Ok, so our heroes didn't perform as well OOC as we would have liked. And yes, we have a lot of unanswered questions. That said, this year's HL conference race is as wide open as it ever has been in our 7-year history. We have as much talent as anyone in the league, and we can win this thing! It's time to knock some heads - beginning with UIC!
Ok, by popular demand my predictions for our starting 5 vs UIC are,
1 the point guard will be Lexus Williams. (Maybe he can right the ship)
2 LaVonte will continue to start even though I would be tempted to start Cater at the 2 and bring the 12-13 HL 6'th man of the year off the bench.
3 Coleman will return to the starting line up because we need at least one forward who is a threat to put the ball on the floor and take it hard to the basket. Now that Alec and Jubril have had their weaknesses exposed we will see much less of them being on the floor together.
4 Bobby will return to the starting position because that was how my coin toss came out and I never argue with my lucky quarter! There may be some logical reason for this other than the quarter but I will leave that kind of detailed thinking to you folks.
5 Vashil reverses roles with Moussa by getting the start. How long it will take him to get his 3'rd foul is an open question but he can probably make it past the 1'st media timeout.
The odds of this being the actual starting 5 could be calculated but it is new years eve and I have better things to do!
I agree with you for the most part, Ducky [/Abby Sciuto voice] except that I wouldn't argue with Paul Oren, who said something to the effect of "as long as Alec Peters is at Valpo, he will start for Valpo".
Since we are at home, I see a win:
Valpo 76
UIC 65
72-66 UIC
No one able to contain Barlow and Humes has a good game. We turn the ball over way too much to predict a win. It has nothing to do with being "young", it is being poor at basic fundamentals.
I do think Dority will have a great game. He has been our team MVP so far this year.
VU 74 UIC 71 just enough defense ! ;D
Quote from: justducky on December 31, 2013, 08:20:53 PMNow that Alec and Jubril have had their weaknesses exposed we will see much less of them being on the floor together.
Haven't seen any weaknesses in Peters's game. Not saying he's perfect, but he's awfully sound in every aspect, especially for a freshman. He'll definitely be in the starting lineup on Thursday, and barring injury for the rest of his Crusader career.
Quote from: chef on January 01, 2014, 03:47:17 PM
Quote from: justducky on December 31, 2013, 08:20:53 PMNow that Alec and Jubril have had their weaknesses exposed we will see much less of them being on the floor together.
Haven't seen any weaknesses in Peters's game. Not saying he's perfect, but he's awfully sound in every aspect, especially for a freshman. He'll definitely be in the starting lineup on Thursday, and barring injury for the rest of his Crusader career.
I would in general agree with chef on Peters, but, he is only one off the lead in turnovers and more troubling is that turnovers seem to be accelerating as he has 11 in the last two games.
I think 29 assists and 34 turnovers for a front court player is about average. Most guards have a slightly better than 1 to 1 assist to turnover ratio and most front court players have an assist to turnover ratio that is slightly below 1 to 1. Also, keep in mind that's he's played the most minutes on the team, and thus he's near the lead on the team in almost every category....turnovers included.
Valpo -11
http://linemakers.sportingnews.com/odds?odds-sport=ncaab&date=2014-01-02 (http://linemakers.sportingnews.com/odds?odds-sport=ncaab&date=2014-01-02)
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/questions-remain-as-valparaiso-begins-horizon-league-men-s-basketball/article_9af75f28-1b6c-5875-ad40-8b97be2418f9.html (http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/questions-remain-as-valparaiso-begins-horizon-league-men-s-basketball/article_9af75f28-1b6c-5875-ad40-8b97be2418f9.html)
Quote from: wh on January 01, 2014, 08:47:13 PMValpo -11
http://linemakers.sportingnews.com/odds?odds-sport=ncaab&date=2014-01-02 (http://linemakers.sportingnews.com/odds?odds-sport=ncaab&date=2014-01-02)
I think that is a pretty big spread. I think Valpo will miss the spread by 1 or 2 points but pull out the game at the end after getting behind early due to turnovers. After VU cuts the turnovers in a much better second half they will surge ahead for the win. Alec Peters will shoot much better at home than he has in the previous two road games which will also spark the comeback. When Valpo finally learns to control the first half, hold down the turnovers, against a quality conference team they will have a good chance of finishing in the top three and a decent chance at winning the conference tournament. If they don't the Crusaders will finish anywhere from 4th to 7th. I really don't see VU winning at Oakland unless things change drastically against UIC.
Gorches predicting another title!
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/24713011-419/gorches-turnovers-the-key-to-horizon-3-peat-for-valpo.html (http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/24713011-419/gorches-turnovers-the-key-to-horizon-3-peat-for-valpo.html)
didn't realize its on espn3. I prefer our regular guy than the espn commentators.
Down by 8 at half. Another slow start....
I think this is a must win at home. Saturday we are on the road at Oakland and that's probably a lost. Don't want to start 0-2 in conference play.
Coleman takes the dumbest shots!
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if you don't have the Worldwide Leader:
http://firstrowus1.eu/watch/230461/1/watch-illinois-chicago-vs-valparaiso.html (http://firstrowus1.eu/watch/230461/1/watch-illinois-chicago-vs-valparaiso.html)
Moussa doesn't deserve to play in the second half
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nullDon't know how this one will end, but this is one of the worst defensive teams I've watched all year (and I've watched a ton of games so far). Slow to rotate, slow to slide over to help, poor boxing out, etc. etc. They need a lot of work on defense.[/quote]
Agreed. A lot of teams shooting high percentages against us. Higher than their average. I have faith it will get better though. Bryce abandoned the zone quick today.
Coleman turned it around. Moussa might wanna buy some pinesol
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Good second half turnaround. Carter found his stroke, and Coleman stopped his 360 shots from the FT line. Hopefully this is a good sign for Carter during the conference season. If he can get going, it will open up Peters to take more open shots, as he is having trouble creating his own outside shot the last few games.
When things are clicking with this team, they have no ceiling...there is no guarantee that they get it together though. Any game has the potential to be a work of art or a complete disaster, one reason I love/hate rooting for a mid-major. Good first step tonight, can't win them all at once. Tough game in Oakland coming up!
Boy, that Keith Carter really sucks.
Quote from: govalpogo on January 02, 2014, 09:08:06 PMAny game has the potential to be a work of art or a complete disaster, one reason I love/hate rooting for a mid-major.
VUFZ Sentence Hall Of Fame, Class of 2014
So what is it about our first half? What is creating so much trouble for us in the first half this year?
(We had a spectacular second half. Play like that for a complete game and we would be able to surprise a few big programs.)
Quote from: ARCInsider on January 02, 2014, 09:40:29 PM
Boy, that Keith Carter really sucks.
[/b]
I think we are just starting to see why he was the runner up to a guy going in the first round of the NBA draft. Somehow I think we are pretty well set at the point for a few years. A very solid second half which very clearly showed the difference in talent between the two teams. Now, results over the season will be mixed as this team matures, but a very solid upside and very nice win.
I sure hope Coleman got credit for that tip-in when it was 50-46 in the 2nd half. John Bawker announced Capobianco and I and everyone around me immediately said, "No, that was Coleman!"
Coleman got the tip...John is not the official scorer. ::)
We certainly saw the difference when this team cuts down its turnovers. In the second half UIC scored 0 points off turnovers after scoring 12 in the first half. The physical nature expected in Horizon League play was also on display. Valpo players were beat up quite a bit, with Dority and Coleman knocked to the floor a number of times, sometimes with no foul being called. Coleman was still bleeding during the post-game press conference, and Dority had his head hit the court pretty hard when he was flattened by Humes. In fact, after Dority was decked one of the times early in the second half, he seemed especially angry and even more motivated.
As others have noted, Carter showed skills we were hoping to see from him, and he alternated with Lexus in providing energy for the team in the second half. The guard positions were especially impressive with the ball handling: Carter, Williams, and Coleman combined for 72 minutes without a single turnover, and Dority played 36 minutes with only 2 turnovers and 6 assists. Those stats present one key to victory for this Crusaders team. Below are a few of my game photos including the four guards.
(http://i42.tinypic.com/34o4swk.jpg)
(http://i40.tinypic.com/2q9c8dk.jpg)
(http://i43.tinypic.com/r0vafb.jpg)
(http://i43.tinypic.com/2rx7fr6.jpg)
Quote from: vu72 on January 02, 2014, 10:10:27 PMI think we are just starting to see why he was the runner up to a guy going in the first pick of the NBA draft.
There, I fixed it for you ;)
Quote from: valpopal on January 03, 2014, 01:02:09 AMCarter, Williams, and Coleman combined for 72 minutes without a single turnover
That is amazing. I hope it happens again and again.
Let's see...we always (under Bryce) lose our first conference game and still win the conference. IMAGINE what could be possible when we WON that first game!
Sometimes I don't understand why is it so natural for a big man to dribble when everyone guarding them has hands that they can easily reach into the big man's "dribble zone" and knock the ball away. When Vashil was able to resist his urge to dribble (which seems to be the way he generates momentum to go back up towards the basket) he was able to get several put back points and under the basket points. He hasn't perfected his move yet or his put backs but he has made such huge steps toward his goal. Unfortunately the shimy was working on the FT's.
Quote from: historyman on January 03, 2014, 09:47:15 AMHe hasn't perfected his move yet or his put backs but he has made such huge steps toward his goal. Unfortunately the shimy was working on the FT's.
Don't forget the baby hook he has developed. Its going to take Vashil, Bobby and Moussa to defend Oakland's Petros. I hope we can steal an early road conference game. 2-0 much nicer than 1-1.
Here's my :twocents: on why we may not start off well in the 1st half but improve in the 2nd. For all that know Bryce, he's a not really a "rah-rah" kind of coach. He doesn't really seem, at least to me, as the kind of guy to really get these younger kids motivated with a big time pre-game speech. But once he gets frustrated going into the locker room and assume that he really gets on the guys, they respond very well.
As far is this game goes, it's still pretty obvious that Bryce is still looking for different lineups that work well together. A couple times we even saw William, Dority, and Carter all on the floor at once. Give it a couple more games and Bryce will have a couple lineups that he likes the best and run with those and we will see improvement. Same thing happened after a couple games to start the year this season, I'm a little more optimistic than most and think we'll see another boost in our level of performance soon, hopefully tomorrow.
Adekoya needs some love. He had a few turnovers, but down the stretch he was fantastic. He had a three pointer, a hustle play to save the ball, and a bunch of strong rebounds.
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Sounds like it was better having Carter coming off the bench as the spark when we need a Kenney-like burst of energy. Vashil starting was a surprise, but sounds like a decent move in this game. Can't imagin how much better Vashil would be with a few more years of basketball experience under his height and legs. Glad to get the new year started off with a W, now to get the defense in check to hold Bader down below his usual numbers, and bring him back to Earth.
Quote from: valporun on January 03, 2014, 12:19:40 PMSounds like it was better having Carter coming off the bench as the spark when we need a Kenney-like burst of energy. Vashil starting was a surprise, but sounds like a decent move in this game. Can't imagin how much better Vashil would be with a few more years of basketball experience under his height and legs. Glad to get the new year started off with a W, now to get the defense in check to hold Bader down below his usual numbers, and bring him back to Earth.
I think Vashil's starting was due to Gueye's sore back which was mentioned in one of the pre-game stories.
I have uploaded more than 30 of my photos from the game, which I hope everyone will enjoy. There are a number of pictures with crowd shots, so you also might recognize familiar faces. The set of photos can be found at the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157639355445095/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157639355445095/)
As you can see from the photo below, Coach Phipps seems to think they're great!
(http://i43.tinypic.com/rkakqa.jpg)
No game highlights? ???
Go to ESPN 3 to see the entire game in their "REPLAY" section.
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 02, 2014, 11:08:50 PMI sure hope Coleman got credit for that tip-in when it was 50-46 in the 2nd half. John Bawker announced Capobianco and I and everyone around me immediately said, "No, that was Coleman!"
and I was corrected immediately by the two folks at the table NOT blocked out. Coleman did get credit for the tip in... I clearly saw Capo come down and the ball go in, and we argued about it at the table. THEN I watched the [mcDonalds] Highlight Board replay from the angle on the other side of the court and Coleman did tip it in... From my original vantage point, I would have stuck with Capo!
Quote from: talksalot on January 06, 2014, 09:19:38 PM
Quote from: StlVUFan on January 02, 2014, 11:08:50 PMI sure hope Coleman got credit for that tip-in when it was 50-46 in the 2nd half. John Bawker announced Capobianco and I and everyone around me immediately said, "No, that was Coleman!"
and I was corrected immediately by the two folks at the table NOT blocked out. Coleman did get credit for the tip in... I clearly saw Capo come down and the ball go in, and we argued about it at the table. THEN I watched the [mcDonalds] Highlight Board replay from the angle on the other side of the court and Coleman did tip it in... From my original vantage point, I would have stuck with Capo!
This was the play, and it is understandable that the line of sight was blocked at the scorer's table since there was an official and a couple of players in between. In addition, both Bobby and Jordan were moving pretty much in unison.
(http://i43.tinypic.com/282e680.jpg)