Valpo at UNLV Nov 28 9:30 CST

[VU2014]

Smits is playing with a lot of confidence now. Before I thought he played tentatively, afraid to make a mistake sometimes looking like he was second guessing what to do. What I've seen recently is a player confident and unafraid to go at it hard without thinking of failing. He may not be "THE" team leader but he's got the other players responding to his play. The half court offense seems to be alive now. Not so much standing around waiting for someone else to do something. They need to keep up this new found energy and carry in through the rest of the season, if they do, this will be a very good year.

I wonder if McMillan getting the start at the 5 at the beginning of the year had anything to do with his increased aggressiveness. Lit a fire under him, let him know he's not guaranteed to be playing...

Everybody's missing the obvious: Derrik read the message board and set out to prove us wrong.

I sure hope no players read this message board. That can't be healthy. Maybe it was what motivated him if he did. Either way it worked and he's clearly playing with much more aggression and he has really impressed.

[VUGrad1314]

Who cares what his motivation is? He's finally playing like the player we all knew he could be and that is wonderful to see. Keep it up Derrik! We need both you and Jay to shine in order to take a step forward and ultimately reach our potential. Go Valpo!

[M]

I really enjoyed the commentators for this game. They made a ton of errors when referring to our guys, musing up their names very routinely. But they were fair and very entertaining.

[VU2014]

I really enjoyed the commentators for this game. They made a ton of errors when referring to our guys, musing up their names very routinely. But they were fair and very entertaining.

100% agree. It's very rare to get an opposing broadcast that calls balls and strikes on both sides. They were an entertaining and knowledgable duo. I always enjoy when broadcasts have an entertain old ball coach as the color guy because they offer a little more insight to the game.

I really enjoy our broadcast duo of Todd and Dave. Todd is one of the best in the business and our guy but also calls it like he sees it without the exaggerated spin that many home play-by-play guys do. Random thought but one guy I always thought would be a fantastic national broadcast color commentator is Greg Kampe. He's seen it all, entertaining and will tell you the blunt truth. I can forgive him poking Valpo over the years. Who would make a good future color commentary guy for Valpo? Indiana has a wealth brilliant basketball minds from the area, but you'd probably want a guy with a VU connection. Former player or Coach in the area? Chris Artis is an entertaining guy and knows the game, but I have no clue what his broadcasting chops are like.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/Givemeliberty30/status/1068859193837404161

[FieldGoodie05]

https://twitter.com/Givemeliberty30/status/1068859193837404161

What do we suppose that means?  Did he get less minutes or less shits @ UNLV?

[FieldGoodie05]

https://twitter.com/Givemeliberty30/status/1068859193837404161

What do we suppose that means?  Did he get less minutes or less shits @ UNLV?

Whoops, shits = shots 🤪

[chef]

A couple points on Bakari. He had foot surgery this summer and missed the entire off-season. I don't think he's 100 percent healthy right now. However, I think he's actually moving the basketball much better this season. Last year he had 93 assists and 88 turnovers. Thus far this season he has 28 assists and just 14 turnovers. I think the poor shooting has likely been caused by the lack of play leading up to the season.

[FieldGoodie05]

https://twitter.com/Givemeliberty30/status/1068859193837404161

What do we suppose that means?  Did he get less minutes or less shits @ UNLV?

Quick research shows he's been getting 24-32 MPG.  UNLV game was a season high (or near) in mpg @ 32.

Pure speculation says he's frustrated with 4-3 record?  Either way, he's a rock on both ends of the court.  Glad to have his services!

[valpopal]

[tweet]1068859193837404161[/tweet]

What do we suppose that means?  Did he get less minutes or less shits @ UNLV?

Whoops, shits = shots 🤪

I wouldn't read anything into this. Javon had a very good game. He played 32 minutes and only Lavender (35) had more time on the court. Javon's shooting also was good: he shot 50% from the 3-point line (1-2) and was 50% overall (4-8: right on his average for shots taken and made). His scoring of 9 points was slightly below his average only because he didn't get to the free throw line. In addition, he had 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, plus he had only 1 turnover and committed 0 fouls. In addition, the team won in an upset!

[VU2014]

I wouldn't read too much into Javon's uncle saying "good talk". Javon is very close to his uncle and he's like a father like figure to him. If anything I think it's a positive thing. I follow him on twitter he's a pretty motivating guy and follows Valpo Basketball closely.

[crusadermoe]

I saw nothing negative in the tweet.  Fun to see Javon with him and see how short he seemed at 6'3"

[valpotx]

Yeah, no worries on that tweet.  He probably just gave him pointers, after watching him play against some good competition. 

In regards to assists to turnovers, when was the last season where we ended up with more assists?  I have to think that it has been many years...

[vusupporter]

Cincinnati wins at UNLV, 65-61.

[VU2014]

Cincinnati wins at UNLV, 65-61.

We may get a crack at Cincinnati next season in the Paradise Jam. There are a lot of good programs in that tourney.

[nkvu]

Cincinnati wins at UNLV, 65-61.

We may get a crack at Cincinnati next season in the Paradise Jam. There are a lot of good programs in that tourney.

I certainly hope so. As a greater Cincinnati resident for the past almost 40 years it has been my hope to get UC or Xavier on a neutral court when we have a team that has a real chance to knock them off.  A win over a Cincinnati team would give me bragging rights over a number of my friends.  I see that X played Oakland today. I can't see why Valpo couldn't get a paid game with them too. Next year I think we could have a legit chance, though that's probably why X wouldn't play us.

[historyman]

Besides Smits hitting on a double-double (20 pts/12 RBs), another big difference (for me at least) was seeing all the motion on offense.  Not a lot of standing around off the ball.  Glad that is becoming part of the formula.

Bingo, so true. This team ran their offense so much better.

[historyman]

The most commonly heard phrase heard all night, "C'mon Rebs! These guys are nobodies."


I loved thinking to myself, "Well, those nobodies just outhustled your Rebs."