In the rematch of the NIT title game a few years ago...
For a "WarmUP" game for GW, they get Towson State tonight....
It's 1-5 Towson vs 1-7 GW tonight.
NOV 6 TUE #91 Stony Brook 6-1 L 74 - 77
Basketball Hall Of Fame Tip-Off - Campus Game - Charles E. Smith Center (Washington, DC)
NOV 8 THU #198 Siena 3-5 L 61 - 69
NOV 11 SUN @ #30 Virginia 8-0 L 57 - 76
Basketball Hall Of Fame Tip-Off - Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, CT)
NOV 17 AT # 4 Michigan 9-0 L 61 - 84
NOV 18 vs #243 South Carolina 4-3 L 55 - 90
NOV 24 #341 Manhattan 2-5 W 70 - 43
NOV 28 #80 Vermont 5-3 L 53 - 69
DEC 1 @ #320 Princeton 3-2 L 52 - 73
They have only one player who has started all 8 games.
They have three players averaging 10+ per game. THEIR #13 is leading at 13.4 ppg.
They are losing just about every statistical category, as you would expect.
https://gwsports.com/cumestats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2018
Payback.
76-60 was that final at MSG...
This could be a close game on their floor. If we have tired legs from flying, maybe we need to bus the whole way.
Valpo 71
GWU 66
That is a solid cure for tired flight legs.
Valpo by a nickel. 73-68
Valpo needs a pick me up game right now. Need to win this one. GW isn't very good.
Quote from: VU2014 on December 05, 2018, 03:20:41 PM
Valpo needs a pick me up game right now. Need to win this one. GW isn't very good.
GW is 255 in KenPom; High Point was 257 prior to last night's win. :-[
Quote from: covufan on December 05, 2018, 12:26:32 PM
This could be a close game on their floor. If we have tired legs from flying, maybe we need to bus the whole way.
Valpo 71
GWU 66
Frankly, I don't understand the tired legs excuse. This isn't the NBA where teams are constantly flying here, there and everywhere. Even if it is an issue, good teams find a way to overcome it. Bad teams use it as an excuse.
Quote from: wh on December 05, 2018, 03:53:56 PM
Quote from: covufan on December 05, 2018, 12:26:32 PM
This could be a close game on their floor. If we have tired legs from flying, maybe we need to bus the whole way.
Valpo 71
GWU 66
Frankly, I don't understand the tired legs excuse. This isn't the NBA where teams are constantly flying here, there and everywhere. Even if it is an issue, good teams find a way to overcome it. Bad teams use it as an excuse.
I'd have to agree, tired legs applies to games in a certain number of days. Travel is taxing, but not for 21 and under top level athletes. Next excuse coach . . .
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on December 05, 2018, 04:25:27 PM
Quote from: wh on December 05, 2018, 03:53:56 PM
Quote from: covufan on December 05, 2018, 12:26:32 PM
This could be a close game on their floor. If we have tired legs from flying, maybe we need to bus the whole way.
Valpo 71
GWU 66
Frankly, I don't understand the tired legs excuse. This isn't the NBA where teams are constantly flying here, there and everywhere. Even if it is an issue, good teams find a way to overcome it. Bad teams use it as an excuse.
I'd have to agree, tired legs applies to games in a certain number of days. Travel is taxing, but not for 21 and under top level athletes. Next excuse coach . . .
[emoji106]...there are no excuses in my book. Tubby outcoached us and HP players rose to the occasion with less talent on the roster. Another year and yet another unexplainable loss. Hope the excuses don't carry forward to the GW game.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
GWU 79
Valpo 65
Hope we win, but I'm going to predict another close loss.
I hope we start winning so I don't have to hear anymore milquetoast aw shucks at least we tried excuse laden postgame press conferences Trust the process and we're improving only has merit when that process/improvement is readily observable from game to game. The more I watch of him the more I fear that we have a recruiter in charge of Xs and Os who is completely overwhelmed by the concept of actually coaching. At most I think he's got one year. If we're still searching for answers in March 2020 it's probably time to go another direction.
GW beat Towson, 69-65 at home.
Looking forward to seeing Valpo play in person. First game since the 2015 NCAA tournament in Columbus.
Look out for DJ Williams at GW. He is from Simeon and an Illinois transfer. Good young head coach at GW also.
It is time to quit giving the tired legs, traveling, etc. excuses and get these guys to start playing ball like they are capable of doing, including getting the right guys on the floor to get the job done We are well into the season now and some of the problem areas should start to be shaken out. Come on, coaches! Also, with all the off-season and pre-season hype about McMillen , what is going on there???????? So far he is totally a non-contributor. Maybe we should ask, who's fault is that? Just sayin'.
The McMillen thing feels like Hazen in a way. The big difference is that we have seen Mileek show some very good offensive skills.
His late growth spurt certainly is an issue. But last year he looked better than this year.....other than clearly working hard in the weight room..
Mileek has shown light-years more potential than Parker (at least on offense). What's interesting is that early on in Mileek's college career the narrative was that he was always going to be a project but the likely stronger side of the ball would be defense. I'm certainly not giving up on him. I still think his future could be bright but he's been a defensive liability when he's played this season. He just needs to learn not to foul so much. I understand it's easier learn by playing but we're not currently in a position to absorb those mistakes in some of these games. Ex: coach probably didn't feel confident in playing him in the HP game because we were struggling to put together offense in a close game. Probably couldn't risk putting them on the free throw line because they would go after him. Hindsight is 20/20 but maybe we should have redshirted Mileek last season. He's still a work in progress and hopefully he's showing development in practice even if he hasn't been able to play the last few games.
Valpo beats GW in a too close for comfort game, then we come home and have 8 days to prepare for Ball St. We lose because Taylor Persons lights us up(or Brachen Hazen channels his brothers anger and scores 20+, he is averaging 18mpg so not out of the question lol), in the post game press conference Lottich says finals were a distraction. Then we go to College Station, hit 12/21 3s and beat the Aggies!
This sounds frustratingly accurate. Will we beat PNW?
Quote from: VU2014 on December 06, 2018, 03:13:00 PM
Mileek has shown light-years more potential than Parker (at least on offense). What's interesting is that early on in Mileek's college career the narrative was that he was always going to be a project but the likely stronger side of the ball would be defense. I'm certainly not giving up on him. I still think his future could be bright but he's been a defensive liability when he's played this season. He just needs to learn not to foul so much. I understand it's easier learn by playing but we're not currently in a position to absorb those mistakes in some of these games. Ex: coach probably didn't feel confident in playing him in the HP game because we were struggling to put together offense in a close game. Probably couldn't risk putting them on the free throw line because they would go after him. Hindsight is 20/20 but maybe we should have redshirted Mileek last season. He's still a work in progress and hopefully he's showing development in practice even if he hasn't been able to play the last few games.
Update on why we haven't seen Mileek in the game the last few games. Seems reasonable. I just didn't like seeing him at Center (but understand they needed to play him there because of the Sorolla injury) PF is where he'll be most successful.
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/1070794285480624130
I actually wonder if he's cautious of not doing to Mileek what he did with Parker, ie start him for half the season and then bench him. If Mileek is struggling and they can afford to have him sit maybe it's better to do so now and work at practice on the fundamentals he needs. I'm sure he will see more game time as the season progresses but if the trial by fire isn't working it might be time to let him focus on his own game more and not playing time it can be frustrating to not play but it can also be frustrating to consistently be put out there to struggle and mess up. The one thing I think it both good and bad about Lottich is that he seems to have a level of patience to let things play out but the problem is when it finally does it can feel jarring.
Fair enough. It sounds like sound reasoning to me.
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/1071217588825399297
If you're a sucker for schadenfreude, Northern Iowa losing 50-40 to Dubuque.
Watching the game. Doesn't look good.
Got to get use to these new Brown and Gold uniform. Don't think they look bad just not use to them.
Quote from: may know on December 08, 2018, 02:26:52 PMIf you're a sucker for schadenfreude, Northern Iowa losing 50-40 to Dubuque.
Let's just focus on Valpo's performance right now. It's clear that we have plenty of issues to fix on our end as we're behind to what appears to be a bad GW team.
Why are we so bad? We return 65% of our shots from last year. We have good players and we are not young. What gives?
They're too hot we're too cold this half. Hopefully that evens out a bit in the second half. Last I saw GW was 14-21 and we were 10-28
We're starting to heat up a bit now. Also, I enjoy the new uniforms!
That's better! Our shooters have shot us back into the game! Evelyn might finally be coming around!
Well our shot finally showed up. To bad our defense is still back home again in Indiana.
Down 2 at the half. I'll take it considering we were down by as many as 10. If the shots keep falling and we tighten up a bit on D we can win this!
Where the heck was the defense that half??? No hands in shooters faces, wide open, uncontested layups. It's nice we started making shots, but letting a guy who's career high was 10 score 18 in the half??? Comeon guys, get it together!!!
Quote from: IndyEIT777 on December 08, 2018, 03:45:13 PM
Where the heck was the defense that half??? No hands in shooters faces, wide open, uncontested layups. It's nice we started making shots, but letting a guy who's career high was 10 score 18 in the half??? Comeon guys, get it together!!!
It looked like a Fred Hoiberg defense out there. Brutal
This defense has me ready to start drinking before the sun goes down.
Need to start out the second half with whit the same hot shooting we ended the first half and if my eyes didn't deceive me I thought there was a Mileek sighting.
Quote from: oklahomamick on December 08, 2018, 03:27:39 PM
Why are we so bad? We return 65% of our shots from last year. We have good players and we are not young. What gives?
I'm not sure. I'm not making excuses but more or less making observations.
-Bakari is having a poor season shooting the ball
-Adding Fazekas has shuffled around some roles and their still learning to play with one another
-Sorolla was out most of the beginning of the season and is slowly coming back
I'm not sure. The coaches and players need figure this out. It's not really that we're bad. We're more or less, highly inconsistent. It's a rollercoaster of up and downs
Quote from: VUBBFan on December 08, 2018, 03:49:54 PM
Need to start out the second half with whit the same hot shooting we ended the first half and if my eyes didn't deceive me I thought there was a Mileek sighting.
There was indeed. 0-1 1 reb 1 ast 2 stl 0 fouls Not bad. Hopefully that earns him a bit more run and some confidence.
Bakari having a bad year all around. shooting, free throws, taking care of the ball
He made two 3 pointers as I was typing this.....
Moving the ball...Swinging the ball. Less dribbling, less isolation. Emphasis on getting Smits touches. This has created open looks. 2nd half looks good. Good job Coach. Smits has improved a lot.
Quote from: oklahomamick on December 08, 2018, 03:58:59 PMBakari having a bad year all around. shooting, free throws, taking care of the ball He made two 3 pointers as I was typing this.....
Hey thanks for posting. I think you lit a fire under him. :thumbsup:
Regardless of how this game turns out, we are not a good basketball team right now. And I don't see enough areas with likely improvements that we finish any higher than 8th in conference play.
Quote from: VUBBFan on December 08, 2018, 04:13:46 PM
Quote from: oklahomamick on December 08, 2018, 03:58:59 PMBakari having a bad year all around. shooting, free throws, taking care of the ball He made two 3 pointers as I was typing this.....
Hey thanks for posting. I think you lit a fire under him. :thumbsup:
Still sloppy with TO. But yes, he's making shots like whoaa
Mke no mistake, Smits is the MVP of this game. They have been doubling him all game which is why we are getting wide open 3's. He has been GREAT at kicking the ball back out when the double comes. When they don't double he makes a good move to the basket.
Whew!!!
Squeezed by that one.
After blowing a 12 point lead I was afraid we would find another interesting way to lose. But the team played just enough defense to hold on so good for them.
We will need both offense and defense to show up against Ball State.
I have only been able to watch parts of four games. From the looks of the stat sheet, Javon looks like he had another nice game. For a freshman, his stat sheet is really consistent. Not a lot of games when he disappears. How did he look today for those who watched?
Just my two cents. Any win on the road at an A-10 opponent, even in a year in which that team is down, is a nice win.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on December 08, 2018, 04:36:20 PM
Mke no mistake, Smits is the MVP of this game. They have been doubling him all game which is why we are getting wide open 3's. He has been GREAT at kicking the ball back out when the double comes. When they don't double he makes a good move to the basket.
I won't disagree that he played well, but he only had (2) kick out assists that happened late in the game.
To add to your appreciation of Mr Smits, he played legit D for most of the game and REBOUNDED!!! If he only scores 9 ppg but continues to Reb and Defend, I'll be ecstatic. Those two were his Achilles heal for years...
Note: Freeman is a rock. We kept the game competitive in the first half largely in part to his play in the first half.
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on December 08, 2018, 05:03:29 PM
Quote from: SanityLost17 on December 08, 2018, 04:36:20 PM
Mke no mistake, Smits is the MVP of this game. They have been doubling him all game which is why we are getting wide open 3's. He has been GREAT at kicking the ball back out when the double comes. When they don't double he makes a good move to the basket.
I won't disagree that he played well, but he only had (2) kick out assists that happened late in the game.
To add to your appreciation of Mr Smits, he played legit D for most of the game and REBOUNDED!!! If he only scores 9 ppg but continues to Reb and Defend, I'll be ecstatic. Those two were his Achilles heal for years...
Note: Freeman is a rock. We kept the game competitive in the first half largely in part to his play in the first half.
Doesn't need to get the assist to get the credit. The speed at which he moved the ball back out when the double came is what is important, and that happened throughout the game. After that it may take 2-3 more passes to get the open man but somebody is open and after a failed double team the defense was left scrambling to catch up to the play.
It was obviously their game plan to double him almost every time and to make us move the ball and hit 3's, something they were betting we could not do.
I hate to be a downer, but that felt lucky and I fear the coaches will instead think it was a good offensive game. Hot shooting is nice, but we still only have one answer for when the perimeter game isn't working - and if Smits gets doubled low in a game where Bakari and Fazekas are cold, we lose by 20. Still need to see the offensive system mature more.
But it was nice to get a road win ;D
I wonder if we have ever shot 57% from the three having shot 27 attempts. It was unbelievable! Four different guys hit 3's. If we can shoot anywhere near that we will be able to keep the middle available for the much improved Mr. Smits.
Oh, and finally, a brown uniform! Loved it!
The last time Valpo made 15 3-pointers in a game was 12/21/13 vs Southeastern. That team was 15-24 (62.5%) against today's 15-27 (55.6%). Among those who made the 3-pointers back then, the names should bring back memories: Dority and Peters had 4 apiece, Carter had 2, Lexus Williams and Clay Yeo each had 1, and big men chipped in, Chadwick with 1 and Capobianco with 2.
That was not the same George Washington that beat us but then again we aren't the same valpo either. Nonetheless we beat a A10 on the road
What one person calls hot shooting I call the universe balancing out. Fazekas and (especially) Evelyn in light of the depths of his struggles are too good to be too cold for too long. This was the bounceback game. Now we just hope that the improved shooting continues and we never face a stretch like we did earlier this season again. Go Valpo!
Quote from: valpopal on December 08, 2018, 05:56:06 PM
The last time Valpo made 15 3-pointers in a game was 12/21/13 vs Southeastern. That team was 15-24 (62.5%) against today's 15-27 (55.6%). Among those who made the 3-pointers back then, the names should bring back memories: Dority and Peters had 4 apiece, Carter had 2, Lexus Williams and Clay Yeo each had 1, and big men chipped in, Chadwick with 1 and Capobianco with 2.
OK, Pal, I give. How did you quickly garner that info without grabbing Aaron by the throat!
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Evelyn breaks out as Valparaiso holds off George Washington
Robbie Weinstein robert.weinstein@nwi.com, 219-933-4198
Dec 8, 2018 Updated 6 min ago
https://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/men-s-basketball-evelyn-breaks-out-as-valparaiso-holds-off/article_fac183c5-1dba-57ae-afee-77cabed89090.html
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/1071575797624905729
Quote from: oklahomamick on December 08, 2018, 05:58:12 PM
That was not the same George Washington that beat us but then again we aren't the same valpo either. Nonetheless we beat a A10 on the road
Agree! Awesome win!!!
Fun game to watch on replay while knowing the end result. Lots of scoring, not too many fouls. Momentum-wise, good to see the team not let the wheels fall off down 10 early or when GW tied it late. 2 of the last 3 games, Valpo has shot 50+% from three, if that were the case earlier in the week, they'd have won by 27 if memory serves me right. Is there a team whose shooting is more in their heads than ours? Either everything goes or absolutely nothing. Awesome when they're hot, beyond frustrating when they're not. Enjoy every win, friends.
I too enjoy these brown unis with the cursive "Valparaiso" across the front. Less cursed than the horrible gray ones from several years ago.
Great to see them hang tough and win again on the road. Pretty decent pair of wins at UNLV and George Washington.
Best of all, they finally pulled out of the shooting slump. Nothing like a game like that to get people confident again.
I did not get to watch the game, but the game stats raise some questions in my mind. First, it appears that this was another game where a bad team with terrible offensive stats shoots lights out against us. Again, we built a sizable lead, but couldnt hold it. Now I read that GW was playing short handed, having just lost their starting center to injury. For anyone who watched, my question is why? Did they just play out of their minds, despite a great defensive effort on our part? Are we still having problems with our interior defense? Were their 3-point attempts closely contested? Any other observations? Thanks in advance.
We fouled two 3 point shots .... let's hope that streak doesn't continue again. Kiser didn't get in. Mileek barely got in. Jay didn't do anything. Without Smits down low, we're in trouble. Good to see shots fall but again idk which shooting team will show up. Free throws still drive me crazy. Under Bryce, we were a good free throw shooting team... now??? Idk ...
I really don't know what's going on with the Maleek/Sorolla thing. If Sorolla is healthy, why aren't we trying to develop him to play 15+ minutes to spell Smits. We have two 7 footers. Why aren't we trying to develop them both? To force a 6 '8 Malik into a 5 role to take minutes makes no sense to me. Malik needs to develop as a 4, unless the staff knows that after next year we cannot recruit another 5 and Maleek will have to do.
What about Bediako and Skogman? So quiet on the recruiting trail these days.
Quote from: nkvu on December 08, 2018, 11:12:36 PM
I really don't know what's going on with the Maleek/Sorolla thing. If Sorolla is healthy, why aren't we trying to develop him to play 15+ minutes to spell Smits. We have two 7 footers. Why aren't we trying to develop them both? To force a 6 '8 Malik into a 5 role to take minutes makes no sense to me. Malik needs to develop as a 4, unless the staff knows that after next year we cannot recruit another 5 and Maleek will have to do.
Sorolla's cardio might not be up to par after the ankle injury. I doubt he was doing much running on it. To be fair Smits has really taken advantage of the opportunity and has earned minutes. It's a luxury to not have to push Sorolla right out of the gates.
Coach addressed the Mileek situation:
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/1070794285480624130
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on December 08, 2018, 11:37:07 PM
What about Bediako and Skogman? So quiet on the recruiting trail these days.
Spring recruits and not many coaches are hitting the recruiting trail this time of year. I doubt the VU coaches have been recruiting much with all the travel this team has been doing.
Fun to watch this one. Bakari is a good shooter, so he is bound to right himself by end of year. For as much as some have knocked Fazekas, he is a really good shooter. I think that his quick trigger has some questioning his abilities, but the dude is now shooting 46% from 3.
The age old question that has raged in Valpo fans' minds since the beginning of the season is back again: is Valpo good? Ten games in and I still don't know. Our overall performance with a shorthanded team\thin bench makes me excited for what next year could bring. Our ability to be competitive and win on the road is encouraging. However our puzzling play against some highly beatable opponents at home is disconcerting. Ball State will be a good test but the proof will be in conference play. If we perform better in conference play and improve our record especially on the road then it will be easy to consider this a successful year of progress and say that we've improved.
This team has the potential to be very good this year and really good next year. I know it is difficult to compare scores of games against the same opponent, but just for once I'll do it. We beat UNLV by 8, Cincinnati beat them by 5. Cincy just took down Xavier by 15. Illinois just beat UNLV by 3. We lost to WVU by 12. WVU just beat Pitt by 10. And so on. My point is that as we continue to mature as a team we should be competitive in conference and able to win all of them. The question is, can we develop a killer instinct and win the close games versus being "oh so close". :(
Quote from: vu72 on December 09, 2018, 08:11:02 AM
This team has the potential to be very good this year and really good next year. I know it is difficult to compare scores of games against the same opponent, but just for once I'll do it. We beat UNLV by 8, Cincinnati beat them by 5. Cincy just took down Xavier by 15. Illinois just beat UNLV by 3. We lost to WVU by 12. WVU just beat Pitt by 10. And so on. My point is that as we continue to mature as a team we should be competitive in conference and able to win all of them. The question is, can we develop a killer instinct and win the close games versus being "oh so close". :(
We are in a unique position of defining the next "go to scorer" on this team. Because of the new key pieces (Freeman + Lavender + Fazekas) and the new consistent scoring threat (Smits) we have A LOT of on court dynamics to work through.
Consider that 3/5 starters did not play in a game situation together until 1-month ago...
When we struggled to begin this season I was a bit irked by the argument "but it's a young team" showing up for two years consecutive. But as I leave the emotions out, I keep coming back to 3 new starters and the emergence of Smits as a reliable contributor.
I'm trying to strap on a bag of patience for the moment, we'll see how long it lasts!?!?
P.S. Bakari was the "go to" last year on offense, knowing now he didn't play basketball due to surgery (off season) adds a wrinkle I wasn't aware of until mid way they our "ok" start to this season. Throw in Sorolla and excuses of substance abound.
NOW LETS PLAY SOME DEFENSE!!!
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on December 09, 2018, 08:52:33 AM
Quote from: vu72 on December 09, 2018, 08:11:02 AM
This team has the potential to be very good this year and really good next year. I know it is difficult to compare scores of games against the same opponent, but just for once I'll do it. We beat UNLV by 8, Cincinnati beat them by 5. Cincy just took down Xavier by 15. Illinois just beat UNLV by 3. We lost to WVU by 12. WVU just beat Pitt by 10. And so on. My point is that as we continue to mature as a team we should be competitive in conference and able to win all of them. The question is, can we develop a killer instinct and win the close games versus being "oh so close". :(
We are in a unique position of defining the next "go to scorer" on this team. Because of the new key pieces (Freeman + Lavender + Fazekas) and the new consistent scoring threat (Smits) we have A LOT of on court dynamics to work through.
Consider that 3/5 starters did not play in a game situation together until 1-month ago...
When we struggled to begin this season I was a bit irked by the argument "but it's a young team" showing up for two years consecutive. But as I leave the emotions out, I keep coming back to 3 new starters and the emergence of Smits as a reliable contributor.
I'm trying to strap on a bag of patience for the moment, we'll see how long it lasts!?!?
P.S. Bakari was the "go to" last year on offense, knowing now he didn't play basketball due to surgery (off season) adds a wrinkle I wasn't aware of until mid way they our "ok" start to this season. Throw in Sorolla and excuses of substance abound.
NOW LETS PLAY SOME DEFENSE!!!
All that being said, we are full of juniors in NCAA experience and shouldn't have a large learning curve.
Coach was gifted a large senior class three years ago and he has to work thru these lopsided recruiting cycles. It just turns out that we are junior laddened with MINIMAL playing experience amongst said juniors.
This is on Lottich because he recruited transfers and or had bad experience with freshmen transferring out (Hazen etc). But it exists so it's sonething to ponder.
Valpo won the rebounding battle!! I can't believe it!
Golder only got 14 mins and took 3 shots?
Winning on the road is always tough
Although UNLV and especially GW aren't as good as years past I think it's nice to have wins against bigger programs with more resources than us
Quote from: wh on December 08, 2018, 10:16:56 PM
I did not get to watch the game, but the game stats raise some questions in my mind. First, it appears that this was another game where a bad team with terrible offensive stats shoots lights out against us. Again, we built a sizable lead, but couldnt hold it. Now I read that GW was playing short handed, having just lost their starting center to injury. For anyone who watched, my question is why? Did they just play out of their minds, despite a great defensive effort on our part? Are we still having problems with our interior defense? Were their 3-point attempts closely contested? Any other observations? Thanks in advance.
GW shot well at 58%. The majority of their attempts were well defended and they also hit a few that were greatly defended.
Interior Defense? We are still making some mistakes in our interior coverage and rotations. Some of their runners and pull up jumpers were well but not perfectly defended. Smits was called for 2 fouls that could have been ignored.
3 Pointer Defense? We still need some work. Any half court wide open 3 point looks are unacceptable. Smits in particular is a liability anytime he has to cover out to the 3 point line. This problem could really show itself in MVC play where many centers have that kind of range from distance.
Transition Defense? Getting back quickly is key but even then an instantaneous "best course of action" decision has to be made and implemented. We have many who aren't quite there yet!
Quote from: M on December 09, 2018, 10:41:54 AMGolder only got 14 mins and took 3 shots?
Golder is much better in an open court, man defense setting. Against smothering coverage he gets impatient and tries to do things he shouldn't.
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on December 09, 2018, 03:58:40 AMThe age old question that has raged in Valpo fans' minds since the beginning of the season is back again: is Valpo good? Ten games in and I still don't know.
Neither do I. We need to win one or both against Ball St and Texas AM to convince me that we are still on track for a 10-8 or better MVC result.
Quote from: Valpo2013 on December 09, 2018, 10:43:54 AM
Winning on the road is always tough
Although UNLV and especially GW aren't as good as years past I think it's nice to have wins against bigger programs with more resources than us
Quote from: vu72 on December 09, 2018, 05:28:19 PMWe need to win one or both against Ball St and Texas AM to convince me that we are still on track for a 10-8 or better MVC result.
You guys need to take another look. UNLV lost to Cincy by 5 and Illinois by 3. We are playing in the Valley, not the ACC.
Quote from: vu72 on December 09, 2018, 05:28:19 PM
Quote from: Valpo2013 on December 09, 2018, 10:43:54 AM
Winning on the road is always tough
Although UNLV and especially GW aren't as good as years past I think it's nice to have wins against bigger programs with more resources than us
Quote from: vu72 on December 09, 2018, 05:28:19 PMWe need to win one or both against Ball St and Texas AM to convince me that we are still on track for a 10-8 or better MVC result.
You guys need to take another look. UNLV lost to Cincy by 5 and Illinois by 3. We are playing in the Valley, not the ACC.
I share vu72's optimism. Valpo has a lot of good wins and losses are to ACC and Big 12 teams. 10-8 in the MVC would be a disappointment after what I've seen so far.
Ditto.
Jevon Freeman has so much ability. He will become a bigger factor every week and has shown locks down as a defender and he integrates well with the offense. Then you have solid (as expected) transfers into Valpo from major programs: Lavender, Evelyn, and Fazekas.
Smits holds the key to whether we are just mid-pack MVC or become contenders. I give him credit where due in the past 3-5 games. Quality minutes from Sorolla and Mileek will be nice to have, but not an absolute key if Smits can keep up the improvement. Golder is also a plus factor but the top five is becoming clear now.
Quote from: EddieCabot on December 09, 2018, 07:28:45 PMQuote from: vu72 on December 09, 2018, 05:28:19 PMQuote from: Valpo2013 on December 09, 2018, 10:43:54 AMWinning on the road is always tough Although UNLV and especially GW aren't as good as years past I think it's nice to have wins against bigger programs with more resources than us
Quote from: vu72 on December 09, 2018, 05:28:19 PMWe need to win one or both against Ball St and Texas AM to convince me that we are still on track for a 10-8 or better MVC result.
You guys need to take another look. UNLV lost to Cincy by 5 and Illinois by 3. We are playing in the Valley, not the ACC.
I share vu72's optimism. Valpo has a lot of good wins and losses are to ACC and Big 12 teams. 10-8 in the MVC would be a disappointment after what I've seen so far.
Even in light of our downright frustrating performances against SIUE UCR and High Point?
I will (figuratively) pee myself with excitement if we go 10-8 in conference this year.
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on December 09, 2018, 09:00:54 PM
I will (figuratively) pee myself with excitement if we go 10-8 in conference this year.
Well if we win that 10'th game on March 2'nd against Evansville at the ARC, I hope I'm not sitting next to you in the bleachers. :o
While I still think that 10-8 could happen our margins for error seem to be narrowing. Our shortened bench is really starting to worry me. Plus Sackey needs a season under his belt, Golder has shown some of his lingering limitations, Sorolla is still a question mark, and Kiser and McMillan still look like Kiser and McMillan. :(
Quote from: justducky on December 09, 2018, 02:46:05 PMInterior Defense? We are still making some mistakes in our interior coverage and rotations.
My biggest concern with this team's defense. Killed us against Highpoint and almost got us at George Washington. Teams seem to have no trouble getting downhill to the rim against us.
Quote from: EddieCabot on December 09, 2018, 07:28:45 PM
Quote from: vu72 on December 09, 2018, 05:28:19 PM
Quote from: Valpo2013 on December 09, 2018, 10:43:54 AM
Winning on the road is always tough
Although UNLV and especially GW aren't as good as years past I think it's nice to have wins against bigger programs with more resources than us
Quote from: vu72 on December 09, 2018, 05:28:19 PMWe need to win one or both against Ball St and Texas AM to convince me that we are still on track for a 10-8 or better MVC result.
You guys need to take another look. UNLV lost to Cincy by 5 and Illinois by 3. We are playing in the Valley, not the ACC.
I share vu72's optimism. Valpo has a lot of good wins and losses are to ACC and Big 12 teams. 10-8 in the MVC would be a disappointment after what I've seen so far.
High Point seems to be our low point (I actually wrote that before I realized what a pun/joke it turned out to be) because they are not P5 and UIndy isn't even Div 1 (although they are a very good Div. 2 team). The second half of the UNLV game was not partically well played by either team except that Smits played very tough for probably the first time in his Valpo career. We are a very up and down team that has some potential but doesn't seem to play well all the time (SIUE?) at home especially. Which seems to point at the coaching as a possible problem. Hopefully that area will improve as time goes forward.
LOVED the new BROWN uniforms for the GW game. Really...we had brown and gold uniforms for the Men's basketball team. What a thought...those colors coincide with our school colors. IT IS ABOUT TIME WE WEAR BROWN AND GOLD UNIFORMS!
I'm not crazy about the brown uniforms, but they are WAY better than those burnt-orange road unis we wore in the mid-1980s.
Quote from: FWalum on December 09, 2018, 11:00:57 PM
Quote from: justducky on December 09, 2018, 02:46:05 PMInterior Defense? We are still making some mistakes in our interior coverage and rotations.
My biggest concern with this team's defense. Killed us against Highpoint and almost got us at George Washington. Teams seem to have no trouble getting downhill to the rim against us.
Coming into 18-19 we all knew that we would be much improved on offense. I assumed that our defense would do likewise. Has it? Our defenders seem to stay close enough to harass drivers but not stop or completely alter their shots or passes.
A half step lead may not be much in a 5k run but in a 3 dribble move to the basket it results in a shot with a 70% probability vs maybe 35%. Is this something that will diminish or disappear as the season progresses? Could this be a result of starting five, big minutes fatigue?
I didn't get a chance to see the brown and gold uniforms but I'm interested in seeing them. I generally think the brown and gold is an extremely outdated look and ugly. I prefer the black and yellow colors.
Quote from: valpolaw on December 12, 2018, 09:07:06 PM
I didn't get a chance to see the brown and gold uniforms but I'm interested in seeing them. I generally think the brown and gold is an extremely outdated look and ugly. I prefer the black and yellow colors.
Hope these pics I saw on Twitter give you an idea how the uniforms look.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181213/f0c33f78aee3d519520b52be77163d76.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181213/c384eb87359dda74e18bcdbfbf5b5999.jpg)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
We made those Foggy Bottom boys men of constant sorrow with our unrelenting 3 point barrage!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ5BFivMwxU
The new Brown and gold unis...great look especially with the yellow/gold shoes
Quote from: vufan75 on December 13, 2018, 08:50:56 AM
Quote from: valpolaw on December 12, 2018, 09:07:06 PM
I didn't get a chance to see the brown and gold uniforms but I'm interested in seeing them. I generally think the brown and gold is an extremely outdated look and ugly. I prefer the black and yellow colors.
Hope these pics I saw on Twitter give you an idea how the uniforms look.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181213/f0c33f78aee3d519520b52be77163d76.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181213/c384eb87359dda74e18bcdbfbf5b5999.jpg)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
I have 3 brown Crusader-wear items that I proudly wear to games - a hat, a long-sleeve T, and a hooded sweatshirt (mild weather). Glad to see that the team and I will finally be in sync. :thumbsup:
I still think the brown and gold is hideous. There's a reason generally no other schools have that as their colors. We aren't creating a trend in fashion by being the only one with it. It's ugly and outdated. Black and gold or yellow would be the way to go. I'm not surprised though. I remember a few years back they tried to incorporate that weird bright-ish/neon green color into various things for the school for who knows why.
Quote from: wh on December 13, 2018, 12:29:45 PM
Quote from: vufan75 on December 13, 2018, 08:50:56 AM
Quote from: valpolaw on December 12, 2018, 09:07:06 PM
I didn't get a chance to see the brown and gold uniforms but I'm interested in seeing them. I generally think the brown and gold is an extremely outdated look and ugly. I prefer the black and yellow colors.
Hope these pics I saw on Twitter give you an idea how the uniforms look.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181213/f0c33f78aee3d519520b52be77163d76.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181213/c384eb87359dda74e18bcdbfbf5b5999.jpg)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
I have 3 brown Crusader-wear items that I proudly wear to games - a hat, a long-sleeve T, and a hooded sweatshirt (mild weather). Glad to see that the team and I will finally be in sync. :thumbsup:
[/quote
Bleacher report had the color combo one of the worst in the nation
Quote from: valpolaw on December 13, 2018, 08:13:52 PM
I still think the brown and gold is hideous. There's a reason generally no other schools have that as their colors. We aren't creating a trend in fashion by being the only one with it. It's ugly and outdated. Black and gold or yellow would be the way to go. I'm not surprised though. I remember a few years back they tried to incorporate that weird bright-ish/neon green color into various things for the school for who knows why.
Uh. Wyoming. And Central (or western) Michigan. And even worse, Lehigh with brown and WHITE.
It can be a great combo, but it needs to be done well. I do not think that the current B&G is the best design, but it is close. Part of the look is to make sure that the socks and shoes coordinate. At a minimum, the shoes need to be either white or gold shoes. Black shoes destroys any look.
I still fail to see the trend to having black as a part of uniform color, unless one of the school colors is black Many schools do it and along with black shoes it is a "nothing look". While I really like the brown unis, I also think the overall design leaves something to be desired. Thankfully it didn't take long for the "gray" alternative color to go away. I remember MLB saying that when Bryce coached they wore the gray ones once or twice and got whipped both times. After that he said "never again" while I'm coaching here. I wonder if they are still are still around in storage.