David Skara is transferring...

[covufan]

I wish David Skara the best at Clemson. 

[agibson]

fact: Lottich did not offer Vujic a job.

No surprise, but it's nice to have some confirmation. Doesn't help DBP's reputation around these parts, naturally...

[RS]

I wish best of luck to David also. And yes thank you Chef for the confirmation also. But I wonder with Mike Hutton's one sided OP Ed pieces how many people will actually look at DBP as the bad guy around NWI and not look at VU in a slightly negative way. All the fans know the truth, but the average reader of the Post Tribune will may not. Maravilla continually tweets the crap about the whole situation and Mike Hutton seems to be his mouthpiece for some reason

[valpospartan]

I wish best of luck to David also. And yes thank you Chef for the confirmation also. But I wonder with Mike Hutton's one sided OP Ed pieces how many people will actually look at DBP as the bad guy around NWI and not look at VU in a slightly negative way. All the fans know the truth, but the average reader of the Post Tribune will may not. Maravilla continually tweets the crap about the whole situation and Mike Hutton seems to be his mouthpiece for some reason

The good news , in this regard, is that many more people read the Times (Paul Oren) than the PT (Hutton).

[a3uge]

I hope Skara at Clemson doesn't work out.

[historyman]

I hope Skara at Clemson doesn't work out.

I, OTOH, hope that things do work out for Skara at Clemson. If this episode is to be forgotten quickly then the attention must be taken off Valpo and the role it played in getting Skara to Clemson. David will realize soon enough he would have been happier staying at Valpo whether he is successful or not at Clemson.

[VU2624]

Why are we still in this thread? Last time I checked, Neither Maravilla nor Skara were associated with Valpo basketball.

Well...I'm here because I hadn't checked in a few days and now I know Skara has committed to Clemson.

The more pertinent and puzzling issue, in regards to you questioning the rest of the participants, is why did you even open this thread if you aren't concerned with it? That would certainly be odd don't you think?

[oklahomamick]

We have had players transfer to bigger programs in the past.  Besides Woods, I can't think of any that worked in their benefit.  Woods still never played in the NBA.

[valpopal]

At the meet-and-greet this evening, Coach Lottich confirmed Skara really had wanted to remain at Valpo but the decision to transfer was dictated by his handlers. Lottich then wished David the best at Clemson.

[VU2014]

If you have a twitter account please tweet at Mike Hutton the reporter for the Post Tribune to educate him on the Skara situation. He just wrote a story about Don Bosco Prep and said Dave Maravilla "suffered the wrath of Valparaiso University fans". If you don't have a twitter to email the Mike Hutton: mhutton@post-trib.com

https://twitter.com/MikeHuttonPT/status/838139136364118017

https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/838147265466413056

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-ptb-mike-hutton-column-st-0305-20170304-column.html

Hutton: Don Bosco fills prep school niche for Region's boys basketball players

By: Mike Hutton
Post-Tribune


Roman Penn was sure he could play Division I basketball. He just needed the right vehicle to showcase his talents.

"I had to talk my mom into it," Penn said of going to Don Bosco Prep in Crown Point. "I promised her if I went to a prep school, I'd get a Division I scholarship.

A 5-foot-10 point guard who graduated from Bishop Noll last year, Penn was the Warriors' best player. He had a knack for squeezing between defenders and getting to the basket, but he was deemed too small for Division I.

Penn took a calculated risk and enrolled at Don Bosco. After an impressive summer and fall, it paid off when Siena offered him a scholarship.

Penn couldn't get to Albany, N.Y., fast enough. He enrolled in January for the spring semester.

"It's a good situation," he said. "They had a scholarship open. I'm able to come down here and practice with the team and go to school. It's been a blessing."

Without Don Bosco, Penn doesn't know where he'd be.

He had a few offers to junior colleges, but he called going that "route a grind." He decided on Don Bosco, a kiosk-style prep school that only takes kids who qualify for college.

Dave Maravilla established the school in 2013 to fill a local niche for tweeners — kids who are borderline college players. Annual tuition and fees are relatively cheap — around $16,585 — compared to a full-time prep school.

Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts, where Crown Point's Spike Albrecht attended prep school, lists room, board and tuition at $59,500, plus $2,015 in mandatory fees.

Don Bosco's teams practice at the old Crown Point High School and plays at Indiana University Northwest.

Students' days are loosely structured. They take three classes at Ivy Tech. They practice. They work on their strength and agility. Mostly, it's about playing and getting exposure.

For Chesterton's Chris Palombizio, who's a freshman guard at Oakland, going to Don Bosco gave him a chance to reframe his recruitment.

He had committed to Western Michigan before his junior year, then decommitted as a senior. Palombizio felt the Broncos' interest waned because of a broken foot he suffered the end of his junior year.

Palombizio credited Maravilla for "helping me get where I'm at. He got the schools to come see us. If you need a second chance, he can really help."

Maravilla is fiercely loyal to his players.

He incurred the wrath of Valparaiso University fans last year when he helped David Skara transfer to Clemson after Bryce Drew left for Vanderbilt.

Maravilla was involved with Midwest Elite Prep Basketball Academy in Merrillville and brought in Skara, a native of Croatia. Maravilla had a falling out with the owner and opened Don Bosco.

It's been successful.

Twenty-six players have gone on to college, including 14 who signed with Division I schools. The rest, with a few exceptions, got a scholarship to play college basketball.

Maravilla was an agent for 24 years representing mostly European players. Tired of spending three months a year overseas chasing professional players, he decided to give the prep school a try.

It's been rewarding.

"My only regret is I didn't do it three or four years earlier," he said.

Maravilla recruits under-the-radar players who are college qualifiers with a "chip on their shoulder because they work hard. These are guys that may not pass the look test."

Valparaiso's Conner TenHove fits the Don Bosco profile. A 6-8 forward, TenHove had one offer, from Air Force. and still has it to fall back on. Schools like Siena, Marist and Toledo have shown interest.

He feels like he has a good shot at expanding his options.

"It's certainly a risk," TenHove said. "But I'm betting on myself to get better. This gives me a chance to get better."

[FieldGoodie05]

My vote, I'm done with that drama.  Verdict is in, Skara is a good guy.  DB guy's a douche.  Mike Hutton looks like a strung out drug addict pimping 1970s hairstyle.

[FieldGoodie05]

My vote, I'm done with that drama.  Verdict is in, Skara is a good guy.  DB guy's a douche.  Mike Hutton looks like a strung out drug addict pimping 1970s hairstyle.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/chi-mike-hutton-staff.html

[VU2014]

I just saw this. One of the Top players in the region Nick Mantis is going to play for Don Bosco Prep. I still have a bitter taste in my mouth from the way that "Prep School" treated (used) David the way they did.

https://twitter.com/nmantis30/status/847609618847080459

[M]

I think it left us more bitter then the coaching staff as I saw DB st more then a few VU home games this season.

[valpo64]

Do these type of transfers ever return to their original school?     

[Valpo89]

Good move by Mantis. Saw him play against Valpo High.
He's a good kid but I'm not sure he could play at VU's level.

[VU2014]

Wow. I want to know the backstory behind this suspension. He's being suspended by the NCAA and not by school. It makes you wonder.

I honestly wish nothing but the best for David because he's a great kid. Hopefully this suspension doesn't set him back.

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/929087328542392321

[VU2014]

I'm hoping nothing shady was going on at our end. We all know there was shady things happening with the "Prep School" that forced him to transfer.

https://twitter.com/GoodmanESPN/status/929084124836528135
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/929085908812431360
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/929088977541517317
https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/929087328542392321
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/929089893413867520

[FWalum]

Very sorry to hear this.  This will most likely have lasting implication on playing time the rest of the season. Could this incident have played into the transfer? Nine games is better than a whole season and who knows if the Jubril precedent would have made a year suspension more likely if he had stayed at VU?

[VU2014]

Could this incident have played into the transfer? Nine games is better than a whole season and who knows if the Jubril precedent would have made a year suspension more likely if he had stayed at VU?

Nope. It had everything to do with Coach Lottich not hiring Ivan Vujic (former VU bball player) who is also a client of Dave Maravilla's. Maravilla runs/owns the "prep school" program and is an active player agent.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/929099962000035840

Paul wrote about it.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/929100407565180929

[VUBBFan]

Suspended for 9 games for what I hear is essentially the same infraction that Jubril got suspended for, for over 20 games. David should have transferred to North Carolina or Kentucky. Then he would have only been suspended for 2 or 3 games, if any at all.

[VU2014]

Suspended for 9 games for what I hear is for essentially the same infraction that Jubril got suspended for over 20 games. David should have transferred to North Carolina or Kentucky. Then he would have only been suspended for 2 or 3 games, if any at all.

Valpo is such a rare school. How many schools out of the 351 D1 programs would actually self report themselves to the NCAA? I'm willing to say not many.

We never got the whole story about the Jubril situation. All that was explained was that it was a academic violation. I heard through the grape vine it was something about a paper. Maybe they worked together on a paper. Because Valpo was self reporting Jubril's academic violation, maybe thats how Skara got caught up in it with the NCAA? I'm not sure how that all went down. It's all in the past now. I just don't like see Valpo's name and academic violation being used in the same sentence on twitter.

[valpotx]

So basically, he cheated on tests, as well.  If it is the same thing that Jubril did, it is complete BS that he only gets 9 games.  I love how Paul directly calls out the Vujic situation again.  LOVE it

[Chairback]

It would be interesting for someone to get comments from Bryce Drew on this academic issue.  I have to assume it was under his watch, not Coach Matt's.  Skara was gone before he started as head coach.

Near impossible I know, but would be very interesting....

[wh]

Knowing that Skara was involved, it was probably a very wise decision to self-report. I can only imagine the damage Vucic and that other clown could have caused by going to the NCAA and accusing Valpo of a cover-up.