MBB 2018-19

VU2014 · April 08, 2018, 06:32:30 PM

The 2017-18 college basketball season is officially over so I thought it might be time to create a new thread for the 2018-19 season.

I'm expecting a good amount of improvement next season. We were young and inexperienced last season.

Roster breakdown: (barring anymore transfers)
Seniors: 0 (we may bring in a grad-transfer or 2)
Juniors: 7 (Evelyn, Bradford, Golder, Fazekas, Kiser, Smits, Sorolla)
Sophomores: 2 (McMillan, Linssen)
Freshman: 2 (Sackey, Freeman)

2-available scholarships as of right now

We need a lot of guys to take the next step in their development this offseason and really work on their games.

SanityLost17 · April 09, 2018, 07:53:26 AM

Quote from: VU2014 on April 08, 2018, 06:32:30 PM
The 2017-18 college basketball season is officially over so I thought it might be time to create a new thread for the 2018-19 season.

I'm expecting a good amount of improvement next season. We were young and inexperienced last season.

Roster breakdown: (barring anymore transfers)
Seniors: 0 (we may bring in a grad-transfer or 2)
Juniors: 7 (Evelyn, Bradford, Golder, Fazekas, Kiser, Smits, Sorolla)
Sophomores: 2 (McMillan, Linssen)
Freshman: 2 (Sackey, Freeman)

2-available scholarships as of right now

We need a lot of guys to take the next step in their development this offseason and really work on their games.

We also need to start the process of evening out the scholarships. Hurts the program to have a borderline complete rebuild once every 4 years. Kills momentum. Not easy to do but If I am the staff I would try to get 2 impact players and 1 "project" per class. You are going to have a few transfers, but hopefully a few of your projects will pan out to make up for those losses. Always try to keep an open scholarship to add a transfer, especially if they change the rules and allow everyone to play immediately.

VU2014 · April 09, 2018, 09:34:27 AM

Agreed. It does seem to be that we go through a rebuild every 4 years, with a large class of incoming players.

2009-10 we landed a generational player in Ryan Broekhoff that elevated the program. In 2013-14 we landed Alec Peters which was another generational talent, along with a really strong class of JA, Lexus, & Yeo (could have been productive D1 player, disregarding the injuries).

Is anyone in the 2017-18 recruiting class a generational talent? To be determined. Mileek seems to have the brightest future but he was highly inconsistent (to be expected) but showed flashes last season. Marty is a big question mark for me. Is he a quick enough to play PF or is he just a big bodied/undersized Center that won't see much run because the two 7-footers are ahead of him on the depth chart. Marty needs to trim down a little and really work on his footwork. He was a foul machine last season. I love his hustle and he has nice touch on his jumper that he didn't show much last season. Bigs take longer to develop then wings. I'm hoping he and Mileek can grow into reliable players in their sophomore seasons.

Golder was the surprise player of the year for me. He noticeably got better as the season went on. He just looked more comfortable as the season went on. Freak athlete with good size, pretty good defender, nice 3pt shot and our most reliable FT shooter. He NEEDS to learn to use his off hand. HE needs to work on his ball handling some and just get more comfortable with finishing with his left hand.

We're hoping Freeman could be that next "generational" player for Valpo basketball. He certainly has the hype around him the same way Alec did (if not more) coming into his freshman year. I'm also pretty high on Sackey's future also. You can't teach speed which is his elite physical tool.

M · April 09, 2018, 11:49:04 AM

Going to need 3 or 4 of those juniors to be real threats on the court next year. Golder and Evelyn were last year and should continue, the other 5 are unproven. We all think Fazekas will be a nice add, but he isn't a sure thing.

I'm not against having huge classes every four years as that almost guarantees you should be a top contender for at least 2 of those years. I do see the value of spreading it out a bit and will be anxious to see how they attack the scholarship situation when our juniors all graduate.

EddieCabot · April 10, 2018, 10:31:21 AM

It's way too early, but after watching videos of JFL and Sackey, here's how I see rotations playing out next year:

4/5 positions: Minutes split between Smits/Sorolla and Fazekas/McMillen. I know many think Fazekas is a small forward, but at 6'8", he's plenty big enough to play the 4 (Alec Peters-Lite) in the MVC. I think he'll be much better offensively working against bigger/slower players than against smaller/quicker guys.

1/2/3 positions: Minutes split between Evelyn, JFL, Sackey, Golder and Bradford. Lots of interchangeable parts among this group. Golder starts at the 3, but both JFL and Evelyn are big enough to play the 3 in a 3-guard lineup. Not sure who starts in the backcourt, but it will be difficult to keep the freshmen off the court.

That leaves Kiser and Linssen (if no one else is added). Kiser has proven to be a solid contributor, but there are so many talented players ahead of him that his minutes may decline. However, it's great to know what you'll get when you put him on the floor. Linssen needs to make big strides to earn minutes. Too slow for the 4 spot and stuck behind two experienced 7 footers at the 5. Nice insurance in case of foul trouble.

With that talent and no seniors on the roster, it may be a challenge to find quality recruits because playing time will be hard to come by for the next few seasons.

M · April 10, 2018, 10:41:19 AM

I think you could start Fazekas and McMillian and keep bringing Golder off the bench to abuse the other team's second string. Having scoring options off the bench (who play starter minutes) is so huge.

VU2014 · April 10, 2018, 10:56:59 AM

I really want to know how the coaching staff plans on using Fazekas. Are they going to use him more inside or is he going to be more a perimeter player with size. I'm guessing he'll have a hybrid role that would allow him to play with certain lineups. If we add another PF maybe that signals we plan to use him more on the perimeter?

Union Street Hoops, where you at?

FieldGoodie05 · April 10, 2018, 11:50:08 AM

Quote from: VU2014 on April 10, 2018, 10:56:59 AM
I really want to know how the coaching staff plans on using Fazekas. Are they going to use him more inside or is he going to be more a perimeter player with size. I'm guessing he'll have a hybrid role that would allow him to play with certain lineups. If we add another PF maybe that signals we plan to use him more on the perimeter?

Union Street Hoops, where you at?

I've got no reference here, but has Fazekas ever had an inside game? Think he was quoted as saying he needed to improve with back to the basket and in similar ways that Alec showed progress his Jr/Sr year.

Mileek + Linssen are our only "wide" bodies that can guard a well built PF I might think. But how many PF bruisers are in the MVC? UNI and MSU graduate good inside PF. Illinois State brings back Fehn. We might have less "developed" true PF in the league next year than this past year.

IrishDawg · April 10, 2018, 01:14:03 PM

Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on April 10, 2018, 11:50:08 AM
I've got no reference here, but has Fazekas ever had an inside game? Think he was quoted as saying he needed to improve with back to the basket and in similar ways that Alec showed progress his Jr/Sr year.

Mileek + Linssen are our only "wide" bodies that can guard a well built PF I might think. But how many PF bruisers are in the MVC? UNI and MSU graduate good inside PF. Illinois State brings back Fehn. We might have less "developed" true PF in the league next year than this past year.

At Providence, Fazekas took 76% of his field goal attempts behind the 3 point line. Given that Providence's offense is highly reliant on driving to the basket and getting to the free throw line, if Fazekas had an inside game before transferring to Valpo, he certainly hid it well. Providence is normally a big team on the wings too, so a lot of the time he was matched up with someone who was at least shorter than he was.

That doesn't mean he couldn't develop one, or at least a better one, in his year off, but my guess is he'll be primarily used as a pick and pop guy. He didn't create either at Providence and didn't rebound the ball overly well (a decent rebounder on the defensive end), so it'll be interesting to see what parts of his game he did develop. I do expect him to be more versatile at Valpo than he was at Providence, but I don't expect it to be a night and day difference. Valpo's got guards that can create in Evelyn and Bradford, so if Fazekas can continue to space the floor, defend the 4 effectively and have more of a presence on the defensive glass, then I think that's a role he should be expected to fill pretty effectively. Just my opinion based on what I remember from watching him for 2 years.

EddieCabot · April 10, 2018, 02:46:22 PM

Quote from: IrishDawg on April 10, 2018, 01:14:03 PM
Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on April 10, 2018, 11:50:08 AM
I've got no reference here, but has Fazekas ever had an inside game? Think he was quoted as saying he needed to improve with back to the basket and in similar ways that Alec showed progress his Jr/Sr year.

Mileek + Linssen are our only "wide" bodies that can guard a well built PF I might think. But how many PF bruisers are in the MVC? UNI and MSU graduate good inside PF. Illinois State brings back Fehn. We might have less "developed" true PF in the league next year than this past year.

At Providence, Fazekas took 76% of his field goal attempts behind the 3 point line. Given that Providence's offense is highly reliant on driving to the basket and getting to the free throw line, if Fazekas had an inside game before transferring to Valpo, he certainly hid it well. Providence is normally a big team on the wings too, so a lot of the time he was matched up with someone who was at least shorter than he was.

That doesn't mean he couldn't develop one, or at least a better one, in his year off, but my guess is he'll be primarily used as a pick and pop guy. He didn't create either at Providence and didn't rebound the ball overly well (a decent rebounder on the defensive end), so it'll be interesting to see what parts of his game he did develop. I do expect him to be more versatile at Valpo than he was at Providence, but I don't expect it to be a night and day difference. Valpo's got guards that can create in Evelyn and Bradford, so if Fazekas can continue to space the floor, defend the 4 effectively and have more of a presence on the defensive glass, then I think that's a role he should be expected to fill pretty effectively. Just my opinion based on what I remember from watching him for 2 years.

Over Alec Peters' first 3 seasons, 46% of his attempts were 3 pointers. That dropped to 34% in his senior year, not because he took fewer 3s, but because he nearly doubled his number of 2 point attempts per game.

As I stated above, I think Fazekas will be most effective offensively at the 4 spot, but he may have problems guarding post players unless he's bulked up a bit. But very few teams actually have 4s that play in the post. Linssen and McMillan were in foul trouble because they couldn't guard guys in screen and roll situations on the perimeter, not because they were being posted up.

VU2014 · April 12, 2018, 09:38:02 AM

https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/984439221871050752

I won't believe anything until I see it on the court next season. I heard hype in past and bought into it and the results speak for themselves. I hope Bradford can ignite his college career and get it going but I'm personally not expecting it.
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/984439549521735681

VU2014 · April 13, 2018, 11:38:43 AM

We may need to pay for a ESPN+ subscription to watch the streams of Valpo Men's Basketball games next season...

This is from the Around The Valley Section of the Message Boards: http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=3149.0

Quote from: aleavitt on April 13, 2018, 11:01:10 AM
Quote from: VU2014 on April 12, 2018, 12:43:33 PM
Quote from: aleavitt on April 12, 2018, 10:13:53 AM
I've put together a brief story on our website regarding ESPN+ and the redesigned ESPN app, covering some of these questions. If there's any other questions regarding ESPN+, I can try to answer those as well.

http://www.valpoathletics.com/athletics/news/2017-18/18167/espn---what-you-need-to-know/

I think what most people want to know, is ESPN going to force fans to pay for ESPN+ to watch the MVC Men's Basketball games in November-March?

Any word on how ESPN+ will affect how we view Valparaiso Men's Basketball games?

That is still up in the air - as the last question reflected, schedules of which games are on which service should be available in the months leading up to the start of the seasons going forward. My guess would be (and this is just my guess based on the info we've received/heard about ESPN+ so far, nothing official) that MVC men's basketball games will be split between ESPN3 and ESPN+, with a greater number on ESPN+.

VU2014 · April 17, 2018, 08:53:15 AM

https://twitter.com/nwindianafca/status/986240304247427072

M · April 17, 2018, 09:09:24 AM

It is great that he is getting out there a little bit more. Every little bit helps.

VU2014 · April 20, 2018, 11:22:11 AM

Nice to know we have a gym rat.

https://twitter.com/dsackey_4/status/987357603993825281

M · April 20, 2018, 12:02:56 PM

Just make sure you do your homework, kid!

FieldGoodie05 · April 20, 2018, 07:37:49 PM

Tate to Loyola

VUGrad1314 · April 20, 2018, 08:02:42 PM

Back to the drawing board I guess. We're not likely to outrecruit Loyola on anyone right now plus it sounds like it's a tailor made fit. We could really use some positive recruiting news soon. Not used to losing recruiting targets to schools in conference.

VULB#62 · April 20, 2018, 08:58:55 PM

Quote from: VUGrad1314 on April 20, 2018, 08:02:42 PM
Back to the drawing board I guess. We're not likely to outrecruit Loyola on anyone right now plus it sounds like it's a tailor made fit. We could really use some positive recruiting news soon. Not used to losing recruiting targets to schools in conference.

Spot on. We have gone from the penthouse to the basement in one year. The penthouse used to to be a no -brainer, now Valpo has got to scramble with the bottom feeders. Let's see what we are made of. Go Valpo.

VUGrad1314 · April 20, 2018, 11:35:10 PM

Wouldn't call Loyola a bottom feeder (and I don't think that's what you're doing here) but I get your point. Recruiting in this conference is going to be a knock down drag out fight. Everyone has a comparable or better basketball tradition, the footprint is really tight, and everyone's competitive right now. The program will be tested in so many meaningful ways over the next few years in this conference. I wouldn't have it any other way, nor would I trade this step up for 5 more HL titles. Winning in the MVC is a major challenge. Bring it on! Go Valpo! I think we're up to it and our early scheduling seems to indicate that the coaching staff and administration think so too.

VULB#62 · April 21, 2018, 10:09:37 AM

Quote from: VUGrad1314 on April 20, 2018, 11:35:10 PM
Wouldn't call Loyola a bottom feeder (and I don't think that's what you're doing here) but I get your point. Recruiting in this conference is going to be a knock down drag out fight. Everyone has a comparable or better basketball tradition, the footprint is really tight, and everyone's competitive right now. The program will be tested in so many meaningful ways over the next few years in this conference. I wouldn't have it any other way, nor would I trade this step up for 5 more HL titles. Winning in the MVC is a major challenge. Bring it on! Go Valpo! I think we're up to it and our early scheduling seems to indicate that the coaching staff and administration think so too.

It is amazing the recruiting leverage being in the penthouse (like we were in the HL) gives a team. We have to fight our way out of where we are right now and get back to that status. The up side is that, despite our 2017-18 MVC W-L record, we are much closer than that record would indicate. I am optimistic.

valpo64 · April 21, 2018, 11:03:36 AM

As George Jefferson said ,"We're working on up" Let's face it, we really had no competition regarding recruiting while we were in the HL

VU2014 · April 21, 2018, 12:21:11 PM

We have a recruiting advantage being in the MVC compared to the HL. It probably hurts our recruiting coming off a rough season and have glut of Juniors that recruits know are going to get most of the playing time. It's also pretty easy to read the tea leaves that JFL is going to be tough to beat out for minutes eventually at some point. The one that's puzzling to me is how we can't land a solid PF. PF is where a grad-transfer/JUCO coming in would be able to get a good amount of playing time right away. It may be that there is a limited supply of quality 4's and a built up demand.

We're 0-2 on Spring offers that we know about: Hall and Davis (Sackey doesn't count because committed months ago).

vu72 · April 21, 2018, 12:46:53 PM

Pretty simple on the Loyola front. We are in the same local area and they went to the Final Four. End of story. They, currently, are on a different attractive level.

VUGrad1314 · April 21, 2018, 12:58:51 PM

Quote from: VU2014 on April 21, 2018, 12:21:11 PMWe have a recruiting advantage being in the MVC compared to the HL. It probably hurts our recruiting coming off a rough season and have glut of Juniors that recruits know are going to get most of the playing time. It's also pretty easy to read the tea leaves that JFL is going to be tough to beat out for minutes eventually at some point. The one that's puzzling to me is how we can't land a solid PF. PF is where a grad-transfer/JUCO coming in would be able to get a good amount of playing time right away. It may be that there is a limited supply of quality 4's and a built up demand. We're 0-2 on Spring offers that we know about: Hall and Davis (Sackey doesn't count because committed months ago).

I know I keep beating this drum, but what's wrong with bringing in a 3 star freshman like Messiah Jones who multiple MVC schools think is (or might be ) MVC caliber? I know we'd all like more experience but if we can't get that let's get talent.