It is a bright, sunny, beautiful day and the temperature has already skyrocketed to a balmy -11. A good nights sleep and a strong cup of coffee have persuaded me to move forward to a fresh subject and challenge.
Why don't all of you join me?
I'm proud of you, but I'm not there yet.
Equally proud but also not there yet - esp after watching the post game conference.
Quote from: M on January 30, 2019, 10:46:07 AM
I'm proud of you, but I'm not there yet.
Quote from: VU2010 on January 30, 2019, 10:57:46 AM
Equally proud but also not there yet - esp after watching the post game conference.
Ok guys, get it out of your systems. Just don't carry it over to the Evansville thread.
Until told differently I will assume we must continue with a jerry rigged 4 guard lineup that features a shortage of 3 point shooting talent. What other than smothering defense, can get us a win vs the Aces? How do you get half court points when Sackey and Lavender are on the floor together?
Our best three point shooter with this current group is Evelyn and Mileek and coach refuses to let one of those guys play.
Evansville stinks, but so did MoState. I'll say Valpo wins 61-57. Hopefully it doesn't come down to having to draw up a play on offense at the end of a half though.
Quote from: M on January 30, 2019, 11:23:23 AMEvansville stinks, but so did MoState. I'll say Valpo wins 61-57. Hopefully it doesn't come down to having to draw up a play on offense at the end of a half though.
I tuned in the Bradley game thinking Evansville would dominate. Wrong! E-ville with an 8 point loss 81-73 at the Ford Center. We should be able to defend them by working hard but getting enough points on the board might be a problem.
Interesting night in the Valley but aren't they all? UNI came very close at Loyola but Krutwig iced it with his first 3 pointer of the year. :o
Waiting to see if Fazekas and Smits play. With Smits, but without Golder and Fazekas:
Valpo 60
Evansville 57
With Fazekas and Smits, but no Golder:
Valpo 68
Evansville 61
So I'm hoping to bring luck! I'm driving up to Evansville for the game! :thewave:
72,
If we win we'll expect you at every game going forward. At your expense of course, we've got nutrition centers to build.
The nutrition shop is a step in the right direction for sure. Athletes deserve that. When you see what major P5 conference schools are able to provide - there's no doubt that it helps the athletes. Yes - they're on scholarship. But, a lot of student athletes still cannot afford healthy, nutritional things like that. And they deserve it.
I assume these things are provided free of cost to them? If not, we should help donate.
Hence one of the reasons why I believe athletes should receive stipends as well. Or at least receive unlimited meal cards.
Some schools even offer barbershops for athletes ... if it were me, I'd at least fork over some of my cash as a coach and bring in a barber for these guys once a month. Not sure if that's allowed but I don't see why not. Make them feel special and appreciated. We owe a lot to them. That's where at least some of the revenue should go. Esp. for players like mid majors have - most players who play d1 will not go pro. They aren't guaranteed to make millions. Treat them special while they're here.
The university actually has a barber that comes to campus once or twice a week to do cheap hair cuts for students.
Quote from: VU2010 on January 31, 2019, 10:02:22 AM
The nutrition shop is a step in the right direction for sure. Athletes deserve that. When you see what major P5 conference schools are able to provide - there's no doubt that it helps the athletes. Yes - they're on scholarship. But, a lot of student athletes still cannot afford healthy, nutritional things like that. And they deserve it.
I assume these things are provided free of cost to them? If not, we should help donate.
Hence one of the reasons why I believe athletes should receive stipends as well. Or at least receive unlimited meal cards.
Some schools even offer barbershops for athletes ... if it were me, I'd at least fork over some of my cash as a coach and bring in a barber for these guys once a month. Not sure if that's allowed but I don't see why not. Make them feel special and appreciated. We owe a lot to them. That's where at least some of the revenue should go. Esp. for players like mid majors have - most players who play d1 will not go pro. They aren't guaranteed to make millions. Treat them special while they're here.
I thought when mentioning things P5 conference athletes receive that laundry service would be one of them. Especially since it seems to be a difficult issue for some of Valpo's student athletes. ;)
Any news on the condition of Smits, Fazekas and Golder with respect to tomorrow's game vs. Evansville?
Purely speculation by me (which I guess makes this comment irrelevant but I'm still going to post it):
Smits - yes, he looked pretty healthy the other night
Fazekas - yes, but on a minutes restriction 8-12 minutes
Golder - no, but it sounds like he might be close if the post about him walking on it with no assistance was right on
Quote from: valpo64 on February 01, 2019, 11:12:28 AM
Any news on the condition of Smits, Fazekas and Golder with respect to tomorrow's game vs. Evansville?
They are progressing nicely.
Quote from: Valpo89 on February 01, 2019, 01:14:00 PM
Quote from: valpo64 on February 01, 2019, 11:12:28 AM
Any news on the condition of Smits, Fazekas and Golder with respect to tomorrow's game vs. Evansville?
They are progressing nicely.
:rotfl:
"They are progressing nicely" - love it.
I now have a new go to phrase when my wife asks about various projects around the house.
"It's progressing nicely, honey."
I'm wondering if the Coaches had Markus walk around without the boot and crutches just so it got reported by Michael and Paul. Maybe they want to throw off Eville coaches. Maybe I'm just being a conspiracy theorist here.
Quote from: Valpo89 on February 01, 2019, 01:14:00 PMThey are progressing nicely.
Let me use coach speak to wrap this up in a neater package.
Smits. hour to hour
Fazekas week to week
Golder month to month
Bradford year to year
Quote from: justducky on February 01, 2019, 04:42:38 PM
Quote from: Valpo89 on February 01, 2019, 01:14:00 PMThey are progressing nicely.
Let me use coach speak to wrap this up in a neater package.
Smits. hour to hour
Fazekas week to week
Golder month to month
Bradford year to year
A bell ringer :bowdown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI7ZALtaIE0
Sounds like Marcus has a decent shot of going today!
Quote from: M on February 02, 2019, 12:12:56 PM
Sounds like Marcus has a decent shot of going today!
That would be a nice boost if he's not too limited physically.
Golder in uniform, no Ryan.
Quote from: vu72 on February 02, 2019, 12:30:31 PM
Golder in uniform, no Ryan.
Man this kid has been hampered by injuries and illness at Valpo and Providence.
Markus is not in the staring lineup
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/1091769101746401283
Golder not starting
Anybody else having trouble with the audio on the broadcast?
I'd love to hear John Rooney.
Quote from: bbtds on February 02, 2019, 01:10:51 PM
Anybody else having trouble with the audio on the broadcast?
I'd love to hear John Rooney.
Yes. Same here. Audio cuts in and out every 2 seconds.
Sent from my LG-US998 using Tapatalk
Golder looks pretty good mobility-wise so far.
At least the sound is OK for the ads.
Golder looks good but I hope they use him only as much as they need him and he goes easy on the acrobats. I liked his pass of to Sackey.
As someone who was plagued by them, ankle injuries are the most finicky types and can pop back up easily (and disappear just as quickly)
Not a huge the refs are bad person but I'm finding it hard to believe both Smits and Lavender came out of that without getting fouled while Sackey gets the whistle on the other end
Wow, these last few defensive stands were pathetic. We just give them a lane for open kick-outs. Our guys aren't looking at their matchup, which is allowing these cuts.
Thennnnn an absolutely f'ing stupid pass. We do that way too much. We lollygag passes all over the place way too much. Don't throw it softly underhanded, don't just assume that before you turn your f'ing head that the defender won't step in the way of the pass, and look where you are passing. Lottich needs to really drill how to throw authoritative passes...
I realize we're shorthanded but what drives me crazy is the possessions where we stand around for 25 seconds and try driving the paint very late in the shot clock. If the opponent switches on D or we get a shot blocked, it's effectively a turnover.
Quote from: crusader05 on February 02, 2019, 01:36:18 PM
Not a huge the refs are bad person but I'm finding it hard to believe both Smits and Lavender came out of that without getting fouled while Sackey gets the whistle on the other end
Typical of a game at Evansville. We always seemed to get jobbed by the refs there.
Very hard to pull away from mediocre teams when you have NO three point shooting.
Quote from: bbtds on February 02, 2019, 02:06:24 PM
Quote from: crusader05 on February 02, 2019, 01:36:18 PM
Not a huge the refs are bad person but I'm finding it hard to believe both Smits and Lavender came out of that without getting fouled while Sackey gets the whistle on the other end
Typical of a game at Evansville. We always seemed to get jobbed by the refs there.
We create our own luck by making a stinking shot from outside, refs/hostile arenas are ALWAYS part of a road game. Should be expected.
Pathetic. How do you miss 6-7 foot floaters when no one is challenging you at the top end of your shot?
It is not the refs guys. They have given us several calls when they didn't call traveling at least 3 times today.
The game is also being carried on Fox IN...no problem with sound there
Seriously, we have 3 missed bunnies within 8 or so feet over the last few minutes.
We should be up by 15 points, Evelyn should be on the bench as he has completely lost it. I hope he gets back to normal soon as he looks like he couldn't care less, can't shoot or handle the ball and NO defense!!!!!! I am not a big Kiser fan but at least he hustles and plays defense.
I don't want to hear about the refs. I'm tired of excuses for this team. The offense has been s$@! for the better part of two years.
Mileek is pretty good at scoring the ball but probably best to leave him on the bench.
A lot of drives to the basket by Evansville.
Sloppy plays when we are on offense, but Golder is looking good.
Nice little comeback run for Valpo
We keep ball watching on defense, giving wide open drives. WATCH YOUR F'ING GUY!
Great job on defense, guys. Good lord, our basketball IQ is so low on drives.
What concerns me the most is that, even with the transfers, I'm not sure I see enough areas of potential improvement for us to be a top tier MVC team next season.
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on February 02, 2019, 02:45:50 PM
What concerns me the most is that, even with the transfers, I'm not sure I see enough areas of potential improvement for us to be a top tier MVC team next season.
I believe this is what happens when we recruit athletes over shooters. I'm not saying that we didn't require upgrades to athleticism moving to this new conference but at what expense. We have exactly one legitimate sharpshooter on this team over a two year span.
I take back a previous game's comment about Lottich not calling good plays. It is evident that we have a very low basketball IQ across several of our players, outside of good athletic ability.
I feel like I ask myself this every single game, but what happened to Evelyn?
I don't ever do this, but I officially give up on this team this season, even when Fazekas comes back. I just can't take extremely stupid passes on a consistent basis, constant ball watching, and other basketball fundamental lapses. Similar to last season, this is one of our worst teams in the last 25 years.
This group is so easy to lull to sleep. The slower the other team plays, the the more drugged we look.
I feel like an absolute sucker dropping a grand for hotel and tickets for St Louis.
Well folks the winning was fun while it lasted
Quote from: valpotx on February 02, 2019, 02:56:35 PM
I don't ever do this, but I officially give up on this team this season, even when Fazekas comes back. I just can't take extremely stupid passes on a consistent basis, constant ball watching, and other basketball fundamental lapses. Similar to last season, this is one of our worst teams in the last 25 years.
Can't give up on the team. Need to be patient for us to get healthy. Smits and Golder don't seem to be 100% and Fazekas is out. The MVC is pretty mediocre this year so anything can happen in Arch Madness. No one is great this year.
The slide the last few weeks has been frustrating but it's not like they're being completely outclassed in some of these games.
I didn't say that I would stop watching, but rather that I am just going to invest less time with the feeling that we can pull a game out, or looking forward to the next game. My level of caring will go down, which will make me less angry when we do some absolutely bone-headed things on the court :thumbsup:
Questions! Questions! Questions!
How does a team with two 7-footers get out-rebounded by Evansville 35-28 and only pull down 2 offensive rebounds?
How does Evelyn play 39 minutes and only score one basket, a gift on a bad call by the officials in the last minute?
How does Valpo score only 53 points against Evansville?
How does a Valpo team shoot only 52.9% from the free throw line?
How does Valpo shoot only 20% from the 3-point line, even without Fazekas?
I've expressed my amateur views. Y'all don't agree with me and defend the way he's running this program. At some point, the buck has to stop somewhere. Someday, either you will all see it. Or, I'll be proven wrong. I hope I'm proven wrong. Seriously I do. Yes, the team *SHOULD BE* better next year with Gordon and Robinson eligible. Apart from that, it'll be interesting to see who stays and who goes.
And, for the record, we were only down Fazekas today. So, can't put the blame on being down 3 scorers. Lol onto the next one! I'm sure Illinois State will be ready for us on Tuesday.
Maybe we can go out and only do one thing in practice until then - shoot free throws. Improve in something. Lol or offensive rebounding while shooting free throws ?
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on February 02, 2019, 02:58:24 PM
I feel like an absolute sucker dropping a grand for hotel and tickets for St Louis.
I'll pay you 10 cents on the dollar and that is my final offer! ::)
We are losing to the worst teams in this conference and looking for bad doing it. How does a D1 team have only 1 guy that can shoot 3s? And save me that one guy would open the floor for the rest...this ship is sinking fast. Free throw shooting is absolutely atrocious.
Out rebounded, out shot, out coached, out smarted...complete dumpster fire.
Give me less Bakari and more Mileek.
The complete downward spiral continues. What a disappointment.
Does lottich ever pull anyone from the game when they do something wrong? Maybe he does but I don't seem to see it. I saw several mistakes by our players that would've put the player right on the bench immediately. Would've at least given mileek a shot
Quote from: valpotx on February 02, 2019, 01:25:29 PM
Golder looks pretty good mobility-wise so far.
I'm interested to know how others of you assessed his play. To me he looked much less mobile (defense and offense) plus a bit rusty. On the plus side he settled for pull up jumpers (making 2 of 3) in situations that he would usually go to the glass. Is 75% about right? Higher? Lower?
Quote from: justducky on February 02, 2019, 03:28:23 PM
Quote from: valpotx on February 02, 2019, 01:25:29 PM
Golder looks pretty good mobility-wise so far.
I'm interested to know how others of you assessed his play. To me he looked much less mobile (defense and offense) plus a bit rusty. On the plus side he settled for pull up jumpers (making 2 of 3) in situations that he would usually go to the glass. Is 75% about right? Higher? Lower?
Yeah I don't think he looked like himself out there. He didn't have the same burst. I think the ankle was altering the lift on his jump shot. A 75%-80% Golder is still a significant boost to the team.
Injuries aside, other than a 4 game stretch that started with Golder's prayer, this is the same team that has been taking the floor all season.
Quote from: VU2014 on February 02, 2019, 03:02:25 PM
Quote from: valpotx on February 02, 2019, 02:56:35 PM
I don't ever do this, but I officially give up on this team this season, even when Fazekas comes back. I just can't take extremely stupid passes on a consistent basis, constant ball watching, and other basketball fundamental lapses. Similar to last season, this is one of our worst teams in the last 25 years.
Can't give up on the team. Need to be patient for us to get healthy. Smits and Golder don't seem to be 100% and Fazekas is out. The MVC is pretty mediocre this year so anything can happen in Arch Madness. No one is great this year.
The slide the last few weeks has been frustrating but it's not like they're being completely outclassed in some of these games.
Some of you guys act like Fazekas is LeBron....he will help us no doubt but come on
Quote from: Valpo2013 on February 02, 2019, 03:53:58 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on February 02, 2019, 03:02:25 PM
Quote from: valpotx on February 02, 2019, 02:56:35 PM
I don't ever do this, but I officially give up on this team this season, even when Fazekas comes back. I just can't take extremely stupid passes on a consistent basis, constant ball watching, and other basketball fundamental lapses. Similar to last season, this is one of our worst teams in the last 25 years.
Can't give up on the team. Need to be patient for us to get healthy. Smits and Golder don't seem to be 100% and Fazekas is out. The MVC is pretty mediocre this year so anything can happen in Arch Madness. No one is great this year.
The slide the last few weeks has been frustrating but it's not like they're being completely outclassed in some of these games.
Some of you guys act like Fazekas is LeBron....he will help us no doubt but come on
He's pretty important at spacing the floor, which helps opening up driving lanes and allows the bigs more room to operate. He won't cure everything but he certainly will help. As will getting Smits and Golder closer to 100% healthy.
This team has deeper issues than just health. They need to start hitting their F'ing free throws for one. Wings should be hitting above 70% of their attempts. This team needs another shooter in the offseason, but so will many teams who dip into the grad-transfer market. TBH I'm not sure we'll even want to go that route because we'll already have 7 seniors (barring transfers).
"Some of you act like Fazekas is LeBron."
Yes, 2019 is young. But, that's gotta be the post of the year thus far!
https://twitter.com/jlg5297/status/1091822090263515136
https://twitter.com/rwweinstein/status/1091815530779107328
What does that even mean? He'll know when we know? How would we know if he doesn't know? Wouldn't it be we'll know when he knows?
Lottich has every right to not give us info on injuries. But he doesn't have enough equity with the fan base to make stupid statements like that.
https://twitter.com/rwweinstein/status/1091831958588583943
https://twitter.com/rwweinstein/status/1091832132304023552
https://twitter.com/rwweinstein/status/1091832450941095938
Or sub out guys who aren't performing 🤷♂️
Quote from: M on February 02, 2019, 05:17:58 PM
Or sub out guys who aren't performing 🤷♂️
I wish we could but we're already pretty thin on the bench.
Missing one guy...not that thin. So you're good with Evelyn playing thehbway he did and getting 39 minutes?
Quote from: VU2014 on February 02, 2019, 04:01:46 PM
Quote from: Valpo2013 on February 02, 2019, 03:53:58 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on February 02, 2019, 03:02:25 PM
Quote from: valpotx on February 02, 2019, 02:56:35 PM
I don't ever do this, but I officially give up on this team this season, even when Fazekas comes back. I just can't take extremely stupid passes on a consistent basis, constant ball watching, and other basketball fundamental lapses. Similar to last season, this is one of our worst teams in the last 25 years.
Can't give up on the team. Need to be patient for us to get healthy. Smits and Golder don't seem to be 100% and Fazekas is out. The MVC is pretty mediocre this year so anything can happen in Arch Madness. No one is great this year.
The slide the last few weeks has been frustrating but it's not like they're being completely outclassed in some of these games.
Some of you guys act like Fazekas is LeBron....he will help us no doubt but come on
He's pretty important at spacing the floor, which helps opening up driving lanes and allows the bigs more room to operate. He won't cure everything but he certainly will help. As will getting Smits and Golder closer to 100% healthy.
This team has deeper issues than just health. They need to start hitting their F'ing free throws for one. Wings should be hitting above 70% of their attempts. This team needs another shooter in the offseason, but so will many teams who dip into the grad-transfer market. TBH I'm not sure we'll even want to go that route because we'll already have 7 seniors (barring transfers).
This is the 2nd game Smits has been back since he sat out. He sat out 1 game, and that was a last minute game time decision. Why do you think he's playing hurt? Did someone tell you that? He certainly doesn't look hurt. He's not favoring anything. Or doing stretching exercises on the sidelines that I can tell. Or getting any special attention from the training staff. Or asking to be pulled out. Or is it simply that you can't believe he's playing as poorly as he is and disappearing when his team needs him most unless he's suffering from an injury. Now, if he's suffering from some disease that makes you give a half-hearted effort in a basketball game, I would say he has a serious case.
Evelyn played 39 mins and only had 3 points? I didn't check how many turnovers he had but come on. I'm convinced I could come off the couch and put up better stats than that.
I'm getting real tired of lottich's repetitive and vague comments.
Quote from: M on February 02, 2019, 05:46:16 PM
Missing one guy...not that thin. So you're good with Evelyn playing thehbway he did and getting 39 minutes?
-Missing Fazekas (best shooter)
-Micah is gone for the year
-eron Gordon RS
-Nick Robinson RS
-Not 100% Smits
-Not 100% Golder
-Mileek just can't be trusted because he's a foul waiting to happen right now
"This is the 2nd game Smits has been back since he sat out. He sat out 1 game, and that was a last minute game time decision. Why do you think he's playing hurt? Did someone tell you that? He certainly doesn't look hurt. He's not favoring anything. Or doing stretching exercises on the sidelines that I can tell. Or getting any special attention from the training staff. Or asking to be pulled out. Or is it simply that you can't believe he's playing as poorly as he is and disappearing when his team needs him most unless he's suffering from an injury. Now, if he's suffering from some disease that makes you give a half-hearted effort in a basketball game, I would say he has a serious case."
WH, you made me smile with this comment. Keep up the good work.
For players like Smits and Evelyn, it's all between the ears. They have been weighed, measured and found (mentally) wanting. IF there is a catchy phrase/word for the past two years....its certainly not "gritty" for the aforementioned players. Let's get biblical...
Mene mene tekel upharsin
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/1091856249342382081
Quote from: wh on February 02, 2019, 05:52:27 PMThis is the 2nd game Smits has been back since he sat out. He sat out 1 game, and that was a last minute game time decision. Why do you think he's playing hurt? Did someone tell you that? He certainly doesn't look hurt. He's not favoring anything.
Smits drives me crazy. No upward trending consistency with any aspect of his game. My hope was for him to make the big show but instead we are seeing nothing but AAA level performances. Maybe it is time for him to come off the bench?
Observational instinct tells me that Evelyn might be the one furthest from 100% but that is purely guesswork. As I have said previously Bakari (as is) could contribute much better as a 3'rd or lower scoring option. Unfortunately for all of us we still have a shortage of healthy better choices.
McMillan is my biggest disappointment. I am pretty sure that he is not among the walking wounded. Thus I am gradually reaching the conclusion that a backup 4 could be our greatest need for 2019-20.
So we are good with our two 7'ers playing 38 minutes and grabbing a combined 6 boards and scoring 12 points? We are sure that Mileek couldn't contribute to that at all?
We are happy with Evelyn playing 39 minutes and getting 3 points (0-4 from range)? We are good with a 4 guard lineup with no shooters?? Why not have a more traditional lineup with Leek at the 4. He can shoot, he is capable of rebounding, would've been a match up problem for Evansville, could play zone if you don't think he can defend man to man, though I think his offense would offset any defensive flaws. Even if he commits a few goody fouls, why not get what you can from him?
Either he isnt practicing well or Lottich has just given up on him to not give him any significant run with the way this team has played.
What happened to Bradford this season? Is he even on the team?
Quote from: M on February 02, 2019, 06:56:50 PM
So we are good with our two 7'ers playing 38 minutes and grabbing a combined 6 boards and scoring 12 points? We are sure that Mileek couldn't contribute to that at all?
We are happy with Evelyn playing 39 minutes and getting 3 points (0-4 from range)? We are good with a 4 guard lineup with no shooters?? Why not have a more traditional lineup with Leek at the 4. He can shoot, he is capable of rebounding, would've been a match up problem for Evansville, could play zone if you don't think he can defend man to man, though I think his offense would offset any defensive flaws. Even if he commits a few goody fouls, why not get what you can from him?
Either he isnt practicing well or Lottich has just given up on him to not give him any significant run with the way this team has played.
Good questions and observations.
Winning at Illinois St will be difficult even if Fazekas returns. At best Yarbrough will be covered by a less than 100% Golder and Smirolla will struggle to contain Phil Fayne. Maybe Mileek gets big minutes and a path towards future playing?
Quote from: Valpo2013 on February 02, 2019, 03:53:58 PMQuote from: VU2014 on February 02, 2019, 03:02:25 PMQuote from: valpotx on February 02, 2019, 02:56:35 PMI don't ever do this, but I officially give up on this team this season, even when Fazekas comes back. I just can't take extremely stupid passes on a consistent basis, constant ball watching, and other basketball fundamental lapses. Similar to last season, this is one of our worst teams in the last 25 years.
Can't give up on the team. Need to be patient for us to get healthy. Smits and Golder don't seem to be 100% and Fazekas is out. The MVC is pretty mediocre this year so anything can happen in Arch Madness. No one is great this year. The slide the last few weeks has been frustrating but it's not like they're being completely outclassed in some of these games.
Some of you guys act like Fazekas is LeBron....he will help us no doubt but come on
An opinion such as this would indicate a lack of understanding of what a shooter can bring to the rest of the offense and how it affects the defense.
Quote from: valpolaw on February 02, 2019, 06:16:39 PMEvelyn played 39 mins and only had 3 points? I didn't check how many turnovers he had but come on. I'm convinced I could come off the couch and put up better stats than that. I'm getting real tired of lottich's repetitive and vague comments.
How's your hops?
Quote from: M on February 02, 2019, 06:56:50 PMSo we are good with our two 7'ers playing 38 minutes and grabbing a combined 6 boards and scoring 12 points? We are sure that Mileek couldn't contribute to that at all? We are happy with Evelyn playing 39 minutes and getting 3 points (0-4 from range)? We are good with a 4 guard lineup with no shooters?? Why not have a more traditional lineup with Leek at the 4. He can shoot, he is capable of rebounding, would've been a match up problem for Evansville, could play zone if you don't think he can defend man to man, though I think his offense would offset any defensive flaws. Even if he commits a few goody fouls, why not get what you can from him? Either he isnt practicing well or Lottich has just given up on him to not give him any significant run with the way this team has played.
My opinion would be that playing McMillan over Evelyn wouldn't help because unless Evelyn comes around the team isn't going anywhere. McMillan isn't going to help there. So basically Evelyn has to play through it.
It is disturbing that the roster has no other reliable shooters on the team other than Fazekas. It just kills the entire offense.
The best rebounder on the team is a guard and not a particularly big one at that. Rebounding is less about size than it is quickness and an innate sense of where the ball is going to be and when. The ability to establish and maintain position helps as well. Rik Smits was not a very good rebounder in his day either and Derrik has a lot of the same traits (with less ability) that his father did.
If anyone wishes to blame the staff, blame the recruiting over the strategy because I think that's the problem at the moment.
Bakari is shooting 33% from the field and 31% from 3...waiting on him is resulting in the losses piling up. Time to try something new.
I think we are all high on the current freshmen...the staff best not miss on the 2020 class.
Valpo2014, man ... you've just got a list of excuses there bud
Not that it is any consolation, but it appears that in their loss to Illinois State Loyola had just as bad of a shooting night as Valpo. They were 5-25 (20%) from the 3-point line, and Custer went 1-12!
Quote from: VU2010 on February 02, 2019, 11:02:55 PM
Valpo2014, man ... you've just got a list of excuses there bud
It's more realities when it comes to injuries, in my book.
Quote from: VU2014 on February 02, 2019, 06:24:34 PM
Quote from: M on February 02, 2019, 05:46:16 PM
Missing one guy...not that thin. So you're good with Evelyn playing thehbway he did and getting 39 minutes?
-Missing Fazekas (best shooter)
-Micah is gone for the year
-eron Gordon RS
-Nick Robinson RS
-Not 100% Smits
-Not 100% Golder
-Mileek just can't be trusted because he's a foul waiting to happen right now
When did Lottich become aware that Gordon and Robinson would be sitting out this year?
As soon as they transferred everyone knew they'd have to sit out a year. He probably didn't plan on Bradford getting in a car wreck though.
Back home after the road trip and ready to make some observations.
1. The Ford Center is fantastic! First class, beer and booze flowing! At 11,000 seat capacity it didn't look over-sized even with the crowd being at 5805. In terms of crowd size, remember is was about 55 degrees, bright sunshine and no football on the air. The game day atmosphere was great. The cheerleaders met the crowd in the lobby, and there was some sort of crowd involvement at every timeout. With suites and all it is simply apples and oranges to the ARC. But, remember, Evansville is a LOT bigger than Valpo. Nonetheless, their student section was pathetic. Probable 15 or 20 kids staring at their phones.
2. Matt was out-coached. You don't lead by 3 at half and then lose by 11.
3. Having said that, the guys just could make anything, including about half a dozen in the lane floaters that just fell out. Now, in addition to missing the shots, again, we were out rebounded 35-28. The knew how to box out--clearly.
4. Bakari is a head case. 39 minutes, 3 points and 1 of 6 from the 3? He was suppose to be one of our leaders!
5. Free throw shooting probably cost us the game, having missed 8 of them. Terrible.
6. Marcus is a FAST healer! He looked fine.
7. Without Ryan, teams are just packing it in and, although we used our athleticism to drive the lane and get shots off, they weren't falling. Everything changes when and if we get Ryan back.
https://twitter.com/rwweinstein/status/1091857330550046720?s=21
So, we run our entire offense through our center, possession after possession, all game long, and what do we get out of it from the center position - 3 baskets from Derrick and 1 from Jay in probably 60 or 70 possessions. THAT ABSOLUTELY CANNOT HAPPEN IF WE EVER HOPE TO SCORE 60 POINTS AGAIN.
To make things even harder on ourselves, we practically walk the ball up the court, leaving no more than 15-20 seconds to feed the ball into the low post, and swing the ball because the first attempt doesn't work. When we finally get an entry pass in there, Jay and Derrick fumble it around, throw it back out, and now whoever happens to have the ball in their hands tries to get a shot up before the clock expires. Our perimeter players almost never get the benefit of plays designed to get them open looks earlier in the shot clock. Let's stop talking about our poor perimeter shooting when nothing in our offense is designed to get open perimeter looks.
OH. It's about time somebody calls it like it is. You are 100% correct. And most people continue to make excuse after excise after excuse. Don't need a super high IQ score to see what's wrong with our offense. And, the same crap has been going on the last 2 years. Here's the thing - we saw the writing on the wall when Peters went out his first year at the helm. Remember Milwaukee? Remember Illinois in the NIT? Same offensive philosophy. People who blame it on Ryan being out and the offense running thru him - no it's not that simple. Why not mix it up? Let them run. Can't rely on the defense when you get 2 offensive rebounds in a game and shoot THAT BAD consistently. Limit yourself to possessions and waste half the shot clock and force a turnover trying to get the ball inside or a forced shot with the shot clock ticking away.
Sorry to be a Sunday evening QB but my goodness.
This team is built to run and I'm so glad you mentioned walking it up the court. That drives me crazy we aren't crossing half court until there are 22 seconds on the clock. Get it out of the hoop, get it in and let's push the pace.
M - exactly. But ML did say something along the lines of he's not changing the way they do things. So, likely will not see a lot of changes in our offensive strategy. Though we will seemingly change-up our rotations to match-up skills-wise ... which is the only reason I can fathom Mileek not getting a shot against Evansville as poorly as the bigs were playing
Quote from: M on February 03, 2019, 09:49:00 PM
This team is built to run and I'm so glad you mentioned walking it up the court. That drives me crazy we aren't crossing half court until there are 22 seconds on the clock. Get it out of the hoop, get it in and let's push the pace.
Firstly we have to get defensive stops to put the real hustle/pace on the offense....so that's a thing. Second, every team has learned to put full court press on us nearly all times which takes time off the shot clock. That's precisely their aim is to limit our fast break. So I'm not certain about the complaint...
Teams aren't really scoring at a very high rate so the stops isn't that big of an issue. They still walk it up when they're getting stops. Next, the press teams are putting on is a 2-2-1, and they aren't trapping or anything out of that press. Regardless, I hope to see something different because what they're doing is clearly not working.