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ESPN just announced that Coach Bryce interviewed for Mississippi St. job.

I know I don't fit the profile of a person from whom you're looking for suggestions, but I thought I'd contribute some anyway...

Up and coming
Energy (energized)
Rising
Next level
New era
Exciting
Bright
Upbeat
Team together

Love the new site. Great work!

Behaves strangely for me using Chrome 12.0.742.122

Wondering what the opinions are on where in the ARC is the best vantage point to view games. Need some help with selecting season seats. Thanks!

Will was criticized on a message board because he had a 16 and 7 game that wasn't on TV so nobody saw it. Like he screwed up because he didn't wait to have that game at home. I'm sure he'll get criticized for something or other in the next two years too. It is what it is. People are people.

A program like Valpo walks a very difficult line. On one hand everyone wants to do everything "the right way", kinda like life in Mayberry, NC back in Andy and Opie's day. On the other hand everyone wants to win the conference and get to the dance. It's not impossible to do both, just very difficult. The more Valpo goes to the other hand, the more fans' expectations of players and coaches will increase and many fans will become less accepting of what they perceive to be the less talented, warranted or not. So long as fans don't cross the blurry line between opinion and mean-spirited dissing, I think it's okay... unfortunate, but okay.

[worse off]

I've never seen Hrvoje play, heck I don't even know how to pronounce his name (some help here?). But I look at the discussion of him this way: A team can have 13 scholarship players. Of these, in deep, generous programs, 9 will get most of the minutes. That leaves at least 4 scholarship players on every team in the country who won't play much--if at all--in games. But if these players bring something unique to practice or team chemistry, then I think they earn their scholarship. I think a team is worse off having 13 scholarshipped studs because no team can give those players enough minutes to satisfy them. And no team will be successful with 4 or more dissatisfied, disgruntled players bringing their negative attitudes to practice and the locker room everyday. Every team needs role players and some roles are played out in practice and in the team chemistry.

Not really a topic of discussion, but thought you guys might be interested in this map. It's amazing how dramatically clean the imaginary line is that splits the country right down the middle.

http://collegesportsinfo.com/ncaa-map/

Curious to know how the transfer recruiting process occurs.  Once Will determined he was not returning, how did the word get out that he was available?   Did the Ole Miss coaches help?  Former HS and AAU coaches?  Or is there an official announcement released by the school that he was leaving and then the recruiting began?

lowposter

The player informs his current school (A) that he wants to talk to other schools (B) about transferring. Most often the player also requests to be released from his scholarship at the same time. The player must give the current school a list of transfer schools he is interested in. School A can:
1-Deny the request.
2-Approve the request with explicit limitations (no schools in same conference, no schools on coming season's schedule, no schools in same state, etc).
3. Approve the request with no limitations.

If action 1 or 2 is taken, school A must send a Permission to contact letter to the school B. School B cannot contact the player until they receive, sign, and return the letter. Once the letter is exchanged, school B can contact the player according NCAA transfer contact rules (the rules differ from HS contact rules). Like HS recruit, transfers are allowed a certain number of official visits.

In Will's case the Coach Kennedy and the assistants we're very helpful. After the Permission to contact letter was in place, two Ole Miss coaches contacted Valpo. Will's AAU coach contacted other schools as did his HS coach.

Another way word gets out is through the Internet at sites like: http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/jeffgoodman/ Schools always watch sites like this for potential transfers.

For Will, the transfer recruiting process was very similar to HS, only much more condensed and intense. The process took place during graduation and his final inter-session summer class. He was literally flying all over the country and answering a steady stream of calls while trying to finish school. It was pretty crazy and exciting.

Honestly though, after Coach Bryce traveled to Oxford to meet Will all the other schools were in a position of trying to recruit him away from Valpo. Will was pretty much convinced right then. I'll say it again, Coach Bryce is really, really good! Consider this: Will's childhood dream conference was the PAC-10... Sunny, warm west coast... Awesome competition (Arizona, UCLA, USC, Washington, etc)... regionally local, but far enough from home... great TV exposure. One PAC-10 school that Will had already made an official visit to called the day after he gave his verbal to Valpo still trying to talk him out of it. Will told them thanks, but no thanks. I'm goin' to Valpo! Coach Bryce completely sold Will on Valpo.

Based on Coach Drew and Coach Bryce's recruitment of Will, I can say that those two guys are awesome recruiters. Coach Bryce was the primary recruiter in Will's case; Coach Drew was involved but more in a head coach / figurehead (not exactly the correct word by strict definition, but hopefully you get the point) way. Coach Bryce did his homework and presented the school and the basketball program in a very compelling way. He covered the smallest details. It's amazing how the most seemingly insignificant things get noticed, make an impact, and are remember by recruits. Coach Bryce has a keen awareness of that. In Will's case, Coach Bryce was flat out a better recruiter than any other D1 coach that recruited Will. That includes about 20 schools from The SEC, PAC-10 (now PAC-12), Ivy League, WAC, and Mountain West.

Mid-majors and even bigger non-BCS schools have some huge challenges recruiting true high-major caliber talents. No matter how terrific the smaller school is at recruiting, most (by far) kids will never choose them out of high school. It's not really a matter of good or bad recruiting. There's waaaaay more to it than just that.

Word is Vashil will be on campus today (Saturday).

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!

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!

Professional. Clean. Easy nav. Great info. Social links. Scores. All-around very well done. Reflects the high standards of the school and athletics program.

[throw down]

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.

I don't think Coach Powell's lack of coaching experience will matter at all.

To me, the two most important things about the HC and the assistants are:

1-Players have to naturally (as in unforced) respect the coaches as coaches and human beings. Players will not rally around coaches they don't respect. Never happens.

2-The coaches have to be natural leaders. Natural leaders are people whom others naturally follow... People who people want to follow because their subconscious intuition tells them it is in their best interest to follow. I think it's how we're all wired.

I think those two characteristics are required in order to have total team chemistry (coaches and players). And that factors into success more than individual talent or experience in a coach or a player.

So, if chemistry is created within our young (some have said inexperienced) coaches and collection of returning, freshmen, transfers, and foreign players, the team will be successful. From what I've been hearing, that chemistry has already started germinating with this team.

Ask yourself which of the following will be more successful:
• Most talented vocalist... or entertainer who has the best chemistry with fans
• Best looking couple... or couple with best chemistry
• Actor who graduated at the top of the class from Juilliard... or actor who creates best chemistry with audiences
• Miami Heat... or Dallas Mavericks (2011 editions)
• Ole Miss... or Valpo (1998 editions)
You get the point.

Tidbit: Word is Vashil will be at the school tomorrow.

I think Coach Bryce's playing legacy will remain intact no matter how successful he is as a coach. He starts building his coaching legacy in the fall. It'll be fun to watch!

In the end, I have no doubt he will succeed as a coach. He is a successful person. That's what people like that do. They don't know, nor will they accept, anything else.

I don't think he feels any extra pressure. He probably puts more pressure (if you want to call it that) on himself than any external factors.

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!