Union Street Hoops

[agibson]

Really great story, really great pod (I've not read the article yet - probably a great article too).

Gives you a whole new perspective on our Coach.

Makes me think a little of Franklin House's sign (note on their menu?), which totally nailed me. "Better than you thought? Shame on you!". I had completely assumed, "Winnetka? New Trier? $$".

[VU2014]

Makes me think a little of Franklin House's sign (note on their menu?), which totally nailed me. "Better than you thought? Shame on you!". I had completely assumed, "Winnetka? New Trier? $$".

I had no idea about Coach Lottich's humble beginnings. I don't think many in our fan base knows about Coach Lottich's past till now. Really great story.

[covufan]

http://www.nwitimes.com/digital/audio/union-street-hoops/podcast-union-street-hoops-episode/audio_277e48b2-e8f7-11e6-9ae8-eb5a22d9410c.html

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/vu-s-matt-lottich-and-milwaukee-s-todd-townsend-are/article_4790ab93-86f2-5f83-9858-0b419dcd7bdc.html

Great stuff!  Keep up the great work!

The podcast mentioned a SF article from years ago:

http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/A-friend-in-need-Stanford-guard-Marquette-2743659.php

[VU2014]

Really great interview with Bobby. Very insightful. He talks about High major transfers experience at Valpo and why Valpo is successful with transfers. Also the family culture of Valpo Basketball. Just a really great interview.

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/828984120214769664

http://www.nwitimes.com/digital/audio/union-street-hoops/podcast-union-street-hoops-episode/audio_bd8f8100-ecd4-11e6-9873-eb024396175c.html

NWI Times reporter Paul Oren and Parker Gatewood rehash Valparaiso's trip to Wisconsin, including a 17-point defeat to Green Bay. Former Valparaiso player Bobby Capobianco drops to share a few stories of his time with the Crusaders.

[talksalot]

NWI Times reporter Paul Oren and Parker Gatewood rehash Valparaiso's trip to Wisconsin,

The Mars Cheese Castle stop was stocking up for the Super Bowl munchies...

[VU2014]

The Mars Cheese Castle stop was stocking up for the Super Bowl munchies...

Every time I drive up to Milwaukee I have to stop at Mars Cheese Castle and grab a 6-pack of Spotted Cow.

[bbtds]

The Mars Cheese Castle stop was stocking up for the Super Bowl munchies...

Every time I drive up to Milwaukee I have to stop at Mars Cheese Castle and grab a 6-pack of Spotted Cow.

That's udderly rediculous. A cow has more than 6 in their pack.

[Pgmado]

I'm well aware that message board readers are probably some of the top audience for Union Street Hoops, but I wanted to make sure you saw these links again. The last two episodes have been some of my favorite and Episode 19 with Lubos Barton is coming right around the corner. Some of the older listeners will love that if you followed the 1998-2002 teams.

Episode 17 -- The Matt Lottich and Todd Townsend story -- http://www.nwitimes.com/digital/audio/union-street-hoops/podcast-union-street-hoops-episode/audio_277e48b2-e8f7-11e6-9ae8-eb5a22d9410c.html

Episode 18 -- Bobby Capobianco gets very candid about his time at Valparaiso -- http://www.nwitimes.com/digital/audio/union-street-hoops/podcast-union-street-hoops-episode/audio_bd8f8100-ecd4-11e6-9873-eb024396175c.html

[VU2014]

Paul did an interview with Lubos Barton.

http://www.nwitimes.com/digital/audio/union-street-hoops/podcast-union-street-hoops-episode/audio_c6dc1cd8-efb2-11e6-a16e-7f91e53841be.html

"Recent Valparaiso Hall of Fame inductee Lubos Barton joins Union Street Hoops to talk about his career with the Crusaders. NWI Times reporters Paul Oren and Andrew Stem put into context Barton's legacy."

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/830191929811992576

[valpotx]

Lubos is still awesome.  We have been fortunate to have many quality individuals on our team over time, and I think that our international players have been a key part of that aspect.  If you have no idea who Lubos is because you are a new/recent Valpo fan, I still place him in the top 4 players at Valpo (Peters, Bryce, Rowdy, Lubos).  Extremely underrated when you talk about best all-time in a Valpo uniform, and highly versatile.  He definitely has the most successful pro career of any Valpo basketball player, as he dominated the Spanish and Italian leagues for 14-15 years, and was the key Czech national player for his entire basketball career.  You can argue that Bryce had the most successful, but he only played 5-6 years of pro ball, and FC Barcelona and some of the teams that Lubos played on, could beat NBA teams.  Not to mention that there wasn't a better room to visit than Lubos and Kikas' dorm room at Berg.  Very friendly guys .

[oklahomamick]

All of us will agree that Union Street hoops is awesome and does a great job.  The dialog and guests have been great. 

What special guest would you like to hear from? 

Mine would be:
1.  Carter
2.  MLB (as long as he answers the questions truthfully and avoids the PC treatment)
3.  Jubril
4.  Richie Edwards
5.  Rowdy   

[a3uge]

All of us will agree that Union Street hoops in awesome and does a great job.  The dialog and guests of been great. 

What special guest would you like to hear from? 

Mine would be:
1.  Carter
2.  MLB (as long as he answers the questions truthfully and avoids the PC treatment)
3.  Jubril
4.  Richie Edwards
5.  Rowdy

U.

[bbtds]

All of us will agree that Union Street hoops is awesome and does a great job.  The dialog and guests have been great. 

What special guest would you like to hear from? 

Mine would be:
1.  Carter
2.  MLB (as long as he answers the questions truthfully and avoids the PC treatment)
3.  Jubril
4.  Richie Edwards
5.  Rowdy   

6. Kika's Gomes
7. Matt Kenney
8. Tracy Gibson
9. Rob Cavanaugh
10. John Wolfenburg (lawyer in Milwaukee-played in '70s for Purden)

[wh]

Lubos is still awesome.  We have been fortunate to have many quality individuals on our team over time, and I think that our international players have been a key part of that aspect.  If you have no idea who Lubos is because you are a new/recent Valpo fan, I still place him in the top 4 players at Valpo (Peters, Bryce, Rowdy, Lubos).  Extremely underrated when you talk about best all-time in a Valpo uniform, and highly versatile.  He definitely has the most successful pro career of any Valpo basketball player, as he dominated the Spanish and Italian leagues for 14-15 years, and was the key Czech national player for his entire basketball career.  You can argue that Bryce had the most successful, but he only played 5-6 years of pro ball, and FC Barcelona and some of the teams that Lubos played on, could beat NBA teams.  Not to mention that there wasn't a better room to visit than Lubos and Kikas' dorm room at Berg.  Very friendly guys .

I took the opportunity to say hello to Lubos at the game.  He expressed a little surprise that so many fans remembered him after 15 years.  He seemed to be enjoying the moment. 

[justducky]

All of us will agree that Union Street hoops in awesome and does a great job.  The dialog and guests of been great. 

What special guest would you like to hear from? 

Mine would be:
1.  Carter
2.  MLB (as long as he answers the questions truthfully and avoids the PC treatment)
3.  Jubril
4.  Richie Edwards
5.  Rowdy

U.

Wait!  Did you just abbreviate because you were afraid to spell it out? Coward! 

[VU2014]

All of us will agree that Union Street hoops is awesome and does a great job.  The dialog and guests have been great. 

What special guest would you like to hear from? 

Mine would be:
1.  Carter
2.  MLB (as long as he answers the questions truthfully and avoids the PC treatment)
3.  Jubril
4.  Richie Edwards
5.  Rowdy   

Totally agree MLB would be great if he was brutally honest in a public forum.

Mine would be:
1. MLB
Questions for MLB:[/u]
-Want to know what the chances of switching Conference are? MVC? Thoughts are the shifting landscape of conference.
-What are the realities of getting a renovated ARC? Are there plans? Any timeline?
-Thoughts on moving on from the Drew era.
-Thoughts on Bryce Drew interviewing for jobs while we were in the heat of the NIT.
-Did you offer the job the Coach Powell before Coach Lottich? (that one might be tmi to give out) Side Note: the Lottich hire looks great.
-What really happened with that whole David Skara situation? (I'd love to get a public confirmation with the rumors) Did David really personally want to leave? Was the decision up to him? Thoughts on Don Bosco Prep?
--Thoughts on the 'Motor City Dumpster' Fire Tournament?
-Great challenges facing the program in the future?

Simply put I could listen to a 4 hour podcast with the back and forth between Paul and MLB if it wasn't PC. By far would be the best guest.

2. Commissioner LeCrone
-Have Paul GRILL him on the Motor City Dumpster' Fire Tournament! 
-Why is the Tourney not in a REAL neutral site!? 
-Why did the tourney format of hosting get switched
-Ask him to elaborate on Butlers time in the HL.
-Any chance of adding teams in the near future? Belmont?
-Is he worried about losing Valpo to the MVC
-The overall consolidation of conference and how it impacts mid-majors, etc.

3. Jubril
Obvious reason and no need to elaborate.

4. Bryce Drew
-Ask him why he left?
-Is Vandy as special as you thought it is?
-Differences between Power 5 coaching/recruiting to Mid-Major Level

5. Richie Edwards/Brandon Wodd/David Skara
Obvious reasons why.
Side Question: Is there an interesting back story to the Richie Edwards transfer? Why transfer to Arizona to play mop up minutes rather then be one of the key guys on a good mid-major team? He would have had more tape to show scouts for a future pro career.

6. Homer Drew

7. Rowdy

8. Vashil

9. Aaron Leavitt

10. Rod Moore (this one would be particularly fun to hear his stories, at least for some of the younger almuni who are more new to our history.

11. Todd Ickow

12. Scott Drew

13. I'm sure there is a long list of former players that I'm not aware of.

14. Any long-time season ticket holder who has seen everything. I'm sure they'd have some stories.

[oklahomamick]

Lubos is still awesome.  We have been fortunate to have many quality individuals on our team over time, and I think that our international players have been a key part of that aspect.  If you have no idea who Lubos is because you are a new/recent Valpo fan, I still place him in the top 4 players at Valpo (Peters, Bryce, Rowdy, Lubos).  Extremely underrated when you talk about best all-time in a Valpo uniform, and highly versatile.  He definitely has the most successful pro career of any Valpo basketball player, as he dominated the Spanish and Italian leagues for 14-15 years, and was the key Czech national player for his entire basketball career.  You can argue that Bryce had the most successful, but he only played 5-6 years of pro ball, and FC Barcelona and some of the teams that Lubos played on, could beat NBA teams.  Not to mention that there wasn't a better room to visit than Lubos and Kikas' dorm room at Berg.  Very friendly guys .

I took the opportunity to say hello to Lubos at the game.  He expressed a little surprise that so many fans remembered him after 15 years.  He seemed to be enjoying the moment.

Put him on the coaching staff.  He could help us recruit!

[Valpo89]

2014, wishful thinking on 90 percent of those questions for MLB or LeCrone.

[crusaderjoe]

During the halftime interview of Saturday night's YSU game, Lecrone made a statement that I found curious. I'm pretty much quoting here; he said: "It (the HL tournament location) takes us to Detroit more so we really are relying on their fan base (the Michigan HL schools) to help support that tournament, which is a good thing." 

Just simply ask Lecrone if the tournament is truly geographically "neutral", then why is the League relying on local fan bases to help support it?

[vu72]

During the halftime interview of Saturday night's YSU game, Lecrone made a statement that I found curious. I'm pretty much quoting here; he said: "It (the HL tournament location) takes us to Detroit more so we really are relying on their fan base (the Michigan HL schools) to help support that tournament, which is a good thing." 

Just simply ask Lecrone if the tournament is truly geographically "neutral", then why is the League relying on local fan bases to help support it?

Sounds like a LeCrone dumb statement.  If the tournament was held in Valpo they (the conference) would be relying on our fan base to help support it.  If it were held in Green Bay...same, etc etc.

[vu84v2]

I saw the same interview. LeCrone came off as an executive with no strategy and someone just trying to says things to justify that which is not justifiable. In my opinion, a decision was made to have the conference tournament in Detroit, likely due to getting payment from Olympia that could be shared among all schools and provide better financial support for the Horizon League offices. Instead of fumbling around and saying things to try to justify it, he should just say the decision was made to prioritize financial benefits over the interest of fans and competitiveness.

[FWalum]

Don't get me wrong, I liked that old format to the degree that it really did try to ensure that the best team from the league made it to the tournament. I LOVED going to tournament games at the ARC. But let's be honest, it was perceived by many to be "small time" not something a dominant mid-major conference should be doing.  When Butler was in the league it could be overlooked, but with Butler gone the league (in the eyes of LeCrone and obviously most of the other presidents) needed to enhance the perception of our now "one bid league" by making the tournament comparable to the MVC and A-10.  The MVC has Arch Madness in St Louis (talk about a city that is hitting the skids!!! see links below), the A-10 is in Pittsburgh and we have Motor City Madness.  So I can see why they did it and why he hopes that Oakland or the unlikely Detroit will make it to the final.  If LeCrone had had the backing and gumption to make this change during the last 3 years of Butler's time in the league, we probably wouldn't be complaining so much, the problem for us is that we are now "Butler", without all the leverage that Butler had, so we got p1$$#d on by all the schools not wanting to have a dominant team dictate terms for the tournament location. The real problem is that this league needs to have 2 or 3 teams that are tournament worthy with the rest of the teams staying out of the 200-350 RPI range. I think we may be on the cusp of some of that happening with the influx of new coaches and the current fight for 2nd and 3rd place right now.  Everyone, including myself, seems to want to be in the MVC despite that fact that their tournament is exactly what we are all complaining about.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/st-louis-public-schools-tries-to-shed-vacant-buildings/article_4c24e3f6-9b63-51f1-8095-631579f5148d.html
http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/05/16/can-inside-look-americas-most-dangerous-city-shock-us-into-action

[oklahomamick]

Except Arch Madness is truly neutral. 

And they don't have so many bottom feeders year in and year out.

[FieldGoodie05]

Except Arch Madness is truly neutral. 

And they don't have so many bottom feeders year in and year out.

Outside of Chicago or Indianapolis, our little ole VU cant get the alumni base to contend.  These neutral site games/tourneys are hardly neutral for a medium size liberal arts college.

We will always be behind the 8-ball.

[vusupporter]

The top two seeds no longer have the long wait. Day one is 7-10 and 8-9, day two is 1 and 2 vs day one winners, day three is 3-6 and 4-5, then day four the semis.

Back on topic, the last two interviews with Capobianco and Barton have both been stellar.