BaHa Mar Hoop tourney

[VUGrad1314]

I've been critical of Northern Iowa during the Green years for being too dependent on him and the fact that having a leading star who doesn't play defense which will (and has) hampered them from reaching the heights their overly exuberant fanbase told me they would and sold many (including me) into believing for awhile. Jacobson got the portrayal as a victim of circumstance because one can argue that he had earned that through past performance. Not recently mind you but like pre 2016 Texas A&M collapse. Jacobson has a resume not even Homer or Bryce can touch. Four NCAA Tournament wins (including a Sweet 16) an NIT and two CIT appearances. He even won the MVC twice while Creighton and Wichita State were still in the league. Lottich hasn't done anything remotely resembling that. That's why the media is softer on Jacobson. If Matt had done it before and proven his acumen like Jacobson has he would get (and deserve) a lot more leeway. JFL was a special recruit and I can't help but wonder what he would have done and what VU would have done as a program had he been coached by one of the Drews but he wasn't. The reason we fared better in the tournament than UNI was because we had a two way star. Everybody knows that defense wins especially in leagues like the MVC. It was the calling card of Jacobson's most successful UNI teams as well which they have sadly gone away from to their detriment.

As for Indiana State you've just made my point for me: They are winning in spite of that player churn and we are not. What gives? Are Green Bay and Old Dominion going to be significantly worse than UIC or the D2s Matt lost to this year? It doesn't matter to me that those games didn't count. We all saw them. You can fool yourself into thinking this is just Bethel 1998 but do you honestly believe that? Why? I would love to be able to think everything is sunshine and roses in Valpo because we are being led by a good Christian man of high character who is shaping good men of high character and that is great for society. Who doesn't want more men of high character out there in the world? But they are also charged with (because it is one of the primary reasons why they are here and it is Matt's main reason for being here) winning basketball games and they have come up woefully short in that regard.

Basing your hope on what COULD happen when what you are proposing is extremely hypothetical given what we are seeing right now is a pointless argument and I know you are smart enough to see that. Matt COULD win the next 10-15 games. Valpo COULD win 25 or so games and make the tournament. But have you seen anything at all that would remotely suggest that such a thing would be even the least bit likely? It doesn't make the criticism that I am making RIGHT NOW any less valid to know that it could turn around. Anything can happen but that doesn't mean this pie in the sky fantasy scenario like the one you described for ISUb or that I have outlined for Valpo in my post is going to happen. I have no doubt Krikke makes a difference I have no doubt King will make a difference. Having that kind of talent makes a difference but we still have most of the talent we have assembled on this roster that was supposed to be good playing and available to us and we are still losing.

Everyone (including me) wrote the eulogy for Indiana State before the season started and they look like they are thriving but they have not lost a single game that they weren't expected to lose. I have no doubt they will take some losses probably starting tonight and when they open up conference play with Loyola but by your logic they COULD win those games and right now there is more reason to believe that Indiana State could pull an upset of that caliber than there is that we can and that is even with a healthy team. It's to the point where I feel like "well we MIGHT beat Jacksonville State We MIGHT beat Coastal Carolina." With or without Krikke and King those should absolutely be wins if the program is healthy. As things stand right now right this moment which is the only thing we know for sure it's hard not to think that Indiana State is in a better place as a program than we are right now.

We are coming up on a full calendar year since we won a D1 game out of conference. Injuries or not that is wholly unacceptable. I could deal with some bad stretches or a bad season or two but it's getting to the point where we're literally praying for a fifth place finish. You think that is the mark of a good program? 59-72 since we moved to the MVC is your idea of success? Not only are our facilities upgrades scant and being picked on by MVC writers and observers we have also lost the performance aspect that papered over those shortcomings. Too much longer and our success will be too distant a memory for it to be relied upon as a factor in recruiting and our issues with whether or not we are committed to athletics success (and I think there is evidence both for and against that given the growth of our other sports around the department even with our flagging MBB performance) will become more of a concern.

You can say that I'm not seeing the bigger picture. You can say that I'm too pessimistic and I might be willing to grant you that but it's really hard to remain positive and bullish on the program when you see a program facing all of the same issues we are facing and winning games while we continue to stack losses. Yes our schedule has been tougher than Indiana State's so far but I have no confidence in this team in any game anymore to the point where if we win it's a pleasant surprise. Winning used to be the default expectation no matter the opponent and that is the standard (because that is what I am used to) that I judge the program on.

You no doubt have enough experience of the program to know that the Drew years were actually the pleasant surprise but that is not the standard I wish to judge the program on. That is not what I will be content to accept. I always felt that this program was and is capable of more and my displeasure at this point comes from those unrealized dreams and that untapped potential. The unfulfilled optimism that I felt when we got into the MVC much like how an idealist feels when they are hit by the reality of the world. The reality that outside of the Drew era we simply haven't been that good and maybe based on that which is a heck of a lot of evidence it was better for me to expect that. At least then I wouldn't be so disappointed and upset by all these losses. Maybe this is just who we are: a mediocre also-ran program who got lucky and caught an extended wave of success that they rode well above their station not the mid major power we all built up in our most optimistic visions I know I'm not the only fan who feels this way.

It's hard not to believe that we win in spite of Matt a lot because of how bad we are when we don't have the unquestioned best player on the floor (and even with that advantage we are a mediocre MVC team as the JFL years showed) and when the exact same issues (slow starts long droughts getting outrebounded turnovers etc.) still plague the program. It's like he can't make adjustments which is what a competent coach should be able to do. You can look at it and see all the reasons why better days are ahead if we can just get healthy That's fine Maybe you're right but I see a lot to be concerned about that has not been fixed from previous years and therefore see no reason to believe that the issues will be fixed in the future. I'm sorry. I'm just getting to the point where I'm about done hoping for better. The Lottich era has pretty much broken me and I just want Valpo basketball to be fun again.

[usc4valpo]

I truly hope Lottich is on the hot seat, but lets face the fact that Valpo is consistently overly patient in making changes.

[wh]

I truly hope Lottich is on the hot seat, but lets face the fact that Valpo is consistently overly patient in making changes.

Then again, you're the same person who thinks Stephen Austin College should be in the MVC.

[usc4valpo]

I don't understand the relationship. I will say SFA has had athletics success and is a growing school in a growing state. I don't understand why they would be a bad fit for the Valley.

Lottich has had too many chances and there are too many excuses. Stanford was nothing special, and they looked much better coached while Valpo was moving around like chickens with their head cut off.

[valpo64]

You cannot be serious in comparing our lineup/and returning team this season with IN State.  That is as bad as a few nights ago NBC Sports-Chicago, carrying the Loyola-Chicago State game, raving how good LU was as they played against a low, low ranked D-1 team that has only won a handful of games all told over the past several years.