Game #22- Northern Kentucky Sunday January 29 1:30pm ARC

[oklahomamick]

Smits has got the I'm 7' and anytime I move my arms I get a foul thing going right now.  Picks up too many silly, irrelevant fouls.  He needed to be in there against the 1-3-1 because he can hit the 10-12'er from the baseline (the best place to attack the 1-3-1 btw) or make the pass over the top of a collapse.  Can't do that when you're on the bench with 2 early fouls and then more in 2d half.  I would really also like to see Derrick play angrier,  He's too nice right now.  Not mean, just more intensity, own the paint.  Jay is doing a much better job of keeping arms high, straight and not moving to affect shots and to rebound.  We are suffering from our height in conference because no one can match it and they are still freshmen who need to learn how to play big without fouling.  let us all remember how long it took Kikas and Vashil to learn this. There has been much improvement out of the center position since the holidays.  I'll continue to say though, Jay has a soft touch inside 8' and needs to speed up the delivery of the shot, and not dribble once, but a consistent left and right hook and learning a drop step like AP's, and he will be unstoppable inside.    And Derrick can shoot when confident, also with soft touch and they both make FTs!

Smits stat line the past three games combined: 39MP - 5pts - 2R - 2A - 1S - 4B - 9PF I don't really understand how someone that tall can only have 2 rebounds in 39 minutes. It's remarkable that he still has a higher usage % than Sorrola, inside and outside of conference. It seems like the reason his usage is higher is because Smits has a much higher free throw rate. Smits has 18 free throws vs 36 fga in conference while Sorolla has 9 FTA to 55 fga. The difference? Sorolla hasn't missed a free throw in conference. Derrik is 8-18. There's probably some recency bias going on, but this past homestand, Sorrola has been active: 14-22, 32pts, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks. While Smits hasn't: 5-12, 11pts, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 blocks. And if you were watching football like me, you didn't see Smits shoot 10 times and grab 6 boards.

I think he won a tip ball at the start of the game once.   

[VU2014]

We are suffering from our height in conference because no one can match it and they are still freshmen who need to learn how to play big without fouling.  let us all remember how long it took Kikas and Vashil to learn this.

The Coaching staff particularly Coach Gore don't get enough credit for developing Vashil. Oh man I remember Vashil's Freshman and Sophomore year were so brutal. He would make so many silly fouls. He looked like a 7ft. bambi on the court. Vashil's Red-shirt Freshman yr was just brutal. Red-Shirt Sophomore  yr you saw glimmers of potential with some blocks and nice plays, but still fouled a ton. Thank God we had Moussa as an addition center that year because I remember Vashil wasn't fully developed and would foul out if he logged huge minutes.

Then Vashil's Junior he added on muscle and came back and was a big surprise. That was the year Vashil became Vashil and turned into a defensive stud. Then that Senior year he was even better and refined. Credit to Vashil for putting in the work, staying with it and also the coaching staff.

Vashil will probably be one of favorite players of all-time. Had class with him and he was such a nice/friendly guy.

Give the bigs time. Jay has been really good for a freshman and Smits has his moments, has run into foul trouble. Some of those fouls have been very ticki-tack, and a few of those are poor calls by the officiating, imo. But Smits will learn body positioning in time.

[M]

^^^agree^^^

big guys take longer, in my opinion, to adjust every time they move up a level.  The fact that Smits can catch a pass means he is light years ahead of where Vashil was his first year!

Sorolla is going to be a great talent for the next three years.

[StlVUFan]

I know the term "statistically safe lead" has been thrown around this board somewhat. I don't know how one determines what "statistically safe" is, but I've always thought that the rule of thumb is to multiply the number of minutes left in the game by 3 (5 minutes * 3 = 15 points) and if your lead is less than that product, it's too early to start stalling.

Not quite

Team A is leading Team B by X points with Y seconds remaining:

1. Subtract 3 from X
2. If Team A has the ball, add 0.5; if Team B has the ball, subtract 0.5
3. Square the result of (1 and 2)
4. If the result in (3) is > Y, then the lead is statistically safe.

Valpo never had a statistically safe lead on Sunday, if I remember right.

[historyman]

Speaking of branding.....was driving home from Chicago a couple of nights ago and right there on the freeway past UIC was what looked like a rec center and/or fieldhouse. In bright white lighting was "University of Illinois-Chicago" So yeah, let's talk to own school before we crab at opposing fans on their message board.

The building you were referring to is the SRF or Student Recreational Facility. It faces I-94 and says both "UIC" in larger letters and "The University of Illinois-Chicago."

http://maps.uic.edu/?bl=630




https://www.google.com/maps/place/I-94+Express,+Chicago,+IL/@41.8726285,-87.6459217,3a,75y,272.97h,132.7t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sNNtmksgLAXClNy_vxJtsEQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DNNtmksgLAXClNy_vxJtsEQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D92.574646%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!4m5!3m4!1s0x880e2ea565173d23:0xf0f259f78fb613e5!8m2!3d41.8097614!4d-87.6315749