Valparaiso Men's Basketball hires Emanuel Dildy as an Assistant Coach!

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/882689983999553536
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/882690080204349440

Emanuel Dildy Joins Valpo Men's Basketball Coaching Staff
Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Valparaiso University men's basketball head coach Matt Lottich announced today that Emanuel Dildy has joined the Crusader coaching staff as an assistant coach. A Chicago native, Dildy brings power conference and Missouri Valley Conference coaching experience to the Valpo bench as the Crusaders prepare for their inaugural season of MVC play.

"We are extremely excited and blessed with Coach Dildy's addition to our staff," said Lottich. "Coach Dildy brings a tremendous amount of experience to our program as we join the Missouri Valley Conference. He helped Loyola make the transition from the Horizon League to the MVC, and he was instrumental in putting together a roster which has improved that program greatly."

Dildy spent last season coaching in the Southeastern Conference, as he was a member of the Missouri staff as an assistant coach. Prior to arriving at Mizzou, Dildy worked for three seasons (2013-16) as an assistant coach at Loyola, where he helped coach the 2014 MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year in Milton Doyle.

Dildy also spent one season (2012-13) as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Eastern Illinois, as he broke into the Division I coaching ranks. Dildy's coaching career started at Kennedy-King College in Chicago, where he served as an assistant coach for two seasons (2008-10) before spending two seasons as head coach (2010-12).

"Coach Dildy has proven to be a great recruiter with deep Chicago ties," said Lottich. "He will also help greatly with our player development on and off the court. I know he is excited to be at Valpo and to help continue to build on our championship tradition."

Dildy played for two seasons at New Mexico State before transferring to Eastern Illinois, where he was an All-Ohio Valley Conference selection as a senior. After graduating from EIU in 2005, Dildy played professionally in Germany for two years and stateside for one season in the International Basketball League before embarking on his coaching career.

[jloose128]

Been waiting to hear who this third assistant coach was going to be, that's a quality hire! Someone who is familiar with the MVC, Loyola, the Midwest, and he just spent a year in the SEC. Not bad.

[crusader05]

Good to see we got someone with Chicago recruiting ties as that's one big thing we lost with Powell gone.

[vu72]

Sounds like a wonderful pick!

[VU2014]

Great article about Coach Dildy.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2ed245c9-53e1-5b3d-8467-32220583c0a8.html

[vu72]

youtube interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_KcaaBpox8

[Valpo29]

Seems like a great hire. Love having a coach with his recruiting ties to Chicago and it sounds like he is a very good coach as well. Well done.

[bbtds]

I remember him being pretty average as a player in the early 00's. Eastern Illinois had moved on from the Mid-Con by his final year, I believe, when Valpo played them down in Charleston, IL. EIU has been in the lower part of the Ohio Valley for a while now. It was 1996 that the Panthers moved to the OVC where they have been for 21 years if you can believe it. Dildy's college coach was Rich Samuels, who some will remember from EIU and his Mid-Con days.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Illinois_Panthers_men%27s_basketball

[vu84v2]

Dildy may be a good guy and may be a good recruiter, but Missouri had been a complete disaster during the time he was an assistant. Hard to get excited about someone who is coming from such a dismal program.

[crusader05]

Well the fact that he's leaving after a year my indicate that he didn't want to be apart of that program either so I'm not gonna hold it against him.

[VU2014]

Dildy may be a good guy and may be a good recruiter, but Missouri had been a complete disaster during the time he was an assistant. Hard to get excited about someone who is coming from such a dismal program.

Well the fact that he's leaving after a year my indicate that he didn't want to be apart of that program either so I'm not gonna hold it against him.

Coach Dildy was there for less then one year. Can't blame dysfunction on an assistant thats been there for less then a year.

He was let go when Cuonzo got hired and made Michael Porter Sr the highest paid assistant coach in College Basketball... who just so happens to be the father of Michael Porter Jr who was the consensus Top recruit in the nation... and also has another son in HS who is a highly ranked recruit. Shady as can be.

I don't think getting letting go from that staff is a bad look at all. He has a pretty great reputation as a coach and particularly as a recruiter in Chicago. He was pretty important for Loyola landing Chicago talent in his short time there.

[underdawg]

I really haven't followed Dilby's Career so can only speculate in general--Missouri was (and to a certain extent is) a power 5 team mess for other reasons than Dilby--I think he will prove to be a very good Chicago Area recruiter, especially for talent that will help Valpo thrive if they continue to have great floor coaching and player development.

[bbtds]

I really haven't followed Dilbdy's Career so can only speculate in general--Missouri was (and to a certain extent is) a power 5 team mess for other reasons than Dilbdy's-I think he will prove to be a very good Chicago Area recruiter, especially for talent that will help Valpo thrive if they continue to have great floor coaching and player development.

[VU2624]

Dildy may be a good guy and may be a good recruiter, but Missouri had been a complete disaster during the time he was an assistant. Hard to get excited about someone who is coming from such a dismal program.

You think an assistant coach is all that much of a contributor to a disastrous one year program in which that was his only year there?

[Just Sayin]

Stop the speculation about this guy. None of you know Diddly about him, good or bad.

[bbtds]

Stop the speculation about this guy. None of you know Diddly about him, good or bad.

All I mentioned was the kind of player he was in college at EIU. So you are correct that I know Diddly about Dildy as a coach but I didn't speculate about his coaching ability.

[VUGrad1314]

Stop the speculation about this guy. None of you know Diddly about him, good or bad.

We as fans may not know much about him but simple research the following:


1. He's from Chicago and has experience both as a head coach and  assistant there. That means the notion that he has strong ties to the recruiting scene there is probably true, or at least not far-fetched


2. His time with Loyola gave him experience with a program in our same position (transitioning from the Horizon League to the Missouri Valley) No doubt he has wisdom and insights to share that will help Valpo get the most out of these critical first few years in the conference.  This will help  speed up our adjustment period , smooth out our transition, and keep the program's momentum moving forward.


3. Loyola made strides in recruiting and on the court during his time there, and while the move to the Missouri Valley was probably the biggest reason for this, it seems certain that his impact was greater than zero or Missouri wouldn't have bothered hiring him even in their state of disarray 


4. His experience at the  P5 level that he gained at Mizzou may open up scheduling opportunities and is a selling point to recruits. He also  likely knows the  caliber of athlete that fits at each kind of school  and may help us pull in some recruits that are between P5 and mid major level


We don't know exactly what he will bring but there is a lot to like on his resume. We should be excited about this hire and be more than willing to give Coach Dildy a chance.

[Just Sayin]

My diddly comment was directed towards this comment below. Should have been clear about that:

"Dildy may be a good guy and may be a good recruiter, but Missouri had been a complete disaster during the time he was an assistant. Hard to get excited about someone who is coming from such a dismal program"