MBB 2018-19

[valpo64]

Maybe fwalum would have a comment on the kid from FW North, Austin Boucher.  I think he is about 6-4 or 6-5 but is a great shooter.  He has been mentioned on some All-State teams this year I believe.  Any thoughts?  I wonder if our Staff even is aware of him.

[bbtds]

Maybe fwalum would have a comment on the kid from FW North, Austin Boucher.  I think he is about 6-4 or 6-5 but is a great shooter.  He has been mentioned on some All-State teams this year I believe.  Any thoughts?  I wonder if our Staff even is aware of him.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/recruiting-central/2015/07/21/fort-wayne-south-sides-austin-boucher-one--top-players--2018-class/30454417/

Boucher plays for the South Side Archers. He is listed at 6'3" in the Indy Star.

Schools with early interest in Boucher include Butler, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Notre Dame and Purdue. He plans to visit Illinois, Indiana and Michigan in August.

He has P5 interest and unless he has some kind of connection to NW Indiana, Valpo or the christian family environment at Valpo I can't see us bringing this guy in.

[valpo64]

He is planning visits but I am not sure they are "official" visits.  I think he could be a sleeper, under the radar.  Schools showing interest is one thing, but being a serious recruit is another.  I wonder if VU has seen him or has any interest.  I know he scored around 50  or so when he was either a frosh or soph at S. Side H S.  Then he wanted to transfer to North Side and then his troubles began.  He was declared ineligible at North by the ISHAA and left for a prep school out East.  He then returned for his senior year at North.

[IrishDawg]

Boucher is going to be under the radar even by mid-major standards.  His last offer was from Air Force late last summer, and his only other offer that I know about is Ball State.  I'm not sure if either of those even still stand at this point.  I think if Valpo wanted him, they could absolutely get him.

[usc4valpo]

If he gets an offer from Air Force and he can commit to it, and has no real NBA potential, he needs to seriously consider the offer.

[VU2014]

If he gets an offer from Air Force and he can commit to it, and has no real NBA potential, he needs to seriously consider the offer.

David Robinson served and had a HOF NBA career. Not saying that will be Boucher but it can be done. Probably unlikely he goes AF. There is always a chance of getting a deferment till after ones playing career is over, but I believe they keep on going back and forth with that rule.

[FWalum]

I am not really sure what the issue is with Austin Boucher.  He seems to be a good student, it was reported that he had a 3.98 GPA starting his senior year at North Side and was #10 in his class.  Has all the moving around been perceived as a problem by college coaches? I was very impressed when I saw this kid as a freshman and sophomore at South Side in a system where he really was the main guy and then the whole debacle with the moving started to happen as valpo64 mentioned.  He thought that he was going to go to a team that had a good shot at a state title his junior year and he was not allowed to play at North Side, hence the prep school transfer for a semester just to play ball.  Then by his senior year North Side had become a real mess of a program with loads of talent and absolutely no chemistry, quite frankly I think he took some of the blame because he was suppose to be the floor general.  Everyone thought that his high major offer was going to come so he kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and it has never come. After Langford, he is listed as the best remaining unsigned shooting guard in the state, but I don't know that it would be a good fit because I would have the feeling that he would always be looking for a better program.

[VU2014]

After Langford, he is listed as the best remaining unsigned shooting guard in the state, but I don't know that it would be a good fit because I would have the feeling that he would always be looking for a better program.

Nailed it. Can't blame mid-majors coaches for getting nervous that he might be a kid who bolts down the road. All the moving around is a bit of a red flag.

Boucher sounds like a kid destined for 1 year of prep school if he doesn't get the offer he's looking for.

[VUGrad1314]

Looking for potential impact transfers? Milwaukee just granted their top 3 scorers  their release after they declared their intention to leave the program. All of them averaged at least 10 ppg One of them is a PF and the other two are guards who shoot the three really well. Brock Stull Jeremiah Bell and Bryce Nze are their names.

It gets even worse, most of Milwaukee's incoming class is bailing too.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/988787117508759552

Is ESPN+ A Positive for the Valley?
by Harry Schroeder
April 23, 2018

http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/is-espn-a-positive-for-the-valley/

[NativeCheesehead]

That article is a lot of words for "You're going to have to pay more."

[VU2014]

That article is a lot of words for "You're going to have to pay more."

Yep. It's a smart business move for ESPN but it's annoying for fans. Like VUGrad1314 mentioned the other week, maybe this brings more locals to attend the games, instead of just getting the game for free on ESPN3. It sounds like a significant amount of MBB games will be on the ESPN+ platform. I guess a handful will be games broadcast at the ARC.

I'm personally willing to pay for the service at least for College Basketball months, but other then that ESPN will need beef up the content on the platform to get me to purchase the year-round subscription.

[M]

Agreed...and if I'm paying for this mess there best not be any blackouts!

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/MikeHuttonPT/status/990411686577360897

Hutton: NCAA commission's report a snoozer for Valparaiso University and basketball coach Matt Lottich
By: Mike Hutton
Post-Tribune
April 28, 2018

[VULB#62]

Bet he said a lot more that didn't make the story and has even more pointed opinions that never were uttered. That commission was purely  a political smoke screen.

[wh]

https://twitter.com/MikeHuttonPT/status/990411686577360897

Hutton: NCAA commission's report a snoozer for Valparaiso University and basketball coach Matt Lottich
By: Mike Hutton
Post-Tribune
April 28, 2018

"VU has been relatively unaffected by the graduate transfer rule, which allows a player to leave after he earns a bachelor's degree and complete his eligibility somewhere else.

"The Crusaders have lost one player, Brandon Wood, to a graduate transfer. He finished at Michigan State."

The Crusaders also lost graduate transfer Lexus Williams to Boise State.

"They also had another, Moussa Gueye, play for them after he graduated from Alabama."

They also had another, Will Bogan, play for them after he graduated from Ole Miss.

A .500 accuracy average - pretty good day for Hutton.

[Pgmado]

I particularly enjoyed the photo caption. When did Valpo play the University of Chicago?

[vu72]

I particularly enjoyed the photo caption. When did Valpo play the University of Chicago?

During the 1961-62 season. 

[bbtds]

I particularly enjoyed the photo caption. When did Valpo play the University of Chicago?

I think maybe they could play University of Chicago if they got free medical treatment from the UC Advanced Medicine branch. Those guys are doing some really great work in the area of genetic medicine. Maybe we could eventually grow the perfect Valpo athlete.

http://medicine.uchicago.edu/sections/genetic-medicine/

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/ranta6/status/991689720848699392

[VUGrad1314]

I'm glad he's getting out there and doing these speaking engagements. He's being a great ambassador for the university and the program. I feel so grateful as an alum that the basketball program has been led by such great men as the Drews and Coach Lottich. Guys who get that being a college coach is about so much more than what happens on the court but who are still highly successful on it. I just hope we'll get some news about the upcoming season soon but that's just my impatience talking. Being the tireless worker Coach Lottich seems to be I don't think we'll have too long to wait. Go Valpo! Go Coach Lottich! Keep doing and being you!

[VU2014]

One year ago today.

https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/867742218060255232
https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/999977143504424960

[VU2014]

Worth a read.

https://twitter.com/Peacone36/status/1000026348377792512

College Basketball: Crossroads of America Tournament Is Something We Deserve
by Mychal Hunter

The State of Indiana is college basketball gold. We need to mine it.

....

https://slapthesign.com/2018/05/25/college-basketball-crossroads-america-tournament-something-deserve/

[VUGrad1314]

This would have to be a series of one-off neutral site games because of the conference overlap of many Indiana teams  still it would be good for Indiana's mids in particular.

[IrishDawg]

It would only be good for Indiana's mids.  Forgetting the conference affiliations which would automatically prevent this tournament from happening, Purdue, Indiana, Butler and Notre Dame would not want to give up an exempt tournament in Maui, the Bahamas and other prime locales to play in a tournament where 60% of the competition is in a mid-major league and more than likely won't result in a quality win most years, and would come as a major negative recruiting tool for other programs to use while their peers are traveling to more desirable locations.  They also wouldn't want to play a mid-major at a neutral site when they can get similar level teams to play a buy game and collect 100% of the revenue from the contest.

IU already doesn't like the Crossroads that much because they want to play "national" games outside the state of Indiana, and generally brings the majority of the fans to BLF since Notre Dame brings about 12 people outside their team to the event each year.