Messages

It saddens me to see the women's team struggle the way they have over the last several years. The only fix for this situation is a total rebuild of the program. As the father of a former player, I would suggest that as long as the players are giving maximum effort that we don't saddle them with the circumstances created by decisions out of their control. Players should attempt to do things as directed by the coaching staff, if the players are not doing the things we all think they should, it is likely because they are doing what they are being told to do. The players don't recruit, coach, or administer the program. End of story. Encourage and back the girls, they deserve it.

I'm sorry, but you cannot any longer blame this mess on Freeman.
The players are going to remain who they are for the remainder of the season so there is no reason to discuss current player changes. It is up to the coaches to go back to basics, create a game plan that takes advantage of the roster strengths and limits the exposure of their weaknesses, drive home some form of fundamentally sound play, and get the players to understand their roles. These are the things coaches are supposed to do. Any players that don't buy in and act and play accordingly should sit on the bench.
It is difficult to watch these games, I just hope the coaches can find a way to turn the season around. At least with past teams I could watch a game and understands what was trying to be accomplished by the game plan or in game adjustments, currently that is impossible. Good luck to the girls. They need all the help they can get.

Well I think we agree at some level. The question is where are all the recruits?

Difficult does not mean impossible. High academic requirements, physical location, old gym, non promotion of womens team, poor game attendance, a new coach, and continued team struggles, make recruiting at Valpo difficult on the women's side. A great education trade for playing basketball and there is not one region player on the roster. Regardless it can and should be done. My point is new coach or not, there should be way more positive recruiting results.

Too demanding can work if it transfers to success on the court, unfortunately we have not seen that success so far. There would be a ray of hope if we could see some positive signs on the recruiting front. Right now it looks like an impossible situation.

It is very difficult for me to see the current state of the women's basketball program. This is not going to be an easy or timely fix. Recruiting can be very difficult at a school like Valpo, but good recruiters can still sell a story, a vision, and a belief in the future. Something is wrong here. I hope someone figures it out. Good luck to the girls that are going to have to fight their way through a more than difficult season.

I'm sure glad Valpo kept Homer after he only won 4, 5, 5, and 12 wins from 89-90 thru 92-93. Look what we would have missed.

I find it hard to believe that folks get on this board and beat up the coaching staff with limited information. Is anyone on here a professional coach? Can you recruit? Deal with replacing players that  leave or are injured? What about attitudes of some players? Can you deal with parents that work through the administration instead of the coach? Do you watch the practices? Can you gauge the effort? Can you tell who has heart before you sign them? Most of these things are not made available for the public, so how do you know? The remainder of issues are not easy or everyone would be a head coach. Do you think it is easy to recruit at Valpo? Give me a break......and the coaches one also.

Just for future reference if you eliminate Green Bay from the Horizon league they are no better than the Summit League's women's basketball. Check the Sagarin ratings.

The differences between winning and losing are very small. It is very hard for a team with limited numbers to do all the little things well all the time. Fatigue and the lack of complete practices put this team in a tough position from the get go. The girls on this team can play and the coaches can coach (I know this first hand) beyond that all we need to do is support them. They will work it out eventually.

There are many factors that make up a team's successes and failures. It is difficult for most of us on this board to have the internal knowledge required to actually understand the issues facing this team. Unfortunately for us, watching how the team plays in a game only tells a portion of the story. What happens in practice every day? I'm of the opinion that 80% of the game is decided in the practices leading up to that game. Who practices? Who does not? How do the team meetings go? How do the meetings with the coaches go? What are the attitudes? How hard are the injured girls rehabbing? How many of the parents are creating issues? Does the team have the support of the administration? Why are there no fans in the stands? There are many things to be considered, but first and foremost would be the level of support given to the girls and the coaches. They need our support.