MBB 2017-18

[VULB#62]

I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the scorer options...

I think a lot of people are really underestimating next years team.

Better this than the opposite, no?

[FieldGoodie05]

I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the scorer options...

I think a lot of people are really underestimating next years team.

Better this than the opposite, no?

We all like our talent.  But how they play together is the only thing that matters.  I don't have minutes from last years team prepared, but we lose 2 starters who were the only real options on last years team SF and PF.  Kiser minutes hardly count because he's not a scorer, we need scoring of around 40 ppg replaced.  Who has the chops?  Tevonn is 18 ppg imo, no more for average.  He plays way to hard on defense to do his magic every night.

[valpotx]

The entire team dynamic will change next season.  This will be both good and bad early in the season, but the guys will find their roles.  The reason we looked so bad after Alec went down, can be attributed to not understanding how to run our offense, when so much of it revolved around plays for Alec.  We will have a full season to work through roles, so there will be some ugly games, but a lot of exciting ones, as well. 

[bigmosmithfan1]

The reason we looked so bad after Alec went down, can be attributed to not understanding how to run our offense, when so much of it revolved around plays for Alec.

This is what's forgotten when people are dismissing VU based on how bad they looked after Alec's injury. Putting aside the fact that no mid-major in the history of college basketball has played well when they've lost an All-American late in the season, Valpo had spent an entire season with an offensive system with Alec as the centerpoint, which became even *more* reliant on him after Jubril's suspension. The team's top two seniors (including arguably the best player in school history) get plucked from the lineup over the course of the season, and VU was supposed to keep rolling on like nothing happened? Come on... on what planet is that a realistic expectation?

Once the NCAA robbed Keith Carter of his senior year and Skara transferred due to Don Bosco's shady behavior, Lottich did the only thing he could: attack the season with his star player and talented starting five, but almost no depth to absorb a major injury or absence from a key contributor(s). When the worst-case scenario unfolded, that plan was exposed, but did VU have any other options this year, given those developments? Not really.

[FWalum]

I think if you look at the areas of difference between the "15"-"16" vs "16"-"17" teams, I believe it shows our biggest offensive weaknesses last year came in the areas of having a true point guard (We went from #45 in the country to #203 with almost a 20% drop in assists) and reduced offensive rebounding (#16 to #149 with about a 25% drop in ORB). I think these two areas are where we could have the most growth next year. Bakari Evelyn should come in extremely hungry with another year of maturity and ready to show what he can do. I know people have looked at his stats from Nebraska and thought "what happened to the kid that led his team to 3 state championships scoring 25ppg with 4.3 apg?". Well, he was a freshman on a team with 8 other guards and sitting behind another freshman, Glynn Watson Jr., who was #73 on ESPN's top 100 playing 26 minutes a game. That's what happened, the kid was smart and saw the writing on the wall. bigmosmithfan1 was right in the fact that without Carter we ran Hammink as a point forward on many offensive possessions, something that Bakari and Micah can hopefully fix next year. The 2 bigs, Smits and Sorolla, should both show improvement on the glass and we shouldn't have a 6'7" athlete running the point and only getting 3.9 rpg. Having a more traditionally run offense could also help the bigs offensive production. Not to mention we will have Joe Burton a true 3 running the floor instead of being a quasi-point guard.

Defense could shine in the early part of the season, while we wait for the offense to gel, if everyone buys into Matt's concepts.  We will be more athletic and should have the ability to play lock down defense with Smits and Sorolla improving as rim protectors.

[covufan]

Tevonn  will be testing the NBA waters:

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/857009157538533377

[valpotx]

I read it wrong in my first post.  He can still withdraw.  He is not getting drafted this season.

[bigmosmithfan1]

Not true! Hank Gathers collapsed and died during a conference tournament game.He also missed the end of the season with the heart issue that eventually took his life. Loyola Marymount ended up making it to the Elite 8. Gathers was an All-American (multiple years) and most likely lottery pick and Loyola Marymount was and still is a mid-major. They were very good and unique but still a mid-major. It was one of the more famous and inspiring tournament runs in history.

I remember that, and that was horrible (though yes, ultimately inspiring). People forget that Bo Kimble was actually the best player on that team, though (averaged 35 PPG to Gathers' 29, then went on to play for the Clippers and Knicks in the NBA) and carried them through the tourney. Also, that LMU team *averaged* 125 points per game - they played a run-and-gun style (they took a shot every seven seconds) that caught a lot of teams by surprise. To say nothing of the emotions of watching their teammate *die in front of them* probably being a bit stronger than losing a guy to a stress fracture.

[bigmosmithfan1]

Point taken (though the fact that we had to go back nearly 30 years to find a counter-example shows how freakishly unusual it is).

[a3uge]

Point taken (though the fact that we had to go back nearly 30 years to find a counter-example shows how freakishly unusual it is).

That's one of the most famous examples - there's a good 30 for 30 on it called "The Guru of Go" that everyone should check out.

[VULB#62]

As I recall that team would shoot as soon as they crossed the mid-court line      -- and race to get there.  A third pass got you benched   

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/857289632651890690
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/857289687312060427

[bigmosmithfan1]

As I recall that team would shoot as soon as they crossed the mid-court line      -- and race to get there.  A third pass got you benched   

I remember an interview with their coach that year where he told his players the only excuses for making an extra pass were a) a teammate wide open under the basket and b) you fell down. That was it. 

[Valpo89]

As I recall that team would shoot as soon as they crossed the mid-court line      -- and race to get there.  A third pass got you benched   

There has to be a few people on here who remember when Valpo women's basketball coach Dave Wolter instituted this system, right? His goal was for the team to put up 100 shots per game. Probably helped Debbie Bolen put up her Hall of Fame numbers, although she was a good player regardless of the system.

[valpotx]

Tevonn should immediately withdraw his name, if he is smart:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19273805/nba-invites-more-60-players-draft-combine

[cornonthe]

As I recall that team would shoot as soon as they crossed the mid-court line      -- and race to get there.  A third pass got you benched   

There has to be a few people on here who remember when Valpo women's basketball coach Dave Wolter instituted this system, right? His goal was for the team to put up 100 shots per game. Probably helped Debbie Bolen put up her Hall of Fame numbers, although she was a good player regardless of the system.

Twas just about to say the same thing, Wolter was a Westhead guru...you mentioned the VU women's team had a 100 shot minimum, but LMU's was 120 or 140 shots, cannot remember which...LOL!!! I remember seeing them on TV a few times, it was when I was still living in Valpo so the games would be on late, but it was worth the stay up to see that spectacle...

[justducky]

I think a lot of people are really underestimating next years team.

You may be right but it looks like we have one clear and undeniable problem.

Our roster is set so lets break things down by position.

Bradford, Joseph, and Evelyn can play the point.   

Walker, Joseph and maybe Golder at the 2.  Also 

Burton, Golder and Kiser at the 3.     Also 

Hazen, McMillan, Kiser and Burton at the 4. Now it gets tricky. Only one of these guys has demonstrated a 3 point shot.

Smits, Sorolla and now LinBen all cloud up the center competition with none demonstrating any shooting range.

Quickly you should recognize the problem. Only one guy out of our PF and Centers is a proven shooting threat beyond 15 feet.

Ok so small ball may be part of the answer but we wii have a lot of big, raw talent just begging for minutes on the floor. Looks to me that Matt must engineer some double low post, power-ball inside opportunities. We have no choice but to play some situations with an oversupply of bigs on the floor (true even if one has to redshirt). To not make that attempt is an open invitation for one or more to pack their bags.

[NativeCheesehead]

From the wild guess department: If we start the season and all our bigs are healthy, McMillan redshirts.

[FWalum]

I think a lot of people are really underestimating next years team.

You may be right but it looks like we have one clear and undeniable problem.

Our roster is set so lets break things down by position.

Bradford, Joseph, and Evelyn can play the point.

Walker, Joseph and maybe Golder at the 2. Also

Burton, Golder and Kiser at the 3. Also

Hazen, McMillan, Kiser and Burton at the 4. Now it gets tricky. Only one of these guys has demonstrated a 3 point shot.

Smits, Sorolla and now LinBen all cloud up the center competition with none demonstrating any shooting range.

Quickly you should recognize the problem. Only one guy out of our PF and Centers is a proven shooting threat beyond 15 feet.

Ok so small ball may be part of the answer but we wii have a lot of big, raw talent just begging for minutes on the floor. Looks to me that Matt must engineer some double low post, power-ball inside opportunities. We have no choice but to play some situations with an oversupply of bigs on the floor (true even if one has to redshirt). To not make that attempt is an open invitation for one or more to pack their bags.

I know that the stretch 4 is all the rage and that everyone is trending towards playing 4 out and 1 in, but I really don't see this as a huge issue. I know everyone is trying to recruit the next great (Alec Peters) stretch 4, but the position is still not flooded with players coming out of high school with that skill. One of the main reasons has to do with what Parker Hazen had to deal with this past season. During his junior season, his old coach did not need to play him as a 5 all that much because of his brother. This past year his new coach had him playing much more in the lane, especially early in the season. Plenty of teams still play successfully with a more traditional power forward at the 4 and it looks like that is what we may have to do, at least for next year. I agree that it appears we have a plethora of bigs vying for playing time at the 4-5 positions. Speculation is just that, speculation, who can shoot, who can attack the basket off the dribble, who gets out on the break, who finishes in traffic, we don't know any of that yet for a whole bunch of these players... it will be fun to watch how our young men develop and what skills they possess, it's what I miss most about coaching. At this point, I trust Matt to put the pieces together, after all, he picked out the puzzle.

[covufan]

Quickly you should recognize the problem. Only one guy out of our PF and Centers is a proven shooting threat beyond 15 feet.

Why do PF's and C's need to be a proven shooting threat beyond 15 feet?  If you can post-up, block out, screen, and recognize where in the defense you can get a good 10-12 foot shot with ball movement - shouldn't these be the skills of PF's and C's?

To be quite honest, I would value more from the PF's and C's rebounding ability - the ability to reduce our opponents to less than their expected offensive rebounds, and the ability to get us extra offensive rebounds on our end - before being a proven shooting threat beyond 15 feet. 

I agree with FWalum: I trust Matt and the coaching staff to figure out which pieces are working well together and getting them the time together on the court.

[VULB#62]

Quickly you should recognize the problem. Only one guy out of our PF and Centers is a proven shooting threat beyond 15 feet.

Why do PF's and C's need to be a proven shooting threat beyond 15 feet?  If you can post-up, block out, screen, and recognize where in the defense you can get a good 10-12 foot shot with ball movement - shouldn't these be the skills of PF's and C's?

To be quite honest, I would value more from the PF's and C's rebounding ability - the ability to reduce our opponents to less than their expected offensive rebounds, and the ability to get us extra offensive rebounds on our end - before being a proven shooting threat beyond 15 feet. 

I agree with FWalum: I trust Matt and the coaching staff to figure out which pieces are working well together and getting them the time together on the court.

Go no futher than Vashil.  How many times last season  did I see something  on this forum essentially wishing we had Vashil back  And *all* he did was rebound, block shots and score inside of 12'.  Does a modern college BB team need 5 guys on the floor who drain 3's?  If they are all shooting 3's, who is minding fort inside?  It was a nice change up with Jubril pulling out his man and hitting 3's on occasion, but we lost rebounding when that happened.

[FWalum]

Video of Hazen hitting some 3's in the sectional final. http://www.hudl.com/v/1jkifp

Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember seeing this video from October 2016 of Mileek.  More athletic than I remember.

[vu72]

It's hard to imagine that we have ever had as athletic of a team as we will have for the next few years. 

[VU2014]

Mileek is definitely way more athletic then people think. He showed it in his AAU games when he was playing his natural 3-4/stretch 4 position. Mileek can step back and hit 3s also. He just didn't get show any of that in HS this season because his HS coaches made him play Center this season because he was the tallest guy on the team.

From what I've heard is he's pretty raw isn't a finished product (not many are coming out of high school). But can develop in a pretty nice player.

As for Parker I think he needs to work on the jump-shot. He doesn't need to be an Alec caliber shooter but he needs to develop the jump-shot to help space the floor and keep defenders honest. If he works on the jump-shot then we'll be able to have more combinations of lineups on the court. The coaching staff is looking versatility. I heard Parker was pretty much the only good player on his team this season and he also had to play out of position. You could see Parker defending some SFs because he's quick enough/athletic enough and has the size to defend that position.

I think both of these guys will really be benefited from our coaching staff working with them and developing their game.

[justducky]

Why do PF's and C's need to be a proven shooting threat beyond 15 feet?  If you can post-up, block out, screen, and recognize where in the defense you can get a good 10-12 foot shot with ball movement - shouldn't these be the skills of PF's and C's?

Broekhoff, Edwards, Capo, Adekoya, Peters. We have had a fair number of 4s and 5s that could help keep the driving lanes open by needing to be guarded beyond the arc. Matt likes the drive and dish. Now Matt has recruited a team which might not be fully suitable (immediately) for that mindset. Can he recreate some of his offense? Sure! Modify and adapt! Looks to me he may have no other choice for the 17-18 season.

I am not going to question our recruiting judgements. I am sure Matt has a reason for all his choices. BUT -------I continue to believe that some of his choices have been precision targeted toward 18-19 rather than 17-18. Along with you I hope I that my 18-19 vision decides to show up next March.