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

[VU2014]

Well someone else in the NIT is having a worse night.... That is some serious play old quitting. That Cal roster has some talent on it.

https://twitter.com/mid_madness/status/841864380052570114

[ValpoDad89]

Let's face it my Valpo gents and ladies, this was a debauchery of basketball proportions. We could have made a statement that we are more than Alec Peters (despite his greatness) but we did not. This is a Power 5 that we should've showed more against and we didn't.

Negatives, Hammink was non existent, now we know why. But really wanted Shane to go out fighting and playing a great game. Boxing out was non existent. Ball movement sucked. Shot selection sucked. Too many unforced 3's early in our possessions when the game was still in reach. Lots to learn from.

Positives...Tevonn Walker can play. He stays, we have a  new leader.  Our Freshmen will get better exponentially especially if Lottich is coaching the Valpo way. Micah Bradford's shots were off, he needs to work on creating his shot both off the dribble and through screens but his hands are lightning quick, his handles are D1 worthy and his passing is amazing. It wasn't his fault we couldn't finish some nice leads and entries into the post. Smits and Sarolla have great size and will learn to use that in due time with this staff. We have a tough road to tow but we have another of year of experience, we have a good recruiting class coming and we have some solid transfers that weren't able to play this year but will be available to us next year.

Disappointed in the outcome but excited about the future.

[a3uge]

It took a year, but we're back to the P5 narratives.

[FWalum]

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.

Tevonn will be the best two-way player in the league next year.  His effort on both ends of the floor is a beautiful thing to watch.  Tevonn ended the year with 992 total career points and 394 rebounds, would have loved to see him get over the 1000 pt mark this year. Matt says it all at the end of the press conference.

[VU2014]

The roster yesterday with a sick Shane could not beat the Illini's roster. It was a razor thin margin of error and we needed both Shane and Tevonn to go off and the big to play good D. We got a great night from Tevonn and a solid night from Kiser and Lexus had couple steals but that was about it.

That being said I don't think the "Narrative" of we can never beat P5's should exist, even after losing Peters after this season. A LOT of bad luck for us the last 12 months which affect the roster construction.

I think almost more then anything this team missed a rim protecting presence like Vashil. Jay looks like he could become a solid rim protector with also becoming an offensive threat, and looked good for stretches this year but with Jubril being out for most of the season and on top of that Smits was such a defensive liability late in games it cause Jay to play huge minutes at the end of games. Jay pretty clearly hit the freshman wall the last month and looked really tired and not as affective like he was the first half of the season.

[crusader05]

Until Smits and Sorrolla get better at finishing under the basket or we get a serious consistent 3 point shooter we're going to struggle. We don't have the size to drive consistently so we need a few more options other than hoping someone gets a wide open shot. Now I think some of this comes from practice. I also do think that we are dealing with a team that spent an entire season with the mentality of only take the shot if it's very clear, if not, get the ball to Peter's. That's a big shift for a lot of people. Tevonn seemed to be the one who's best recognizing he's needed and stepping up but I think this team will benefit from a lot of work on shooting, cohesiveness and shared responsibility.

One thing I will say, Walker, Kiser, Bradford, Joseph and Williams played hard the ENTIRE time, Especially Lexus. Our two bigs looked a bit overwhelmed and Shane was pretty obviously gassed but we look to have some real high energy returning next year and, w/o Jubril or Alec, someone is going to need to stop up to be the leader and I think either Tevonn or Lexus or both, can be that person.

[Mc]

Tevonn has such fluidity in his game. Sometimes, he literally seems to float in/on the air.  Micah definitely has a touch of this quality, too, and I think he would benefit from a redshirt year to pack on the pounds and strength train.

Actually, the majority of Valpo's guys could benefit from adding more muscle and better strength training (Peters having set the bar for this).  None of our guys are in danger of overtraining to the point that their game changes. 

[bbtds]

We may get run out the gym but early good sign for next season.

Much better read of the game than most of us.

[vu72]

We may get run out the gym but early good sign for next season.

Much better read of the game than most of us.

Ever the confident one, I don't plan to quit now! Everybody will feel a lot better once they see Bakari and Joe play.  Would love to hear a report on team practices from this last season.  Burton, a top 50 player, has been described as "an electric" scorer.  Bakari (who was a Michigan target before going to Nebraska) was described by one analyst as follows: " Evelyn is fearless when driving to the basket, great at drawing contact and finishing through it. His quick release allows him to pull up and fire from any distance, and his handle allows him to easily create space off the dribble.

I see it this way: Tevonn, Joe and Bakari will be the scorers with good support from Max and Lexus.  I still don't have much hope for Micah but a year in the weight room and added shooting practice could make a world of difference.  I see Hazen as a replacement for Jubril.  Same size, better athlete who can jump and plays on the inside. 

We will be bigger and more athletic and deeper next year.  If, and that is a BIG if, our two bigs can make a big improvement, htis could be a very good team.  Perhaps next year is a transition year with the full picture coming the following year, we will see.