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The two 7-foot centers need to develop into better rebounders and Smits needs to get better on the defensive end.

I hope Marty is able to play some Power Forward next season. If he's unable to play the 4 with the 7 footers one day then minutes could be tough to come by for him. Marty seems very slow so he may be challenged defensively in the MVC.

If I had to guess I'd say Micah Bradford is going to transfer. He's the type of guy who could use a fresh start.

On Union Street Hoops they brought up the possibility of Parker Hazen transferring, but I don't think he will. I think Parker is a great team guy. His situation this season is curious with all the DNPs at the end of the season after starting the first 12 games of the season and then barely getting to play after that. If the Coaches join Paul and Parker on USH, I'd hope they press the coaches on the reasoning behind that.

I went with 1.

I'm happy the season is over. I'm excited about our future but it was time to be finished with this disappointing season.

We could have paid money for practice time but I'm not sure it would have been worth it with this team. These core guys will have chances at postseason experience in the future. Tevonn and Max have been to NCAA Tournament and NIT championship and wouldn't need these few meaningless games.

How many student section leaders heap as much praise on a rival coach as these guys?  They love Moser but publicly bash their own coach on twitter. 
https://twitter.com/happeninghoops/status/969281645919522816

[Students Take Notice of Ramblers Success]

Interesting article about how Loyola's student section grew this season. It wasn't just success on the court that drew student turnout.

https://twitter.com/LUPhoenixSports/status/968908661887258624

Students Take Notice of Ramblers Success
By Kyle Brown
Published February 28, 2018 12:30 p.m. CT

As the final buzzer sounded in Loyola's 68-61 victory over Illinois State, Gentile Arena fans gave the Ramblers a standing ovation. The game further separated Loyola from the rest of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and marked the first time Gentile Arena has sold out since 2003.

The 4,963 people who showed up for the last home game of the year was a dramatic increase from the previous high of 3,592 earlier in the season against Missouri State University.

Loyola having its best season in 33 years played a large part in increased attendance, but another key factor is the growth of The Pack, Loyola's official student section. The Pack is led by Marty Breslin, a junior double-majoring in finance and sport management, who also interns in the athletics department.

"We thought this year The Pack's main objective would be to get people to the game," Breslin said. "But, we realized like half way through the year that people were going to come [and] we were going to get all of these students there and now it was about keeping them engaged and making them as loud as possible."

With steady growing attendance, Breslin said The Pack was able to shift its focus from drawing fans into the stadium to making more noise and energy during the game. One of the ways it went about this was the creation of the "Rambler Rules," which are five "rules" for students to follow to keep them engaged all game while also creating a rowdy environment for the visiting team. The rules include being as loud as possible, not sitting down during the game and yelling "You let the whole team down," whenever an opponent misses a free throw.

The combination of the Ramblers' success and the increased energy at the games has created a buzz around campus; this year has been special and students are taking notice.

Marisa Dickens, a sophomore dance and film major, said she's attended a few games this season.

"There has been a lot more participation in the game," Dickens said. "I performed a dance piece at halftime of one of the games and there were a lot of fans which was cool."

One way Loyola and The Pack have been able to build up student attendance and involvement is by creating unique opportunities for student participation within the game such as launching fake burritos for a Chipotle gift card, displaying unique talents such as the dance Dickens performed and shooting baskets in hopes of winning free books for a semester.

Students are aware of the impact this season is having on Loyola as a whole.

"It says that we have a lot of diverse different groups that can perform well and are a good representation of Loyola, not just in academics but athletics as well," sophomore accounting major Paul Zougras said.

Breslin said he's excited about the future of The Pack. He's set for early graduation next fall, so he won't be as involved next season. However, he remains optimistic The Pack is in good hands and will continue to grow.

"Considering where we are setting the bar, I am so excited for where we can go from here," Breslin said. "We didn't know what we were going to end up with. We knew we were going to have a good team, people were going to show up, but we didn't know that they're going to show up in this many numbers and with this passion."

Valpo 69
Missouri State 65

I think Mileek steps up tonight and contains Alize Johnson. Mileek will get into foul trouble but I think he does a solid job tonight.

Make that 2 open scholarship for next season.

It wouldn't surprise me if one of the student section leaders complained to the athletic department or maybe  someone in the athletics department has "thin skin." Odd to say the least.

I sent a tweet to the Valpo Torch and the Sports Editor to do a investigative report on the declining student attendance the last 2 seasons. I'd be very interested to hear a students perspective on this and I'd like it to be in writing. I encourage others to encourage the Torch to write this piece. It's important and I know many on this board would read it.

Email: torch@valpo.edu
Office Phone: (219) 464-5426
http://www.valpotorch.com/sports/

https://twitter.com/Bill_C_Valpo/status/963072336932098049

too bad we can't black-out the ESPN-U game on campus...

If only they could...

Paul should ask his class what's the deal with the student not showing up. He's around these kids everyday. He should be able to get the inside scoop.

Has the students that Valpo attracts really changed so much in such a short amount of time? Or has the basketball culture just been lost and not taught and nurtured to the next generation?

I think that crowd was over stated as much as the SIU crowd was under-stated last Saturday...

Crowds are never understated.

I was pretty unimpressed with the Evansville crowd but I know we shouldn't be ones to talk about crowd size. The Ford Center is really nice and big but it's not on their campus and it really hurts the atmosphere. The crowd was really far away from the court. Evansville has a sizable fan base but they weren't there last night. I can't blame them. A last place Valpo team isn't a great draw on a Wednesday night.

Really good interview on the new USH with one of the student leaders of the section. Seems like a bright, knowledgeable kid with a real passion for basketball. But when Paul pressed him a bit on reasons and ideas, he had nothing other than "The team isn't good." While true, and surely a factor, I was a little dismayed he seemed more ready to offer excuses than ideas. This year is what it is, but what do they intend on changing next year? Have they reached out to past leaders to gauge their ideas?

Being in charge of the student section is more than just running the twitter account.

I tweeted at the student section leaders & Mark LaBarbera with some ideas to bring back the official student section organization called VU CRU but I pretty much got the same response. I even sent them the paperwork they need to fill out to create a student section and haven't heard if there is any movement on that front. I invited them to join the conversation of the message boards to brain storm ideas with alumni and fans and I haven't noticed their presence on this thread. It's a little disheartening but so is the Athletics Departments efforts and sense of urgency. This is a big problem for this program and this school.

Running social media is easy. It doesn't take much effort to send tweets. I appreciate that someone is trying but the goals for the student section should be set much higher. More can be done and more should be done.

I'll give it a try. Let's kick Evansville's butt in their own place. Dru Smith is injured so that may have an impact on the game. He really hurt us a few weeks ago.

Student attendance has noticeably been down the last few seasons and I'm taking suggestions and recommendations on how the student section leaders as well as the athletics department should go about resolving the problem. ANY outside the box thinking would be appreciated. Is there something students should do? Is there steps the Athletics Department should be taking the boost student attendance? Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.