GAME - Exhibition Valpo v. UIndy 11/1 7:00

[vuny98]

I see the over reactors are out in full force.

Yesterday before game - This team is stacked, we should be able to compete
Today - This team is horrible and we are going to be embarrassed all season

I agree, it was not a good performance on many fronts, BUT its Game 0 (not even game 1).

Fazekas hasn't played in two years and he shot like it.
McMillan first game played at center
2 Freshman's first game
Lavendar first game with the team
I wish Golder and Evelyn would have shown up but this game was less about them
Smitts showed some good aggression on offense shooting, but yes, he is a liability on defense (we already knew that)
Kiser was Kiser

Sometimes games like this are exactly what a team needs. Lights a fire, shows what needs to be corrected, and work out the kinks. Remember, last year we were undefeated for a long time, and we know how that ended.

[VU2014]

I don't think being mad equates to overreacting.

Yes it's game 0 and didn't count but that team should be embarrassed and they deserve to be called out for it. I could swallow the poor performances better if it it didn't come to a loss to a local D2 team. I think D2s don't get enough credit for the quality of basketball they play but this Valpo team is much more talented then that UIndy team.

I definitely think this team is better than what they showed last night but that doesn't excuse that horrendous loss. I hope this lights a fire under their @$$, because if it doesn't then they don't deserve to wear the name on the front of the jersey.

[vuny98]

I don't think being mad equates to overreacting. Yes it's game 0 and didn't count but that team should be embarrassed and they deserve to be called out for it. I could swallow the poor performances better if it it didn't come to a loss to a local D2 team. I think D2s don't get enough credit for the quality of basketball they play but this Valpo team is much more talented then that UIndy team. I definitely think this team is better than what they showed last night but that doesn't excuse that horrendous loss. I hope this lights a fire under their @$$, because if it doesn't then they don't deserve to wear the name on the front of the jersey.

Don't get me wrong, they should feel embarrassed and should be called out for poor play, but beyond that lets take the loss with a grain of salt... time will tell what this team really is, this game will not define them.

[FWalum]

Rebounding is the issue that I have the most problem with.  It was an issue last year and it appears to be the same this year.  No excuse to get out rebounded by that team.  Rebounding goes to effort and positioning along with the style of offense.  Todd said that he thought we would run a lot of 4 out 1 in offense and this can contribute to the low board numbers if everyone is standing on the perimeter and the "in" player is not a dominate rebounder.  I can live with the poor shooting and the fact that Matt was obviously trying out different players and combinations under game conditions.  He was obviously trying very hard to establish Fazekas as the go to player in key situations.  This style of offense requires an awareness from the off side players when it comes to rebounding that happens naturally in other offenses because of your relationship to the basket.

I have seen Ryan shoot in person at practice and feel that 1-11 is an anomaly we won't see happen too often in his VU career.  Once again (as an outsider I don't really like to put pressure on the kid) he needs to rebound at a higher rate if he is going to be playing 25-30 minutes a game.  2 rebounds in 26 minutes is disappointing for a 6'8" front court player.

It was an exhibition that actually gave the coaches more to work on under game conditions then you would normally see in this type of game.  Let's hope we learn from this experience.

[VUBBFan]

Yes this was a disappointing loss. I thought for most of the time the team lacked enthusiasm. The only time I saw excitement was when Sackey came in and lit a spark for a little while. Fazekas going 1-11 and Evelyn 3-10 really is an anomaly and if only one more shot went in we would be singing a slightly better song. Hopefully this will be a good wake up call and learning experience.

Right now I'm trying to keep up my own positive enthusiasm. Trying not to throw in the towel on one bad game.

On the bright side, we now have basketball back!

https://twitter.com/AlBillets/status/1058213686123421696 

[FWalum]

Has he shown an ability to recruit? There's 1 player on the roster whose ceiling is All-MVC 2nd team.

If you are trying to stir the pot, I am sure you have succeeded.  I personally think your statement is highly unlikely.

[4throwfan]

I agree with FWalum's comment on rebounding.  A person can understand the other excuses, feeble as they are, but I don't get being out-rebounded.  To me, that simply means that the team got beat.

Others have guessed that Matt was experimenting with lineups, etc.  I have no insight other than what I saw at the game, but to me it looked like he was coaching to win.  Which, again, is troubling because it means that the team simply got beat.

I guess that the upshot is that this game will be a better learning experience than a 30 point blow-out.

[VU2014]

I've cooled down a bit from this morning. I had to endure a coworker's (Butler alum) rath this morning about the loss and mocking. I vented on the board.

Still really disappointed about the loss. Thankfully it was just a exhibition but the optics are probably what bothers me the most.

[may know]

Gotta get tougher and meaner down low. Quick.

[valpospartan]

What is with the four, who were not taking the shot, running to the defensive basket as soon as the ball left the shooter's hands, instead of looking for an offensive  rebound?  This happened many times.  Turns out, with our pathetic shooting, there were offensive rebounds to be had.

[valpopal]

I don't understand how Valpo was out-rebounded (and by so much) last night. The Crusaders had a definite size advantage inside. Offensive rebounding was pathetic. The team missed 41 shots. Nevertheless, if you don't count Smits rebounding his own misses, the only other players to get an offensive rebound were Fazekas with 1 and Kiser with 2, for a total of 3!


Besides Sackey's energy, the only other positive for the night was the change to the overhead scoreboard. I liked the new format, even the gold color someone else felt hard to read.

[Chairback]

I figured our warm up to Indy would be our scrimmage vs UIC.  This team has been on the court together in a game situation. 

It's hard to come to work and have non Valpo fans take the program serious when you lose a game like this.  Hard day listening to Butler, IU, Purdue fans questioning the level of play at Valpo.

[VUBBFan]

I wonder if Fazekas going down hard at the beginning of the game affected his performance. He stayed down for a while and he looked to be in a little pain on the bench. Don't know if he just got the wind knocked out of him or not. He did look OK when he came back. Just wondering if that threw him off some what for the rest of the game.

[crusadermoe]

Let's get an upset win vs the Concordia Golden Gobblers in game #1 and we can re-start the season.   

[elephtheria47]

Not sure why people are upset with the offensive (pun intended!) rebounding. If we are playing 4 out and 1 in on offense, I'd rather have the 4 go back and get set on defense rather than having them crash the boards where a) the shot may go in or b) offensive rebounding averages/percentages are low.

Still a horrible loss whatever way you wanna slice it.

[valpolaw]

Losing to a middle of the road D2 team is never a good look. Hopefully it's a big wake up call for all and they get it together. I'm beginning to worry about Myrtle beach tourney

[JD24]

Yes this was a disappointing loss. I thought for most of the time the team lacked enthusiasm. 

In any sport, particularly on offense, if a team isn't going well it appears to lack energy and enthusiasm.

Valpo took 12 free throws which indicates there weren't a lot of trips towards the basket. The outside game was awful. Thus the lack of energy.

The team is young and some are/were probably overstating the provable talent level of the roster. Until the roster matures and or the talent level becomes demonstrable, I think tempered enthusiasm would be appropriate. There's nothing that the team does particularly well and there isn't a player on the roster who is a defined go to guy when things aren't working or a big basket is needed.

[VUGrad1314]

How much longer does the youth excuse have as a viable explanation? We certainly shouldn't be able to go to that all season. At most I give it until conference play. If we haven't figured things out by then it will be past time to look for more valid explanations than youth.

[oklahomamick]

The Lottich teams do not move the ball around as much as the previous crusader teams.  Too much dribbling not enough movement makes it very easy to defend against us. 

[JD24]

How much longer does the youth excuse have as a viable explanation? We certainly shouldn't be able to go to that all season. At most I give it until conference play. If we haven't figured things out by then it will be past time to look for more valid explanations than youth.

Sure...if you want to "break down" a post and take one portion of a complete comment you'd come up with this conclusion. Read it in its entirety and maybe you have a more complete understanding of what was actually posted.

[JD24]

The Lottich teams do not move the ball around as much as the previous crusader teams.  Too much dribbling not enough movement makes it very easy to defend against us.

Coach K: "To play effectively you must be able spot up and take clean looks at the basket and make those shots along with your free throws. If you can't do that you can't play".

While that applies to the Duke program specifically, Valpo doesn't appear to have much in the way of spot up shooters and without players effective in penetration to score rather than dish, I'm not sure how they are expected to run an offense. That may change as some of the younger players....oops...don't want to offend anyone with a youth comment....let me say "newer" players show what they can do.

Let's just say I'm not confident that Valpo finds those effective enough to be the difference makers we want them to be at this point.

[EddieCabot]

UIndy and Ball State were tied 51-51 at half last night before BSU pulled away for a 16 point win.  UIndy probably ran out of gas playing on back-to-back nights.

[elephtheria47]

Obviously UIndy has talent, but ball state is projected around 3rd in the mac west. I hope we have higher expectations for us in the MVC.

[valpo64]

Did anyone look at the minutes played for the UIndy game?  Indy had 3 or 4 guys  over 30 minutes.  Our minutes were very spread out, and I think we had one at the 30 level.  To me that shows that Indy was really after it and we were experimenting with many and varied lineups.  For all of those harshly criticizing the way our staff ran the game, remember Bethel?   That was the year of our Sweet Sixteen run.

[ValpoDad89]

I know the outcome was horrendous for some but I look at some things that transpired and don't see it nearly as bad.

Shooting and rebounding were the areas that stood out to everyone as being not so good. And they were. But if you look inside those numbers, you see some of it goes hand in hand. Valpo shot 35% from the field and 16% from 3. I don't know the last time, if ever, I saw Valpo only make 16% of its 3's. The team shot 63 times and only made 22. That gave Indy 41 opportunities for a defensive rebound which is A LOT of opportunity and a good way to pad the rebounding stats. Out of those 63 shots Evelyn and Fazekas shot 21 which is a Third of them And only made a combined 4 of those attempts. I don't think that happens again or even comes close. If so, maybe a temperance of expectations is in order. On the flip side, Indy only had 55 attempts which is 8 less. Valpo was outrebounded by 9. All Valpo had to do was make 2 more of those extra 8and they win. Also, it sounded as if the effort and desire were somewhat lacking. Rebounding is about positioning, size and height to a large degree but it's also about tenacity and desire. Improve that and increase motivation, which is easier than teaching size, and you should see the rebounding improve. They're going to have to because if McMillan is starting st Center and playing significant 5 minutes you are going to be outsized most nights.

For me the good from the box score was Indy only scored 4 points off of 9 Valpo turnovers while VU scored 15 off of 14 for Indy. TO's and point disparity between VU and their opponents was one the biggest things that hurt them last year so that was nice to see. Defense seemed to be on par what we'd expect holding Indy to 34.5% from the field. And Free Throw shooting was at around 83% which is damn good.

I'm a glass half full guy. I still believe in the potential of the team and think shots will start falling, chemistry and rotations will tighten up and effort will improve. The last one is what I'll pay most attention to after the Concordia game. If it doesn't, after a lackluster performance out of the gate, will disappoint me more than anything.