Some Post-Season Thoughts (Very long...)

[ValpoHoops]

With the off-season in full swing and the high of our NIT run finally worn off, I wanted to post my thoughts on the myriad of topics that have been bantered about here and elsewhere. I've been reading along for the past month or so, but really haven't had time to get involved in much of the conversation, but it's raining today and I don't feel like being outside working in it, so I finally have time.

There's a ton here and some if it bounces around a bit, my apologies.


On Bryce Leaving...

Fortunately or unfortunately, many of us have known this day would come sometime, especially given the success that we have had. While many of us have been disappointed – at times – in the final results of a season, the fact remains that we have enjoyed an incredible run of success within the Horizon League and it was simply time for Bryce to move on.

Many people have been upset by the fact that Bryce "bailed" on his hometown, but the simple fact is that we are not the people to chastise him for doing what he feels is best for himself and his family. He found an opportunity to take over at a school where he felt everything was the right fit for him, and it's not an unknown that Tara is not a Midwestern girl. Many of my conversations with people over the past few years have centered on "the south" as the place that Bryce would be moving on to, and I think we have now found that. Nashville is a wonderful city, and any job can become a destination job or a powerhouse if the right people are in place.

Looking back, I think it is very clear that Bryce left our program in a significantly better place than it was before he took over as head coach. The simple fact is that the last few years of Homer's tenure weren't his best. He had a much better final season, but we were 9-22 and 15-17 in the two seasons before that. Bryce had one season where the team didn't win at least 22 games, and one season where we did not put up a banner as the Horizon League Champions. I know that the NCAA bid comes with the tournament title, but those banners truly prove who the best team is.

I, personally, have nothing but good wishes for Bryce, his family and his future. He is forever a member of the Valpo family, both from his playing days and his coaching. Will I set a reminder to stop and watch a Vanderbilt game? Doubtful. But I will be interested in his successes and I hope he is able to turn Vanderbilt into a national power.


On Matt Lottich...

Once the news broke that Bryce was leaving, those that I converse with about Valpo basketball most and I had a pretty long conversation about where we felt the program should go. Roger Powell, Matt Lottich, Greg Tonagel, Jake Diebler and a host of other "non-Valpo" names were mentioned in those conversations. I felt from the start that Roger would be Option A as our next head coach, given his role for the past few seasons. That said, there were many opinions that felt he would take a position with Bryce and that we would be looking elsewhere, which brought us to Matt.

From the start of that conversation, I never felt that Greg or Jake were realistic candidates for the position. While we banter about the state of the Horizon League, the fact is that neither of these two have any significant advantage over Matt on any experience factor, and Matt has been involved in these players recruiting and development for the past several seasons.

I feel that Matt will be a tremendous coach. He has many of the same traits as Bryce, but he also is willing to blaze his own trail. I would expect a slightly higher pace, a few less set plays and a bit more fire on the sidelines from Matt, but overall, I think he is smart enough (he did go to Stanford, after all) to realize the foundations of what the program has been built on and to stick with as much as possible.

From my experiences, it really does matter who you are coaching, as opposed to what you are coaching them to do. There is a level to which a great coach can use his system to mask deficiencies, but at some point you must simply "have the horses to run the race". We have the horses and Matt has proven himself as a recruiter. If we continue on that path, we can continue to expect great things.

As an aside, I was extremely happy to find out that Luke Gore is staying with the program. I've known Luke since my time as a student, and he represents everything that we should want from our program. He has a wonderful family and is an excellent basketball coach. We are lucky to have him, and to have had him for so long. I do not believe he wanted to be the head coach, though I could be wrong.


On the David Skara situation...

Unfortunately, this is a situation that all too often develops, with both foreign and domestic players. A parent/guardian/AAU coach/advisor gets a promise or even a suggestion that something is going to happen, and when it doesn't, they attempt to use their influence to "punish" the program that didn't give them what they want. Many times, the kids get caught up in this and they really are the ones who end up punished.

My gut feeling is that Ivan Vujic was interested in a spot on the staff and didn't get it, so Dave Maravilla is pushing Skara to make a decision that he may or may not want to make. Maravilla has a vested interest in Vujic getting a coaching job, so his feeling/wallet may be hurt.

In this position, if I were Valpo, I would grant his release (with the conference limitations) and try like hell to recruit him to stay. Quite simply, David is old enough to make his own decisions, but he has a lot of people advising him. He is in a very tough spot. I sincerely hope that he makes the decision that will work out the best for him. He's a great kid, and I wish him the best...hopefully in a Valpo uniform.

As far as a release, it is standard practice for a non-graduate transfer to have a transfer blocked within the conference, so that's not something that anyone will likely use against Valpo in recruiting. The transfer to Vanderbilt would be tough to swallow, but I'm not sure I would block that one, though I certainly understand if from the Valpo perspective. The one note that I will make is that many times a school blocks a transfer to any school they are going to play in the upcoming season. To my knowledge, that has not been done.


On Women's Basketball...

I've been one of the biggest supporters of the women's basketball program and the coaching staff over the past few years, and those who know me understand why. That said, I would have expected the current staff to have had more success over the past four years. So, on some level, there has been a disappointment hanging over that in my mind.

I never expected them to come in and perform a miracle. The program they inherited four seasons ago was not in a good place. The talent level was down and recruiting had been below par. The past few years, the talent level has gotten better, but the results have not been there. I have not been at that many practices, but I have seen every game that I have been available for (I would estimate that I missed less than a handful of home games and the same for watching road games). Player development has been lacking in some areas, and I feel that some tactical moves that were made were not the best decisions. But again, I'm not there every day, and I don't sit in meetings.

I do feel that the two-year extension given to Coach Dorow is warranted. The team has showed signs of improvement (don't just look at the W/L numbers, even though that's what we tend to do), but they need to continue and even accelerate. Losing Jazmyn Walker to transfer will hurt. A lot. But, with a full summer of development, I would hope that the returning players will improve to a place where they can compete better in the Horizon League.

There will be some staff changes on the women's side as well. I am anxious and curious to see those changes and to see how the team progresses. I want that program to be successful every bit as much as the men's program. Their last NCAA appearance was in 2004...the time has come to end that, and it's going to be difficult.


On Alec Peters, the NBA and a transfer...

With the new NBA/NCAA draft rules, I don't think there was any question that Alec would and should enter the NBA Draft, go through any workouts he was able to get and hopefully to get the feedback he needs to get himself ready for next season. Alec has been (and will hopefully continue to be) a fantastic player for us...one of the best to ever put on the Valpo uniform, but there is no way that I feel he leaves his name in the draft. He really doesn't fit into the NBA "3" spot at this point, and for some reason the NBA is so set in their positions.

If Alec isn't going to be entering the draft, that leaves him with two options – staying at Valpo or transferring. In all honesty, I think it would be tough for him to keep up his academics, be looking at a transfer and going through the draft process. All of that said, I do know that there have been P5 school that have contacted some people connected with him about him transferring. He will graduate this spring and would be free to go and play somewhere else (anywhere) immediately.

Another thing that sometimes gets overlooked is that he has been dating a women's basketball player who has also graduated, but has exhausted her eligibility. If their relationship is serious enough that they take it into account, we can't overlook that. Would she want to leave Valpo? Would she want to be at home? Would she want to go with him anywhere? I know it seems silly to ask, but it really can have a big effect.

All of that said, I think we see Alec in a Valpo uniform come November. We have a great program that is still trending upward and he has the chance to become a legend of the Valpo program. I don't have any information other than my gut, but I think he stays. I certainly hope he does.


On Keith Carter...

Todd Ickow said on this board a few days ago that it was more likely than not that Keith would be granted another year of eligibility. I've believed that with absolutely no inside information from the start. If Keith and Alec return, and if Derrik can develop at all, I believe this team has the potential to be even better than the past couple of seasons.

A core of Alec, Keith, Tevonn, Shane, etc. and with the young players we have coming in, I think the program is set up for the long term. Keith would be a fantastic bridge (not that I'm attempting to reduce him) to Micah Bradford and the future.

Given all that happened to him at Saint Louis, and the type of person he is, Keith deserves another season, and I fully anticipate that we will get some good news...hopefully sooner rather than later.


On the NIT run...

After the disappointing drive home (and the anger after seeing how badly Keith was fouled) following last season's NCAA game, I was very disappointed going home from Detroit this season after the Horizon League Tournament. I didn't want to play in the NIT. It's not the NCAA. Given that, I couldn't begin to try to talk down about the run that we made to NYC.

The first game of the NIT, I was worried about how the crowd would be and how the team would respond. While I was somewhat disappointed with the attendance, the team responded simply by never letting Texas Southern lead. Not once. They showed me that they cared...this was the most important thing to them, and that's a really big thing.

The second and third games were incredible. It was a joy to finally get a P5 team into the ARC, and one who had a pretty good season. The atmosphere for those two games was nothing short of awesome. I was not on the floor for those two games, but they approached the noise level of the Marquette game – the one were Tom Crean couldn't even talk in his timeouts (had to write everything on his board) because the arena was so loud. While that game may have discouraged some P5 teams from ever considering the ARC, I thought it was incredible.

The BYU game was one of the most nerve-wracking games I've ever watched from afar. I have no idea how we pulled out to the big lead that we did, but I think everyone watching knew that BYU was going to make a run. They are too good on offense and way too explosive to let that margin feel safe. They did and we held on. At that point of the season, you'd love to keep the big lead, but it's all about advancing.

The final against GW was a let down from the high of two nights before, but it certainly doesn't dampen the feelings I have for that season. GW was simply better that night and we couldn't get anything going. That happens. The 2015-2016 will likely go down as the second-best season in the history of Valpo basketball (certainly in the Division I era). That's special.


On the Horizon League...

The Horizon League today is not what it was when we joined for the 2007-2008 season. That's a simple fact. However, we are now the top dog and the other teams are shooting for us. Part of this is a result of our program rising and part is the result of some other schools falling on some hard times. As much as it hurts sometimes, there are days when I jump on the board and think "our people are starting to sound like the Butler fans from five years ago...those Butler fans that everyone complained about".

Like it or not, we don't have many options for moving on from the Horizon League. If Wichita State were to leave the Missouri Valley, would that league be that much more attractive? I think it would, but it loses a lot of its luster. Beyond that league, the A-10 is really the only option.

My feeling for what our best bet would be for a conference move is this: the Big East gets raided for a non-football school to pair with Notre Dame (so the ACC would have an even number for football and their other sports), Dayton gets the call to the Big East and we slide into the A-10. I think this is a long ways off, but I think it's an option. In the meantime, we have a job to do...continue to dominate. The West Coast Conference has raised its level in response to Gonzaga. It took a long time. It took a lot of effort. But if we continue to win championships, we can get there as well.


On a personal note...

Not that many of you care, but this spring I moved away from Valpo and honestly can't say that I'll ever be moving back. I learned around Christmas that my girlfriend and I are expecting a child in August, and I found a great job very near her family, so we relocated to that area and will be settling in. I hope to be back to Valpo as many times as possible...for games, for events to see friends. I've spent nine years of my life in Valpo and have a million great memories.

To all of you that I met and befriended: Thank you. You've made my time in Valpo wonderful and I hope to see you again soon.

To those of you that I simply know as a username: Be proud that you are part of a community of Valpo fans that is as passionate about a small school as we are. There are very few schools who have what we do.

To everyone: Good luck...I don't know how much I'll be here over the next few months or years. I hope to be, but life sometimes gets in the way. I enjoy coming here every day and seeing what's been said and reading opinions.

[NCVUfan]

Thank you ValpoHoops.  Good Luck.

[VULB#62]

Couldn't have asked for a better summation of the year past.  Thank you.   

[a3uge]

It could have been twice as long and I would have still enjoyed reading it. Well done.

[ARCInsider]

Hoops dropping knowledge bombs, per usual.

[ValpoDad89]

Valpohoops, first and foremost, congratulations on the upcoming birth of your first child. It is an experience many on this board will tell you is fraught with some trepidation (what do you do when they wake up in the middle of night crying, or just won't stop crying, etc) but in the end so cool to nurture a young life into a chaotic world.

Second, yes your post was long winded but spot on. I feel exactly the same way you do. A few observations I can make, as far as Skara goes, not in the same league but I was a DePaul season ticket holder during the Kennedy era. He was able to get Imari Sawyer to sign, now many long toothers may remember Imari but Imari was a 5* talent (out of King HS in Chicago who had Marcus Liberty, Johnny Selvie and Rashard Grifith play for them to name a few and I know I missed some). He came with baggage. The baggage being his father and his host of handlers. I sat close to the court near the tunnel where DePaul would enter/ exit each half. Every home game, at halftime, his "handlers" would pull the staff aside and give their 2cents. My guess was not adjustments but how they could best utilize Imari despite the team. I was left disgusted but also sobered into the world of big time hoops. People have agendas for these kids that fit their own ends and not necessarily those of the student/athlete. My guess is David is gone. But very replaceable and I feel for us, all things will still come together.

Third, I agree with you Alec's best option is to stay right here. In full disclosure I am biased but also, I've been around college basketball long enough to know that by declaring for the draft he's doing himself a great service. Now more than likely he won't get drafted but teams probably already know about him, have the opportunity to see him up close and they will keep tabs on him during this next season because they're very interested in him. Outside of a few coaches at the college level, many of which run programs where Alec will not be a focal point (Duke, Kentucky), I don't think he will do himself a service in developing elsewhere. The only 2 Programs that I would worry about are Michigan State and Kansas as they seem to have a need/fit for an Alec type player. If he went to either, I could or would not fault him.

Lastly the Horizon League. Being a DePaul fan as well, I can say they are currently content with the makeup of the conference but if they did decide to expand, the 2 programs discussed the most coming on aboard are St.Louis and Dayton. They are currently a 10 team conference so if they expanded I would guess it would be by 2 schools. If those 2 schools do bolt that creates 2 openings for the A10 and I would hope that Valpo, given their success and proximity to the Chicago market, would be given considerable consideration. But our current compatriots seem to be getting better by recruiting and coaching hires. UIC will not be an RPI 300+ team next year, UWGB seems to be a tough out no matter what and Detroit and especially UWM made some pretty good hires. Oakland will tough again and have always been a good team.

Again congrats my man. You are in for the most rewarding venture of a lifetime with a new child!!!

[bbtds]

Dew Drop Inn from time to time.

[chef]

Imari Sawyer was one of 4 guys to finish ahead of Matt Lottich in the 2000 Illinois Mr. Basketball vote. While Lottich finished 5th in the vote, Dwayne Wade finished 7th. Darius Miles won Mr. Basketball and then a few months later was the third pick in the NBA draft. It was a banner year for high school basketball in Illinois.

[StlVUFan]

Very well said, and best of luck to you in your new endeavor.

The Horizon League today is not what it was when we joined for the 2007-2008 season. That's a simple fact. However, we are now the top dog and the other teams are shooting for us. Part of this is a result of our program rising and part is the result of some other schools falling on some hard times. As much as it hurts sometimes, there are days when I jump on the board and think "our people are starting to sound like the Butler fans from five years ago...those Butler fans that everyone complained about".

I've felt the same way lately.

[ValpoDad89]

Chef, it truly was that year. That's why we need at least some sort of in. Not every  year will be like that or other big production years but there is some serious talent that comes to Valpo's neighbor that we are not get most but still have a good story to tell.