MBB 2019-2020

[FieldGoodie05]

Yes, because MUSIC is where the future is at for a corn-cob growing fly over University.

Careful! The corn cobs grown in Northwest Indiana are extremely sensitive to both criticism and music.    You city boys just never learned how to properly interact with nature.    Fortunately the seed will not start leaving the bag for another 4 weeks and they are much more forgiving than the average VU basketball fan. Wait! Are you actually suggesting than by cultivating our BB program and providing for its every need then bumper harvests might follow?

What a novel idea! What ag school did you attend?

Yeah, I let my emotions take over my brain there for second.

My issue is with the people who throw up all these micro examples of changes happening at our university and proclaim the sky is falling. These type of actions were probably needed at the University for many years before now.  And for all we know these changes have been happening before the advent of social media without fan fair.  Just because all changes are published or on social media now doesn't make it any less well thought out and necessary for the university to flourish.

I'm not an apologist for the University because I frankly have no interest in lobbying one way or the other, they have jobs to do and they are in the midst of doing their job.

[VUGrad1314]

Another school with some recently well documented financial issues is considering postseason play to build their program forward... Not saying just saying...

https://twitter.com/happeninghoops/status/1235429846949511168

[bbtds]

Love the backdrop.  The renovations done on Hilltop are pretty cool.  I like the historic feel and look. 

I was there this summer watching a practice from the the door.  Lottich came out to get some water and said I could go in and watch.  Pretty cool.

But did he ask if you were coming back tomorrow and set a chair out for you and your cousin?

[usc4valpo]

if This professor was so popular and important, then why would the professor be so low on the music department totem pole to get removed?

[valpo95]

if This professor was so popular and important, then why would the professor be so low on the music department totem pole to get removed?

Jeffery C. Brown is an adjunct assistant professor of music, which means that he is not tenured. He has long been a well-respected leader of the VU jazz band and instructor of percussion. In addition, he has coordinated the well-regarded VU Jazz Fest, where local and national jazz musicians perform, and which many community members and future students get exposed to VU - some high school jazz bands typically perform at the Jazz Fest so many students have had that as an entry point to considering the university. In addition, it is important to remember that most VU students who participate in the ensembles are NOT majoring in music, yet the ability to do so may be one reason they chose VU over other universities.

So why consider cutting this position? I'm guessing that all departments across the university are looking at budget cuts, which is why men's soccer and tennis were cut. The music department probably had to consider cuts as well, and it is far more difficult to cut tenured faculty members.

[FieldGoodie05]

if This professor was so popular and important, then why would the professor be so low on the music department totem pole to get removed?

Jeffery C. Brown is an adjunct assistant professor of music, which means that he is not tenured. He has long been a well-respected leader of the VU jazz band and instructor of percussion. In addition, he has coordinated the well-regarded VU Jazz Fest, where local and national jazz musicians perform, and which many community members and future students get exposed to VU - some high school jazz bands typically perform at the Jazz Fest so many students have had that as an entry point to considering the university. In addition, it is important to remember that most VU students who participate in the ensembles are NOT majoring in music, yet the ability to do so may be one reason they chose VU over other universities.

So why consider cutting this position? I'm guessing that all departments across the university are looking at budget cuts, which is why men's soccer and tennis were cut. The music department probably had to consider cuts as well, and it is far more difficult to cut tenured faculty members.

I'd appreciate some input from teachers or professors or those with experience on the subject of tenure.  Is it a healthy environment in a democracy?  Does it drive creativity and learning?  What are the main PRO's and CON's for what tenure brings to the table?

On the surface it seems like a really effective way to ensure mediocre long term results and protect people from changing with the times.  Sad to say this but every person gets bored with their job over time and their initiative and adaption of new thoughts/ideas/technology is impeded by the resultant malaise.  Is tenure an example of academic practices that will be axed with the higher education financial changes forthcoming?

[VUGrad1314]

Regardless of what happens tonight or in the MVC tournament at large for Valpo now that they've clinched the ability to play in the postseason they should absolutely do so. If there's a team that the CBI\CIT tournaments were made for it's this one. A young team that could use more game and practice experience to grow together and hopefully learn to win on the road. Plus I think Kiser and Fazekas deserve some extra games anyway. Please do it Valpo. Please accept the bid if and when it is offered.

[valpopal]

Regardless of what happens tonight or in the MVC tournament at large for Valpo now that they've clinched the ability to play in the postseason they should absolutely do so. If there's a team that the CBI\CIT tournaments were made for it's this one. A young team that could use more game and practice experience to grow together and hopefully learn to win on the road. Plus I think Kiser and Fazekas deserve some extra games anyway. Please do it Valpo. Please accept the bid if and when it is offered.

The best part of the ugly win over Evansville is that it assured a winning season. As for a CBI/CIT tournament: I don't think there is a chance even if the opportunity arises. The university would be very hesitant to commit, especially if the team needs to travel, due to funding and virus concerns. Accept the winning season record and focus on looking forward to next year.

[crusader05]

The other question really is how banged up is the team. Do you risk further injury or pro long recovery? I also wouldn't be surprised if some of the lesser tournaments are cancelled due to virus concerns or are severely limited

[oklahomamick]

David Ragland, former Valpo basketball assistant is going dancing with Utah state. 

[vok22]

Allow me to post a bit of a recap of this season and my (probably way too positive) view of the future before it inevitably gets shattered by some sort of negative news.

Coming into the season I was thinking that this year we would be a middle of the pack team that had flashes of a lot of potential and a bright future. I was expecting to see really nice things from the newcomers, especially Clay, Krikke, Gordon, and Robinson. I was also expecting a much improved Javon after an impressive freshman season. I realize now that my expectations for the individuals were probably a little high, but that my expectations for the team were just about right. Despite these high expectations, I was not disappointing AT ALL. In fact, my positive outlook for the future of the program became brighter this weekend.

I'll start with Donovan Clay. Coming into the season, I was expecting him to have a really big impact on this team and be a potential second leading scorer behind Javon. Those are way too high of expectations for a freshman, and I know that now, but it certainly isn't because Clay proved it to be wrong. He has shown that despite having to grown into his newfound size, he is going to be tough to guard as he gets older, and if he can start knocking down threes, wow. Watch out.

Krikke, I was expecting a little more of from his outside shot, however, I was not expecting nearly as much from his inside game. He ends the season 33% from three. I think he will be more of an upper 30%  3pt shooter the next few years. He passed up a lot of open threes and needs to speed up his release. But he REALLY impressed my inside. He can score in the paint on people bigger than him. Hit contested baseline jumpers out of a post up. I really like his inside game. Would like to see a big of a rebounding increase, however.

I was expecting Gordon to get a little more time, but I got exactly what I wanted out of him, shooting. He shot 41% from three this year and I really expect him to be a big part of making up the missing of Fazekas from deep next year. Needs to finish layups a little better, but his outside shooting is gonna be big next year.

Robinson I can't say much on. I was thinking he would be somewhere around 10-11 ppg. I do not know how much of his underperformance was due to injury, but I think it was quite a bit. He sat out periodically with that back injury before finally calling it a season before the tournament, so it had to be pretty bad. I think he will achive the double digit mark next year.

Let me talk about javon now. At the beginning of the season he was a world beater, tailing off after conference started despite averaging great numbers. I am not sure when he got mono, but it had to be near the beginning or middle of conference season. There is no way somebody sits out TWO GAMES with mono. That is something that you sit out a month or two with. I am going to assume he played a healthy portion of the conference season with mono. That is increadible, and also why I think his 3pt shooting was down after we started conference. In the non con, he was mid 30s from deep before nosediving. I think we will see mid 30s next year for him and that is scary for the rest of the conference. Obviosuly not having mono will help with all aspects of his game, not just 3s, but thats what I wanted to focus on because I can't complain about much else with him and that is what we will be missing the most with Fazekas (and even kiser) leaving. I expect him to compete, if not win POY, next year with his combination of defense, passing, and scoring. Green cannot compete all around with a healthy Javon.

The incoming freshman class looks great. I am not going to put as high as expectations on them as i did Clay and Krikke, but I defintiley think they deserve it. I can't speak for the competition level of Ognacevic, but his numbers are ridiculous nontheless, as he is scoring from outside not JUST easy layups on smaller teams. We'll see how he turns out, but he certainly has a lot of upside. Edwards has been playing against D1 talent and putting up really good, all around, numbers. I think he could be a steal. I don't know much about his style of play, jsut watched a few highlight reels FWIW, but his numbers against good competition do not lie. I do not recall the name of that shooter from Loyola, but a shooter is just what we need and if that's his specialty, I like it. Nothing wrong with having somebody that is there to just make shots and stretch the floor.

As for Lottich, I see the culture of this program now. This was the vision he had and I see it now and I am so excited. Beating Loyola and Missouri State in do or die games and going on national television in one of the most recognized conference championships in the NCAA reminded me why we are in this league. I saw people all over Valpo that are not usually at the VU games rooting and buzzing about Valpo basketball. While they may not have won today, they reminded the city that they are here. I think consistent success will draw more excitement to this program than its had in a long time, and I think consistent success is arriving. The way JFL responded to Paul Orens question today cemented to me that the players we have are here to win, win here at Valpo. And not just the MVC, they are here to win in the tournament. I also saw that same excitement from recrutis. Sheldon Edwards posted a tweet exclaiming how excited for the game he was, and how they are going to do it a lot in the next few years. That is the culture that i haven't FELT the past few years. I do now. Current and future players want to bring Valpo to the national stage, and the players we have and are getting definitely look capable of doing that.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to see it in person the next few years. I was born and raised in Valpo, going to pretty much every VU basketball home game and watching every road game with my dad since I became interested in sports. After a very difficult decision between VU, Penn State, Purdue, and Oklahoma, I've decided to attend Penn State the next 4 years, though. Nothing against Valpo. I will be watching every game on ESPN+, that is for sure. They are far and away my favorite sports team and I am a huge sports fan. Penn State just had too many things Valpo couldn't offer that I feel were great fits for me. I do have a lot of friends going to Valpo from Valpo, though. They promised to bring the student section back to its glory days. I will be there for the home games when I am on break. I am very excioted for the future of this program and I think that Lottich has a vision and players are buying in and it includes a lot of winning.

[FWalum]

Penn State just had too many things Valpo couldn't offer that I feel were great fits for me.

Would be interested to know what those things might be? As an alum I can tell you that the personal nature and class sizes of a small school are hard to beat. It is great to see and talk to professors that I had, who are now in their late 70's and 80's, at games.  An example of small class relationship building would be in 1995 when I was calling on a large company here in the Fort Wayne area and was a little surprised when they told me my appointment would have to be delayed, that they were expecting a visit from a politician. As I was getting ready to leave the lobby in walked Jill Long Thompson, whom I had had a class with at VU in her first year as a professor, she was now Bill Clinton's Under Secretary of Agriculture. Despite having an entourage of people with her she came over to me and started talking to me just like we had done in class, before long she was introducing me to her staff and then all the company big wigs. I was a little embarrassed while now part of the "tour" the company president asked me what I did for the Secretary and I honestly told him that I was just a former student of hers and while waiting for an appointment had seen her in the lobby! Needless to say I now had a pretty good "in" at that company.

[vok22]

Penn State just had too many things Valpo couldn't offer that I feel were great fits for me.

Would be interested to know what those things might be? As an alum I can tell you that the personal nature and class sizes of a small school are hard to beat. It is great to see and talk to professors that I had, who are now in their late 70's and 80's, at games.  An example of small class relationship building would be in 1995 when I was calling on a large company here in the Fort Wayne area and was a little surprised when they told me my appointment would have to be delayed, that they were expecting a visit from a politician. As I was getting ready to leave the lobby in walked Jill Long Thompson, whom I had had a class with at VU in her first year as a professor, she was now Bill Clinton's Under Secretary of Agriculture. Despite having an entourage of people with her she came over to me and started talking to me just like we had done in class, before long she was introducing me to her staff and then all the company big wigs. I was a little embarrassed while now part of the "tour" the company president asked me what I did for the Secretary and I honestly told him that I was just a former student of hers and while waiting for an appointment had seen her in the lobby! Needless to say I now had a pretty good "in" at that company.

Yea for sure, it was a very narrow decision, and for the first 2 and a half quarters of my senior year, I was pretty sure I was going to Valpo (even after visiting Penn States campus). Then I got my acceptance to Penn State and I remembered why I applied there. First and foremost, they have the exact major I am looking for. If it wasn't for this I would definitely be going to Valpo. I am (planning on) majoring in a combination of two fields  that don't seem at face value like they would go together. At Valpo I would have to double major, whereas Penn State has a major specifically tailored to that combination, and are the only university to offer that combined major, for now. I also spoke to a few students at Valpo that are in one of those majors that have talked to the professors about doing adding on a few classes to make it work at Valpo, and they said that they weren't very forward thinking and that they want to focus on the basics of the field. To be fair, it is sort of an emerging field, but Penn State seems to be ahead of the curve in this. It also doesn't hurt that Penn State has the #1 Alumni Network and the most living alumni, and great jobs numbers in my field. I was able to talk directly to my Penn State professor and he expressed his enthusiasm for the field and told me all about his connections that are always calling asking him for his students from my major (there are only 11 people in this major, so I found that very intriguing). One thing about Valpo that I really liked was their Chicago connections, though. Finally, this wasn't that big of a deal to me personally, but it should be noted because it didn't look very good for the school. The Valpo college that I applied to sent me a personalized letter congratulating me on getting in and it was a disaster. It was typed up online, but had hand written notes on it. They hand wrote the wrong graduation year, and then instead of just printing out a new copy, they crossed out the last number in the year and wrote the correct one. There were also multiple types mistakes that they typed that they corrected by hand by using carrots and inserting the correct thing. Also, instead of just typing in the name of the school, they just drew in a carrot and hand wrote it in the middle of a sentence. It looked like a graded and corrected paper. Very strange. Not a big deal to me and had no impact on my decision, but my parents were not impressed at all by the sloppyness.

[JD24]

That letter needs to be forwarded to the department head and the head of admissions. Unless there was some level of humor attempted, that simply isn't acceptable.

[VUGrad1314]

Penn State just had too many things Valpo couldn't offer that I feel were great fits for me.

Would be interested to know what those things might be? As an alum I can tell you that the personal nature and class sizes of a small school are hard to beat. It is great to see and talk to professors that I had, who are now in their late 70's and 80's, at games.  An example of small class relationship building would be in 1995 when I was calling on a large company here in the Fort Wayne area and was a little surprised when they told me my appointment would have to be delayed, that they were expecting a visit from a politician. As I was getting ready to leave the lobby in walked Jill Long Thompson, whom I had had a class with at VU in her first year as a professor, she was now Bill Clinton's Under Secretary of Agriculture. Despite having an entourage of people with her she came over to me and started talking to me just like we had done in class, before long she was introducing me to her staff and then all the company big wigs. I was a little embarrassed while now part of the "tour" the company president asked me what I did for the Secretary and I honestly told him that I was just a former student of hers and while waiting for an appointment had seen her in the lobby! Needless to say I now had a pretty good "in" at that company.

Yea for sure, it was a very narrow decision, and for the first 2 and a half quarters of my senior year, I was pretty sure I was going to Valpo (even after visiting Penn States campus). Then I got my acceptance to Penn State and I remembered why I applied there. First and foremost, they have the exact major I am looking for. If it wasn't for this I would definitely be going to Valpo. I am (planning on) majoring in a combination of two fields  that don't seem at face value like they would go together. At Valpo I would have to double major, whereas Penn State has a major specifically tailored to that combination, and are the only university to offer that combined major, for now. I also spoke to a few students at Valpo that are in one of those majors that have talked to the professors about doing adding on a few classes to make it work at Valpo, and they said that they weren't very forward thinking and that they want to focus on the basics of the field. To be fair, it is sort of an emerging field, but Penn State seems to be ahead of the curve in this. It also doesn't hurt that Penn State has the #1 Alumni Network and the most living alumni, and great jobs numbers in my field. I was able to talk directly to my Penn State professor and he expressed his enthusiasm for the field and told me all about his connections that are always calling asking him for his students from my major (there are only 11 people in this major, so I found that very intriguing). One thing about Valpo that I really liked was their Chicago connections, though. Finally, this wasn't that big of a deal to me personally, but it should be noted because it didn't look very good for the school. The Valpo college that I applied to sent me a personalized letter congratulating me on getting in and it was a disaster. It was typed up online, but had hand written notes on it. They hand wrote the wrong graduation year, and then instead of just printing out a new copy, they crossed out the last number in the year and wrote the correct one. There were also multiple types mistakes that they typed that they corrected by hand by using carrots and inserting the correct thing. Also, instead of just typing in the name of the school, they just drew in a carrot and hand wrote it in the middle of a sentence. It looked like a graded and corrected paper. Very strange. Not a big deal to me and had no impact on my decision, but my parents were not impressed at all by the sloppyness.

Oh my God. Whoever allowed for that to be sent out needs to be fired and replaced PRONTO. That is ridiculous.

[crusader05]

My guess is it was an accident since I know several families where the student got a valpo acceptance letter and it didn't look like that. Unfortunate but not a reason to call for someone's head.

[FieldGoodie05]

I am thankful that we have a fellow alumni that has taken the time to build and keep up this fan forum.  If there is anything that us fans can do to contribute here and there (monetarily) please do not hesitate to ask.  I know you added advertising to subsidize but never sure if that complete covers the cost.  Either way, thank you for what you are doing for us fans.

In other news, I know that we have a good number of members that are retired and looking for projects!  Each time I log onto the forum there is an outstanding and detailed home page (replete with pictures) that does a Top 10 count down of Horizon League arenas. 

I think with this years success in the post-season and a strong season ahead of us that we ought to invest some of our "retired" hours  into updating this to reflect our MVC arenas.  Either way, I know this is not my authority to ask but I know that some fans might volunteer their time for a worthy project like this.  Could be fans that have attended games at these arenas (I have not myself yet).  Just a thought.  I am still eternally grateful to have a forum to post my thoughts and opinions and have fellow alumni share theirs.  Thanks for all that you do!

[valpofan33]

first post-lurked from time to time

Looking at some of the threads/posts on here its unfathomable at some of the remarks

Starting at the very top-
I cannot believe the administration "doesn't care about athletics"
The school has multiple areas of concern-and all areas need to be addressed-I am assuming they have tried to provide Athletics with as many resources as possible considering the current economic climate

The Athletic Director ML has hired 2 basketball coaches for a much tougher league than we have ever seen.
Women's program seems to have improved dramatically -without question based on record and talent on the team

Men's program has taken a huge leap in only third year-with players that exemplify Valpo (good students/citizens/players)
So not sure how much more some posters expect from the A.D.-Seems to me he did a pretty good job finding what we needed.

Other sports seem to be doing as well as expected in a tougher league and with the unfortunate but necessary cuts to programs (M Soccer/M Tennis) I would think that helps the programs that remain in terms of facilities and resources.

As far as MBB -I think we are ahead of schedule-especially in comparison to the other programs in the MVC
How many have reached title game in 3rd year in conference?
Lottich played for a great coach at Stanford-coached under Bryce and has been around great basketball minds

Hopefully the naysayers in the past have come around after the tournament showing-and maybe they can show more support in all areas regarding Valpo Athletics

Go Valpo

[JD24]

My guess is it was an accident since I know several families where the student got a valpo acceptance letter and it didn't look like that. Unfortunate but not a reason to call for someone's head.

Forwarding to a department head and/or admissions director isn't necessarily a call for someone's head. It is to alert those in charge of a situation which may need to be addressed which can include perhaps better quality control devices.

That letter, as evidenced by the fact that the tale was told on these boards, can go much further than the person who receives it and present the school in a really bad light.  Rather than guess why it happened, if I were at a level within the university which could properly address said letter leaving the campus, I'd certainly want to know about it.

[crusader05]

JD2,
I wasn't replying to you I was replying to the poster that indicated someone needed to be fired pronto. Alerting the admission office is fine and could be done.

[Chairback]

Been thinking about this since mid-season.  Who would you have rather had this season:

A healthy senior Smits or a freshman Krikke?

My pick would be Krikke.   

[FieldGoodie05]

Been thinking about this since mid-season.  Who would you have rather had this season:

A heathy senior Smits or a freshman Krikke?

My pick would be Krikke.

Krikke times a million.  I didn't care for Smits' game, he appeared to be a bit spoiled?

[Just Sayin]

Is Krikke related to Don?

[VUGrad1314]

Krikke. Hardworking Plays both ends Shoots the three and rebounds. Basically everything Smits doesn't do.

[bbtds]

Is Krikke related to Don?

No, he spells his last name Criqui

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Criqui

Also Criqui was born close to Canada in Buffalo but he is not from Edmonton.