The Detroit Trip -- Games 15 and 16

[VULB#62]

Just starting the string after The Grizz lost to YSU.

[wh]

Tonight's loss to YSU really puts the pressure on Oakland to win Friday. Back to back home losses this early in conference play would put them in a deep hole, especially considering that they play 9 of their final 14 games on the road. I don't know anything about tonight's loss except the final score, but no matter.  If the team I watched take Michigan State to the wire shows up on Friday (which I expect), we had better bring our A game.

[justducky]

If the team I watched take Michigan State to the wire shows up on Friday (which I expect), we had better bring our A game.

If any of our players haven't watched that game then it needs to be force fed on the trip over. I am expecting an insane VU defensive effort because there is no other clear path to victory.

After tonight the Oakland defense will be intense as well. So will great defensive performances by both teams be able to keep the score in the low 80s or below? I wouldn't bet on it.

[oklahomamick]

We will get Oaklands best effort.  The same they gave Michigan St. 

[VULB#62]

And this trip is so tough because after the first battle Detroit lurks in the alley waiting to mug us.

[talksalot]

Here's the OU game discussion and box score...

http://www.goldengrizzlies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010416aab.html

YSU was 60% from 3pt range in the first half, and 12-14 from the line for the game.   We will need to be just as perfect on Friday night.

===========
here's the UDM game discussion on their game last night with Cleveland State

http://www.detroittitans.com/news/2016/1/4/MBB_0104163449.aspx

The Titans have now won 11 in a row (12 after they play UIC on Friday) at Calihan.  They were 28-42 from the LINE! 54 total fouls called for the game, CSU lost two players, UDM finished with 6 players with 3 fouls each.  They also had 12 offensive rebounds.

[vu72]

Here's the OU game discussion and box score...

http://www.goldengrizzlies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010416aab.html

YSU was 60% from 3pt range in the first half, and 12-14 from the line for the game.   We will need to be just as perfect on Friday night.

===========
here's the UDM game discussion on their game last night with Cleveland State

http://www.detroittitans.com/news/2016/1/4/MBB_0104163449.aspx

The Titans have now won 11 in a row (12 after they play UIC on Friday) at Calihan.  They were 28-42 from the LINE! 54 total fouls called for the game, CSU lost two players, UDM finished with 6 players with 3 fouls each.  They also had 12 offensive rebounds.

Interesting that their board is saying Kampe was out coached.  That is really saying something when Slocum out coaches you.  Kampe's teams have a way of laying eggs from time to time-=(last year's quarter final loss to UIC comes to mind)  Unfortunately, they don't lay eggs against us.

[HC]

Slocum just sat there with his chin in his hand the whole game.  The cameras showed him at one point and my 9 year old asked me if that guy was sleeping. 

[oklahomamick]

Yeah he has been sleeping for several years now.... 

Spoke to E. Victor's mom at the Nashville game and the goal was for him to be ready for the Oakland game.  What defense will have more impact, zone or man?  If we go man, do we put speed or size on Felder?  If he get's to the lane we have a shot blocker advantage.   

[HC]

I don't think the defense we play will matter all that much; Oakland will probably see both the man and the match up zone we play.  I think you run a variety of guys at Felder (unless one thing is working).  Probably start with Carter then go to Nickerson and/or TWalker and see what is most effective.

[covufan]

YSU may have caught Oakland looking ahead - I hope that we are up for their A game.  I think we'll do well with their up-tempo game, especially with our defense and depth.  We hit our FTs and win!

Valpo       77
Oakland    73

We then make the trip to Detroit and play sluggishly in the first half, but are able to pull out the win.

Valpo    75
Detroit   72

[vu72]

I don't think the defense we play will matter all that much; Oakland will probably see both the man and the match up zone we play.  I think you run a variety of guys at Felder (unless one thing is working).  Probably start with Carter then go to Nickerson and/or TWalker and see what is most effective.

An interesting game for sure.  The number one offense (86.9 per game) against the number one defense (57.7 per game).  That's almost 30 points!!!!  My guess is that the game ends up in the 60's.  As for defense, I would expect us to go big with Shane, E and David getting plenty of minutes. Other than Gibson, who is huge but didn't play much against YSU, we are a fair amount bigger.  Our length coupled with Vashil will put a lot of pressure on Felder as it did last year against Sykes.  Felder will get his points but if we force him to take deep 3's we should be able to pull this one out.  Valpo 68 Oakland 64.

[usc4valpo]

Kahlil Felder was getting accolades from Dick Vitale last night during the KU-OU game. He had Felder as a first team all-American.

[VULB#62]

Based on the current stats in the HL website (#= HL rank):

TEAM     SCORING OFF    SCORING DEF     DELTA    REBOUNDING MARGIN
Valpo            72.4 (#4)      57.7 (#1)              +14.7         5.8 (#1)
Oakland        86.9 (#1)      79.4 (#8)              +7.5           4.4 (#2)
Detroit          85.2 (#2)      83.1 (#10)            +2.1           3.2 (#3)

All three are in the top 4 in scoring offense but there is a marked gap in scoring defense between Valpo and the two Detroit schools. Still gonna be a whale of a weekend.

[a3uge]

YSU was 60% from 3pt range in the first half, and 12-14 from the line for the game.   We will need to be just as perfect on Friday night.

I doubt it - I can't see Valpo giving up 98 points.

[wh]

Interesting game report from the Oakland men's bb website. No idea who the writer is, but he certainly lays it on the line.

OAKLAND INSIDER BY TERRY FOSTER
A stunning result versus Youngstown State.
Jan. 5, 2016

Twenty one boxes filled with pizza sat on a table outside the Oakland men's basketball dressing room waiting to be devoured. There was one pizza each for every player, manager and coach.

It would be a sour meal however, after a stunning 100-98 loss to Youngstown State on the Blacktop at the O'rena Monday night in front of a stunned crowd and during a season where Oakland proved it can at least play with some of the big boys of college basketball.

The pizza boxes sat and waited for their rightful owners. Golden Grizzlies coach Greg Kampe leaned on the same table as if someone punched him in the gut. And in a way he was. He leaned for the longest time as he thought of what to say to his team and as the horrifying final moments of the game raced inside his head.

He planned on giving his team a victory speech, one that he hoped served as a spring board to Friday's big home showdown against Valparaiso. Instead, he planned a talk to correct a team already on the brink.

He told his team before the game to come out with enthusiasm and energy. It did not, almost immediately falling behind by double digits.

He told players in the second half to not allow the game to come down to an official's call. It did when officials, after a long review, allowed the game-winning tip in by Youngstown 7-foot-0 center Jordan Kaufman who burned Oakland with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

And during the final timeout he told his team not to allow a tip in. And that is exactly how Oakland lost its first Horizon League game to a team with an RPI of 335.

SILENT NIGHT

That is why Kampe leaned against that table as assistants Saddi Washington, Drew Valentine and Dionne Phelps paced the floors like caged Tigers, the click of their dress shoes sounding like a parade of disgust across the hard floors, Kampe is most known for being a mad man on the sidelines. He can tear up a locker room and undress players with the best of them. He was seething so badly that you could cook breakfast on his forehead. But after one of the worse losses in recent Oakland history, he was calm. He spoke in low tones, which were often mixed in with long uncomfortable pauses.

"I can scream but you know what happened," Kampe told his team. "You all know what happened. It all came down to they put 100 on us. Time will tell if this was a bad loss or just a bump in the road. Time will tell. I was envisioning what I was going to say about Valpo. I can't go there now. They are the king."

Something has happened to this team after the nationally televised 99-93 overtime loss to then top-ranked Michigan State at the Palace.

The Black and Gold did not respect Youngstown State (6-9 overall, 1-1 in the Horizon League). This is a team that lost at home to Toledo by 22 points, was pounded 105-46 at Michigan and lost 96-87 at Detroit Mercy. It should have been a game of ground and pound. Instead Oakland played catch up most of the night.

There were some bright spots. Guard Nick Daniels scored 21 points and played like he desperately wanted this game. Kay Felder finished with 23 points and 14 assists, but his six turnovers hurt the team.

This team appears to settle and is trying to win by cutting corners. These are the same guys that stirred a nation by fighting the Spartans tooth and nail. That is nice but the fabric of this team will be spun by what it does against Youngstown State, UDM and Milwaukee.

Inside the dressing room Associate Head Coach Washington broke the silence with a strong and loud voice.

"Every game matters," Washington screamed. "You can't talk yourself into a win. I don't know how many different ways or different times we have to talk about playing with energy, playing with enthusiasm. We blank out for the whole first half. It was almost like we got what we deserved tonight because we tried to cut corners."

THE BENCH MUST STEP UP

Players are playing with swiveled heads. When they make a mistake they look at the bench. And when they are pulled they have a difficult time hiding in their anger. Kampe knows this team better than anybody but these guys don't handle being benched well. After a short hook some seethe and pout. The result is low energy on the floor and low energy on a bench that does not pick up its guys on the floor. Even San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich talked about the importance of bench players rooting on their guys on the court. It is also something the Pistons do a better job of today than before coach Stan Van Gundy arrived here.

"I don't understand that," Washington said. "We talk about family. We talk about being one. It does not matter if you are on the floor or off the floor, we need you. Energy can come from the bench. Enthusiasm can come from the bench too. The end result is we want to win, wait until you get in your damn apartment and pout. You can't do it on the bench."

BAND OF BROTHERS

There were two disturbing things post mortem. Center Percy Gibson did not demand to get back into the game when he was benched for most of the second half. And Sherron Dorsey-Walker, who Kampe calls a glue on the team, barely spoke afterwards.

Gibson should have demanded to get his shot at Kaufman who was too strong and too big for the rest of his teammates. He is a senior and needs to talk more.

"We need you dog," guard Kay Felder said.

And he is right. When opposing big men are beating up smaller people in the paint, Gibson must be in the game ready for action although 6-foot-7 freshman Xavier Hill-Mais did a good job defending the post.

After being prodded by coaches Dorsey-Walker finally said in a soft voice: "You got to show you love this game."

First players need to love themselves and love teammates. They are boys and they hang out and do all the things collegiate teams do. The question is can they put personal problems and anger aside and root for each other?

Can they regain that hunger we saw at the Palace?

The Valpo game is the most important of the season because it is a league game, but it also comes at a critical time where Black and Gold has lost its focus and lost its way. Valpo will be the best team to come to the O'rena this season.

The question is will it face the Bear from the Revenant or a team feeling sorry for itself?

[talksalot]

Slocum just sat there with his chin in his hand the whole game. 

The announcers were talking about how sick Slocum has been for the past few days... apparently a flu-like bug...

[a3uge]

BAND OF BROTHERS

There were two disturbing things post mortem. Center Percy Gibson did not demand to get back into the game when he was benched for most of the second half. And Sherron Dorsey-Walker, who Kampe calls a glue on the team, barely spoke afterwards.

Gibson should have demanded to get his shot at Kaufman who was too strong and too big for the rest of his teammates. He is a senior and needs to talk more.

"We need you dog," guard Kay Felder said.

And he is right. When opposing big men are beating up smaller people in the paint, Gibson must be in the game ready for action although 6-foot-7 freshman Xavier Hill-Mais did a good job defending the post.

After being prodded by coaches Dorsey-Walker finally said in a soft voice: "You got to show you love this game."

First players need to love themselves and love teammates. They are boys and they hang out and do all the things collegiate teams do. The question is can they put personal problems and anger aside and root for each other?

Wait, he wasn't put back into the game because he didn't demand to be put back in? What kind of operation is Kampe running there?

[vu72]

I think we know...defense!  Only first class kids...good player?/bad attitude?? It's all good...

[78crusader]

If we are the team we think we are...if we are the team others say we are...then we should win this game.  And I think we will.  But we better be ready for Oakland's "A" game.  They are going to bring it on Friday night. 

Paul

[VULB#62]

Hate to keep saying it, but it's not just Oakland.  Our players and coaches have to pour 100% into the first game, and regardless of the result (a win hopefully) reload/regroup/rededicate to applying the same sense of urgency and effort in game #2.  No sighs of relief if we beat Oakland only to go less than 100% into Detroit.  Biggest road trip of the year.  It's quite possible that we go 0 for 2 if we don't bring OUR A GAME to both. 

[StlVUFan]

No idea who the writer is, but he certainly lays it on the line.

Terry Foster, formerly of the Detroit Free Press.

[VUfan]

The next three games are a chance to be two games up on Oakland, one game on Detroit and two up on Milwaukee in the next three Games. What else is needed to bring your A Game? lets get it Done!!! VU 74-OU, 63 VU 69- DU 59 and VU 78-WMU 66, now that's joy in Mudville.....

[a3uge]

Also, do they really get a box of pizza to eat after every game? That doesn't seem healthy.

[bbtds]

The next three games are a chance to be two games up on Oakland, one game on Detroit and two up on Milwaukee in the next three Games. What else is needed to bring your A Game? lets get it Done!!! VU 74-OU, 63 VU 69- DU 59 and VU 78-WMU 66, now that's joy in Mudville.....

Officially the initials are VU, OU, UDM (U of Detroit-Mercy or just Detroit) and UWM (UW-Milwaukee or just Milwaukee)