Recruiting

[vusupporter]

Am I imagining things if I express a high level of deja vu over this name?  Wasn't there a recruit by that name more than a couple of years ago who was earmarked to Valpo, perhaps derailed by the NCAA Clearinghouse and ended up going elsewhere?

Same guy. Signed with Valpo and then literally left because the weather was too cold.  I talked to Bryce at the time and he said that if Homer and Bryce were coaching in a warmer climate he would have stayed.  Apparently this last "mild" winter convinced him to re-think the decision!!

I think you might be confusing Moussa with Beas Hamga.  Beas was here for a semester and left without playing - I don't believe Moussa ever signed here before.  IIRC, he verbally committed while in junior college and then de-committed.

[valpopal]

Welcome Moose!

Moussa Gueye's Journey To Alabama

[Chairback]

It is nice to have the height, but I have watched a few Alabama games and his offense is not good at all.  Seems like when they dished him the ball it was an automatic turnover. 

I see potential in Vashil and hope his PT doesn't go down now.

[classof2014]

He could be quite the force in the HL. Being a 7 footer. He's probably 2nd off the bench behind Capo. Should be more productive than Vucic was and gives us more depth because I don't know what to think about Vashil yet and Adekoya will only be a freshman. Valpo will be one of the biggest teams in the league next year. Should be fun to watch.

Might be used more for defense than offense but just being 7 foot in the HL and possibly the new change of scenery might be what he needs.

[valpopal]

vusupporter: "I don't believe Moussa ever signed here before.  IIRC, he verbally committed while in junior college and then de-committed."

Interesting coincidence: a few days ago Detroit received a big commitment from a great high-scoring JUCO player, Shaquielle McKissic. However, tonight he has tweeted that he had taken back his commitment and was opening his recruiting up again. He says he might renew his commitment with Detroit, but the latest note on his twitter feed reports that he hasn't the slightest clue where he will be going next year. 

[valpotx]

That is awesome.  I saw his name on the transfer list posted earlier, and thought about how funny it would be for him to use his last year of eligibility at Valpo, given that he decommitted years ago.  I will take a 7'0" player who played in the SEC, starting 27 games on ANY DAY.  Even though he probably won't be an offensive presence, we can get that from other sources.  Can you imagine the fear that Brown will have in going against a good defender that matches his height?  I think that we are in GREAT position for another solid year!!

[chef]

A lot of people on here have been asking for Valpo to go with a big lineup the last two seasons. It will now likely happen. You could see Moussa and Vashil eating up most of the minutes at the 5, with Bobby playing mostly the 4. Peters will play a lot of minutes at the 3. Jabril will see minutes up front as well. This will likely mean more zone defense, but offensively Bryce will find ways to exploit our size advantages.

[historyman]

Leave it to the NCAA to find a way for a JC to commit to 2 schools and fulfill his commitment to both schools. 

Doesn't the moosehead guy from UA remind you of some of the guys in the movie Deliverance?

"Now bend over and grunt real loud like-a moose." 

"Moose---yeah, we can woork wid dat."

[HC]

Perfect use of that last scholarship.  A big guy who Valpo only has to commit to for 1 year 

[78crusader]

I woke up this morning and saw the posts about Moussa and prayed they were from a couple years ago and not some Freddy Krueger-style resurrection of a bad recruit. 

Remember the scene in Moneyball when Billy Beane decides to trade Carlos Pena and his young assistant says "Billy, you know this is the kind of trade that gets you fired."  This dialogue could be slightly changed to "Bryce, you know this is the kind of signing that gets you INDICTED."

Seriously, this is a TERRIBLE signing, plain and simple.  It is a throwback to the bad old days of a few years ago when Homer decided to mortgage not only his good name, but the good name of VU basketball, and sign every 7 foot bandit recruit he could find.  NONE of whom, it should be noted, panned out.  It says to me three things: first, Bryce woke up and realize that outside of Capo he has no one to rebound; second, that Vashill or whatever his name is cannot play; and third, this is a desperation move if ever there was one.

I know, people will be quick to jump on the excuse bandwagon and try to come up a litany of reasons why this guy only averaged ONE POINT FOUR points per game. "The coaches didn't play him enough."  "He didn't have time to learn the system."  "He just needs more playing time."  "He will dominate in the lesser-talented Horizon League" (as if the post players in our league consisted of a bunch of 5'11" guys who starred on their high school debate team).   Please.  The real reason is: he cannot play.  The headline will say we signed a 7-foot player.  The real story is: another guy who can't catch the basketball and who is on the Welcome Wagon to Turnover City. 

Paul

[LaPorteAveApostle]

The real reason is: he cannot play.

Yeah, right.  So how did he manage to play for a major-conference team with an RPI almost identical to ours?

Not just play, but start three-quarters of their games?

Oh, by the way, Bryce, thanks for mortgaging our entire future by taking a one-year flyer on this guy.

Judging a shot-blocker by his points-per-game is like judging a Ph.D candidate on how she looks in swimwear: it's not going to be pretty, but then again that wasn't the point.

[vu72]

Well, 78 seems to like stirring the pot!  As for  "when Homer decided to mortgage not only his good name, but the good name of VU basketball, and sign every 7 foot bandit recruit he could find.  NONE of whom, it should be noted, panned out. "  Really?  The last time we had two seven footers on the same team was (drum roll please)...1998.  I think they "panned out pretty well.  Oh yeah, how about a guy named Raitis Grafs?  Not a badplayer huh?  Even  Mohammed Kone played well for us and is among the top all time shot blockers.

Here is the top 10 single season shot blockers in our history:

Raitis Grafs 2000-01 67
2. Raitis Grafs 2001-02 66
3. Raitis Grafs 2002-03 57
Mohamed Kone 2005-06 57
5. Joaquim Gomes 2003-04 54
6. Zoran Viskovic 1998-99 51
7. Zoran Viskovic 1997-98 49
8. Morris Smith 1979-80 48
9. Morris Smith 1980-81 42
10. Ivan Vujic 1998-99 41

Seems like some of those seven footers worked out pretty well.  Just sayin..(and please don't say that someone wasn't seven foot because they were 6'11")

[LaPorteAveApostle]

His 52 blocks last year would put Gueye right at #6 for Valpo.

At Alabama, he averaged a block every 10.3 minutes.  Playing 20.6 minutes for Valpo and playing every game would give him 68 blocks, which would be...let's see -- oh look! -- the top season ever at Valpo.  4-5 more would put him in the top 10 ever.  In one season.

How dare they mortgage our future!!!1!

[agibson]

With others, I at first mixed up Gueye and Hamga, and also thought "Wait, why are you looking at links from years ago?" when my wife showed me the story on facebook.

Now, the real question, how do you pronounce his name?  I'll be curious to see how he pronounces it, and what the media guide goes with,  "Guy-ay"?  "Gay-ay"?  "Guy"?  Something else?

When thinking of Hamga, my first thought was "How can you possibly give this guy another chance?".  But, Gueye's case seemed easier to relate to.  Do I remember well that the VU coaching staff was involved with "discovering" him in Africa, helping him find a place to land in the US, and sort of felt like they had in inside track on him?  (Or now maybe I'm mixing him up with yet a third player?)  When he re-opened his search process it was pretty easy for me to imagine, "Initially naive player realizes that the world's a bigger place, and his ceiling potentially higher, than he thought."  And to wish him the best of luck.

So, maybe his ceiling's not _all_ that high.  But, it seems like a very solid get for our last scholarship slot (or the last announced one at the moment, at least).  A reasonable stab at a very big body to be a defensive presence, immediately eligible,  and help tide us over while the freshmen mature.

[78crusader]

Your honor, I would like to point out two things as part of my closing argument in support of the proposition that Mousse is a TERRIBLE SIGNING:

1. None of the players listed by VU72 played after 2006; our RECENT history with signings of this type is horrible, as in Let's-Take-Ryan-Leaf-as-our-First-Pick-in-the-NFL-Draft kind of horrible;

2. Beas Hamga.

I rest my case. 

Paul

[IndyValpo]

Seriously, this is a TERRIBLE signing, plain and simple.  It is a throwback to the bad old days of a few years ago when Homer decided to mortgage not only his good name, but the good name of VU basketball, and sign every 7 foot bandit recruit he could find.  NONE of whom, it should be noted, panned out.

2. Beas Hamga.

Holy overreaction, Batman! Even if you are correct,  I do not see where this hurt us in any lasting sense.  Last time I looked we were defending HL champs.

This guy is coming for one year so his impact good or bad is minimal.  To add a 7-0 who may be able to contribute while our younger guys develop seems like a reasonable risk.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Beas Hamga.

All tall African men are not the same, so moot point.

How would you have spent that last scholarship, Paul?  On the next Brandon Wood, no doubt.

[classof2014]

I think this is a great signing. On a young team, chances are our defense will be lacking so getting a guy who is great on the defensive side is a huge plus. Even if he sucks offensively if he is able to get some offensive boards and give us second chances while reducing the opposing teams second chance points I think that's a huge plus.

Offense isn't the only reason you win games. Look at Detroit, great offense no defense and they didn't win it all. While Wright State had a great defense and that carried them into the championship game but didn't win it all. While Valpo had a good balance last year, and well the rest was history.

I think on a young team, defense is lacking and picking up a transfer who knows how to play defense and play it well is a huge plus. Chances are he'll averge 5-10 PPG playing in the HL and I would imagine his blocks numbers would skyrocket.

We only have him for one season so if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out and we move on. Maybe we catch lightning in a bottle and in a new environment with new coaches maybe he blossoms into something special.

All in all I am very pleased with what Bryce and the boys did. I think he was the missing link for this team. He will have an immediate impact defensively on a very young team, where defense usually lacks.

[valpotx]

We obviously did not sign him for his offensive prowess.  There are several top teams that have a defensive stopper that plays 20+ mpg, and rarely scores.  We have guys that should be able to score, and having a big dude down low will open up shots for them just by him being close to the basket.  He will also be able to get putback points, as he has been able to rebound decently in the SEC.  A great 1 year signing. 

[HC]

If he has any athleticism/hand eye coordination at all this was a great signing. It is a one year commitment, a guy who can help give Capo rest (I really hope he can go more then 4 minutes without needing a breather this year), a guy who can clog the middle at the both ends of the courts, and a guy Vashil can learn a few things from (like jumping with your arm already extended when trying to block a shot).

Love it.   

[78crusader]

If he gets putback points, why did he only average 1.4 ppg?  Do baskets in the SEC count for less than 2 points?

To quote Billy Beane one last time:  If he's such a good hitter, why doesn't he hit good?

This guy will look good in the team photo and in airports, but that is it.  The same things that folks are saying about this guy (good post player, blocks shots, rebounds, athletic, tall, wingspan, blah blah blah) were all said last year about another project -- Vashil.  You know what happened there. 

I'm not trying to be mean or argumentative.  I simply think this is a bad signing and we are, or should be, a better program than to "take a flyer" on a basketball nomad like this.

Paul

[vu72]

If he gets putback points, why did he only average 1.4 ppg?  Do baskets in the SEC count for less than 2 points?To quote Billy Beane one last time:  If he's such a good hitter, why doesn't he hit good?

This guy will look good in the team photo and in airports, but that is it.  The same things that folks are saying about this guy (good post player, blocks shots, rebounds, athletic, tall, wingspan, blah blah blah) were all said last year about another project -- Vashil.  You know what happened there. 

I'm not trying to be mean or argumentative.  I simply think this is a bad signing and we are, or should be, a better program than to "take a flyer" on a basketball nomad like this.

Paul

Let's see now... Bobby Capobianco averaged 1.68 ppg and 1.96 rpg at Indiana.  Ben Boggs averaged 2.10 ppg and 1.20 rpg at Virginia Tech.  Will Bogan averaged 2.3 ppg at Ole Miss.  Shall I go on?  Cory Johnson perhaps?  How did these guys work out for us?  Did you actually think we were going to get an All Big Ten 7' who averaged 20 ppg and 11 rpg but just wanted to transfer to Valpo for his final year?

[HC]

Would you have rather the program just not use that last scholarship?  Seems silly to play games without a full roster of scholarship players.  Valpo had a need, and Gueye fills that need.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I simply think this is a bad signing and we are, or should be, a better program than to "take a flyer" on a basketball nomad like this.

You've made that abundantly clear.

Also too the fact that you've seen "Moneyball" a few too many times (also known as "greater than, or equal to, one time").  (Oh, and how many World Series have the A's been to under Billy Beane, by the way?  I bet the movie makes it seem like a lot!)

And so I ask you again-since you didn't want the 4-star 92-rated recruit from the other SEC school either (which was the first time you used that same line)--WHO do you expect the coaching staff to sign?  Transfers aren't transferring because they're starting, all-conference NBA-lock prospects.

No answer means you're just straight-up trolling.

[vufan75]

http://valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/news/2012-13/12745/crusaders-announce-addition-of-gueye-for-2013-2014-season/

A profile video from the University of Alabama athletics webpage where Moussa Gueye talks about his goals for the past season....

http://www.crimsontidehoops.com/Alabama_Basketball/Roster/