Women's Team

[valporun]

I watched today's game against South Dakota, and this was a winnable game for us. USD was an equal opponent to us today. What I saw as some huge problems were offensively, we don't move without the ball at all. I saw some sad sack attempts at setting screens/picks, and all five of our players were camped around the perimeter for a good five seconds waiting to see where the ball was going. No one was making anything happen. It was just pass to the open shooter and hope the 3 ball falls. We were rushing some major shot attempts just because we were open. We had zero sets that were effective. Horton is too soft for the 5, and doesn't seem to like to be near the rim at all. Weidemann should be a 4 with an occasional 3-point attempt. Right now, she's having to play the 3, but it seems like we're not in the proper roles for the offense to work appropriately for the Valpo game plan to work efficiently. Yes, I know Carr just got back on the court after time away, but her floor leadership isn't there yet, and Abby Dean is having to do too much work defensively because so many of our other players don't want to risk breaking a fingernail to be a strong defender. We give up way too much on the inside playing a perimeter zone or small man-to-man defense. Richardson, I'm tired of watching her just get the ball and jack a three. She should be driving inside to get a high percentage layup. Why isn't she doing that? Karungi just seems like she's trying to be a floor leader, but she generally can't find what she's supposed to be doing on the floor herself.

This was a winnable game for the ladies, but they blew it because they are just running around like lost sheep being sacrificed to the slaughter because they aren't playing in the right spots for either their ability or skill set. When our 4 and 5 don't get near the rim enough to be effective for their height and role, you know that we're going to get outrebounded, and not get enough points in the paint from the two positions where layups should be a fun thing to watch go in the basket. Makes me miss the days of Marlous, Schober, Braun, Stricklett and such who played at the rim, not trying to be the 3-point shooting hero.

[valpotx]

Do the ladies still practice against a team of guys?  One thing that stuck out to me while in school, was that Amber Schober, Marlous, Suzie Hammel, etc, would come to open gym and play against us to 'toughen' up. 

[mvandersee]

Do the ladies still practice against a team of guys?  One thing that stuck out to me while in school, was that Amber Schober, Marlous, Suzie Hammel, etc, would come to open gym and play against us to 'toughen' up.

Yeah there is still a scout/practice team made up of guys that they practice against. Saw them in there a few times towards the beginning of the year

[jack]

It was definitely a winnable game, but the players have to show up and want to win. We lost this one due to a lack of effort from our post players inside. Even the game commentary eluded to it.  They appear to be clueless as to how to get position to block out. Karungi had 3 boards and Horton had 2. That's ridiculous, and will never get it done. That was your difference today.  If I were the coaching staff,those two would work on nothing but positioning and blocking out at most every practice . I hate to say it, but they're the worst on the team at this. Not a winning trait when that's your primary job. I thought the other players did their best knowing we haven't got any post players that know how to post up, create space, and score. Sadly, another one gets away.

[valpopal]

The difference in the game was the inability to get key rebounds, especially late in the game. In fact, the coaches were livid as South Dakota got a follow-up basket with 4 minutes left when the score had been cut to 68-64, which turned out to be the turning point in the game. However, the rebound was pulled in by SD's Harrington, a huge force inside Valpo had difficulty matching. (In fact, Valpo almost got a fortunate break as Harrington was sick throughout much of the first half and was vomiting when she was on the bench.)

It didn't help Valpo's cause that Karungi sat out the first half due to a disciplinary reason, and she appeared out of sync in the second half. In addition, Lexi Miller and Aliyah Isaac apparently sat out the game because of injury. Consequently, the team basically played only a six-man rotation (with Dean, Richardson, and Wiedemann playing nearly the whole 40 minutes) and there were definitely signs of fatigue in those last four minutes of the game.

Otherwise, the team played fairly well and those on the court seemed to me to offer a strong effort. Wiedemann looked especially good as she put up a career-high 17 points, and Jessica Carr appeared remarkably fit in her first start of the year after the terrible injuries she'd had, as she scored 12 points and had 4 assists in her 26 minutes of play.

Here are a couple of my photos of Wiedemann and Carr, and I will post a set of others at the following: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157639271215554/

[jack]

More of the same vs YS. This team is going backwards and fast. I know we are looking at a 2nd year coaching staff but at some point, they need to be held accountable. How do you get this far into a season without 1 single player that knows how to block out? We aren't just getting out coached in these games, we are getting out coached in practices. What are we working on? Nothing is apparent at this point. We have no one wanting to take the floor leadership roll, terrible passing, lazy defense, and poor execution, though the last one is questionable as it isn't even apparent what it is we are trying to execute. Karungi was having her way down low in the first half so what do we do? We take her out of the game plan in the second half and start chucking up 3s. We have 1 player shooting and 4 watching. No one crashing the boards at all. There were several plays where we had 3 players under the basket so deep if it would have gone in, it's anyone's guess which one would have been hit in the head with the ball. I feel for these players. They have no one directing them that appears to have a clue. Sorry if this seems harsh, but again, these are opinions I heard, and agree with, from someone watching that doesn't have an interest in the outcome. I would be embarassed if I were on this coaching staff. They are letting these players down.

[valpotx]

We didn't score a second half point until around 9 minutes had gone by...

[valpo4life]

I'm sorry but no one should be blaming coaches when the players are have a 38.5% field goal percentage and 27.3% 3 point percentage. I don't think anyone would be successful with those kind of season numbers. And I honestly don't believe we were "out-coached" in the YSU game. We were "out-playered". We had no one even close to the level of player that #14 or #15 were for YSU. The YSU coaches figured out that if they packed in the lane like crazy on defense and force anyone else besides Karungi to do something that we wouldn't be able knock down shots from the outside. Which as been the theme for the whole season, not being able to make shots.

[jack]

You don't appear to know a lot about coaching. Having been involved in coaching for many years, I can say with a great sense of confidence that, these coaches are not putting these players in the best situations to be successful.  Say what you wan't about shooting percentages and blame the players all you want. Thats crap. We can't block out worth a crap. And our D sucks. Thats coaching, period.

[justducky]

You don't appear to know a lot about coaching. Having been involved in coaching for many years, I can say with a great sense of confidence that, these coaches are not putting these players in the best situations to be successful.  Say what you wan't about shooting percentages and blame the players all you want. Thats crap. We can't block out worth a crap. And our D sucks. Thats coaching, period.

Come on Jack, stop being so shy, quit pussy footin around, allow yourself to be blunt, abandon your restraint and tell us what you really think. 

[IndyValpo]

You don't appear to know a lot about coaching. Having been involved in coaching for many years, I can say with a great sense of confidence that, these coaches are not putting these players in the best situations to be successful.  Say what you wan't about shooting percentages and blame the players all you want. Thats crap. We can't block out worth a crap. And our D sucks. Thats coaching, period.

This problem is not just coaching and it is not just the players. The coaching is average at best. The players are a collection of average players many playing at a position they are not suited for. Kurangi is really the only 4-5 on the roster. Horton and Weidemann are wings trying to be bigger than they play. Their rebounding shows this.

I predicted this group might not win a game so at 2 wins we may be ahead of the game.

Where is Lexi Miller? As usual the game previews provide us no information...

[valporun]

My problem with our roster is that it looks like a D-II roster on a D-I basketball roster. None of our players look fit to the right position in the lineup/rotation. I can't really blame that on coaching as much as recruiting. We just recruit roster fillers, like some high school coaches have to do just to have a playable roster. Yes, I'm still trying to get a grasp on some of the players on our roster in terms of what type of game they have or what they are doing on the court, but some of them just seem like Coach Dorow threw darts in recruiting, or maybe played quarters with the recruiting, and if the quarter hit the target, the  girl was getting recruited, and if it happened in one shot, they got a scholarship too! This roster is just a mess, and I hope it plays out that after some of these players are gone, we'll start to see a roster of players in the right spots on the floor and coming in at the right point of a game, whether a starter or off the bench.

[jack]

I'll give you the fact that our roster is weak for a DI school, but there are certainly issues that can be targeted in practice to improve on our play, and it just isn't happening. The squad is what it is. No changing that this season. The mark of  good coaching is getting the most out of these players, regardless if we are undersized, under-talented, etc. That isn't happening. Each and every player on this squad certainly has something to offer, when put in the possition to do so.
Again, I have never seen such a poor display of blocking out as I did against YS. It was pathetic. Many of these players didn't concentrate on blocking out in high-school because they played the 1 - 2 possitions. We basically have a squad of guards, with one 4-5 player, and maybe one 3. This is the hand we are dealt. It's high time to conduct a practice of nothing but block out drills. Our smallest players seem to be the best at blocking out, even though they are under sized. Concetrate on this next game and you will see what I'm talking about. Our bigger girls don't seem to have a clue how to get a body on someone and push them out of possition. That, in itself, would improve our chances of winning. We spent the evening chucking up 3s to no avail, with the majority being one and done as we couldn't block out to get a rebound.
We don't talk out on the floor to the help defense. YS was blowing by the defenders with no one rotating over to help out. Again, this is something that should be emphasized in practice. They can spend all the time they want to on shooting drills in practice, but they have to play to the expectation that the shot is not going in, and be in a possition to block out and rebound. It just isn't happening.
I only see a couple of players that know how to properly pass into the post. The others don't seem to understand how to set up the defender to create space to do so. How many times did we throw the ball away telegraphing the inlet pass by looking right at the post player before passing to them?
Our offense is way to vanilla. We do the same thing each and every time we come up the court on offense. We dribble to the same spot, make the same pass, rotate to the same possition, etc. A good high school squad could shut us down. We have to mix it up.
There is only so much you can blame on these players. They all have skill sets. They need the proper direction to get the most out of the skills they have. We need to be put in better possitions to be successful. At times these coaches look absolutely lost on the sidelines. We come out of timeouts, only to turn the ball over on the very next play. That can't happen.
We need a floor leader. Granted, that is up to the player to get out there and take charge. I wonder what kind of signals these players get from the coaches, to make them feel that they are expected to get out there and take charge. Who is it supposed to be? Horton? If so, get her out there early and work with her to assert herself underneath. We have to quit palying soft. Is it Carr? A point guard would be a logical choice, and she appears to be the only true point out there. if it's her, why doesn't she start against YS? What are you telling her by keeping her on the bench? Is it Richardson? She starts, but doesn't appear to want anything to do with leading, or even playing point for that matter.
These players need an identity and to know what there roll is. Weidemann is one of our better shooters, and defenders, but we also need her help blocking out to give us a better opprtunity to rebound. We just need to get the most out of the hand we are dealt, and for me, that job falls squarely on the coaches shoulders.

As for Miller, I believe she is still suffering the affects of a concusion last month.

[vu72]

Wow, a 33 point loss to a 7-9 mid-major.  We have BIG problems.  Wonder how ML will react to a 2-a bunch season??

[valpotx]

I imagine that he will ride it out another 2 seasons, as I believe that she received a 5 year contract?  We need to give her another season or two to see how her own recruits perform with age, as Keith can still be heavily attributed to our results this season.  Tabitha G leaving after last season really hurt, as we could have at least been average with her and Karungi in the middle. 

[KL31NY]

That sounds fair. We still have a pretty new team based on younger players and transfers, and she deserves some time to really have her own group and build them up. If I understand our current roster and NLIs, we could have 15 players next year with all eligible players returning and our newcomers, which can hopefully help us worked towards real depth at forward.

Gerardot would've been great to have around for another year. Can play the 4, 5 positions, great enthusiasm and leadership qualities. Going a little further back, Ladd would've been great between her playing ability and our lack of true inside depth, too. Those are two players who can shoot the three but are more than good enough inside to back someone down, battle for the ball off the glass, and came ready to make significant contributions since their respective freshman seasons.

Anyone watch enough of last night's game to see what we were doing defensively? I had it up in the background and saw us play some 2-3, which you really have to play well when your opponent is content to shoot and knock down the three.

[ARCInsider]

I imagine that he will ride it out another 2 seasons, as I believe that she received a 5 year contract?  We need to give her another season or two to see how her own recruits perform with age, as Keith can still be heavily attributed to our results this season.  Tabitha G leaving after last season really hurt, as we could have at least been average with her and Karungi in the middle.

The body's been in the ground for two years now...when does Keith stop taking the blame for this mess? 

[IndyValpo]

The body's been in the ground for two years now...when does Keith stop taking the blame for this mess?

Here is the current make-up:

Freeman (6): Horton, Richardson, Carr, Weidemann, Dean, Godwin
Dorow (4): Miller, Kurangi, Issac, E Hamlet
Transfers (2) A Hamlet, Thompson
Walk-ons (2): F Miller, Taylor

Next year, it will be Freeman (4), Dorow (10)....I think he escapes blame next year. 

[Girlsbbfan]

I'm sorry, but you cannot any longer blame this mess on Freeman.
The players are going to remain who they are for the remainder of the season so there is no reason to discuss current player changes. It is up to the coaches to go back to basics, create a game plan that takes advantage of the roster strengths and limits the exposure of their weaknesses, drive home some form of fundamentally sound play, and get the players to understand their roles. These are the things coaches are supposed to do. Any players that don't buy in and act and play accordingly should sit on the bench.
It is difficult to watch these games, I just hope the coaches can find a way to turn the season around. At least with past teams I could watch a game and understands what was trying to be accomplished by the game plan or in game adjustments, currently that is impossible. Good luck to the girls. They need all the help they can get.

[valpotx]

Our current coach can essentially claim the FR this year, as well as Karungi and transfers.  How can we hold her accountable for working with our subpar upperclassmen, if she didn't recruit them?  Our upperclassmen have such terrible shooting percentages, as well as constant turnovers.  It'd be like expecting a Manager in MLB to turn around the Miami Marlins in 2 seasons, when all they have is role players at the moment.  You can only coach a bad team so much, in order to gain victories.  You can have the best plan in the world, but if you have people shooting around 30% overall, and 20% from 3, you can only do so much.  The fact that Wiedemann has attempted 92 3-pointers while shooting around 20% is alarming, especially when most of what she takes is WIDE OPEN when I watch.  Freeman's recent recruiting put us in this position, which can be hard to dig out of. 

[KL31NY]

The body's been in the ground for two years now...when does Keith stop taking the blame for this mess? 

Assistant coach at Wright State is far from six feet under, especially with its fine start to this season.

Our current coach can essentially claim the FR this year, as well as Karungi and transfers.  How can we hold her accountable for working with our subpar upperclassmen, if she didn't recruit them?

It makes sense not to hold a coach personally accountable for certain issues with players they inherited from a previous coach or program. At the same time, whether it's a new(er) coach with a different team, a program affected by injuries or sanctions, or whatever similar scenario you want, it's up to any coach and the rest of its staff to play with the team that's available and try to put it in the best situation to succeed. As I see it, this does not seem like just a coaching thing, not just a recruiting thing, or not just a playing thing, but as a whole, we have been struggling to provide a consistent, balanced, and successful team. I don't know the right mixture or the right answer that will turn this program around, but with a second-year staff and a young team, the rebuilding and "re-branding" process (it's Valpo, couldn't help myself) is still in the early stages and will take some work to produce better results. I wish them all the best as the season continues and hope we have more fun notes to discuss in the next couple months.

[StlVUFan]

Is it possible that Valpo's women's team has suffered because in the HL it is too hard for Valpo to maintain two good basketball teams?  After all, this slide did pretty much coincide with switching conferences.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

it is too hard for Valpo to maintain two good basketball teams

in what possible sense?  financial?  attention-span-related?

[jack]

As mentioned in a previous, (though long winded) post, we have major issues in the coaching department. Did anyone concentrate on our efforts to block out last night? Another pathetic effort. These coaches have got to get back to the basics with these players and work on BLOCKING OUT! Period. I can take an off shooting night, but to watch these games and our lack of blocking out and weak defense is frustrating at best.
I also watched the coaching from the sidelines, and our actions after coming off of a timeout. If they have to honor a 5 year contract with this staff, you will see more of the same for 3 more years.
Say what you want about Freeman's recruits, but that's a copout. There were several times last night where 4 of the 5 players on the floor were Dorow players - kids she brought here. And would you know it, not one knew how to block out. As a whole the best players we have at blocking out are the ones Freeman brought here.
This team has an identity crisis. It isn't clear to any of them what their actual role should be. We are beyond the halfway point of the season and our coaches are still clueless about what their roles should be.
They need more input from Helm. He seems to be the only one on the sidelines that really understands the game.
Sorry. Back off the soapbox. Carry on.

[StlVUFan]

it is too hard for Valpo to maintain two good basketball teams

in what possible sense?  financial?  attention-span-related?

Financial, and dare I say Title IX sense as well...

Just spit-balling, no more.  Maybe attention-span as well, I don't know.

Just taking a macro view: in the Mid-Con during my tenure as a serious fan, both teams were always fun to watch.  I still remember 2003 and 2004 winning the auto-bid both years on last second plays.  Both years gave power conference teams fits before bowing out in the first round.  2002 team went to WNIT Final Four.

Both teams have faced upgraded competition.  Just can't help wondering if there was only enough of <whatever-it-is> for one of the teams to scale the new heights and not enough left over for the other to keep up.

I have no idea what <whatever-it-is> might be, really.