Bogan a Crusader, now official

[valpopal]

"Valparaiso head coach Bryce Drew announced today that Will Bogan, a 6'1" guard from Boise, Idaho, has enrolled in Valpo's MBA program and has joined the Crusader basketball program."

http://www.valpoathletics.com/news/default/173/10875/

[vu72]

That is great news indeed!  I really think this kid will light it up!

[setshot]

With all the new people,transfers,other program rejects,returning vets,et.al. it appears that we are knittng a patch work quilt.. I hope the "rookie" coach can put it all together. Go Drusaders!

[Crusader03]

Great news...Will is one of my new favorite players.  I really like his game on film. 

[sectionee]

With all these new guys this team is kind of reminding me of Detroit's team last year.  I hope that our veterans (Ryan, Erik, Hrvoje, Jay, Matt) can get this group to gel a bit faster then Detroit's team did last year.

[DMvalpo18]

With all these new guys this team is kind of reminding me of Detroit's team last year.  I hope that our veterans (Ryan, Erik, Hrvoje, Jay, Matt) can get this group to gel a bit faster then Detroit's team did last year.

so jay is a veteran now? well i guess he has more valpo experience than the new guys. makes sense. i actually hope to see more improvement from him this next year as a more consistent shooter. our depth could be a strong suit! exciting to think about i think.

[valpo84]

So, does he have 2 years of eligibility?

[Crusader03]

So, does he have 2 years of eligibility?

Yes..straight from the horse's mouth (no I'm not Will Bogan)

[sectionee]

He has two years left like Crusader03 said, he graduated in 3 years from Ole Miss and had a redshirt year in there.  http://sectionee.blogspot.com/2011/05/newest-crusader-will-bogan.html

[covufan]

So, does he have 2 years of eligibility?

Yes..straight from the horse's mouth (no I'm not Will Bogan)

Was wondering the same thing.  Good to hear we have two years with Will. 

As others have attested, we should have a talented team next year.  The tough part will be getting the team to gel.  I remember Opplands senior year with Kone - that team never quite played together as well as most fans expected.

[bg321]

Greetings from Idaho! This is Will's dad. I'll use my first post to introduce myself and say how excited the Bogan family is to have officially joined the Valpo family.

I considered joining the forum anonymously because I didn't want my presence to potentially influence the posts. But I decided to be me 'cuz it seems like the right thing to do... to let you all know I am bg321.

If I can offer any insights, I will. If I can answer any questions, I'm more than happy to. If you want to know more about Will, I can share.

I'm looking forward to being an active member of the forum and I can't wait for the 2011-12 season to get started!

[covufan]

Greetings from Idaho! This is Will's dad. I'll use my first post to introduce myself and say how excited the Bogan family is to have officially joined the Valpo family.

I considered joining the forum anonymously because I didn't want my presence to potentially influence the posts. But I decided to be me 'cuz it seems like the right thing to do... to let you all know I am bg321.

If I can offer any insights, I will. If I can answer any questions, I'm more than happy to. If you want to know more about Will, I can share.

I'm looking forward to being an active member of the forum and I can't wait for the 2011-12 season to get started!

Welcome to the board!  Congrats to you and the Bogan family on Will continuing his studies (and bringing his basketball skills) to Valpo.  Most of us can't wait to see him on the court.

[valpo84]

Welcome to the VU family bg321!

covufan, as to the Kone question, there were a number of issues with that group being a "team". This group is/will be a more cohesive group of personalities. Notwithstanding, that dysfunctional group still won a game on the road at Charlotte.

[vu84v2]

Mr. Bogan - Welcome to VU basketball.

First off, though a few others mentioned this, congratulaitions to your son on playing SEC basketball and getting a degree in three years.  That is an amazing accomplishment.

The one question that I would ask is, "why didn't things work out at Ole Miss?"  From looking at stats (which can be misleading), it looks like he got some spots in his freshman year and even had a very good game against Arkansas late that season.  After that, it seems he was injured his sophomore year and then got lost in the program.  It would be very interesting to hear your perspective.

Regardless....welcome again to the VU community. 

[valpotx]

Yes, welcome to you Mr. Bogan.  We have all seen the video of your son, and I am looking forward to his contributions this year!

I was curious how you view his overall game though?  Is he someone like a JJ Barea that will penetrate and dish for assists, and do you think he will shoot more while at Valpo?  From the video it looks like he could be a scorer as well.

[bg321]

vu84c2,

First I want to say that, overall, Will had an awesome experience at Ole Miss. The school and the program are fantastic and provided an experience that he will benefit from and cherish for the rest of his life. For an 18 year old, wide-eyed white kid from Idaho to be immersed in the Southern culture and the South Eastern Conference... WOW! Not many kids get that opportunity. He was the first kid from Idaho to ever play basketball in the SEC. He was the only scholarshipped white kid on the team the three years he was there. Many times, he was the only white player on either team in the game. He started seven games as a true freshman. He played at Rupp Arena. He beat Kentucky and Tennessee. He started with Terrico White (NBA-Detroit) in the SEC tournament against Kentucky. He has a big shiny ring for being part of the Ole Miss SEC West Championship team. And, all the while, he earned a degree in Managerial Finance in three years with a 3.46 GPA from the "Harvard of the South." Yep, I'd say he had one heck of a great experience.

But, to answer your question... Bottom line, long-story-short, Ole Miss was not a good fit. Will plain ol' did not fit in well with the Ole Miss team--team culture, style of play, individual culture.

Almost daily Will gives us another compare/contrast story of Ole Miss and Valpo. Every comparison is a stark contrast. Just this morning, for example, Will said he and five teammates and Jake went to breakfast together after 6:30 AM weights. Something like that never happened once in three years at Ole Miss (BTW they lift at 6:00AM Friday mornings during the summers at Ole Miss). Interesting side note: The voluntary workout was originally scheduled for 8:00AM and the players voted to move it up to 6:30AM.)

In basketball, it seems the ACC is (has been) all about having the best basketball player / athlete combination. The Big East is all about physicality. The Midwest conferences are all about having basketball teams. All more or less, and generally speaking of course. Well, the SEC is all about having the best athletes.

Will is an excellent basketball player, but only a good athlete by SEC standards. Yes he can dunk, but he can't throw down like just about every 5'9"+ PG in the SEC can. Yes he's quick, but he's not controlled (semi- anyway) lightening like just about every PG in the SEC. Yes he can (and did) defend any guard in the SEC, but the concept of team defense is absent in most of the SEC and no guard can defend his opponent one-on-one all the way to the basket in that conference. (I don't want to create any doubt about Will's commitment to defense. You'll see for yourself when he plays. As a freshman he held Rotnei Clarke (Ark.) scoreless for the first time in his career... Fought through more ball screens than there are Polo shirts in Oxford.)

At Ole Miss and the SEC in general, it's all about "taking your guy" and getting your numbers. Will is not that way. I swear it's like every player truly thinks they are going to play in the NBA. I'm not making that up. They say it out loud and they act like it. Will is not that way. Outside of practice, teammates mostly go their separate ways and do their own things. Will is not that way. With the exception of a couple players, many guys put only enough effort into studying as it took to stay eligible. Will is not that way. The other PGs at Ole Miss are shoot-first and often. When at the point, Will likes to get his teammates involved.

Will's playing history at Ole Miss can be summed up with this: The starting PG, Chris Warren, blew out his knee in the 11th game of the Will's freshman season. Will replaced him and averaged 14.5 minutes per game for the season. Will's second season he suffered a spiral fracture in his left hand in practice (out for the season – medical redshirt). Last season is a bit of a mystery. Ultimately, play time is the head coach's decision. In our house we don't question the coach. I'm sure he was doing what he thought was best for the team at the time.

Anyway, looking to the present and future, I can't put in to words how excited Will is to be at Valpo. And we're excited for him to be there, as part of a team.

[sectionee]

Sounds like a great fit for both parties!  We have some good breakfast places in town, lunch not so much, probably why the guys moved the weights to 6am, haha.
 
Thanks for the insight into one of the college basketball power conferences.  Seems team basketball might be the way to go, see Butler the last two seasons, it's not always flashy but it is usually effective!

[crusaderjoe]

I read that Rotnei Clarke is making an official visit to Butler.  How interesting would it be to see two former SEC guards cross paths again "HL style" in a year?

[vu72]

Welcome Mr. Bogan!  I'm thrilled to read your insites and indeed look forward to seeing how the team chemistry messes.  If it does, and I suspect it will, as Coach Drew wouldn't recruit players with questionable character, then the skies the limit for this group!
Interesting that you mentioned Terrico White.  As I recall he is a good friend of Erik Buggs (both from Memphis)and that White considered Valpo for quite a while.

Thanks again for your thoughtful responses.

[lowposter]

That is quite a report.

Most impressive stat - 3.46 gpa and graduated in 3 years.  Your comparison of SEC style basketball to the midwest is spot on accurate. 

Glad to see him aboard. 

lowposter

[bg321]

Welcome Mr. Bogan!  I'm thrilled to read your insites and indeed look forward to seeing how the team chemistry messes.  If it does, and I suspect it will, as Coach Drew wouldn't recruit players with questionable character, then the skies the limit for this group!
Interesting that you mentioned Terrico White.  As I recall he is a good friend of Erik Buggs (both from Memphis)and that White considered Valpo for quite a while.

Thanks again for your thoughtful responses.

Erik and Terrico are indeed good friends from Memphis. Small world! Terrico looks like he's close to 100% healthy again... Just in time for the lockout It would be surreal to see him play in the League!

[Crusader03]

Great post on Will and the SEC, Mr. Bogan.  Lots of good insights into some things most of us don't know much about. 

[bg321]

Yes, welcome to you Mr. Bogan.  We have all seen the video of your son, and I am looking forward to his contributions this year!

I was curious how you view his overall game though?  Is he someone like a JJ Barea that will penetrate and dish for assists, and do you think he will shoot more while at Valpo?  From the video it looks like he could be a scorer as well.

Thanks for the welcome.

Will's overall game is aggressive and hard-nosed, but smart on the defensive end of the floor and mixed on the offensive end. By mixed I mean he can make three's off the dribble, quick-release catch, and spot-up (loves on-ball screens like most shooters)... can use a variety of skills and quickness to beat most defenders off the dribble to get in the lane and then kick out to a corner or dish low to a big... or finish himself, or draw contact. Will learned a lot about that particular skill by playing with and against Chris Warren at Ole Miss every day for the past three years. Chris was a master at drawing contact on a shot anywhere on the court and then converting his freebies. I think he lead the country in FT% last season. Was a flat out stud at that.

I think Will will shoot, score, and make plays significantly more at Valpo. But, if you were to ask him, I think he'd say it's not important who on the team scores each possession, but that the team scores on more possessions than the opponent--whether that comes from limiting the other team on the defensive end or out scoring them on the offensive end.

Honestly (and sadly), it's been so long since I've seen Will play on a team of like-minded players and with a coach like I think Coach Bryce is, I've kinda forgotten how he can play. I know he can play like he did as a freshman in the Arkansas game Coach Bryce mentioned during his recent interview. In that game, at Arkansas, Will scored 16 points and had seven assists (Coach Bryce said 18 points in the video, but I'm pretty sure it was only 16). Four of his points came in overtime from the free throw line (didn't miss one). I think three of the assists came from exploiting an effective low box cross screen. Arkansas kept falling for it leaving a big open for a second... long enough for a quick pass from the top of the key. We didn't travel to that particular game and it wasn't televised so his mom and I had to listen to it on the radio. It was super exciting, but it's a pretty dang stressful way for parents to experience an overtime game. Can't be good for the ol' ticker! Ole Miss won the game.

This coming season we hope to be sitting in the stands along with all of you, excited to watch the team and wondering how it will all play out. November is going to take forever to come!

[sectionee]

Good to hear you'll be in attendance!  Players' parents, especially the mothers, always seem to cheer the loudest at the games.

Lord knows we need good free throw shooting, it was very frustrating last year watching several games get to close after we had a good size lead, or even stay close when it should've been a one sided game, because of the lack of free throw shooting by our team.  Anyway, we are looking forward to Will coming in and helping fill the void, either by scoring himself or being a facilitator, left by Brandon Wood in the back court.

[vu72]

For background, Will was a career 72% FT shooter at Ole Miss and Ben Boggs was a career 82% shooter at Va Tech.  Only Ryan (77%) was higher than 70 on the team last year and, I hate to mention it, Erik brought up the rear with 32% shooting from the line.  Richie Edwards is also a career 70% shooter.  All should help!!