MBB 2018-19

[vuny98]

We need to get these numbers up https://twitter.com/tipof_arrowhead/status/1088448722227335168?s=21

I'm surprised by the Evansville attendance.  What is it about Evansville that allows them to draw twice the fans that Valpo does?  The team certainly isn't better.  The university isn't larger.  I guess it must be that Evansville is a bigger city than Valpo?

We have had 1 decent game that was on a weekend as far as I can remember thus far at home... OOC home schedule wasn't great and most of those games were weekdays as well, and the one weekend game at home in conference thus far was decently attended but during a storm that likely stopped some from coming out.

I have no idea what the other teams schedules were like, but I assume that has to play a big role. If weather holds off, should have a good crowd tomorrow night.

[talksalot]

Evansville Population:  118,930 (2017)
Vanderburg County Population:  181,616 (2017)

Valparaiso Population 33,376 (2017)
Porter County Population:  168,404 (2017)

[E-Villan]

Remember, that is still only about half of what we were consistently averaging before the Marty Simmons abyss.

I do like the twitter trash talking between Bradley and UE.


The demographics of themselves really aren't an apple to apple comparison. Vanderburgh County is geographically very small. There is a sizeable amount of population in Warrick County that sits up against the county line..not to mention Henderson, KY across the river. Evansville is the hub city for about 500,000 people in a 35 mile radius.

The Region has more population, I believe somewhere around 700K in Indiana. Valparaiso is only a splintered part of that, not the hub. I guess the hub in essence is Chicago.

Peoria and Evansville compare very closely in population, demographics and in the fact both are mid-sized cities which dominate a tightly packed metropolitan area. Valparaiso is just a part of a much larger overall metro area. 

Without going through all of your facilities posts, and I apologize for bringing up a question that has already been discussed, but if a state of the art, 9-10K seat arena was built in a strategically favorable location in the Region, could Valpo get closer to the 5-6K range in attendance? From the outside looking in, I would think it is very possible.

[vuny98]

Without going through all of your facilities posts, and I apologize for bringing up a question that has already been discussed, but if a state of the art, 9-10K seat arena was built in a strategically favorable location in the Region, could Valpo get closer to the 5-6K range in attendance? From the outside looking in, I would think it is very possible.

I doubt it personally, my guess attendance would drop. To your earlier point, Valpo is on the outskirts of a much larger metropolitan area with many more options for entertainment, sports, etc. You won't draw many from the region like Evansville or Peoria may and students would be less likely to make a trek to an arena 10-20 miles outside of campus. I could be wrong, but there is more risk than reward there in my mind.

[bbtds]

I'm surprised by the Evansville attendance.  What is it about Evansville that allows them to draw twice the fans that Valpo does?  The team certainly isn't better.  The university isn't larger.  I guess it must be that Evansville is a bigger city than Valpo?

Good trivia question. I got this from my wife's new step-sister. My father-in-law recently got re-married and his new wife's daughter was a secretary to a former Evansville mayor. I'm just getting to know these new in-laws from this past Thanksgiving and Christmas. My father-in-law lives half-way between Evansville and Louisville directly on the Ohio River in Perry County (central time).

What was the name of University of Evansville before 1967?

AND

what was their nickname previous to the Purple Aces?

Moores Hill College, Evansville College
Pioneers

Do I win?

Yes, one more question, What other former rival of Valpo was once known as the Pioneers?

[bigmosmithfan1]

A good chunk of the difference, I'd imagine, is that Evansville has probably done a much better job of boosting season ticket sales than VU has. That leads to more consistent attendance figures in the stands and helps boost the boxscore for the lesser attended games.

The fact that every fan attending an Evansville game gets an actual seat might help with this.

[ValpoHoops]

I'm surprised by the Evansville attendance.  What is it about Evansville that allows them to draw twice the fans that Valpo does?  The team certainly isn't better.  The university isn't larger.  I guess it must be that Evansville is a bigger city than Valpo?

Good trivia question. I got this from my wife's new step-sister. My father-in-law recently got re-married and his new wife's daughter was a secretary to a former Evansville mayor. I'm just getting to know these new in-laws from this past Thanksgiving and Christmas. My father-in-law lives half-way between Evansville and Louisville directly on the Ohio River in Perry County (central time).

What was the name of University of Evansville before 1967?

AND

what was their nickname previous to the Purple Aces?

Moores Hill College, Evansville College
Pioneers

Do I win?

Yes, one more question, What other former rival of Valpo was once known as the Pioneers?

Oakland, when they moved up to D1

[bbtds]

I'm surprised by the Evansville attendance.  What is it about Evansville that allows them to draw twice the fans that Valpo does?  The team certainly isn't better.  The university isn't larger.  I guess it must be that Evansville is a bigger city than Valpo?

Good trivia question. I got this from my wife's new step-sister. My father-in-law recently got re-married and his new wife's daughter was a secretary to a former Evansville mayor. I'm just getting to know these new in-laws from this past Thanksgiving and Christmas. My father-in-law lives half-way between Evansville and Louisville directly on the Ohio River in Perry County (central time).

What was the name of University of Evansville before 1967?

AND

what was their nickname previous to the Purple Aces?

Moores Hill College, Evansville College
Pioneers

Do I win?

Yes, one more question, What other former rival of Valpo was once known as the Pioneers?

Oakland, when they moved up to D1

I'm glad you remembered. I forgot for a few hours. Yes, it is Oakland University in Rochester, MI. The Pioneers became the Golden Grizzlies in 1998.

[valporun]

Part of the resurgence of attendance at Evansville is because of the coaching change. I think the problems Valpo has are being looked at in terms of marketing, but there are ARC atmosphere issues that do need to looked into. #1 has to be the look of the ARC, it doesn't have ANY WOW factor for the fans to look forward to. We used to have the lights off during team intros, they don't do that anymore, and now the arena looks like it has no WOW to it. #2 is the sound system. It desperately needs upgrading, but that requires paying for sound engineers to come in and assess any cosmetic changes that need to made for a new sound system to be implemented into an old building. New sound systems would cause so much bouncing off the walls that fans would get irritated with how loud it becomes that even sound operators would have a hard time controlling it. #3 is possibly having the supports for the main court being permanently connected to the ceiling. When students don't want to be in the student section because the view of the game is blocked by the removable baskets, they've retreated to the mezzanine because they can see the flow of the action better. Remember Cameron Indoor Stadium has the baskets connected to the ceiling so views aren't obstructed. #4, and this is a stretch...getting the pep band to be less like the student section at Cal Tech, and more like an extension of the cheerleaders by leading cheers or being some extra voices to get the rest of the student section involved. The pep band isn't very big for various reasons, and I hope that changes. Whenever you see them in the background during free throws, they look bored, disinterested, and like they are only paying attention to the game when they are the featured action.

These are my two cents on the facilities issues that have been addressed. None of which require new seating or a new arena, but just some changes that need to be studied, and given some interest in.

[VU2014]

I just took a looked at Bakari's season game log stats and it's brutal... This season has been a big step back in terms of production. I'm not sure what's going on with his game. Injury? Mental? Maybe there is some kind of injury we won't find out about till after the season but it's been a really rough season for him other than a few games here and there.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/3911894/bakari-evelyn

[FieldGoodie05]

I just took a looked at Bakari's season game log stats and it's brutal... This season has been a big step back in terms of production. I'm not sure what's going on with his game. Injury? Mental? Maybe there is some kind of injury we won't find out about till after the season but it's been a really rough season for him other than a few games here and there.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/3911894/bakari-evelyn

He's a liability in my eyes and his attitude really grinds my gears...

[oklahomamick]

NCAA feels bad about all the bad luck we have had lately.  They have decided to grant Keith Carter and Jubril Adekoya a year of eligibility in which they stole.  Two studs that careers ended 1 year early.

[M]

Sounds like Micah is not going to be playing this year.  Wonder if he will ever wear a Crusader uniform again.  Hope for a full recovery for him soon.

[valpospartan]

[/quote]

Oakland, when they moved up to D1[/quote]

I'm glad you remembered. I forgot for a few hours. Yes, it is Oakland University in Rochester, MI. The Pioneers became the Golden Grizzlies in 1998.

[/quote]

Oakland started out as Michigan State University- Oakland.

[VU2014]

Sounds like Micah is not going to be playing this year.  Wonder if he will ever wear a Crusader uniform again.  Hope for a full recovery for him soon.

I don't think there has ever been a player who has ever been speculated about as a future transfer as much as Micah has been.

But I'm hoping he can make a full recovery as well, even if he never plays for Valpo again.

[justducky]

I don't think there has ever been a player who has ever been speculated about as a future transfer as much as Micah has been.

But I'm hoping he can make a full recovery as well, even if he never plays for Valpo again.

Those are my thoughts as well. As many redshirts as we have recently had only a few have sat for medical reasons. In the last decade I can think of only Buggs, Kurth, Lexus, Micah and Derrik. That is probably a lower than average number and none were irreplaceable stars at the time of their injuries. That said missing a year always hurts and disrupts and sometimes they never come back the same.

[VU2014]

So I did a little research into ankle sprains recovery times and this what I found:

Grade 1: 1-3 weeks (commonly 5-14 days) - Ligament Damage: Minimal stretching, no tearing
Grade 2: 3-6 weeks - Ligament Damage: Partial tear
Grade 3: 8-12 weeks - Ligament Damage: Full tear or rupture

High ankle sprain: 6 weeks - Treatment: "If the injury is stable, then the high ankle sprain can be treated in a cast or walking boot, usually for a period of six week"

I don't play a doctor so I don't know what's up with their ankles. Fazekas' ankle sprain looked bad and he's still in the boot so it's probably a grade 2-3? Markus' ankle looked pretty bad as well and he needed come out of the locker on crutches and a boot.

[M]

Heard dr was surprised Golders ankle wasn't broke and it's the same type of sprain as Fazekas...I don't know what type of sprain that is though.

[VU2014]

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Sackey's faith, international experience help him thrive at Valparaiso
Robbie Weinstein robert.weinstein@nwi.com

https://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/men-s-basketball-sackey-s-faith-international-experience-help-him/article_492deb4b-4f32-567d-8b92-2fd7310db39e.html

https://twitter.com/rwweinstein/status/1090791033103888384

[VU2014]

Hopefully everything all checks out and is good with Micah's MRI today.

https://twitter.com/barrybradford3/status/1092481288257323015?s=21

[VU2014]

I don't want to be that guy that criticizes grammar on the board but I'm noticing a lot of misspelling of player names lately. The least we could do is spell a guys name right. Let's not get in the Alex Peters habit.

Ryan Fazekas - Not Ryan Fazekus

MarKus Golder - Not Marcus Golder

Jay Sorolla - Not Jay Smirolla

Not trying to be knit-pick but we probably owe it to guys to get the spelling of their names right.

[EddieCabot]

I don't want to be that guy that criticizes grammar on the board but I'm noticing a lot of misspelling of player names lately. The least we could do is spell a guys name right. Let's not get in the Alex Peters habit.

Ryan Fazekas - Not Ryan Fazekus

MarKus Golder - Not Marcus Golder

Jay Sorolla - Not Jay Smirolla

Not trying to be knit-pick but we probably owe it to guys to get the spelling of their names right.

I believe "Smirolla" is a term used to represent the combined contributions of SMIts and soROLLA. 

[VU2014]

I believe "Smirolla" is a term used to represent the combined contributions of SMIts and soROLLA. 

ahhhh just picked up on that lol 

[bbtds]

I don't want to be that guy that criticizes grammar on the board but I'm noticing a lot of misspelling of player names lately. The least we could do is spell a guys name right. Let's not get in the Alex Peters habit.

Ryan Fazekas - Not Ryan Fazekus

MarKus Golder - Not Marcus Golder

Jay Sorolla - Not Jay Smirolla

Not trying to be knit-pick but we probably owe it to guys to get the spelling of their names right.

Triple like!!!!

[VALPO LI]

Midway through conference play and this is where our non conference compeditors stand:

Team:                Overall:      Conference:
Concordia IL.    5-15.          5-10
W. Kentucky.     13-10.        6-4
Monmouth.        8-16.         7-4
Wake Forest.      8-13.         1-8
SIU-E.                   8-14.         4-6
West Virgina.     10-13.        2-8
UNLV.                  11-10.        5-4
UC Riverside.      8-6.            2-6
High Point.         12-10.        5-3
George Wash.     7-14.         3-5
Ball State.           11-11.        2-7
Texas A&M.         8-12.         1-7
Purdue NW.          6-15.        3-5

Valpo.                   12-11.      5-5

3 teams with winning records.
1 tied.
9 loosing records.
4 teams over 500 in conference play.

Monmouth is doing well in conference play despite a slow non conference start.