11/8/2013 Friday 7:30 p.m. CST -- Murray State at Valpo -- Game Thread

[Clearthetrack]

I would like to see the two programs continue to play.  I think Valpo will compete for the Horizon league crown.  It's amazing the last time i was in Indiana i was wearing a Kentucky blue shirt in Assembly Hall and I had never encountered ruder people in my life.  the blue and gold shirt got a much warmer reception in the Hoosier state. 

[bbtds]

CleartheTrack,

You're double Zay attack unfortunately is down to one Zay but that point guard is a real Payne in the tookus. Despite all the issues your team played well in a tough environment all the way to the end and represented their school well. The Racers believe in fair play and play with dignity. Those traits are to be respected and admired. We, as Valpo fans, would love to continue playing your school in future years and to build up a nice rivalry.

I also hope you were able to enjoy your drive, which ever way you decided to travel, and enjoyed your visit to our campus.

[historyman]

http://www.nwitimes.com/blogs/sports/valparaiso-university/wrapping-up-murray-state/article_51e9262a-48f6-11e3-8976-0019bb2963f4.html

[historyman]

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/sports/extra/Valparaiso-defeats-Murray-State-77-74-231253131.html

NBC Channel 6 in Paducah sent a camera crew to the game or possibly used a student crew or paid a company for the news report.

Valparaiso defeats Murray State 77-74



http://murrayledger.com/sports/murray_state/racers-fall-in-opener-to-valparaiso/article_b8efcbce-490c-11e3-8516-001a4bcf887a.html

From the Murray Ledger & Times

Racers fall in opener to Valparaiso

[oklahomamick]

Impressed by the freshman and improvement by Vashil.  Disappointed in Gueye, thought with his size he would be a bigger impact than 4 fouls.  Enjoyed watching Coleman get to the hole.   

Side note, Northern Kentucky (future HL member???) took Purdue to the wire and lost by 1. 

[LaPorteAveApostle]

You're double Zay attack unfortunately is down to one Zay but that point guard is a real Payne in the tookus.

bbtds, never change. (eh except for your first word there ; )

the blue and gold shirt got a much warmer reception in the Hoosier state.

Glad we were hospitable!  Thanks for coming, and let's make this a series   Oh, and thanks for your injection of outsider sanity re: our facilities.

You know, not to go all Aristotle & Aquinas up in here, but let's look at Dority.  In the literal sense.  Function should follow form, and he is at his best when he does what his body suggests he'd be good at:  go to the hole, absorb contact, and finish.  When he did that, he sewed up the victory.  When he tried to do too much, he didn't succeed.  Not sure what is up with him--he's never been a high-percentage shooter, but he is a career 84.7% FTer...or was until last night, when it fell to 81.3%.  That suggests someone with good form (i.e. if he couldn't hit from ANYWHERE it just wasn't in the cards, but he can).  So the overall % plus the turnovers suggest someone who struggles with decision-making.  Which, not what you want in your point guard.

Then again, it was a pretty good night when your weak link still had the stones to go to the rack and finish with the game on the line.

[wh]

Crusaders open season with thrilling victory

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/crusaders-open-season-with-thrilling-victory/article_8d346903-0dca-573b-af80-12cb756e3879.html

[crusadermoe]

Yeah, the frosh were solid!    Love Lexus.   Berman would have a car nickname by name.  Good acceleration at the least.  Anyway....Peters really has a knack.  I think he had 3 or 4 shots go down and come out again.    It is great to see us match up athletically so evenly with teams and not have to rely so heavily on outsmarting teams with backdoor passes.

I think Peters will outperform Rowdy over time if he starts hitting 3s. He is much stronger driving to the hoop.

[bw12]

I agree about the Freshman, Vashil, and Coleman as they were all great. But what I was extremely impressed with was our rebounding and second chance opportunities! The last couple years we had to make our shots to survive and barely had second opportunities on offense. Last night looked completely different. We are a big team that can rebound! This will help us get through some off shooting nights.

Also, our size alone caused for some really tough shots. I am excited to see where this team can go.

[vu72]

Interesting posts all around.  Love hearing that the Racer fans were well received and appreciated the environment.  4400 or so was posted, immagine what he would have thought with another 1000 in the house! Love Coach Lottich's comment..."are they all like this?" LOL!

Vashil got the most "wows" out of me last night. Way better than last year.  A dominating rebounding performance which was hard to find last year.  So we match up well against a very fast team and probably will against bigger slower teams as well.

The freshman are in a first year league of their own.  I still can't understand how the fans had really no expectations of Lexus coming in.  I guess it was because of his limited accolades while Yeo and Peters and even Davidson had the clippings.  All very cool under pressure.

Finally, I can't help but to compare last years team to this one.  We are much bigger and thus would have a rebounding edge.  Much quicker overall with great depth.  Shooting? Not so impressive but will probably come around with time.  If we can gain some 3 point shooter consistance we will be very tough.

[valpopal]

As everyone seems to have noted, members of this freshman class are already playing with poise and contributing, which exhibited itself and helped a lot on a night Dority's game was off. They are going to be fun to watch develop even more. Also, Jordan has improved immensely since last year. He seems confident and in control when he has the ball, and his ability to finish at the basket has become consistent. In addition, he has a good feel for rebounding, which helped lead Valpo over Murray State 44-35 on the boards, a key to the win.

Peters reminds everyone of a stronger and more developed version of Rowdy as a freshman, and he tied Coleman for the lead in rebounds. Although his stats weren't large last night, Clay still exhibits an athleticism and aggressiveness that helps his teammates get open, and he is fun to watch. Lexus displays composure, and though he only had one assist, his ball handling often helped others find a position to score.

Bobby still seems to be a bit less than 100%, a step slow or a bit rusty that led to early foul trouble, and he is yet finding his place at the forward position, although he did get placed in the center for a brief spell due to Moussa's own foul trouble. Nevertheless, he did show his three-point shot is a possible threat to other teams at times, which could open up the inside more for Moussa or Vashil. Also, he scored 9 points and had 4 rebounds in only 16 minutes of playing time.

However, the surprise player of the night was Vashil, whose energy and enthusiasm was as high as ever, but whose footwork and ability to finish at the basket seems to have become much better, and who has become stronger grabbing and controlling rebounds. As you can see in the photo below, nobody was happier and more satisfied than Vashil, who couldn't stop smiling in the postgame press conference, especially when Bryce mentioned his play against Murray State was a product of dedicated hard work over the last year.

Here are some photos from the game to enjoy. I will post a link to many other pictures later, but my schedule is full this morning:









 

[LaPorteAveApostle]

wow.  thanks for all those, but especially the last one.  that's beautiful, and sums it all up.

[mj]

I'll echo what everyone else has said about last night's game. A great team performance, especially from the freshmen. If this is the 6th best team in the Horizon League then it's going to be one hell of a conference this year.

I was amazed at Vashil last night. How many times has Valpo brought in a raw big man (Vucic, Witt, Mbaye, etc.) hoping he was going to develop? It seems like this time the development actually occurred. I will say that Vashil did seem to turn the ball over a few times near the end of the game, but I'll attribute that to fatigue. A great game overall for the guy.

[wh]

A sneak peek at the banners to be raised during pregame ceremonies:

The pre-game banner raising ceremony was a very nice celebratory moment.  They showed a short highlight video from last year, including, of course, Ryan's 3 pointer at the gun to beat GB in the semi's and highlights from the MSU tournament game.  The players in attendance were introduced, including Ben and Will.  The crescendo was the unveiling and raising of the banners. Very well done!

[EddieCabot]

Does Valpo always hang an individual banner for winning regular season, the tournament and participating in the NCAA tourney?  Seems like they would end up with a bunch of banners!  I've seen several places that use one banner per season and just list the various accomplishments.  Just curious.

[wh]

Does Valpo always hang an individual banner for winning regular season, the tournament and participating in the NCAA tourney?  Seems like they would end up with a bunch of banners! I've seen several places that use one banner per season and just list the various accomplishments.  Just curious.

I hope that becomes a major problem! 

I've seen those as well.  One banner would suffice in multi-bid conferences where entry into the NCAA tournament is almost a right of passage.  As we all know, it's a much bigger accomplishment (relatively speaking) at our level.  Teams can go for long stretches - sometimes years - between championships and NCAA tournament appearances.  Giving maximum exposure to special accomplishments along the way just makes sense.

[valpopal]

I have now uploaded more than 40 photos from the Murray State game at the link below, including these three images that I post to recognize and applaud the strong student support evident thus far this year: congrats to the ValparaiZone!

I hope you enjoy the pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157637498094096/

[ARCInsider]

Not sure what is up with him--he's never been a high-percentage shooter, but he is a career 84.7% FTer...or was until last night, when it fell to 81.3%.  That suggests someone with good form (i.e. if he couldn't hit from ANYWHERE it just wasn't in the cards, but he can).  So the overall % plus the turnovers suggest someone who struggles with decision-making.  Which, not what you want in your point guard.

I think it's pretty clear he won't be our PG for long.  Lexus is a true freshman and already getting key minutes down the stretch at PG.  Lexus will continue to get big minutes on the floor with Lavonte.  Once Carter is eligible, Dority slides to the 2 full time and Lexus is the back-up PG off the pine.  Our guard depth is worth getting excited over...Yeo is already vastly exceeding the expectations of many.  Carter-Dority-Williams-Coleman-Yeo is nice.

[humbleopinion]

I was amazed at Vashil last night. How many times has Valpo brought in a raw big man (Vucic, Witt, Mbaye, etc.) hoping he was going to develop? It seems like this time the development actually occurred. I will say that Vashil did seem to turn the ball over a few times near the end of the game, but I'll attribute that to fatigue. A great game overall for the guy.

I was especially impressed with his hustle.  Diving after a loose ball or running after a rebound after it hits the floor aren't behaviors that are often seen from a big man.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I hope you enjoy the pictures:

who invited the girl in the Illinois sweatshirt (3rd pic)?

[Smj]

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3696/10769594314_8cbfd36198.jpg

I want to be the "O" this time....  No, you were the "O" last time.   

Maybe no one will notice.   

[valpo4life]

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3696/10769594314_8cbfd36198.jpg

I want to be the "O" this time....  No, you were the "O" last time.   

Maybe no one will notice.   

You can't see the person that is the "G" in "Go", and the last "O" man is standing in front of the "P" man. Looks funny I know, but I was there to see they had it right don't worry.

[Smj]

....  I get an opportunity like that....   I'm taking it...   Lol

[a3uge]

I thought Cameron Payne would be a lot better. The guy just took too many bad shots. Free throw shooting was abysmal by both teams. If Murray State shoots FT better, we lose. If we shoot FT better, we cover the spread. I feel this has been a huge issue in the past, and with the amount of fouls being called this year, everyone is going to have to work on their free throws.

It's still hard to gauge this team. While I was extremely impressed and surprised by the outstanding play of Coleman (offensively), I was also surprised with the horrid play of Dority. 1 assist and 5 turnovers? From a point guard? That's just not acceptable. I thought Williams handled the ball much better and should split more minutes with Dority. Murray State shooting was terrible. They couldn't seem to get anything going.

Vashil surprised me as well. He's gotten so much better. He still has some bricks for hands, but he look much more capable than Gueye. I was very disappointed with Gueye. He was getting pushed around all over the place. I was hoping his size would at least create a couple of offensive opportunities from sucking the defense in down low, but he couldn't seem to gain any position.

Alec Peters needs to be more assertive.

[Smj]

Alec Peters needs to be more assertive.

He seems to let the game come to him (reminds me of Ryan)...