Union Street Hoops

[JD24]

You could be right but the injuries have really muddied the water.

Freeman and Sackey are freshman. We will get a better feel for true development next season. Does Sackey learn to raise his release point in the lane to decrease the likelihood of a blocked shot? Does he work on free throws and look for contact? Does Freeman work on an outside shot and to tighten his handle? Sorolla Smits -- no and hell no. Kiser -- it doesn't matter Mileek -- nope. evelyn and fazekas -- no. The only guy I really feel bad for is Golder. It is obvious he worked really hard to develop that fallaway jumper that had become such a weapon for him. I don't know. I just expect more.
Smits is a better player this year than his first two years. He may not be what some fans envision for him because of his size but he's clearly a better player.

[FWalum]

Lottich doesn't deserve to get fired (nor will he).  Lottich does deserve much criticism.  Next year if Valpo doesn't finish top 3 or make it to the final, Lottich should be fired. 

We have the talent.....must be the coach.

I keep seeing posts that say we have a ton of talent. In reality, this team doesn't have much top-end talent. Smits is a starter on most teams and Javon will be great one day, but there's not a player of the year contender, and possibly even 1st team MVC player on the roster for the next few years. Beyond some nice role players, the talent drops off considerably, and that has been evident with a few injuries.

They're definitely in a better place than last year, and should be in the top half of the league next year, but they still lack a go-to player (like a Peters or Broekhoff) to seriously contend for a championship. I'm not sure Javon is that player, but maybe one of the new guys coming in next year will help Valpo take the next step.

UNI is still scoring less per game than Valpo and have a worse FG%. Both teams offenses looked putrid last night. UNI had some late 3s that was the difference in the game. I wouldn't look to that team as a model for a decent offense.

Valpo's offense is certainly frustrating. They have the most turnovers in the league, and can't (and usually don't) shoot the 3. The bigs aren't skilled enough passers to kick it out to the corners (if they actually catch the ball) and the guards can't penetrate without turning it over. Freeman can finish every once in awhile, but he hasn't shown the ability to pass it out to an open shooter.

Plenty of blame to go around here, and I still contend the problem has more to do with player skill than an offensive scheme. You can't scheme Kiser into a shooter, Golder into a ball handler, and Bakari into a finisher. I don't think coach K could make these guys look competent on offense.

Just about the only intelligent posts I have seen on the board recently.  Getting hard to read all of this asinine stuff from posters who have no idea what coaching at this level is like.  Injuries, lineup changes and players leaving the program all have long term effects that coaches can't fix just because they want to, no matter how "good" or experienced they are.  This program has been through a lot over the last 3 years.  Could Matt have done a better job with some things... I am sure he would say that he could have.  Does anyone on the board remember Homer's first 4 seasons??? Or how about his first couple of seasons in the Horizon League??  If some of our players have regressed and it is Matt's fault then that is a big problem, but at this point I am not convinced that it is Matt or his coaching style.  Support the team and realize that we are playing with a roster that with all the parts working well together was capable of starting the conference 5-1, but as a3uge said really does not have a truly "complete" player on the roster and the injuries have definitely put a spotlight on our weaknesses and our opponents are exploiting them.

[tiny707]

Well said FWalum!

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/nwioren/status/1101605154485342208?s=21

[NativeCheesehead]

This was one of the better episodes of USH of the season.

Question for Paul:

Last episode you brought up the "Replace Lottich with Bryce" crowd. This episode it was the "can't build your program through transfers" group. Where are these groups coming from?

I'll admit, my Valpo basketball group is fairly restricted, basically this board and the 25-30 people I sit near at the games. But I haven't heard any of that. Im sure these voices are out there. But I would question how prevalent they are.

[VUGrad1314]

I'm sure there's a subset but these opinions are far from prevalent. It almost feels a bit like setting up straw men to protect Lottich (To be fair I don't think Paul is wholly doing this I think he's just looking everywhere for answers where so few are readily available.) It's clear that Paul doesn't want to criticize Lottich too much but he knows that the coach is not without fault which he makes very clear in this podcast. I don't know anymore. I have no answers and have absolutely  no idea what to think.

[VU2014]

This was one of the better episodes of USH of the season.

Question for Paul:

Last episode you brought up the "Replace Lottich with Bryce" crowd. This episode it was the "can't build your program through transfers" group. Where are these groups coming from?

I'll admit, my Valpo basketball group is fairly restricted, basically this board and the 25-30 people I sit near at the games. But I haven't heard any of that. Im sure these voices are out there. But I would question how prevalent they are.

I saw a few people suggesting bring back Bryce on twitter and I think it was asked if it was possibility on this board. It just completely out of the realm of possibility for countless reasons. As for the transfer suggestion I'm not sure. I haven't seen too many people say that. I'm. All for adding transfers if their high ceiling players. If you are going to have to redshirt someone for a year and alter your depth it better be for high ceiling players. Ex: K Carter, Shane Hammink, Joe Burton (without the academic issues hopefully), Bakari (last year), Golder was a strong addition and didn't need to even sit out coming from JUCO. Hopefully Eron & Nick workout.

[oklahomamick]

Our championship teams all had transfer who were big contributors to get those trophies. 

Bobby C, Boggs, K Carter, Hammick, Nickerson. Those are some of the best players in our program history.  Stats won't show that but talent wise, they were.

However Our top 4 players in program history were recruited here as freshman. 

[VU2014]

I'm looking forward to Paul's interview with Mark LaBarbera more than I am to watch this team and coaching staff embarrass us down in St. Louis. Tough questions need to asked and answered to say the least. Paul needs to ask the extension question and does ML deserve one. Also needs to ask what he thinks the weaknesses of his head coach are and how he plans to address them with him in his end of the season interview. This fan-base is prideful and it's been an embarrassment the last 2 seasons.

[VUGrad1314]

Facilities too. Needs to mention facilities.

[M]

He won't ask those tough questions...come on.

[NativeCheesehead]

Paul does a good job and will ask what needs to be asked. But actions speak louder than words. I'll listen but I'm not expecting much in the way of answers.

[JD24]

He won't ask those tough questions...come on.

Even if asked, they won't be answered to the satisfaction of the angry mob.

[VU2014]

He won't ask those tough questions...come on.

Even if asked, they won't be answered to the satisfaction of the angry mob.

You're probably right. Not one answer will make everyone happy. I don't need to hear him say we're going to fire Lottich to be satisfied though. I think what many fans want to hear acknowledgement that the last two season need to be better than they've been and if things continue in this direction that we'll be willing to make a change. I understand not being willing fire other less high profile coaching positions because of funding constraints and wanting continuity but if push comes to shove and we give Lottich an extension and things don't markedly improve a few years after that, then we need to be willing to cut bait even if it means eating some of the contract. I don't expect that much candor but at least hint at it.

[VUGrad1314]

And please... An ARC reno plan... I'm begging...

[VU2014]

And please... An ARC reno plan... I'm begging...

[VUGrad1314]

And please... An ARC reno plan... I'm begging...

I know... Because nobody in a position of power to really do something really cares about the longterm health and future of this program... Like I said before they want all of the benefits for none of the work... 

[vu72]

I saw a few people suggesting bring back Bryce

Come on!  Who ever is suggesting this isn't listening to the sporting news.  Vandy lost again tonight to Texas A & M after leading at half.  They have now lost 17 in a row.  Guess what?  Vandy couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the 3, and their talent level is a lot higher than Valpo.  Bryce or Matt can't make the shot for their teams.  We need to shut it down and after everyone is healthy, reevaluate our talent.  Who leads this team next year?  Who leaves and who stays and who rides the pines while others step into the starting lineup.  A VERY important off season as it relates to the future of the program as well as Matt's.

[a3uge]

I saw a few people suggesting bring back Bryce

Come on!  Who ever is suggesting this isn't listening to the sporting news.  Vandy lost again tonight to Texas A & M after leading at half.  They have now lost 17 in a row.  Guess what?  Vandy couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the 3, and their talent level is a lot higher than Valpo.  Bryce or Matt can't make the shot for their teams.  We need to shut it down and after everyone is healthy, reevaluate our talent.  Who leads this team next year?  Who leaves and who stays and who rides the pines while others step into the starting lineup.  A VERY important off season as it relates to the future of the program as well as Matt's.

Interesting Vandy is last place in conference PPG and FG%, and is shooting 31% from 3. Perhaps we're in the same situation with either coach. The whole offensive scheme needs to be scrapped.

[VU2014]

I saw a few people suggesting bring back Bryce

Come on!  Who ever is suggesting this isn't listening to the sporting news.  Vandy lost again tonight to Texas A & M after leading at half.  They have now lost 17 in a row.  Guess what?  Vandy couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the 3, and their talent level is a lot higher than Valpo.  Bryce or Matt can't make the shot for their teams.  We need to shut it down and after everyone is healthy, reevaluate our talent.  Who leads this team next year?  Who leaves and who stays and who rides the pines while others step into the starting lineup.  A VERY important off season as it relates to the future of the program as well as Matt's.

Interesting Vandy is last place in conference PPG and FG%, and is shooting 31% from 3. Perhaps we're in the same situation with either coach. The whole offensive scheme needs to be scrapped.

I haven't watched enough Vandy BB to know if their running the same system. I know we're not running what Bryce ran though. This team relies heavily on Smits in the post and rest I'm not sure what hell we're (trying?) running.

[VU2014]

A really good podcast! I could listen to Joe Otis talk about basketball for hours. He shares some great insight about the roster, Coach Lottich, and the teams issues. Also has a few good stories.

Side Note: could we offer Joe Otis the Color Commentators job during the games? Please? I like Dave but Joe really could offer some interesting in game basketball analysis to pair with Todd which is what the job is suppose to be about. I'm not sure Joe would want it but for just home games maybe? Just an idea.

https://twitter.com/nwioren/status/1103055443365117953?s=21

[VU2014]

A really good podcast! I could listen to Joe Otis talk about basketball for hours. He shares some great insight about the roster, Coach Lottich, and the teams issues. Also has a few good stories.

Side Note: could we offer Joe Otis the Color Commentators job during the games? Please? I like Dave but Joe really could offer some interesting in game basketball analysis to pair with Todd which is what the job is suppose to be about. I'm not sure Joe would want it but for just home games maybe? Just an idea.

https://twitter.com/nwioren/status/1103055443365117953?s=21

Another interesting thing that came up during this interview was that Otis lobbied for Tonagel to get an interview.

Just a lot of great stuff in this episode of Union Street Hoops.

[VUGrad1314]

Wow... and we think our current budgetary and facilities plight is embarrassing... Asking a coach for a ride? Good Lord...

Also find the Bryce vs Lottich comparison pretty invalid... But yes Teach the Virgil Sweet method...

Interesting that he thinks it's more on the players than Lottich for our late game struggles.

[VU2014]

Wow... and we think our current budgetary and facilities plight is embarrassing... Asking a coach for a ride? Good Lord...

Also find the Bryce vs Lottich comparison pretty invalid... But yes Teach the Virgil Sweet method...

Interesting that he thinks it's more on the players than Lottich for our late game struggles.

Yeah he had some interesting things to say about the roster construction. He really hammered home the points of poor free throw shooting and not having enough shooters to space the floor. I got the sense that he felt like Lottich's staff has pursued higher caliber athletes that are less complete players (not amazing shooters). It's tough to find great athletes that can also effeciently shoot the ball. You can tell that was the case in Bryce's era. He went after not quite Markus Golder caliber athletes but guys who may be consider more well-rounded players. Ex: a Jubril Adekoya. Jubril was undersized but an excellent at doing all the little things and added a 3pt shot his senior year. But he did sprinkle in the stud athletes like Buggs and Shane Hammink.

He also talked about the revolving roster changes and guys maybe not knowing their roles by season's end. Just a really interesting interview.

[GoldenCrusader87]

Those of you who listen to Joe's comments regarding Matt need to listen closely. He's a professional.
And, it's not his first rodeo. He's not going to call for Matt to lose his job. But, if you listen closely - you will hear his concerns regarding Matt. And, the mention of his advocation for Tonagel is telling. Didn't even get an interview? What a joke. Makes me sick. And don't even tell me it's because of his religious views. Absurd. The man can flat out coach. We're the losers in this. As are our players. 3 national championships in how many years? 5??!!!??

You're crazy if you think that Greg wouldn't have this team performing better. I'm 1,000% confident he would.

And stop talking about Matt's playing career. I could honestly care less how "good" of a player he was. Honestly. Just like when I hear he runs the point guard for the scout team.

Cool. Have fun. Glad you can play. But my goodness. Increased winning % next year will be a result of transfers more than coaching. Which he can get credit for since he seemingly played a role in getting them to transfer. But, the man is stubborn. And will not get better without his willingness to humble himself and learn.