Messages

Amen! "wh"

While Darius can dish out assists he still is not a threat on offense.  Yes, he has hit some shots.  However, he is very ineffective in attacking the basket.  Too short and lacks strength to get to the bucket and finish.  How many times in the MO ST did he get to the bucket but had his shot blocked or had to continue dribbling back outside to maintain possession.  If he is getting or taking as many shots as he did in this game(14) he has to be able to put it in the bucket more consistently.  Maybe the new kid from Joliet will fill the bill next year.  In today's game a team needs a bigger, stronger point guard who can get to the basket and be strong enough to finish.

In reference to FWalum's earlier comments regarding Valpo recruiting in Fort Wayne, specifically at Concordia Lutheran High , yes it is about time.  However, there is a greater effort needed other than in the music area.  Not only that, but a long-overdue plan is needed for the entire area of Ft. Wayne and the tri-state area.  Music is a very small part of increasing VU's enrollment from the FW area.

Valpo's music program, as good as it is, will not make or break Valpo's declining enrollment in the area.

IN ST played like our old Lottich teams last night...no enthusiasm, no hustle and just got outplayed.  Yes, they were short-handed, but they were not ready to play a team that looked forward to playing a top 25 team.

I don't know how many the student section holds but it appeared the section was pretty full.

Copobianco and Van Wyck were big more mature guys ...the kind we at this point do not have.  You cannot compare those veteran guys with our freshmen...get real!  As stated earlier we are too young and lack strength and experience and as was mentioned these kids have hit a wall.  Give them a break.  Alec Peters got pushed around too when he was a freshman.  Along with Coach Powell, the future is bright.

The post-game presser with Coach hit the nail on the head.  As for the game, When Belmont hit its first 8 shots which included 6 3's, the kids were beat.  I think Belmont is a MUCH BETTER team than their record shows.

Eugene played his college basketball at Purdue.

When one thinks about the level of top level guys who were plucked by the Big 10 schools, and maybe some others,  the MVC would have had a banner year with top rated teams including IN ST.  Would have, could have??

Evansville started 5 seniors(3 of which were 5th year).  A veteran lineup like that, with experience and the age factor, just killed us inside as they had their way with our guys in the paint.  At this point we just are not experienced enough or strong enough.  I just can't figure out our shooting woes...terrible.  And then there is our interior defense.  Our biggest guy, Cooper, only had 2 rebounds until very late in the game when he finally got his 3rd.  I thought we could have and should have won this game....very disappointing.

Experience and strength are the 2 biggest problems we currently  have.  I am excited and look forward to next year and beyond.  Constantly playing against bigger, stronger guys takes its toll on our young players.  I think we all can see the improvement in this young group of guys and I expect that improvement to continue, even having an off-night now and then is part of the process.

I thought we played well for a good portion of the game but this young team still has its bad stretches as in the SIU game and others, including today.   Those bad stretches are killers especially when playing veteran teams.   I think we can all see improvement which makes the future exciting but boy are those bad stretches tough to watch.   Our young kids just got man-handled in the paint and on the boards.   You just have to love the experience factor.

Now lets get the Aces next Saturday.

Interesting...wouldn't it be great to "steal" 2 brothers that turn out to be top notch players?  Maybe? 

I think the brother was signed before Cooper.  And I thought I heard Coach say we were the only offer Cooper had.  ??   If that is true, hopefully there would be some loyalty there, especially in light of Coach recruitring  class kids.

At our mid-major level, I do not think making a coaching change in mid-season is a good move.  Change is needed but not now.

I like your assessments, "wh".  I love the way Coach is approaching and handling the kids this year.

You know this team will have problems scoring when our leading scorer or one of the leading scorers is DeVareio.  He is taking many more shots than last year but still does not hit a decent percentage.  Our front court needs to be more aggressive in attacking the bucket.   I guess it is growing pains with this young team and coach.  While at times we are taking one step forward we also are taking one or more backwards but it sure is nice to see any improvement in these kids as the season progresses.

Tough loss after a big rally...freshmen continue to develop...too many turn overs by DeVereio our main ball handler...shooting, shooting, shooting...rebounding a work in progress but improving.   One of these days we will get it done and surprise someone...need to keep working and getting better.

DeViero has taken the most shots, made none, missed his free throw,  has turnover already...when are coaches going t o figure out he cannot shoot consistently or hit anything are at decent rate?  He continues to be a big offensive liability.  I think we should be playing someone who at least is somewhat of a offensive threat.  We really lack offense.

What is the early line?

Both Trine and St. Francis are good small school programs.

What a tough game to watch for VU fans.  Two things stand out to me:  DeVeiro should not be the point guard getting the most playing time if others are available.  Other teams are now on to the fact that pressuring him takes him out to the game as he cannot get to the bucket and finish or get off a shot in close.  The increased pressure appears to making him more prone to turnovers.  While he has been getting some assists now and then and a bucket every once-in-awhile, he is VERY inconsistent.  Because of his lack of weight and size a good offensive player can take him inside and he then is overmatched.

My second point is that in addition to having a young, inexperienced team, we also have a relatively young inexperienced head coach.  I am not saying Powell should not be our Coach, but he also has to grow into the job of running a complete Div1 team and all that it encompasses from Recruiting to game plans and how to finish a close game.
This will be a long season of learning for us all so we need to be patient as tough as it may be.

We not only have a young, inexperienced team but we also have a young first year HEAD coach who is learning the ropes being in charge of the entire program.  I would expect him to also make "Rookie" mistakes as the season progresses.  Overall, I believe the future is bright and both players and coaches will get better as the season progresses.  I hate to say it, but sometimes it gets very frustrating to watch this team play.  But let's all hang in there and watch it get better as the season moves along.

In this year, I believe we will lose some games that we should  win or should have won and will win some games that perhaps we should have lost.  When we have such a young roster we will see many ups and downs.  It will be a long season but it should be fun watching the team improve as they gain experience.

The mid-major conferences and schools need to get together and do their own thing.  Set up reasonable limits on dollars and let's go.  Who needs the big guys spending all the money their squander out of the general public to pay players who are professional in my book and then build expensive palaces to play in in order to spend the un-godly amount of money they make. It is getting to be a joke as it will be the end of the "student/athlete" definition, if it isn't already.  Let's get back to the game where there really are student/athletes who  want a college degree and love to compete on a more level playing field or court.  Just check out what Butler charges for their men's basketball tickets to see how prices are getting way out of hand.