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4 game road trip , 4 loses IMO. Nothing so far that would make think otherwise ...pessimism at its finest lol.  Could we beat Samford tomorrow? Yes. Will I watch no matter what ? Yes. Massey has us losing by 3. Interested to see what the line will be...

I'm seeing Samford by 9 to 10 on the early lines.  Kenpom has it 80-70.

Was there a "secret" scrimmage this year? Has anyone heard anything? Or is this not done anymore?

No secret scrimmage this year.  The game today is an exhibition so basically a scrimmage.

Teams are allowed two exhibition games or scrimmages.  Why would Valpo only play one exhibition and have no scrimmage?  Seems like a missed opportunity to prepare the team with the regular season opener a week away.

Wasn't sure where to put this, so thought I'd start a new thread.

KenPom preseason has MVC rated as #12 conference, behind CUSA and ahead of the WAC.  Valpo checks in at #216.  The entire MVC is as follows:

Drake   79
SIU     90
Bradley 124
Belmont 125
NIU     126
Murray  129
MSU    134
ISUb   135
ISUr   215
Valpo  216
UIC    272
UE    337

It turns out that about half of the players are not in demand in the market. Is it their level so low or does the league have high demands?

I think it's an issue of limited rosters spots and fungible talent. Guys overvalue themselves when they're actually replacement level players.

I think DI rosters spots are in shorter supply for a couple of reasons.  First, many players are staying around for a 5th season by using the "Covid Year" exemption.  After the first year, those guys count as one of your 13 scholarships, so fewer spots for incoming freshman and transfers.  Secondly, many high major players are staying in school longer because they can make as much in NLI money as they would playing professionally overseas.

Apologies if I missed it, but I assume Valpo will have a "secret scrimmage" in addition to their one exhibition game?  Any information on who the opponent might be?

Thanks for the update, jtm.  Valpo website is now updated to reflect the Samford game and only two games in Savannah.

Wouldn't it be great to hear the annual Union Street Hoops episode with Luke Gore talking about the 2022 Valpo Basketball schedule with Paul Oren?  It's been 260 days of silence 
I NEED MY UNION STREET HOOPS!!!!!

Asked and answered!!!!
Thank you. 
A great episode of "The Victory Bell: The Podcast" diving into the non conference schedule.  There is definitely a common word I hear a lot from Luke Gore and that is the "budget".  Explains why some games are on the schedule. -

Did he mention who would be Valpo's 3rd opponent in the Savannah tourney or is that still TBD?

Blue ribbon has us picked 8th!

https://mvc-sports.com/news/2022/9/7/mens-basketball-blue-ribbon-yearbook-tabs-drake-as-mvc-mbb-favorite.aspx?fbclid=IwAR2B3UuEzodbBYSWvuyzQxOMb-mEfEiBooJFD_hf0tv5es8WCgPamhSpLbo

I had to research why Murray State would be predicted at 10 after going 31-3 last season.  Looks like they had 8 guys transfer, including 3 who went to LSU. 

I found a little information on the Savannah tourney, which is being called the inaugural "Hostilo Community Classic".  The games will be played at the brand new Enmarket Arena. 

The only team showing opponents is Mercer and their schedule shows games against Fairfield, Robert Morris and Towson.  If you assume those 4 teams will play round robin, I'm guessing (100% speculation) that Valpo will match up against South Alabama, S Dakota St and James Madison (avoiding Evansville). 

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Saw on Twitter that entire Evansville staff has been let go. 

As he is coming from Ohio State, you can assume that Diebler would expect close to the same deal.

Do you know something that no one else does yet?

No (and, admittedly, my wording was a bit clumsy). All I was saying is that if one assistant at Ohio State got an MVC job, another assistant being hired into an MVC program would expect similar terms.

I don't get this.  Pedon was making twice what Diebler was at OSU ... why would Diebler demand similar terms for a MVC job?

I just saw that Abilene Christian has withdrawn from the tournament due to COVID issues.  By looking at various websites, I see that Valpo will now open against Jacksonville State (instead of Coastal Carolina).  Per Coastal Carolina website, they now have a first round "bye", and will play the winner of the Valpo/Jacksonville St. game.  Not a huge deal as Valpo will still get 3 games, but they do have a much easier first round opponent.

Oops!  I just saw wh post in another thread that Valpo could get only 2 games if they lose the opener. 

I just saw that Abilene Christian has withdrawn from the tournament due to COVID issues.  By looking at various websites, I see that Valpo will now open against Jacksonville State (instead of Coastal Carolina).  Per Coastal Carolina website, they now have a first round "bye", and will play the winner of the Valpo/Jacksonville St. game.  Not a huge deal as Valpo will still get 3 games, but they do have a much easier first round opponent.

I was under the impression that red-shirting had nothing to do with exhibition games, only official games on the schedule.

Actually, I looked this up sometime ago. As I recall an exhibition game does count as a game played. Basically, any game that is officially scheduled, score is kept, publicly attended, etc. counts. This differs from a "secret scrimmage" in which no score is kept, it's a closed-door event, etc.

BTW, NCAA-approved games prior to the season (like our Canadian trip a couple of years ago) do not count as games played for redshirt purposes.

I always thought that freshmen (but not upperclassmen) could play in the exhibition games and still redshirt.  However, I'll go with wh's position as I'm too lazy to research it. 

Aren't we out of 2022 scholarships? If not how many do we have?

If you assume that Anderson and King both return for '22-'23 season, then all scholarships are taken.  That would be college year 7 and 6 for those guys, so even if eligible they could decide to move on.

Given the number of transfers, I'd expect the staff will continue recruiting 2022 kids in case some scholarships open up.

I think Trevor was a 5th year senior last year, which would make this his COVID do-over year, which means he's run the gamut.

That makes sense.  Thanks for clarifying!

Aren't we out of 2022 scholarships? If not how many do we have?

If you assume that Anderson and King both return for '22-'23 season, then all scholarships are taken.  That would be college year 7 and 6 for those guys, so even if eligible they could decide to move on.

Given the number of transfers, I'd expect the staff will continue recruiting 2022 kids in case some scholarships open up.

Looks like we are out of the running. https://twitter.com/jakelieberman2/status/1424128587460857859

I know each recruiting situation is different, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth we didn't make the top 7 and PFW did.

I can think of five good reasons why we aren't on the list:  Cam, Sheldon, Keyondre, Kobe and Connor.  All playing the same spot with at least one year and up to three years of eligibility.  Splinters. If you are going to ride the pines, why not do it at a Power 5?  No way he ends up at PFW.

This is spot on.  With such a loaded roster, it's going to be difficult to get guys like this. 

So why does he have to sit most of the non-con out? Does anybody know?

Someone knows, but I don't.  My guess is he has to serve some sort of suspension because he signed with an agent.  That normally erases any remaining NCAA eligibility, but it sounds like he appealed and was reinstated.  I assume sitting out a few games was his negotiated "penalty".

I finally had a chance to listen and I agree with Morgan and Paul.  It's shame that Valpo made so much money off of Morgan and all he got was a free education.  I think this will change somewhat if the NCAA approves NIL rights for athletes ... in that case, stars like Morgan will be able to earn $ equal to their real value.  Guys like Morgan are driving change.