Valpo to play in CollegeInsider.com Tournament

[valpo04]

@valpoathletics: @Valpobasketball has accepted an invitation to participate in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. More details to follow...

https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/443142424878002176

[vu72]

Great news!

[LaPorteAveApostle]

HUZZAH

[justducky]

As flat as the team has been in recent outings how much this might help the returning players is at least questionable. Let us hope that everyone takes the challenge seriously so that we can get some positive return on time, effort and financial investments.

On a side note is this the year the team could take a summer exhibition game tour as they did in 2010?

[wh]

Ducky - While we may not know how much the players will benefit from playing, we do know how much they'll benefit from not playing. Not much risk when you think of it that way. 

[Chairback]

I would get Yeo as many minutes as possible.  Sit Coleman and play Yeo.

[VULB#62]

Does anyone think that the team's performance in this year's HL tournament might cause BD to reevaluate how he approaches coaching his squad?

I base this on only what I've seen from afar.  Bryce is nice, pleasant and a gentleman at (pretty much) all times.  He probably doesn't even say 'darn,'  His teams, when they have the talent, can stay with anyone, but there are times when some fire in the belly of coach needs to be communicated to the players.  Sometimes tough love is the best love -- especially when it comes to young men.

I look at the slow starts and the need to come from behind so many times this season (certainly a tribute to the players and the coaches, no doubt), but I was at the UWM game last Friday, and there was a definite contrast in environments:

Valpo -- Going about our business.  Even timeouts were business-like.
UWM -- I'm gonna kick some a$$!

Winner -- UWM

Thoughts?

[HC]

Any team can beat any other team on any given night, I think that is what happened with UWM getting hot for a few days and catching Valpo and GB on off nights. I don't think Bryce all of a sudden becomes a teller/screamer/curser, but I would guarantee he is always learning and studying to improve his coaching.

[wh]

To your point, I don't think anyone would argue that we didn't match Milwaukee's energy level the other night and it's hard to explain. That said, from what I witnessed in the numerous games I attended both home and away Bryce was more animated this year than ever before. He challenged the officials in a strong manner many times and was very demonstrative with the players when the occasion called for it.

[HC]

An earlier poster got their wish as Oren tweets that Capo and Coleman won't play in the CIT

[StlVUFan]

To your point, I don't think anyone would argue that we didn't match Milwaukee's energy level the other night and it's hard to explain. That said, from what I witnessed in the numerous games I attended both home and away Bryce was more animated this year than ever before. He challenged the officials in a strong manner many times and was very demonstrative with the players when the occasion called for it.

Yeah, Bryce is the farthest thing from a gentle coach, whether it is with his players or with the refs.  He's gotten Techs, for crying out loud.

If you want him to grab players by the jersey and yank them around, I part company with ya, on the other hand.

[a3uge]

Jeter's so passive, you don't even notice he's there. I wouldn't overreact to one game. One day were worried about Bryce Leaving for every open job ever and the next his coaching style is too passive to be effective.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

An earlier poster got their wish as Oren tweets that Capo and Coleman won't play in the CIT

Note that Capo is because of injury, although that's strange to say "he's out for the CIT" when you don't know how long it can last--usually you'd say "he'd be available for a second or third game".

As to Coleman, the only responder to Paul Oren's tweet said "that ain't the truth that's just what Bryce drew wants the media to believe".  Hard to slough off that comment when it's made by someone who knows Jordan from Calabasas...

[StlVUFan]

Jeter's so passive, you don't even notice he's there.

Oh, I'd beg to differ with that.  I've seen him get T'ed up.  Wait, he *should* have gotten T'ed up, but didn't (Jan. 2008 at the ARC).  None of these guys are passive.  Relatively speaking, Scott Sutton always seemed a little more passive than his counterparts back in the day, but I doubt he actually was.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

As to Coleman, the only responder to Paul Oren's tweet said "that ain't the truth that's just what Bryce drew wants the media to believe".  Hard to slough off that comment when it's made by someone who knows Jordan from Calabasas...

Also (I notice a lot about the twitterz for someone who doesn't have one or spend much time there at all) but the Oren tweet was liked by precisely ONE (1) person.  Intrigued, I sought out who and found...

...yeah, Clay Yeo's girlfriend.

[VULB#62]

Yeah, Bryce is the farthest thing from a gentle coach, whether it is with his players or with the refs.  He's gotten Techs, for crying out loud.

If you want him to grab players by the jersey and yank them around, I part company with ya, on the other hand.

I'm not a grab-the-jersey kind of guy myself -- that's all bluster and little substance -- and I would never want to see that as representative of my alma mater.  But.... there has to be something Bryce can add to his bag of coaching tricks to have his kids come out of the blocks smoking. Up to now, our kids seem to need the adversity of being behind before they kick it into the gear that will win a game for them.  And IMO this was not just this year.

I don't know the Wichita State coach at all, but before they faced off with Indiana State in the MVC final, he took exactly 43 second to show his kids the planned victory celebration in Terra Haute for ISU's win on his iPad.  They smoked ISU from the opening buzzer. He created intensity among his players.

So, explain to me why a team that we beat at home and then beat on the road by 15 can beat us two weeks later in a neutral site.  I was there in Green Bay.  We were lethargic from the start.  The only consistent intensity was in black uniforms.  Our team, again IMO, expected a walk over win, played that way, and lost. In other sports and when the coach is not a legend, the coach gets the 'credit' for a team not being as prepared as they should have been.  I'm just saying I think that was the case and that I'm sure Bryce will learn from this.  Isn't that what life is all about -- continually learning from your experiences

[historyman]

In other sports and when the coach is not a legend, the coach gets the 'credit' for a team not being as prepared as they should have been.  I'm just saying I think that was the case

Whoa! 62, you're getting mighty close to saying that Bryce didn't do his job well to a bunch of Valpo fanatics. That is mighty dangerous territory. It might even come close to being "realistic." Which is something that nobody has been able to define yet (per LaPorte). You, sir, are certainly one to not shy away from controversy.

[valpotx]

I think that this will be a good experience for our young guys, and hopefully everyone that plays takes it seriously.  It doesn't bother me that Coleman won't be playing, but I would have liked to see Bobby get one more game.  Even though he can do some boneheaded stuff, he plays with more passion than most of our team.

[VULB#62]

I think that this will be a good experience for our young guys, and hopefully everyone that plays takes it seriously.  It doesn't bother me that Coleman won't be playing, but I would have liked to see Bobby get one more game.  Even though he can do some boneheaded stuff, he plays with more passion than most of our team.

Per my previous "controversial" post     , it'll be interesting to see whether lessons learned at the Resch Center last week will translate into a little more fire in their play -- especially in the first 10 minutes.

[FWalum]

There are more than two ingredients (coaching and talent) that go into making a "team".  Chemistry and personality are two huge contributing factors that I think have changed as this season progressed. I hope that Bobby and Jordan will still support the team and that perhaps we will see some better chemistry and passion with the remaining active players as the changing of the guard probably begins in earnest for next year.

[wh]

Yeah, Bryce is the farthest thing from a gentle coach, whether it is with his players or with the refs.  He's gotten Techs, for crying out loud.

If you want him to grab players by the jersey and yank them around, I part company with ya, on the other hand.

I'm not a grab-the-jersey kind of guy myself -- that's all bluster and little substance -- and I would never want to see that as representative of my alma mater.  But.... there has to be something Bryce can add to his bag of coaching tricks to have his kids come out of the blocks smoking. Up to now, our kids seem to need the adversity of being behind before they kick it into the gear that will win a game for them.  And IMO this was not just this year.

I don't know the Wichita State coach at all, but before they faced off with Indiana State in the MVC final, he took exactly 43 second to show his kids the planned victory celebration in Terra Haute for ISU's win on his iPad.  They smoked ISU from the opening buzzer. He created intensity among his players.

So, explain to me why a team that we beat at home and then beat on the road by 15 can beat us two weeks later in a neutral site.  I was there in Green Bay.  We were lethargic from the start.  The only consistent intensity was in black uniforms.  Our team, again IMO, expected a walk over win, played that way, and lost. In other sports and when the coach is not a legend, the coach gets the 'credit' for a team not being as prepared as they should have been.  I'm just saying I think that was the case and that I'm sure Bryce will learn from this.  Isn't that what life is all about -- continually learning from your experiences

This isn't directed at you personally, but it seems fairly typical of a number of posts I've read this season portraying Bryce as some greenhorn kid wet behind the ears who regularly makes mistakes out of inexperience.  This attitude seems to manifest itself with nitpicky comments after every loss - Bryce got out coached, Bryce made the wrong substitutions, Bryce needed to call a timeout at a crucial time and didn't, Bryce called too many time outs at crucial times and didn't have any left at the end, Bryce didn't display enough emotion, on and on and on.

First off, Bryce is anything but an inexperienced kid learning on the job.  Before taking his first head coaching position he was a collegiate star, a 6-year NBA veteran, and served as the top asst. coach for 5 years.  We won a HL regular season championship in his first year as head coach, after which he was named coach of the year.  In his 2nd year we won HL regular season and tournament championships. After losing nearly our entire team from a year ago, he brought in a bumper crop of talented freshmen and we finished 4th after being picked 6th.  Next year should be better than this and the next year better yet. 

Is Bryce perfect, of course not.  But I'll take him over any other coach in the Horizon League - hands down.  Some guys in this league can recruit but can't coach, others are good with x's and o's, but are lousy recruiters.  Yet a couple of others seem to be able to recruit and coach but they are bullies, or lack discipline, or recruit bad actors, etc.  Bryce is the complete package - an excellent coach, an excellent recruiter, and a great mentor and role model for impressionable young men at a crucial time in their development.  That's why I support Bryce Drew and always will.  It has nothing to do with him being "a legend" or any other superficial reason.   

[vu72]

Yeah, Bryce is the farthest thing from a gentle coach, whether it is with his players or with the refs.  He's gotten Techs, for crying out loud.

If you want him to grab players by the jersey and yank them around, I part company with ya, on the other hand.

I'm not a grab-the-jersey kind of guy myself -- that's all bluster and little substance -- and I would never want to see that as representative of my alma mater.  But.... there has to be something Bryce can add to his bag of coaching tricks to have his kids come out of the blocks smoking. Up to now, our kids seem to need the adversity of being behind before they kick it into the gear that will win a game for them.  And IMO this was not just this year.

I don't know the Wichita State coach at all, but before they faced off with Indiana State in the MVC final, he took exactly 43 second to show his kids the planned victory celebration in Terra Haute for ISU's win on his iPad.  They smoked ISU from the opening buzzer. He created intensity among his players.

So, explain to me why a team that we beat at home and then beat on the road by 15 can beat us two weeks later in a neutral site.  I was there in Green Bay.  We were lethargic from the start.  The only consistent intensity was in black uniforms.  Our team, again IMO, expected a walk over win, played that way, and lost. In other sports and when the coach is not a legend, the coach gets the 'credit' for a team not being as prepared as they should have been.  I'm just saying I think that was the case and that I'm sure Bryce will learn from this.  Isn't that what life is all about -- continually learning from your experiences

This isn't directed at you personally, but I've read a number of posts this season that portray Bryce as some greenhorn kid wet behind the ears who regularly makes mistakes out of inexperience.  This attitude seems to manifest itself with nitpicky comments after every loss - Bryce got out coached, Bryce made the wrong substitutions, Bryce needed to call a timeout at crucial times and didn't, Bryce called too many time outs at crucial times and didn't have any left at the end, Bryce didn't display enough emotion, on and on and on.

First off, Bryce is anything but an inexperienced kid learning on the job.  Before taking his first head coaching position he was a collegiate star, a 6-year NBA veteran, and served as the top asst. coach for 5 years.  We won a HL regular season championship in his first year as head coach, after which he was named coach of the year.  In his 2nd year we won HL regular season and tournament championships. After losing nearly our entire team from a year ago, he brought in a bumper crop of talented freshmen and we finished 4th after being picked 6th.  Next year should be better than this and the next year better yet. 

Is Bryce perfect, of course not.  But I'll take him over any other coach in the Horizon League - hands down.  Some guys in this league can recruit but can't coach, others are good with x's and o's, but are lousy recruiters.  Yet a couple of others seem to be able to recruit and coach but they are bullies, or lack discipline, or recruit bad actors, etc.  Bryce is the complete package - an excellent coach, an excellent recruiter, and a great mentor and role model for impressionable young men at a crucial time in their development.  That's why I support Bryce Drew and always will.  It has nothing to do with him being "a legend" or any other superficial reason.   

[vu72]

I was just looking at the brackets from last year's CIT.  Some solid teams from the Valley (Northern Iowa, Bradley, Evansville), and others from all over the place but including good programs like Kent State, Oral Roberts and Weber State, who had a record of 30-6 going into the CIT Title game.  How were they snubed by the NIT??  What was a little disconcerting was the fact that Chicago State made the field with a record of 11-21.  How in the heck did that happen?

[Kyle321n]

I was just looking at the brackets from last year's CIT.  What was a little disconcerting was the fact that Chicago State made the field with a record of 11-21.  How in the heck did that happen?

CSU made it last year because they won their 4 team conference.

[a3uge]

I was just looking at the brackets from last year's CIT.  Some solid teams from the Valley (Northern Iowa, Bradley, Evansville), and others from all over the place but including good programs like Kent State, Oral Roberts and Weber State, who had a record of 30-6 going into the CIT Title game.  How were they snubed by the NIT??  What was a little disconcerting was the fact that Chicago State made the field with a record of 11-21.  How in the heck did that happen?

The Great West Conference received an automatic bid to the CIT since they didn't have enough schools for the NCAA tourney. NJIT was the only school left this year and essentially folded. Chicago State is in the WAC now, former home of practically every western school including Arizona, Arizona State, Bosie State, BYU, New Mexico, TCU...