Game #26-Youngstown State Saturday February 11 7pm ARC Hall of Fame

[hailcrusaders]

He watches more Valpo basketball than anyone, but it always amuses me when Todd casually calls our home run inbounds play before it even happens.

[oklahomamick]

I wonder if slocum has ever seen the homerun ball?  Plays us at least 2 times a year for the last 10 years

[hailcrusaders]

I wonder if slocum has ever seen the homerun ball?  Plays us at least 2 times a year for the last 10 years

We've been running that play late in games against the press for years. You'd think if our broadcaster can see it coming for the first time each game, our opponents (especially HL ones) could too.

[VU2014]

Sort of a sloppy game but overall fun game to watch! We need games like this where other teams make strong runs and have us scrap to fight them off. Some positives and negatives.

Huge game coming up next! We need a strong showing vs Oakland. We can't allow those lulls in effort and energy when we're up. Also how many times do we need have those stretches of giving up second chance rebounds to learn from our mistakes? The freshman big guys are no longer "freshman", they've both played big time minutes this year to know whats needed. Not all bad though. They both had they moments. Some good defense from both tonight other then those momentary let downs on rebounds.

[valpotx]

I liked seeing the stands full for once!  Are we thinking around 4,000+?  Hopefully it will continue to be as such for our final home games.

[VU2014]

Really wish us as fans or MLB could do something about Detroit motor madness.  Oakland really pushed for it too.

Who voted on this Motor City Tournament? Was it all the teams or was it just Horizon League HQ who decided it? How the heck does Oakland have that much "pull" being the second newest member in the conference?

It's just such a joke that its even considered a "neutral" site for a tournament when 2 teams are within a few miles of the arena!! It's not even in a central location for all the fan-bases to travel. I know this sounds biased but it should near Chicago or in Indiana somewhere to makes it more centered in the middle of the conference. Plus Detroit (Joe Louis Arena) isn't exactly a great destination city. Not somewhere I want to go walking around and site seeing either. I get they're building a new building soon but still the tournament is a failure, imo.

[agibson]

I liked seeing the stands full for once!  Are we thinking around 4,000+?  Hopefully it will continue to be as such for our final home games.

I'll guess they list 4,500. Maybe more. I was really impressed by the mezzanine when I walked in 6:55. Apparently people were lined up at 6:00 for the jersey giveaway (that 1,000 was gone before 6:25).

Student section looked comfortably full. Not overflowing like a game or two this season. But they were loud! Free Jubril! And as usual lots of students elsewhere.

Alec wearing #23 was fantastic.

Does that have any relevance to Jubril's roster spot? Or, for one night, if a player's not dressing can you just borrow his number?

[VU2014]

Alec wearing #23 was fantastic.

Does that have any relevance to Jubril's roster spot? Or, for one night, if a player's not dressing can you just borrow his number?

https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/830621609887154178
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/830621685183295488
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/830623018481221632
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/830622092848685056
https://twitter.com/Valpo_Hoops/status/830622322545590272
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/830623012684693504
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/830623389119283200

[oklahomamick]

Every president voted for the Detroit motor city madness except for Valpo and UIC

[agibson]

I'll guess they list 4,500

4,823.

[valpopal]

Every president voted for the Detroit motor city madness except for Valpo and UIC

I will never understand why the Wisconsin teams voted for Detroit. Their fans have the farthest to travel.

[VU2014]

Quote from: oklahomamick on Today at 09:41:15 PM
Every president voted for the Detroit motor city madness except for Valpo and UIC


I will never understand why the Wisconsin teams voted for Detroit. Their fans have the farthest to travel.

Doesn't make any sense. I get why Detroit and Oakland would but every other....? 

My guess is they wanted it to stop being at Valpo from a competition standpoint and apparently the Horizon League is making a guaranteed $200k each year from hosting it there and the other teams knew it wouldn't be hosted near their cities unless they won the regular season anyways.

The Horizon League HQ should not have allowed Detroit or Oakland to take part in that vote since it literally is a home for them and those were 2 automatic votes.

[VU2014]

For those who didn't catch the game. Some highlights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns82YmQgaoQ

[oklahomamick]

That win guarantees a top 5 finish.  9 out of 10 years in the HL

[valpolaw]

Who in their right mind would want to go to Detroit?? What a dump. Indianapolis would've made sense because it's neutral and horizon league is headquartered there. Maybe that bozo horizon league commissioner should go ahead and move his office to Detroit too.

[VUBBFan]

Glad to see the student section filled up and also the whole ARC. It looked like a sell out to me (4900+). This is how it should have been all year. I was happy to hear the Free Jubril chants. At least the students are finally getting it together. Also did anyone else noticed during warmups Jubril had his right knee all taped up with what I think was ice and was stretching it out. I even thought he limped a little. Of course I am paranoid anyways.

[VUOR63]

Why not host it in Hawaii?  Honolulu is pretty neutral.

[agibson]

Who in their right mind would want to go to Detroit?? What a dump.

I didn't mind Detroit as a city. The downtown area seemed nice enough. I enjoyed my coney dog. Didn't get around the city too much, so can't comment on whether there were interesting neighborhoods, etc. I enjoyed venturing into Canada. I don't mind supporting a city a bit while it's down.

But, I'm not sure Detroit is special enough to warrant a long-term deal. And not particularly central. And, I did enjoy the previous tournament arrangements. At least while we were winning!

[VU2014]

In the press conference it was mentioned that, "This was a very emotional weekend." Does that mean that they may have actually found out what happened but nobody is making it public yet?

Lots of Jubril talk in the post-game press conference.

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

[justducky]

Kiser goes 114+ minutes with just one TO then gets his second and then third in a 3 minute stretch. Did he really carry it on that drive down the lane? He struggled on defense as well.

Pull his scholarship! Wait! He doesn't have one yet. 

Never before saw Alec play the matador defense. I think he was sent back in with specific instructions not to quickly pick up his third foul, and he didn't. 

[a3uge]

Who in their right mind would want to go to Detroit?? What a dump.

I didn't mind Detroit as a city. The downtown area seemed nice enough. I enjoyed my coney dog. Didn't get around the city too much, so can't comment on whether there were interesting neighborhoods, etc. I enjoyed venturing into Canada.

But, it doesn't seem special enough to warrant a long-term deal. And not particularly central.

Yeah, I don't want to bash on any city either - every city has their pluses and minuses. It's not like Valpo has a ton of stuff for visiting fans, but that wasn't the point.

I can see the Horizon's motivation for moving it to a neutral court. I didn't agree, but they needed the cash after they blew the Butler finals money on absolutely nothing. One of the biggest mistakes was moving it one year too early (when they had 1 great team and nobody else even remotely close + the panick-add of NKU one year too soon). Amazing how 10 years from now LeCrone and Slocum will somehow have jobs in the same place.

[agibson]

In the press conference it was mentioned that, "This was a very emotional weekend." Does that mean that they may have actually found out what happened but nobody is making it public yet?

Definitely makes you wonder.

My only fear with the #23 was that they might have heard that Jubril was out for the season, and it was a sort of memorial.

From Alec's language, at least how it was quoted on tiwtter ("not playing right now" or similar), it seems like that's probably not the case.

Matt's answer to the "Did Alec run this by you in advance?" question was great. Do you suppose he just took off his warmup top, and there was #23?

[talksalot]

#23 was listed in the official scoring book with more than 15 minutes before the opening tip.  Would have been a technical foul.

[Pgmado]

Just want to point out that Oakland had one of its best teams in school history last year with Kay Felder...and their supposed home court advantage led them to a grand total of 0 wins in the Horizon League tournament last year.

But keep beating that dead horse into the ground.

[hailcrusaders]

Apples and oranges. Oakland's "home court advantage" at the JLA, while not negligible, wouldn't be nearly as significant as Valpo's advantage playing at the ARC.


Personally, I'm less mad that it's in Detroit than I am about the HL denying home court to the top team that has earned it, whoever it is in any given year.