Game #33, NIT round one Tuesday March 14 @ Illinois 6:15pmCT

[NativeCheesehead]

Jay I still really like. Seriously beginning to doubt Smits viability as a division 1 player.

[NativeCheesehead]

Fun fact for this game. Illinois just spent almost 65 years of our budget on their arena renovations.

[FieldGoodie05]

I'm still excited for the future of VU.  Had 4 great years with this senior class...who else had better this year in the HL until 2 games left.

[crusader05]

Me too. We have five new players coming in next year too. Now let's just beef up some of our guys and work on their aggressiveness

[FieldGoodie05]

Poor Alec, looked stoned on pain meds from the surgery.  Mouth drooping open....that or stuffed up nose.

[valpotx]

Well that was another embarrassing performance.  Illinois started hot, which probably killed any confidence we had coming in.  It's too bad that this team had to go out this way at 0-3, as it looked pretty promising after that Wright State away game.  Good luck to our Seniors.  Just a very disappointing end to the season, after the beginning had so much promise.

[talksalot]

When was the last time we lost three in a row?

[bigmosmithfan1]

Loved everything I saw from Tevonn tonight. His toughness is something to behold. Can't wait to see him leading this team as a senior next year.

[VULB#62]

Welcome to the big time Valpo.  Sheesh! At every position we were out:  manned, sized and athletisized (is that a word?)  EXCEPT Tevonn.  He is such a great talent.  ........And he only has 1 more year to show us that   .  That is sad.  But that is also Tevonn.  For three years he has willingly played a subservient role.  Next year is his.  But he needs support and players who complement him. Ja/mitts have got to improve drastically.  We have to have 1 or 2 players who can drain 3s when they are open.  We are mid-major and Illinois showed us what it takes to be a Power 5 Team.  Sincere congratulations to them. 

BTW can we get a medical redshirt for Alec? 

[valpopal]

Shane had 0 pts., 0 rebs. 0 assts., plus 1 turnover, and 1 foul. Adekoya and Peters had better stats sitting on the bench. 

[VU2014]

Jay I still really like. Seriously beginning to doubt Smits viability as a division 1 player.

Smits is a D1 player. Just not a great rebounding or defending one. And when his finesse post moves and baby hooks aren't working then it could be a tough night.

Smits needs to learn to play with contact and use his 7'2" frame on D. As well as getting stronger.

The tools are there for him to succeed but he needs to put in the work in the weight-room (get stronger), work on his footwork and have a summer of battling in the post with Jay and Coach Gore.

Literally do drills with his back to the basketball in the post, forcing him to finish the plays through physical contact. Drill boxing out for rebounds into his muscle memory. Lots of work to put in this summer. I'm not completely down on him but some flaws in his game were exposed.

[VUOR63]

Tevonn Walker played so well and with such high energy that one might think he was trying to earn a spot on someone else's team.

[VU2014]

Tevonn Walker played so well and with such high energy that one might think he was trying to earn a spot on someone else's team.

I really hate thinking about this stuff. I'd like to think it was pride. Tevonn knew he didn't play well the last game and lit it up tonight.

Question: Is Tevonn graduating with his 3yr degree this spring? If so he'd be eligible to become a grad transfer like Alec was last summer. I hope he's not considering transferring. I really hate thinking about this stuff. Just so much speculation.

[VU2014]

Shane was sick tonight. Paul confirmed with Lottich.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/841828413501505536
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/841828644091789316

[EddieCabot]

Loved everything I saw from Tevonn tonight. His toughness is something to behold. Can't wait to see him leading this team as a senior next year.

Agreed.  Walker will be 1st team HL next year and in the running for HLPOY.  Max, Bacari and Joe are all physically ready to help him.  If Micah bulks up some, Valpo will have the best perimeter players in the league next year.

Kiser looked good again.  If Valpo doesn't give him a scholly, he will probably have options at other DI schools.

[nkvu]

Not going to pile on the team. The game turned out about the way I expected. Just goes to show what an exceptional team we had last year. If we had the players we should have had back from last year available all season this year I think we could have competed with all but the best of the power 5. But pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did by the end of the year. We just didn't have horses left to compete.

So next year will be a rebuilding year. TW will have the chance and will have to be the man. Derick and Jay should now know just how much better they need to improve and how hard they need to work to get there.  New players will have to find their place. But somehow we have to find the next Ryan/Alec type player or we risk sinking into mediocrity. We will see just how well our new coaches recruit.

[M]

Tevonn played great and set the bar high for himself for next year when he is the man!

[VU2014]

Agreed.  Walker will be 1st team HL next year and in the running for HLPOY.  Max, Bacari and Joe are all physically ready to help him.  If Micah bulks up some, Valpo will have the best perimeter players in the league next year

.

OU will probably have the better backcourt on paper with Kendrick Nunn (ironically a former University of Illinois G) and Martez Walker. They both will be very talented and experienced seniors.

Next years OU team is a tourney or bust team. Most all of their talent will be seniors. A lot of expectations and pressure next season.

[VU2014]

Tweet at Paul your questions. If you don't have a twitter account just post a question on the board and I'll tweet it out asking for you.

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/841837428092608512

[vu72]

I don't think anyone has mentioned the elephant in the room--Shane Hammink was either injured (not likely) or essentially benched.  He played a total of 5 minutes in the second half and ended with zero points and zero rebounded.  I think Matt exploded at half and said "guys, I am going to play people who want to be out there"

Look, with Shane in lala land, we were incredibly out maned tonight.  They out rebounded us and just beat us to everything.  Tevonn is a stud--can't wait for next year.  Derrik and J either mature quickly and get much tougher or we will be in for a long couple of seasons.  We won this year because of rebounding, lead by Mr. Peters.  Without Alec who is rebounding other than our guards?

Lots of questions in my mind about the bigs and Micah. Micah zero points again and zero assists. Lexus?  3 points.  I think we will be deep at the point with Lexus and Max baking up Bakari. Tevonn at the two, Joe Burton at the three and a freshman at the 4?  Who knows. 

So to brighten an otherwise very disappointing evening, I'll leave you with a couple of highlights of the future:

Let's start with Joe Burton:

https://youtu.be/5BrQB7TAm5U

Then there is Bakari Evelyn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr8GxdX5M8o

Suffice it to say we will be A LOT more athletic next year.  Can't wait!!

[bigmosmithfan1]

Shane's unfortunate illness was just the icing on the cake of the last 12 months, in which literally *everything* that could go wrong, has for this program:

-NCAA at-large snub
-Bryce leaves for Vandy
-Skara transfers because of a shady prep school "handler" after VU wouldn't submit to his unethical demands to have hiring power
-The NCAA absolutely robs Keith Carter of his final year of eligibility for no reason whatsoever (seriously, why VU didn't scream to every media outlet in the country over this makes me question how much they want to have a successful program)
-Jubril suspended for last 18 games of the season under NCAA's apparent "Mid-Majors Need to Be Punished 4x What a Power Conference Program Would for the Same Infraction" policy
-Alec Peters season-ending injury 10 days before the conference tourney. Again, the greatest player *in school history* had a season ending injury just over a week before the conference tourney his senior year.
-To top off this sundae, Shane catches a severe stomach virus, rendering him a non-factor in the conference tourney and NIT game.

For those keeping score at home, that's our entire senior class, save for Nick Davidson, that was either denied a year of eligibility, suspended by the NCAA, suffered a season-ending injury, or caught a severe illness at the end of the season. That is truly unreal. There isn't a team in the country that would win in that situation.

I'll be glad when next season gets here. 

[bigmosmithfan1]

I don't think anyone has mentioned the elephant in the room--Shane Hammink was either injured (not likely) or essentially benched.

Um, Shane has been suffering from a "severe" stomach virus, according to Coach Lottich, and didn't return to practice until yesterday. It's kinda all over the board.

[vu72]

I don't think anyone has mentioned the elephant in the room--Shane Hammink was either injured (not likely) or essentially benched.

Um, Shane has been suffering from a "severe" stomach virus, according to Coach Lottich, and didn't return to practice until yesterday. It's kinda all over the board.

My apologies to Shane.  I knew he had a illness but not that it continued into tonight.  When he started I thought he had recovered.  My best wishes for a full recovery and great future playing the game you love.

[M]

Micah rattled in one 3 in the first half...he then badly missed one the next possession from way downtown...he will get better.

[Mc]

Thanks to Tevonn for coming to play hard tonight.  He was a one-man show. 

We would be a perpetual bottom-tier dweller in the Big Ten.  The level of talent in that league is far superior to the Horizon.  My Big Ten graduate friends always try to convince me of that.  I have to admit that they have a really solid argument.

I have to hand it to Oakland and Kampe.  They made the Horizon proud tonight.  After the Valpo implosion on ESPN, we needed Oakland to remind everyone that the Horizon has some potential to win games against power conference teams.  With Nunn eligible this Fall, I think Oakland is top-25 and the best Horizon squad in years.