David Skara is transferring...

[M]

Someone forgot to lock the door.

[justducky]

I seem to sense some tension between Valpo and BD.

OK. That could exist.

Yes, I suspect there is bad blood with Bryce.  It's becoming more clear by the day.

It is a big leap from "tension" to "bad blood". Do any of you think that Bryce was ever deliberately misled or outright lied to by the administration?

The Drew family can hardly be classified as a bunch of carpetbaggers. Bryce is a graduate of VHS and VU and has called this community home for most of his life. So naturally it is in his best interests to burn his bridges, and rob the cookie jar of any talent he can transfer to Vanderbilt? I wouldn't be shocked if the Skara transfer block wasn't exactly what Bryce wanted to see.

Hutton has certainly stuck his neck out on this one. I suspect his views will be looked back on as being really smart or really stupid. As of now I will lean toward the later.

[valpotx]

Valpo is going to be just fine without the Drews.  We will most likely still have Bryce's shot played over and over during March Madness.  We will still have that shot shown very often when we play on ESPN/FOX/etc.  We can now point to MANY championships in our gym, and a tradition of winning.  It will continue without the Drews...

[Chairback]

I don't know how to post a twitter link, but did anyone else notice Don Bosco's twitter account removed the Valpo U classless tweet and put an apology on it.  But directed the classless to our AD.  Sadly, this is also a reflection on Jason Hawkins who is the head coach there.  Our fans loved him when he was at Valpo.  I'm surprised he would get wrapped up in a shady organization like that.

Maybe Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco made him delete it.

[wh]

According to a Bosco tweet, DS will be visiting Richmond tomorrow.

[valpospartan]

According to a Bosco tweet, DS will be visiting Richmond tomorrow.

Richmond will do more to showcase his talents?  From the little that I actually know about this situation, I feel quite badly for Davis Skara.

[VULB#62]

A10. 16-16 this past season. Lost in the first round of the A10T to Dayton.

Have a seat for a year David .

(OR)

You could be a valuable contributor to another HL championship run, a possible NCAA bid, but at worst another NIT run under a coach who looks like he will drag every ounce of competitiveness out of every player.

[vufan75]

The Don Bosco tweet mentioned by Chairback reads:
"We apologize to ValparaisoU in referring to the University as"classless"The term was directed at the AD's act of denial of transferto Vandy"

[elephtheria47]

Didn't they mention he had 2 offers from ACC teams (FSU and someone else?)

And he's taking his very first visit, as a transfer where timing is important, to Richmond? Seems like some smoke might have been blown...

[valpo95]

Didn't they mention he had 2 offers from ACC teams (FSU and someone else?)

And he's taking his very first visit, as a transfer where timing is important, to Richmond? Seems like some smoke might have been blown...

I was thinking exactly the same thing (I think the so-called offers were FSU and Georgia Tech). More likely, they were conversations about possible landing spots, not firm scholarship offers.

I wish David all the best and hope he lands somewhere good - he was a favorite player to watch and could have been an even more important part of the team as a junior/senior.

[Just Sayin]

The Don Bosco tweet mentioned by Chairback reads:
"We apologize to ValparaisoU in referring to the University as"classless"The term was directed at the AD's act of denial of transferto Vandy"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnBVxwLyFM4

[VU2624]

The Don Bosco tweet mentioned by Chairback reads: "We apologize to ValparaisoU in referring to the University as"classless"The term was directed at the AD's act of denial of transferto Vandy"

This would indicate that the not well thought out "plan" was for Skara to transfer to Vandy. Why anyone would expect Valpo or any school in this situation to not block the school the coach was moving to I'm not sure. It appears Don Bosco is a bit too invested in this situation.

[valpotx]

Our AD and Lottich have a ton of class, which is why they decided not to be bullied into giving someone a job that has not demonstrated success in his coaching career.  Vu has burned his bridge with Valpo and with the Valpo fan base that is aware of this situation.

[NativeCheesehead]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The entitlement culture of elite HS hoops https://t.co/xdXzb5hxuk Entitled players don&#39;t fit in at DB!Be humble, hardworking &amp;coachable.</p>&mdash; Don Bosco Prep IN (@DonBoscoHoops) April 28, 2016
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hilarious this guy talking about entitlement.

[VULB#62]

And that article that was referenced was from 2013.  If the lessons mentioned in the article actually took hold back then, we wouldn't have this mess.

[VU2014]

Maravilla is a dirtbag. He has the audacity to hold one of his former players (future clients) like ransom unless our brand new head coach hires one of his henchman onto the coaching staff so he could collect a piece of Vujic's assistant coach salaries. I have no respect for that piece of scum. He doesn't care about students, the athletes or anyone other then lining his own pockets. He treats his players/clients like "cattle".

[VULB#62]

A bit late in posting it to the board, but I thought it was a good idea to also get the Torch student newspaper's slant on this issue.

Something fishy is going on with this David Skara situation.
Posted: Friday, April 22, 2016 10:14 am | Updated: 10:17 am, Fri Apr 22, 2016.
By: Tom Mantice | 0 comments

Skara has decided to transfer from the Valparaiso men's basketball team after two seasons. He is the first Crusader to transfer since Bryce Drew left the program.

Skara performed well during his Valpo career, and he always seemed to hit the big shots. It started last season when he scored a team-high 12 points in the Horizon League championship game. He also hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the NIT semifinal game against BYU and propelled his team to the championship game.

He did not play in the six-point loss against eventual No. 1 seed Oregon due to an ankle injury. He also did not play during the brutal 69-66 loss to Ball State. One could argue if Skara played in both those games, they might have split or have beaten those teams.

He was a very intriguing part in both sides of the ball and a huge part in Drew's system. Now, Matt Lottich will not be able coach the Croatia native.

The news of Skara leaving was very confusing. Skara and Lottich never seemed to have any animosity toward each other. When I did a feature on Skara last season for this newspaper, I found they had a good rapport with each other. Skara was also congratulating Lottich once he received the job.

Everything became much more clear once NWI Times reporter Paul Oren wrote that Skara may have been told to leave Valpo because former Crusader Ivan Vujic did not get a job on Lottich's coaching staff. Both Skara and Vujic are from Croatia.

Dave Maravilla is also involved because he is in charge of an international scouting agency in the Midwest. He and Skara have a connection and has helped drive international players to the school.

The frustrating aspect of the situation is Skara seemed to find a home at Valpo. He had backed up his new coach, and would have a big role in his junior season. Now, he has to sit out a year and get accustomed to a new situation with a new coach. All of this seems like the decision of Maravilla and not Skara.

This also may cause a major detour in Skara's career. He only averaged around 6.5 points per game and was banged up this past season. He may find another mid-major, but it is more likely he may play for a worse program.

The numbers are now stacked against Skara based on another man's sour grapes.

The views expressed are those of the editor and not necessarily those of The Torch.

[Valpo89]

That's a very good column. Perhaps it has made David think about his situation a bit more.

[Valpo89]

I'm hearing that Valpo High School basketball/baseball player Conner TenHove is heading to Don Bosco. Conner's a great kid, 6-foot-7 and a very good high school player with inside-outside skills. Probably a good idea for him to gain a year of experience and strength.

But I can put up some pretty good odds on where he will NOT be going for a four-year college.

[wh]

If somebody falls through the cracks as the result of standing up to a vindictive extortionist (aka the Bosco clownmaster), so be it.  I could not be more proud of ml and Matt than I am right now. 

[VULB#62]

Here's my issue.  Fine, David came through the ISM "portal" and we got him.  Great, he did quite well. OK, Bryce leaves and takes an assistant or two with him -- that's to be expected.  There's a new HBBC at Valpo and there are slots open.                  So... this guy kind of has an IN via David plus a former player (now coaching).  You'd think he'd give it his best shot to get one of his guys onto the coaching staff -- that's OK, nuthin wrong with that.  But, in this case, the HBBC feels he needs to have HIS guys in place in order for him to succeed  -- who would argue with that?                             So.... the former player /aspiring coach (with less of a resume) is not selected.  Makes sense to anyone with a goose's brain.  But then, as a reaction, to use the kid, who was initially a "steal" for Valpo because he was kinda under the big time radar to, first, leverage the hiring and then to, in spite, exercise some "Bob Jones" type of influence to have that kid leave, is not logical, nor good business.  The shrewd business decision would have been to say "hey, we gave it a try.  Maybe next time.  In the meantime, let's use this kid's improving playing resume at Valpo to attract more and more talented "prep school" kids to the fold."

As Jimmy Buffett sings... " There ain't no dumb ass vaccine."

[wh]

18h18 hours ago
Michael Osipoff ‏@MichaelOsipoff
Matt Lottich on David Skara: "I haven't talked to David. I don't know what he's doing. You have to ask him, to tell you the truth."

Practically overnight David goes from expressing excitement that Matt was named head coach to transferring without even talking to Matt. The more we find out the more utterly bizarre this situation becomes.

Edit: Here's another thing. If the Bosco clownmaster had any hope of valpo leaving Vandy open as a transfer option, he should have instructed David to make every effort to leave on good terms. Not talking to your head coach is a cardinal sin in that regard. Clownmaster was probably fearful that if David and Matt sat down one-on-one, Matt might talk some sense into him.

[VULB#62]

It seems he has disappeared from campus. "Hustling" around trying to get into another D-I program.  So, no finals?  Lost semester of credits?  What the heck. He never paid for those anyway.

[Pgmado]

It seems he has disappeared from campus. "Hustling" around trying to get into another D-I program.  So, no finals?  Lost semester of credits?  What the heck. He never paid for those anyway.

I saw Skara on campus having lunch before he apparently headed to Richmond. He's certainly going to classes.

[VULB#62]

Good. I'm glad. I take back snarky remark. It was actually directed at his handlers, not David.