Valpo @ Youngstown State - Tuesday 1/20/2015, 6pm CT

[wh]

why are the starters still in an 18-pt game with 2 minutes left? 

do we not have any important games left this year or something?

GB kept their starters in tonight until the final media timeout with 3:57 left and leading by 29 points. 

[LaPorteAveApostle]

GB kept their starters in tonight until the final media timeout with 3:57 left and leading by 29 points. 

not long enough, from this point of view

[wh]

Complimentary pre-game comments from Coach Slocum:

Slocum knows his team has a tough task ahead.

"You're looking at Valpo, who I think is the best team in the league," Slocum said. "They play with passion, and they have really good size."

The Crusaders' size includes sophomore forward 6-9 Alec Peters, who's averaging 17.8 points per game.

"He's a player of the year candidate," Slocum said.

Slocum was also impressed by center 6-10 Vashil Fernandez, who is averaging 2.2 blocks per game in conference play.

"I don't think there has been anybody in the league since Damian [Eargle] that's had an affect at the rim as he does," Slocum said. "They have a nice mixture of interior play and perimeter play."

- See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/2015/jan/20/penguins-seeking-horizon-victory/?newswatch#sthash.oZP2YuKV.dpuf

[valpospartan]

true.  but they didn't pull any until 1:59, and then they only pulled two.  didn't pull the last (possible) until 1:20.

I mean, I would rather have won by 11 and had the guys rest another 5 minutes.

There's kind of a big game in comparatively few hours on the whole other side of the conference, is all I'm saying.

to be honest, though, I've thought that about the Drews since I was 11 in '89.

I agree with you, but it isn't just the Drews.  Years ago I asked coach Tom Smith why he didn't play the subs earlier when the game was a blowout.  His answer : I just never think the game is in the bag.

[valpotx]

Complimentary pre-game comments from Coach Slocum:

Slocum knows his team has a tough task ahead.

"You're looking at Valpo, who I think is the best team in the league," Slocum said. "They play with passion, and they have really good size."

The Crusaders' size includes sophomore forward 6-9 Alec Peters, who's averaging 17.8 points per game.

"He's a player of the year candidate," Slocum said.

Slocum was also impressed by center 6-10 Vashil Fernandez, who is averaging 2.2 blocks per game in conference play.

"I don't think there has been anybody in the league since Damian [Eargle] that's had an affect at the rim as he does," Slocum said. "They have a nice mixture of interior play and perimeter play."

- See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/2015/jan/20/penguins-seeking-horizon-victory/?newswatch#sthash.oZP2YuKV.dpuf

In theory, he had a good plan to get Vashil out of the lane with Amiker taking shots around the perimeter.  It's amazing to watch how fearful teams have been to drive the lane, once they realize that Vashil has got their number that day.  I wish that there was a stat for 'shots altered,' as I have to believe that he alters 8-10 shots every game, outside of his 2-3 blocks.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I agree with you, but it isn't just the Drews. 

that's definitely fair to say.

BRING ON THE PHOENIX

(One of my co-workers is a UWGB alumna.  Since the B1G decided Michigan and Wisconsin should go five years without playing each other in football, this is what we have to go back and forth about.  Should be a great game.)

[historyman]

We should be able to beat YSU quite easily, they are nowhere near as strong as CSU and WSU defensively and we were able to take both those squads down without a regular PG. YSU stinks, they lost to UIC, the team that always loses (ie Detroit). Their main scoring threat is Hain, Vashil is the best defensive player in the league, teams can't go inside when Vashil is in the game. My guess is we're up 13 at half and coast into a 16 point victory.

Good call on the game. We probably would have been up by 13 at the half if the refs had called all the fouls that YSU actually committed in the first half.

[FWalum]

We probably would have been up by 13 at the half if the refs had called all the fouls that YSU actually committed in the first half.

This just goes to show that YSU just does not play with any intensity.  How can you only have 1 foul in 25 minutes of play? IMHO it is not a good thing to have only 1 foul in that amount of playing time, adjust to the way the game is being called and RACHET up the pressure! As a coach you should be mad at your team for the lack of aggression. On the other hand, these refs should be doing some serious video study if they think only one foul was committed by YSU in that first 25 minutes. 

[classof2014]

This should be the last season for Slocum, yes they did have a winning season under him but weren't a real contender for anything. If it wasn't for Kendrick Perry those probably would've been ten win teams, Slocum got lucky with Perry and he won a bunch of games for them. I knew once KP was gone YSU would go back into the cellar of the HL.

There's too much stacked against this program to be successful in the near future. There in an awful location, who in their right mind wants to go to Youngstown Ohio. If you're from Ohio there are plenty of other schools that have had recent success, even just in Eastern Ohio. There's Akron, Kent St, and Cleveland St all within a stones throw of Youngstown and all better in terms of basketball and if you expand the region a bit it doesn't get any better with schools like: Toledo, Ohio, Duquesne, Robert Morris, Miami, etc...

YSU needs to make some big changes in order to become relevant, this is a tough task for any coach. They had an opportunity to build off the team of two years ago with guys like Eargle and Perry but it seems like they've regressed once again. Maybe I'm wrong but Slocum seems to have lost this group and once you lose them its hard to get them back. Just watching last game there was no energy or intensity. When YSU cut the lead to 6 a few times in the second half they showed no emotion and figured that Valpo was gonna win anyways so why bother.

So long as YSU and UIC keep sucking this bad the HL will never be a top 10 conference.

[valpo84]

Report from the Igloo. The vibe in that gym is weird when there are like 500 people in it. There were more students in the pep band than the rest of the arena. A small group of fraternity brothers attended, clearly enticed by some free pizza and license plate holders. (we were handed 2 a piece when we walked in because they wanted to get rid of as many as they could, thinking they still had hundreds available). The rest of the crowd was the assorted YSU backers that have been there for the past 15 years we've been attending games there. Valpo fans nearly outnumbered the students, and we were more vocal and had better retorts.

The refs phoned in the first half. They weren't as bad as some games and I don't mind them letting us play aggressively (especially as one poster wrote YSU was not playing hard). This team plays more intense D than previous squads and they came out that way. Hain 0 pts and only 2 shots in 1st half. Amiker was hot 1st half and then never saw the ball 2d half. Where grandmamma JR had been somewhat effective vs VU in Valpo, they didn't play him til late 2d half. There is more talent on the court than the coaches are taking advantage of. Seems very mismatched pieces. It is a difficult place to recruit, but the Horizon is a good league and you have to be more creative. Jim Tressel by elevating football and other sports may be able to improve this area. He was able to get Bo and Faux Pelini to go there. They need a young coach who wants to make a name for himself. I mean Bobby Hurley is coaching at Buffalo and that may be one of the worst places to have to coach....

2d half the refs reverted to standard Twilight Zone HL reffing and started to mess with the flow of the game. We were clearly trying to just get in and get out (just like going to Wisconsin) without injury and with a win.  Check and check.  Road wins are precious. As to resting starters, Bryce pulled guys about the right time. Remember there is only 1, count them 1, guy to go to at the end who had not played many minutes yet and that's Davidson. So clearing the bench is difficult, unless you can have the coaches play out the last 5 and they would have been fine. They were ready as they were in gym shoes! We have more people in suits than active players.

[covufan]

2d half the refs reverted to standard Twilight Zone HL reffing and started to mess with the flow of the game. We were clearly trying to just get in and get out (just like going to Wisconsin) without injury and with a win.

Shi&%^&!  They still owe you money, fool.

[oklahomamick]

Maybe I'm wrong but Slocum seems to have lost this group and once you lose them its hard to get them back. Just watching last game there was no energy or intensity

I was thinking the same thing when watching UIC and Greeny Bay game.