MBB 2017-18

[VU2014]

After a whole 4 days of consuming Valley basketball, I have a few take aways.

1) I'm going to Arch Madness next year no matter if we suck or not. It sounds like a awesome time.

2) We need to recruit better athletes... We need more Golder caliber athletes. ISUr has a about 4-5 of them. I'm concerned our bigs just can't compete with the Phil Faynes of the world athletically. Having size isn't enough. Krutwig is also going to be a problem for years to come also.

3) Recruit shooters. We're going no where if we can't add depth that can be reliable jump shooters.

4) I'd like to see our team run more quick hitting actions when we're in our motion offense. I'm guessing more of that will be coming down the road when guys get more experienced, but we can be so stagnant at times. Our bigs also need to be much better at setting picks in the high pick in roll. We were pretty awful at that this season. Smits/Sorolla set some weak picks that didn't create enough separation for our wings.

We talked early in the season about how we had good depth on this team but we became exposed and that wasn't the case at all. Obviously losing Burton hurt the depth but it goes well beyond that. We didn't have enough consistent contributors this season. We don't have enough impact players on this roster.

[VUGrad1314]

Well it sounds like we've got three coming in with just one going out and a schollie still to work with. That should help.

[vu72]

Well it sounds like we've got three coming in with just one going out and a schollie still to work with. That should help.

[/b]

Lost me.  Three coming in?  Are you counting Ryan?  He is on scholarship now.  One going out?  Did Max get another year??  I think it ia two going out, two coming in and a scholarship still to work with as a result of Joe leaving.  Right?

[FieldGoodie05]

Well it sounds like we've got three coming in with just one going out and a schollie still to work with. That should help.

[/b]

Lost me.  Three coming in?  Are you counting Ryan?  He is on scholarship now.  One going out?  Did Max get another year??  I think it ia two going out, two coming in and a scholarship still to work with as a result of Joe leaving.  Right?

My thoughts too, thought maybe we were getting some breaking news?

[VU2014]

Well it sounds like we've got three coming in with just one going out and a schollie still to work with. That should help.

Is someone for sure transferring? Both Tevonn and Max have used up their eligibility.

[valpotx]

I assume that he is talking about Burton having left.  I doubt anyone has announced their decision to transfer at this point.

[VUGrad1314]

I consider Burton already gone. The impact player leaving I was referring to was Tevonn. No offense to Max but I don't really view him as an impact player. He's a very solid roleplayer but not on the level of Tevonn or what I expect Fazekas Freeman-Liberty and Sackey to be.

[talksalot]

Fazekas, JFW and Helm...

[VUGrad1314]

I thought Helm wasn't coming aboard until 2020.

[VU2014]

I'm a little worried about our perimeter defense next season. We're losing 2 really good defensive guards that are also excellent rebounders. We're replacing them with 2 freshman: JFL who I've heard is solid on D but you never really know till you see someone against D1 competition and Daniel Sackey a 5-10 PG. Those are big shoes to fill. I think both are going to play significant roles at some point next season. I think JFL is pretty much destined to get significant minute with the 2G opening but Sackey at PG is more of a wildcard. As we know with Coach Lottich, he won't play you if you keep on committing blown defensive assignments and rotations. He's not afraid to play the less offensively skilled player ala John Kiser.

[VU2010]

Yup. The defensive emphasis worked well for us, right? Just like never pressuring anybody until garbage time. Reminds me of the 2016-2017 season when AP was out. No offense. We've got some great players, as people. But, we don't have the offensive ability to match-up any longer. Good role players who are utility pieces but need more pure b-ball players. And apart from Fazekas, I'm very concerned about our 4/5 positions. We'll be better next year, which will be great. But, I'm mostly looking forward to the comments ceasing that are riddled with excuses about inexperience.

[VULB#62]

Lots come down to the 5 next year. The Loyola freshman is a monster. I watched him for only one half today, but he plays possessed. I was impressed.  I watched his eyes when I could and they defined intensity. I watched him scratch and claw for rebounding position. I then compared that to our 5s. And I have decided, in my limited experience, that this is what separates him from our 5s: INTENSITY. Wanting to get that next rebound. Wanting to block out any opposing rebounder. Wanting to receive the ball low and dominate. I do not think any of that is in the DNA of our 5s at this point. At the level we are are playing, they have to change or they need to leave. I may be way off but our 5 position is at the most passive it has been in years. And I include last year. Last year AP posting up down low took pressure off tbem to do it.
. 

[talksalot]

I thought Helm wasn't coming aboard until 2020.

you may be right... I heard he has a mission-trip-requirement that will keep him off the court...

[Billy Co]

The two 7-foot centers need to develop into better rebounders and Smits needs to get better on the defensive end.

I hope Marty is able to play some Power Forward next season. If he's unable to play the 4 with the 7 footers one day then minutes could be tough to come by for him. Marty seems very slow so he may be challenged defensively in the MVC.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/970850337656594438

Matt Lottich on last-place Valparaiso men's basketball: 'We have to get job done'
Michael Osipoff
Post-Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-valparaiso-st-0306-20180305-story.html

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/971178811185422336

Musings from the Madness: A year in the Missouri Valley Conference
Paul Oren
Mar 6, 2018

http://www.nwitimes.com/blogs/sports/inside-vu-sports/musings-from-the-madness-a-year-in-the-missouri-valley/article_bc7a7c0e-218d-11e8-8ed1-dfe067e74f54.html

[bbtds]

Very well written article about the Missouri Valley and Arch Madness by Mr. Oren. I very much concur that Valpo fans need to embrace Arch Madness and spend all four days watching exciting basketball at the Scottrade Center whether Valpo makes it to the championship game or not. Except for two contests in that whole tournament there was an exciting ending to all the games.

[vu72]

Extremely well written and very entertaining read.  Looking forward to making it to Arch Madness next year.

[VU2014]

Paul's article sort of went viral among Valley fans.

[VULB#62]

Paul's article sort of went viral among Valley fans.

If so, it's good conference membership relations for us.  Thanks, Paul.  I, too, enjoyed the whole write-up.  I especially liked the direct and implied comparaisons between a solid conference like the MVC, which knows how to get the job done, and our former conference affiliation.  What I also keyed into was the concept that Arch Madness is the MVC version of the NCAA finals in the eyes of MVC fans.  Great way to look at it.

[VU2014]

If so, it's good conference membership relations for us.  Thanks, Paul.  I, too, enjoyed the whole write-up.  I especially liked the direct and implied comparaisons between a solid conference like the MVC, which knows how to get the job done, and our former conference affiliation.  What I also keyed into was the concept that Arch Madness is the MVC version of the NCAA finals in the eyes of MVC fans.  Great way to look at it.

I enjoyed it too but I'm not sure how good it is for conference relations, because our dirty laundry was aired and our off the court issues were hinted at. I'm not faulting Paul for referencing it because he's being blatantly honest. Just a great article. It makes me want to go to Arch Madness even more next year and I hope our fan-base embraces the concept of traveling to a neutral site tournament.

"I've written, tweeted and spoken on Union Street Hoops about attendance issues and that is something that Valparaiso needs to address. How? Your guess is as good as mine. Facility upgrades? Better halftime entertainment? Better sound system? Better parking? Better music being played over better sound system? Pep band that plays new music? Students that sit in the student section? Students that stand in the student section? Better non-conference opponents? More Saturday night home games?"

http://www.nwitimes.com/blogs/sports/inside-vu-sports/musings-from-the-madness-a-year-in-the-missouri-valley/article_bc7a7c0e-218d-11e8-8ed1-dfe067e74f54.html

[valpopal]

One benefit I especially appreciate often in Paul's articles is the way he injects thoughts and perspectives expressed on this board into his writing. Because he is an active and conscientious participant in this forum, he is able to air our concerns and viewpoints in his newspaper pieces, which are more public and get the attention of those who may not be regular readers of messages posted here.

[VU2014]

One benefit I especially appreciate often in Paul's articles is the way he injects thoughts and perspectives expressed on this board into his writing. Because he is an active and conscientious participant in this forum, he is able to air our concerns and viewpoints in his newspaper pieces, which are more public and get the attention of those who may not be regular readers of messages posted here.

But will it do anything to put pressure on the power that be to make significant improvements? Maybe it will. I know members of the athletics department subtle into this message board occasionally. Maybe Paul's articles reach a President Heckler's desk or maybe a board member stumbles across them. Or maybe it reaches a wealthy influential donor.

I think another take away I took away from the article was this, "My hope is that Valparaiso's fans truly embraces Arch Madness in a way that they didn't embrace Motor City Madness. The Crusaders had by far the lowest number of fans in St. Louis this year, which is to be expected given the last place finish. There was a fan bus and I've heard no more than a dozen people made the trip. This isn't anything new, Valparaiso's fans hardly showed up to Detroit either, and those teams won conference championships. What is it going to take to get a strong showing at a conference tournament? I talked to a lot of fans in St. Louis and they all told me that Arch Madness is their NCAA tournament. As I write this I'm siting on the Amtrak heading back to Chicago and I've seen fans wearing Illinois State, Loyola, Southern Illinois, Bradley and Indiana State gear, just in my car alone. One couple told me they stay at the same hotel every year and they haven't missed an Arch Madness in 19 seasons. Their team got eliminated on Friday night. They stayed the rest of the weekend."

Is a large majority of the  fan-base going to embrace traveling to St. Louis for the Conference Tournament? I feel like Valpo fans never embraced Motor City Madness in Detroit because of the way LeCrone and HL HQ took the Conference tournament away from us when we were winning Regular season Conference Championships and we became accustom to hosting them for a small stretch after Butler left. I feel like there was some bitterness. Another thing to consider is the quality of basketball Top to bottom is so much better in the MVC compared to the HL. At MCM all I cared for was our team and you couldn't pay me to sit down and watch a YSU and Cleveland State and let alone get me to pay to watch that. That's just another significant upgrade about Arch Madness. Arch Madness seems like it's extreme well run and sounds like a awesome environment. MCM was not so much.

Beyond just being in contention how can the University build the excitement and the cultural expectation for fans/students to travel to Arch Madness every year? Maybe if our fan's felt like this was our March Madness every season it would be more fully embraced.

I've heard when we were in the old Mid-Con the Conference Tournament was on a neutral site. Was it a well attended event for Valpo fans? It looks like it was hosted all over the place over the years: Rosemont, Illinois, Valparaiso (1995), Moline, Illinois (1996-99),    Fort Wayne, Indiana (2000-02), Kansas City, Missouri (2003-04), and Tulsa, Oklahoma (2005-08). Once Valparaiso left the Mid-Con and it turned into the Summit League it's been hosted in Sioux Falls, South Dakota ever since, because the Dakota schools run that conference now.

[justducky]

No offense to Max but I don't really view him as an impact player. He's a very solid roleplayer but not on the level of Tevonn or what I expect Fazekas Freeman-Liberty and Sackey to be.

Because of our glaring need for help at the 4 I would expect Fazekas from day one to be a higher impact player than Max. Judging the potential of incoming freshmen is always tricky but I am generally expecting Freeman-Liberty to meet or exceed the Max level comparison by his junior year. I don't know how to gauge Sackey but I am expecting him to play significant minutes and keep us at the edge of our seats.

Taking these 3 players as a group brings the hope that their 2019-20 contributions might exceed what we now lose with the graduation of Tevonn and Max. That with the further development of other team members paints a pretty rosy picture.

[vu72]

No offense to Max but I don't really view him as an impact player. He's a very solid roleplayer but not on the level of Tevonn or what I expect Fazekas Freeman-Liberty and Sackey to be.

Because of our glaring need for help at the 4 I would expect Fazekas from day one to be a higher impact player than Max. Judging the potential of incoming freshmen is always tricky but I am generally expecting Freeman-Liberty to meet or exceed the Max level comparison by his junior year. I don't know how to gauge Sackey but I am expecting him to play significant minutes and keep us at the edge of our seats.

Taking these 3 players as a group brings the hope that their 2019-20 contributions might exceed what we now lose with the graduation of Tevonn and Max. That with the further development of other team members paints a pretty rosy picture.

I expect Javon to be just like Tevonn and Alec and start every game during his Valpo career.  NOT saying he is the next Alec but I do think that he will in fact keep people on the edge of their seats with his ability to drive the lane and flat out fly.