Since no one else seems to want to start the Game Thread. I guess I'll take a stab at it.
Central Michigan comes in with a 7-2 record with losses to Minnesota and DePaul. They beat our common opponent Trinity Christian 106-60.
This game appears to be another barn burner run and gun affair. These are the Stats so far for the Chippewas.
Team Stats
CMU is ranked the No. 1 scoring team in the nation averaging 95.1 points per game, while allowing 72.1 points per game, winning by an average margin of 23 points per game. San Francisco and Illinois are tied for second in the nation at 87.1 points per game.
CMU has scored at least 80 points in six of its eight games this season. The Chippewas have scored more than 100 in four of those games.
On the season, CMU is shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from the 3-point line. They are holding opponents to 43.1 percent shooting from the field and 32.7 percent from the 3-point line.
CMU is forcing 19.5 turnovers per game with 11.5 of those turnovers are coming off steals. They are committing 10.3 turnovers per game.
Also don't forget this is Homer Drew day. Be at the game early (12:30) for the celebration.
Get there early.
Need to see defensive challenges to shots, as we can't afford a defensive fg % of 50% or more.
Valpo 85
CMU 77
I'm hoping for attendance north of 4300
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Quote from: covufan on December 07, 2019, 01:28:59 PMI'm hoping for attendance north of 4300
Based on the tickets currently available if the turnout is north 2500 it will be a surprise. :(
Quote from: vu72 on December 07, 2019, 02:03:36 PM
Quote from: covufan on December 07, 2019, 01:28:59 PMI'm hoping for attendance north of 4300
Based on the tickets currently available if the turnout is north 2500 it will be a surprise. :(
2500 would be unfortunate.
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The attendance at Eastern Michigan was 1237 in spite of a very nice arena and a 20,000+ student enrollment.
Valpo 84
CMU 81
MVC went 6-1 today (Saturday) with only loss coming from Southern Ill on the road @ Southern Miss. Way too early to tell but it truly does seem that the youth of Illinois State and Southern Ill is going to make it a shaky season for those teams. (I'm not throwing shade because we certainly have our work cut out for us as well)
Wanted the 2nd half of Illinois State game and their offense looks as disjointed as ours does at times! Also watched the 2nd half of the Drake game against SEMO and was saddened to see Tremell Murphy go down awkwardly with his left leg and had to leave the game. Couldn't put weight on his leg as he exited the court.
Nice to be part of a conference where the teams enter conference play with winning records for the most part!
Quote from: valpotx on December 07, 2019, 08:21:19 PM
Valpo 84
CMU 81
Hope you are right, we will continue to have difficulty playing defense against this team. Supposedly they lead the nation in PPG . . .
I'll take a stab at it...offense versus offense...97-92 VU!!!
over under is at 161.5. Valpo gets the 2.5 homecourt bump. first team to 90 wins.
4300 is dreaming, but this will be the first decent opponent, decent time, decent weather, not up against the Bears, Pregame event game.
If you don't pull 3500 for this.....
Looking at the tickets remaining, it's not gonna happen
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on December 07, 2019, 08:31:52 PM
Quote from: valpotx on December 07, 2019, 08:21:19 PM
Valpo 84
CMU 81
Hope you are right, we will continue to have difficulty playing defense against this team. Supposedly they lead the nation in PPG . . .
Javon and Daniel are 2 of the best lockdown defenders Valpo has ever had. Our problem is interior defense. I don't like to call people out, but Mileek, Nick and Donovan are terrible on-ball defenders. As has been mentioned by others, they never overplay their opponent's strong side to stop or interrupt dribble penetration. It happens so often and results in so many easy opponent baskets that it should stand out like a sore thumb on game tapes. I think the first time a coach showed me techniques for slowing down dribble penetration was 7th grade. Doesn't Luke Gore work with the front court? Why can't he change this? Hopefully, he's a more effective teacher than he is a scheduler. This deficiency alone has cost us probably 2 wins already.
Quote from: wh on December 08, 2019, 10:47:00 AMI don't like to call people out, but Mileek, Nick and Donovan are terrible on-ball defenders.
This is disappointing. I think everybody expected Nick and Donovan to be lock down defenders coming into the season. I think we all knew about Mileek's struggles to defend without fouling.
A good omen- fresh made popcorn!
Oh, and the team looks very loose and hitting a lot of shots in warmups.
Quote from: wh on December 08, 2019, 12:40:18 PM
A good omen- fresh made popcorn!
Oh, and the team looks very loose and hitting a lot of shots in warmups.
You are in the Vale of Paradise which is one of six popcorn capitals of the world, so the popcorn better be fresh!
Great to hear Homer and Todd on the mic together.
Homer is so well spoken, but we already know that. Hopefully he was on campus interviewing for the university president job.
Whoa! Valpo's Defense First Half:
CMUs:
FG%........... 27.3%
3-pt %....... 9.1%
That's what I'm talkin' about!!
Who is this Valpo defense, and where have they been all year!
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Eron Gordon is quickly becoming the X-Factor of this team.
Final Defensive Numbers for Valpo
CMUs:
FG% 33.9%
3pt% 5.9%
Hell Yes! Keep it Up.
Kudos to Matt and the coaching staff who absolutely got after it in preparing the team to play tenacious D
Well this is an up Game , EMU a down Game who will come Next? Fun team to watch grow... ;D
Fewest point scored all season by the team that WAS leading the nation in scoring! We out rebounded them, had 24 assists to their 6, 10 steals and 5 blocks. Pretty much beating up on the other top team in the MAC! Well done indeed!
There was a lot of good vibes in the gym today. Homer, Bryce, Rob Hummel, Casey Schmidt ... Gerry Lorenzi.
And it transferred to the team. Great game. Fun to watch. Love Krikke.
Ben Krikke is a talent for sure. He is long and athletic and can score in a variety of ways. His interior defense has improved by leaps and bounds, he throws great outlet passes to start the break and even led a couple of breaks himself.
Good win, and seeing a lot of improvement among the underclassmen. Zion is now 1/10 from the FT line, and should be living at that line during each practice going forward...
... Aaron thomason...tarrence price...
also at the game today.
kinda surreal for CMU. their radio playbyplay guy, Don choido was killed in a car accident on Thursday. apparently the two students who did their broadcast today didn't know how, or were missing some equipment. thanks to the crew from WVUR, they were set at game time. the players had DON stencilled on their warm-up Jersey's.
Feel bad for Zion. Seems to be a clear case of the Yips. So many shots that just barely missed.
Overall it was just a fun game to watch with lots of dunks, great passing, and a fired up bench and crowd.
Outstanding effort producing a nice win. This was probably one of the best overall games played by a VU team in recent years, highlighted by and outstanding defensive effort. Great job by Coach L on getting this team ready for a great performance on both ends of the court. And what can we say about Javon....even at this early stage he is probably the best guard we have had since Bryce - and he plays outstanding defense. He truly is a joy to watch on the court. Can't wait to see us surprise some of our fellow Valley teams, hopefully beginning with Loyola.
Another thing about this team is they are constantly talking to each other, lifting each other up and egging each other on. The bench is really involved and the constant communication really allowed for some great opportunities as a player who saw an opportunity called for the ball and got it to execute. I know it's a bit beating the dead horse but the difference in attitude and energy on this team between last years is night and day and really does lend some credence to the theory that last year's team was a bad match of personalities and individual expectations.
I also do think EMU was probably more due to the lack of time in between the paradise jam and that game to get real practice time in and so some of the cracks that we saw vs Cincinnati were much bigger due to tirednesses and lack of real prep. We know they got home the night before the Trinity Christian game and didn't play their usual way due to getting freshman lots of minutes. Then they went home for 3 days for the holiday leaving only 1-2 days to prep for EMU. Now we see what they can do with a decent stretch of practice and it speaks well to their ability to adjust and continue to grow throughout the season.
Enjoyed the game. This team is built to run and gun.
Big win. Moves Valpo from 195 to 167 in KenPom. Wins over two top MAC teams bodes well for how the team will perform in the MVC.
This was another "show me" game for this team. I think they have responded well when that chemistry and good vibes mantra has been put to the test. Everything Valpo wants to do worked in this game except for the first 4 minutes or so. I fully expect other low points in the season with this young crew and their style of play, but for today...good vibes all around.
I am a little worried about Sackey... I think he is something like 7-28 from the floor the last 4 D1 games with no 3's and not getting to the free throw line very much.
I know he doesn't have to be a big offensive threat, but if he can be a 10 points a game guy, getting mostly high percentage layups at the rim or getting to the FT line, while hitting 1/3 of the wide open 3's he gets, our offense becomes that much more potent.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on December 09, 2019, 07:23:49 AM
I am a little worried about Sackey... I think he is something like 7-28 from the floor the last 4 D1 games with no 3's and not getting to the free throw line very much.
I know he doesn't have to be a big offensive threat, but if he can be a 10 points a game guy, getting mostly high percentage layups at the rim or getting to the FT line, while hitting 1/3 of the wide open 3's he gets, our offense becomes that much more potent.
I think his energy and enthusiasm usually is the fuel that this team needs most games. That being said he was noticeably down the last few games. Hope it's just a slump and not off the court things (family etc). Pure speculation, he is still the heart and soul of this team along with Javon. These two guys are 1A and 1B as it pertains to the outcome of our season.
But yes, I also agree with your comments Sanity.
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on December 09, 2019, 07:27:20 AM
Quote from: SanityLost17 on December 09, 2019, 07:23:49 AM
I am a little worried about Sackey... I think he is something like 7-28 from the floor the last 4 D1 games with no 3's and not getting to the free throw line very much.
I know he doesn't have to be a big offensive threat, but if he can be a 10 points a game guy, getting mostly high percentage layups at the rim or getting to the FT line, while hitting 1/3 of the wide open 3's he gets, our offense becomes that much more potent.
I think his energy and enthusiasm usually is the fuel that this team needs most games. That being said he was noticeably down the last few games. Hope it's just a slump and not off the court things (family etc). Pure speculation, he is still the heart and soul of this team along with Javon. These two guys are 1A and 1B as it pertains to the outcome of our season.
But yes, I also agree with your comments Sanity.
College basketball is a long, grueling season. Sackey plays with so much energy/intensity/enthusiasm I think Lottich is going to be careful not to "use him up" too early in the season.
I do think Gordon getting healthy and Zion readjusting after not playing much for a couple years will really help. I love Sackey for 20-22 min a game. Not so much at 30+.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on December 09, 2019, 07:23:49 AM
I am a little worried about Sackey... I think he is something like 7-28 from the floor the last 4 D1 games with no 3's and not getting to the free throw line very much.
I know he doesn't have to be a big offensive threat, but if he can be a 10 points a game guy, getting mostly high percentage layups at the rim or getting to the FT line, while hitting 1/3 of the wide open 3's he gets, our offense becomes that much more potent.
If you want a point guard who can score, it isn't going to be Sackey--it's going to be Sigurd. You lose the quickness and defense but gain possibly the best shooter on the team who is currently shooting 67% from the 3 (granted--very small sample size) I think we need to rely on others to score and not expect too much from Daniel in that regard.
Quote from: vu72 on December 09, 2019, 10:59:08 AM
Quote from: SanityLost17 on December 09, 2019, 07:23:49 AM
I am a little worried about Sackey... I think he is something like 7-28 from the floor the last 4 D1 games with no 3's and not getting to the free throw line very much.
I know he doesn't have to be a big offensive threat, but if he can be a 10 points a game guy, getting mostly high percentage layups at the rim or getting to the FT line, while hitting 1/3 of the wide open 3's he gets, our offense becomes that much more potent.
If you want a point guard who can score, it isn't going to be Sackey--it's going to be Sigurd. You lose the quickness and defense but gain possibly the best shooter on the team who is currently shooting 67% from the 3 (granted--very small sample size) I think we need to rely on others to score and not expect too much from Daniel in that regard.
I'd agree and now is the time to start layering in more alternate options at PG since the season really starts Dec 30th. I like that coach started doing that here in December, albeit against a little weaker competition.
P.S. I still know that Sackey is our #1 option, with his change of pace abilities it opens up all new opportunities for this team. I remember a few years ago when Micah was healthy he had that same change of pace ability on the pick-n-rolls with Sorolla. I'd like to see Krikke develop this a bit because he has the hands and feet to execute the same way. Mileek, sadly, fouls before he has the chance for the roll . . . .
Some leisure reading with some great pics:
https://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/gallery-central-michigan-at-valparaiso-men-s-basketball/collection_aec57090-74b4-57e0-a72b-6725b276659b.html#1
So what did they screw up on the banner that had to be taped over?
Quote from: SanityLost17 on December 09, 2019, 07:23:49 AMI am a little worried about Sackey... I think he is something like 7-28 from the floor the last 4 D1 games with no 3's and not getting to the free throw line very much. I know he doesn't have to be a big offensive threat, but if he can be a 10 points a game guy, getting mostly high percentage layups at the rim or getting to the FT line, while hitting 1/3 of the wide open 3's he gets, our offense becomes that much more potent.
Duplicate post on other thread:
Sackey's shooting numbers:2018-2019 Season: 2Pt% 39.3 3Pt% 23.7
2019-2020 To Date:2Pt% 43.2 3Pt% 25.0
Career at Valpo To Date:
2Pt% 40.6 3Pt% 24.1
At this time in his career, he should NEVER be the go-to guy during crunch time in a close game. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the floor.
This year to date, Sackey is 5th place in conference in Steal%(Javon 2nd place)
and Sackey is in 7th place in Assist Rate in conference(Javon 11th)
But Sackey is tied for the greatest number of turnovers in conference with Krutwig.
Quote from: Just Sayin link=topic=3582.msg120687#msg120687 date=1575917952
i]Sackey's shooting numbers:
2018-2019 Season:
2Pt% 36.1 3Pt% 22.5 FT% 63.8 A/TO 1.09
2019-2020 To Date:
2Pt% 37.7 3Pt% 26.1 FT% 70.4 A/TO 1.73[/i]
At this time in his career, he should NEVER be the go-to guy during crunch time in a close game. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the floor.
This year to date, Sackey is 5th place in conference in Steal%(Javon 2nd place)
and Sackey is in 7th place in Assist Rate in conference(Javon 11th)
But Sackey is tied for the greatest number of turnovers in conference with Krutwig.
Italicized are the updated numbers through yesterday. In addition, his 45 assists are just 16 short of the season total last year. His A/TO this year is 1.73 -vs- 1.09 last year. He has certainly stepped up YOY but we still need development behind him that can score. It's important we aren't one dimensional with scoring and if that means finding more minutes for Gordon or Siggy at point then we have to find out now, before conference season. It's entirely possibly Siggy is just not up to the task as an undersized moderate athlete.
Note: His ability to keep about 70% from Free Throws is quite important too, nice to see him grow as a team leader.
One aspect that I'd like to see Sackey focus on is leadership, because I think it is an intangible strength that he brings. My impression from last year and early this year is that he has some natural leadership skills. However, in the past couple of home games (I can't comment on away games), I have not seen as much. I have not seen him communicate like he has in the past, nor direct traffic, nor pick up others' spirits.
With a team with a lot of young and new faces that will inevitably be inconsistent, I think that leadership could be a great asset.
My impression is that it has waned slightly, and I'd like to see him get it back, and as a point guard, further develop it.
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on December 09, 2019, 12:49:58 PM
So what did they screw up on the banner that had to be taped over?
Good question.
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Quote from: covufan on December 09, 2019, 05:20:00 PM
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on December 09, 2019, 12:49:58 PM
So what did they screw up on the banner that had to be taped over?
Good question.
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I think it says Namesake of Homer Drew Court Court (near Homer Court)
Quote from: covufan on December 09, 2019, 05:20:00 PM
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on December 09, 2019, 12:49:58 PM
So what did they screw up on the banner that had to be taped over?
Good question.
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The dates on the bottom of the banner said: 1998-2011. They need a seamstress.