MBB 2018-19

[VU2014]

Yeah I'm not sure what the best course of action for Ryan is. It's his decision but if it's going to be a long recovery i'd say shut it down for next year but he only has 5 more guaranteed games this season and 1 more year eligibility unless by some miracle the NCAA grants him an additional year because of all his lost time due to injuries but that seems highly unlikely. Bakari had offseason surgery and I'm not he is even back to 100% this season, but maybe it's a confidence thing with him. Idk but the decline of Bakari this season bizarre.

[bbtds]

No comment 🤦‍♂️

No comment 2.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/1098045118484004869
https://twitter.com/dannyd_53/status/1097936121982529536

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/ImJustEB5/status/1098761892275851264

[VULB#62]

I understand the impatience, frustration and, in some cases anger, over how this season is turning out.  I share the frustration and have some of the same questions many have asked.  I too am impatient. What follows from me is not in any way excusing bad/inconsistent performances.  It is only a attempt to put the Valpo situation into a broader context.

-  ML is in only his 3rd season as a D-I HC. 
-  Prior to that, he had only 3 years of experience as an assistant under just one HC (all at the mid-major level).
-  He has a very limited spectrum of varied experiences from which to broaden his coaching approach
-  He was named HC one season (24-9) before Valpo made the jump to a much tougher conference - the MVC
-  This is only Valpo's 2nd year in the MVC

Contrast that with the history of Porter Moser and Loyola:
-  Began coaching in 1990 as an assistant at Creighton and moved to Texas A&M, UWM and back to Texas A&M
-  First HC job - 2000, Arkansas- Little Rock (54-34 record but never better than 5th in the conference)
-  Moved on to Illinois State (2003) for 4 seasons in the MVC - only one winning season (17-13).  Fired.
-  Assistant to Rick Majerus at St. Louis 2007-2011.
-  Hired by Loyola in 2011 - in the two years in the HL he had two losing seasons (7-23 and 15-16) before Loyola jumped to the MVC for the 2013 season
-  In his first 4 seasons in the MVC he had 2 winning and 2 losing seasons.  MVC finishes:  year 1 - 10th, year 2 - 6th, year 3 -8th, year 4 - 5th
-  It wasn't until year 5 that Loyola broke out (1st , NCAA F4).

By comparison:
MVC Year One:  Moser 4-14, Lottich 6-12
MVC Year Two:  Moser 8-10, Lottich 7-9 (to date w/ an opportunity of 2 more wins in the regular season)
Years as a MBB coach:  Moser 29 seasons; Lottich 6
Years as a Head Coach:  Moser 15 seasons;  Lottich 3
Coaches he's worked under:  Moser, 5; Lottich, 1

My conclusion:  given the huge disparity in coaching experience, Lottich is holding his own, despite some awful performances -- which should be expected of a young coach who is still learning how to be a head coach.  We all knew this going in in 2016.  It is what it is.

[M]

Thank you for this...I wondered how Valpo and Lottich's start compared with Loyola and Moser's but never looked it up. 

[wh]

I understand the impatience, frustration and, in some cases anger, over how this season is turning out.  I share the frustration and have some of the same questions many have asked.  I too am impatient. What follows from me is not in any way excusing bad/inconsistent performances.  It is only a attempt to put the Valpo situation into a broader context.

-  ML is in only his 3rd season as a D-I HC. 
-  Prior to that, he had only 3 years of experience as an assistant under just one HC (all at the mid-major level).
-  He has a very limited spectrum of varied experiences from which to broaden his coaching approach
-  He was named HC one season (24-9) before Valpo made the jump to a much tougher conference - the MVC
-  This is only Valpo's 2nd year in the MVC

Contrast that with the history of Porter Moser and Loyola:
-  Began coaching in 1990 as an assistant at Creighton and moved to Texas A&M, UWM and back to Texas A&M
-  First HC job - 2000, Arkansas- Little Rock (54-34 record but never better than 5th in the conference)
-  Moved on to Illinois State (2003) for 4 seasons in the MVC - only one winning season (17-13).  Fired.
-  Assistant to Rick Majerus at St. Louis 2007-2011.
-  Hired by Loyola in 2011 - in the two years in the HL he had two losing seasons (7-23 and 15-16) before Loyola jumped to the MVC for the 2013 season
-  In his first 4 seasons in the MVC he had 2 winning and 2 losing seasons.  MVC finishes:  year 1 - 10th, year 2 - 6th, year 3 -8th, year 4 - 5th
-  It wasn't until year 5 that Loyola broke out (1st , NCAA F4).

By comparison:
MVC Year One:  Moser 4-14, Lottich 6-12
MVC Year Two:  Moser 8-10, Lottich 7-9 (to date w/ an opportunity of 2 more wins in the regular season)
Years as a MBB coach:  Moser 29 seasons; Lottich 6
Years as a Head Coach:  Moser 15 seasons;  Lottich 3
Coaches he's worked under:  Moser, 5; Lottich, 1

My conclusion:  given the huge disparity in coaching experience, Lottich is holding his own, despite some awful performances -- which should be expected of a young coach who is still learning how to be a head coach.  We all knew this going in in 2016.  It is what it is.

Good perspective. I would add that Moser was hired by Loyola at the same time they completed the Gentile Center renovation. Talk about a recruiting gift laid in your lap as you walk in the door. Matt took over at the same time Mark L. was quoted as saying that he and Heckler had never talked about revamping the ARC. Talk about cold water thrown in your face as you walk in the door.

Heckler and LaBarbera knew full well what they were getting - a highly inexperienced, first-time head coach, but apparently figured they could turn over the keys of what was once a decent car that over time had become a beater and expect the same results that the Drew family had achieved - with all of their notoriety, experience, and history of success.

Maybe they had no choice (as some on the board claim to know), or maybe they did. Either way, it doesnt matter. The fact is they threw this fine young man in the deep end of the pool And walked away without giving him so much as a ladder or a rope to keep him from sinking. What other key university leader would they do that to?  Would they tell the head of enrollment that they expect the same enrollment results year after year with the same old outdated academic
facilities that look ridiculous by today's standards?  Of course not.

[VULB#62]

I keep coming back to these bullets and then focus on #4

1-  ML is in only his 3rd season as a D-I HC. 
2-  Prior to that, he had only 3 years of experience as an assistant under just one HC (all at the mid-major level).
3-  He has a very limited spectrum of varied experiences from which to broaden his coaching approach
4-  He was named HC one season (24-9) before Valpo made the jump to a much tougher conference - the MVC

He, basically, has to teach himself how to be a head coach, because he has so little experience under different systems and styles to sift through and apply to his situation.  Moser, OTOH, had a ton of lessons taught to him by the guys he worked under and also had two HCing stints, in which he got a lot of mistakes out of his system and learned from them.  Lottich hasn't been given those opportunities yet.

Oh, and here's another cross he had to shoulder from the start of his HCing career.  He loses Skara, Jubril and eventually Alec in his very first year but still goes 24-9.  In year two and the first in the MVC he loses Burton and Tevonn comes down with mono.  This young man is the Jonah of D-I MBB coaches and is still looking for his first break.  Amazed that he has held up as well as he has.

[humbleopinion]

This young man is the Jonah of D-I MBB coaches

I'm trying to remember my biblical history.  Do you mean Job? 

[VULB#62]

This young man is the Jonah of D-I MBB coaches

I'm trying to remember my biblical history.  Do you mean Job?

Maybe.  Can't see much of a difference between being swallowed by a whale and living its stomach for 3 days and being the guy beset with all sorts of calamities and having the things he loved taken from him.  But in this case Job is probably a closer analogy   

[humbleopinion]

This young man is the Jonah of D-I MBB coaches

I'm trying to remember my biblical history.  Do you mean Job?

Maybe.  Can't see much of a difference between being swallowed by a whale and living its stomach for 3 days and being the guy beset with all sorts of calamities and having the things he loved taken from him.  But in this case Job is probably a closer analogy   

I was wondering what venue he wanted to avoid. 

[Valpo89]

I'm just going to throw this out there, but I'm fairly certain about 90 percent of the reason Lottich was given the job was so that a certain player now in Russia wouldn't transfer. Especially to Vanderbilt.
So a long-term decision was made based on a one-year roster.

[crusader05]

It wasn't just Alec, it was Alec, and Jubril at least as well as potential recruits. I'd have to revisit those boards when this was happening but I think a lot of people were okay with a hire that kept those guys at the time.

The fear was that we could lose the most talented player and a solid senior right after a big run and there was little hope that any new coach could even begin to pick up the recruiting pieces.

Ironically we did lose at least one of those pieces but because of a poor decision they made, not anything else we did and then Alec was hurt right towards the end.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/1100165242640830465

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

[GoldenCrusader87]

Reasons why he shouldn't have been given the head coaching job from the get-go - and that's on VU Admin:

Reason 1:

ML is in only his 3rd season as a D-I HC. 
-  Prior to that, he had only 3 years of experience as an assistant under just one HC (all at the mid-major level).

Reason 2:

-  He has a very limited spectrum of varied experiences from which to broaden his coaching approach

Reason 3:

-  He was named HC one season (24-9) before Valpo made the jump to a much tougher conference - the MVC
-  This is only Valpo's 2nd year in the MVC

Reason 4:

Years as a MBB coach:  Moser 29 seasons; Lottich 6
Years as a Head Coach:  Moser 15 seasons;  Lottich 3
Coaches he's worked under:  Moser, 5; Lottich, 1

My conclusion:  given the huge disparity in coaching experience, we have the privilege of being a D1 program / school willing to do what D2, D3, and NAIA programs are supposed to do.

You're right - we put ourselves in this situation. What did we expect of a young coach who is still learning how to be a head coach? We all knew this going in in 2016.  It is what it is.

[GoldenCrusader87]

And to everyone throwing out your sympathy for Matt, that's great and nice and all but come on - he's getting paid A LOT of money... not like he's volunteering! Think about all the other coaches who have to go thru these natural steps and work their way up the ladder? For way less money. Often starting as grad assistants (Diebler) .. or break down film (Diebler) JUST to get a shot as an assistant coach. Then spend years and years working thru the ranks ... working their way up the bench ... often either taking a job at a small school or midmajor at that point.... or a few get a P5 shot at that point.

Meanwhile, Matt didn't go thru ANY of those steps. Played college ball on a full ride. Went on to play overseas and pry make some decent money.

Got a job as an assistant and worked for ONE head coach who was likely a control freak. And then got handed the keys!

Idk what he makes but I'm sure it's better than a lot of guys and gals who had to work their way up the chain for years doing the jobs nobody else wanted to do.

And you're all feeling sorry for him? Why? He was given a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity that he CHOSE to take. Come on. Woe is me.

There only around 350 D1 basketball HC gigs out there in the entire country! Think about that...

[GoldenCrusader87]

And those comments I made were prior to watching this week's episode of Valpo b-ball weekly. My goodness does he make excuse after excuse after excuse after excuse.

Matt: When's the last game we played fully healthy?

Todd: idk. Saturday?

How'd that work out for you, Coach?

[bigmosmithfan1]

It wasn't just Alec, it was Alec, and Jubril at least as well as potential recruits. I'd have to revisit those boards when this was happening but I think a lot of people were okay with a hire that kept those guys at the time.

The fear was that we could lose the most talented player and a solid senior right after a big run and there was little hope that any new coach could even begin to pick up the recruiting pieces.

I agree. This looks like a dumb short-term decision in retrospect, but if Jubril and Alec finish the 2017 season even at 75 percent strength, we win the HL going away and probably go back to the NCAA tourney and no one's questioning that call in any way. You had a loaded team expected to return and that's one of the benefits of hiring internally (and something several top midmajor programs have used to sustain success). When you lose a coach because he got hired away, you keep your players around so that you can continue the momentum and you aren't starting from square one with the new guy every time.

Let's be clear -- hiring outside the system at that point was looking at an expected returning roster of Alec Peters, Jubril, Keith Carter, Skara, Tevonn, etc. coming off a deep postseason run (and a season where they were a Top 35 program in the entire NATION), and then saying "whatevs, if you go, you go." NOBODY in college basketball makes a call like that willingly. If none of Bryce's staff had been willing to stick around, it's a different conversation. But even looking at the lack of results, I choose to try to keep that team together for another season every day and twice on Sunday.

Having said that, the bad luck that kept that plan from working out early in ML's tenure shouldn't be used as a crutch to justify keeping him around if he's proving to be unable to put a consistently successful team on the floor or make in-game adjustments, etc. (And hoo boy, we better dress every player on scholarship next year. You want to not have a couple of injuries derail your season? Make sure you have more than 9 guys available in the first place).

[oklahomamick]

My question is, why didn't Bryce take ML?

[JD24]

Some could really use the assistance of a sedative.

[valpo84]

"Hindsight's 20/20,
and we're nearly going blind
from staring at your highlights
wishing we could go back in time.
Its that same ole Valpo fan story
Its sad but its true
There was a time when we were fine in 2015

But these brown-n-gold glasses
That we're looking through
Show only the beauty
'Cause they hide all the truth"

With apologizes on the mashup to Randy Travis and John Conlee

[SanityLost17]

Reasons why he shouldn't have been given the head coaching job from the get-go - and that's on VU Admin:

Reason 1:

ML is in only his 3rd season as a D-I HC. 
-  Prior to that, he had only 3 years of experience as an assistant under just one HC (all at the mid-major level).

Reason 2:

-  He has a very limited spectrum of varied experiences from which to broaden his coaching approach

Reason 3:

-  He was named HC one season (24-9) before Valpo made the jump to a much tougher conference - the MVC
-  This is only Valpo's 2nd year in the MVC

Reason 4:

Years as a MBB coach:  Moser 29 seasons; Lottich 6
Years as a Head Coach:  Moser 15 seasons;  Lottich 3
Coaches he's worked under:  Moser, 5; Lottich, 1

My conclusion:  given the huge disparity in coaching experience, we have the privilege of being a D1 program / school willing to do what D2, D3, and NAIA programs are supposed to do.

You're right - we put ourselves in this situation. What did we expect of a young coach who is still learning how to be a head coach? We all knew this going in in 2016.  It is what it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Stevens

Played at a D3 school... 
5 years as an assistant at 1 program...
Then was hired as a head coach.   

I have no idea how the typical young coach fairs but I am sure I could find lots of examples of young coaches working their way into success with similar years of experience. 

[valpo64]

For those of you who are so critical of ML, it would be interesting to hear what you would have to say about B. Drew at Vandy,  if you were, or are, a Vandy fan.

[GoldenCrusader87]

Sanity - Brad Stevens - as others have rightfully pointed out - is the exception tot he norm. So is Sean McVae. Idk what else to say other than acting like Brad is the norm is absurd. He's the exception to the norm - certainly not a baseline. Not at all.

[SanityLost17]

Sanity - Brad Stevens - as others have rightfully pointed out - is the exception tot he norm. So is Sean McVae. Idk what else to say other than acting like Brad is the norm is absurd. He's the exception to the norm - certainly not a baseline. Not at all.

You are allowed to make an argument as to him not living up to program expectations.  You are allowed to call for his firing if you want.  But that has to be based on his ACTUAL coaching.  An argument that management should have known better before hand simply doesn't hold water.

Bryce Drew only learned D1 basketball under his Dad...  We probably shouldn't have hired him either.