Valpo to be visited by MVC this week, thoughts?

[vu72]

Well, if we get in the private school numbers are going up!

[VU2014]

The whole Podcast is MVC talk and some stories about AP from one the Bradley reporters.

http://www.nwitimes.com/digital/audio/union-street-hoops/podcast-union-street-hoops-episode/audio_0a5ad0ce-3038-11e7-8305-0767c2051a1a.html

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/859869799064760320

[ValpoDad89]

I come from an entrepreneurial father who started his own business on the Northside of Chicago (Broadway and Belmont) who promised me an education (DePaul) but raised me on the Southside (Midway area)  that I am passing on to my daughter Valpo Class of 2019 (good grades withstanding) to know that Paul and Michael are some of the hardest working guys in this biz. They gave us the scuttle on Bryce and they continue to be a valuable source of Valpo info on here and Twitter and I would be remiss  to say UnionHops? I would love nothing more than to buy you guys and the faithful on this board more than a drink. All of You  (and that includes the (WHs, the Valpo89s the AGGibson, etc.)educate as much as you entertain!!!! Thanks be to God on both fronts.

No matter what, I believe the MVC is the way to go if we are fortunate. So many Public schools that we have to compete against and their bigger budgets.. Stature, even with the defections it is still viewed as a conference with respect from other schools. With that comes the fact that big schools cannot duck as any longer. Yes they can but it comes with a price, their integrity because with social media comes the blasts that school A ducked us because we are now part of conference z.

Being a DePaul alum, I can tell you the bigger the conference the harder it is to duck and DePaul was freaking terrible. We will get opportunities and I believe IL state, SiIU, No Iowa are going to be strong. Can we say that about the HL?

[VULB#62]

Have Missed your contributions, Dad. Get more involved, OK?

[ValpoFan]

Oh...one more thing on the public/private split in the MVC that was brought to light by Todd Aaron Golden - ISUb's beat writer - on twitter yesterday. The private's have contributed NOTHING to the MVC in terms of NCAA bids since 2010. .

I hear your frustration UNIFTW. These numbers are tough to swallow. This argument, however cannot be used against us. You can not generalize to say that since the 4 private MVC schools have not performed well, then all private schools will not. If anything, your argument shows how shortsighted the MVC officers were when they decided to choose the market over the performance. 

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/Catch_N_Shoot/status/859951968202219520
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/859948761749102593

[vu72]

We could be really good and may be by the end of the season.  Our talent is as good as any in The Valley.  We are VERY young yet have plenty of experience in Tevonn, et al but guys like Joe and Bakari need to find their role and play within the system.  If it comes together quickly, we could be in the hunt for the title.

[VU2014]

I'm sort of just breaking down every teams roster right now and I honestly think the MVC is wide open next year. If we got the invite we could make some noise in our first year. Key is like VU72 said, trying to get everyone to find their role and just having the team find its chemistry those first 10-12 games or so of OOC play. I believe we are making another west coast trip this season for a returning game to Santa Clara. I'm assuming we'll be making a road trip of it or maybe playing another tourney out west possibly. Might be a great bonding moment for our new team just going out west doing nothing but hanging and balling.

We have a talented and athletic bunch next year. Would LOVE to show the MVC teams/fans that Valpo is NOT a school they should be sleeping on. We all know that our program can compete in the MVC and do damage but many MVC fans don't. We would NOT be Loyola coming into the MVC.

[usc4valpo]

Dad89 - my dad grew up in the north side and went to DePaul. I grew up loving DePaul basketball and coach Ray, Red Rush and the Gonella scoreboard, but the Lenti family has made the program very difficult to watch.

If you are ever in Des Moines, drop by so we can watch Valpo destroy Drake in Dogtown.

[UNIFTW]

Oh...one more thing on the public/private split in the MVC that was brought to light by Todd Aaron Golden - ISUb's beat writer - on twitter yesterday. The private's have contributed NOTHING to the MVC in terms of NCAA bids since 2010. .

I hear your frustration UNIFTW. These numbers are tough to swallow. This argument, however cannot be used against us. You can not generalize to say that since the 4 private MVC schools have not performed well, then all private schools will not. If anything, your argument shows how shortsighted the MVC officers were when they decided to choose the market over the performance. 

Todd Golden came out with an entire article on it. He released further numbers. Not a single private school, currently in the MVC, has finished in the top 5 of the all sports standings since 2009. NOT ONE OF THE FOUR PRIVATE SCHOOLS HAS FINISHED IN THE TOP HALF OF THE CONFERENCE IN THE ALL SPORTS TROPHY.


I don't remember if it was this thread or the other one I've posted in that asked about the split and what has been done the last 5 years to make sure the MVC gets better moving forward, I'm assuming I'm combining threads.


I think a lot of the split between public and privates - and truly it was football/non-football (and Drake...so non-football) schools - and general animosity between the fans, has been driven by Creighton and Wichita State trying to "one up" the entire league. Their sense of arrogance was horrid. The way their admin spoke about the conference, the way they openly spoke about conspiracy theories against them, the way they attacked every other school, etc... created the divide. Then the private schools under performing, yet blaming football schools for the demise of the conference. If the private schools actually pulled their weight there wouldn't be any split.


What is hopeful, moving forward, is with WSU and Creighton and their arrogance gone we might finally get to a point of a unified conference and unified vision. I doubt it to some extent because...well...I'd rather not continue private school "basing" on a private school message board.


As for what the MVC has done to prepare to get better, there we have some issues. The MVC admin (MVC office and university presidents/ADs) are widely loathed for their short sided and small thinking. The MVC should have acted back in 07-09 to capitalize on where were were, but did we? No. Double round robin conference schedule, private/public split and blah blah blah (largely driven by Creighton and the rest of the privates). Hopefully the MVC admin saw the absolutely outrage over the Loyola add. Hopefully the see the absolute outrage over UNO even being mentioned in the same sentence as the MVC without being prefaced like "UNO has no chance in hell of being in the MVC" causes them to wake the hell up.


If it is only a single addition (either Valpo or Murray State) and not both, it's a failure and I want UNI on the first train out of town to a place like the MAC. I want us and Illinois State to pair up and make something happen. F the privates. Let them run a league with Loyola, Drake, UE, Bradley (who is gone to the A10 if they ever figure out how to get good and the MVC doesn't get better), and then Valpo, UWM, UMKC, UNO, etc... Enjoy that   show on your own existing private schools. Some of us want to drive forward and get better. Accepting status quo is how you end up like Drake and Evansville. Marty Simmons has been there a decade and his results are acceptable to them. It's horrifying.

[UNIFTW]

My MVC predictions for next year. I was going to do it without Valpo and MUSU, but after UNI and MOSU it gets really messy


1a. Missouri State - and I don't trust this at all. MSU has talent that could be on par with WSU but Paul Lusk doesn't know an X from an O and can't coach a game at all.
1b. UNI - Last year sucked. We played all first year guys in the back court and lost a junior to injury very early. He got a medical, he's got two years left now, we have experience in the back court now. Our post players are extremely effective when they are on the court. Oh, and we have Ben Jacobson. No one comes close to him in the league. It's miles apart.












3. Valpo - IDK
4. Illinois State - but I don't trust this at all. Muller has shown he can recruit but he turns his roster over NONSTOP. They've lost like 6 of their top 8 guys from last year due to transfers and eligibility running out (notice I didn't say graduation, that doesn't happen much in Normal). Muller is also about Paul Lusk level when it comes to managing a game. I could see ISUr falling to bottom half
5. Bradley - I think Wardle has something going there. His team is starting to "grow up". I think they get here
6. Loyola - Much more talent than 6th place. Porter can recruit but he can't game plan for  ....noticing a trend on MVC coaches right now?




7. Murray State - tradition and the league not knowing much about them slots them here. I have no idea. Couldn't name one player on their roster, but a sub .500 OVC team likely doesn't walk in to the MVC and do superb off the start
8. SIU - Barry Hinson is one of the odder coaches in MVC history, in a few ways. I love having him in the league, but I'm not sure he's a great coach.




9. Indiana State - I don't know that ISUb has the money, but this needs to be a hot seat year for Lansing. NCAA tournament in year 1 with a freshman Jake Odum and it's only gotten worse every single year since then. I like him, he gets a lot of credit for what he does accomplish given how poorly funded the ISUb program is, but I don't think he's anything more than a meh recruiter and an okay coach.










Don't make me pick who's less   between Drake and Evansville.




10. Evansville - it's no secret UE is probably the MVC program I like the least. Marty runs a middle school offense, can't game plan, can't make in game adjustments, can't do anything but huff and puff (I'll stop myself from making a joke I really want to make). To his credit, he yells louder than all of the other coaches in the league, combined....he also wei......nope, gonna stop.
11. Drake - they have D3 talent (legit, they struggle with Iowa D3 schools through most of the game during the exhibitions, don't let the final score fool you) and a first year with a head coach...again. 4th coach since 08. Their admin is horrid. Worst athletic department in the conference (along with UE)






12 (IF THEY ARE ADDED) UW-M. Horrid HL team makes for a horrid MVC team.

[VULB#62]

UNIFTW, I understand your reluctance to open up and just be yourself on a possible opponent's forum, but please feel free to relax a bit and open up and say what's on your mind.   

[vu72]

UNI's hammering of the private schools overlooks one pretty obvious fact.  Creighton is private and until last year was a big part of the conference success.  As long as the point is that the CURRENT, EXISTING privates are terrible then fine.  It's like The Horizon saying that nobody has ever had national success and overlooking that school to our south.

[usc4valpo]

As long as UNI shows love for his Waterloo Wildcats and does not praise the Hawkeyes in his editorials, I am all for his expertise. Hey UNI - perhaps we can meet at Peppers or Singlespeed for a beer before Valpo goes to work on you guys!

[UNIFTW]

UNI's hammering of the private schools overlooks one pretty obvious fact.  Creighton is private and until last year was a big part of the conference success.  As long as the point is that the CURRENT, EXISTING privates are terrible then fine.  It's like The Horizon saying that nobody has ever had national success and overlooking that school to our south.

I stated repeatedly that is current MVC members. That means it's also leaving out WSU. That's swings it even harder.

Also, Creighton has been gone a full recruiting cycle. They had nothing to do with the last 4 years.

Creighton also has never been past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. So...

[FieldGoodie05]

UNI's hammering of the private schools overlooks one pretty obvious fact.  Creighton is private and until last year was a big part of the conference success.  As long as the point is that the CURRENT, EXISTING privates are terrible then fine.  It's like The Horizon saying that nobody has ever had national success and overlooking that school to our south.

I stated repeatedly that is current MVC members. That means it's also leaving out WSU. That's swings it even harder.

Also, Creighton has been gone a full recruiting cycle. They had nothing to do with the last 4 years.

Creighton also has never been past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. So...

UNI hates like a champ.  I don't think any of us have used such aggressive phrasing with YSU, CSU, UD or UIC. 

But somehow I like it....

[UNIFTW]

As long as UNI shows love for his Waterloo Wildcats and does not praise the Hawkeyes in his editorials, I am all for his expertise. Hey UNI - perhaps we can meet at Peppers or Singlespeed for a beer before Valpo goes to work on you guys!

I actually live down in the Cedar Rapids metro. No, Cedar Rapids and Cedar Falls aren't the same thing. UNI is in Cedar Falls not Cedar Rapids. Don't ever say Cedar Rapids. Two quickest ways to end up on a UNI   list is to say NIU and Cedar Rapids.

However, Peppers and Single Speed are top shelf. Give me Whiskey Road over Peppers though. Some Saturday game I'll meet you there, for sure.

Also, F everything about the schools and fan bases in Ames and Iowa City

[UNIFTW]

UNI's hammering of the private schools overlooks one pretty obvious fact.  Creighton is private and until last year was a big part of the conference success.  As long as the point is that the CURRENT, EXISTING privates are terrible then fine.  It's like The Horizon saying that nobody has ever had national success and overlooking that school to our south.

I stated repeatedly that is current MVC members. That means it's also leaving out WSU. That's swings it even harder.

Also, Creighton has been gone a full recruiting cycle. They had nothing to do with the last 4 years.

Creighton also has never been past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. So...

UNI hates like a champ.  I don't think any of us have used such aggressive phrasing with YSU, CSU, UD or UIC. 

But somehow I like it....

Many UNI fans refer to Creighton University as sCUm, because they are scum.  My phone autocorrect CU to sCUm and scum to sCUm.

I'm one of the more vocal, and vengeful, UNI fans. People love me or hate me - that includes UNI fans. I love message board debates. I research the hell out of the debate, which droves people nuts too.

MVC fan bases are fun. Some are soft and hate the debates (UE and Drake mostly). That's likely because, just like on the field of competition, they know they aren't as good as everyone else at it. With sCUm and WSU gone, the debates can stay more on topic and relevant. Those two fan bases were very quick to take things to a level and placed they didn't need to go. Those two fan bases killed off about 70% of MVCFans over the last 5 years.

[oklahomamick]

I like UNI's philosophy of making the SL and HL weaker. 

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/EnthusiAdams/status/860097305747349505

[usc4valpo]

UNI - I know the difference between Cedar Rapids and Cedar Falls, and I know the Cedar Falls area well. I make trips to the Cedar Valley often. I agree that Whiskey Road is better than Peppers. I also like dining at Becks, Montage and the Brown Bottle.

I am already looking forward to the road trips and we have not yet gotten an invite!

[VULB#62]

And was it the team/program or the fans that are the basis of your opinion? Valpo had a similar distatste for Butler when we were in the HL togther.  Other people on this board can speak more eloquently about that but I believe it was generally issues with their fan base.

[UNIFTW]

This is a question for UNI fan. why all the hate for Creighton ? As an outsider they always seemed like a solid organization and no worse than any other really good mid major program. Is there something specific? Is it just they were good or maybe because they left? Im just curious I feel like there's a story or 2 here.

Real short answer:
McDermott, friend hat, arrogance, recruiting

I can give you a MUCH more detailed answer if you really want. It was/is extremely heated between us. They are/were enemy #1 for years.

[VU2014]

Sounds like this will all be decided on Monday's MVC President Meeting.

https://twitter.com/DaveReynolds2/status/860131452993888256

[VULB#62]

This is a question for UNI fan. why all the hate for Creighton ? As an outsider they always seemed like a solid organization and no worse than any other really good mid major program. Is there something specific? Is it just they were good or maybe because they left? Im just curious I feel like there's a story or 2 here.

Real short answer:
McDermott, friend hat, arrogance, recruiting

I can give you a MUCH more detailed answer if you really want. It was/is extremely heated between us. They are/were enemy #1 for years.

I can gunderstand the arrogance piece and can guess that there may have been some negative recruiting going on involving Creighton.  I don't know any history with respect to McDermott (Dougie McBuckets?) and what does 'friend hat 'mean?