Game #16 Valpo vs Bradley 1/8/19 @ ARC 7pm espn+

[talksalot]

Any word on final overall attendance?

2.535 in the box score Aaron just posted.

[talksalot]

Here's the final box...

http://www.valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/boxscore/2018-19/7282/bradley-vs-valpo-01-08-2019/

Onward to Carbondale ... just booked the train tickets for the 26-hour quickie trip.  Worst part?  The name of the Amtrak train is "The Saluki"...

[VU2014]

This was a fun and great team win even it was ugly at times, but this Fazekas injury is a pivotal point in our season. He was just starting to find his groove and he is clearly our best scorer. We need Ryan. Fingers crossed it's a minor sprain and a speedy recovery.

[VUGrad1314]

Attndance: 2535

Pathetic. The game was over at 9. The community needs to step up. This team deserves better than a half full ARC school night or not.


Marketing is improving


The competition is consistently good


The team is winning


There's no excuse.


The region needs to fan up and get behind this team.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/rwweinstein/status/1082848395482591234

[VUGrad1314]

Golder and  the bigs were solid. Was nice to see McMillan pour in a 3 as well. Rebounding was great. How about Jay hitting that 3? Clutch shot by Bakari right when they were making a run. Sackey continues to bring great energy and is progressing as a distributor. Lavender did a good job stabilizing things and hit some big shots. But Javon was the MVP. He had an amazing night on both ends of the floor. I hope he continues to play well. We'll need him to lead the offense if Fazekas misses time.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/rwweinstein/status/1082860989257838593
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/1082859089955307520

[SanityLost17]

Most amazing stat I see...

Golder played for 30 minutes and everybody else played less than him.  So it is not like we had to wear our best players down to get the victory with Fazekas out.   I think that helps us keep defensive intensity when most everybody is only playing 11-15 minutes a half. 

2nd most amazing thing... 

Bakari is being selective on his 3 point shots.   He passed up at least 4 or 5 low percentage threes tonight he would have let fly a month ago.  Not all his open 3's went in but aside from trying to beat the shot clock his shot selection is so much better and the offense moves better now that he is being smarter.   

   

[VUGrad1314]

Most amazing stat I see... Golder played for 30 minutes and everybody else played less than him.  So it is not like we had to wear our best players down to get the victory with Fazekas out.   I think that helps us keep defensive intensity when most everybody is only playing 11-15 minutes a half. 2nd most amazing thing... Bakari is being selective on his 3 point shots.   He passed up at least 4 or 5 low percentage threes tonight he would have let fly a month ago.  Not all his open 3's went in but aside from trying to beat the shot clock his shot selection is so much better and the offense moves better now that he is being smarter.

Good points but don't you have a letter to write? 

[valpopal]

[VUGrad1314]

Look at those smiles. I see a happy team that believes in each other. I think good things could really be in store for us going forward.

[wh]

Complain when we lose complain when we win, some people are never satisfied. I don't care, I'm happy  with any win pretty or ugly.

Couldn't agree more. Intense, unrelenting defense won this game. Who thought we'd be saying that 2 or 3 weeks ago? 

[VUGrad1314]

Cool stat (posted before the Bradley game) and something to watch going forward.

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/1082743492676411394

[VUBBFan]

Most amazing stat I see... Golder played for 30 minutes and everybody else played less than him.  So it is not like we had to wear our best players down to get the victory with Fazekas out.   I think that helps us keep defensive intensity when most everybody is only playing 11-15 minutes a half. 2nd most amazing thing... Bakari is being selective on his 3 point shots.   He passed up at least 4 or 5 low percentage threes tonight he would have let fly a month ago.  Not all his open 3's went in but aside from trying to beat the shot clock his shot selection is so much better and the offense moves better now that he is being smarter.

Good points but don't you have a letter to write? 

[Valpower]

Cool stat (posted before the Bradley game) and something to watch going forward.

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/1082743492676411394

Since the Scott Drew foreign-recruiting era, Valpo has had a good record of recruiting two solid centers and developing them remarkably well (e.g., Vilcinskas/Viskovic, Grafs/Nikkila).  Our best centers probably wouldn't have been as good without practicing and competing against a solid stablemate and when both have developed well together (either similarly or complementarily), the impact has been great. Derrik and J play similarly enough to not have to change the offensive or defensive scheme too much when one substitutes for the other, but they differ enough in their strengths to add a complex, two-headed-monster element to the 5 position. I really hope both stay next year.  It's fun when the opposition struggles against big men and realizes there will be no relief.

[valpo84]

I think someone posted on twitter that Wardle is 1-8 at ARC since 2011. #ARCmagic

[talksalot]

https://valpoathletics.exposure.co/valpo-61-bradley-50

[bbtds]

Where IS EVERYBODY?! A half court shot and a convincing road win isn't enough to get this place rocking? Very disappointed in the locals AND the students. The weather is perfect AGAIN too. Epic Fail by the community unless people start streaming in during these final 15 minutes. Our student section sucks since I graduated. This isn't a "get off my lawn" alum moment. It's sad and terrible. Guess we have to keep winning to convince everyone. So be it. Go Valpo!

I think some of you are being overly conservative with your attendance guesses. In light of the buzzer beater and the performance against Missouri State anything less than the Illinois State number which was also a midweek game would be a massive disappointment and the community would be the ones to blame.

In that case I'll say 2,949

There seems to be nothing like the Valpo community to let down the VUMBB team with their midweek attendance. Expect massive disappointment.

Attndance: 2535

And the Valpo fans come through as predicted. Fans in general don't turn on to a team that quickly. 

I hate being off by 4,014. That's way too many to the negative side.

[wh]

I think someone posted on twitter that Wardle is 1-8 at ARC since 2011. #ARCmagic

From the Times. A nice backhanded compliment from Wardle:

"Give them credit: They had some guys who aren't shooters make shots from 3 today," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "They had some back-breaking shots that went in for them at the end of the shot clock."

Yep, exactly how I would characterize the reason we won - luck. Just like the lucky game-winning shot Ryan hit to win the 2013 HL tournament against his stacked GB team. Never mind that he was left completely unguarded while dribbling all the way down the court before launching that lucky shot.

[vu72]

I think someone posted on twitter that Wardle is 1-8 at ARC since 2011. #ARCmagic

From the Times. A nice backhanded compliment from Wardle:

"Give them credit: They had some guys who aren't shooters make shots from 3 today," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "They had some back-breaking shots that went in for them at the end of the shot clock."

Yep, exactly how I would characterize the reason we won - luck. Just like the lucky game-winning shot Ryan hit to win the 2013 HL tournament against his stacked GB team. Never mind that he was left completely unguarded while dribbling all the way down the court before launching that lucky shot.

To be fair wh, he was right considering Daniel made a 3 while shooting 20% from there all season and then there was Jay's first 3 in his career.  As for his "stacked" GB team, we had beaten them on the road only 7 days earlier by 19 points!  We were the team that was "lucky" that night by even having a chance at the winning shot.

[oklahomamick]

Although he wasn't Scott's recruit, Vashil was a big man that changed the game for opponents.  We have not had a more athletic big man than Vashil. 

[4throwfan]

Really enjoyed the game last night.  Team overcame some mistakes and difficulties to outplay the other team, which is what winning teams do.

Just to turn to something negative for a moment: in other threads, we have commented on student apathy, and some of us, including me, have suggested that it is a generational culture issue, not a university culture issue.  I saw something over the last two games that suggests that I am wrong.  When the Chesterton High School band was here, they were very enthusiastic, and I think they helped the atmosphere.  Just an opinion.  Last night, in contrast, in the waning moments of the game, at least half of the university pep band (which I assume should be somewhat peppy) was sitting down playing on their phones.  They weren't even watching the game.  The other half was yelling and cheering.  Big difference in game-time engagement between the two bands.  Can't blame apathy on the younger generation if an even younger generation was more enthusiastic, and it wasn't even their school.

[VU2014]

I think we need to give Coach Gore a lot of credit in the development of our big men over the years. He has been the one constant from the Scott Drew season to the present. He's really developed these guys. Each have different skill sets. Vashil, Sorolla, and Smits are all very different players.

Another consistent theme is that it takes time to develop bigs which can be really frustrating when you don't have a upperclassman to lean on and pass the torch on. That's why I thought Bediako not picking Valpo was bigger than people originally thought. Maybe we have a chance with skogman but that seems like a long shot at this point. Once Smits & Sorolla graduate (hopefully not transfer) we don't want to hand the reigns back over to a freshman, IMO.

[oklahomamick]

I read the Bradley forum to better understand how other fans see our team.  They are in the same spot Valpo fans were a week ago.  Funny how a week changes everything.  Negative Nancy here predicts a loss Saturday on the road.  I think we are getting tired and I expect Ryan to be out.  Winning on the road is never easy either. 

Bradley fans were going down memory lane when they were a very good program.  Now they are upset they are last in a bad conference.  It's not your grandpa's Missouri Valley with Louisville, Tulsa, Memphis. 

They also took digs at Wardle and his inability to produce a good offense or shooters.  My response is that has always been the case for Wardle coached team. 

Good win Valpo! 

[vu72]

I read the Bradley forum to better understand how other fans see our team.  They are in the same spot Valpo fans were a week ago.  Funny how a week changes everything.  Negative Nancy here predicts a loss Saturday on the road.  I think we are getting tired and I expect Ryan to be out.  Winning on the road is never easy either. 

Bradley fans were going down memory lane when they were a very good program.  Now they are upset they are last in a bad conference.  It's not your grandpa's Missouri Valley with Louisville, Tulsa, Memphis. 

They also took digs at Wardle and his inability to produce a good offense or shooters.  My response is that has always been the case for Wardle coached team. 

Good win Valpo! 

Hey Nancy!  Two things:  First, I would say that Raitis was WAY more athletic than Vashil. Sure, he wasn't up to Vashil's numbers in blocks but could easily step out and hit the 3. Vashil's range was three feet. And second, to say that The Valley is a "bad" conference is just flat out over the top.  Sure, we are down from some years but still way ahead of the majority of basketball conferences.