MBB 2018-19

[VU2014]

Some JFL highlights. I can't wait to see this kid play this upcoming season.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGnw8gvn1Tk

[vu72]

Some great moves to the hoop.  Now imagine Marcus and Javon going to hoop while this guy waits at the three point line:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK39pHEufvA

[FieldGoodie05]

Some JFL highlights. I can't wait to see this kid play this upcoming season.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGnw8gvn1Tk

We have many reasons for excitement this year.  Great share 2014

[historyman]

I think it was expressed by another poster on this board that we should let JLF grow on his own and not try and rush his development. After seeing Javon play in open gym and competing hard against the other players I saw a desire to succeed that really overwhelms this kid's persona. At the same time you could see some deep frustration rear it's ugly head. During a portion of the skill set instruction by Coach Lottich Javon was picked to shoot the free throws which came with a lot of pressure because if you missed a free throw the whole team had to do an extra wind sprint the length of the floor. You could tell when Javon missed his second free throw he became extremely upset and slammed the ball to the floor and then he did his wind sprint. There is a great desire to live up to his reputation. When he finally made his third free throw attempt there was great relief on his face. He wants to perform well and to expectations every time he hits the court.

[VU2014]

Let them know you want a piece on Valpo Basketball

https://twitter.com/mid_madness/status/1019573884423671808

[VUGrad1314]

Let them know you want a piece on Valpo Basketball https://twitter.com/mid_madness/status/1019573884423671808

I doubt we'll get any kind of coverage from them (especially positive) unless it's totally earned and they have no choice. I wouldn't be surprised if we're almost totally blackballed by them and they totally hate us after last year when certain fans whined about not getting enough coverage for starting 8-0 in that layup drill we called the first 2\3 of our nonconference schedule.

[IrishDawg]

Let them know you want a piece on Valpo Basketball https://twitter.com/mid_madness/status/1019573884423671808

I doubt we'll get any kind of coverage from them (especially positive) unless it's totally earned and they have no choice. I wouldn't be surprised if we're almost totally blackballed by them and they totally hate us after last year when certain fans whined about not getting enough coverage for starting 8-0 in that layup drill we called the first 2\3 of our nonconference schedule.

Why would you think that?  I don't get the impression that mid-major madness is in the business of denying coverage to teams if they deserve it.  If Valpo does well against West Virginia and Western Kentucky or starts out well in the MVC, they'll get coverage.

[VUGrad1314]

Let them know you want a piece on Valpo Basketball https://twitter.com/mid_madness/status/1019573884423671808

I doubt we'll get any kind of coverage from them (especially positive) unless it's totally earned and they have no choice. I wouldn't be surprised if we're almost totally blackballed by them and they totally hate us after last year when certain fans whined about not getting enough coverage for starting 8-0 in that layup drill we called the first 2\3 of our nonconference schedule.

Why would you think that?  I don't get the impression that mid-major madness is in the business of denying coverage to teams if they deserve it.  If Valpo does well against West Virginia and Western Kentucky or starts out well in the MVC, they'll get coverage.

I got a strong sense from last year that the people who run that site have a vindictive streak.

[underdawg]

Well College sports madness has you guys at #112 in their "Top 144" countdown--I think that's really under rating you, For sure you'll finish in top 100 at least. UNI is below you at #129

[VU2014]

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/16410

I'm not sure how much I trust their opinion of the team. To be fair ranking 144 teams and giving a credible opinion/analysis for all of them is a tall task. They lost me when they didn't highlight Golder as one of the Top 3 returners and when they said: "Micah Bradford has played an important role for this team over the last two seasons". Micah was a net negative on the team the first half of last season and his freshman year. I'm so down on Micah's abilities on the court, in a odd/corky way it makes me feel like he's destined to have a big year.

I'm excited for this season and I'm interested to see how look. Mid-pack is a fair expectation for this season. I expect the team to be a heck of a lot more consistent. It's going to drive me nuts if we continue to consistently have those 5 minutes scoreless streaks.

[underdawg]

Yeh, it's hard to believe for example that UNI has taken such a big fall. Hopefully 4 at least teams are well into the top 100--and 5-6 before the year is through

[IrishDawg]

Really depends on the ranking system, but if you're more of an analytic kind of guy like me (since the schedule doesn't determine where a team is ranked, just how well they played against who they played), the last time the MVC had 5-6 teams rated in the top 100 of kenpom was the 2012-2013 season.  Last year was the low watermark for the league as Loyola was the only top 100 team at the end of it all, but here's how many teams the MVC has had in the top 100 at the end of each season, along with the number of bids the league received.  Generally the college sports madness polls are fun because it's the offseason, but I don't think it's any more accurate than any other human poll.  Even good publications like Blue Ribbon will butcher the analysis of some mid-major programs.

2002 - 2 teams in the top 100 (2 NCAA bids)
2003 - 3 (2)
2004 - 5 (2)
2005 - 5 (3)
2006 - 6 (4)
2007 - 8 (2)
2008 - 6 (1)
2009 - 3 (1)
2010 - 4 (1)
2011 - 3 (1)
2012 - 5 (2)
2013 - 6 (2)
2014 - 2 (1)
2015 - 3 (2)
2016 - 3 (2)
2017 - 3 (1)
2018 - 1 (1)

[a3uge]

Really depends on the ranking system, but if you're more of an analytic kind of guy like me (since the schedule doesn't determine where a team is ranked, just how well they played against who they played), the last time the MVC had 5-6 teams rated in the top 100 of kenpom was the 2012-2013 season.  Last year was the low watermark for the league as Loyola was the only top 100 team at the end of it all, but here's how many teams the MVC has had in the top 100 at the end of each season, along with the number of bids the league received.  Generally the college sports madness polls are fun because it's the offseason, but I don't think it's any more accurate than any other human poll.  Even good publications like Blue Ribbon will butcher the analysis of some mid-major programs.

2002 - 2 teams in the top 100 (2 NCAA bids)
2003 - 3 (2)
2004 - 5 (2)
2005 - 5 (3)
2006 - 6 (4)
2007 - 8 (2)
2008 - 6 (1)
2009 - 3 (1)
2010 - 4 (1)
2011 - 3 (1)
2012 - 5 (2)
2013 - 6 (2)
2014 - 2 (1)
2015 - 3 (2)
2016 - 3 (2)
2017 - 3 (1)
2018 - 1 (1)

The MVC had only one team in the top 100 because the league played each other evenly.

[IrishDawg]

The MVC had only one team in the top 100 because the league played each other evenly.

That definitely had something to do with it, but the bigger reason was how the league performed in the non-conference.  With Kenpom's ratings, even if you aren't playing power programs, teams can still move up in the ratings if they beat their opponents by his predicted spread for the game (his normally align very closely with what Vegas does).

[VUGrad1314]

So a big flaw with KenPom is that it doesn't really put a lot of weight into SOS even though it keeps track of it?

Also I am really surprised that Missouri State is not going to make the preseason top 144. (have to  assume that the last 4 MVC slots are going to the Illinois schools) I guess they have reservations about the Bears because of the coaching change. That's the only reason I can think of. They're putting together a really talented team in Springfield.

[VU2014]

Rob is a pretty in the know guy. Just hype or does he know something we don't know? I like Sackey's potential but starting lineup for a freshman PG seems like a stretch for me. Bakari is going to be a starter. I could see Sackey and Bakari playing together though. I honestly don't know what to expect from Sackey his freshman season. Has anyone seen how he looks in one of the skills sessions (practice)?

https://twitter.com/RobBehrend/status/1019715885647433728

[VUGrad1314]

If he's that good that quickly then we're in fantastic shape going forward and just may surprise some folks and make a run for the top 3 of the MVC.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/dreadedupG/status/1019796913552609280

[valpotx]

When did they take the old wood bleachers out of Hilltop?

[vu72]

When did they take the old wood bleachers out of Hilltop?

Not sure but part of the plan is /was to put a full wall up between the court and the softball hitting area above.

[historyman]

Rob is a pretty in the know guy. Just hype or does he know something we don't know? I like Sackey's potential but starting lineup for a freshman PG seems like a stretch for me. Bakari is going to be a starter. I could see Sackey and Bakari playing together though. I honestly don't know what to expect from Sackey his freshman season. Has anyone seen how he looks in one of the skills sessions (practice)?

[tweet]1019715885647433728[/tweet]

I was really impressed by Sackey's quickness in open court during open gym sessions. His athletic ability to leap when he gets near the basket is extremely impressive. Whether that equates into a starting spot at the beginning of the season in Coach Lottich's opinion is only conjecture on our part. I don't think it matters whether Sackey starts or not he will get plenty of playing time and if our opponents don't have a quick and good defender to match up with Daniel he will exploit the advantage. I see Sackey starting by the end of the season after he has acclamated to Div. I basketball.

[IrishDawg]

So a big flaw with KenPom is that it doesn't really put a lot of weight into SOS even though it keeps track of it?

It's a factor simply because it would impact the perceived point spread of a team's games during the season.  I'm not sure why that would be perceived as a flaw.  A team's schedule has little to do with their ability as a team.  That's why a team like St. Mary's can have an absolute crap schedule (196th) and still be rated pretty highly (32nd) because they beat their opponents in a way that would suggest they are the 32nd best team in the country. 

This is why if I were a mid-major school, I would be advocating hard to make this as big of a factor in NCAA tournament selection and seeding as possible.  Because then it wouldn't matter if you could get P5 programs to play you.  For example, in 2016 when Wichita State was a 10 seed and had to play Dayton and then Kentucky, the analytical ratings suggested they should have been a 2 seed going into the tournament.  But because of their schedule and their lack of "quality wins" that year, they got bumped down to a 10, which gave them harder matchups, which generally prevents a team from advancing as far as they could.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/1019969075831869440

[EddieCabot]

Rob is a pretty in the know guy. Just hype or does he know something we don't know? I like Sackey's potential but starting lineup for a freshman PG seems like a stretch for me. Bakari is going to be a starter. I could see Sackey and Bakari playing together though. I honestly don't know what to expect from Sackey his freshman season. Has anyone seen how he looks in one of the skills sessions (practice)?

https://twitter.com/RobBehrend/status/1019715885647433728

Wow!  Can't wait to see this guy play!

[valpotx]

Very cool for Marcus.  That can only help his development.