So... Who's Starting Against Hillsdale?

[valpospartan]

Play seemed to flow much better when Vashil was in the game.  Moussa seems to have hands of stone, among other things.

[wh]

I agree with most of what has been said.  I definitely see Vashil playing before Moussa.  However, when we alternated those guys at the 5 and had Bobby at the 4 in the early going, we did not look good at all - despite a huge size advantage.  Bobby just does not look like a 4.  IMO he's much more suited to playing underneath like he did last year, yet we don't need 3 guys sharing time at the 5. Right now I'm just really not sure what the addition of Moussa does for us, but of course I'm basing that on only 40 minutes of exhibition basketball. 
 

[Smj]

Too early to base much on this game.   Good to see they came out better in the second half.

I was impressed with the ability to not look like a bunch of freshman.    We looked best when we played a small running game.    Our big guys could hinder us a bit if this is a sign of what is to come.

Peters was super impressive - made some clutch plays.   I think it could be a long season BUT I think this could be a great group of kids to watch as they get more college experience.

[vusupporter]

Keep in mind, also, that the team ran almost zero sets.  There were a couple of old standards - the backdoor cut for the alley-oop vs. the zone and the press break over-the-top pass - but other than that, it was all motion offense, all the time - no sets.  I imagine, as the weeks progress and the newcomers become more acclimated to the system, that we'll see a lot more set plays installed and the offense will run much smoother.

[valpotx]

So happy for Vashil today, as it sounded like he was a bit more solid than last year.  We forget often that he has only been playing basketball for a few years, so with each year that passes, a guy with his work ethic will keep getting better.  I would love to have a two-headed C position of Moussa/Vashil, playing the hot hand.

[valpopal]

I though Dority and Coleman both looked pretty good and so did Vashil. Took a nasty fall late in the game but got up and jogged it off. I have no idea what was up with Capo, makes you wonder if he's 100%.

Bryce said Bobby banged up his knee in practice, hopes he'll be better by next week. If anyone is wondering how hard Vashil crashed to the court, I took this photo from the other side of the ARC, where the fall could be heard pretty loudly. Also, notice the reactions of the band members in the picture:

[humbleopinion]

Perhaps the better question is who is playing at crunch time.  I would not have predicted that with the game on the line, Bryce would choose to go with Clay and Vashil.

The game reminded me of the many times we have played a ranked team and were able to hang in with them for the first half and in the second the superior athleticism won out.

[classof2014]

I think it could be a long season BUT I think this could be a great group of kids to watch as they get more college experience.

Not ready to say it's a long season. They won the 2nd half by 14 points and controlled the game in the 2nd half. I think the first half was more jitters. Let us not forget 2 seasons ago, they struggled with Hillsdale and squeaked out a win by 2 points yet went on to win the HL title. These games are more for learning and seeing how guys fit in and what combinations seem to work. I expect to see a much more consistent game next week after a week of practice with looking at gametime material. Will be interesting to see if Vashil starts over Moussa and whether or not Bobby is healthy.

[VULB#62]

Speaking of elucidation...how about frickin' Alec Peters?

Are we allowed to get giddy after 23 minutes against a D3 team?

Slight correction - D-II, but your point is understood.

[wh]

Perhaps the better question is who is playing at crunch time.  I would not have predicted that with the game on the line, Bryce would choose to go with Clay and Vashil.

The game reminded me of the many times we have played a ranked team and were able to hang in with them for the first half and in the second the superior athleticism won out.

Clay showed great quickness at both ends and is an excellent ball handler and passer.  He hit Lexus Williams on the break with a beautiful lead pass between 2 defenders for an easy layup.  Everyone knows he can score.  I think he will play an important role this year.

As to predictions that we may struggle this year, I don't agree at all.  Let's not forget that our biggest prize doesn't hit the court until late Dec.  Lavonte is way quicker than last year and is in great condition.  No doubt in my mind that he and Keith will be one of best back courts in the league - maybe the top.

[valpopal]

The big surprise for me watching last night's game involved how much of what we saw was anticipated. The shot blocking, the 3-point shooting by Peters, the growth in game by Coleman and Dority, the quickness of Yeo, the smoothness of Williams, the size but inconsistency of Moussa, the rebounding of Adekoya, etc.

Though not much insight about the whole year can be attained by watching one exhibition game, I was reassured by the composure shown by the freshmen, and I believe this is a group that will learn quickly, getting better with experience playing together. I hope Vashil's wrist wasn't hurt too badly by his hard fall, and I hope Bobby's knee injury isn't something that will linger. I'll add that the crowd size and enthusiasm was very good for an early exhibition game, and I was pleased by the turnout and energy of the students. Also, the band sounded great and the cheerleaders were already in mid-season form.

I have posted 26 of my photos from the game, including the four below, at the following link, and I hope everyone likes them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157637008310844/

[valpo84]

Great photos valpopal (as usual) and thanks for posting. Anyone else notice the photo above of Peters is about the exact spot where Rowdy hit the shot last year. nice symmetry and kind of the handoff from one team to the next. During presser Bryce was asked if that shot was a no, no, no, yes shot.

[Valpofan00]

Any guesses on when the intro video will be played and when it will be available on YouTube to watch?

[historyman]

After the first 8 minutes, then who? I'll say: Vashil at the 5 Chadwick at the 4 Jubril at the 3 Yeo at the 2 Williams at the 1 Everybody's going to play a bunch

Looks like Hillsdale was mediocre last year.  This should be a blowout early, so I'd look for everyone to get around 20 minutes of PT.

Correct about PT but wrong about Hillsdale.The Chargers had two very talented players in Cooper and Dezelski.

Here's the post game presser:




Valpo Men's Basketball Post-game Press Conference: Hillsdale 10|26|13

[wh]

A couple of additional observations:

I am certain I heard Alec Peters introduced as 6-9.  Later, when I saw him lined up next to their 6-11 guy on a free throw attempt, 6-9 is totally believable.  You could see he bulked up big time over the summer, as well.

It was interesting to see the new charge/block rule come into play on drives to basket.  3 or 4 blocking fouls were called on Hillsdale players underneath the basket on drives by our players.  They seemed to be set, but not before the offensive player began his layup - which is now required under the new rule.  I don't know if they didn't get the memo, or they just positioned themselves for a charge out of habit.  Fast guards with the ability to finish at the rim are going to really benefit from this change. At the same time physical, defensive-minded teams just lost one of their main weapons.   

[beaner]

I must be the only person that was impressed with Lexus Williams at the point. He reminds of Eric Buggs when he was a freshman. Your thoughts..

[Smj]

Beaner.... 
Totally agree.   A freshman and I think I'd like to see him starting @ point and Dority @ the 2 spot.

[truth219]

I wouldn't mind seeing Williams start either. Williams dority Coleman peters and capo. Moussa better get his skills together, because vashil and capo will get lots of mins at the 5

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

[wh]

I really like this group of freshmen, including Lexus.  Not only are they skilled, they play with great passion and enthusiasm.  They were openly cheering every one on when on the bench, ran to pick each other up, and looked like they were genuinely having a good time out there.  I think we're going to love these guys. 

[justducky]

It was interesting to see the new charge/block rule come into play on drives to basket.  3 or 4 blocking fouls were called on Hillsdale players underneath the basket on drives by our players.  They seemed to be set, but not before the offensive player began his layup - which is now required under the new rule.  I don't know if they didn't get the memo, or they just positioned themselves for a charge out of habit.  Fast guards with the ability to finish at the rim are going to really benefit from this change. At the same time physical, defensive-minded teams just lost one of their main weapons.   

In general I do not like this change because over time it will futher widen the gap between the top major programs and the run of the mill mid-majors.

However, this should play pretty well for this roster and might give us a big late season Horizon League advantage. Why? Not only do we have more size than we can play but a couple of them can also (if beaten) threaten to block from behind, and in any war of attrition we should always have the last big man still on the floor. As for the advantage that the quicker guards will have when they take it to the basket not only do we have better than average young speed but that youth may come with no disadvantage to the experienced. (In a new rule environment will a senior know better than a freshman when he has the advantage to take it to the hole?) Looks to me to be a very good year to be deep inside with size and deep outside with quickness.

[wh]

GORCHES: VU will be better than predicted

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/23368584-556/gorches-vu-will-be-better-than-predicted.html

[valpotx]

I am happy for the rule change.  It always irked me to see a guy slide over to take a charge while we were in the air.  Just think of how many times Matt Kenney got called for this charge because he would get up so high, leaving the defender plenty of time to slide over.

[valpo04]

The big surprise for me watching last night's game involved how much of what we saw was anticipated. The shot blocking, the 3-point shooting by Peters, the growth in game by Coleman and Dority, the quickness of Yeo, the smoothness of Williams, the size but inconsistency of Moussa, the rebounding of Adekoya, etc.

Though not much insight about the whole year can be attained by watching one exhibition game, I was reassured by the composure shown by the freshmen, and I believe this is a group that will learn quickly, getting better with experience playing together. I hope Vashil's wrist wasn't hurt too badly by his hard fall, and I hope Bobby's knee injury isn't something that will linger. I'll add that the crowd size and enthusiasm was very good for an early exhibition game, and I was pleased by the turnout and energy of the students. Also, the band sounded great and the cheerleaders were already in mid-season form.

I have posted 26 of my photos from the game, including the four below, at the following link, and I hope everyone likes them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157637008310844/

Why do our uniforms have giant neckties down the sides 

[setshot]

The emblem on the tie looks much like my old army unit: 1st. Cav. If not,what is it?

[vu72]

If you analyze the performance by position, I really like the balance.

At the 1:  Williams and Dority  Combined  7 rebounds and 20 points

At the 2: Coleman and Davidson:  3 and 15

At the 3:  Peters and Yeo:  7 and 23

At the 4:  Capo, Chadwick and Jubril:  11 and 3

At the 5: Vashil and Moussa:  9 and 11

We will need more scoring at the 4, and that will come with a healthy Bobby.  Otherwise I think we all would be pleased with a season with these results.I will say that we only had 12 assists versus 10 turnovers.  10 was a good game for us last year.

The other very positive I see is that the freshman had a combined 3 turnovers with Alec and Yeo only having 1.  That is very impressive, particularly for their first game.