Team Uniforms

[Valpo89]

The old guard around here can be insufferable at times. 

I think we need to establish guidelines on being "old guard."
I'd say if you were someone who actually saw a game in Hilltop Gym, you qualify.
I saw games there. I have a memory of a VU player named Robinson being a good dunker, and thinking it wasn't fair that VU had to play against a guy the size of Kevin Duckworth.

[usc4valpo]

I was one of the pre ARC days guys as I graduated in 1984. This season may feel like letdown and it was, but at least many here did not experience the early 80s which were low times.

- a big win in 1984 when the Crusaders stalled the final 9 minutes and drew the seventh foul with 4 seconds left to win 35-33 over last place UWGB. Several recruits were there that weekend and impressive of such a great performance
- Kevin Duckworth was a big dude compared to Dave Luethy, Tony Asbury and Greeg Mostello who tried to defend him.in 1983 the Duck and Eastern Illinois  came to a Hilltop with an 0-13 record.   Valpo was a iittle below O.500 and feeling pretty good. Duck went to work and EIU won by 20.

[Valpo89]

Oh, those were the days - when a simple win over ANYONE was a big deal.
That's how it was Homer's first five years. It's hard for today's youngsters to fathom.

[FieldGoodie05]

Oh, those were the days - when a simple win over ANYONE was a big deal.
That's how it was Homer's first five years. It's hard for today's youngsters to fathom.

If you're from Detroit Lions country, it's not so difficult.  Winless wasn't a pipe dream there either.

[usc4valpo]

I was at the last ever to be played at ARC against Butler in 1984. It was spring break, low attendance and fan appreciation day where you got in a for a buck.Valpo won at the in a controversial game where Valpo coach Tom Smith went off on Butler coach Joe Sexson and a couple of BU fans ragging on himduribg the game. One over I thought was going to confront somebody.

I reflect about that game and how bad those teams were and seeing both programs blossom.

[bigmosmithfan1]

a big win in 1984 when the Crusaders stalled the final 9 minutes and drew the seventh foul with 4 seconds left to win 35-33 over last place UWGB. Several recruits were there that weekend and impressive of such a great performance
- Kevin Duckworth was a big dude compared to Dave Luethy, Tony Asbury and Greeg Mostello who tried to defend him.in 1983 the Duck and Eastern Illinois  came to a Hilltop with an 0-13 record.   Valpo was a iittle below O.500 and feeling pretty good. Duck went to work and EIU won by 20.

I was at that GB game at Hilltop! Pre-shot clock era. (For those who don't know, the 45-second shot clock was installed as a rule shortly after. "Slowdown" basketball, where teams would stall for 2-3 minutes at a time on offense, became a short-lived national college hoops trend. You'd see games end with scores in the 20s. For once, the NCAA got it right and implemented the shot clock to eliminate the stall as a strategy.) I also remember that GB launched a half-court shot that rattled out at the buzzer.

Duckworth was still with EIU when VU moved into the ARC the next year. I remember him dunking on one of the new rims so hard that VU officials were worried he broke it (which would have been a problem because VU didn't have an extra basket at the time).

[usc4valpo]

In that game, could they have removed one of the rusted rims at Hilltop, install it the ARC and let big 00 go back to work?

[wh]

I was at the last ever to be played at ARC against Butler in 1984. It was spring break, low attendance and fan appreciation day where you got in a for a buck.Valpo won at the in a controversial game where Valpo coach Tom Smith went off on Butler coach Joe Sexson and a couple of BU fans ragging on himduribg the game. One over I thought was going to confront somebody.

I reflect about that game and how bad those teams were and seeing both programs blossom.

Did you attend that game, Zville? 

[zvillehaze]

I was at the last ever to be played at ARC against Butler in 1984. It was spring break, low attendance and fan appreciation day where you got in a for a buck.Valpo won at the in a controversial game where Valpo coach Tom Smith went off on Butler coach Joe Sexson and a couple of BU fans ragging on himduribg the game. One over I thought was going to confront somebody.

I reflect about that game and how bad those teams were and seeing both programs blossom.

Did you attend that game, Zville? 

I did attend and was not pleased with the outcome.    Didn't realize that was the last game for Hilltop Gym, although I knew the ARC opened the following year.

[valpopal]

I was at the last ever to be played at ARC against Butler in 1984. It was spring break, low attendance and fan appreciation day where you got in a for a buck.Valpo won at the in a controversial game where Valpo coach Tom Smith went off on Butler coach Joe Sexson and a couple of BU fans ragging on himduribg the game. One over I thought was going to confront somebody.

I reflect about that game and how bad those teams were and seeing both programs blossom.

Did you attend that game, Zville? 

I did attend and was not pleased with the outcome.    Didn't realize that was the last game for Hilltop Gym, although I knew the ARC opened the following year.

That was the first Valpo game I ever attended. I had just come from another university where I attended basketball games in an arena that held 15,000. My first glimpse of Hilltop presented a real contrast.

[usc4valpo]

Hilltop was a dump, but it was our dump. When i first saw it when arriving college, it reminded me of the gym for Cadwalader University in the movie Fast Break. it would have been cool if Gabe Kaplan were there.

[bigmosmithfan1]

I had just come from another university where I attended basketball games in an arena that held 15,000. My first glimpse of Hilltop presented a real contrast.

Heck, Hilltop was quite a contrast from Viking Gym across town at Valpo High School, and not a positive one, in terms of modernity or crowd size (VHS was a perennial Top 5 program in the state, and regularly played to packed houses of 5,000+ at the time, the golden era of single-class Indiana HS hoops).

[talksalot]

against a guy the size of Kevin Duckworth.

Went to a game at EIU and watched the original KD clear out the lane by just giving the LOOK to the defender.   He was a Man against Boys in most of his games.  Nice little Italian restaurant down the street from the arena... but I digress.

[usc4valpo]

The hilltop gym - all the dead spots, the restrooms in the basement, the duct tape holding the rubber below the glass of the backboard, the Tom Smith show sign on the North wall for which we can enjoy on WLJE with the great Rex Troutman.

[valporun]

against a guy the size of Kevin Duckworth.

Went to a game at EIU and watched the original KD clear out the lane by just giving the LOOK to the defender.   He was a Man against Boys in most of his games.  Nice little Italian restaurant down the street from the arena... but I digress.

Went to EIU in 2010 for the Illinois Boys State Track Meet, and I do believe we ate at the well-known Italian place down the street from the arena, but I can't recall the name of it now. Only went the one time, as making money was a little more necessary, and high school track wasn't going to be the way to go with that.

[usc4valpo]

Someday I want to make a trip back to Valpo, maybe to talk to engineering students, share experiences, meet with some professors who still may be around, maybe recruit and attend a game. Where are the best non chain dining establishments in town?

[talksalot]

Valpo has become a mecca for local fine-dining ...

http://www.valpodining.com/

[valpopal]

More important than the name on the back of the uniforms, those away from campus should be aware there is a movement organized by activist faculty members to change the name of the team and the mascot, as well as the Valparaiso University logo. In this week's Torch, a letter appeared from one of the faculty after a "teach-in" by the "Compassionate Campus Faculty Learning Community" titled "Islamaphobia and the Crusader Mascot." The group has a Facebook page, "VU-FLC Creating a Compassionate Campus Series," where they have posted photos of the "teach-in" and a poll intended to create artwork for a new VU logo.

[VULB#62]

How about if we alter the name from "the fighting Crusaders of Valparaiso University" to "The Compassionate Crusaders of Vaplaraiso University" ?  We could still use the mascot but have him smiling.

[usc4valpo]

Maybe he mascot is smiling under the armor. How about we assume that and move forward?

In the meantime, we should have a set back the clock game, wear the puke orange jerseys from the Smith era,  play a game at Hilltop and flip the bird at the officials in honor of Rob Harden? Ok, maybe not the last suggestion. How about play without a shot kick and win 35-33 over a div 3 Indiana foe?

[valpo64]

Just what we need...the faculty running the University!  I've had it with the politically correct crap.  Maybe we could change our colors to pink and blue and change our nickname to "The fighting Jeans" to eliminate the gender thing too.

[bbtds]

against a guy the size of Kevin Duckworth.

Went to a game at EIU and watched the original KD clear out the lane by just giving the LOOK to the defender.   He was a Man against Boys in most of his games.  Nice little Italian restaurant down the street from the arena... but I digress.

Went to EIU in 2010 for the Illinois Boys State Track Meet, and I do believe we ate at the well-known Italian place down the street from the arena, but I can't recall the name of it now. Only went the one time, as making money was a little more necessary, and high school track wasn't going to be the way to go with that.

There aren't that many restaurants in Charleston/Mattoon area. They share a hospital that sits on Hwy 16 between the two towns named Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital. She was the step-mother of the 16th president. The Lincolns lived on a homestead just south of that hospital in a town by the name of Lerna. That was before the Lincoln family moved to New Salem, IL near Springfield.

The Italian restaurant that you were thinking of is Pagliai's.

[valporun]

The Italian restaurant that you were thinking of is Pagliai's.

That's the one...Thank You! It was a bit of a drive from campus. Maybe the one you mentioned was in a different spot, but I've only been to Charleston the one time.

[hailcrusaders]

More important than the name on the back of the uniforms, those away from campus should be aware there is a movement organized by activist faculty members to change the name of the team and the mascot, as well as the Valparaiso University logo. In this week's Torch, a letter appeared from one of the faculty after a "teach-in" by the "Compassionate Campus Faculty Learning Community" titled "Islamaphobia and the Crusader Mascot." The group has a Facebook page, "VU-FLC Creating a Compassionate Campus Series," where they have posted photos of the "teach-in" and a poll intended to create artwork for a new VU logo.

FWIW, this VU-FLC facebook group currently has 68 members and it doesn't appear that their sole purpose is change the nickname/logo. Just appears to be another uh, liberal/leftist/hippie/"snowflake"/SJW group that is commonly found on college campuses.