threat whenever he has the ball and can single handily beat any team that YSU plays.
Travis Bader: One of the country's leading scorers. He is poised to produce terrific numbers in the HL and continue on his scoring ways.
Anton Grady: Back for his "sophomore" season. After an early season-ending knee injury Grady is back for the Vikes and will be one of the best if not the best forward in the HL.
Keifer Sykes: Very similar to Kendrick Perry, he should have another great season and is only a junior. He is by far the best player on the Phoenix.
Bobby Capobianco: A big man who can shoot the three also a terrific rebounder. Capobianco is poised to have a great year. Let us not forget last year he as an assist away from a Triple Double, this was from the bench as well. The Indiana transfer should have a great season as he becomes a leader on a young Valparaiso squad.
New Comer of the Year: Keith Carter, becomes available at the semester break for Valpo. He could very well be the next terrific guard that the HL seems to produce. It wouldn't shock me if he finds his way onto the first team. Rick Majerus said he was one of the best players he has every recruited and finished second for the Mr. Basketball in the talent rich state of Illinois his senior season.
Defensive PoY: Moussa Gueye, he might be the key to Valpo's season. He will be a defensive force standing at 7' 270 lbs he's the biggest player in the HL. The Alabama transfer was one of the best shot-blockers in the SEC and he can also rebound as well.
___
There's my prediction for the HL this year...
Nicely done, 2014. For those who think of Valpo as a "young team", let me point out that by the time league play starts in January, the average age of Dority/Capobianco/Gueye/Fernandez/Chadwick/Coleman will be about 22 1/2 years. They'll also need contributions from some freshmen, but they've got a very mature and experienced group to build around.
Quote from: EddieCabot on October 01, 2013, 04:10:00 PM
Nicely done, 2014. For those who think of Valpo as a "young team", let me point out that by the time league play starts in January, the average age of Dority/Capobianco/Gueye/Fernandez/Chadwick/Coleman will be about 22 1/2 years. They'll also need contributions from some freshmen, but they've got a very mature and experienced group to build around.
Not so much young, but inexperienced. They have a combined 3145 D1 minutes played coming into this year. That's how many minutes Rowdy played in his career or 400 less than Alec Brown has played so far.
Quote from: Kyle321n on October 01, 2013, 03:33:09 PM
I'm a big believer in Fouse, and I'm not sure if 2014 is considering his increased role. But I completely agree with him on Brown. Tall twig who can shoot a 3 or two.
I do believe that Fouse will see an increased roll and will be a very strong player. My main questions surrounding GB is coaching. We all know about the allegations on Wardle in the off-season and I don't believe he is that good of a coach.
Quote from: classof2014 on October 01, 2013, 04:35:11 PM
Quote from: Kyle321n on October 01, 2013, 03:33:09 PM
I'm a big believer in Fouse, and I'm not sure if 2014 is considering his increased role. But I completely agree with him on Brown. Tall twig who can shoot a 3 or two.
I do believe that Fouse will see an increased roll and will be a very strong player. My main questions surrounding GB is coaching. We all know about the allegations on Wardle in the off-season and I don't believe he is that good of a coach.
The way GB defended the game-winning shot in last year's tournament was one of the worst coaching blunders I have seen in a long time. First, Ryan was completely unguarded until he crossed the half court line, which gave him time to size up the defense and position himself for a good shot. He even had enough time to regain control after mishandling the ball and still get up a good shot. Moreover, their half court defense had the look and feel of a tight knit zone designed to prevent Ryan from driving to the basket, when the only thing that could beat them was a 3-pointer.
This made me laugh a bit:
QuoteAfter a mediocre season last year the flames lose two of their best players in Josh Crittle, Gary Talton, and Daniel Barnes.
So which one wasn't one of their best players last year?
Quote from: wh on October 01, 2013, 06:18:56 PM
Quote from: classof2014 on October 01, 2013, 04:35:11 PM
Quote from: Kyle321n on October 01, 2013, 03:33:09 PM
I'm a big believer in Fouse, and I'm not sure if 2014 is considering his increased role. But I completely agree with him on Brown. Tall twig who can shoot a 3 or two.
I do believe that Fouse will see an increased roll and will be a very strong player. My main questions surrounding GB is coaching. We all know about the allegations on Wardle in the off-season and I don't believe he is that good of a coach.
The way GB defended the game-winning shot in last year's tournament was one of the worst coaching blunders I have seen in a long time. First, Ryan was completely unguarded until he crossed the half court line, which gave him time to size up the defense and position himself for a good shot. He even had enough time to regain control after mishandling the ball and still get up a good shot. Moreover, their half court defense had the look and feel of a tight knit zone designed to prevent Ryan from driving to the basket, when the only thing that could beat them was a 3-pointer.
Very good points ... even a rookie coach knows that with a 2 point lead, all you need to worry about is preventing a 3-pointer.
It's also worth noting that over the last 10:00 of that game, GB only trailed for about 0:12, yet managed to lose. GB led by 4 with 0:13 left, but that still wasn't enough. That choke job is clearly on the coach ... what remains to be seen is whether he'll learn from his mistakes or repeat them. Same for the players, since most of them return.
As Kyle pointed out, GB has a bunch of talented players, but I also agree with 2014 that team chemistry is a question mark. I'm firmly on the fence until I see them play a few games. ???
Quote from: Pathfinder on October 01, 2013, 07:47:28 PMSo which one wasn't one of their best players last year?
I'm sure even Daniel Barnes himself wouldn't argue the point.
Green Bay - Commissioner's choice to win the Horizon League
Horizon Analysis - Green Bay
by Commissioner » Wed Oct 02, 2013 9:16 pm
This is the 4th pre-season analysis of Horizon teams. Earlier ones for Wright State, Valparaiso, and Oakland can be found through this link: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1185 or at http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net (http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net) ... n-previews.
Green Bay
2013: 10-6 Conference (3d T); 18-16 overall; CIT.
I don't like predictions – they can be wrong. Open-ended analysis provides a better margin of safety- you can never be definitively proven incorrect. But I will confess, Green Bay would be my choice to win what should be a wide open Horizon league race this year. I think any team but Milwaukee could win it, and the odds of Green Bay winning are well under less than 50 percent. But if forced to choose, I'd go with the Phoenix.
When I analyzed Wright State's chances, I noted that there are several signs that the Raiders simply over-performed last year. For Green Bay, those signs tend to go the other way – the Phoenix should have done better. For one thing, Green Bay was 2-5 in games decided by a single possession. While Green Bay and Wright State finished with identical 10-6 conference marks, the Phoenix won by an average of 4.9 ppg, to Wright State's 3.1 ppg margin. After a miserable start, the Phoenix went a very respectable 15-9, including a win over Marquette. Green Bay also had to get through a number of distractions during the season, including the flap with Ryan Bross and Wardle's coaching style, but also the suspension of Brennan Cougill for violating team rules, and the mid-season departure of 3 point specialist Kam Ceroni. I've no idea of who was right or wrong, but it doesn't matter. Some think this will be a distraction this year. I think the opposite is more likely – the distractions are over and the guys who are left know what to expect and want to be there.
Green Bay also got the benefit of an overseas trip this summer, which I think usually pay dividends. Playing admittedly weak competition in the Bahamas, they won all three games even though playing without star Alec Brown, who was out with a sprained ankle. He'll be ready by the time the season starts, and in fact has never missed a game in his 3 years at Green Bay.
Green Bay's fortunes will rise or fall with two players: center Brown and point guard Kiefer Sykes. Brown's 2013 season was widely viewed as a disappointment, although in fact his numbers were remarkably similar to 2012. His scoring and assists were actually up a bit, though the rest of his stats were down slightly across the board. This may have gone largely unnoticed because he came on strong late, after most everybody had already labeled his season "disappointing." For the season, Brown averaged 14.1 points, shooting just .449. But he was getting better all season. For example, he averaged just 11.9 ppg in non-conference play, versus 15.8 in conference. For his last 12 games, he averaged 17.1 ppg and nearly 2 blocks per game, while shooting .517 from the floor. He was playing his best ball down the stretch, averaging 19.3 points and 6.3 rebounds, while shooting 56% from the floor, over Green Bay's last 6 games. In other words, he kept getting better all season, almost any way you slice it. I'm guessing Brown has a really big year in 2014, but that's just my guess.
Sykes gives the Phoenix an excellent point guard, so they've got arguably the league's best players at arguably the two most important positions. Sykes, first team all-conference a year ago, looked very ready in the Caribbean, averaging 24 points, 6 assists, and 6.3 steals in the Bahamas.
But there's more behind these two. Up front, Jordan Fouse led the league in rebounding as a freshman. Indeed, the Phoenix were the best rebounding team in the league last year, and ought to be again. Brennan Cougill, a tough rebounder, is gone, but 6-8 junior Alfonzo McKinney, a high school teammate of Sykes and a transfer from Eastern Illinois, steps in to take his place. As a sophomore at EIU in 2012, McKinney averaged 10.2 points and 7 rebounds, while shooting .567 from the floor, second best in the OVC. McKinney averaged 9.3 rebounds in just 14 minutes per game in the Bahamas. 6-9 junior Greg Mays is another banger up front. Dan Turner was the team's leading rebounder as a freshman in 2011, but has been hurt most of the past two years. He missed the Bahamas games and can't be counted on in 2014, but if he were to come back, the Phoenix would be downright scary on the boards.
In the backcourt, Sykes is joined by returning sophomore Carrington Love, and three players who weren't around a year ago: Lamin Fulton, an active guard who transferred from St. Peter's by way of NW Florida JC, Rutgers transfer Vince Garrett (also a high school teammate of Sykes), and soph swing man Josh Humphrey, back from an injury red shirt year. They've also got a pair of big freshmen guards who might surprise.
The downside to picking Green Bay to win it is that the Phoenix haven't really addressed their weaknesses of a year ago – turnovers and lack of 3 point shooting. Last year they were 6th in the league in total turnovers and 8th in turnover margin. Neither Garrett nor Humphries will help much there, and Fulton had more turnovers than assists at St. Pete's two years ago. Meanwhile, the transfer out of Sultan Muhammad will hurt. On the three-point front, the Phoenix were 8th in 3 point FGPct., and last in three-pointers made last season. Muhammad and Ceroni were the club's biggest 3 point threats, and both transferred out. Sykes and Brown both shot over 40% from behind the arc last year, so they're not without long-range threats, but both took only about 70 attempts. Fulton will take the trey, too, but it's not his strength. The Bahamas trip was not encouraging: Sykes shot 2 of 13 from behind the arc, his one shortcoming on the trip, while Love was 3 of 15.
At the other end of the floor, Brown and Fouse are the league's top two returning shot blockers, and a big reason why Green Bay was second last year in opponent's shooting percentage. But breakdowns on the perimeter mean that they give up a lot of 3 pointers – worst in the league last year except for Detroit.
So in some ways, the 2014 Phoenix look a lot like the 2013 Phoenix. But that's not the worst place to be, and there are enough indicators that the Phoenix did not live up to their talent last year. I think things will be different in 2014.
Probable Starters:
PG – Keifer Sykes, 5-11 Jr.; 15;9 ppg, 4.3 apg; 3.3 rpg, 1.1 steals pg; .431 3P%; .815 FT Pct.
G- Carrington Love, 6-1 Soph: 2.6 ppg
F- Alfonze McKinney, 6-8 Jr. (2012 Eastern Illinois): 10.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg; .567 FG%
F- Jordan Fouse, 6-7 Soph: 6.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg; 1.6 spg, 1.4 blocks.
C – Alec Brown, 7-1 Sr., 14.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.7 bpg.
Other Key Players:
G – Lamin Fulton, 5-10 Jr. (NW Florida JC; averaged 8.9 ppg for St. Peter's in 2012)
G/F – Josh Humphrey, 6-5 Soph. (2012) 1.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg.
G – Vince Garrett, 6-6 Sr. (Rutgers) 1.5 ppg.
F – Greg Mays, 6-9 Jr.: 6.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg
That's a very nice writeup by The Commish, and pretty much in line with a post I made over in the '13-'14 thread in the Valpo section. I like WSU's roster and think Donlon is a very good coach, but if I was forced to put money on the Horizon this year, I'd put it on Green Bay.
Several people have brought up the issues with Wardle from last year that carried into the off-season. Commish seems to be the only guy who agrees with me ... the guys who don't like Wardle's style left and the guys who stayed should be stronger and more cohesive. As I pointed out earlier, Sykes and Brown were very vocal in their support of Wardle, so I expect the rest of the team to follow their lead.
With all that said, the Horizon appears to be very wide open this year. Should be an exciting year!
Two excerpts from an article, "You Gotta See This: Horizon League," at ESPN:
"Deliberate, defensive. Save Detroit, which cracked the vaunted 70-possessions-per-game mark last season, and Youngstown State, which finished at around 67 per, the Horizon League was its usual self. Five teams averaged fewer than 64 possessions per game. Six fell below 65, and Valparaiso finished at 65.4. This is not a fast league. Could it become one?"
"The Horizon League is in an interesting place now. Butler got so good it outgrew its old denizens, moving to the A-10 and now the new Big East, but according to Ken Pomeroy's conference rankings, the league was still the 11th-best top-to-bottom, just behind a now-decimated Conference USA. What Oakland can do for that overall league strength, and for the nightly entertainment value, is entirely worth watching."
Full article: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/88758/you-gotta-see-this-horizon-league (http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/88758/you-gotta-see-this-horizon-league)
TOP TENNNNNNN
Quote from: valpopal on October 03, 2013, 08:23:56 AM
Two excerpts from an article, "You Gotta See This: Horizon League," at ESPN:
"Deliberate, defensive. Save Detroit, which cracked the vaunted 70-possessions-per-game mark last season, and Youngstown State, which finished at around 67 per, the Horizon League was its usual self. Five teams averaged fewer than 64 possessions per game. Six fell below 65, and Valparaiso finished at 65.4. This is not a fast league. Could it become one?"
"The Horizon League is in an interesting place now. Butler got so good it outgrew its old denizens, moving to the A-10 and now the new Big East, but according to Ken Pomeroy's conference rankings, the league was still the 11th-best top-to-bottom, just behind a now-decimated Conference USA. What Oakland can do for that overall league strength, and for the nightly entertainment value, is entirely worth watching."
Full article: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/88758/you-gotta-see-this-horizon-league (http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/88758/you-gotta-see-this-horizon-league)
The author refers to Butler's back-to-back runs to the national championship game as "proof that
belief, guile and luck were sometimes enough." That's the best description of "the Butler way" that I've seen to date. As to conference rankings, while it remains to be seen whether the addition of Oakland helps move us up the ladder, the subtraction of Loyola certainly helps keep us from moving down the ladder. They should be even worse this year than last, and have assembled what could be the worst OOC schedule in the country. Good luck working with that, MVC.
ESPN Insider preview summarized on the Horizon League website:
http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/espn-insider-previews-the-horizon-league (http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/espn-insider-previews-the-horizon-league)
I love it! Keep predicting us to be a bottom dweller, pleaseeeee! We are not that type of program while Bryce is at the helm
A couple of thoughts. First, the author says (see Youngstown State summary) that Ray McCallum "ran away with the Player of the Year honors".. I can't imagine that it wasn't a very close contest with Ryan. Second, I know, I sound like a broken record, but, still, no mention of the possible impact of a 7' Alabama transfer.
I found the McCallum comment indicative of the type of projection he was making...complete crap :)
Quote from: vu72 on October 03, 2013, 01:15:39 PM
A couple of thoughts. First, the author says (see Youngstown State summary) that Ray McCallum "ran away with the Player of the Year honors".. I can't imagine that it wasn't a very close contest with Ryan. Second, I know, I sound like a broken record, but, still, no mention of the possible impact of a 7' Alabama transfer.
Agreed! Everyone has overlooked the fact that we have the biggest player in the HL. I looked I believe the next closest is Devon Long who is 6' 7" and 260. So the Moose has 5 inches on him. I know height and size mean nothing but he did see ample playing time at Alabama and average about a block every 10 minutes and about a rebound every 4 minutes and that was in the SEC no less. Without a doubt he will be a defensive force in the HL and will cause a nightmare for every team down low since nobody can match his size. I would imagine Alec Brown is quaking in his boots as he knows he has to go up against the Moose!
Another thing is we might have one of the best young players in the HL coming eligible mid-season. How has no-one mentioned that we have SLU transfer Keith Carter, who was runner-up in the Mr. Basketball voting in Illinois!? We also have one of the best freshmen classes in the league.
Am I saying we're the best team? No... I'd like to think that we are but only time will tell. We sure as Hell ain't gonna finish 7th. That's a guarantee.
Here's the full transcript for anyone (and I don't blame if your not) who isn't subscribed to ESPN Insider.
Quote
2012-13: 26-8 (13-3)
In-conference offense: 1.14 points per possession (1st)
In-conference defense: 0.99 points allowed per possession (4th)
After taking over a talented young roster from his dad Homer two years ago, Bryce Drew faces the first real rebuilding challenge of his tenure: He's replacing six departed seniors, all of whom played the most minutes for the Crusaders last season and together used about 75 percent of the team's possessions.
Drew does have the good fortune of not leaning on youthful inexperience in his attempt to defend Valpo's conference crown. Senior LaVonte Dority missed the first nine games in order to fulfill his transfer obligation to the NCAA, but he became a key player after becoming eligible, using 26 percent of possessions in his 20 minutes a game. He wasn't terribly efficient with those touches (44 percent effective field goal percentage), but he did demonstrate a knack for drawing fouls. Senior forward Bobby Capobianco is the most efficient returning player. A backup center last season, he's dropped some weight in order to become a stretch 4 and make room for Alabama transfer Moussa Gueye, a senior who is immediately eligible (he's a graduate student). Gueye is big (7-foot, 270 pounds) but offensively challenged -- he made just 37 percent of 2s -- and is prone to committing fouls. Although Capobianco is an excellent rebounder, both he and Gueye will need to step up their offensive games for Valpo to carry on its tradition as the dominant interior team in the Horizon.
Projected starting lineup
Pos. Name Year
C Moussa Gueye Sr.
F Bobby Capobianco Sr.
F Alec Peters Fr.
G Jordan Coleman Sr.
G LaVonte Dority Sr.
Two other newcomers will be heavily counted on. The first is 6-8 freshman Alec Peters, who is likely to start from day one. That's highly unusual at Valpo -- freshmen have played exactly 22 minutes in two years under Drew -- but Peters has a sweet 3-point stroke and is physically ready for the rigors of college ball. The other newcomer is sophomore Saint Louis transfer Keith Carter, who will become eligible at semester's end. More than one practice observer has noted that Carter -- whom Rick Majerus once compared to Andre Miller -- will immediately become the best player on the team. Drew has had some practice over the past two years integrating players midstream, but incorporating a new go-to guy at the beginning of league play is a different kind of challenge.
Carter's eligibility makes Valparaiso a tough team to project. There probably will be some bumps in the road early in league play, preventing Valpo from threatening the top Horizon teams. But it wouldn't be a surprise if nobody wants to face the Crusaders come conference tournament time.
Now that's a decent and well educated write up.
It does sound like a very fair accessment. We could be coming up from the bottom when we get to the middle of the league season. Challenging the top of the conference for a chance at the championship game will be a huge goal and we just might have a team that can get there.
Quote from: Kyle321n on October 03, 2013, 04:26:29 PMBryce Drew faces the first real rebuilding challenge of his tenure:
This is a much better analysis than some of the others posted on this board. I still think it is surprising that the pundits discount the job that Bryce did in his first head coaching season. As I outlined in a previous post, we lost 52.6% of the playing minutes from the previous year, lost 63.4% of the previous years scoring, adds in Boggs, Bogan, Edwards and then your only really effective post player is somewhat of a question mark because of the back issues. Losing Woods without much time to recruit a replacement also had us all pretty worried about who the go to player would be. That we won the HL regular season was pretty much of a surprise considering we were picked 5th in the preseason. I think that first season was a little more intimidating for him than this season will be.
Quote from: Kyle321n on October 03, 2013, 04:26:29 PM
Here's the full transcript for anyone (and I don't blame if your not) who isn't subscribed to ESPN Insider.
Quote
2012-13: 26-8 (13-3)
In-conference offense: 1.14 points per possession (1st)
In-conference defense: 0.99 points allowed per possession (4th)
After taking over a talented young roster from his dad Homer two years ago, Bryce Drew faces the first real rebuilding challenge of his tenure: He's replacing six departed seniors, all of whom played the most minutes for the Crusaders last season and together used about 75 percent of the team's possessions.
Drew does have the good fortune of not leaning on youthful inexperience in his attempt to defend Valpo's conference crown. Senior LaVonte Dority missed the first nine games in order to fulfill his transfer obligation to the NCAA, but he became a key player after becoming eligible, using 26 percent of possessions in his 20 minutes a game. He wasn't terribly efficient with those touches (44 percent effective field goal percentage), but he did demonstrate a knack for drawing fouls. Senior forward Bobby Capobianco is the most efficient returning player. A backup center last season, he's dropped some weight in order to become a stretch 4 and make room for Alabama transfer Moussa Gueye, a senior who is immediately eligible (he's a graduate student). Gueye is big (7-foot, 270 pounds) but offensively challenged -- he made just 37 percent of 2s -- and is prone to committing fouls. Although Capobianco is an excellent rebounder, both he and Gueye will need to step up their offensive games for Valpo to carry on its tradition as the dominant interior team in the Horizon.
Projected starting lineup
Pos. Name Year
C Moussa Gueye Sr.
F Bobby Capobianco Sr.
F Alec Peters Fr.
G Jordan Coleman Sr.
G LaVonte Dority Sr.
Two other newcomers will be heavily counted on. The first is 6-8 freshman Alec Peters, who is likely to start from day one. That's highly unusual at Valpo -- freshmen have played exactly 22 minutes in two years under Drew -- but Peters has a sweet 3-point stroke and is physically ready for the rigors of college ball. The other newcomer is sophomore Saint Louis transfer Keith Carter, who will become eligible at semester's end. More than one practice observer has noted that Carter -- whom Rick Majerus once compared to Andre Miller -- will immediately become the best player on the team. Drew has had some practice over the past two years integrating players midstream, but incorporating a new go-to guy at the beginning of league play is a different kind of challenge.
Carter's eligibility makes Valparaiso a tough team to project. There probably will be some bumps in the road early in league play, preventing Valpo from threatening the top Horizon teams. But it wouldn't be a surprise if nobody wants to face the Crusaders come conference tournament time.
A little Alec Peters refresher:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dpb9AucJlU#t=277 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dpb9AucJlU#t=277)
Favorite take is at about the 3:17 mark when the defender #25 is run through a pop out screen and becomes completely dejected after Peters hits another 3.
Haven't seen this on the board and it is from last high school season, but I really like what I hear in Daniel Poneman's break down of Jubril Adekoya's game and potential.
Daniel Poneman Talks Jubril Adekoya Valpo Signee Class 2014 (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2271796351348&set=vb.132928320148469&type=3&video_source=pages_video_set)
Quote from: FWalum on October 04, 2013, 10:07:54 AM
Haven't seen this on the board and it is from last high school season, but I really like what I hear in Daniel Poneman's break down of Jubril Adekoya's game and potential.
Daniel Poneman Talks Jubril Adekoya Valpo Signee Class 2014 (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2271796351348&set=vb.132928320148469&type=3&video_source=pages_video_set)
Very interesting. Thanks for finding it.
Quote from: vu72 on October 04, 2013, 10:49:24 AM
Quote from: FWalum on October 04, 2013, 10:07:54 AM
Haven't seen this on the board and it is from last high school season, but I really like what I hear in Daniel Poneman's break down of Jubril Adekoya's game and potential.
Daniel Poneman Talks Jubril Adekoya Valpo Signee Class 2014 (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2271796351348&set=vb.132928320148469&type=3&video_source=pages_video_set)
Very interesting. Thanks for finding it.
I saw Jubril at the ARC yesterday. At 6-7/225 he is chiseled. Looks like a finely tuned MMA heavyweight more than a basketball player - lean, highly defined muscle from head to toe. Amazing for a guy his age.
Quote from: vu72 on September 29, 2013, 06:04:11 PM
If Yeo is better--not questioning your opinion--then we really have something. Peters has proven, against big school competition, to do it all and thus received many D1 offers. If Yeo is the more complete player, GREAT. Can't wait to see all the freshman!!
Yeo, at 6'4" can replace the smaller 3's we've used last year. Peters adds height. I can imagine Peters at the 3 and Yeo at the 2. So much for wondering where the points will come from...
Good interview with Alec Peters from last December. Interesting insights into why he chose Valpo over the other 24 programs that offered. More kudos to Coach Powell, as well.
One On One w/ Alec Peters - One of Illinois Best Scorers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvGtYrXtH70#ws)
My apologies if this is one we've already seen. I don't recall seeing it before, but these videos all start to run together after awhile. :)
Horizon Preview - Youngstown State
by Commissioner » Sat Oct 05, 2013 1:30 pm
This is the 5th preview of Horizon teams: Youngstown State. Earlier previews are:
Green Bay: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1187
Wright State: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1177
Valparaiso: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1179
Oakland: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1185
They can all be found in this thread: http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net (http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net) ... n-previews
Youngstown State
2013: 7-9 Horizon (T 5th), 18-16 overall, CIT.
Youngstown State is always something of an afterthought in discussions about Horizon league ball. It's a football school first with a grand I-AA football tradition but no history of basketball success, and it's out on the league's easternmost frontier in one of its smaller media markets.
For the last eight years coach Jerry Slocum has struggled to find wins and fans for this nondescript program, with slow and halting progress. Last year YSU completed back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1985, and made its first post-season appearance since joining D-I 33 years ago. In the CIT, YSU trounced Oakland before losing to Canisius in OT in the second round. The player who has driven YSU's relative success the last two seasons is senior guard Kendrick Perry, who has excelled as perhaps the best player never heard of outside the Horizon League.
Assuming no injuries, this year Perry should become the Penguins' leading career scorer in D-I. As a two-time 1st team All-Horizon selection, Perry is a pre-season favorite for Horizon Player of the Year. He was the only player last year to finish in the league's top 10 in scoring (2nd, 17.3 pg), rebounding (10th, 5.5 pg), and assists (6th, 4.1 pg). He was also 2nd to Ray McCallum in steals.
But YSU lost two big contributors to its modest 2013 success in center Damian Eargle and guard Blake Allen. Eargle was third in the league in rebounds and 1st in blocked shots. Allen led the league in 3-point field goals and assist/turnover ratio. Both scored in double figures. I think they are especially going to miss Allen, the team's best defensive player. Allen did a bit of everything (12.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.1 apg), was on the floor 35 minutes a game, and often seemed to hit the key bucket, grab the key rebound, or make the big defensive stop.
While Perry will have to carry more of the load, he is not without support. Although Perry played the point for most of his first two and a half years at YSU, 5-11 junior DJ Cole took over that role in the second half of 2013 and should start there this year.
Up front, look for 6-7 senior Kamren Belin, a big guy who can step out and knock down the three with the best of them. The ability to hit the three, coupled with 235 pounds of bulk for banging down low, means Belin poses major matchup problems for most teams. He'll be joined by 6-10 sophomore Bobby Hain, whose freshman year showed promise, marred by inconsistency (for example, Hain started the year with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 0 turnovers against George Washington; two nights later he had 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 2 turnovers against Georgia. At the end of the year, it was no different - he played just 3 minutes in the Horizon tournament loss to Wright State; rebounded with 11 points in the CIT win over Oakland, and then was shut out in the season ending CIT loss to Canisius).
With Perry playing a wing, for a 5th starter YSU can then go with 6-4 junior Shawn Amiker. Or Slocum can put Perry at the #2 and go bigger with 6-6 soph Ryan Weber or 6-9 senior Josh Chojnacki in the front line. 6-7 freshman Kyle Steward, one of four Detroit area boys on the roster, could also force his way into the front line rotation that has very little depth.
YSU plays up-tempo, and with Perry and Cole will often have two point guards on the floor. Accordingly, they don't turn it over much (although losing Allen will hurt in that regard). But they're small, and unless Hain is more consistent they could have real problems on the boards (last year they were 8th in the league in rebounding margin, and that was with Eargle). They are also thin – expect Perry to play until he drops, and rotation to go only 7 deep, if that.
A non-conference schedule that includes road games at Eastern Kentucky, Kent State, Massachusetts, Pitt, and St. John's should have the Penguins ready for conference play. I really like Belin as a player, and project him as a probable 2nd team all-conference player. But basically, YSU will go as far as Perry can take them. An injury to Perry would probably be the most devastating injury any team in the league could suffer. With Perry and Belin, they'll never be an easy out, but unless a couple guys get better (or in Hain's case more consistent) fast, they'll likely be no better than a middle of the pack team.
Probable Starters:
PG: D.J. Cole, 5-11 Jr.; 6.9 ppg, 3.4 apg, 2.8 rpg
G: Shawn Amiker, 6-4 Jr.; 5.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg.; .500 fg%
G: Kendrick Perry, 6-0 Sr.; 17.3 ppg, 4.1 apg, 5.5 rpg, 1.9 spg; .357 3P%
F: Kamren Belin, 6-7 Sr.; 11.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, .407 3P%
F: Bobby Hain, 6-10 Soph; 6.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .525 FG%
Other Key Players:
F: Ryan Weber, 6-6 Soph, 1.9 ppg, 1.0 rpg
F: Josh Chojnacki, 6-9 Sr., 0.9 ppg, 0.7 rpg.
PG: Ronnye Beamon, 6-4 RS Fr.
Paul Oren's HL preview
http://www.nwitimes.com/blogs/sports/valparaiso-university/my-preseason-horizon-league-ballot/article_9484ccba-2cb7-11e3-9e92-0019bb2963f4.html (http://www.nwitimes.com/blogs/sports/valparaiso-university/my-preseason-horizon-league-ballot/article_9484ccba-2cb7-11e3-9e92-0019bb2963f4.html)
Oren seems to be like most and picking Valpo to finish middle of the pack, don't blame him though. The one issue I have is him being so high on GB but perhaps that's just me. There's the people who believe in GB and the people who don't. Other than that I personally think he did a pretty good job picking the HL, I don't think Oakland is gonna be an elite HL team, they were good in the weak Summit League and making the step up into one of the better mid-major leagues, Oakland will have their struggles much like Valpo did years back. Can't argue with the bottom dwellers, Milwaukee is AWFUL, UIC has Kelsey Barlow and that's it, and Detroit has lost everybody and doesn't return anybody but a B1G Transfer in Brundidge.
I do wish he have some mention of SEC tansfer, Moussa Gueye, he might not light it up on the offensive end but he will cause many issues defensively for many teams and he had no love for Capo.
Overall I think he did a good job with his predictions. I just don't think GB is gonna finish in the top 3, let alone first place. But there seems to be the people who think GB is the team to beat and the one's who think GB is gonna have an up and down season.
Quote from: wh on October 06, 2013, 10:19:21 AMPG: Ronnye Beamon, 6-4 RS Fr.
I'd forgotten he went there! Athletic kid from Bishop Noll!
Some dickhead wrote a Horizon League top 10 players... Only included 1 Valpo spot...
http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-14-season-preview/2013/10/8/4815988/mid-major-top-10-players-horizon-league-perry-sykes (http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-14-season-preview/2013/10/8/4815988/mid-major-top-10-players-horizon-league-perry-sykes)
Quote from: Kyle321n on October 08, 2013, 09:44:16 AM
Some dickhead wrote a Horizon League top 10 players... Only included 1 Valpo spot...
http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-14-season-preview/2013/10/8/4815988/mid-major-top-10-players-horizon-league-perry-sykes (http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-14-season-preview/2013/10/8/4815988/mid-major-top-10-players-horizon-league-perry-sykes)
Can't really argue except I think Alec Peters will be more of an impact player than Williams or Yeo. How Bobby and Moussa play together could make or break the whole thing.
Quote from: Kyle321n on October 08, 2013, 09:44:16 AM
Some dickhead wrote a Horizon League top 10 players... Only included 1 Valpo spot...
http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-14-season-preview/2013/10/8/4815988/mid-major-top-10-players-horizon-league-perry-sykes (http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-14-season-preview/2013/10/8/4815988/mid-major-top-10-players-horizon-league-perry-sykes)
I thought Richard Head had given up writing top 10 player lists of college basketball conferences. He used to call it the "Dick Head top 10." Some people thought his opinions were really crazy because he would leave out certain players from certain teams. It turned out the ones who objected the loudest were fans of the team who's players were not included in his list of top 10. Simply amazing that it would turn out that way but it always did.
Horizon Preview: Milwaukee
by Commissioner » Wed Oct 09, 2013 5:27 pm
This is the 6th of my Horizon analyses.
Milwaukee:
2013: Horizon 3-13 (9th); Overall 8-24.
Here's the easy one – Milwaukee will finish last in the Horizon. It may not be the correct pick (as was the case for anyone picking Wright State to finish last a year ago) but at least one will be in good company – so far, the 9 national rankings I have see have all picked Milwaukee to fill the Horizon cellar in 2014.
It's not long ago, of course, that Milwaukee was one of the league's top programs. From 2003-2006, the Panthers made the NCAAs 3 times, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2005 and winning another game in 2006. The year they missed – 2004 – they were the league's regular season champs and played in the NIT. In 2011, Butler's second final 4 year, Milwaukee tied the Bulldogs (and Cleveland State) for the league regular season title and played in the NIT. In 2012, they were still good for 20 wins and a CBI berth. Just two years ago, Coach Rob Jeter was being courted by programs such as Miami (Fla.).
Last year the Panthers were expected to be down a bit, but were generally predicted for the middle of the Horizon with an outside chance of winning. (They were projected 6th in the pre-season media poll). And when they started the year with an overtime loss at South Carolina and a solid win over Davidson, few foresaw the disaster about to strike. After beating Davidson, Milwaukee lost 9 of their next 10, saved only by an overtime home victory against lowly Northern Illinois. The Panthers finished 3-13 in conference and 8-24 overall, their worst season since 1998.
How bad were the Panthers, really? Well, 17 of their losses were by double-digits. They were last in the league in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, and free throw percentage; last in rebounding margin; last in turnover margin and last in turnover/assist ratio. They were 8th in scoring, 8th in points allowed.
From that sad-sack team, the Panthers lose their leading scorer, Paris Gulley, and their leading rebounder, Demetrious Harris (who was also their #3 scorer). The main returnees are senior guard Jordan Aaron, who averaged 14.4 points, 4 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game playing the point, but also averaged an alarming 3.8 turnovers per game and shot just 37% from the floor, and a trio of forwards: 6-9 senior Kyle Kelm (5.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg), 6-10 soph JJ Panoski (5.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and 6-6 soph Austin Arians (6.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg). Of the forwards, Only Kelm (41.0%) shot 40% from the floor. Thierno Niang, a guard from Senegal, saw regular action until sidelined by injuries, but he shot just 28% from the floor and had nearly 50% more turnovers than assists. Back-up guard Evan Richard averaged 9 ineffective minutes per game last year.
The Panthers have a raft of new players coming in to help out. 6-7 Malcolm Moore is a 5th year Senior transfer from UTEP, where he spent two injury plagued seasons. 6-2 junior guard Steve McWhorter, from Indiana State, is probably a more valuable addition. McWhorter has to replace Paris Gulley, the best player on last year's squad, but the added benefit is that McWhorter can play the point, allowing Aaron to move to his more natural #2 guard slot, where he should be more effective. There are also a trio of JC transfers, 6-8 Matt Tiby, 6-5 wing Trinson White, and 6-3 guard JeVon Lyle. White comes from a top JC program at Indian Hills, but averaged just 6.2 ppg last season and was injured late in the year. Lyle averaged 10 points a game at Iowa Western CC but missed the last two-thirds of the season with a broken wrist. The most promising, Tiby, was honorable mention all-region at Kirkwood CC. Two freshmen, 6-9 Brett Prahl and 6-5 Cody Wichmann, could also see time.
Frankly, it's pretty tough to figure out how coach Rob Jeter plans to use this roster, so there's not much point in trying to break down the Panthers. The Panthers aren't helpless - there is some talent here. They could surprise, if Panoske and Arians develop from good enough freshman seasons, Aaron plays better, some of the transfers break through, and freshman Prahl steps right in. Kyle Kelm has played through a lot of injuries the last 2 seasons – maybe he feels well and has a breakout senior year. They're not going to be an automatic "W". But it's not hard to see why just about everyone has the Panthers pegged for last.
Last year, of course, Wright State was picked for last and won 23 games. Perhaps Milwaukee will gel in the same way. But it seems more likely that the Panthers' rallying cry this year will be a line from an old and often mocked commercial: "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up."
Probable Starters:
SG: Jordan Aaron, 5-10 Sr., 14.4 ppg, 4.0 apg.
PG: Steve McWhorter, 6-2 Jr., (2012 Indiana State) 4.0 ppg, 1.6 apg.
SF: Austin Arians, 6-6 Soph., 6.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg
F: J.J. Panoski, 6-10 Soph, 5.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg.
F: Matt Tiby, 6-8 Soph (Kirkwood CC) 11.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg.
Other Key Players:
G: Thierno Niang, 6-1 Sr., 3.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.1 apg.
G: Evan Richard, 6-2 Jr., 2.0 ppg.
G: JeVon Lyle, 6-2 Soph, (Iowa Western CC) 10.0 ppg.
F: Kyle Kelm, 6-9 Sr., 5.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg.
F: Malcolm Moore, 6-7 Sr. (UTEP), 1.8 ppg.
SF: Trinson White. 6-5 Jr., (Indian Hills CC) 6.2 ppg.
C: Brett Prahl, 6-9 Fr.; Averaged 19.7 ppg. in HS.
Read more: http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net (http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net) ... z2hGKEnElz
Quote from: wh on October 09, 2013, 07:39:17 PMOf the forwards, Only Kelm (41.0%) shot 40% from the floor.
This Only guy sounds pretty good. If only.
Milwaukee's so bad that they can finish 10th in a 9 team league...
Quote from: classof2014 on October 10, 2013, 08:41:57 AM
Milwaukee's so bad that they can finish 10th in a 9 team league...
What's up with Jeter?? Why can't he recruit? They were a very competitive program until recently.
Quote from: vu72 on October 10, 2013, 08:59:08 AMWhat's up with Jeter?? Why can't he recruit? They were a very competitive program until recently.
(http://onmilwaukee.com/images/articles/kl/klotschecraziness/klotschecraziness_fullsize_story2.jpg?20130123101054).
...although thank god they're out of there now. Unfortunately they've dug themselves a huge hole with the moronic decision of hiring Andy Geiger. I think even the UWM fans would agree with me there.
I mean seriously they went from an arena where Lew Alcindor and Oscar Robertson won an NBA championship to a gym probably smaller than half of their recruits' home gym. If you've never been in the Klotsche Center: it's horrible. It makes the ARC look like Cowboys Stadium.
Unfortunately, I think their entire roster was recruited while they were still playing at the Cell.
It's gonna be real tough for UWM to recover... They went from a reputable team that could beat you any day and always finish in the top-half of the HL to the laughing stock of the HL all in the span of one season. They've dug themselves a whole that is gonna take years to dig out of. Sad for a team that was among the HL elite just a few short seasons ago.
Quote from: wh on October 10, 2013, 09:39:18 AMUnfortunately, I think their entire roster was recruited while they were still playing at the Cell.
For the first time, I have to disagree with my man a3uge. UWM could be playing in the Palace of Auburn Hills ca. 1990 and they'd still stink.
To make matters worse (from a league standpoint), they've put together a terrible OOC schedule. Obviously, Jeter is desperate to put some W's on the credit side of the ledger. Just another reason why LeCrone should take action to force our resident self-serving programs to improve their OOC scheduling to a minimum acceptable level. Everyone knows that at the end of the day coaches are judged on W's and L's - period. For those who are desperate to hang on like Jeter or opportunists like Donlon looking to move up, the temptation is simply too great to "schedule down" rather than do their part to enhance the standing of the league.
Quote from: wh on October 10, 2013, 10:10:35 AM
To make matters worse (from a league standpoint), they've put together a terrible OOC schedule. Obviously, Jeter is desperate to put some W's on the credit side of the ledger. Just another reason why LeCrone should take action to force our resident self-serving programs to improve their OOC scheduling to a minimum acceptable level. Everyone knows that at the end of the day coaches are judged on W's and L's - period. For those who are desperate to hang on like Jeter or opportunists like Donlon looking to move up, the temptation is simply too great to "schedule down" rather than do their part to enhance the standing of the league.
Milwaukee, while having an average OOC RPI of 198 this season, actually doesn't look to bad in terms of the A10 rating for OOC schedule. Wisconsin, Davidson, Northern Iowa, and DePaul are all worth more than 2 points and they have 3 more teams that are actually worth points.
Green Bay on the other hand has only 4 teams worth points (Wisconsin and Virginia worth 4 and 3 respectively) and only have 10 games against D1 opponents. Wardle hasn't had a "bad" team since taking over the team, but they've put together an absolutely putrid schedule.
Wright State has put together a really bad schedule.They weren't expected to be good last year, but you would think they would see the fact that they had a full returning roster and schedule in advanced for a senior laden team. An average RPI of 232.0... What is that? The teams they had "Home and Homes" with aren't even schools that you could say have historical success.
If Milwaukee had the worst schedule in the Horizon then I think we could pick them out and say "Why aren't they trying to improve?" but they have a similar schedule to UIC and our top 2 teams in preseason rankings are dragging the conference down in terms of out of conference schedules.
Again, thank goodness Loyola moved on. It's a relief knowing the "nation's worst" OOC schedule will be pissing all over the MVC this year rather than the Horizon.
Quote from: wh on October 10, 2013, 12:13:06 PMAgain, thank goodness Loyola moved on. It's a relief knowing the "nation's worst" OOC schedule will be pissing all over the MVC this year rather than the Horizon.
Wright State isn't too far off from Loyola's mess. You take Georgetown out of the mix and you've got basically the same SOS from WSU.
I no longer have the time to waste on number-crunching, gentlemen, but remember when assessing schedules at this point in time, I'd have two quotes for you.
One is Solon (in Herodotus): "Count no man happy before he dies".
The other is Small Print (in everything): "Past performance is no guarantee of future results."
Thus, a team with Wright on its schedule at this point last year would have been pre-kicking themselves, while a team with Milwaukee feeling pretty good about their non-con.
Obviously at the end of the year things have changed considerably. It would be interesting to note the end-of-year RPI ratings and see how they compare.
While you can't say the Klotsche is the only reason for UWM being awful, you could probably say their gym was a large contributing factor to the poor recruiting in the last two years. UWM shouldn't have been that bad last year. In 2010 Kyle Kelm and Kaylon Williams were both 3-star recruits (Rivals), the former being an 80 grade by ESPN. Neither of them really amounted to anything. So on paper, I think they shouldn't have been that lousy. But there's a ton of room on their roster and it isn't getting replaced by young talent. Their last two recruiting classes are basically non existent. That's what's really alarming. While Valpo had a bad year in 2009, it was sort of an anomaly and you could point to a strong recruiting class coming up through the ranks (especially a top notch JUCO transfer named Brandon Wood). UWM just imploded. The players weren't playing hard and everything seemed like a lost cause last year. This all started when Geiger took over and moved the team to the Klotschke.
Also worthy of note: JaRob McCallum and Shaquille Boga both transferred out in the last couple of years. Boga probably wasn't that good anyways, however.
Quote from: a3uge on October 10, 2013, 03:51:30 PM
While you can't say the Klotsche is the only reason for UWM being awful, you could probably say their gym was a large contributing factor to the poor recruiting in the last two years. UWM shouldn't have been that bad last year. In 2010 Kyle Kelm and Kaylon Williams were both 3-star recruits (Rivals), the former being an 80 grade by ESPN. Neither of them really amounted to anything. So on paper, I think they shouldn't have been that lousy. But there's a ton of room on their roster and it isn't getting replaced by young talent. Their last two recruiting classes are basically non existent. That's what's really alarming. While Valpo had a bad year in 2009, it was sort of an anomaly and you could point to a strong recruiting class coming up through the ranks (especially a top notch JUCO transfer named Brandon Wood). UWM just imploded. The players weren't playing hard and everything seemed like a lost cause last year. This all started when Geiger took over and moved the team to the Klotschke.
Also worthy of note: JaRob McCallum and Shaquille Boga both transferred out in the last couple of years. Boga probably wasn't that good anyways, however.
UWM played at the Klotsche Center last season only. It wasn't even announced that they were moving to the Klotsche until last June. Even last year's freshmen would have already signed NLI's by then. The point is every player on last year's roster was recruited thinking they would be playing at the Cell, not the Klotsche. Therefore, I repeat - last year's horrendous record had nothing to do with the negative recruiting effect of moving to the Klotsche.
As for Wright State's bad OOC: this will end up to hurt them if they end up making the tourney. They will have to either beat Georgetown, or if not, win literally every other OOC game to build a reasonable RPI/resume for the selection committee. Dropping a game to a team like NC A&T would be devastating. It's my opinion that the winner of the HL will not be above a 14 seed this year due to the closeness/mediocrity of all of the teams. Wright State would likely have to only drop a couple of conference games to gain a reasonable RPI. Since the whole Horizon will be hovering over a 125 RPI this year, they're not going to get any big wins in conference. Like when Valpo beat Detroit each of the past two years, they could point to a top 100 RPI win. Wright State may only have one opportunity to do this when they play their first D1 game against Georgetown (CBS Sports predicts them to finish 3rdish in New Big East (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24000497/college-basketball-conference-previews-big-east)). Of course, this could change if enough bad teams win their conference tournament (last year there weren't too many upsets).
I would say the same thing about Green Bay as well. It helps they don't have any difficult OOC road games this year, but they'll need to win AT LEAST ONE of those games this year.
----
Edit: I could've sworn UWM played at the Klotschke in 2011, but after looking, yeah, they didn't move until last year. Dumb mistake... it's not like I live in Milwaukee or anything...
Quote from: classof2014 on October 10, 2013, 09:47:53 AM
It's gonna be real tough for UWM to recover... They went from a reputable team that could beat you any day and always finish in the top-half of the HL to the laughing stock of the HL all in the span of one season. They've dug themselves a whole that is gonna take years to dig out of. Sad for a team that was among the HL elite just a few short seasons ago.
UWM will have no problem bouncing back once they get rid of their coach. They are back to playing at the cell and they are getting ready to announce in the near future the construction of an on campus basketball practice facility. UWM also pays very well. They won't have a problem bringing in a good coach.
Quote from: a3uge on October 10, 2013, 04:44:00 PM
As for Wright State's bad OOC: this will end up to hurt them if they end up making the tourney. They will have to either beat Georgetown, or if not, win literally every other OOC game to build a reasonable RPI/resume for the selection committee. Dropping a game to a team like NC A&T would be devastating. It's my opinion that the winner of the HL will not be above a 14 seed this year due to the closeness/mediocrity of all of the teams. Wright State would likely have to only drop a couple of conference games to gain a reasonable RPI. Since the whole Horizon will be hovering over a 125 RPI this year, they're not going to get any big wins in conference. Like when Valpo beat Detroit each of the past two years, they could point to a top 100 RPI win. Wright State may only have one opportunity to do this when they play their first D1 game against Georgetown (CBS Sports predicts them to finish 3rdish in New Big East (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24000497/college-basketball-conference-previews-big-east)). Of course, this could change if enough bad teams win their conference tournament (last year there weren't too many upsets).
I would say the same thing about Green Bay as well. It helps they don't have any difficult OOC road games this year, but they'll need to win AT LEAST ONE of those games this year.
----
Edit: I could've sworn UWM played at the Klotschke in 2011, but after looking, yeah, they didn't move until last year. Dumb mistake... it's not like I live in Milwaukee or anything...
The Horizon had a good run of getting decent NCAA tourney seeds and winning games in the tourney. The last two years have been a 15 seed and 14 seed that were near impossible wins. I don't have the answers, but I assume non-conference scheduling (or lack thereof) is to blame. I agree that LeCrone should be asked on Media Day about instituting scheduling mandates.
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on October 10, 2013, 03:28:16 PM
I no longer have the time to waste on number-crunching, gentlemen, but remember when assessing schedules at this point in time, I'd have two quotes for you.
One is Solon (in Herodotus): "Count no man happy before he dies".
The other is Small Print (in everything): "Past performance is no guarantee of future results."
What!!!!!!!? ? ? ? ?The great number cruncher has no time for number crunching!!!! What is this world coming to?
Quote from: bbtds on October 11, 2013, 10:25:29 AMWhat is this world coming to?
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5yt5jSrJiVo/UkzLDHwW6DI/AAAAAAAAC08/FB6ZwmFDTHU/s320/IMG_0553.JPG)
she'll turn one tomorrow. some things are a better use of the time :)
but thanks for noticing/caring. I'll probably still keep up the look at the records charts, if only because there won't be much to do for a couple years :)
and maybe a couple funny looks at the HL, like http://www.valpofanzone.com/2012/12/31/horizon-league-the-non-con-2012/ (http://www.valpofanzone.com/2012/12/31/horizon-league-the-non-con-2012/), because it's going to be a funny year...
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on October 11, 2013, 12:21:20 PM
Quote from: bbtds on October 11, 2013, 10:25:29 AMWhat is this world coming to?
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5yt5jSrJiVo/UkzLDHwW6DI/AAAAAAAAC08/FB6ZwmFDTHU/s320/IMG_0553.JPG)
she'll turn one tomorrow. some things are a better use of the time :)
but thanks for noticing/caring. I'll probably still keep up the look at the records charts, if only because there won't be much to do for a couple years :)
and maybe a couple funny looks at the HL, like http://www.valpofanzone.com/2012/12/31/horizon-league-the-non-con-2012/ (http://www.valpofanzone.com/2012/12/31/horizon-league-the-non-con-2012/), because it's going to be a funny year...
Happy birthday to your daughter!! :thewave:
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on October 11, 2013, 12:21:20 PM
Quote from: bbtds on October 11, 2013, 10:25:29 AMWhat is this world coming to?
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5yt5jSrJiVo/UkzLDHwW6DI/AAAAAAAAC08/FB6ZwmFDTHU/s320/IMG_0553.JPG)
she'll turn one tomorrow. some things are a better use of the time :)
but thanks for noticing/caring. I'll probably still keep up the look at the records charts, if only because there won't be much to do for a couple years :)
and maybe a couple funny looks at the HL, like http://www.valpofanzone.com/2012/12/31/horizon-league-the-non-con-2012/ (http://www.valpofanzone.com/2012/12/31/horizon-league-the-non-con-2012/), because it's going to be a funny year...
She is extremely cute!
You really ought to find her a better child seat, though. ;D
Well, kind of like what the Valpo football team says to their opponents each week (except Campbell), our loss is your gain.
thanks, brothers! the party was a tremendous success...too bad she won't remember a thing! :)
Horizon Preview: UIC
by Commissioner » Sat Oct 12, 2013 8:16 pm
Analysis #7:
UIC
2013: Horizon 7-9 (5th T); Overall 18-16, CIT
Coming off an eight win season in 2011-12, UIC was the toast of the Horizon during the early going in 2012-13. The Flames started the season 9-1, including a home victory over eventual NCAA selection Colorado State, neutral court wins over NCAA selection Iona and NIT selection and 24 game winner Mercer, and a road win over the Big 10's Northwestern. Their sole loss was a close game against 29 game winner New Mexico. They were playing a lock-down defense, holding 6 of those opponents to fewer than 50 points, but also capable of run-and-gun, defeating high scoring Iona in an 86-81 shootout.
It's not quite clear what happened after that successful start, but the Flames didn't hold another team below the 50 point level all season, and staggered through with a 9-15 record the rest of the year, including a 4-8 finish. Their 17-15 regular season was enough for a CIT bid, where they managed a first round win thanks to drawing 11-21 Chicago State, which got an automatic bid as the Great West tournament champion.
Now UIC faces the 2013 season having lost more scoring and rebounding to graduation than any team in the league except for Valpo and Detroit, which as the league's top two teams in recent years have quite a bit more margin for decline. In Gary Talton, Daniel Barnes, and Josh Crittle the Flames lost their top 3 scorers, 3 of their top 4 rebounders, and their top two in assists. Also gone is Anthony Kelly, a valuable bench player.
Despite these losses, the new-look Flames seem confident heading into the 2014 season. A major reason for that confidence is transfer Kelsey Barlow, a starter at Purdue before being kicked off the team in 2012 after an altercation in a bar. This followed his suspension for "conduct detrimental to the team" immediately before the 2011 NCAA tournament (there are rumors, but I caution only rumors, that he failed a drug test. The University has never specified the reason for that suspension). His teammates were unfazed – senior captain Ryne Smith immediately called Barlow's dismissal "addition by subtraction." At the time of his dismissal, Barlow was playing some of the best ball of his career, including a 14 point effort against Ohio State and a 10 point, 8 rebound performance against Northwestern.
The Flames' hopes to contend in the Horizon now rest substantially on the talented but troubled 6-5 senior guard. He is potentially a dominant talent in the Horizon – if he's got his act together and isn't too rusty from nearly a year and a half of inaction (sitting out his transfer year and missing the end of the 2012 season after his dismissal).
The other key player for the Flames is 6-8 senior power forward Hayden Humes. Humes is a solid all-around player who can score inside, drain the three, hit the boards, and pass well. Humes was a part-time starter at Toledo as a freshman in 2011, and due to Toledo's APR problems was able to transfer to UIC, where he has been a starter for two seasons, without sitting out a year. He hasn't gotten a lot of attention in his two seasons at UIC but don't be surprised if Humes is an all-conference player at year-end.
The other returning starter is 6-4 junior wing Mark Brown. Look for Barlow, Humes and Brown to be joined in the starting lineup by Jordan Harks, a 6-8 graduate transfer from Central Arkansas, and Joey Miller, a 6-3 guard who was something of a disappointment after transferring from Eastern Illinois, averaging just 3.9 ppg and shooting just 31% both from the trey and overall, after averaging 10.4 at EIU in 2012. 6-10, 235 lb. junior Will Simonton and 6-8, 230 lb. soph Jake Wiegand provide some major size and depth up front and give coach Porter Moser the option to go big or small in the lineup, with Brown as the swing man. Indeed, Moser may take this route from the start, bringing Brown off the bench, just to give him some added depth at guard.
Junior Jay Parker started twice last season while playing 32 games. Parker is not an offensive threat but can provide minutes at the point. Expect 6-5 freshman wing Pat Birt, a 3-star recruit who got a lot of high major interest but mainly mid-major offers, to get some opportunities. 6-5 junior forward Ahman Fells and 6-4 sophomore guard Gabe Snider are deep on the bench but will see action.
UIC's big weakness on offense is a lack of 3 point shooting other than Humes. They were a not a good rebounding team last year (-1.3 per game) and will be worse this year unless Simonton and Wiegand step up their games. And they're a bit slow. But you can be sure that Moser's team will play tough defense, and won't turn the ball over much.
UIC needs to win this year – Barlow, Humes and Harks, probably their 3 best players, are all seniors. Unless you're Kentucky, it's tough to lose the bulk of your scoring and rebounding in consecutive years. The Flames have an attractive non-conference schedule including a game against hated big brother Illinois on a neutral floor in Chicago and a home game against cross-town Northwestern. After last season's Dr. Jeckyl opening but Mr. Hyde finish, and with so much rides on how Barlow performs, UIC is one of the toughest teams in the league to predict. They are not doing well with pre-season prognostcators, generally being predicted for 7th or 8th, but if you wanted to put some money on a long shot, you could do a lot worse than bet on UIC.
Probable Starters:
G: 6-5 Sr. Kelsey Barlow (Purdue 2012), 8.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.7 apg
G: 6-3 Jr. Joey Miller, 3.9 ppg,
SF: 6-4 Jr. Mark Brown, 5.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg.
PF: 6-8 Sr. Hayden Humes, 10.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 40% 3P%.
F: 6-8 Sr. Jordan Harks, (Central Arkansas) 7.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, .587 FG%.
Other Key Players:
PG: 5-10 Jr. Jay Parker, 1.3 ppg, 1.0 apg.
SF: 6-5 Fr. Pat Birt
PF: 6-8 Soph. Jake Weigand, 2.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg.
C: 6-10 Sr. Will Simonton, 2.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg.
Horizon Analysis - Detroit
by Commissioner » Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:46 pm
So, here is the final Horizon preseason analysis, for our Titans.
2013 Conference: 12-4 (2nd); Overall 20-13 (NIT)
So the Ray McCallum (the player) era at Detroit is over. It was good, but to me it largely feels like a missed opportunity. Unusual circumstances enabled the Titans to nab a top 30 high school recruit, but beyond that, the Titans surrounded McCallum with some very good talent. Nick Minnerath was a classic mid-major story, a fine player - I think at some point he'll get at least a few games in the NBA - found in a most unusual place due to a most unusual story. Most mid-majors are lucky to see a big man like Eli Holman once every 20 years. Jason Calliste was a very good mid-major 2-guard. Doug Anderson had holes in his game, but his raw athletic ability and the excitement he could bring to a game are rare, indeed, in the mid-major ranks.
The 2012 season got off to a rocky start due to injuries and off-court turmoil. Eventually the time the Titans got it going and won the Horizon tournament, but their early season losses doomed them to a #15 seed and a super tough draw against Kansas. Last year was even more of a missed opportunity. Let me suggest just a few possibilities:
The Titans don't play a terribly flat game at Bowling Green, and get the win;
The Titans close out the game against St. John's.
The Titans don't (literally) throw it away late, and win at Temple.
The Titans hang on to beat Valpo by 1 at Calihan, instead of losing by 1.
That would have given the Titans a 24-7 regular season mark, with road wins over 2 BCS top-50 teams in St. John's and Temple. That's not giving the Titans every break – I'm not saying they complete the rally to beat Syracuse, hold on to their big early leads at Pitt and Miami, don't lose to a mediocre Cleveland State team. That 24-7 mark, with the victory over Valpo, makes the Titans regular season champs, and thus hosts of the Horizon tournament. Playing at Calihan, would they have beaten Wright State by 2 instead of losing by 2? That would make the Titans 25-7. If they then beat Valpo at home again in the final, they're Horizon champs at 26-7; even losing, their 25-8 might well have merited an at-large bid. But at 26-7, with their schedule, they probably would have been seeded in the 10-12 range, an excellent place from which to make a Sweet 16 run.
Well, enough with the woulda/coulda/shoulda. The Ray years, if perhaps a bit disappointing, were nonetheless good years, and marked the return of the program to competitiveness.
This year, of course, the Titans lose a ton. Since readers here pretty well know the Titans, rather than break down the team, let me do a different approach. Let's compare UD to Valpo. Valpo and Detroit have been the league's two best teams the last two years, but only Valpo lost a higher percentage of last year's scoring and rebounding than the Titans. Although the composite preseason predictions have Valpo 6th and the Titans 7th, the distance between the two is considerable. Moreover, of 11 predictions I've recorded, only ESPN predicted the Titans to finish ahead of the Crusaders.
So let's compare the two teams.
Key Returning Players:
Bobby "the Thug" Capobianco v. Evan Bruinsma (by the way, does "Bruinsma" mean "Momma Bear?"):
I think most everyone around the league thinks of Capobianco as a superior to Bruinsma, but it's not obvious that that's the case - at least not from results. Capo's perceived advantage, I think, stems mainly from his impressive physique and his Indiana Hoosier pedigree. But last year in Horizon League play, Capobianco averaged 6.1 points and 4.6 rebounds; Bruinsma averaged 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds. Capo shot .578 from the floor; Bruinsma .565, but Bruinsma outshot Capo from two-point range, .651 to .586. His lower overall percentage came because he took 3 times as many 3-pointers, hitting a very respectable 36.8% of them (in other words, Evan is a 3 point threat – Capo is not). Bruinsma hit 72% of his free throws, to Capobianco's .656. True, Bruinsma played about 6 and a half minutes more per game than Capobianco, but I'm not sure that counts in Capo's favor. Is Capo really better than Bruinsma? Hardly clear.
Lavonte Dority v. Juwan Howard:
This is a more difficult comparison, because the two play different positions, but they're not all that dissimilar, and they are the each team's other returning rotation player, so I've paired them up. Between them, I think a reasonable person could go either way. I'd choose Howard, though. He's a better defensive player, and a better pure shooter.
Other Returning Players
Jordan Coleman v. Anton Wilson :
6-5 senior Jordan Coleman averaged 4.4 ppg in 15 minutes per game. 6-5 soph Anton Wilson played half as much PT and averaged 1.8 ppg. Here, I can see an observer giving the edge to Coleman, but my guess is that Wilson, the soph, has a much higher upside than Coleman, the senior. Wilson was a much more highly rated recruit and I expect that will show with more PT this year. Coleman is a decent role player, but Wilson a double figure scoring threat.
Vashil Fernandez v. Ugochkwu Njoku:
In my Valpo preview, I suggested that Fernandez would be the likely starter ahead of Moussa Gueye. I figure Drew will give him the chance to earn the job, because he has a higher upside than Gueye. But I was probably wrong in thinking Fernandez, even given the chance, would earn the job over the Alabama transfer. The 6-11 Fernandez last year averaged 7.3 minutes, 1.1 points, and 1.4 rebounds, with 14 blocks. The 6-10 Njoku averaged 6.3 minutes, 0.8 points, and 1.6 rebounds, with 20 blocks. Njoku fouls more, but both foul too much. Njoku seems to have much better hands, with one-third as many turnovers. You tell me: does Valpo have an edge here?
Newcomers:
Keith Carter v. Carlton Brundidge
Each team will have new, touted sophomore transfer point guard. Brundidge never fit into the Michigan system and immediately got stuck behind Trey Burke. Carter played in just 3 games for St. Louis last year, but he did average 13 minutes a game in those appearances. Brundidge was more highly recruited, a top 100 player in some rankings, but Rick Majerus called Carter his best ever recruit at St. Louis. My guess is that both will be good, but that Brundidge is more likely to be a dominant player. Flip a coin on who you'd pick.
Moussa Gueye v. Patrick Onwenu
The 7 footer Gueye transfers into Valpo for 1 season. Gueye started 27 games for Alabama last year, but averaged just 15 minutes, 1.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. Despite his size, he shot just 37% from the floor, and 42% from the stripe. Valpo fans are very excited by Gueye, but I think they are due for a big disappointment. Sure, he started 27 games for 'Bama, but how impressive is that? It's not like 'Bama won the national championship- they didn't even make the tournament. And Gueye was arguably the worst starting player last year in the SEC, and he actually logged the minutes of a so-so bench player. So what's it mean to be the worst starter in the SEC? How many Horizon players are better than the worst starter in the SEC?
Are Gueye's numbers more impressive than those of Onwenu? Onwenu averaged 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and shot 47% at Highland CC. Sure, it's a whole different level of play, but of course, guys come up from those type of JC numbers to become BCS starters all the time. (Remember Patrick was being recruited by Georgia when he chose UD). In his 1 year of JC ball, Gueye averaged 10.3 points and 8.7 rebounds. We can say pretty confidently that Onwenu, a JC All-American, was a better JC player than Gueye. Or we can compare 2012 seasons: Onwenu was a freshman at Texas Southern, averaging 8.8 minutes, 3.1 points, and 1.3 rebounds. Gueye was a redshirt soph at Alabama, averaging 8 minutes, 1.5 points, and 1.8 rebounds. Now again, SEC competition is a heck of a lot better than the SWAC, but I'm not sure I give any big edge to Gueye there. I will be surprised if Gueye scores more than Onwenu this year – Gueye is an offensive sinkhole. He'll be a big presence on defense. As with almost every pairing on this list, I think you could reasonably pick either player, but I'd pick Onwenu.
Alec Peters v. Paris Bass. The 6-8 Peters is a very good recruit who will play a key role for Valpo. The 6-8 Bass is a very good recruit who will play a key role for Detroit. Peters is an inside player who can go outside. Bass is a outside player who can go inside. I'd guess that Peters is more game ready this year if only because Paris is still so thin, but that's really a guess. Peters had lots of mid-major offers, plus BC, Butler, Saint Louis, and signed early or he might have gotten more. Bass was a late bloomer – hardly recruited at all until midway through his spectacular senior year at Seaholm, followed by his triumphant AAU season this summer. By late summer, he was sitting on a dozen good mid-major offers while the likes of Iowa, UConn, and Memphis were urging him to go to prep school and join their class of 2014. Peters was predicted for newcomer of the year in the Horizon pre-season poll. I suppose we should respect that and give Valpo the edge, but again, it's not something that is obviously the case.
Clay Yeo v. Matt Grant. Yeo is a solid recruit and probably, objectively, deserves the edge over Grant. I still think Grant is going to be surprisingly good, but we'll see.
Lexis Williams v. Jarod Williams. The quick freshman point guard vs. the tall freshman point guard.
Mix and Match
David Chadwick v. Jermaine Lippert
Newcomer Chadwick, a 6-9, 220 lb graduate senior transfer, averaged 7 minutes, 1.5 points, and 0.9 rebounds for Rice. Lippert, a 6-8 senior forward, average 4.6 minutes, 1.1 points, and 1.1 rebounds for Detroit.
Jubril Adekoya v. Olumide Solanke:
The 6-7 freshman Adekoya and the 6-11 senior Solanke both figure to spend a lot of time on the bench. I'd give the edge to Adekoya, but I'm not sure it matters.
Leftovers
Nick Davidson v. ???. The Titans have only an 11 man roster, whereas Valpo's freshman guard will play. Edge Valpo, I suppose.
So is Valpo really better, as most the "experts" seems to think? I suppose I'd join the crowd and be prepared to give them a slight edge, but when you match the two teams up this way, it's not exactly a landslide. And perhaps it shows how many questions there are this year in the Horizon.
Miscellania:
The Titans have had 4 straight winning seasons for the first time since they ended a string of 9 straight winning seasons in 2003-04. The Titans longest streaks of winning seasons:
10 (1971-1980)
9 (1996-2004)
9 (1936-1944)
7 (1960-1966)
4 (2010-2013)
4 (1949-1952)
4 (1911-1914)
The Titans will also be trying to win 20 games in 3 consecutive seasons for the first time since winning 20 or more in 4 consecutive seasons from 1998-2001. The Titans also had 3 consecutive 20 win seasons from 1977-1979.
The Titans' all-time leaders in coaching wins:
1. Bob Calihan 306
2. Perry Watson 261
3. Lloyd Brazil 185
4. Ray McCallum 86
5. Dick Vitale 78
Dick Vitale's first game as Titan coach was 40 years ago, on December 1, 1973. The Titans beat Hillsdale, 96-63.
This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the first match-up between Detroit and Oakland. The Titans beat Oakland 100-75 in December, 1973.
The 1973-74 squad is also the only Titan team to beat Michigan and Michigan State in the same season.
This is the 15th anniversary of the 1999 team, the last Titan squad to win an NCAA tournament game, beating UCLA.
It's the 35th anniversary of the 1979 team, the last Titan squad to be nationally ranked.
It's the 45th anniversary of Spencer Haywood's 1 season in Detroit. Haywood set the Titans' single season records for points and rebounds per game (32.1 and 21.5), and is the Titan's last "teamed" All-American.
This is the 50th anniversary of the 1964 team, which lead the nation in scoring. The Titans averaged 96.1 ppg, but gave up 86 ppg and finished just 14-11. Dick Dzik led the team with 21.7 ppg and 20.8 rpg. Sophomore Dorie Murrey added 16.9 ppg, Al Cech 15.8, and Terry Page 10.9.
It's the 75th anniversary of the 1938-39 team, which featured Detroit's first All-American, Bob Calihan. Other members of the All-America team that year included Irving Torgoff (Long Island), Urgel Wintermute (Oregon), Chet Jaworski (Rhode Island), and Bernie Opper (Kentucky). The 1939 Titans went 15-5, with Calihan averaging 13.3 ppg.
I'm seeing a lot of "ifs" and "but let's disregard the numbers" type projections here, so I'm not seeing much value in their analysis.
Quote from: wh on October 19, 2013, 10:56:01 PMBobby "the Thug" Capobianco
THERE's the feelings I knew were simmering
Quote from: wh on October 19, 2013, 10:56:01 PMEvan Bruinsma (by the way, does "Bruinsma" mean "Momma Bear?"):
I KNEW i made this joke a year ago; I just had to find it. They're a little slow up there. If he had signed with us I'd've made that joke in his "hello" post.
http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=1079.msg20446#msg20446 (http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=1079.msg20446#msg20446)
(this is worth clicking through because of all the other jokes made below. a real team effort.)Actually, it's kind of interesting to see how similar in a lot of ways our two teams are; although, I'm willing to bet on ANY given roster you could always find tall people to compare to other tall people.
Also, let's not forget Bruinsma's own Thugg Lyfe:
http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=1160.msg23156#msg23156 (http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=1160.msg23156#msg23156)
(also the two posts right after it are hilarious too)OK, that's 3 old posts dug up for posterity today. I'm going to bed.
That play was still mostly on Doug Anderson, so I refuse to call Bobby a thug, even if he wasn't on our team. Detroit will be a good bit worse than Valpo, as we will finish in the top 4, and they will be playing for the bottom 3.
Capo a thug? Hardly
If Capo was truly a thug he would've chosen to go to school in the thug capital of the world.... DETROIT
Missing from the Commish's comparison are the intangibles: team cohesiveness, coaching, us before me. Heavy weighting to VU on those.
Detroit fans will always see what Capo did as unjustifiably mugging their human highlight film, and that's ok. I will always remember it as a great hustle play by Capo that changed the momentum of a crucial game, and may well have been the single biggest play in deciding which team would host the tournament.
I see it as Bobby brought some momentum to Valpo with that mugging, so you could say that on that one play, Bobby did his job to stop Anderson from making the Sportscenter Top 10. If Bobby was a real thug, a la some of the UW-Milwaukee guys of a few seasons ago, he would have targeted particular scorers or players from each team every game. Whatever Detroit wants to say, they'll say, but we know what Bobby's mugging did to help our season.
video:
http://youtu.be/O8Ln87UScR4 (http://youtu.be/O8Ln87UScR4)
I think its pretty clear that Bobby was targeting the spot where Anderson was going when Anderson turned back for the showboat slam which resulted in the collision.
Quote from: vu72 on October 22, 2013, 11:02:32 AM
video:
http://youtu.be/O8Ln87UScR4 (http://youtu.be/O8Ln87UScR4)
I think its pretty clear that Bobby was targeting the spot where Anderson was going when Anderson turned back for the showboat slam which resulted in the collision.
The title of the video seems to be in conflict with your statement which I agree with. If Anderson only had a 30" vertical this wouldn't have even been a blip on the thug radar.
Quote from: vu72 on October 22, 2013, 11:02:32 AM
video:
http://youtu.be/O8Ln87UScR4 (http://youtu.be/O8Ln87UScR4)
I think its pretty clear that Bobby was targeting the spot where Anderson was going when Anderson turned back for the showboat slam which resulted in the collision.
If not for the Anderson showboating, it looks like Capobianco probably would have had a clean block. Seems unfair to give him a technical for that.
However, as Mr. Oren pointed out in his excellent "What If" series this summer, that play was a very important moment in the season. For the upcoming season, Capobianco will be way too valuable to risk ejection with a play like that, but maybe some bench players can be used for similar plays to ignite the team when needed?
While I do love the commissioner's write ups...I think he missed one key comparison between the 2 programs for this year...
Bryce Drew vs. Ray McCallum Sr.
...and I think we know who has the edge in this one ;)
Definitely not a thug play. Capo was trying to make a clear play on the ball and Detroit was up something like 20 or so points at the time. If anything Anderson was more in the wrong because he was basically showing us up. If he just goes for the layup perhaps it still gets blocked but it probably doesn't turn the momentum of the game in our favor. So I guess we owe a big thank you to Mr. Doug Anderson for his showboating because it might have saved our season.
Thanks Dougie!
I find it ironic how a UDM fan chooses to use the word "thug" to describe Bobby Capobianco. Just not a very good insult.
The paragraph about "If the Titans won x,y,z,q,r,s game then we would've been an at large 10 seed" was particularly hilarious. Hasn't he ever seen the Mighty Ducks? A quarter of an inch the other way and youda missed completely. The Titans could have easily lost to MILWAUKEE last year, which would have been horrifying to their supposed "10 seed at large" bid. It also took layup at the buzzer to beat Loyola, so this whole notion of marking all these close games as wins is asinine.
As far as his Valpo analysis, it's pretty much the same I think about any analysis of this year's Valpo team: we don't really know yet. Making player vs player comparisons on guys that haven't played significant minutes is kind of silly. I trust Bryce Drew and Co. to produce more conference wins than McCallum's posse. Valpo did an incredible job of developing players like Broekhoff, Kenny, Buggs, and Van Wijk. None of those guys were highly-sought recruits. They did a great job of finding roles for these talents and putting them into situations where they could be successful. Detroit, on the other hand, has had multi-star recruits, including an NBA player and an NBA summer league player walk in and out the door with only a 15 seed in the tourney to show for it. So naturally, I trust Valpo in developing the unknowns better this year than Detroit.
I just watched it about 10 times and here is what I saw: Capo has his hand straight up when Anderson turns his entire body, legs and arms, into Bobby trying to wind up for the slam. I'm pretty sure his arms made first contact with Bobby's chest but his legs are also turning to effective undercut the hard charging Bobby. Now, obviously he wasn't trying to undercut Bobby but the way Bobby landed his body was turned as a result of Anderson's legs being swung into him.
I reread this thread. We were really wrong about U-W-Milwaukee. They were an average Horizon League team that apparently got hot the last week and won the conference tournament. Not the disaster we were all expecting.
Anyways, here's some hilariously horrible predictions:
Quote from: vu72 on September 20, 2013, 09:27:35 AMFunny how nobody has even mentioned Lexus Williams on this board. Where do they find this stuff? Nothing against Lexus, and I hope he does very well, but a guy like Alec Peters, who was widely recognized as one of the top players in Illinois and who had offers from several BCS schools or Clay Yeo, who was an Indiana All Star, would seem more likely to garner this sort of prediction. This stuff is laughable on many fronts. With Carter and last year's Sixth Man of the Year playing point, I doubt Lexus will see the floor much his freshman year.
Quote from: classof2014 on October 01, 2013, 02:12:47 PM5th: Green Bay
One of the most overrated HL teams in my opinion. They do have one of the best all around players in Keifer Sykes but Alec Brown is a nothing more than a tall twig that is a decent shooter. Let us not forget the issue surrounding their head coach during the off-season as they saw a lot of players opt to transfer from the program. This was also a team that greatly underachieved last season, they were supposed to challenge for the HL crown and yes they did almost beat Valpo in the tournament but the fact is they didn't and they were handled pretty easily by them two other times. This team has a lot of questions around it and how will the team preform, will Alec Brown step-up and become an elite in the HL or will he continue to be nothing more than a twig that is a decent shooter.
...
1st Team
Kendrick Perry (PoY): Kendrick Perry is by far the best player in the HL. He's a threat whenever he has the ball and can single handily beat any team that YSU plays.
Bobby Capobianco: A big man who can shoot the three also a terrific rebounder. Capobianco is poised to have a great year. Let us not forget last year he as an assist away from a Triple Double, this was from the bench as well. The Indiana transfer should have a great season as he becomes a leader on a young Valparaiso squad.
And a mostly true prediction :p
Quote from: a3uge on October 10, 2013, 04:44:00 PMAs for Wright State's bad OOC: this will end up to hurt them if they end up making the tourney. They will have to either beat Georgetown, or if not, win literally every other OOC game to build a reasonable RPI/resume for the selection committee. Dropping a game to a team like NC A&T would be devastating. It's my opinion that the winner of the HL will not be above a 14 seed this year due to the closeness/mediocrity of all of the teams. Wright State would likely have to only drop a couple of conference games to gain a reasonable RPI. Since the whole Horizon will be hovering over a 125 RPI this year, they're not going to get any big wins in conference. Like when Valpo beat Detroit each of the past two years, they could point to a top 100 RPI win. Wright State may only have one opportunity to do this when they play their first D1 game against Georgetown (CBS Sports predicts them to finish 3rdish in New Big East). Of course, this could change if enough bad teams win their conference tournament (last year there weren't too many upsets).
I would say the same thing about Green Bay as well. It helps they don't have any difficult OOC road games this year, but they'll need to win AT LEAST ONE of those games this year.
My gosh, hilarious. Just a good read.
Also, the whole "thug" discussion is interesting now, in light of Richard Sherman's insinuation that calling a black man a "thug" is the new "n-word".
Capo's...um...he's pretty white.
Quote from: a3uge on March 24, 2014, 08:10:09 PMQuote from: vu72 on September 20, 2013, 09:27:35 AM Funny how nobody has even mentioned Lexus Williams on this board. Where do they find this stuff? Nothing against Lexus, and I hope he does very well, but a guy like Alec Peters, who was widely recognized as one of the top players in Illinois and who had offers from several BCS schools or Clay Yeo, who was an Indiana All Star, would seem more likely to garner this sort of prediction. This stuff is laughable on many fronts. With Carter and last year's Sixth Man of the Year playing point, I doubt Lexus will see the floor much his freshman year.
Any time that Carter takes because he comes closer to fulfilling his very lofty expectations will most likely come from Lexus' time on the floor. Maybe vu72's prediction was only off a year.