Game #4 - Southeastern Louisiana Lions @ ARC 11/19/17 3PM Savannah Invitational

[VU2014]

Both teams are having a brutal offensive 1st half

[VU2014]

Halftime: Valparaiso 32, SELA 22

Not a great offensive game in that first half but it picked up a little bit at the end there. Burton & Smits were both solid offensively. Too many turnover (9).

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/932364253629206534


A very accurate statement from Paul. These games on Fall Break when the students aren't there make me nervous. There is also a ton of competition for eyeballs tonight with the NFL.
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/932348466688339969

[FieldGoodie05]

Halftime rant, apologies.

1) Smits and Sorolla are having great difficulty to start the season.  I want to chalk it up to our competition (small and athletic) but that's harder and harder to do.  I want to see how they fair against similar size, but I'm REALLY nervous with these two.

2) PF positionis young, so I will hold back my opinions today.

3) Thoroughly enjoying our steals and lock-down perimeter defense.  But why do we double on drives?  How many times can we give up easy layups on a Sorolla/Smits overhelp?  They leave their man wide open for the layup.  This is not their faults, as even world beating Vashil had this happen to him.  I'm flummoxed here, who can shed more light on our options in such scenarios?  It seems we are resigned to giving up 3-4 buckets a game with this over-help scenario.  Am I wrong on this point?

Appreciate y'alls thoughts...

[VU2014]

The Defensive rebounding has been piss poor at times this season. We can't be giving these second chances... its literally giving SELA a run right now.

The youth and inexperience of our power forwards are a legitimate concern right now. Once we start playing tougher competition we are going to need them to show more life offensively.

[VU2014]

Max Joseph needs to clean up his passes. He's getting a little careless and you can't have that from a point guard.

[FieldGoodie05]

Max Joseph needs to clean up his passes. He's getting a little careless and you can't have that from a point guard.

Big time agree here!  He's forcing things which his lack of athleticism can't backup.  Needs to be a calming (nuts and bolts) contributor.  Rebound, pass and defend.

[talksalot]

SELA loses to UL Monroe on Thursday night...

Prediction:
Valpo 85 SELA 52

Dee I don't like being this off.  83_50... shucks

[VUCPB alum]

This is probably the first time this season where we could actually see the depth come into play. For obvious reasons I wasn't happy with how close the game was for 30 minutes but we really did pour it on in the last half because everyone was rested

[vu72]

Nice win after a very slow start.  Derrik looks so much better than last year.  I wonder if we will see a new starting lineup of Derrik, Joe, Bakari, Marcus (at the 4) and Tevonn.

[VU2014]

Bravo to the Valpo bench. They really stepped up.

This game was closer then it looked for a large portion of this game. We really broke away in that second half. Bench guys like Derrik, Kiser, and Golder really were unsung heroes of this game. They brought energy and were strong today. Burton had a strong offensive night. A huge break away dunk.

It was interesting to see that coach was play Golder at the 4 at one point and he wasn't bad, but we're not going to be able to do that every game. We need Parker/McMillan/Linssen to bring a little to the table. They are very early in their careers but it would nice to see one of them step up a little bit. Parker is probably the most reliable on the defensive/rebounding side of the game but he's still figuring things out offensively which is somewhat expected.

Paul says it best here:
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/932376376413364224

[VULB#62]

I hope Matt is driving home that there are no "starters" just beginners.  This group rotates so deep that it machs nichts!  But in my mind Marcus is the purest athlete in the whole bunch.  What a find.  He finds ways, without forcing or playing out of the system, to make a difference whenever he is on the floor.

Kizer brought his lunch box (and a couple of treys)
Micah was explosive.
Derrik seems to be improving each game.
Jay seems so much smoother and runs the floor well.

SELAU averaged 80 ppg coming in and left scoring only 50.  Does Valpo play defense?

[justducky]

We are a long way from knowing just how good this team can be but everybody including the freshmen are meeting or exceeding my minimum expectations. The only downside to their performance to date is that my 5-3 November prediction is now looking just a wee bit shaky.  What in the world was I thinking or drinking

[valpolaw]

A lot of TOs but another blow out win. Expecting a similar result against Samford and then the weekend games with uncw and Kent state may be closer, but hoping we go undefeated in november.

We may not see it often but the line up of Tevonn, Markus, Bakari, Joe, and Derrik looked pretty lethal out there. 

[VUGrad1314]

Our own version of Golden State's "death" lineup perhaps?

[VULB#62]

A lot of TOs but another blow out win. Expecting a similar result against Samford and then the weekend games with uncw and Kent state may be closer, but hoping we go undefeated in november.

We may not see it often but the line up of Tevonn, Markus, Bakari, Joe, and Derrik looked pretty lethal out there.

4 real athletes who can run, shoot, rebound and play D, and a big who is improving in all of those phases. Not a bad bunch. Or ...... are they actually the "Bad Bunch"?

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/932380593110872064
https://twitter.com/AlBillets/status/932383507871158273
https://twitter.com/AlBillets/status/932383940572270597
https://twitter.com/AlBillets/status/932384262476660736
https://twitter.com/AlBillets/status/932384612181037057

[VU2014]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVz4AYzuJcg

[VU2014]

Reserves spark Valparaiso to blowout victory
Paul Oren Times Correspondent
Nov 19, 2017

VALPARAISO — Facing adversity for this first time this season, Valparaiso men's basketball coach Matt Lottich looked for a spark from an unlikely place.

The second-year coach went to his bench early in the second half on Sunday afternoon and the reserves helped turn a four-point lead into a 33-point rout as the Crusaders blasted Southeastern Louisiana 83-50 in the first game of the Savannah Invitational at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

.......... http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/reserves-spark-valparaiso-to-blowout-victory/article_19aeb820-9f85-58ea-be29-1bacdaa3bb45.html



No ordinary Joe: Burton powers Valparaiso past Southeastern Louisiana
Michael Osipoff
Post-Tribune
Nov 19, 2017

Valparaiso junior Joe Burton wasn't necessarily looking to score from the outset Sunday against Southeastern Louisiana.

But the 6-foot-6 swingman still had 18 points as the Crusaders pulled away for an 83-50 win at the Athletics-Recreation Center as part of the Savannah Invitational.

Burton shot 8-for-11, adding four rebounds and three assists. In his Valparaiso debut at Southern Illinois Edwardsville after serving his two-game suspension, the Oklahoma State transfer had seven points, all in the waning minutes.

.............. http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-southeastern-louisiana-valparaiso-st-1120-20171119-story.html

[valpo64]

Great defensive effort for the most part.  It still amazes me how Smits never works jumping for a rebound .  I thought our 2 bigs were very lacking in rebounding effort and effectiveness. When the 6-3 and 6-5 guys are outworking and out-rebounding  JS and DS, something is lacking.  Our 2 guys were by far the biggest guys on the court.  Smits at times appears to swat and tip rebounds rather than putting forth a good effort in grabbing them.  Smits did get better as the game progressed however. 

Today's game was VERY disappointing in a number of respects, especially in the following...our terrible sound system showed forth in all its glory today.   And the stand-in PA guy should have stayed home.  The scoreboard operations were a bust also.  I sure hope there were no MVC people there today because we looked like a bad Div 3 program.  Today we looked a long way from a MVC operation.  Come on Athletic Dept...let's get it together.  How long does it take to get these basic things in order?

[justducky]

Smits at times appears to swat and tip rebounds rather than putting forth a good effort in grabbing them.

Controlled swats are equal to controlled rebounds even if they are credited to someone else or show up as a team rebound. Personally I love them.     With his wingspan and downward angled court vision Derrik is going to produce a lot of them so you better start learning to like them. 

[VULB#62]

[tweet]932381545255579649[/tweet]

[valpotx]

I was big on Vashil during his early struggles, and remain big on Smits, as well.  These big guys were overlooked by bigger programs for a reason.  They had yet to grow into their bodies, and find out how to play against teams that use their height against them.  He will be a fantastic Crusader over the next 2 1/2 seasons.

[valpopal]

Today's game was VERY disappointing in a number of respects, especially in the following...our terrible sound system showed forth in all its glory today.

I agree. The PA system continues to sound like crap. However, when John Kiser sang "Sweet Caroline" on the big board during a timeout, the volume briefly hit the right level. Many years ago I worked as a sound man for rock bands, and on a very limited budget I could raise the sound level with a proper mix high enough to shake the buildings in which the concerts took place. I have also attended concerts in the ARC over the years that had great sound. Hell, the only thing I appreciated about the Family Express commercials last year was the loud sound level. I don't understand why the PA sound system can't be boosted and clear?

[VU2014]

I was big on Vashil during his early struggles, and remain big on Smits, as well.  These big guys were overlooked by bigger programs for a reason.  They had yet to grow into their bodies, and find out how to play against teams that use their height against them.  He will be a fantastic Crusader over the next 2 1/2 seasons.

Great point ValpoTX. Smits isn't a finished product right now but you can definitely tell there have been improvements from last year to this year. Big guys generally take the longest amount of time to develop. Smits and Vashil have two different skill set but I'd argue Smits is further along in his development then Vashil was when he was a Sophomore. For the most part of Vashil's first two years he looked like a 7 foot Bambi on the court and got into foul trouble. But you still could see the progression each year.

The rebounding skills are sometimes frustrating when I watch them, but that will get better with time. I'd say I've seen more progression from Smits then Sorolla thus far (its only been 2 games), although J had a heck of a post move today and you saw a glimpse of J's ultimate potential.

The field goal % from the bigs has been fantastic in the early going (against mostly shorter competition), particularly from Smits 17-21 on the season. Sorola 5-9 (1-3 today in 14 minutes).

The team only got to the foul line 10 times but was 9-10.

[wh]

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 11/19/2017 6:51:00 PM

Valparaiso Pulls Away from Lions Late in Savannah Invite

http://www.lionsports.net/news/2017/11/19/mens-basketball-valparaiso-pulls-away-from-lions-late-in-savannah-invite.aspx

QUOTES:
   Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner:
  "You have to give them credit, first of all. They are an outstanding team, very well-coached, huge. But I thought our guys fought tooth and nail. With 12 minutes left, it was anybody's game. I don't know at that point when they came down and hit a couple of 3s and it stretched the lead real quick, if that broke our back. I have to go back and look at the film to see kind of see what went on right there. I was disappointed with the way the game ended but I don't think anybody would think that was indicative of how the game was played."