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What evidence do folks have that Cam has demonstrated a need to mature? Honest question on my behalf.

First world problems 

Let's just hypothetically say Holtmann goes to ND (Side Note: as a person who is rooted in all things Notre Dame, I've yet to hear anything of substance about this).

That said, I'm sure Jake would get an interview at Ohio State. As is, he makes ~$500,000 at Ohio State. That said, who is to say he wouldn't consider following Holtmann to ND? No matter what, Jake will be in good shape whereever he lands.

I'd be SHOCKED if/when he were to ever take a pay cut with more responsibilities & significantly less resources to go back to Valpo or anywhere else for that matter. He's earned his way to get to this point and deserves nothing but the best.

@IndyValpo ...


[I bet you are a blast at parties.]


... I don't go to parties.

I, too, am excited about the publicity Valpo will likely receive from the 25th anniversary of "The Shot." That said, I'm wondering how the positive publicity Valpo will receive from "The Shot" will be contextualized. Wouldn't it make sense for context-sake that "The Shot" be discussed in leiu of where Valpo is located ... what it's known for ... and where the program is now? If so, will they explain the mascot change? The fact that ML took over after Bryce left and the post-Drew era is one curently in ... shambles? Yikes. I suppose they'll look for a positive spin since this is supposed to be a heartfelt story but .. the Cindarella story isn't currently projecting toward a "Happily ever After" sort of ending ...

Why wouldn't Luka Sakota come to Valpo? I mean .. Valpo IS the Harvard of the midwest!?!?!? 

What's it say about the current state of the Valpo program that our only way to have an internal rooting interest (institutionally) is to root for the coaches that are FORMER Valpo coaches?

I'm rooting for Baylor & Bryce 100%. And, though I'm not a Zags fan - how can I not root for Powell there?

My gut says Bryce stays at GCU - assuming, however, he & his family enjoy living there, he feels a sense of contentment and purpose there, & his compensation is amenable to their preferred lifestyle.

That said, he'll have his opportunities, no doubt. With a 64-26 record that includes two conference championships and thus two NCAA appearances in three years - something may be too good to pass up. 

The fact, however, Valpo (rightfully) celebrates his accomplishments is a testament (you'd like to think) to their acknowledgment that winning is kind of, sort of .. at least a tad bit oh ... idk ... how shall I say IMPORTANT. Beyond being a nice guy ... it's a business. And, winning matters.

Meanwhile, in the MVC, I'm hearing rumblings of Darian DeVries to Notre Dame. My oh my how different of a trajectory we're on ...

Pasted from another thread:

Copy/pasting this from MVCFans:

KenPom/Attendance
'11 95 / 3362
'12 138 / 3383
'13 65 / 3173
'14 163 / 2833
'15 64 / 3066
'16 42 / 3572
[Lottich]
'17 104 / 3086
'18 150 / 2722
'19 220 / 2611
'20 146 / 2797
'21 193 / na
'22 202 / 1758
'23 289 / 1625

The numbers (at least in this case) don't lie. We're not progressing nicely. We're crumbling and nearing a status of being nothing but remnants of a once relatively dominant mid-major on the rise.

As I've said before - ML owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to Alec Peters for getting him through that first year. We all saw vs. Milwaukee and what happened when Alec departed. In hindsight, my oh my, it's worse than we ever imagined.

It's time for a change, Dr. Small! Please. We need a beacon of hope. A light at the end of what's been a dark, tireless tunnel for too long.

"What's our % if you take out the non D1 victories?  We had a lot of them. [/size]To me this press conference was the start of the downfall.  Stagnant offense that has carried on for years."


Yup ... par for the course. At the time, many of us chalked it up to growing pains for a new head coach. Butbott, alas, here we are. Progressing "nicely" ... common denominator = ML making excuses. At this time, making excused for being a top seed. Whether Valpo is the top seed or a bottom feeder, there's excuses + excuses + excuses. One difference, however, is that ML didn't have to address if they were deserving of an NIL bid this year ... 

Oh, we're on a carousel - no doubt. How do I know? Because we keep going around & around & around & around without getting anywhere. Just around & around we go. No wonder apathy is king. When on the same ride for this long, the dizziness leads to a state of catharsis. Now, we're just numb to it. For a moment there ... we awoke. But, alas, as nothing changes, we slide back into the normal state of affairs.

Around & around we go ... somehow convincing ourselves that we're progressing nicely. Just keep trusting the process.

Currently, there are 17 jobs either open or that have interim coaches in place. The number will undoubtedly increase over the next 48+ hours. There were 60 openings last year & 57 the year prior.

Expect an additional ~40 spots open up. Some programs, like Georgetown, make it clear they will not accept what's below their standard - no matter who you are, if it's your alma mater, or how "big" of
a name you are ... 5/6 seasons will a losing record = Patrick Ewing being fired a day after a blowout loss to Villanova (80-48). All-American, 2-time Olympic gold medalist, Rookie of the Year, 11-time All-Star, and one of the all-time best centers (despite not winning an NBA championship).

Allegedly, if Georgetown were to fire Ewing, here is the buyout total owed to him during each year.

21-22: $18.455 million

22-23: $14.9 million

23-24: $11.25 million

24-25: $7.5 million

25-26: $3.75 million

Point being - what's the standard Valpo sets for its basketball expectations?

What's the ol' idiom declare ?... "No news is good news." Recognizing the relativity of the word "good" - I suppose we can take the "good" news, either way, we'd like ...

Hot take: the post about Chris Beard was made in absolute jest.

If finances are a concern, I see no reason why ML & Co. should be attending the Final 4 or the National Coaches Conference. If he's the coach for the next 1-2 years until his contract ends, it's not like there will be substantive changes gleaned from clinics that alter his coaching philosophy. The only reason Padilla or Small should attend is if they're in the market for a new HC! In that case, they should bring their bobbers and put some lines out there ... see what sorts of bites they can get! This would mean it must be made clear that ML is not being retained.

I paid $35 for chairbacks ONE time this year, and that was ONE time too many. I only did it out of necessity - the bleacher seats don't give back support. Spend the money on seats or a chiropractor appt. thereafter. Needless to say, I suppose it was a ~$150 donation 

Ya ... I don't disagree ... side note: we really don't know much about Cam at this point & ML was high on Preston before injury. But, I'm not suggesting they would break into a lineup elsewhere in the MVC.

"Where did you see these public remarks.  Couldn't find the statement on the website.[/size]Honestly I think that's nothing burger statement. It makes sense that he wants to stay connected to the individuals who were the most successful stewards of our Athletics Departments history. It's important to still be connected, especially in this new era of leadership without direct connections.I can't read anything in connection to giving Lottich the boot."


VU2014 - social media. @valpoathletics Instagram for one - 3 days ago.

[DEAR VALPO FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS,]

DEAR VALPO FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS,

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Valpo legends Bryce and Homer Drew. Our discussion reminded me how fortunate I am to be aligned with an institution that has a rich history of promoting virtues of courage and love. Specifically, I am grateful for the blessing of being associated with an athletic department that has a legacy of promoting excellence, family and teamwork. I am enjoying Scott's book, "The Road to Joy." As a father of boys ages four and six, I am inspired by the stories of Homer taking Scott on recruiting trips. I love reading about the bond between Bryce and Scott.

The theme of "Valpo Family" has repeatedly been mentioned when I ask constitutes what makes our community, University and athletic department special. I am tremendously thankful that the campus community has welcomed my family with open arms during this first year as your Director of Athletics. We truly appreciate your support and commitment to Valpo Athletics.

Go Valpo!

-------------

Personally, I feel people (like me) will read into this statement and apply our preferred context to it. Ex: As one who is pessimistic about the direction of the Valpo MBB program and who admittedly hopes that the program moves on from ML as its head coach, I can read into this statement as an indication that Dr. Small respects what this program once was and recognizes its in need of restoration. Thus, moving on from ML.

Someone who would prefer to see ML be given another year or two could easily read into this statement and draw reasonable conclusions about it providing a case for Valpo being different ... a family-oriented place where we'll continue building around ML and his program.

Others could easily say there's no correlation between these sentiments and the Valpo MBB program's embarrassment of a season and overall sustained decline. 

Valporun - do you seriously think Valpo is the only victim of the new transfer rule + NIL? Seriously ... how can you use this as an excuse to justify anything?

I couldn't begin to fathom how the Valpo v. Murray State NIGHT game was played in the same building ... as part of the same tournament ... in the same conference ... mere hours apart from the Bradley game that was an AFTERNOON game on a weekday. And, yet, the energy was ELECTRIC!!! What a shame. We are an embarrassment to the conference. I cannot use the excuse of being the new school any longer ... no excuses. Not a new coach ... and not the only one dealing with the transfer portal & NIL deals. Did I hear correct that we didn't even have our band there last night, so another team's band played for us? Northern Iowa or something? Unreal.

What's there left to assess? Why would they need more time so as not to act emotionally? It's not like this hasn't been a year-over-year problem that's yet to provide tangible evidence of there being sustained growth or improvement. They're not progressing nicely in any way, shape, or fashion.

Totally different set of circumstances, but - for whatever reason - I was reminded of the loss in the Horizon League tournament back in 2017 when Valpo came out embarrassingly. If you recall, they only scored 12 1st half points. Fortunately, Milwaukee wasn't very good - so that only put Valpo down 4 pts at the half. I bring it up because it was the same feeling watching tonight ... it was just like ... ... absolute dumbfoundedness. That night, a 24-8 Valpo team lost to a 10-23 Milwaukee team.

Who was the head coach that year for Valpo ...?

I posted these sentiments on another thread; however, they equally apply here:

Another Thursday Arch Madness game. This time, however, against a team that's beaten you 2x (both of which went down to the wire). One of which was a mere matter of days ago. We cannot blame the loss on Valpo having a quick turnaround compared to their opponent since they played each other the last time out. This time around, however, it's an absolute blowout. What an embarrassing way to finish. And, we cannot continue chalking the losses to Murray State up to their former NBA talent. The key word is "former" ... there's no Ja Morant on this team. We didn't even have our band there. We're a shell of a program. A bottom feeder in the valley. Not even competitive tonight against a 7 seed. 28 point loss where Murray State cleared the bench down the stretch. A team that's 17-14. 3 of the 17 wins, by the way, are v. Valpo. Take Valpo out of the equation and they're a 14-14 team. 25 pts in the 1st half & 25 pts in the 2nd half. To a team that's in its first year as a member of the Valley ... playing in its first game of Arch Madness.

Valpo comes to a close with an 11-21 record on the season.

How much worse can it get?