Worst half I've ever seen over 13 years of Valpo Basketball , no set plays. Goodnews
Love my Cru******, but f*** this game.
Walk the ball down the floor, cut as little as possible, pull up for bad shots, and send nobody to the offensive glass ??? Is that our game plan?
As many shots as we're missing, we shouldn't be getting out rebounded by this much.
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Quote from: justducky on March 05, 2021, 08:58:29 PM
Walk the ball down the floor, cut as little as possible, pull up for bad shots, and send nobody to the offensive glass ??? Is that our game plan?
Partly. It also includes dribbling on the perimeter, trying to take someone off the dribble, fail, pass to someone else who does the same thing, repeat until the shot clock gets to 5 seconds then pass to the poorest shooter on the court and let him jack up a contested 3.
We better not lose this game by 3 considering the call to end the first half...
Anyone else notice how the ref walked into the key on Gordan's first free throw?
Explanation?
Our best offense is when we don't set up in half court.
Clay can't shoot. Looks painful.
Same ref did it again to Gordon, just waited a little longer. That weird stutter shot of Gordon's.
Don't worry, Gordan's line drive free throw wasn't going in anyways
Missouri St went 3-0 against us this year. Better players or better coached?
Quote from: VUSL98 on March 05, 2021, 09:37:15 PM
Anyone else notice how the ref walked into the key on Gordan's first free throw?
Explanation?
Yes, I said the same thing, but as pointed out, his line drive shot might not have been affected anyways.
Quote from: oklahomamick on March 05, 2021, 09:53:46 PM
Missouri St went 3-0 against us this year. Better players or better coached?
I remember someone saying last season how great our athletes were, and how they were so much better than prior Valpo teams that won the Mid-Con. I can tell you that some of our Mid-Con teams would have smoked this year's team, as they knew that the orange round object is supposed to go into the orange cylinder, which is attached to a backing-board of sorts.
Ok, we won the second half. If we could have scored even 20 in the first half this might have been interesting. Credit the team for cutting it to eight at one point, but with Mosley scoring whenever he wanted, it really wasn't in doubt.
Anybody want to speculate on Kpegeol sitting out the second half?
Missouri State is significantly better coached. I rarely have anything good to say about Lottich and I have not considered him "the guy" for this program (even as a HL team we deserved better).
That said he will get better, just at what cost?
Despite all of this, I just cannot help but see this game as more of the players failing the coach as opposed to the other way around. Not sure what happened to the team in the first half on offense. I was happy with their defense all game.
If this were a one time scoring drought I'd write it off to a bad shooting night in a hockey arena. But this was just another in a long line of inept offensive performances. So what changes? Whatever any of us think of Lottich he's our coach for at least 3 more seasons. This needs to be fixed.
Quote from: oklahomamick on March 05, 2021, 09:53:46 PM
Missouri St went 3-0 against us this year. Better players or better coached?
Yes.
Quote from: justducky on March 05, 2021, 10:06:28 PM
Anybody want to speculate on Kpegeol sitting out the second half?
That is a question I really hope Paul asks Lottich postgame. I don't understand our best player from the 1st half not stepping foot on the court during the 2nd half.
I'll say this team is going nowhere without a competent point guard. Sackey has proven over the season he's not the guy and Zion tonight proved he's not the guy if he chooses to come back next year. I really hope our young guys stick around cause next year really could be a stepping stone year if they do (maybe I've said that the last couple of years, but this freshman class can play at the MVC level).
I will spend no time worrying about a Clay transfer. Guys who shoot 20% from 3 are not in the greatest demand. Pretty good chance that Donovan loses 21-22 playing time even when he does return. His 3 point shooting needs so much work! :(
I could not tell who it was exactly, but I saw a few players with really awkward shooting mechanics, especially during threes and jumpshots.
1) strange sideways leans
2) Legs flailing like a swimmer
3) arms bending way backwards so the ball is nearly in the small of their back before shooting.
I just wonder how so many of these things are not improved upon during practice.
Bears had scouted us well on the ghost screens, forced us into deep jump shots, kept us out of paint. When you start missing lots of shots it snowballs and we get away from who we are. Too much one on one/not enough ball movement inside and out. Only partially coaching.
Not one open shot/look from JO? Goodnews not playing the second half was baffling. Zion missed every open look tonight, shots he's been making of late. Bears let foot off gas in second half, Valpo found rhythm but it was too late. When you by far have the best player in the conference in Mosley that erases the average x's and o's of Ford. Here's the ball, go create on your own. Questions remain in the offseason who comes back. Krikke, Clay, Edwards, JO will take a big step forward next year with a normal off season. Valpo will be a problem the next two three years for opponents.
Lots of ways MS was better tonight but the biggest difference was they had a Mosley and we didn't. When we managed a run in the second half and cut the lead to eight I had no doubt the ball would go to Mosley and he would hit a shot to stop the run. He did anything he wanted to do against any defense we threw against him. That's one thing we lacked this year. We do not have a player that we can go to to get that bucket that stops a run or stops a drought and keeps us in the game. And I don't think we have a player who obviously fits that role. Edwards wants to be that guy but he hasn't shown it yet. Clay wants to be that guy but he can't shoot well enough to count on him to hit that crucial shot. Krikke will get better and better but he can't win a game unless his teammates get him the ball in a place where he can do his thing. I keep hearing good things about next year's incoming freshman. Maybe one of them will be that guy. We have a bunch of nice young players who will get better, but I don't see any Mosleys among what we have now. If we are ever going to contend for conference titles we are going to have to find one of those type players and keep him from transferring.
As said on the Arch Madness thread, I am actually happy that I won't have the stress of worrying about our transfers this offseason. The most likely guy to transfer, it would seem, is Clay. That is not only based on what we have seen from his father's Tweets, but also that it seemed like he just didn't care at times throughout the season. He would be very energetic some games, and then the next game, it seemed like he didn't want anything to do with the game. I will say that it seemed like he was one of the first guys in today's game, to pull everyone together. That was nice to see. If Clay did transfer, I would miss him for his defense, overall athleticism, and occasional offensive drives, but not his jump shot. If he comes back, he needs to work A LOT on his jump shot.
I could be wrong, but I can't see a Krikke or JO transferring. Krikke is still quite raw, and has a lot of potential, but not enough skills as of yet to draw P5 eyes. Definitely same thing for JO. Barrett is very one-dimensional at the moment and got injured, so unless he just wants a change of scenery, I don't see him trying to leave. Edwards seems like a guy that has bought into the program and freedom he has been given. I see him as more of a transfer option after his SO or JR year, but not after this season. I can't tell if Goodnews and ML get along, so he is a risk, but he has also been to so many schools, it would be foolish for him to leave somewhere that is giving him a shot, when minutes are being freed up from Gordon graduating.
I hate putting it this way, but if EFV or Siggy leave, it won't mean anything. Maybe they surprise us and comeback next year, and have good seasons, while being healthy.
Appreciate Gordon's contributions over the last 2 seasons. Seems like a solid guy that provided character in the locker room, and had his moments of solid play, even while not being a scorer.
Sad to see Mileek hampered by injuries, and doubt that he tries another season. He had a lot of potential after last season. Just unfortunate. Credit to him for sticking around and holding down the fort while others gave up on the program. Others can bad-mouth Mileek all they want, but that loyalty means something to me. He also had the balls to play through some debilitating injuries this season. Mileek has a solid future ahead of him, regardless of what he does.
Zion was the same guy today that he was last season, but had some really good games for us over the last few weeks. He will be missed overall, but still one of the ugliest shooting forms that I have seen in a long time. Who was it that we signed instead of Zion, coming out of HS? It would have been interesting to see if Zion would have improved more at Valpo, versus his actual journey to get here.
Sackey took a major step backwards this season. He seems like a Valpo guy, and probably comes back, but he is really needing to work on his shooting and layup drills, or he will get passed by for minutes next season. He seems to psych himself out more than anyone playing good D against him. Almost like the yips in baseball.
Appreciate Robinson's contributions, and he was having a good year before his family situation and priorities changed. Good luck to him in his career, but maybe he tries his luck for 1 more year elsewhere.
Does Helm come back? Another calming presence, but can't see him averaging anymore minutes next season, versus what he was given this season. Seems like a character guy that can provide a stabilizing presence, if he comes back.
Tex agree with you on Mileek. And he has been one of the few players as of late that I've watched play as a freshman all the way through. Used to be the norm at valpo.
Most of that blame goes to Lottich and coaching staff. Some of the blame goes to cancel society and mentality that a lot of have.
I would bet that players during Bruce era have different experiences and memories of valpo than the ML ones that graduated.
Yes we are with ML for another 3 years no matter what. But how long is our marriage with the other ML? He's done well to get us from league to league and
Finally finally finally hit on a football coach and women's basketball coach.
That was just ugly. I couldn't believe the first half when we put up a shot and four of their guys were there guys were there for a rebound and not a gold jersey in sight. Where were they? We couldn't compete with a guy like Mosley and Prim with shooters like Zion and Sackey. Not even close.
I still have solid hope for next year and really don't think anybody is going to transfer other than possibly the European guys. I hope that Emil comes back and has figured it out by then. He is a big which we need badly. The point guard issues should be cured with the guys coming in as should some of our shooting woes.
So here's some good news! The women are still playing, football is starting, Volleyball is playing as are softball and baseball, swimming, track and bowling! Amazing situation where ALL of our teams sans Men's Basketball, are playing at the same time.
Quote from: oklahomamick on March 05, 2021, 09:53:46 PMMissouri St went 3-0 against us this year. Better players or better coached?
All successful programs have two things in common:
Excellent recruiting
Excellent coaching
Valpo has shown to be average on these two factors.
How did Drake get it done and Valpo has shown it cannot?
Easy answer - Drake is more committed to success in basketball than Valpo. Valpo has always taken previous basketball success for granted and now the degradation of the program is showing. The problem is more than Lottich.
I really wish the university was more committed to the flagship sport. Really disappointing in this commitment to mediocrity.
We shall see. If the recruiting class coming in next year doesn't show signs of life, then I will be concerned. They seem to address our biggest concern--scoring/shooting. I have said this countless times, but I think having a point guard that can score consistently will add 8-10 points to our average alone. Not just from them hitting shots, but opening up the floor a little for other players to take advantage of. If also appears that there are maybe 3 guys in this class who have to potential to grow into a go-to scorer. We don't need three, we need one. If just one of these guys can be a go to scorer, which I definitely think is possible, and the other guys play to their roles, our team improves drastically. Our defense was not even bad this year. There were bad stretches of course, but our ppg against was top 30% in NCAA, which is manageable. Sheldon has shown signs of great defensive potential, and we know what Clay can do (as long as he doesn't hurt us too much on the offensive end). I am not discouraged at all right now. Next year is a big year though, and I am confident we will have a competitive team.
Quote from: IndyEIT777 on March 05, 2021, 10:15:59 PM
Quote from: justducky on March 05, 2021, 10:06:28 PM
Anybody want to speculate on Kpegeol sitting out the second half?
That is a question I really hope Paul asks Lottich postgame. I don't understand our best player from the 1st half not stepping foot on the court during the 2nd half.
I'm curious, did anyone learn an answer to this question?
The end of the season and the annual "next year" cycle under Lottich continues. If you take away the Peter's team he inherited, Lottichs record has been well under .500
Quote from: valpolaw on March 06, 2021, 11:49:45 AM
The end of the season and the annual "next year" cycle under Lottich continues. If you take away the Peter's team he inherited, Lottichs record has been well under .500
Yep, he is 59-69 (.461) without that first season, but you also have to give him credit for being an Assistant for 3 of Peters' years/recruiting some of those players, so you can't completely discount his 24-9 year.
Quote from: valpotx on March 06, 2021, 12:17:03 PM
Quote from: valpolaw on March 06, 2021, 11:49:45 AM
The end of the season and the annual "next year" cycle under Lottich continues. If you take away the Peter's team he inherited, Lottichs record has been well under .500
Yep, he is 59-69 (.461) without that first season, but you also have to give him credit for being an Assistant for 3 of Peters' years/recruiting some of those players, so you can't completely discount his 24-9 year.
But that 24-9 year ended with a bad taste from the first round loss to 10th seed Milwaukee in the HL tournament where the team only scored 41 points, just 12 points in the first half, reminiscent of this tournament with only 13 points in the first half.
Quote from: valpopal on March 06, 2021, 12:53:10 PM
Quote from: valpotx on March 06, 2021, 12:17:03 PM
Quote from: valpolaw on March 06, 2021, 11:49:45 AM
The end of the season and the annual "next year" cycle under Lottich continues. If you take away the Peter's team he inherited, Lottichs record has been well under .500
Yep, he is 59-69 (.461) without that first season, but you also have to give him credit for being an Assistant for 3 of Peters' years/recruiting some of those players, so you can't completely discount his 24-9 year.
But that 24-9 year ended with a bad taste from the first round loss to 10th seed Milwaukee in the HL tournament where the team only scored 41 points, just 12 points in the first half, reminiscent of this tournament with only 13 points in the first half.
Peters getting injured was the bad taste from the season, not the tournament loss. They were a tournament team before then, and Lottich held the team together after Bryce started interviewing mid-NIT. That was a tough situation that could have ended even more poorly.
With that said, Lottich is clearly in over his head and wasn't ready to recruit and lead a competitive MVC team. At the time it was fine; we got another year of Peters and got accepted into a higher league (for better or worse) but it's time to move on and turn the program back over to a coach that can recruit and put together rational lineups.
Very short memory for some here. We had a bad loss to a very good team. If we had Prim or Mosely we would have won-easily.
We played in a very difficult environment (covid etc.) with a team that should have been very experienced but stuff happens. Mileek? Much expected little gained. Zion? Personal reasons why he missed half the season and on top of that he is a terrible shooter. Eron? Good contributions from a role player and then there's Nick.
So given all that, we got 79% of our scoring and 66% of our rebounds from Freshman and Sophomores and in spite of these facts we beat a top 25 Drake team and lost by 2 points to a top 25 Loyola team at their place.
So is it Matt's fault that Nick leaves, Zion is missing for half the season and Donovan's shooting regresses from 45.2% overall and 28.6% from the 3, to 39% and 20.4%?
We need to re-think this and I'll give you this, if everyone of consequence comes back and we end up with a losing record or near losing and don't finish higher than 5th, I'll join in calling for his job.
Loyola just beat up on a very experienced Indiana State team by 16, 65-49
Let's just hope the team has more belief in Lottich than we fans do. if they stay together we might finally get our legs under us in this conference. If he can't keep this group together then what's the point of his recruiting chops such as they are if he can't keep a team together for more than a year or two? That alone would be grounds to look in a different direction. That being said Lottich's record outside of the first year is just gross. What's is actual record in games that matter? Meaning: take out the worthless non-D1s and how far under .500 is he? 15 games? 17?
The roster and/or rotation just has too many players with obvious offensive deficiencies. Too many can't shoot and the others can't get their own shot. Sackey is not a player I like as a point guard and his backup should be a backup and is too often used as a main cog when he is what he is...a backup. Clay? He can't shoot. Nothing in his shot from the moment he decides to shoot gives me the impression it's going in. It's awkward and looks forced. Not fluid.
While I'd say it's tough on the coach when the best player on the team throws up some of the nonsense we've seen from Clay this year at times, he's also the one responsible for the recruiting class. Let's hope next years class builds on the couple of guys they brought in this year who have at least some ability.
As to Kpegeol and not playing in the 2nd half maybe the answer is he played in the first half and the team was down 20. So maybe it was something not apparent to those watching on TV. A question that should be (have been) asked though.
Tex Lottich had very little to do with recruiting those players as a third assistant. Bryce and Roger recruited them. Bryce and roger were very involved and delegated very little to the third assistant in terms of recruiting. Those two were control freaks. Third assistant had minor role of any.
I didn't realize that Prim only spent 2 years at Missouri State. Talk about being under-recruited, having initially landed at D-2 West Texas A&M, as an All-State player in HS!
https://missouristatebears.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/gaige-prim/5823
Quote from: valpotx on March 07, 2021, 01:35:52 AMI didn't realize that Prim only spent 2 years at Missouri State. Talk about being under-recruited, having initially landed at D-2 West Texas A&M, as an All-State player in HS! https://missouristatebears.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/gaige-prim/5823
Gotta believe he'll use the extra year and come back. They're just beginning to put a capable team around him and Mosley. Next year they could be very good I think.
That is one thing I keep forgetting about in relation to next year, if the top teams bring back most of their stars then even with an improved team we could be fighting for 5/6 place again.
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on March 07, 2021, 09:50:01 AM
That is one thing I keep forgetting about in relation to next year, if the top teams bring back most of their stars then even with an improved team we could be fighting for 5/6 place again.
I still can't figure out why anyone would want to come back, unless a graduate degree was being sought. If they are good enough to play professionally why pass up that chance? Even AJ Green probably wouldn't come back because he will be an NBA draft pick. Same for the average player, say, Zion Morgan. If he graduates, why would you not pursue a career particularly is you have to pay? Eligibility is one thing, paying for another year is a different matter. Has that been settled?
I think it was very telling when Lexus transferred out his last year of eligibility. He was runner up mr. Valpo to only vashil. Since Lexus left the transfer bug has really hit valpo. Or is it since ML took over.
I had a student who played one year with Lexus at Boise st. He really admired Lexus. Does anyone know what Lexus IS doing? He would be a good coach and recruiter.
The transfer bug has become a bigger issue all over within the last 5 years. It isn't a Valpo issue.
Quote from: vu72 on March 07, 2021, 09:59:35 AM
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on March 07, 2021, 09:50:01 AM
That is one thing I keep forgetting about in relation to next year, if the top teams bring back most of their stars then even with an improved team we could be fighting for 5/6 place again.
I still can't figure out why anyone would want to come back, unless a graduate degree was being sought. If they are good enough to play professionally why pass up that chance? Even AJ Green probably wouldn't come back because he will be an NBA draft pick. Same for the average player, say, Zion Morgan. If he graduates, why would you not pursue a career particularly is you have to pay? Eligibility is one thing, paying for another year is a different matter. Has that been settled?
The NCAA decided last August to provide student athletes playing fall sports an extra year of eligibility. In October it applied the same ruling to winter sports. This inciteful WAPost article was written after the fall sport ruling, but the challenges the author raises could be similarly applied to basketball.
NCAA eligibility ruling solves some problems, creates othershttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/ncaa-eligibility-ruling-solves-some-problems-creates-others/2020/08/21/ee482ccc-e3eb-11ea-82d8-5e55d47e90ca_story.html%3foutputType=amp
Quote from: wh on March 07, 2021, 11:02:44 AM
Quote from: vu72 on March 07, 2021, 09:59:35 AM
Quote from: NativeCheesehead on March 07, 2021, 09:50:01 AM
That is one thing I keep forgetting about in relation to next year, if the top teams bring back most of their stars then even with an improved team we could be fighting for 5/6 place again.
I still can't figure out why anyone would want to come back, unless a graduate degree was being sought. If they are good enough to play professionally why pass up that chance? Even AJ Green probably wouldn't come back because he will be an NBA draft pick. Same for the average player, say, Zion Morgan. If he graduates, why would you not pursue a career particularly is you have to pay? Eligibility is one thing, paying for another year is a different matter. Has that been settled?
The NCAA decided last August to provide student athletes playing fall sports an extra year of eligibility. In October it applied the same ruling to winter sports. This inciteful WAPost article was written after the fall sport ruling, but the challenges the author raises could be similarly applied to basketball.
NCAA eligibility ruling solves some problems, creates others
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/ncaa-eligibility-ruling-solves-some-problems-creates-others/2020/08/21/ee482ccc-e3eb-11ea-82d8-5e55d47e90ca_story.html%3foutputType=amp
So this quote from the article is my point:
And while the NCAA is giving back the eligibility, no athlete is guaranteed financial aid or a scholarship. Those decisions will be left to the schools.
If I were Mark LaBarbara, I would stick to standard 13 scholarship limit and be done with it.
The athletic department can't make ends meet now, so much so it's passing a tin cup around begging for extra help. I'm not interested in financially supporting extra scholarships for something that never even materialized - a lost season.
If, for instance, 2 years from now Ben Krikke wants to play a 5th year and we maintain our 13 scholarship limit, have at it.
Scholarship money availability aside this is still simple economics. The D-1 playing time demand number remains unchanged because there is a fixed 200 minutes per game played multiplied by total D-1 teams. On the other hand we have increased player supply availability by as much as 25%. Duh! ???
When reality sinks in it may come as a surprise to many, but it shouldn't because they are all college educated! I guess?
Couple thoughts...
1) Donovan Clay and Eron Gordon played all 20 minutes of the second half. That's your (perceived) best player and your fifth-year senior. Krikke and Edwards barely left the floor as well. Zion came off the bench and that group of five started Valpo on a run that got them back in the game. Lottich, as Bryce and Homer before him, has proven time and time again that when the team is in a rut and a group begins to show life, he stays with that group. Should Goodnews have gotten on the court in the second half? Probably. But when are you putting him in and who are you putting him in for? He played well in the first half, but the team was still -9 when he was on the court. He missed both of his 3-pointers and they were WIDE OPEN. Sheldon and Clay were much better in the second half. Maybe you take Gordon out and put in Goodnews, but again, that's your fifth-year senior.
2) Give a ton of credit to Missouri State for the way they defended Ognacevic. They stayed with him on every play. I think I count one time that he was able to get free from a defender and Zion was turned the other way and driving at that point. Ognacevic worked his ass off to get free looks and he was covered up on every possession. Ford said after the game that Ognacevic was the X-factor for Valpo and they "respected him from the moment we saw we drew Valpo."
3) It is painfully evident to me that Clay should play in the post. He can't shoot 98 3-pointers if he's only going to hit 20 percent of them. He's got to want to mix it up in the post and get physical with players. If he would rather stay on the perimeter, he has got to shoot better. Or take the ball and drive to the lane and finish at the rim.
4) The future is bright, but only if the two sophomores and three freshmen return. Take those five guys and surround them with other talent. Some that's on the roster. The freshmen coming in and some possible transfers. This team can be very good with that quintet leading the way. Give a typical offseason to those five guys working together and you've got an excellent foundtion for next season and the seasons to come. This program will only flourish if those five stay the course. I've got a column coming out tomorrow on this very topic.
5) An interesting stat I found while researching the aforementioned column. Mileek McMillan is the first four-year player since Lance Barker (1991-95) to not appear in a postseason game.
Good point on our streak of postseason games coming to an end for every 4 year class. Technically, they would have kept it last year, to be fair to Mileek/the team.
And Barker only didn't get that because the mid-con lost the auto bid right? So really the streak goes back even farther if we give Mileek a pass due to COVID cancelling all tournaments (as we should).
Isn't it interesting that a coach gets credit for bringing in some very highly rated recruits and then when they don't produce like we think they should, the coach should be let go because he can't recruit. The same conversation is going on at Indiana regarding Archie Miller. Now the IU fans are complaining he can't recruit. This past season has to be one of the worst shooting IU teams in their history. Blame the coach because some kids can't hit the broad side of a barn? I don't think so. Blame Lottich for our shooting woes and inconsistency? I don't think so. We never had a point guard this past season. It turns out that Sackey is in way over his head and can't handle that job. When a team is desperate for a PG and we have to do something to replace someone like Sackey all of a sudden we see Clay being tried to fill that void along with some others. Sackey regressed badly this past year. Blame the Coach? I don't think so. Perhaps trying Clay to sometimes fill that PG void had a greater effect on Donovan's play than we think. Who knows. Again the loss of JFL was a terrific loss. And some say Lottich cannot recruit? I disagree. A coach can't control injuries, Covid, transfers, poor shooting, etc.
Remember Loyola was a complete disaster their first 4 years or so when they entered the MVC. Look at the poor showing of Nebraska after they joined the Big 10(or 12 or 14 or whatever it is). Remember, we have shown some improvement every year since we joined the MVC and I would expect to see us much better next season. If you want to talk about a lousy season, try Illinois State. Remember they went on a tear some seasons ago when they regularly finished at or near the top of the Valley. I guess their coach has to go also. I'm looking forward to next season! GO VALPO!
Quote from: valpo64 on March 08, 2021, 10:46:37 AM
Isn't it interesting that a coach gets credit for bringing in some very highly rated recruits and then when they don't produce like we think they should, the coach should be let go because he can't recruit. The same conversation is going on at Indiana regarding Archie Miller. Now the IU fans are complaining he can't recruit. This past season has to be one of the worst shooting IU teams in their history. Blame the coach because some kids can't hit the broad side of a barn? I don't think so. Blame Lottich for our shooting woes and inconsistency? I don't think so. We never had a point guard this past season. It turns out that Sackey is in way over his head and can't handle that job. When a team is desperate for a PG and we have to do something to replace someone like Sackey all of a sudden we see Clay being tried to fill that void along with some others. Sackey regressed badly this past year. Blame the Coach? I don't think so. Perhaps trying Clay to sometimes fill that PG void had a greater effect on Donovan's play than we think. Who knows. Again the loss of JFL was a terrific loss. And some say Lottich cannot recruit? I disagree. A coach can't control injuries, Covid, transfers, poor shooting, etc.
Remember Loyola was a complete disaster their first 4 years or so when they entered the MVC. Look at the poor showing of Nebraska after they joined the Big 10(or 12 or 14 or whatever it is). Remember, we have shown some improvement every year since we joined the MVC and I would expect to see us much better next season. If you want to talk about a lousy season, try Illinois State. Remember they went on a tear some seasons ago when they regularly finished at or near the top of the Valley. I guess their coach has to go also. I'm looking forward to next season! GO VALPO!
I would add one exception. I do think Lottich could have done some things to avoid the deep scoring droughts that Valpo had during games. These scoring droughts also happened way too often and I would think could have been avoided at times.
The issue with Valpo basketball is more than Lottich. I just don't believe the university is truly committed to be highly successful in the MVC. We should not establish our success because two teams from the Valley may get in and we get more revenue, we need to lead this success.
Quote from: valpo64 on March 08, 2021, 10:46:37 AMIsn't it interesting that a coach gets credit for bringing in some very highly rated recruits and then when they don't produce like we think they should, the coach should be let go because he can't recruit. The same conversation is going on at Indiana regarding Archie Miller. Now the IU fans are complaining he can't recruit. This past season has to be one of the worst shooting IU teams in their history. Blame the coach because some kids can't hit the broad side of a barn? I don't think so. Blame Lottich for our shooting woes and inconsistency? I don't think so. We never had a point guard this past season. It turns out that Sackey is in way over his head and can't handle that job. When a team is desperate for a PG and we have to do something to replace someone like Sackey all of a sudden we see Clay being tried to fill that void along with some others. Sackey regressed badly this past year. Blame the Coach? I don't think so. Perhaps trying Clay to sometimes fill that PG void had a greater effect on Donovan's play than we think. Who knows. Again the loss of JFL was a terrific loss. And some say Lottich cannot recruit? I disagree. A coach can't control injuries, Covid, transfers, poor shooting, etc. Remember Loyola was a complete disaster their first 4 years or so when they entered the MVC. Look at the poor showing of Nebraska after they joined the Big 10(or 12 or 14 or whatever it is). Remember, we have shown some improvement every year since we joined the MVC and I would expect to see us much better next season. If you want to talk about a lousy season, try Illinois State. Remember they went on a tear some seasons ago when they regularly finished at or near the top of the Valley. I guess their coach has to go also. I'm looking forward to next season! GO VALPO!
Also, remember it wasn't just JFL we lost to a Power conference. Smitts, Bakari, Sorolla all transferred up. Now I'm not saying that I was upset about them leaving (JFL was a big loss) but they did have enough talent that big time schools wanted them on their roster.
As PO said, Donovan is going to have to improve his outside shooting dramatically. When a perimeter player shoots 20% from 3 for an entire season, he needs to spend more time in the gym shooting on his own. Or, if he is putting in a lot of extra work and 20% is still the result, then he needs a different role. Every coach in the MVC knows every opposing player's weaknesses. It's no accident that defenders are sagging off of him, just like they sag off of Daniel. This keeps the middle clogged, closes the driving lanes, and makes it nearly impossible for Ben to work the post without extra defenders there to poke the ball away when he's trying to back down his man.
Quote from: usc4valpo on March 08, 2021, 11:56:06 AMThe issue with Valpo basketball is more than Lottich. I just don't believe the university is truly committed to be highly successful in the MVC. We should not establish our success because two teams from the Valley may get in and we get more revenue, we need to lead this success.
Do you just copy and paste this from a file every time you post?
Yes, and it is the elephant in the room no one wants to address.