Valpo vs. Flagler, THU, 11/4/21, 6:00 p.m.

[covufan]

I'm glad someone else started this thread...I'm like 1-3 dating back to last season and Ashland lol. I'll take East-West in a few weeks ! Can we beat an even better D2 team ? I'll be optimistic.

VU 70
Flagler 67

Sooo close


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[hailcrusaders]

I will not put stock into a short-handed exhibition game. I will not put stock into a short-handed exhibition game. I will not put stock into a short-handed exhibition game. I will not put stock into a short-handed exhibition game. I will not put stock into a short-handed exhibition game.


All I'll say is that there aren't a whole lot of reasons to be optimistic.

[nkvu]

Coulda shoulda won this game. Woulda been nice, but like I said earlier, I'm satisfied with a close loss as I was afraid it was going to be a blowout. Team played better tonight on defense overall, but was way to weak giving up points in the paint. Kithier is a horse, but he can't do it all. Bench didn't contribute much once again.  Still, I want to see how they play with Ben and Conner available before I declare this another lost cause.

[Valpo Joe]

Always hoped for the best when the transfers started to find their way to Valpo.  All I read about was how talented and hungry this group was/is.  If that was all hype shame on me for believing it. I really wanted to believe after suffering through some awful years, post Peters. The coach was going to make things happen and he couldn't keep his most exciting franchise player JFL.  Give me a break coach!!!! How much of your talent is figuring out that the Valpo Beacons don't have much of a chance to make the Dance with a confused leader. Go to Youtube and take a few online coaching classes. 0-2 to D2.

[covufan]

Does anyone think that Matt will have learned from the first game and tailored his practices to work on team weaknesses, that he will make adjustments during the game when called for at critical moments, and will bring this team to victory?

You can say all you want about how Div 2 teams are better than they were in the past but there is no way that a good Div 1 team in a tough conference should get spanked two times by any Div 2 team. We should be winning these games big time. Yes, we had an outlier situation the year we went to the Sweet 16 but c'mon, our expectations should be a lot higher than "I hope we win this exhibition game against a good Div 2 team."

Yes. How many players on those two teams were offered scholarships at Valpo or another Division I school? 

This better light a fire under the the team, especially the locker room leaders. If we come out flat in any game the rest of the year, we're doing it wrong.


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[covufan]

I understand these were two good dII teams. I understand we have many new players, and are still missing a couple of key contributors. But going 0-2 against DII teams is an absolute embarrassment.

Agreed!

Where is my Grand Canyon season streaming pass.


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[Chairback]

We do not have a plan.  It's coaching. It's the exact same as last year but with better players.  We stand around so much.  There is zero movement. 

Watch one of our timeouts and how long it takes for us to discuss a play.  It's like the coaches rush into the huddle with 10 seconds left with the plan.

This team we played was not spectacular.  They were a low level d1 at best.  We act like they were Duke.  I guess it was another moral victory tonight. 

Rationalization.

[valpopal]

I will hold off on making final evaluations of this team until I can see the Triple K lineup of Kithier, Krikke, and King on the court together. However, I am tired of the spinning we get from Lottich when the team isn't winning. When I hear the praise for Flagler and Ashland, you would think he was talking about Baylor and Gonzaga. They are good Division-2 teams, but we should be beating them, especially when up by 6 points coming out of the final media timeout.

[oklahomamick]

I think of some of our previous 6th men and even guys that were coming off the bench further down.  They would be stars on this team. 


E. Victor Nickerson
Jabril
Bobby C.
David Skara
LaVonte Dority

[VUGrad1314]

How much longer on the Lottich contract? Anybody want to start a GoFundMe on the buyout?

[JD24]

With all the spectacular transfers coming in, why are 5 starters playing more than 30 mins in an exhibition and one guy off the bench playing more than 7 mins. Flagler (and Ashland for that matter) spread the minutes around as the lower level rosters of those programs are apparently deeper than what Valpo can put out there.

[VUGrad1314]

Shorthanded or not this tells me that the rest of this roster isn't good enough to compete in the MVC. Again if we were as good as we were led to believe we should have won these games even without Krikke Barratt and King. The fact that we didn't tells me that we need to dial back our expectations significantly and anything higher than like eighth place would be a pleasant surprise (At this point we deserve to be picked tenth until we prove otherwise).

[David81]

This is pretty bad, and I think that a lot of uneven play awaits as a rotation emerges and these guys get used to each other. There may be another adjustment when King suits up. For now, Edwards is growing into a scorer, Kithier may be more of a 9/8 guy than the 7/6 guy I thought he'd be, Taylor gets to the basket and draws fouls, and Anderson should be a solid point guard. Add in Krikke and King and......maybe this team gels just in time for the conference tourney.

[Just Sayin]

Even so this is a horrible sign of things to come I would think. If we're as good as we thought we were we should be winning these games. I'm not expecting much this season after these performances.

I think you are very wrong. We got like 7 points and they got something like 25 from their bench.  That all changes when Ben and Barrett get back and Eron goes to the bench, where he belongs. Kithier, Anderson and Taylor are the real deal.

If you say so. This team looks like it has bottom dwelling Thursday team written all over it. Please go out and prove me wrong Beacons but this is such a low point as a fan. It's just one disappointment after another and it's hard to stay hopeful at this point. It's to the point where I almost expect to lose and am pleasantly surprised when we don't. It's sad. I don't want to feel this way. I want to be proud of my team again and feel like we were going to win no matter who we were up against. I miss those days. Will they ever come again?

Not as long as......................(you know the rest)

[Just Sayin]

Points in the paint. Valpo 16, Flagler 40
Fast break points. Valpo 0, Flagler 10
Points off turnovers. Valpo 9, Flagler 20
2nd chance points. Valpo 8, Flagler 10
Bench points Valpo 7, Flagler 28

[tjjvalpo]

Where was the defense after the final media timeout? Those were veteran players out there. Our most intense defensive player is a Freshman non-scholarship player. That is sad! Matt award minutes based on defense and you will get better results. I honestly don't think it will ever happen.

[bb33]

I was able to get the game after all and I walked away with the same question.

We have the talent. I just don't understand the offense.  Can anyone explain it to me?  Not sure the players like it either, which would explain a lot.  Is it too late to put in something more structured and more plays?  This isn't working.

The other team ran a nice Princeton style offense that is typically very successful. And #4 (Flagler) could be one of the best players we face all year.  He was great.

[wh]

My top 5 thoughts after last night:

1. I am encouraged that we played significantly better last night against a much better opponent.
2. I am inspired by the gorgeous sunrise earlier this morning over the vale of paradise.
3. I am excited about the start of the 2021-22 season next Tuesday night.
4. I am eager to see how much better we are going to be when we add Ben, Kobe, and Connor to the mix.
5. I am grateful to have this outstanding group of young men represent us.

It is a great time to be alive, and an even better time to be a Valpo fan!

[SanityLost17]

Everyone's opinions are justified. 

Yes, our offense still looks bad.   Lottich clearly isn't Bryce.  He needs to hand off the duties of creating an offense to an assistant coach or something.   I think our defenseive intensity will get better as the season goes on because I do feel Lottich has proven he can get the defense in order.

Krikke and King are going to help a lot.  Clearly we win this game by 10+ with them in the lineup.   I'm not so sure on Barrett outside being a spot up shooter, but maybe he surprises me and is a key contributor. 

I'm shocked that the freshman out of Oklahoma isn't seeing any minutes...  We sure he doesn't have some nagging injuries?  Just not ready yet?   I thought he might be a starter based on the hype.     

Player Development: 
Edwards has taken a big step from last year, so give credit to player development at least.   

Definitely a mix of good and bad takeaways.    I will reserve my harshest critcisms for the MVC season when we are at full strength and have played together for a while.

[Valpo89]

As long as the VU "Offense" is four guys standing around the perimeter with a post player setting a weak-ass ball screen at the top of the key - every possession - this team is going no where.
And I don't necessarily think it's the fault of the guys on the floor.
Oh, and the defense sucks as well.
Whatever the over-under was on Paul and Todd's podcast for wins, give me the under.

[vu72]

Holy overreaction Batman!!!

We lost to a team likely to be favored to win the D2 national championship.  They have four starters back who have played, what, 200 games together.  We lose by 2 with out a likely all conference player and a key contributor.  Oh, and our guys, have played TWO games together.

Get a grip.

[usc4valpo]

ummm, NW Missouri State is a better team than Flagler.

[vok22]

Our bench against Flagler has a COMBINED 127 minutes of college experience. I think everybody needs to relax over the bench play and our depth right now. The bench was 3 freshmen, Hedstrom, who has barely played a college game, and Emil, who hadn't even had a full practice in 1.5 years. Chances are, at full strength, most of those guys wont be seeing the court. With Gordon back on the bench with the return of Krikke, King becoming eligible, and Barrett getting healthy, our bench will have over 3500 minutes of experience from those 3 players alone. And all three are scoring threats off the bench. Barrett, as a freshmen, averaged 7 points a game. Our entire bench through 2 exhibitions has averaged 5.5. He will make a difference. Gordon wont shoot 0/9 from three for very long. Everybody was expecting it to take some time for the team to mesh, but now that that time is being taken, the season is deemed over and we mine as well buy our Thursday Night tickets now?   

[David81]

There's lots of talent here -- pretty miraculous assemblage after the spring exodus and losing JFL earlier -- but obviously there are kinks to be worked out.

And it could be just a couple of early clunker games. For example, Taylor shot only 7 for 23 vs. competition he excelled against while playing for D2 Winona State. I'm sure he's better than that.

[Just Sayin]

Hey, we almost won.  Kinda like what we've seen in the past few years. We did win eight Division 1 games last year people. Don't be so negative. And sometimes your eyes are lying. Good grief, I'm tired of the negative comments.  It's sunny outside you negative Nellies.