Game #26 Valpo vs Indiana State 2/13/19 @ ARC 7pm espn3

[oklahomamick]

Yes, but not the top P5's.  Plus he would probably sacrifice playing time.  Team will be good next year (they will) and he can be one of the better players in the Valley.  Unless he has beef with Lottich I don't see him going.

[VU2014]

Yes, but not the top P5's.  Plus he would probably sacrifice playing time.  Team will be good next year (they will) and he can be one of the better players in the Valley.  Unless he has beef with Lottich I don't see him going.

I think there are plenty of reasons for him to stay.

-Chance to have a very special team next season
-Playing time
-guaranteed big role
-success developing every year with this staff
-comfort level with his teammates on and off the court
-masters degree already in progress

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/1095901083338227712
https://twitter.com/rwweinstein/status/1095901404034727936

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQsofDOya3k

[M]

No reason for him to leave.
1 - he is the focus of our offense when he is in so he wouldn't be leaving for more opportunities
2 - he's not going to a power 5, he can't defend anyone that weighs more then him, doesn't finish through contact, makes half of his fts, doesn't shoot 3s

[VU2010]

If players earn a diploma and are eligible to transfer with the ability to immediately play, good for them. They're young men with futures. Many of whom will not play at the next level. Those who do will likely play overseas. Point being - Valpo doesn't have that many graduate programs. They deserve to get a degree they are interested in and that will help them with their lives post-basketball. Kiser will be an engineer in a couple years. Making good money living a happy life. Will be a hard worker and a team player. His lack of d-1 shooting skills will have nothing to do with his future success off the court. Seems like a really good guy.

Point being: the others need to put themselves into a position where they'll be able to pursue careers that are of interest to them. If that means they could pursue a masters in an area they're really interested in that a) Valpo doesn't offer, or b) provides them with new opportunities/networking - then go for it!!!

If Smits has that opportunity and can play in a P5 and earn a degree he's interested in, good for him! And same for the others. Lottich is in his career. He's been handed the keys to a Cadillac. Maybe not a Ferrari like Calipari in Kentucky. But a good reliable car. Take care of it. Take ownership of it.

If Freeman can play elsewhere and give himself a better shot at the big stage, release him. It's his life. His only shot at playing college b-ball. He doesn't owe us anything.

As a fan, I'd love for Lottich to win, win, win and for everyone to stay, get good degrees, and be prepared for what's next. But who are we to stop these guys from pursuing their dreams?

[justducky]

Anybody got the phone number for the local AA? I mean when they play well they get me celebrating big time, and nights like this get me drowning my sorrows. 

[nkvu]

Why would Smits leave?  He has a lot of friends on campus and he has a chance to make 1st team all MVC next year.  He won't have to compete for playing time.  I just don't see the positives of transferring

All bets are off if he's eligible for a grad transfer, though. P5 teams will be circling him like vultures like they were with Alec.

I wonder. He is becoming a decent MVC 5 this year. He might become a very good MVC 5 next year, particularly if he can square up and knock down that 10 ft jumper consistently. But I'm not sure he would be first team all conference even then as long as that kid is at Loyola.  Without that I doubt he would get the majority of minutes at a good P5 school, as I think he would struggle against stronger and more athletic 5's at that level. Of course if he just wants his ticket punched at a lower level P5 school he could probably find a home, but at an upper level one I think he might get 10 - 15 minutes a game as a backup.

If by chance our two transfers are as good as we all hope they are, and our two freshmen develop as we all hope they will, Smits should see a lot more opportunity to show off his skills with more opponents having to play him more straight up rather than doubling him. As some of our transfer outs have found, moving to a P5 school doesn't guarantee you a path to the nba.

[M]

It's neat how quickly this board goes from we can win 3 in st Louis to fire the coach....

Right now I'm hoping they can salvage this year, be post season eligible, and next year it's make or break time.

[VU2010]

https://youtu.be/aW0XYybSAxY

Watch at the 2:50 mark and tell me your thoughts on how he reacts .... it's a fair question by the reporter to ask about losing 4 straight at home...

Spoiler alert: he still doesn't take responsibility. Too loose with the ball ... free throws .... blah blah blah ... not a single word about taking ownership. The buck stops .....?!?!? Idk

[VU2014]

https://youtu.be/aW0XYybSAxY

Watch at the 2:50 mark and tell me your thoughts on how he reacts .... it's a fair question by the reporter to ask about losing 4 straight at home...

Spoiler alert: he still doesn't take responsibility. Too loose with the ball ... free throws .... blah blah blah ... not a single word about taking ownership. The buck stops .....?!?!? Idk

I don't think he was scoffing at the reporter bringing it up but was instead frustrated by the stat. I don't think that reaction was directed towards Robbie

[NativeCheesehead]

Bad loss. Bad transfer rumors. Still no long term plan to address the inadequacy of our gym. Questions about the leadership of the team. Questions about the leadership of the athletic department as a whole.

I need a hug. 

[nkvu]

Bad loss. Bad transfer rumors. Still no long term plan to address the inadequacy of our gym. Questions about the leadership of the team. Questions about the leadership of the athletic department as a whole.

I need a hug. 

I'm finding solace in scotch. Of course if we continue on this course my liver could be in jeopardy.

[VU2010]

Glad you're still on the wagon, 2014. Getting roomier for you at least.

[valpopal]

https://youtu.be/aW0XYybSAxY

Watch at the 2:50 mark and tell me your thoughts on how he reacts .... it's a fair question by the reporter to ask about losing 4 straight at home...

Spoiler alert: he still doesn't take responsibility. Too loose with the ball ... free throws .... blah blah blah ... not a single word about taking ownership. The buck stops .....?!?!? Idk

I don't think he was scoffing at the reporter bringing it up but was instead frustrated by the stat. I don't think that reaction would was directed towards Robbie

I have to agree with that he was clearly reacting to the reporter for asking the question not out of frustration at the stat.

[AranJacobs]

Smits has gotten a lot better, and next year he should continue to get better. I will be devastated if he transfers. But for Christ sake does he even know that he has a RIGHT HAND. he would've had 35 tonight if he knew how to use his right hand. Missed too many left handed layups on the right hand side that would be easy and ones if he could use his right hand. He's a 7'1 division one center with a father that was an NBA all star and he can't use his right hand.

[VUGrad1314]

https://youtu.be/aW0XYybSAxY

Watch at the 2:50 mark and tell me your thoughts on how he reacts .... it's a fair question by the reporter to ask about losing 4 straight at home...

Spoiler alert: he still doesn't take responsibility. Too loose with the ball ... free throws .... blah blah blah ... not a single word about taking ownership. The buck stops .....?!?!? Idk

I don't think he was scoffing at the reporter bringing it up but was instead frustrated by the stat. I don't think that reaction would was directed towards Robbie

I have to agree with that he was clearly reacting to the reporter for asking the question not out of frustration at the stat.

That is CLEARLY directed at the reporter. FIX THE GLARING ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN WITH THIS TEAM ALL SEASON AND BEFORE AND MAYBE YOU'LL FIND THE QUESTIONS A BIT MORE TO YOUR LIKING. This is Valparaiso. We have expectations. If you can't or don't want to deal with those there's nothing saying you HAVE to coach the team. Lose the attitude take your lumps and some responsibility or go away. Competitive or not there's no reason for a coach to act like a petulant child when a reporter is just doing his job and bringing up a fair and factual point. Grow up coach. It's sad when a 22 year old takes more responsibility than a grown man.

[VU2014]

Glad you're still on the wagon, 2014. Getting roomier for you at least.

I think it's fair to be critical of this teams offense which falls ultimately at his feet. It's been bad other than sporadic games like the Illinois State game. It's just too much dribbling around and settling for bad 3s when we can't get it in to Smits down low. It's his weakness as a coach, imo. He needs get better at developing the offensive game plan. Can he learn all this on the job as a young Head Coach? To be honest, I don't know. Porter Moser's head coaching gig at Illinois State did not go well at all. He has said in multiple interviews that he wasn't nearly as knowledgable or prepared to be a HC as he was when he took the Loyola job. He ultimately got fired from Illinois State (he eventually recruited towards the end and the incoming ISU coach was handed a pretty good roster) and he got offered an assistant coaching job by the legendary Rick Majarus in 2007 and learned under him for 5 years and got offered the Loyola job. He said he needed that to make him a better coach. Does Coach Lottich need to go through a similar experience? I don't know. But it's pretty widely known that Bryce was a task master and a micromanager. Maybe that's not a positive environment to groom assistants? I hope Lottich is the guy that we want to lead this program long-term (but ultimately is desired by other larger schools with deep pockets). Is he the guy? I don't know. I'm not going to give up on him after less than 3 years. Any coach deserves at least 4 years and a full recruiting cycle. Do I have concerns yes but there are also things to like. One thing I will give him credit for is that the man can clearly coach defense. We're a strong defensive team even if we do have a few defensive lapses from time to time. Another things going for him is that he is a really intelligent and bright guy. He's also hyper competitive. I'm not sure if you've ever got the opportunity to meet him and chat with him, but if you did you'd probably be impressed.

[oklahomamick]

Bruce has a couple good plays where the 4 would set a pick for the 5 to receive it deep into the lane.   Also had one where the 4 would set a pick for the 5 but pop out to hit a 3. 

Lottich was on the bench (granted waaaay down the bench) during our successful years.  He also played for a really good Stanford.

[rogerwilco]

The kind of loss that really makes me question Lottich's future at VU.

[humbleopinion]

Perhaps some of you will chalk this up as good coaching by the ISU coach, but I found bush league.

Three times Kessinger fell down when Smits was making moves with the ball underneath.  The first time Smits was able to get off a good shot.  The second time, Smits flipped the ball over his shoulder as he had been tripped, and the ball went in.  The third time (near the end of the game or in OT) Smits fell over him and was called for a travel.  I remember Keesinger doing the same thing in our first meeting.

Twice in overtime, Keys was able to draw a foul by acting, he pulled his head back or torso as if there had been significant contact. I was disappointed that the referee fell for it -- especially in that situation.

Unrelated to the above, I will note that I expressed concern about Fazekas's recovery being sufficient for him to play good defense.  Washington's two threes in overtime were both over Ryan.

[VUGrad1314]

Lansing sucks and is a POS and an embarrassment to this conference and his program. These guys dive more than an aquatics team and flop harder than Lottich's crunch time offensive scheme. The day he's replaced will be a good one for ISU and the MVC.

[SanityLost17]

I don't know why everyone is blaming the offense.... 

We scored 82 points on 50% shooting and 38% from 3... Yes I know 71 points in regulation but I think we finished regulation at like 52% from the floor and 42% from 3.  Not exactly terrible offensive stats. 

Taking emotion out of it, has anybody stopped to think we are just not built to win games where the refs are blowing the whistle a lot?    Not only are we dependent on playing aggressive defense but we are a bad free throw shooting team.  So when the refs are calling the game tight we are screwed.  We can't be physical to get the stops we need and when they foul us we are screwed because our guys are more likely to hit an off balance layup on a drive to the hoop than a free throw.

In my opinion that is the reality of this team right now.   

[VUGrad1314]

I don't know why everyone is blaming the offense.... We scored 82 points on 50% shooting and 38% from 3... Yes I know 71 points in regulation but I think we finished regulation at like 52% from the floor and 42% from 3.  Not exactly terrible offensive stats. Taking emotion out of it, has anybody stopped to think we are just not built to win games where the refs are blowing the whistle a lot?    Not only are we dependent on playing aggressive defense but we are a bad free throw shooting team.  So when the refs are calling the game tight we are screwed.  We can't be physical to get the stops we need and when they foul us we are screwed because our guys are more likely to hit an off balance layup on a drive to the hoop than a free throw. In my opinion that is the reality of this team right now.

Great argument. The kind I'm looking for to keep my waning optimism alive and not turn completely against coach Lottich. But you can't ignore 21 turnovers. That's unacceptably bad. The fact that despite all of this we still took it to overtime shows how good and talented this team is and can be. Yet the results are pedestrian. The blame for this has to go somewhere and it's hard to blame the players when you see the same issues game after game and even season after season.

[oklahomamick]

I don't blame it on offense.  I blame it on not getting good looks in the final 4 possessions.  (Even after time outs!!!). Critical moments and we always fail.

[NativeCheesehead]

Hey at least we finally have an answer the question Paul asked back in December.

Is this team good? They are not.