Nice story about Scott Drew

[vu72]

Saw this news report and thought you all might enjoy it.

http://www.kwtx.com/sports/headlines/Behind-The-Green-and-Gold-Drew-Nearing-History-247706801.html?ref=801

[wh]

Awesome video.  So happy for Scott.

[FWalum]

I wonder if the feelings about Scott would have been different if Homer had not come back to coach after he left.  Didn't Scott at one time say that his dad coming back was part of the deal and that it made the decision easier for him?

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I wonder if the feelings about Scott would have been different if Homer had not come back to coach after he left.

Definitely different for myself!  The way they Drew it up was fine though.

[usc4valpo]

Very good article and a wonderful story.  Scott Drew has done a tremendous job at Baylor taking that program from the bottom to a regular Big 12 contender.  What cracks me up is how many opposing teams and fans dislike Drew and Baylor, accusing him of cheating.  Whether Baylor cheats or not we are not totally sure, but the change of perception of Drew is pretty comical.  When Drew started at Baylor, the opposing coaches loved him and thought he was great.  He had a nice guy perception and the coaches wished him the best - as long as he does not make their life miserable.  Of course at that time, those teams were defeating Baylor with ease.  Now that Scott has built a strong program, all those coaches hate him.  Why?  Becuase now Baylor is outrecruiting these schools, defeating them, and winning best in show.

[valporun]

I have to admit it, when Scott left for Baylor, so did our ability to recruit players, whether in the post, or floor generals at the point guard spot.

[usc4valpo]

Scott  Drew is a very aggressive and successful recruiter, that's for sure.  I think Bryce needs to go on some fishing trip with him and pick his brain while fileting their bass.

[valpo64]

Valporun...what have you been drinking?

[vu72]

I have to admit it, when Scott left for Baylor, so did our ability to recruit players, whether in the post, or floor generals at the point guard spot.

Uh, not sure I agree.  Bryce was coaching guys the last few years who he and/or other asst coached recruited.  Those guys included Ryan Broekhoff, Kevin Van Wyck, Matt Kenney, Eric Buggs and others.  Scott had nothing to do with those guys.  Eric was as good a point as we've had, not withstanding his propensity to miss shots.  Rowdy and \\kevin were first team all conference.  Now, this year he and his staff brought in two of the five all freshman and had recruited and brought in Lavonte who also was a first team all conference player.

So just when did we lose "our ability to recruit"??

[a3uge]

Last years team had the highest RPI in the history of the program, so I'm not really convinced that recruiting disappeared. We also had an ESPN 100 recruit (lol), something which I doubt Scott ever brought, and have had a variety of 2 and 3 stat recruits that have either signed as freshmen, or transferred in. Compared to the rest of the league, Valpo recruits as well as anyone else, and finally have started taking advantage of the Chicago area when there's very little competition around.

[FWalum]

I have to admit it, when Scott left for Baylor, so did our ability to recruit players, whether in the post, or floor generals at the point guard spot.

Wow, I think this is really selective memory. What other single freshman recruiting class can compare with this one statistically? None that I can remember. I know people will say Bryce's class or maybe Barton's, but none had this depth. Heck, Kaplan said he is voting for VU as the preseason favorite next year (to be taken with a grain of salt).

[usc4valpo]

Agreed on Bryce's recruting skills. In reality, I think Bryce learned a lot from this rebuilding season.  The year's team met expectations, not more, not less.

As for Scott, he deserves acolades, but now more is expected, especially with Baylor's rise in NCAA sports.

[valporun]

Most of our freshmen recruits have NEVER had to spend their freshmen season changing the perspective of a program, like this group has. A lot of the recruiting has seen players playing out of position because we haven't had a true offensive 5 in a long time. We've had to put a 3 or 4 in the 5 spot because of his height, but his skill set didn't match up. In terms of a 5, we've had to spend a lot of time watching projects come in lacking the skills for the position. Why get so excited about a 7' post player who shows he has butter fingers in the post? I'd love to get a 5 that has great hands that could get better playing time at a school like Valpo, rather than biding his time at a major conference school only to transfer because he's not getting playing time behind the ESPN Top 25 guy who won't be staying at Duke, Kansas, UNC, or whatever big name school for more than 5 months.

In terms of what I've been drinking....certainly not the same kool-aid the rest of you have.

[valpo64]

Get real!   Every team does not get everyone and everything they want every year...even the "big boys".  Talk to some of the parents of players of players and ask them what kind of recruiter Bryce and his staff are.  I think you might change your mind.

[a3uge]

Most of our freshmen recruits have NEVER had to spend their freshmen season changing the perspective of a program, like this group has. A lot of the recruiting has seen players playing out of position because we haven't had a true offensive 5 in a long time. We've had to put a 3 or 4 in the 5 spot because of his height, but his skill set didn't match up. In terms of a 5, we've had to spend a lot of time watching projects come in lacking the skills for the position. Why get so excited about a 7' post player who shows he has butter fingers in the post? I'd love to get a 5 that has great hands that could get better playing time at a school like Valpo, rather than biding his time at a major conference school only to transfer because he's not getting playing time behind the ESPN Top 25 guy who won't be staying at Duke, Kansas, UNC, or whatever big name school for more than 5 months.

In terms of what I've been drinking....certainly not the same kool-aid the rest of you have.

Kevin Van Wijk wasn't a good enough 5? Your expectations for mid major big men are pretty high. Only a handful of schools have 6-10, 6-11 big men with good hands. What schools in the conference consistently recruit good offensive big men? And most the horizon doesn't even play with a center.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I know where you're coming from, 'run, but we have to face the facts.

Most 7-footers are uncoordinated.  It's the nature of the beast.  Hell, my best friend growing up is 6'4 and I used to tease him that he moved like he was a puppet containing a 5'6 guy--couldn't get his extremities with the program.

The few that are good enough to play basketball are quickly seized.  Those that are highly skilled don't end up in our conference very often.

So, would it have been nice for Moussa and Vashil to have been better, esp. better hands?  Sure, but then they wouldn't have ended up here.  Capo too.

Catch-22.

[historyman]

Get real!

You better define "real." Or someone on this board will be asking what you mean by "real."

[historyman]

Talk to some of the parents of players of players and ask them what kind of recruiter Bryce and his staff are.  I think you might change your mind.

These are invariably the wrong people to ask about whether someone is a good recruiter or not. Do you think if the coach is a bad recruiter that the parents are going to say "He's a bad recruiter. He should have never chosen my son to play for his team."

[LaPorteAveApostle]

These are invariably the wrong people to ask about whether someone is a good recruiter or not

Yep.

You better define "real." Or someone on this board will be asking what you mean by "real."

why should he?  no one else has been able.

[vu72]

Most of our freshmen recruits have NEVER had to spend their freshmen season changing the perspective of a program, like this group has. A lot of the recruiting has seen players playing out of position because we haven't had a true offensive 5 in a long time. We've had to put a 3 or 4 in the 5 spot because of his height, but his skill set didn't match up. In terms of a 5, we've had to spend a lot of time watching projects come in lacking the skills for the position. Why get so excited about a 7' post player who shows he has butter fingers in the post? I'd love to get a 5 that has great hands that could get better playing time at a school like Valpo, rather than biding his time at a major conference school only to transfer because he's not getting playing time behind the ESPN Top 25 guy who won't be staying at Duke, Kansas, UNC, or whatever big name school for more than 5 months.

In terms of what I've been drinking....certainly not the same kool-aid the rest of you have.

Kevin Van Wijk wasn't a good enough 5? Your expectations for mid major big men are pretty high. Only a handful of schools have 6-10, 6-11 big men with good hands. What schools in the conference consistently recruit good offensive big men? And most the horizon doesn't even play with a center.

For that matter, though undersized, Cory Johnson was a very effective 5.  I will always remember him "schooling" Butler's Andrew Smith.  So, we point out recruiting successes but no response.  Oh, and one final (maybe) thought.  Those "bigs", the 5's, take time to develop no doubt.  Think about the improvement for Vashil from last year to this most recent one.  Now, I expect a similar improvement to next year and if it happens, we will have the defensive POY and possibly more.  Vashil still has much to learn but is gaining quickly.  You gotta love the "sky hook"!!

[a3uge]

Most of our freshmen recruits have NEVER had to spend their freshmen season changing the perspective of a program, like this group has. A lot of the recruiting has seen players playing out of position because we haven't had a true offensive 5 in a long time. We've had to put a 3 or 4 in the 5 spot because of his height, but his skill set didn't match up. In terms of a 5, we've had to spend a lot of time watching projects come in lacking the skills for the position. Why get so excited about a 7' post player who shows he has butter fingers in the post? I'd love to get a 5 that has great hands that could get better playing time at a school like Valpo, rather than biding his time at a major conference school only to transfer because he's not getting playing time behind the ESPN Top 25 guy who won't be staying at Duke, Kansas, UNC, or whatever big name school for more than 5 months.

In terms of what I've been drinking....certainly not the same kool-aid the rest of you have.

Kevin Van Wijk wasn't a good enough 5? Your expectations for mid major big men are pretty high. Only a handful of schools have 6-10, 6-11 big men with good hands. What schools in the conference consistently recruit good offensive big men? And most the horizon doesn't even play with a center.

For that matter, though undersized, Cory Johnson was a very effective 5.  I will always remember him "schooling" Butler's Andrew Smith.  So, we point out recruiting successes but no response.  Oh, and one final (maybe) thought.  Those "bigs", the 5's, take time to develop no doubt.  Think about the improvement for Vashil from last year to this most recent one.  Now, I expect a similar improvement to next year and if it happens, we will have the defensive POY and possibly more.  Vashil still has much to learn but is gaining quickly.  You gotta love the "sky hook"!!

The "player X is undersized" thing is kind of annoying when Kevin Van Wijk was one of the most effective big men in Valpo history. Guy shot 64% from the field. As seen by Mousa, size is completely irrelevant in the Horizon. KVW could score around the rim and fight for position down low. Our tube men could not this year. Cory Johnson was undersized though because he shouldn't have been playing a true center role... Keep in mind when he came over he was slotted to fill a shooting forward role with Witt playing center... Witt didn't really work out at all.

Valpo's had a ton of misses at center, but most mid majors do. There's not 1 team in conference that consistently recruits big men well, because obviously big men are much harder to come by than effective guards.

[vu72]

I just looked back at KVW's first team all conference year when he and Richie Edwards shared the 5.  The combo of Moussa and Vashil compares favorably on several fronts other then scoring.

KVW/RE did the following:

Scoring per game:  23.5
Rebounds per game: 8.3
Minutes per game: 41.5
Turnovers (season): 113
Blocks (season): 28

Moussa/Vashil:

Scoring per game: 8.5
Rebounds per game: 9.9
Minutes per game: 35.5
Turnovers (season): 110
Blocks (season): 125

So you have 15 more points per game from KVW/RE but get 1.5 less rebounds, virtually the same number of turnovers and gain almost 100 more blocks with Moussa/Vashil, in 6 less minutes per game.


What is 100 net blocks worth in comparison to 15 points?

[LaPorteAveApostle]

What is 100 net blocks worth in comparison to 15 points?

Thank you.  Brilliant idea and good analysis.

Obviously 3 bpg and 1.6 rpg is not worth 15 points (let's say 7.5 or 8), but it's much closer than certainly anyone currently dumping on them would ever have thought.