MVC Hoops: 2017-18

[vu72]

Fantastic win for Loyola. Hung tough the entire game and their guy made the shot of the tournament.

W for the MVC!!! Has Loyola had success in NCAA tournament in the past?

Sure have!  Won the whole thing in 1963!!  You mean other than that??   

[VUGrad1314]

Sweet 16 in 1985 as well.

[vu72]

Sweet 16 in 1985 as well.

[/b]


True but haven't been in the tournament since then.

[VUGrad1314]

Tonight definitively closes the debate on two things:

1. Loyola was a fantastic addition to the MVC and shows the tremendous quality and foresight of the conference leadership.
2. The move to the MVC was absolutely the right move for Valpo. This could be us in a couple years. Every MVC school needs to have this same mentality. This shows what belief and commitment to your program can accomplish.

[justducky]

Fantastic win for Loyola. Hung tough the entire game and their guy made the shot of the tournament.

W for the MVC!!! Has Loyola had success in NCAA tournament in the past?

Sure have!  Won the whole thing in 1963!!  You mean other than that??   

I remember listening to that game on the radio because I don't think it was even televised. I mean why else would dad and I and a couple of my brothers have been huddled around a radio? Ok yes we were a catholic family. 

[JD24]

Also, I'd think that MVC schools have a better chance at competing in the tournament no matter who they are which means more tournament money making it's way to Valpo even if they're not the ones making it to the tournament every year.

Or any year if we are not careful.  Big Big Big move up in competition means we better wear our big boy pants.  Because otherwise, welcome obscurity....

The thing is many of our previous teams could have always been competitive in the MVC. Valpo was 5-0 vs MVC teams the previous 3 year before joining the conference. Night in and night out, it's more competitive but it's not like our previous teams would be completely outclassed by most MVC teams. I'd be shocked and very disappointed if we are bottom dwellers in the MVC again next season. It was a rebuild year this year where we finished 6-12 without out our best scorer (Burton) and our best player was recovering from mono for a large part of the beginning of the 1st half of the conference season. This team could have very well have finished in the Top half of the league with Burton.

The Peters teams would all have been very competitive in the MVC. Timing of the move from a basketball competitiveness standpoint wasn't good as this was a weak Valpo squad and would have been in the HL as well. However you have to go when you have to go. It'll take a couple of years to move through the MVC but it likely would have in the HL as well. The MVC is clearly the better conference to be in.

[vufan75]

Interesting news re: Evansville Ryan Taylor. Wonder if he'd be interested in playing grad transfer year close to home, still in MVC at Valpo? Or if Valpo would have interest? He's from Michigan City I believe. Would pair nicely with Fazekas and take some pressure off JFL his frosh year. Would he qualify as a "home run" or is our need for a PF too great at this point?

Per twitter account of Jeff Goodman....
"Evansville guard Ryan Taylor told ESPN he will explore other options and possibility of transferring. Led the Missouri Valley in scoring this season at 21.2. Immediately eligible as a grad transfer."

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[VU2014]

First off I think he's going to land at a high major school but I wouldn't take Taylor because I wouldn't want to set a precedent of taking in other MVC Team's transfers. It's also rare to see in conference transfers, but it did happened in the MVC last season: Matt Chastain transferred from Loyola to Illinois State and redshirted last season. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I remember hearing they didn't have a scholarship for him so he paid out of pocket this season.

I just don't see it happening. Another thing to factor is that Taylor's offensive numbers are inflated because the system Evansville ran under Marty Simmons. Most of the offense ran through one key offensive player every season. He'll be a grad transfer so he can go wherever he wants with no restrictions but I wouldn't think he'll transfer here.

He should try and find the best fit possible and not just go somewhere where he'll be berried on the bench. Look at what happened to Mark Alstork this season... an absolute disaster of a grad transfer scenario. It probably hurt his pro prospects. He should have just stayed at Wright State...

[vufan75]

First off I think he's going to land at a high major school but I wouldn't take Taylor because I wouldn't want to set a precedent of taking in other MVC Team's transfers. It's also rare to see in conference transfers, but it did happened in the MVC last season: Matt Chastain transferred from Loyola to Illinois State and redshirted last season. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I remember hearing they didn't have a scholarship for him so he paid out of pocket this season.

I just don't see it happening. Another thing to factor is that Taylor's offensive numbers are inflated because the system Evansville ran under Marty Simmons. Most of the offense ran through one key offensive player every season. He'll be a grad transfer so he can go wherever he wants with no restrictions but I wouldn't think he'll transfer here.

He should try and find the best fit possible and not just go somewhere where he'll be berried on the bench. Look at what happened to Mark Alstork this season... an absolute disaster of a grad transfer scenario. It probably hurt his pro prospects. He should have just stayed at Wright State...

Good points.VU2014. I think our need at PF is far greater than at SG. I think our shooting guard position will be fine with Javon, Evelyn, and Golder (if necessary).

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[usc4valpo]

Loyola has had a great basketball history as their 1963 season says it all.

[VU2014]

It's been a while since Loyola has been good and if you talk to any of their alums they'll tell you the basketball culture was lost for quite a while but this season could be the start of a revival. They've been trying like hell to get members from the community to support the team and they have been unsuccessful for the most part up until their couple final few home games. They sold out Gentile for the first time years on their senior night. They were still really struggling to drive turnout this season. They've been very successful at driving the student turnout the last 2 seasons though. Loyola has received more publicity with Chicago sports media the last 2 weeks then they have the last 2 decades combined. I'm not even exaggerating. They've had an article on the front page of the Chicago Tribune pretty much every day for the last week. If Porter Moser sticks around they're going to receive a huge local recruiting boost from all of this. 

[usc4valpo]

I have to say that I am very happy for Loyola and their performance today. They have decent players and very poised and well coached. It's great for the MVC and it is great for Chicago college basketball which desperately needs a boost. It may also provide a spark in the behind of the DePaul administration to make desperately needed changes.

[VU2014]

Worth the read. The Journal Star's columnist Kirk Wessler that covers the Valley wrote about Bradley not accepting a Invitation to the CBI/CIT. Valpo turned down a invitation to the CBI and there was some debate if it was worth paying to play a few more games.

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20180315/wessler-bradley-basketball-wise-to-avoid-cbi-and-cit

[VU2014]

Worth the read. The Journal Star's columnist Kirk Wessler that covers the Valley wrote about Bradley not accepting a Invitation to the CBI/CIT. Valpo turned down a invitation to the CBI and there was some debate if it was worth paying to play a few more games.

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20180315/wessler-bradley-basketball-wise-to-avoid-cbi-and-cit

'Happening Hoops' is trying pick a fight with a very well respected MVC and HOF journalist, because he disagrees with his article. 

https://twitter.com/happeninghoops/status/974665523110793217
https://twitter.com/happeninghoops/status/974666211173773313
https://twitter.com/KirkWessler/status/974668993213747201

[VUGrad1314]

God I wish those guys would just shut up sometimes. They make Valpo students and fans look so bad every time they open their mouths. Bradley is a respected program with a rich tradition and a proud history in which they have accomplished much. They don't need some kid from the new team on the block telling them how to run a program. Frankly the attitude Wessler espouses in his article is the correct one for an MVC school to have. Our goals as programs should be an RPI comfortably inside the top 100 and an NIT berth at minimum.
Although I believe in the merits of additional games and practice time  Wessler's article was fair and raised many valid points worthy of consideration. Paying to play sucks and so does the competition most of the time. I suspect they didn't even read the article before spouting off. Great "journalism" guys. It's clear that these guys have no respect whatsoever for history, tradition, or for their elders within the profession. Once again these guys portray the Valpo fanbase in a bad light. This is AT LEAST the third time they've done so this year and it's starting to get upsetting.

[VU2014]

It just shows how broken the system is

https://twitter.com/ESPNLunardi/status/974299538197549058

[M]

Did they even do at large back then?

[JD24]

Did they even do at large back then?

In '79 there were 40 teams with 1-6 having first round byes and, for example, 7-10 and 8-9 playing for the pleasure of facing 1 and 2. That was they year St. John's and Penn beat Duke and North Carolina on the same day. They ended up playing each other in the Regional Final with Penn winning and eventually getting destroyed by Magic.

[vu72]

Loyola wins!!!  It sure is nice to have your conference teams actually win games and not just get close!! They are really a well coached team.   

[valpotx]

Moser will probably be gone now.  Nonetheless, congrats to Loyola!!

[VU2014]

Moser will probably be gone now.  Nonetheless, congrats to Loyola!!

I could see him sticking around for 1 more season. I could imagine he'll interview for a few jobs but if he doesn't find a fit this offseason or get the right offer he may just sign a massive extension (for this level) and wait till next offseason. No matter what he's going to get PAID. Maybe he signs a similar deal as Ben Jacobson ($1 million per year) this offseason with a nice buyout for Loyola. I'd imagine Loyola's President and AD have been on the phone with their biggest booster pleading for them to step up (which they have in the recent past with the Gentile reno/new practice facility).

Porter Moser:

[sliman]

Loyola President says they want to pay competitively to keep good people.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-loyola-porter-moser-haugh-20180316-story.html

[VU2014]

Pretty crazy to think how far they've come since the Horizon League days and since their first few seasons in the MVC. Side Note: that's a crazy amount of $ to spend on 4 CBI tournaments games...

https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/975163903306092549

[historyman]

Yeah I normally don't care what others think but I'd be lying if I didn't want us to put our best foot forward and show we belong this season to other Valley fans. Loyola was literally catching grief for 4 years for their subpar performance in the league. Now they're finally take that next step as a program this season after Porter Moser started recruiting at a higher level and their University really started investing in their program with renovations to Gentile and boosted their budget over time. He'll definitely be eating crow in the future once we get healthy and this young team gets more experience playing together under its belt.

And now Moser and the Ramblers have matched Valpo's best run ever with 2 wins in the Big Dance, which btw is very financially rewarding for the whole MVC. Maybe not quite the windfall that Wichita State's runs in the NCAA tournament did for the Valley but Doug Elgin has to be very satisfied with the way things turned out for the Valley this season after losing the Shockers.

[historyman]

I'd imagine Loyola's President and AD have been on the phone with their biggest booster pleading for them to step up (which they have in the recent past with the Gentile reno/new practice facility).

Who does Sister Jean know or has influenced with all her recent TV time to donate big bucks to Loyola's athletic budget for the head coaching salary? I think it was mentioned that Moser is a really great fit at Loyola. Those condos with Lake Michigan views on the beach in Rogers Park are certainly not cheap.