Messages

Being a DePaul alum and PROUD Valpo dad I can say DePaul basketball is rising. They have a top 10 class (based on verbals) for next season and added some nice transfers. DeWayne Peevey is now the AD (who was Kentucky's assistant AD) who replaces to ultimately incompetent Jean Lenti Ponsetto.

That being said, actions like this are great but only bear fruit on the court. To 2014's point...his uncle has CLOSE TIES TO ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO. While Illinois liked him to be a bench player, with their roster for this year he wasn't going to be in the starting line up and on the fringe of the rotation. Marcus and his sister wanted him featured to expand his exposure. DePaul offered them that and Tim Anderson and Marcus go WAAAAAAAY BACK in their high school days. He was sold. My understanding is Freeman is staying at DePaul for at least a year and playing one even if he's not eligible this season. Now they were told he was certain to get a year but the NCAA ain't stupid. Your're playing 60 miles west for "hardship"...C'mon man!!!!?

Glad we are playing Purdue again but man, this is the year for P 5's to play OOC on the road. Flip side, limited schedule means limited OOC games. Man the smaller guys still get screwed!!! 

I know some people were knocking Javon on his timing of transfer announcement but I am thinking Matt knew well before the formal announcement as we sign Goodnews a day or two later and Freeman signs with DePaul after being in the portal for, I don't know, 24 hours? These moving parts came together fast. Makes one wonder if things were spinning behind the scenes.

As far as DePaul, like usc4valpo alluded to, they are a chocolate mess. You have an AD who basically is having her employer (the university) sued by a former contractor who alleges her brother, the former softball coach, both mentally and physically abused female coaches and players. The allegations are ugly. They are on top of other transgressions over the years. And then you have a basketball coach that has recruited some talent the last couple years and had a fringe NBA talent in Max Strus coupled with a legit NBA talent Paul Reed and only made the CBI and then last year tanked in the BE after an impressive non con season with said legit NBA talent and a Top 25 recruiting class (Romeo Weems and Markese Jacobs). Not the environment I'd want to be in right now...

And for Ray Meyer, what a fine person. If you met him you'd know how infectious his goodness was. He believed in the little guy and while I was a fan since 1978, I didn't realize or remember they played Valpo at Hilltop. But that's what he did. He helped the little guy either with a big pay day at home or would go tho their place to help legitimize the program. They would play at Pepperdine, Old Dominion, St. Mary's before they we big, same for Gonzaga. He always had an affection for the Catholic / religious private institutions. Back then they would annually play Loyola, Northwestern, Notre Dame, UCLA, Georgetown and St. John's as well. Ahhhh the days of being an independent.

Well Javon spoke the "truth" as DePaul plays 15 minutes away on the Dan Ryan from his home. Good for him and good for DePaul (I am an alum and former season ticket holder) but I think he would've been better served staying at Valpo...oh well.

The GOOD NEWS is we get Goodnews who fills a desperate need in the ever evolving college landscape and that's a shooter. We will have enough athleticism on the roster to the rim which will negate JFL to some extent.

What I will miss most of all is JFL's ability to anticipate the passing lanes on defense. He was one of the best I ever saw at that and why he was always considered one of the best defenders in the MVC. Plus he was pretty damn good on ball as well.

At the end of the day we are an MVC  top tier team, 'nuff said!!!

I was a big fan but not so sure anymore. Like a lot of his game but turning on your word less than 2 months after saying the opposite is not a good look and neither is transferring out of the same school 2 years in a row. Was excited upon his change of heart last year and thought he saw the true value of Valpo but this is high school stuff. High schoolers pull this commit / decommital stuff all the time and an occasional colllege kid too (more than 1 transfer). Usually the college kid never pans out at either of the latter schools. Maybe this speaks to his level of maturity to some degree.

Despite his track record of "truth" I'll trust that his decision is "family" based. It appears that 5 schools have already reached out already, Oregon, BYU, Arkansas, Marquette and DePaul. Three are miles away from Chicago. Another is equidistant or maybe farther than Valpo and the last school is in Chicago but playing on a perennial last place team in the Big East and for a scrub coach like Leitao is a better situation? Good luck in whatever he decides. I did appreciate the 2:years he played here.

Down to the wire....Go Valpo!!!

Great defensive stand after the made FTs.

Point taken Native Cheesehead, no doubt but here is where Mileek, Eron, Nick Robinson and to a greater extent Donavon Clay need to step up. This is depth that can potentially weather that storm. But the big IF is can they? It will afford opportunity and let the staff see what they have in these individuals while Fazekas is on the mend. Sometimes an absence can create opportunity.

Here is our biggest problem and we've seen this under Lottich, is turnovers. Turnovers kill possessions as you take the ball away from you and give it to the other team. Looking at the Cedargurg exhibition we turned it over 16 times...improved to 15 against Toledo and managed to win but tonight we turned it over 19 times...19!!! We cannot do that and expect to win. Good teams turn it over between 10-12 times on average. You fall into that zone and you are in the upper echelon. We need to take care of the ball. We haven't seen that since the days of Keith Carter.

This team has sooooo much potential but we need to value the possession and the basketball. We do that we can weather a storm. That being said, Ryan Fazekas is a HUGE part of this team but we have some very talented depth to play through that. I hate to see him go down. Unfortunately there are guys that are just befallen with bad luck...Sam Bowie for those old enough to know, Greg Oden...injuries play a part and some are more prone and I hate to say it Ryan is one of those.

Sometimes you get addition by subtraction and in the case of Smits and Evelyn I believe that to be the case. It will open up opportunities for others to step up. What I saw, especially last year, was both were given several opportunities and touches and minutes and the production just was not there. I have nothing personal against either of these young men and in the case of Smits my daughter had a similar experience as FWAlum's niece, Derrick gave her a ride to her apartment after class on a very cold and rainy day. As a father I appreciate that but I think they're in better situations personally and I think Valpo is better off as well. Hey a win/win!!!

I know many here follow or utilize kenpom.com rankings but we beat the #85 team in Toledo Tuesday and play the 130th team in St. Louis this weekend. Given it's a road game another win and there's a good start to your resume. Currently, even with the big win, Valpo airs at 205. Just on talent alone this team will be at least 100 spots better by the end of the season. By some miracle they get some lucky bounces too...they will be making noise in March.

Beilen leaves, causes disruption. After multiple speculation it is Juwan Howard. How does this really impact Valpo basketball? It does not for the most part  BUT I'll say this, he has a pipeline to the CPS and he gets what he wants. Now they recruit at another level, but we have inroads too. To me, I'd rather have a more national brand coaching them as it creates opportunity for our staff to cultivate local guys.

But in the end, Juwan Howard in your backyard is akin to a wolf in the henhouse. He will get the Top local kids.

And Mick, while it pains me to say this as they are a fellow MVC member, SIU will be back under Mullins. Stud when he played there which means he has some leniency from a fan / admin POV. Assistant HC (and lead recruiter) to a FF team less than 2 years ago and his father runs the Illinois Wolves AAU Program which has increased their Talent muscle in the last few years especially. He will have that program back in short order. But isn't that good for all???

#YouwannaBeTheBestBEATTheBest

I am sad to see Markus go as well but we have transfers eligible and in place to pick up the slack.

As far as PG is concerned, it is the most paramount position in today's college game. I know that the NBA has influenced "fluid" positioning but college is still a bit different. Different clock, both time and shot, halves instead of quarters which make it a "shorter" game, playing teams with different styles (I.e. UNC versus Virginia). PG excellence, especially those that can distribute, create and shoot present mismatches and set tempo for the offense. They are the firsthand line of attack after a shot to stop ball. To me, every good program needs at least 3 as they expend a TON of energy. Now it's up to Matt to equate minutes but if you have 3 that are competent, or in the very least competent in some of the 3 disciplines (shooting, distributing and / or defense) you utilize those resources.

I am thoroughly convinced, with the addition of Clay, that this will happen. No late season choke jobs will be welcome from now going forward.

Thanks WH and don't lose the positivity brother. I know 2 guys pretty well, one better than the other, that coach lower level AAU ball for some good Chicago based programs. The one texted me around 3:45 today saying Freeman is staying put. I was like what? I couldn't talk to him until later tonight as I started a new gig yesterday and we were going out for a "team" dinner tonight.

He did visit NU and was not enamored. Both mom and uncle had concerns about the transfers there as well as the direction Collins has going and uncle Marcus, due to Illinois ties, reached out to them. They didn't like what they heard there either but he wanted to play closer to home for mom to see him. Sometimes the devil you know is far better than the devil you don't.

No one liked him transferring and the reason, whether selfish or not, was he was leaving but he's not HE IS STAYING!!!! In the end this is such a good thing for this program especially with the addition of Donovan Clay. I truly believe his uncle had a strong influence on this decision but more than that this kid brought intensity to the floor, played the passing lanes like a fiddle and averaged double digit points as a freshman. I think we all agree his staying is ultimately a great good/get for this program. At least I would hope so. I for one am ECSTATIC he's staying with the program and coach that ultimately recruited him. To me this speaks volumes on several fronts. To you, Javon, I only wish continued success. You made us proud your first year, you will only make us prouder in the years to come. Good luck and God bless Kid!!!

And if you look at his twitter post his uncle, Marcus, handle give me liberty Tells him now that's over, let's go to work Kid!!! That says volumes. Like the second comment down.

Here is what I know...Dildy stayed in close contact with the family after he left. Basically said if Javon isn't happy we have a place for him here at NU (kinda shady but this is big time college hoops). Javon and the family listened. They saw what happened to their program (transfer exodus) and he talked with Illinois. At Illinois he'd be 7-8 man off the bench plus they are going to recruit over him as they target 150 ranked players on in. Plus he'd have to sit a year and who knows what Underwood brings in. Here, at Valpo, he can show off his skill set wayyyyyyyy better than playing subpar minutes in the Big10 and always worrying about being recruited over as he plays a position that is very attractive to high Major programs. I'm glad he is staying for a myriad of reasons and the most is he stays with us, Valpo U.

He visited NU saw grass ain't greener and you will get looks playing for "little" Valpo U. I think his uncle, Marcus Liberty, played a big part in his staying as when I saw him and talked woth him he was always on high on his nephew and Valpo U. He's an Illinois alum and played in the Big10. Honestly, I think he talked his sister and nephew off the ledge and told them this is where he should be and is needed the most. There is some credence that he looked, visited NU. But in the end realized I get serious minutes here and if I build on what I've done this can be a special place.

Now others leaving may have played a role too. He or his family will never acknowledge and why? All we know he is staying and we just got better for it. #GoValpo

If Moser takes the Johnnie gig, yes it hurts the MVC brand but to be expected. With Mullins taking SIU Loyola is hurt immensely. I saw Mullins being the heir apparent and had he known I wonder if he takes SIU. I know that's where he went but he's a Chicago guy and his dad runs a very successful AAU program locally.

Emmanuel Dildy come on down?

If Moser takes the St. John's job he's taking it for the challenge. The Moser family, at one time, owned much of what is now Naperville. His ancestors set them up to be independently wealthy so it's not about money and given the extension he agreed to last year, he's doing welll and will continue to do so, For him it's about being ona national stage and coaching a national commodity. Now with that, his coaching and recruiting chops will be on a full display as he will be recruiting ona national stage as opposed to a regional one and will have to deal with the scrutiny of a fan base and media that will expect immediate results.

Given their recruiting losses and transfers, he will be hard pressed to not be in the lower tier of the BE next year.

I think it would've been better to stay radio silent for the next few days and really think of something more positive to deliver than respond to the fallout with that. Or heck just stay radio silent period. Not a good look (or read).

Smits and Evelyn you could forgive as they are Grad transfers, Smits looking for greener pastures and Evelyn more of a potential numbers and potential PT thing next year BUT you're key recruit in the short time you've been here lasting only one year? And again, he saw a LOT of floor time so playing time was not the issue. Obviously through his commentary via twitter on his rationale it ran deeper than PT. Therein lies the rub and why I cannot blame anyone for having their doubts about ML. I like the guy from a personality aspect but this is D1 basketball and you know the saying about nice guys.

He was a Dildy recruit. It was up to this staff to retain Freeman after Emmanuel left for Northwestern. I think he was given ample floor time, etc. I guess I go back to his mom's tweet from a few weeks / month ago where she basically put Lottich on blast being a precursor to this announcement. BIG TIME loss for the program but the cupboard isn't bare.

1314, you are spot on but every team just has a BAD day. We get them Wednesday and if we play like we did today, we will win. IF...but I will be there!!! With my gold Valpo shirt on!!!

Justducky, DePaul has NO 3 point shooters and just beat Xavier at the Cintas Center (shot 23% from 3 for the game) by pounding the ball inside and FINALLY realizing you need to dribble drive. Now X ain't the same X every knows but DePaul has blown for decades now. You use your personnel wisely and put them into a position succeed. I'd take Matt Lottich over Dave Leitao any day. Why? Because what I've seen from both teams is Valpo's effort is so strong every night. Those kids don't give up.

This team is poised next year to take a BIG step up. Transfers and returnees will make Valpo formidable. Last year was tough...this year they are middle of the pack and have a chance to finish 3-5. Progress gents. That's what I'm seeing.