HL 2nd Round - Valpo vs Milwaukee 03/07/14 Friday 8:30 p.m. CT - game thread

[HC]

It wasn't over before or directly after he was dq'd....we had plenty of time and just never got anything going and never hit the boards. The Carter play was selfish, unless somehow the video doesn't tell ge whole story.

Let's hope for a cit or cbi invite

[Valpofan00]

I cant believe this season is already over. Wow time flies eh? New Era of Valpo Basketball starts now!

[a3uge]

Well that sucked.

[valpotx]

So I get out of my Lamaze class around 10 and see that we are down by 11, with a 31-15 rebounding edge to UWM...with 16 offensive rebounds to 0.  We were shooting .458, and UWM at .323 or so, with equal FTM, similar turnover numbers, and only 3 more 3-pt FG for UWM at that time.  WTF happened that we gave up so many offensive rebounds?  With the stats I saw (outside of rebounds), you would have thought that we would be up, or much closer, than you see that they rebound just about each miss and we get none on our end.  I am glad that I didn't get to watch any of this game, the way it looked as I was driving home.  I saw in the chat that Todd truly thinks that we will get a postseason bid?  I have to imagine that it is reliant on us paying to host a game?

[valpopal]

Two thoughts during tonight's game:

1. I kept focusing on one player all game: Kevin Van Wijk! Watching the inside men plus seeing the stats of 0-19 on offensive rebounds and 0-14 in second chance points, I appreciated even more the great hands and toughness in rebounding Kevin always displayed. I remembered how Kevin was a surprise summer recruit, and I can only dream Bryce can find another player similar to Kevin to fill one of the open spots during the off season.

2. In watching both games tonight, I was convinced about my opinion that Alec Peters is easily the best freshman in the league. Comparing his game to Felder's this evening proved the difference between the two. In addition, Peters came up big in both tournament games. shooting 18-23 from the field. I believe he has a good shot at being the second best player ever to wear a Valpo uniform by the time he is a senior.

[Smj]

We ain't getting no post season invite. ...   looked horrible at the end of the season.

[crusadermoe]

Caught 2nd half on gamecast via Smartphone only.      How did we dig a 15-2 hole?     

What jumped at me was how many shots they missed but still dominated for full game.   How does that happen? 

The chemistry just never happened.    Back to drawing board.  Intriguing talent that teased us with the narrow SLU loss and some strong early games.   But the horrific games like UCF #2 and a few others showed we can lose our way quickly 

It will be Peters' team next year already.   

[historyman]

We ain't getting no post season invite. ...   looked horrible at the end of the season.

I agree. If we do it's because the athletic dept decides to buy a home game. Valpo certainly doesn't deserve it.

[oklahomamick]

yes, we did not peak in march.  our worst basketball was towards the end.

[valpotx]

Now can we talk about whether or not the young guys stick through it and show up next year?

[oklahomamick]

It's difficult....We won this league the last two years.  And now we were just 2 games above .500.

[classof2014]

We are a top 3 HL team if we had a decent post presence. Hopefully Vashil keeps improving and has a good senior year. Not asking for anything special offensively, just good. I would love to get an athletic JUCO transfer as well.

Not all to upset to see this senior class go. The only one that was special was LVD. Alec Peters is gonna be on the first team next season. Disappointing way to end the season. Hopefully we can get a game in the CBI and be able to keep watching some extra basketball.

[valpotx]

Hopefully we can replace Dority's scoring and drive to make something happen.  We didn't have many other people that wanted to make something happen outside of he and Peters, so hopefully Carter or the Canadian guards have some of that to their game next season.    I will miss most of LVD, just not the part where he forces the same shot 5 times when it isn't working.  He will play overseas somewhere, and I am sure someone will take a flier on Moussa because of his height and 'potential.'  Heck, Bobby may be given that same opportunity as well, but I don't see that for Coleman. 

A disappointing season overall, had some positives, but it could have been much worse with our turnover woes. 

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Hopefully more than one game!

We've gotten 0 OREB before--and won!  As FWAlum points out, there are two reasons you do this:  one, you aren't playing very well, and the other, you're shooting lights out (look how many of these games we've won! we're 10-3 when getting 3 or fewer...well, 10-4 now arrgh):

[a3uge]

Thankfully, they let us cancel the hotel for tomorrow night.... BRUTAL

[valpopal]

PS: One other thing, Vashil can look to Kevin Van Wijk as an example for free throw shooting. Kevin was not very good at the free throw line the first two years of his three at Valpo, averaging less than 65% for that time. However, he worked on the free throws during the summer before his senior year and raised his ft shooting to 75%, a ten-percent change that was the difference between a win or a loss in a number of games. Vashil needs less motion in his free-throw delivery, and I hope the coaching staff re-shapes his shot during the summer.

Two thoughts during tonight's game:

1. I kept focusing on one player all game: Kevin Van Wijk! Watching the inside men plus seeing the stats of 0-19 on offensive rebounds and 0-14 in second chance points, I appreciated even more the great hands and toughness in rebounding Kevin always displayed. I remembered how Kevin was a surprise summer recruit, and I can only dream Bryce can find another player similar to Kevin to fill one of the open spots during the off season.

2. In watching both games tonight, I was convinced about my opinion that Alec Peters is easily the best freshman in the league. Comparing his game to Felder's this evening proved the difference between the two. In addition, Peters came up big in both tournament games. shooting 18-23 from the field. I believe he has a good shot at being the second best player ever to wear a Valpo uniform by the time he is a senior.

[nkvu]

This team does not deserve to go to a post season tournament. You hope a team will improve over the course of a season but this team peaked some time ago and has regressed in the last month or so.  And based on their pitiful performance tonight It might send a message to the young players that bad play and lack of effort will not be rewarded. If however they do decide to play in some tournament then they should bench the seniors and play the underclassmen so they can get the experience that seems to me to be the only justification for taking this team to a post season tournament. And I would bench Carter for that game as well to let him know that losing your cool and getting ejected from a game when there is still a chance to come back will also not be tolerated. 

FYI I am not surprised that they lost tonight. I am however extremely disappointed in the pathetic performance they put on in losing. So who was to blame for this debacle?  The coaches who could not come up with a plan to counter other teams realization that we have no offensive post threat so they can extend their defense to pressure our guards?  The players, particularly our post players who don't pose any threat to score in the post?   it seems to me we have got to start recruiting some post players who have some offensive skills or we are doomed to repeat this year over and over again. We were successful last year because Kevin had some offensive skills in the post, at least until he came up against some high major post players in the NCAA tournament. Tall projects who take 4 year scholarships but can't set a legal screen or handle a pass without turning the ball over and maybe give one year of value are not going to cut it if we we want to compete for conference tournament titles consistently.

I shall now finish my scotch and attempt to lower my blood pressure.

[bbtds]

it seems to me we have got to start recruiting some post players who have some offensive skills or we are doomed to repeat this year over and over again. We were successful last year because Kevin had some offensive skills in the post, at least until he came up against some high major post players in the NCAA tournament. Tall projects who take 4 year scholarships but can't set a legal screen or handle a pass without turning the ball over and maybe give one year of value are not going to cut it if we we want to compete for conference tournament titles consistently.

This is an excellent point. This team is not going to be any better next year if it can't find a transfer or recruit who can play solidly in the post. Do you really think Vashil will be able to handle this position on his own next year? Do you think Adekoya or Nickerson is the answer? Even if Carter plays much better and the two Canadian guards are very solid freshmen how is this team going to do in the post? There are still going to be great big holes in the offense and defense next year with only Fernandez playing in the post.

[valpotx]

So what was this ejection for Carter with 12 minutes left?  It looks like Peters hit a 3, and 1 second later Carter has a tech.

[valporun]

Carter punched Tiby after the shot went through the hoop. It was a sad excuse for a frustration foul.

[valpotx]

So he landed a punch, or just threw one?  Obviously, it doesn't matter which, but that seems pretty ridiculous to ever do in a game, especially after a 3 to cut it to 9 with 12 minutes left...

[VULB#62]

From up in the top row it seemed like, with few exceptions, we were always a step too slow to the ball or flatfooted after a shot.  UWM players all seemed (1) just quicker and they were moving without the ball better. Their offensive scheme also seemed to open up better looks for the 3s they were draining -- especially in the first few minutes.  I also thought that there were no adjustments to what UWM was doing on offense nor were there any changes that would, for instance, free Peters for better looks from outside the arc. Yet, there were times when he had an opening outside but did not shoot and should have. The other thing that jumped out at me was how poorly we played under the basket.  Our shots were getting blocked by shorter players. Overall, from the start we were slower afoot, slower to get shots off, and slower to defend. Slower, just slower.  Oh, and another thing.  During the pre game warm-ups you could tell already which team was psyched to play -- it was not the guys in white.  UWM was intense from the moment they came on the floor. They were ready.

[valporun]

It landed on Tiby's chin. In the reviews of the tape during the game, you could see the punch hit Tiby's chin or jaw.

[nkvu]

That's why if we do play in some post season tournament Carter should be benched. This would impress upon him that losing your cool and getting tossed when there is still some chance to win will not be tolerated.

[valporun]

nkvu, if Valpo does get a CIT or CBI bid, Carter has to sit out the game because of his ejection. I don't believe the ejection carries over to next season, does it?