Game #1 - North Park University Vikings @ ARC Friday 11/10 7pm

[FieldGoodie05]

Bradford had three games in double figures last year and had a PER of 3.6. He goes 8-12 and has a career high and all of the sudden he's too selfish now.

According to Matt, Micah did exactly what he wants him to do:

"We recruited Micah for a lot of reasons; from the basketball side of it, he has a unique ability to score in bunches," Lottich said. "Our conversations with Micah have been to be a scorer. Be who you are. Time and score will dictate when you can be more aggressive. I was really pleased to see his offensive outburst today."

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/crusaders-open-season-with-rout-over-north-park/article_0927834b-2355-5da7-a4da-a82645d1b830.html#tracking-source=home-latest-1

I stand by my statement, in those possessions where he scored, majority were NO PASS SHOOT.  It's selfish, down to its core.  He is not a distributor, flat out will be lucky to get 2 assists a game in this mode.

You don't have to agree, but notice the sequences with him.  It's glaring once you take notice.

I'm still impressed with his nose for the rim.  It's his 3' behind the three point line shots that are most stomach clenching.  You can't tell us that those are high efficiency shots, he can score efficiently 1 game from that deep....but look for 29% avg by seasons end.  Only Stef Curry gets away with that today.

Micah is a nice pressure back up PG though.  Evelyn can distribute, according to Todd's color commentator partner, "7-9 apg" (Ha!).

I suppose Micah's selfish play became most noticeable in a game where our half court sets were missing entirely.  How do we develope players and half court Offense when he shoots before the shot clock strikes 20?

[wh]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyHtbvs3cx0

Kudos to whomever remedied the annoying background noise issue. 

[VULB#62]

Bradford had three games in double figures last year and had a PER of 3.6. He goes 8-12 and has a career high and all of the sudden he's too selfish now.

According to Matt, Micah did exactly what he wants him to do:

"We recruited Micah for a lot of reasons; from the basketball side of it, he has a unique ability to score in bunches," Lottich said. "Our conversations with Micah have been to be a scorer. Be who you are. Time and score will dictate when you can be more aggressive. I was really pleased to see his offensive outburst today."

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/crusaders-open-season-with-rout-over-north-park/article_0927834b-2355-5da7-a4da-a82645d1b830.html#tracking-source=home-latest-1

I stand by my statement, in those possessions where he scored, majority were NO PASS SHOOT.  It's selfish, down to its core.  He is not a distributor, flat out will be lucky to get 2 assists a game in this mode.

You don't have to agree, but notice the sequences with him.  It's glaring once you take notice.

I'm still impressed with his nose for the rim.  It's his 3' behind the three point line shots that are most stomach clenching.  You can't tell us that those are high efficiency shots, he can score efficiently 1 game from that deep....but look for 29% avg by seasons end.  Only Stef Curry gets away with that today.

Micah is a nice pressure back up PG though.  Evelyn can distribute, according to Todd's color commentator partner, "7-9 apg" (Ha!).

I suppose Micah's selfish play became most noticeable in a game where our half court sets were missing entirely.  How do we develope players and half court Offense when he shoots before the shot clock strikes 20?

Matt has stated that he wants  this to be an up-tempo team. Micah is up-tempo. That's for sure. Shooting 4 for 12 and hogging the ball is selfish. Shooting 8 for 12 as Micah did was in the flow of the of game as it evolved.

[FieldGoodie05]

Ok, I admit I seem to have swallowed a poison pill pertaining to Micah Bradford.  When he takes bad shot sequences, I take more notice than most.

Re-watched the game and mellowed out the tiniest bit.  Still took some bad shots, needs to learn that it's not high school anymore.  Lottich said this in post-game, in high school any shot Micah had was the best shot for his team.  THIS IS NOT HIGH SCHOOL MICAH.  Please take note of what coach tells you.

Still a fan of having "creators" like Micah on the team.  But this style of play is what keeps him as "first off the bench" mentality.

[valpolaw]

I'm excited to watch Golder for three more years.  I don't remember for certain, but I think it was after his dunk when he then came down on the defensive side and slapped the floor with both hands.  He brings a lot of intensity and I think teams in the past lacked that aspect.

I'm not ready to call Micah selfish.  I think there were a few three pointers he took that were too far out for my liking but thought he did a good job otherwise.     

[JD24]

Instant offense guys shoot. Deal with it.

[valpolaw]

As the old saying goes "shooters shoot".  Micah also appears to have put on some muscle over the off season.  There's a noticeable difference and that's good to see.   

[VUSL98]

Lincoln said about Grant: He fights.  This much can be said about Micah: He scores.  At the end of the game, it doesn't matter how many times you passed the ball, it only matters how many points you have.  We need points and Micah makes them.  I like this kid and hope he gets enough time  to develop. 

[bbtds]

Micah Bradford is not a team player.  Makes me sick watching him AT TIMES.

I don't agree with this. When you are making shots and passing your opponents on the floor with your bursts of speed you are helping the team and your teammates should be congratulating you on your superior play. When Alec Peters was scoring in the 30's every game and putting the team on his shoulders was it called "not being a team player?" These are Micah's strengths and he is using them to the best of his ability. 

[bbtds]

This team's FREE THROW shooting is going to drive me absolutely crazy if it doesn't get cleaned up by the end of the season. It is so out of character for Valpo teams. We were 5th in the nation last year. Today we were 29-46 from from charity strike 

Free throw shooting must improve! We probably won't get 46 FTs against MVC opponents but if we miss 10 to 15 FTs against Valley opponents it can cause us to lose in close Valley conference games.

[FieldGoodie05]

Micah Bradford is not a team player.  Makes me sick watching him AT TIMES.

I don't agree with this. When you are making shots and passing your opponents on the floor with your bursts of speed you are helping the team and your teammates should be congratulating you on your superior play. When Alec Peters was scoring in the 30's every game and putting the team on his shoulders was it called "not being a team player?" These are Micah's strengths and he is using them to the best of his ability.

We have a team with at least 5-scorers, in which several will be on the court at a time with Micah.  If Micah goes 4/12 (as pointed out earlier), his volume approach is a detriment.  If he takes volume shots at a clip similar to 8/12 (yes) he is playing in the flow of the offense.

The real concern would be if he takes some of last years approach, goes 4/12, and under utilizes his teammates.  These guys working hard in the defensive trenches, who are shooters, only to hustle back on offense and sit with their thumb up their ______, that's a problem.

Alec earned his volume, Micah has earned an ugly hair cut.  He is trending up, had a great % performance.

I'm glad to get others input here, helps to center my logic against the fan base.  Great to be in season all!!!  Baseball was dragging on too long...

[wh]

Freshmen and Sophomores played 154 of 200 minutes (77%) and contributed 71 of 88 points (81%).

I don't know much about Marcus' background story, but apparently he greatly elevated his game last year because he's no more a 2-Star player than Joe Burton is. This kid is a star in the making, and I don't mean 2 years from now.