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Well said chef. Always had that twinkle in his eye. Always able to make you smile. And I still remember what he would say to the guards during shooting drills. "When you shoot, you shoot to kill. Shoot to kill." That stuck with me for some reason.

bigmosmithfan ... right on. All the words, all the excuses, all the rationalizations, just wad them up and throw them away because they're worth squat.

The fact of the matter is the university has EXACTLY the program it wants. It's hard to come to any other conclusion. All of the actions and decisions were made consciously, whether to invest in facility upgrades, coaching and recruiting budgets, travel, etc. These are people who are presented with information and data and choose the outcome they desire.

I was a huge critic of the Lottich hiring at the time it was made, for a number of reasons. It was a total short-sighted decision that has done nothing but hamstring the program since. What competent leader hires a No. 3 (at best) assistant coach, with no prior D-1 coaching experience, to take over a potential NCAA-Tournament team? Administrative malpractice. All for the sake of one senior class that didn't even make it back to the NCAA Tournament. You can have your but's and what if's about the season, but the bottom line is the bottom line. I am not a Bears fan, but Lottich to me is very similar to Mitch Trubisky. Trubisky took a lot of heat for his play with the Bears, and rightfully so. But it was overdone in a way. It's not like he asked the Bears to trade up for him and take him No. 2 overall, after all. He was in over his head from the get go and never really got his head above water. Same with Lottich. What did the powers that be think they were getting with a first-time No. 3 assistant coach? It was a completely foolish and ill-advised hiring at the time and remains even more so today.

All is not lost, however. Thankfully, Valpo still has the Valley going for it. There are many qualified coaches out there who would jump at the chance to coach in this league, even at a limited place like Valpo. Right now, it is my belief that the affiliation with the MVC is about the only kernel of hope around the program. So long as they are a member of the league, they will be able to attract quality candidates. The problem, as always, is who will be making that decision of who to hire when it comes time (most likely way down the road).

Plenty of schollies available. At least JFL constantly worked to improve his game and burned to win. Can't say I feel the same about some of the departures.

Is this team trending upward?

No

Do you see player development?

Freeman and Sackey Yes- major -but with large game to game variations
Sorolla and Smits      Yes- slowly getting better-- painfully slow
Kiser                       Yes - small improvements
Golder and McMillan  Not nearly enough------ I had fooled myself into believing Mileek could make significant contributions. Markus also seems to have some limits to his upside.
Evelyn.                    No
Fazekas.                  Uncertain- I'll give him an injury pass with the hope he can return to early January form.

What's hard is then admitting to yourself the team you love might not be working out.

You could be right but the injuries have really muddied the water.

Freeman and Sackey are freshman. We will get a better feel for true development next season. Does Sackey learn to raise his release point in the lane to decrease the likelihood of a blocked shot? Does he work on free throws and look for contact? Does Freeman work on an outside shot and to tighten his handle?
Sorolla Smits -- no and hell no.
Kiser -- it doesn't matter
Mileek -- nope.
evelyn and fazekas -- no.

The only guy I really feel bad for is Golder. It is obvious he worked really hard to develop that fallaway jumper that had become such a weapon for him.

I don't know. I just expect more.

This is what stood out to me: "You don't fire a coach after three years unless it's a complete disaster. And this is not a complete disaster. They're trending upward."

Wow. Potential back-to-back last-place finishes, not a complete disaster apparently.

I can make current emotional decisions based on "potential" futures as well.  In fact, I don't think I am going to leave the house today, somebody "potentially" could hit me with their car.   

Who is making an emotional decision? Take all emotion out of it, if you can. Is this team trending upward? Do you see player development?

You are either growing or dying in this world. What do you see when you look on the court? It's not hard to see with your own eyes. What's hard is then admitting to yourself the team you love might not be working out.

This is what stood out to me: "You don't fire a coach after three years unless it's a complete disaster. And this is not a complete disaster. They're trending upward."

Wow. Potential back-to-back last-place finishes, not a complete disaster apparently.

Lottich knew very well that he may lose Skara if Vujic wasn't hired, but he has too much integrity to play that game. Other coaches would have given in and found a spot for Vu strictly to keep the player. We should be very happy to have a new coach with great moral character.

You CANNOT start out your coaching career giving in to blackmail like this. Makes it easier to do it the next time, and the next time. And before you know it you have compromised yourself so much you can barely recognize yourself.

People, have we learned nothing from Blue Chips??

Good for Matt.

Not sure we'll ever find out the truth,

You have already been told the truth.

I've seen Sasha play on multiple occasions, including once when Roger Powell was in attendance. He was clearly the best player on that Crown Point team that had IU signee and Indiana All-Star Grant Gelon.

He's a do-everything player who does everything well. Smart and tough. And clutch. Xavier has offered and Michigan is expected to.

He plays on the same AAU team (Eric Gordon) as Romeo Langford who just got offered by Duke and Kansas, so he will have the opportunity to showcase himself in front of all the top programs.

Still only 6-4, though, so he better grow.

Wait, Alec Peters is a free agent?

I believe he will graduate in May and is free to pursue a grad transfer

I think Bryce is enamored with 6-6, 6-7 players who are athletic, but also wild cards, at the expense of 6-foot point guards who are not flashy and won't frighten anyone getting off the bus. But the thing is, Lexus was good enough to play as a freshman, and play well. Watching him, he had that "it" quality to him. Now, I do not know how much the injury has slowed him, or if he is only a shell of the player he was two years ago, but after that Wright State game on the road, he at least deserved a chance.

As for Peters, let me ask you this: wouldn't you look around?

I actually believe, if he stays, that they can be better next season. I may be wrong, but one thing that always gnawed at me watching this team, was I never got the impression that Alec felt like this was his team. Your best player HAS TO LEAD at this level. I would like to see that side of him emerge next season.
They will miss K Carter, for sure, but everyone else was spare parts. I really do like Hammink -- he reminds me of a lefty Shawn Huff -- and I am looking forward to seeing more touches for T Walker, Skara and Jubril. Plus you add Derrick Smits to the fold and Valpo could have some serious juice next season.
It will all come down to Alec's decision.

Don't want to come across as an absolute ass, but if your team couldn't win a neutral site league tournament game to Green Bay, were they really going to be successful in the NCAA Tournament?? I don't know many people who like the new format, so don't act as if only Valpo was affected.

Go ask George Mason that question. Or better yet, ask Oregon or Oregon State.

Lack of a true point guard hurt us in ot. Have to give Green Bay credit. They hit the shots, got the rebounds and made the free throws they had to. They played with more poise and deserved to win. Sad end to what was a realistic shot at doing some damage in the dance.

This game was lost by the decisions made following the loss at Wright State. Anyone who watched that game saw that Valpo needed a true backup pg who could run the offense and, more importantly, UNDERSTAND, what the defense was doing. When it was decided to stay the course with Hammink and E Vic -- while Lexus Williams sat on the bench -- you saw the result last night.

This was embarrassing, and another loss to a bad team.  I don't care that we lost twice to them this season, that doesn't make them good.  I don't care how bad of a shooter someone is, if you don't have anyone within 10 feet of them, they can make a 3 if they are at a D-1 school.  Yes, it banked in, but you don't just give them a shot like that with 1 minute left.  Wright State is a team that we should beat by 15+, and our guys should be absolutely embarrassed that they lost twice to a team like that...if they weren't already embarrassed by their loss to Ball State

This ... to infinity. You don't leave ANYONE open from 3-point range with that much time left when ONLY 3-pointers can beat you at that point. Coaching 101.
Another brain lapse led to this situation: why was Valpo, up 6 with the ball and shot clock winding down, isolating their worst free throw shooter on the low block and trying to get HIM the ball? Skara had taken his man to the hole and drawn fouls twice already in the late shot clock situation! Oh by the way you also had AP and Tevonn on the floor, but let's throw it in to 14.
Getting outplayed is one thing. Getting outmaneuvered (twice now BD has panted BD this season) is another.

chef, couldn't agree more.

posted my team on twitter, and it went a little something like this:
BD
Milo
Huff
Kikas
Zoran

Zoran was perfect for Bryce. Could screen and roll, could get him open, could hit the boards. An all-time great. Huff has always been one of my all-time favorites in terms of being to do a little bit of everything.

Yeesh.
I see a thread titled "For the Old Timers" and I just knew I would see a response from Valpo89!

But then he has to lasso me in with him. With friends like you ...

I believe Cohane made his money on Wall Street. He was an interesting guy.

Remember him getting into it with Vilcinskas during one of the games at the ARC. The other guy I remember well is Mike Martinho, the little sharpshooter from New Jersey.

I would think there would be only one job left for Brad Stevens, and it is currently occupied by a d***head egomaniac who has the candy stripers on the verge of a Final Four.

I envy you

x2

Setshot is correct.

Also, Bryce wants to WIN. No chance of that at Northwestern.

Wouldn't surprise me much if part of a contract extension was to take a year or two off from fishing for other jobs. Maybe not, but it wouldn't surprise me.
The Drews have a lot of allies in the national media who would gladly crank up the rumor mill on their behalf this spring.

The Top 25 ranking was the final AP poll released AFTER the NCAA Tournament.

tough to hear.

remember one great night with him in particular in lawrence, kansas. world class human being.

what's kind of funny to me is that Scott finished AHEAD of a busted cheater (Calhoun) while two other icons (Roy Willum and Coach K) whose programs have been at the very least linked to shady AAU figures and runners (Myron Piggie) escaped the list.

Have never been to Waco so I cannot vouch for its appeal but i HAVE been to Storrs, Conn., many, many, many times and to Lawrence, Kansas as well. I have no idea how any coach convinces a high-profile recruit to commit to those schools.

I would imagine this is Roger Powell's last season at Valpo. He already has too many recruiting victories not to be picked up by a power-conference school who sees all of his plusses.

And on and on.
This is much ado about nothing. This is the way it is in D-I hoops today.
I am sure many on here can remember when freshmen weren't even allowed to play.

And my all-time fave, Chris Artis.