Game #2 - Trinity Christian Monday November 13 at the ARC 7pm

[VULB#62]

Jeez, we are playing the youngsters so early  And they are impressive.  So.... are we seeing the future?

[VULB#62]

Smits really is showing some confidence around the basket.  Love it.

[VU2014]

Yeah these Non-D1s have been well coached groups. Nothing is coming easy for both teams. This doesn't look like the same team that played RMU. The offense looked to come easier when Burton and Sorolla were active.

[VULB#62]

Smits is also much more aware defensively. Not to focus on Derrik, but he is 7'2"

[VULB#62]

PA 19 points at the 3 minute H1 point.  Good defense or opponent incompetence?

Sorry, but these kinds of gamnes don't tell me anything because, I guess I am not that sophisticated.

[VULB#62]

I am embarassed to say in that in only two games I have developed a man-crush on Marcus.  He is electric. And he always seems to be happy and just loving basketball.  Watch him, he might grow into a real star for us.

I want to go back to some social media that this kid posted before he even took a shot as a Valpo BB player.  They were all about (1) feeling underestimated, (2) loving the game, (3) wanting to be better and better (4) provng people wrong and (5) playing well at a D-I level. 

[crusadermoe]

Hazen is more athletic than I realized.  He is quick on his feet and has some serious hops.  Very impressive.

[VULB#62]

Agree.  He just hasn't had the opportunities to showcase that.  He is SMOOTH.

[a3uge]

This is really difficult to watch.

[FieldGoodie05]

Hey Paul, in all seriousness...what type of $$ are we looking at to upgrade the game audio for TV?

I'm not talking about the arena sound system, thinking that's separate?

[VUGrad1314]

Repeat after me: Our program is beyond these terrible games. Please stop scheduling them.

[a3uge]

I feel like I'm watching a long tryout - there's so many different lineups getting rotated in.

Not sure what the rotation will look like come meaningful games. I'm guessing Linssen and Kiser move to the end of the bench, and McMillan  sees very limited action. I hope Golder gets a ton of minutes. The team just plays better and more intense when he's on the court. Max shouldn't be getting a ton of minutes... he sticks out on a team full of very athletic dudes.

[vu72]

Some observations:  Bakari is the real deal.  Markus is the REAL deal.  Derrik has come a LONG way.  Kiser is still a valuable part of the team.  Tevonn is STARTING to feel his role. Lissen is a tough kid. Where are the minutes going to go when Joe and J come back?

[VUGrad1314]

Encouraging early returns. I think the next six games are going to tell us a lot about what kind of team we may have this year. If it turns out that our early optimism is well placed we could be in for a special year.

[M]

I think all we can determine from these two games is that Valpo dominated the teams they should dominate. These opponents were tiny in size and stature and we exploited their weaknesses.

Excited to see some tougher competition from here on out.

[valpopal]

Two more takeaways from tonight's game: 1) not only is Golder fun to watch because of his hops, but he also has a good touch making free throws, which will become important when other teams must resort to fouling him out of frustration or simple inability to match his athleticism; 2) Linssen has become a fan favorite for his constant hustle and enthusiasm, and he may rival Diebler's reputation for most times spent falling to the floor per minute played, though Jake's were usually dives for the ball and Marten's are mostly due to energetic but awkward contact.

[VU2014]

Some observations:  Bakari is the real deal.  Markus is the REAL deal.  Derrik has come a LONG way.  Kiser is still a valuable part of the team.  Tevonn is STARTING to feel his role. Lissen is a tough kid. Where are the minutes going to go when Joe and J come back?

I'm sure Joe and J will get sizable portions of the minutes still. Both are guaranteed starters from sound of it. Smits looks like he's improved on a lot of little things that have added up. I still want to see how he looks against bigger and better competition.

The real minutes question for me is how is coach is going to divide up the minutes at the 4. All 3 of them have showed some good qualities but can they be consistent and reliable against better competition. I hope so.

[justducky]

Repeat after me: Our program is beyond these terrible games. Please stop scheduling them.

I not only forgot about this exhibition but also chose not to bother viewing it at home.    That would never have happened with ANY D-1 opponent. The season starts at SIUE and I will be watching.

[bbtds]

I assume you could also ask him to send or give you Windy City Bulls tickets?

Does Brandon have to sit in a section reserved for former Michigan State players?

The transfer is water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned. Sucked that he didn't stay that last year but oh well. He's still one of our own.

Yes, as a fellow alum, he is one of your own. He was the star player on 2 excellent Crusader teams and cares enough to come back and watch his former team play. I'd say that speaks pretty well for bwood. No doubt current players will enjoy rubbing elbows with a former Valpo star and current pro. I hope to catch a glimpse myself.

Any bwood sightings?

[VU2014]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2jtUIz8fvw

[VU2014]

Crusaders blow out another non-D-I opponent to improve to 2-0
Paul Oren Times Correspondent
Nov 13, 2017

VALPARAISO — Now the real games begin.

The Valparaiso men's basketball team dominated another non-Division I program on Monday night, routing Trinity Christian 83-46 at the Athletics-Recreation Center as the Crusaders ended the tune-up portion of their schedule.

Valparaiso will travel to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Wednesday night and will play nothing but Division I programs for the rest of the season.

............ http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/crusaders-blow-out-another-non-d-i-opponent-to-improve/article_3d6456a7-448e-52ac-a471-0334ec992df9.html




Derrik Smits steps up as starter as Valparaiso rolls past Trinity Christian
Michael Osipoff Post-Tribune
Nov 13, 2017

Derrik Smits has taken advantage of his opportunity to start Valparaiso's first two games.

The 7-foot-2 sophomore center had a career-high eight rebounds in Monday night's 83-46 win over Trinity Christian at the Athletics-Recreation Center. He also had 10 points, making all five of his shots.

.......... http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-trinity-christian-valparaiso-st-1114-20171113-story.html

[ValpoDad89]

Repeat after me: Our program is beyond these terrible games. Please stop scheduling them.

I feel you 1314 but here's the rub, you have x amount of home games that you need to schedule. Given Valpo has been a post season team much of the past few seasons with a deep NIT run coupled with being a tough out when they made the tourney a few years ago, you are not going to get many higher quality D1 schools wanting to play us at the ARC, then you take the lower level D1 schools 250-350 RPI and they can take games against higher paying P5 / high mid major schools. I'm sure Valpo would've rather scheduled someone better or more competitive as its in their best interest.


In the end it's about pay days for the lower schools and bigger schools do not want to come to Valpo. See FSU amd St. Mary's from the NIT run. Valpo's recent and historic success actually hurts them in this regard.

The positive I take from this is it allows Valpo a couple extra games to work on rotations especially considering all the new pieces this year. This can end up being s blessing in disguise when all is said and done as chemistry and confidence is being developed. SIUe will be another good step in the progression of this team especially considering it is a road game as well. Time will tell....

[valpopal]

I assume you could also ask him to send or give you Windy City Bulls tickets?

Does Brandon have to sit in a section reserved for former Michigan State players?

The transfer is water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned. Sucked that he didn't stay that last year but oh well. He's still one of our own.

Yes, as a fellow alum, he is one of your own. He was the star player on 2 excellent Crusader teams and cares enough to come back and watch his former team play. I'd say that speaks pretty well for bwood. No doubt current players will enjoy rubbing elbows with a former Valpo star and current pro. I hope to catch a glimpse myself.

Any bwood sightings?

Hard to miss him since he was sitting in the front row center of the chairbacks. Good to see him back! However, it did seem appropriate that he left the game early with about one-fourth of the way yet to go. 

[humbleopinion]

Hard to miss him since he was sitting in the front row center of the chairbacks. Good to see him back! However, it did seem appropriate that he left the game early with about one-fourth of the way yet to go. 

As he left, I wished that I had a good excuse to walk out with him.  Three games like this one is too many.

I did appreciate the fact that Derrick demonstrated the ability to shoot bunnies quickly after the pass.  So often big men grab the ball make a fake and then power the ball to the basket.  Last night he caught it high and released a shot before the defense could react.

[bbtds]

I did appreciate the fact that Derrik demonstrated the ability to shoot bunnies quickly after the pass.  So often big men grab the ball make a fake and then power the ball to the basket.  Last night he caught it high and released a shot before the defense could react.

Of course he was also able to stand flat footed without #50 for Trinity Christian in the game and get a put back. He probably won't get that advantage in most of the remaining games.