For starters... Samford is in Birmingham, Alabama. who knew.
We played them in the ARC under Scott Drew in 2002 and Crusaders won 87-79
We Played them in the UAB Classic (played in Birmingham in 1983, but across town from their campus)... and the Bulldogs won 75-69.
Not sure how good this team is.
11/10 - Lost to Arkansas 95-56
11/13 - beat Alabama A&M 87-68
11/16 - Lost to LSU 105-86
Sagarin #204 this morning. (Valpo is #98)
They will be playing Loyola on Sunday at 2pm also part of the Savannah Invitational.
They have three guys in double-figures
22 Densel-Dyson 6-5 Senior starter 12.3
2 Coleman 5-10 Junior off the bench with 11.3
20 Thompson 6-8 Senior starter with 10.3
00 Cunningham 6-2 Senior starter with 7.7
3 Sharkey 5-10 Sophomore starter with 6.7
33 Walker 6-9 Junior Starter with 9.0
#55 - Alex Peters - Has scored 8 points on the season, and has missed all four free throw attempts.
and they have a 7-0 Senior Center from Spain... who has not played this year... don't know why.
====================
the LSU story:
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Samford University basketball team played even in the second half with the homestanding LSU Tigers on Thursday, 58-58, but couldn't overcome a lackluster opening period of action in a 105-86 non-conference setback held at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Samford (1-2) shot a sizzling 61.1 percent from 3-point range (11-of-18) in the second half. The Bulldogs finished the contest with 15 baskets from beyond the arc, including a season-high five 3-pointers from junior guard Justin Coleman.
Coleman scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and added a pair of assists. Senior guard Demetrius Denzel-Dyson led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-16 attempts, including five rebounds and four 3-point baskets.
Samford's senior forward Alex Thompson also scored in double figures with 10 points, but only played a total of 16 minutes before fouling out. Fellow senior Eric Adams logged 32 minutes for the Bulldogs and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. He also led the team with four steals and dropped in seven points.
Samford got off to a slow start against LSU. The Bulldogs committed 11 turnovers in the first half and only shot 39.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of action.
Head Coach Scott Padgett's squad looked more relaxed in the second half and only committed four turnovers in the final 20 minutes of play. Samford also shot the ball much better and knocked down 57.1 percent of its attempts from the floor.
================
Yes, THAT Scott Padgett...
Scott Padgett, the former collegiate standout at the University of Kentucky, NCAA champion and first-round NBA draft pick, is in the midst of his fourth season as head coach of the Samford Bulldogs and his sixth as a member of the program. On June 6, 2014, he was officially named the 28th head basketball coach at Samford University.
As one of the top up-and-coming young coaches in the nation, Padgett has quickly transformed the Bulldogs' basketball team into a Southern Conference championship competitor and rapidly revamped Samford's recruiting efforts; turning the beautiful, head-turning Southern university to a destination campus.
On July 3, Padgett signed a five-year contract extension that protracted his deal to now last throughout the 2021-22 campaign.
"I'm thrilled to announce a five-year extension for Coach Padgett," said Samford Director of Athletics Martin Newton. "Scott has brought a tremendous work ethic, passion and winning culture to our basketball program. He is a proven winner and has done so at every stage of his college and NBA playing career, and now in his coaching career. Scott is a tremendous asset to our university and community. He exemplifies the mission of this great university. He is a players-first coach and an outstanding role model for our student-athletes."
Last season, Samford concluded the 2016-17 campaign with its most victories in 11 years (20), as well as the Bulldogs' first winning season since 2005-06. Samford also set a number of school records last year, including points, field-goal attempts, free throws and assists.
The Bulldogs accumulated a school-record 2,834 points and shattered the previous record of 2,335, which was set during the 1970-71 campaign.
I know you'll want to know that last year, VU scored 2.408 points, the year before we scored 2,782 in 37 games... both of those were school records. We have been over 2,300 in each of the past 8 years.
They have had solid seasons in the past, but we should win this at home:
Valpo 82
Samford 68
Like watching this team! Looking forward to the last half of November games.
Valpo 88
Samford 69
What is this team's ceiling? I can't remember a VU team so athletic ..... and also disciplined and skilled to boot.
Loyola beat Samford 88_67 today. I'm going with 82 to 59
Quote from: talksalot on November 17, 2017, 02:25:50 PM
and they have a 7-0 Senior Center from Spain... who has not played this year... don't know why
He is a transfer from South Florida sitting out this season.
Hopefully this one will also 80 something to 50 something again.
I love 80 something to 50 something wins.
It will be interesting to compare the Loyola vs Samford game to our game against them on Tuesday.
If you want to watch the LU vs Samford game: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3200140/samford-vs-loyolachicago-m-basketball
https://twitter.com/BettsSportsBeat/status/932464619179913218
https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/932383129268051968
Can someone else start the next few game threads? I'm out of town.
Thanks to Mike Targonski for filling in for me at the PA
I wouldn't mind seeing a change in the starting lineup for this one. I personally want to see Kiser get a starting role over Hazen, I think he's earned it. Good things seem to happen when he's on the court for us, my favorite stat of his is that he has just 1 turnover in 77 minutes this year. And hopefully this would light a fire under Hazen to get him going as I see him as the ideal guy to have in that spot. Keep Golder in that energy off the bench spot, it fits him well.
Hoping for a little more of a challenge in this one. I know the way our schedule was built is a good thing for the players and coaches, but I'm ready for the jump up in competition. We're not going to be able to keep playing 12 guys a night. We are probably the only team in the country that doesn't have a single player averaging 25+ mins or single digits. That isn't realistic. We all know they talent we have, we know what each guy on the roster can bring, now we need to find out who can do it against better opponents. That's the next step for our season. Samford played Loyola pretty tough until the last couple of minutes, so I think we will learn more about our team tomorrow than we have so far this season.
Quote from: talksalot on November 20, 2017, 08:55:04 AM
Thanks to Mike Targonski for filling in for me at the PA
Hardly noticed any difference. Just kidding, You would have kept the lost cell phone. ;)
Did you notice how Kiser took over in the situation when Golder got in the jawing match with the SELA player? JK "discussed" the situation with Marcus and made sure he saw that a physical confrontation was not the proper response.
Valpo opens -9.
Quote from: valpo4life on November 20, 2017, 08:57:13 AM
I wouldn't mind seeing a change in the starting lineup for this one. I personally want to see Kiser get a starting role over Hazen, I think he's earned it. Good things seem to happen when he's on the court for us, my favorite stat of his is that he has just 1 turnover in 77 minutes this year. And hopefully this would light a fire under Hazen to get him going as I see him as the ideal guy to have in that spot. Keep Golder in that energy off the bench spot, it fits him well.
I'm not sure you always have to start your 5 best players. Having a couple really talented players coming off the bench at the 1st substitution can be a big advantage. When guys like Walker and Burton need a breather you can send in your would be starters with the 2nd unit to pick up the slack. Maybe it is better to have Smits/Golder coming off the bench to have more weapons with the 2nd unit.
Quote from: valpo4life on November 20, 2017, 08:57:13 AMAnd hopefully this would light a fire under Hazen to get him going as I see him as the ideal guy to have in that spot.
I could see a change potentially happening at that spot, but it won't be to light a fire it will be to make Parker feel more comfortable. He needs to calm down because he is pressing. I have seen this kid play a fair amount and also watched VU practice and this is not the same player.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on November 21, 2017, 07:13:17 AMI'm not sure you always have to start your 5 best players.
BINGO... 5 best players at doing what, defense or offense, rebounding or scoring, energy or consistency. Teams are a mish mash of players that compliment each other, so it is hard to say what comprises the 5 "best" players in any particular situation or team. Getting your team comfortable and knowing what is expected and going to happen is as much a part of the "starting five" and the "second group" as getting players to understand their "role". Not a lot of curve balls are generally thrown into the mix once a coach settles on a starting and substitution pattern.
I think that once we start facing tough competition that Linssen and McMillan will be the 2 forced out of the rotation. I kind of wish one of them would have been redshirted. I think the remaining 10 players can all get playing time based on matchups with teams we are playing, who has the hot hand, and any injuries we have during the year.
86 to 59 is my final prediction.
Agreed, don't have to start best 5. Example was when Micah Bradford was starting last year. Besides you need a strong bench and this is a tactic that been used around college and nba hoops.
I would like to see Smits starting in replace of Sorolla.
Quote from: FWalum on November 21, 2017, 08:00:07 AMBINGO... 5 best players at doing what, defense or offense, rebounding or scoring, energy or consistency. Teams are a mish mash of players that compliment each other, so it is hard to say what comprises the 5 "best" players in any particular situation or team. Getting your team comfortable and knowing what is expected and going to happen is as much a part of the "starting five" and the "second group" as getting players to understand their "role". Not a lot of curve balls are generally thrown into the mix once a coach settles on a starting and substitution pattern.
Hmmm. That sounds a lot like coach speak.
Quote from: oklahomamick on November 21, 2017, 09:11:48 AMI would like to see Smits starting in replace of Sorolla.
I am not in total disagreement but I would like to hear your reasoning. How does this move improve the team?
I've been loving the social media clips the marketing has been putting out. Very well done. :thumbsup:
xhttps://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/932725397644562432
I've seen some of the betting lines increase to Valpo -10.5
Samford is the most talented team we've play played to date. We're not going to blow out every team we play from here on out. Samford have been slow starters this season, they generate more of their offense in the 2nd half.
Keys to the game:
-LIMIT the turnovers and take care of the ball tonight. Samford is a team that can cause some turnovers.
-Guard Samford's perimeter shooter well tonight. They need to shoot at a good clip to beat us.
Prediction:
Valpo 83
Samford 70
I think he has more offensive weapons and gets more rebounds. But now that I mentioned it, that's probably better served in the second group. You can't have too many "like players" in the same group.
It sounds like Samford is banged up. They were missing one of their best players against Loyola.
Samford fan board's Valpo Game Thread: http://www.samfordbulldogs.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7647&sid=1034e0eedec491f6e1a7dd8c20c120e1
Is the Bulldog the most over used college mascot?
Quote from: vu72 on November 21, 2017, 03:59:58 PM
Is the Bulldog the most over used college mascot?
Yes
Quote from: VU2014 on November 21, 2017, 04:08:16 PM
Quote from: vu72 on November 21, 2017, 03:59:58 PM
Is the Bulldog the most over used college mascot?
Yes
Division I01. Bulldogs (15)
02. Eagles (15)
03. Tigers (12)
04. Wildcats (9)
05. Hawks (9)
06. Bears (9)
07. Panthers (8)
08. Cougars (6)
09. Aggies (5)
10. Huskies (5)
11. Lions (5)
12. Spartans (5)
13. Bison (4)
14. Bobcats (4)
15. Devils (4)
16. Knights (4)
17. Owls (4)
18. Raiders (4)
19. Rams (4)
20. Cardinals (3)
4-Year Colleges01. Eagles (76)
02. Tigers (46)
03. Bulldogs (40)
04. Panthers (33)
05. Knights (32)
06. Lions (32)
07. Bears (30)
08. Hawks (28)
09. Cougars (27)
10. Pioneers (28)
11. Warriors (27)
12. Wildcats (27)
I know this pertains more to the following two games but I wanted to put this out there before we all disappear for the holiday. Does anyone know if there will be an options to watch the two games down in Savannah?
The last time Valpo played Samford was Dec. 14, 2002 at the ARC. Valpo won 87-79 (2OT).
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/a-needed-change-of-pace-for-valpo/article_d30c78ea-a74c-5f90-a4ff-b153cd3c5f12.html
Attendance (according to ESPN): 3,913 (saturday) http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=223482674
That is a really good turnout for a Non-Con game.
The audio problems continue for the ARC. When I went to school I feel like we had these problems or at least I didn't notice them.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/933135456207646720
Ok. How many dozens of fans turned out tonight?
This is just one of two more D-1 home games.
Valparaiso 30, Samford 30, 3:33 1st half
Valpo needs to defend the perimeter better. Samford is also generating turnovers.
Tevonn gets SO MUCH elevation before he shoots. That and his defense seem like the tickets to a pro career.
More Bradford, less Joseph. Offensively we're okay if we don't turn it over. Giving up easy, open looks on defense.
Too many offensive rebounds given up for easy put back. Smits needs punched in the gut on rebounding, boxing out. I know it's hard because his waist and arms are so much higher than everyone else, but had his thumb up his _______ while Samford grabbed O-rebound and easy putback on numerous occasions.
Great to see Tevonn getting his. Let's get some defensive stops!
Quote from: crusadermoe on November 21, 2017, 07:25:59 PM
Ok. How many dozens of fans turned out tonight?
This is just one of two more D-1 home games.
Even tonight's special promotion didn't seem to help attendance - "Be one of the first 25 cars and get your own parking spot in the ARC parking lot (compliments of students on break)"
Valpo not shooting well from 3. They are.
Golder is pretty good.
This team is fun to watch. They play hard, they're athletic and appear not to be over-coached so their court personalities shine through.
McMillan looking very confident and loose. Never saw that coming.
This was the game we needed. A tight game for the majority where our guys had to show grit against a team that wasn't missing. I also loved Matt riding the hot line up and going small ball, I definitely wouldn't mind see a little more of it in the future. Also Kizer needs more playing time, every time he is on the court he galvanizes the team whether it be is rebounding or his calming presence
One of the Samford board posters said Valpo looked like "a bunch of thugs" (probably in reference to the Golder incident, but I didn't see the game), which is a description I haven't heard used on Valpo since the Capobianco/Anderson incident and Richie Edwards double technical against UWM.
Haven't seen him play much but Golder kind of reminds me of Matt Barnes. If he's on your team, you think he's tough. If he's playing against you, you think he's a bully.
Quote from: VU2014 on November 21, 2017, 06:53:59 PM
The last time Valpo played Samford was Dec. 14, 2002 at the ARC. Valpo won 87-79 (2OT).
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/a-needed-change-of-pace-for-valpo/article_d30c78ea-a74c-5f90-a4ff-b153cd3c5f12.html
Attendance (according to ESPN): 3,913 (saturday) http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=223482674
That is a really good turnout for a Non-Con game.
That was the norm ;). We were pretty full for every home game, regardless of opponent.
Quote from: hailcrusaders on November 21, 2017, 09:07:32 PM
One of the Samford board posters said Valpo looked like "a bunch of thugs" (probably in reference to the Golder incident, but I didn't see the game), which is a description I haven't heard used on Valpo since the Capobianco/Anderson incident and Richie Edwards double technical against UWM.
Golder play was unnecessary, still enjoy him greatly.
McMillan and Burton starred down the Samford bench after they mini-run. That seemed a little cocky, betting those two instances pissed off their fans. I get that, but it's sure nice to be on THIS END of the athletic hate!!!!
Mileek was very impressive tonight. Golder got the team going again with a few nice dunks.
I'll be interested to see the next two games on the road and whether we can win them.
Don't mean to hijack the thread but... Kent State lost to SELA tonight. I know they're better than the score of the game would suggest (same with Samford) but that's not a good loss to take on your own floor. Also isn't it interesting that Valpo beat Samford by the same score Loyola did? Maybe they might just be in the MVC race after all. Great stuff from Walker Golder and Kiser tonight. Both Walker and Bradford really seem to have improved their shot from distance. I love that this team is able to turn it on lock down and get the big buckets it needs. Hopefully we're able to keep doing this as the schedule gets tougher. We're going to learn a lot more about this team between now and our date with Purdue, but so far so good. We look like a young athletic energetic hungry and deep team that will fight hard and play well. That should translate to a fair number of wins. 5-0 feels good. Now it's on to Savannah! Hopefully we can get a couple big W's there. Go Valpo!
Most obvious stat of the night: Rebounds - Valpo 50 Samford 18. Smits and Sorolla only accounted for 9, which speaks to the athleticism and toughness of the others.
Hate to even suggest this but:............... are we better than we thought we'd be? We will at least enter the MVC portion of our schedule with a decent 2017 OOC resume' if we continue to play like this. At the least, we bring something to the table vs. what the previous addtion to the conference brought.
People are upset with Tevonn's three late in the game. I do not understand why people are mad about this. First of all, the game is 40 minutes long, you play until the final buzzer. Second of all, Samford had a full court, trapping, press on. If they want us to stop playing with a minute left, they better stop playing too.
Here are my three stars:
(*) Markus Golder - 11P/6R. He turned around the game and his dunks really energized the rest of the team.
(**) Joe Burton - 16P/5R/7-8FG. Thought he played good defense and didn't force things. He's just a solid overall player.
(***) Tevonn - 26P/9R/5A/3S. Carried the team in the first half and iced the game at the end. Solid D all game, and controlled the glass. Missed a few open 3s and probably shouldn't have taken that last three, but all is forgiven.
Honorable mention: McMillan - 7P/3-3FG/1B. He nailed a huge three and was a part of the lineup that started the long 2nd half Valpo run.
And three not stars:
(?) Sorrola - 2P/3R. I don't think Smits was much better, but the team wasn't doing much when Sorolla was out there. He had a team low -6 plus/minus.
(??) Hazen - 2P/0R/1A/2TO. He scored on a really nice dunk breaking the press early in the first half. Other than that he was invisible again.
(???) Bakari - 0-4/1P/3A/3TO. Not a good night for Bakari, who didn't make a FG and coughed it up a bunch of times on the floor. He's still Valpo's best ball handler and 3rd best player, so this was hopefully a one-off.
I have decided the commercial for Arch Madness this year is as annoying as the Family Express commercials last year. It seems to always come at a poor time in the second half of the game. Tonight, Joe Burton hit his 3-point shot to give Valpo a 16-point lead with 6 minutes left. Samford called timeout and the fans wanted to stand and cheer. Instead, the PA comes on with a hard-to-hear garbled announcement about Arch Madness followed by the annoying commercial on the overhead scoreboard. By the time they finished, the crowd had been subdued and was sitting quietly. Really kills all the momentum, enthusiasm, and energy in the ARC! >:(
Kiser looks a lot more athletic this year. He always had a motor last year, but he looks leaner and much more active
Quote from: hailcrusaders on November 21, 2017, 09:07:32 PM
One of the Samford board posters said Valpo looked like "a bunch of thugs" (probably in reference to the Golder incident, but I didn't see the game), which is a description I haven't heard used on Valpo since the Capobianco/Anderson incident and Richie Edwards double technical against UWM.
Love the take no prisoners attitude of this team!
Quote from: valpopal on November 21, 2017, 10:09:40 PM
I have decided the commercial for Arch Madness this year is as annoying as the Family Express commercials last year. It seems to always come at a poor time in the second half of the game. Tonight, Joe Burton hit his 3-point shot to give Valpo a 16-point lead with 6 minutes left. Samford called timeout and the fans wanted to stand and cheer. Instead, the PA comes on with a hard-to-hear garbled announcement about Arch Madness followed by the annoying commercial on the overhead scoreboard. By the time they finished, the crowd had been subdued and was sitting quietly. Really kills all the momentum, enthusiasm, and energy in the ARC! >:(
Amateur hour at its finest. Totally embarrassing.
Quote from: AranJacobs on November 21, 2017, 09:41:36 PM
People are upset with Tevonn's three late in the game. I do not understand why people are mad about this. First of all, the game is 40 minutes long, you play until the final buzzer. Second of all, Samford had a full court, trapping, press on. If they want us to stop playing with a minute left, they better stop playing too.
Exactly right!
High praise from the Samford board:
"Valpo killed us on the boards, pushed us around like we were punks, and taunted our coaches like they had no respect for us. Really, Valpo looked like a bunch of thugs and we looked like their +itch down the stretch. This team needs to circle the wagons and get some attitude or everyone is going to push us around expecting us to wilt. We did tonight."
Quote from: wh on November 21, 2017, 10:22:06 PM
Quote from: hailcrusaders on November 21, 2017, 09:07:32 PM
One of the Samford board posters said Valpo looked like "a bunch of thugs" (probably in reference to the Golder incident, but I didn't see the game), which is a description I haven't heard used on Valpo since the Capobianco/Anderson incident and Richie Edwards double technical against UWM.
Love the take no prisoners attitude of this team!
Agreed. Something about Golder I've noticed is it seems good things happen when he is on the court. An aggressive player for sure. Love his tenacity on the court.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l8Uv0-7eBg
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on November 21, 2017, 07:51:28 PMToo many offensive rebounds given up for easy put back. Smits needs punched in the gut on rebounding, boxing out. I know it's hard because his waist and arms are so much higher than everyone else, but had his thumb up his _______ while Samford grabbed O-rebound and easy putback on numerous occasions. Great to see Tevonn getting his. Let's get some defensive stops!
Still he ended up tied for 2nd in rebounds with 6 in less than 20 minutes of play
Quote from: VUBBFan on November 22, 2017, 12:51:05 AM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on November 21, 2017, 07:51:28 PMToo many offensive rebounds given up for easy put back. Smits needs punched in the gut on rebounding, boxing out. I know it's hard because his waist and arms are so much higher than everyone else, but had his thumb up his _______ while Samford grabbed O-rebound and easy putback on numerous occasions. Great to see Tevonn getting his. Let's get some defensive stops!
Still he ended up tied for 2nd in rebounds with 6 in less than 20 minutes of play
Ended up being the key words. I should have put a game time stamp on my post. I believe my post was a bit before halftime.
I really enjoyed seeing big portions of the game with a smaller lineup. Against this team it was the right choice. Sadly, against many of our early season opponents it's been more effective. Driven by the structure of our competition.
Hopefully we should root a team whose university is named after Redd Foxx.
That game was probably the closest 21 point victory in Valpo basketball history.
A tale of two games really IMO, the line between the two being the 14:00 or so minute mark in the second half when things finally started to break open a little bit for VU. It seemed to me that they had some pretty good looks down the stretch during that period of separation but just couldn't hit them. Mix that in with a few defensive breakdowns on their part with Valpo's quick strike athleticism and the game opened a little. Samford is a good team. They're going to win some games this year.
I loved Padgett's response as a coach when his player was teed up for walking toward the official on the double technical. Fantastic job by him taking control of the situation with his player. Truth be told it looked like to me that the Samford player had every right to be upset for being thrown down.
5-0.
Quote from: vu72 on November 21, 2017, 03:59:58 PM
Is the Bulldog the most over used college mascot?
Well, maybe.
Adrian College (Mascot name: Bruiser)
Alabama A&M University
Allan Hancock College (Mascot name: Spike)
Arkansas Tech University (Mascot name: Jerry)
Ave Maria University
Bellevue College
Barton College (Mascot name: Bully)
Bowie State University (Mascot name: Butch)
Brooklyn College
Bryant University (Mascot name: Ironclad Tupper)
Butler University (Mascot name: Butler Blue III; Costumed mascot: Hink)
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) (Mascot names: Timeout, Victor E.)
Centennial High School (Pueblo, Colorado)
The Citadel (Mascot names: General, Boo V)
College of San Mateo
Concordia University, Nebraska
Dean College (Mascot name: Boomer)
DeSales University
Drake University (Mascot name: Spike)
Ferris State University (Mascot Name: Brutus)
Fresno State University
Gardner–Webb University (Team name: Runnin' Bulldogs, Mascot name: Barney the Bulldog)
Georgetown University (Team name: Hoyas, Mascot name: Jack the Bulldog)
University of Georgia (Mascot name: Uga, Costumed Mascot: Hairy Dawg)
Gonzaga University (Mascot name: Spike Q. Gonzaga)
James Madison University (Mascot name: Duke Dog)
Kettering University (Mascot name: General Determination)
Louisiana Tech University (Mascot names: Tech XX, Champ)
McPherson College (Mascot name: Ben the Bulldog)
University of Minnesota Duluth (Mascot name: Champ)
University of Montana Western (Mascot name: Charge)
Mississippi State University (Mascot name: Bully)
North Carolina A&T State University (Team name: Aggies)
Union University (Mascot Name: Buster)
University of North Carolina at Asheville (Mascot Name: Rocky)
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (Mascot name: Tarzán)
University of Redlands (Mascot name: Thurber)
Samford University (Mascot name: Spike)
South Carolina State University
South Suburban College
Southwestern Oklahoma State University (Mascot names: Brandi and Duke)
Texas Lutheran University
Truman State University (Mascot names: Spike, Simone)
Western Illinois University (Team name: Leathernecks, Mascot name: Colonel Rock)
Wilberforce University
Wingate University (Mascot name: Victor E. Bulldog)
Yale University (Mascot name: Handsome Dan)
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/933194877931683840
As someone mentioned earlier, Valpo and Loyola beat Samford by identical scores. The difference is Valpo shot 52% from the field and 30% from 3; Loyola shot 62 and 48. They probably won't shoot that well again this season. Our numbers were much more typical of our norm. Interpretation: Valpo is probably about 10 points better than Loyola on a neutral court on a typical shooting day for both teams.
I'm kind of ;), kind of not.
QuoteQuote from: VU2014 on November 21, 2017, 06:53:59 PM
The last time Valpo played Samford was Dec. 14, 2002 at the ARC. Valpo won 87-79 (2OT).
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/a-needed-change-of-pace-for-valpo/article_d30c78ea-a74c-5f90-a4ff-b153cd3c5f12.html
Attendance (according to ESPN): 3,913 (saturday) http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=223482674
That is a really good turnout for a Non-Con game.
Quote from: valpotx on November 21, 2017, 09:18:45 PM »
That was the norm ;). We were pretty full for every home game, regardless of opponent.
Do you think we can ever get back to this level attendance consistently? I know times have changed and there are WAY more entertainment options then there use to be even just 10 years ago.
What would need to happen to push us over the average 3,500 attendance mark every season?
-A big tourney run like the 1998-99 season to get grab the communities interest?
-ARC renovations?
-Fix the parking situation around the ARC? ;)
-Consistently putting together a better* (more interesting) Non-Conference schedule every season? (The scheduling is a tricky one because a lot of P5/BE/AAC teams don't want to come play at the ARC because its a very difficult environment to play in & they'd rather just play a buy game to reduce the risk of a loss & they can generate more revenue that way).
-A big marketing push within the NWI community?
Answer: Don't charge $12 for bleacher seats.
Mileek is going to be the best of this group of freshmen.
Quote from: Valpo89 on November 22, 2017, 10:48:10 AM
Answer: Don't charge $12 for bleacher seats.
..... or replace with good chairbacks and stay at $12 ;D
I have attempted to be patient and observe a number of games before commenting on the current team. Before they embark to Savannah, a few observations:
1. T Walker and the Millennial Mob. This team needs a nickname. The comparison of this team to the "Young Guns" team of 98-99 (still have the tshirt) is likely the most accurate, although the brief "Tony Falu Experiment" team also has some parallels as that group exploded on the scene with almost wins at Kansas and Arizona. We have had a major turnover of roster and the expectations were uncertain. The initial results are very positive. (who's complaining about the schedule and building confidence now???) This team is scoring and ppp and other data analytics are trending well. I am surprised by the scoring and the wide distribution of it. Surprised by the contributions of the frosh and newcomers. However, despite improvements with Bradford and T Walker on shooting 3s, plus adding Burton and Golder (and surprising McMillan 3s), I am concerned about the 3 shooting. If that can be consistent and with the driving abilities of Joseph, Golder, Bakari, this can be a very scary offensive team (already averaging 85+ points). Golder's acceleration to the hoop reminds me of Hammink, but Golder seems to be able to finish better and doesn't shy away from the contact, in fact encouraging it (the one finish last night). I am concerned with the offense against zones. Samford last night (and maybe the 2d non-D1 school) threw zone at us and we struggled first half. Matt adjusts well and we started attacking middle and baseline and hit a couple 3s and we were better, made them come out of it, small balled them and boom 20 pt lead.
2. The Freshmen and newcomers are alright. Surprising is how polished Hazen, McMillan, Linssen have been. Burton, Bakari and Golder have been consistently good and brilliant at times. There will be struggles (Bakari last night) but the effort is there, and 1-12 this is the deepest team I ever remember in the Drews and post-Drews era. There are not Brian Smiths or Livingstons at the end of the bench (good guys) who would have been in at the end of some of these games, instead of additional scoring options like McMillan at the end of the SELA game.
3. Improved sophomore play. Smits is improving. Sorolla seems to have some soph slumping going on, but the drop step the other night showed he is evolving. Bradford is playing with more confidence (maybe too much on some of the 3 attempts).
4. Defense, defense, defense. I have been surprised how well we have held teams down. Aggressive man and switching is working well now. However, this is the area I am most concerned about. We are giving up too many easy baskets, people are going to the hoop without a lot of obstacles, and we are playing D from behind (guys trying to block shots after people pass). We are defending the 3 ok but the over aggressive nature is going to open 3s to better shooting teams. Samford was warm early last night and were able to stick around longer than they should. Rebounding has been good but we have been more athletic and taller than the teams we are playing so far. As competition improves, in December, we will need to be better in controlling the glass. Smits is improved but still waiting for the hungry gene to kick in. Matt is still experimenting with lineups and it has been enjoyable to see the combinations and how they have responded. Kizer is the energizer bunny and you need that. He is ok at 15 mins a game. He's like Delly, you are ok with that energy level in small bursts but you do not want him playing 30 mins a night.
5. Attitude. I like that this team has come in and is establishing its own identity -- led by Walker, they are tenacious but fun. Walker looks healthy and the shot form is back. He quietly stat stuffs and with the depth, he will not need to play 36 mpg and can go harder for 30 mpg. Golder has that irritability quotient, which we have needed -- Tony V, Wille, Jubril, Jenkins -- were past contributors, but they did not have the spurtability and microwave nature of Golder. Stalin Ortiz comes to mind. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin_Ortiz (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin_Ortiz)).
Good luck in Savannah. They continue playing this hard, they should win this tourney.
Mileek best this year out of the current freshman or best in years to come?
I agree that Mileek was a steal recruit and has the highest ceiling
Who else recruited Mileek?
Quote from: oklahomamick on November 22, 2017, 11:08:06 AM
Mileek best this year out of the current freshman or best in years to come?
I agree that Mileek was a steal recruit and has the highest ceiling
Who else recruited Mileek?
Mileek received offers from Valpo, EIU, & UMKC. Mileek was a very late bloomer and he was also play out of position in High School because he needed to full time Center in high school. He's never really been the "the guy" on any of his teams. Also keep in mind that Mileek had a massive growth spurt over the last 3 years. He was a guard his Freshman and Sophomore year.
Mileek had a good last AAU season and that when he started to get noticed and thats when VU noticed him. He committed pretty quickly once he was offered by Valpo. I'd definitely would agree that Mileek has the highest ceiling of all the freshman. You can tell he's a little green out there but he can definitely see the flashes. He has a really nice 3 point shot for big guy and he's pretty good at handling the ball (skills that transferred from his days of playing guard his freshman/sophomore years when he was still below 6'5".
Merrillville's Mileek McMillan sparks spurt as Valparaiso prevails in inviteMichael Osipoff
Post-Tribune
Nov 21, 2017When Samford called a timeout Tuesday night, Valparaiso coach Matt Lottich made a beeline for freshman Mileek McMillan to celebrate.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Merrillville has been experiencing the anticipated growing pains in his first season with the Crusaders. But McMillan showed several glimpses of his ability in an 88-67 win at the Athletics-Recreation Center as part of the Savannah Invitational.
"Mileek has struggled a little bit, been a little frustrated, so I was overjoyed to see him have some success," Lottich said. "We all know it's there. To see him do it, it's a proud moment for me."
............... http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-samford-valparaiso-st-1122-20171121-story.html
Listen to Coach Lottich talk about Mileek during the post-game press-conference. Coach Lottich is genuinely very happy for him. It sounds like McMillan was a little frustrated at times this season but this could be a break through for him in his development.
I thought Hazen would come in the most ready to contribute, but Mileek has got better and better every game.
I feel like his ceiling is the highest and he might reach it quicker then I thought (maybe early season excitement but I'm a fan and allowed to do that).
Please excuse the fact that this is a little choppy, using a new video capture software and need to tweak the settings but didn't really have time to do the required trial and error checks. Really wanted to show those that were unable to see the game the sequence by Marcus and Mileek that started the VU break out. A really exciting 90 seconds of basketball by Marcus Golder.
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 22, 2017, 10:58:37 AM
Quote from: Valpo89 on November 22, 2017, 10:48:10 AM
Answer: Don't charge $12 for bleacher seats.
..... or replace with good chairbacks and stay at $12 ;D
I felt the university missed an excellent opportunity Tuesday night. Because the local schools were all closed on Wednesday, I would have had a grand strategic promotion advertised to all community school students, encouraging attendance and allowing them in for free. Obviously, most would be accompanied by an adult or two (paid), and the kids would contribute economically with the concession sales. The upper decks and the student sections were basically empty, and unoccupied seats do not contribute financially or vocally. (Remember when the university allowed visitors to the Lutheran tournament into the NIT game, filling the place with loud fans.) In addition, the promotion would create a positive feeling for all about returning to attend future games, especially with Tuesday's anticipated win. Additionally, I wonder why VU doesn't reach out to local high schools for pep bands or cheerleaders to help when our students are away on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Spring breaks. Is there any NCAA rule against this? Those students would also likely bring paying family members and friends.
We need to start running the MBB game support program in a much more professional manner...starting with promotions. It shouldn't matter if school is in session or not, try some things to get butts in the seats as previously stated. And the "ushers"...put them in some kind of uniform, shirts, or whatever. Last Sunday the guy checking tickets for the chairback section looked like some "Joe" off the streets, dressed in jeans and as sloppy t-shirt. Then of course the ARC renovations. Some talk or long-range plans need to be put forward in this area. While our team compares to the best of the MVC, it all ends there. Let's start running the total program like a member of the MVC and not the laughing stock of the League. Our cozy little ARC can be a tremendous advantage for us as a home venue but upgrades are past overdue and need to be addressed. At this level, excuses like school not in session, it's still early in the season, it's a week-night game, it's only a pre-conference schedule game, etc., the PA is improved but more needs to be done, etc. We need to get with it! We did a great job in the video upgrade for ESPN 3 but the doesn't improve the game time environment and it doesn't upgrade the overall program for those attending or thinking of going to watch.
How about in the first half when the scoreboard operator shorted Valpo a point, and the score remained wrong for several minutes before finally getting changed. Another amateur hour moment.
Long-time visitor, first time poster. Valpo grad, but couldn't convince either of my kids to go to Valpo. Couldn't agree more with statements about improvements to the ARC and improvements to the game day experience. My kids have gone to Butler and Dayton. I've been to multiple basketball games at both of those schools. I've seen firsthand what happens when mid-sized, private, Midwest schools decide to make basketball the front door to the school. Good things happen on the basketball court, and great things happen at the school in general. This isn't a call to abandon academic standards. To the contrary, spending more money on basketball will pay off in all areas. I know that I am preaching to the choir.
Hope to meet some of you at ARCH Madness in March.
the promotion of the team NEEDS to step up. Try new things! It's okay to have a new promotion that is a dud, but they need to try to hit on something. Valpo Basketball & the University should be actively trying to get the community involved. I hate to be so harsh but they're have been mediocre results thus far.
I'm not sure if its a budget issue or a creativity issue. We have the product but we need to build the excitement. Maybe the strategy should be to go for volume by selling bleacher tickets for $7.50 (roughly the price of 1 movie ticket) instead $12 for the non-d1s and lesser known opponents. I'm not sure the pricing is the biggest deal though.
The folks in the Athletics Department have a budget and have more access to information/data then us so I feel somewhat bad being so critical but its about time we start thinking outside the box when it comes to marketing and promotion to boost attendance.
I completely agree with all of the posts regarding the need for a consistently professional game day experience. Frankly, I don't think that these are really cost issues - they're management issues that can be solved with a little money or better use of existing money.
Quote from: wh on November 22, 2017, 09:39:12 AM
As someone mentioned earlier, Valpo and Loyola beat Samford by identical scores. The difference is Valpo shot 52% from the field and 30% from 3; Loyola shot 62 and 48. They probably won't shoot that well again this season. Our numbers were much more typical of our norm. Interpretation: Valpo is probably about 10 points better than Loyola on a neutral court on a typical shooting day for both teams.
I'm kind of ;), kind of not.
I was a bit concerned at half time that Loyola beat this team by 20+... But then I looked at the MVC scoreboard and noticed Loyola was actually trailing a SWAC team by 3 at halftime. It's important to remember that sometimes teams have good days and bad days, and we shouldn't overreact to a single game performance.
What I like about this team is that it's pretty deep, so we can get away with one of our starters having a terrible game (Bakari vs Samford or Burton vs SIUE). One of the bench players will have a hot game and jump start the team, and Lottich can just give the bench guy more minutes in the second half. I've come around to the big rotations; Lottich is willing to trim the rotation in the second half based on first half production, and it seems to have been working out really well. This does mean it's been hard to get in a rhythm in the first half, but each game has featured a pretty big run later in the game spurred by rotation players.
One last point... While the bench linup of Joseph, Golder, McMillan, and Bradford really turned the game around, I thought Lottich left them in a tad too long after their initial run. Once Samford called a timeout, Lottich should have went back to more of the starting rotation. The small ball lineup is great at forcing turnovers and scoring in transition, but once Samford calmed down after the timeout, they weren't nearly as effective.
Quote from: VU2014 on November 21, 2017, 06:54:27 PM
The audio problems continue for the ARC. When I went to school I feel like we had these problems or at least I didn't notice them.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/933135456207646720
I'd like to say that should be an isolated incident, since it probably related to no pep band. But, it'll be similar for all of winter break. Maybe someday the alum/staff pep band tradition will be resurrected.
Quote from: wh on November 22, 2017, 01:30:10 PM
How about in the first half when the scoreboard operator shorted Valpo a point, and the score remained wrong for several minutes before finally getting changed. Another amateur hour moment.
I noticed it was Aaron Leavitt that realized the error and notified the scorers' table vehemently. After a few minutes of double checking the scorebook they corrected the scoreboard. Everyone in the crowd knew the scoreboard operator had missed the made FT (first of two by Bakari Evelyn, he missed the second FT) and were trying to yell to the scorer's table to add a point for Valpo. At first they added a point to Samford's score, which tells how it happened in the first place and then corrected it.
So far this year the game's experience has been like a bad act on "The Voice", and there have been a number of those too.
Quote from: craftyrighthander on November 22, 2017, 01:40:16 PM
Long-time visitor, first time poster. Valpo grad, but couldn't convince either of my kids to go to Valpo. Couldn't agree more with statements about improvements to the ARC and improvements to the game day experience. My kids have gone to Butler and Dayton. I've been to multiple basketball games at both of those schools. I've seen firsthand what happens when mid-sized, private, Midwest schools decide to make basketball the front door to the school. Good things happen on the basketball court, and great things happen at the school in general. This isn't a call to abandon academic standards. To the contrary, spending more money on basketball will pay off in all areas. I know that I am preaching to the choir.
Hope to meet some of you at ARCH Madness in March.
Welcome to the board, craftyrighthander!
Seeing as I'm probably one of the more qualified members on this board to speak regarding the pep band I can definitely say that it is difficult to "get the band back together." I know there is at least one person in the band this year who is an alumni but the main issue is that hardly any of the alums live in the area any more. During my four years I can count on my hand the number of times alums came for to play for a game. For me I won't be back for any games this year because my weekends are swamped and I'm living in central Michigan (I also haven't touched my instrument in ages so I'm out of practice but that is neither here nor there ;D )
This is in response to agibson's quote above, I don't quite have the quoting function figured out yet
Quote from: VUCPB alum on November 23, 2017, 10:26:36 PMI don't quite have the quoting function figured out yet
You either click on the "quote" button
Quote (selected) and quote the whole post or you highlight the part of the post you want to quote and then click on the "quote" button
Quote (selected).
Quote from: bbtds on November 23, 2017, 11:20:22 PMQuote from: VUCPB alum on November 23, 2017, 10:26:36 PMI don't quite have the quoting function figured out yet
You either click on the "quote" button Quote (selected) and quote the whole post or you highlight the part of the post you want to quote and then click on the "quote" button Quote (selected).
It may work that way for some browsers or apps, but in Safari, on an iPad or iPhone, clicking the "Quote (selected)" button will just open a blank reply window (where I would expect the message from which the button was clicked would appear). I need to get the reply window to appear first, select within the text box to make it the active control, and THEN click the button of the message I want to quote.
I would like to echoe the above comment, a lot of the band alumni don't live in the area. That's one of the issues with our small private university, our alumni are scatter s across the nation.
I have watched valpo against Missouri State at the Arc and I'm springfield. I can say we had more fans at the away in Springfield game than missour State had at valpo. Despite being drastically smaller size school.
I remember watching valpo at central Florida a couple years ago and seeing several hundred alumni at the game. There was even a pregame pep rally. You think Oakland (again drastically larger school) would have more alumni watching the game in Orlando?
This is why it's even more important to get the community to support the crusaders