VU NCAA Press

[valpo84]

Here's an interesting piece from SBN today:

http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2015/3/17/8224923/countdown-to-march-bryce-drew-valparaiso

[agibson]

Poor Darien

Wouldn't it be sweet if he could go off for 35, and a victory, and force everyone to learn his name?

[talksalot]

wow.. that SBN article by Justin Pahl was powerful...thanks for sharing it... I just relived the last 30 years in 30 minutes.

[justducky]

Poor Darien

Who?   

[Kyle321n]

Poor Darien

Who?   

Delainie, our shooting guard, #5

[nkvu]

wow.. that SBN article by Justin Pahl was powerful...thanks for sharing it... I just relived the last 30 years in 30 minutes.

ditto. It really captured what it was like growing up in small town Indiana and what your team and the players mean to you. Excellent, excellent article.

[VUfan]

Valpo Mixed up names, more injuries then the kindergarten and more walkers then the old folks home down the street how could they win! 

[Valpower]

Poor Darien

Who?   

Delainie, our shooting guard, #5

Darren?  Darwin?  Witch is it, please.

[covufan]

Here's an interesting piece from SBN today:

http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2015/3/17/8224923/countdown-to-march-bryce-drew-valparaiso

Very nice!

[valpo84]

David vs Goliath. An older article but an interesting read.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/05/11/how-david-beats-goliath

[bbtds]

Fact checking is a lost art at the Baltimore Sun.

It seems fact checking has turned to fat fast checking.

[bbtds]

wow.. that SBN article by Justin Pahl was powerful...thanks for sharing it... I just relived the last 30 years in 30 minutes.

You know, you think your experiences are so unique and then you read something like this and it hits so close to home that it is unbelievable how close you feel to the person writing the story.

[talksalot]

Wish he would come back to Valpo to see how things have changed in the past 15 years... The Basketball is the constant:  Valpo High sweeps the Duneland Conference regular season... and VU wins the regular season and tournament... but the retrospective he has... it was like I was there... oh wait.  I was.

[agibson]

Here's an interesting piece from SBN today:

http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2015/3/17/8224923/countdown-to-march-bryce-drew-valparaiso

I don't know where that 12 seed stuff was coming from, but Paul's closer to the mark on this one.

[tweet]577924177124044800[/tweet]

A great essay.  Wonderful homage to Valpo basketball and small town living.

[drewsaders11]

That story though, wow.  Had no idea about the Tim Bishop story and the amazing hs games Valpo had. 

[agibson]

That story though, wow.  Had no idea about the Tim Bishop story and the amazing hs games Valpo had. 

His niece is apparently my son's classmate at Northview Elementary (not Cook's Corners).

Small world, small town.

[StlVUFan]

I very much appreciated all the additional details about 1994 since I only got to experience that one Saturday in Indy.  And I appreciated the fleshing out of all the things I was oblivious to growing up there (though I was before his time).  Still, it was very touching in the way it brought back my youth.  He definitely captured the essence of what it was like being into basketball (Hoosier Hysteria).

I will say, the only sporting event I remember watching in school was the 1967 World Series, for reasons passing understanding

[a3uge]

From Yahoo, each team's best and worst case scenarios:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaa-tournament-midwest-region--dream-and-nightmare-scenarios-233108674-ncaab.html;_ylt=A0LEVjXFeAdVxkoA6kQnnIlQ

MARYLAND

Best Case: In their first NCAA tournament in five years, the Melo & Dez Show propels the Terrapins to the Sweet 16. Guards Melo Trimble and Dez Wells combine for 50 points against a Valparaiso team that cannot match up athletically, then put 50 more on West Virginia in the round of 32. Students who dress like Mark Turgeon go viral. Maryland then pushes Kentucky to the brink in the Sweet 16 as Scott Van Pelt prepares a "SportsCenter" sonnet to the Terps before they fall just short. That run is enough to re-establish Maryland basketball as a contender. Jim Delany thanks the Terps for making him look good. All Maryland's old ACC rivals flop. Trimble says he's coming back for his sophomore year.

Worst Case: Team that became rather donut-like as the season wore on doesn't fare well against a tall Valparaiso bunch that does work on the glass. With a lot of weight on their shoulders, Trimble and Wells can't make enough shots and Trimble's patented head-whip draws no phantom foul calls. Turgeon, who hasn't won an NCAA tourney game since 2010, puckers on the sideline. Angry students who dress like him burn their suits and stop spray-painting spots in their hair. Van Pelt quickly moves on to other news. Delany says thanks for nothing. As their teams advance to the Final Four, Duke and North Carolina fans sarcastically tell Maryland backers how much they miss them.

Valparaiso
Record: 28-5 (13-3 Horizon)

Last 10 games: 9-1
Best wins: Green Bay (2), Murray St.
Key losses: Green Bay, Mizzou
Leading scorer: Alec Peters (16.8)

No. 13 VALPARAISO

Best Case: Crusade for respect rolls into Columbus and catches Maryland by surprise, as Valpo's assiduous defense frustrates the Terrapins guards. Coach Bryce Drew joins player Bryce Drew in the school's pantheon of NCAA tourney heroes after outmaneuvering Mark Turgeon. Valpo then knocks off West Virginia and moves into a Cinderella Sweet 16, and stretch four Alec Peters lands on cover of Sports Illustrated. Run ends against Kentucky but nobody is disappointed. Drew turns down offers from bigger schools to coach a team that should be even better next year.

Worst Case: Crusade for respect runs into a Maryland team that recognizes a dangerous opponent and adequately prepares for it. Team that has not scored more than 60 points in a game since mid-February cannot match firepower with the Terrapins. Stretch four Peters cannot stretch a mobile Maryland front line. Bryce Drew the coach cannot match Bryce Drew the player's heroics, but does match brother Scott Drew's desire for a bigger job and leaves after the season.

[Kyle321n]

Worst Case: Crusade for respect runs into a Maryland team that recognizes a dangerous opponent and adequately prepares for it. Team that has not scored more than 60 points in a game since mid-February cannot match firepower with the Terrapins. Stretch four Peters cannot stretch a mobile Maryland front line. Bryce Drew the coach cannot match Bryce Drew the player's heroics, but does match brother Scott Drew's desire for a bigger job and leaves after the season.

They forgot the part where Alec and Tevonn go with Bryce and Smits decommits to play for a high major and goes on to be a top 5 NBA draft pick.

[Kyle321n]

This is more press on the tournament than Valpo in particular, but if anyone watches the Daily Show and Nightly Show on Comedy Central they will have seen that Larry Wilmore is going to do a dare for his show based on the NCAA tournament. Each school represents a dare and the winning team is the dare he has to do.

Valpo represents the dare "Larry has to go into a vertical wind tunnel". Frankly that doesn't sound so bad to me which is why it's a 13 seed. The worse ones are the one seeds. You can check out the dares here: http://www.cc.com/shows/the-nightly-show/dares

[valpo84]

Games to watch Thurs-Fri edition article:

http://uproxx.com/sports/2015/03/ncaa-tournament-schedule-watch-games/

No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Valparaiso, 4:40 p.m. Friday, TNT

"We're not suggesting with any real bet of confidence that Valparaiso is going to do what it did in 1998 (make the Sweet Sixteen), but there's reason to believe this team could put a scare into Maryland. Valpo is coached by none other than Bryce Drew, the same guy who hit that famous shot way back when, and the Crusaders have a great mid-major player in Alec Peters. Aside from that, there's some size (Vashil Fernandez), a heady guard (Keith Carter) and some interesting if not polished perimeter players (including David Skara).

They're going to have to do a formidable job of shutting down one of the best guard duos in college hoops in Melo Trimble and Dez Wells, who helped propel Maryland to a 27-6 record in its first season in the Big Ten. With the always-intriguing Jake Layman as well, Maryland more than deserved its No. 4 seed. Let's see if it can play up to it on Friday."

[agibson]

A nice feature on Keith Carter
http://www.onebidwonders.com/2015/03/18/valparaisos-keith-carter-from-heartbreak-to-happiness/

[agibson]

Lots of pieces from the Washington Post on the Valpo-Maryland game.

-)On Bryce, and the Valpo side generally
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/valparaiso-bryce-drew-ready-to-make-fresh-ncaa-tournament-memories/2015/03/16/b3bc82e8-cc21-11e4-a2a7-9517a3a70506_story.html

-)"Valparaiso's Alec Peters savors first trip to NCAA tournament"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/wp/2015/03/17/valparaisos-alec-peters-savors-first-trip-to-ncaa-tournament/?postshare=8631426632607753

For the Maryland side of the game
-)On using the seed snub, KY bracket, as bulletin board material
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2015/03/16/gary-williams-says-mark-turgeon-will-tell-his-players-they-got-screwed-by-ncaa-tournament-committee/

-)
"Terrapins quietly accept No. 4 seed in NCAA men's basketball tournament"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/maryland-basketball-draws-valparaiso-in-2015-ncaa-tournament/2015/03/15/0fdafb38-cb53-11e4-8c54-ffb5ba6f2f69_story.html

-)
"Mark Turgeon on NCAA tournament bid: 'We're ready for anything'"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/wp/2015/03/15/mark-turgeon-on-ncaa-tournament-bid-were-ready-for-anything/

-)
"Maryland can lean on three players with NCAA tournament experience"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/maryland-can-lean-on-three-players-with-ncaa-tournament-experience/2015/03/17/a9efabf2-ccd3-11e4-8c54-ffb5ba6f2f69_story.html

-)
"Terps hit the road for NCAA tournament with 'something to prove'"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/wp/2015/03/18/terps-hit-the-road-for-ncaa-tournament-with-something-to-prove/

[bbtds]

From the Washington Post story at the top of that list of stories:

Drew's brother, Scott, led the Crusaders to the National Invitation Tournament in 2002-03 before departing for Baylor, where he has won 226 games and has the Bears back in the NCAA tournament this week. The two brothers spoke Sunday, Bryce said, and they "prayed" for the schools not to be paired together in the second round.

This doesn't explain the reason the Drew brothers don't want to coach against each other but it does show the great desire they have not to make Homer, Janet and the rest of the family endure a contest between the two teams they coach.

[Vale O. Paradise]

Not an article, but we made the top banner of the WSJ.


http://goo.gl/B7lwhr