Transfers

[M]

I'm not sure how I feel about speculating who will, won't, should or shouldn't transfer (I can be swayed either way). I see no harm in speculating how many may head out looking elsewhere.

[truth219]

Luckily nobody on this team is irreplaceable. We have no stars...we don't even have a fan favorite...maybe John kiaser. I love Valpo but i find it hard to support this coach and most of the players....i just want to see improvements. I want to see development. I want to see plays getting ran successfully. If our current roster returns minus Dion and we develope like we have..i see us in the lower half of the conference next season.

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[GoldenCrusader87]

Well-said, 219. Well-said. Agreed.

[justducky]

If our current roster returns minus Dion and we develope like we have..i see us in the lower half of the conference next season.

Well-said, 219. Well-said. Agreed.

I sense that you two are younger guys who are probably unable to wager and lose large sums. If I have misjudged your resources I think you will find most of the rest of the board lining up to place bets on your assessment. 

[crusader05]

I hope we don't lose either Javonn or Sackey.

My thoughts are one of Derrick or Jaume. either to play for money abroad or just a change of scenery.

My other thought is either Bakari or Micah if injury is that bad for them.

[truth219]

We couldn't compete in a down year in the MVC. If the conference bounces back next year, we will have to make that much more if a stride forward.

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[justducky]

He was give an opportunity, and I'm sure he's worked hard to improve his game. That's all anyone can ask. My problem isn't with him. It's with the coaching staff (especially the main recruiter) and possibly some clueless Merrillville and Duneland Conference people who clearly misassessed his value.

I've already thrown in his towel. Mileek was an interesting gamble but we haven't seen enough progress to stick with him. Even if he improves dramatically he will face reduced minutes. I'm not seeing how he should stay either from his or the VU point of view.

[AranJacobs]

Adding Eron Gordon, Nick Robinson, and Donovan Clay. All three are supposed to be 3 point threats. Add that to a healthy Bradford (if he returns) and healthy Fazekas, we might have solved our three point shooting problem, which I think is really causing our offensive problems. Every game we seemed to have a stretch where we would show promise of driving to the hoop, and the offense would look like it is going to catch on, but then the other team would switch to zone and shut down any of that momentum, and we would have no way to break that zone because we had no (healthy/available) three point shooters. The defense was not an issue at all this year, in fact I would say it was a good defense, but the inability to have any offensive momentum really killed us. Having options from deep next year will be a huge boost in my opinion and could really open up the offense and allow us to control how we want to plain the offensive end.

[justducky]

My other thought is either Bakari or Micah if injury is that bad for them.

I think Bakari stays and provides fewer but stronger bench minutes.

If Micah is still in pain his whole basketball future is open to question. Granted it took Lexus over 2 years to return to his pre injury form but Micah will not be given that kind of time. I'm hoping his situation gets clarified in the near future. An accurate description of his progress would be very helpful.

[M]

Bakari has already transferred once. Unless he's graduated I don't think he'd even consider it. He also seemed to be a favorite of Lottich's.

Outside the two 7'ers Mileek is the only size Valpo has. I don't see him going anywhere either especially if one of them leaves.

Should be an interesting month or two or however long it takes for these things to shake out.

[bigmosmithfan1]

The goal right now should be to pull out all stops to keep Smits on board for next year. He's grad-transfer eligible and you know he has plenty of schools sniffing around him now that the season is over. Hopefully those P5 schools be a bit more classy and tactful about it than they were with Alec.

(That said, I have heard the fact that said P5 schools basically treated Alec like a piece of meat who'd automatically bail on his teammates because of the brand name on their jerseys was one of the things that helped to keep him at Valpo. So maybe we're rooting for P5 fans and coaches to be as crass and arrogant about this as they've always been).

Smits improved significantly this season and there's no reason to think he won't be a dominant Valley player next year. ML would be wise to put a full-court press on to keep him around.

[justducky]

Outside the two 7'ers Mileek is the only size Valpo has. I don't see him going anywhere either especially if one of them leaves.

Mileek with 5 fouls in 10 minutes. I recall none on offense. You can argue that he was defending good scorers but that is my exact point. ML thinks defense first and McMillan can't cut it.

"I sense that you two are younger guys who are probably unable to wager and lose large sums. If I have misjudged your resources I think you will find most of the rest of the board lining up to place bets on your assessment.  "

I have no idea what this means. Other than trying to play the good ol' ageism card in an effort to puff up your own chest? No idea. Like, I seriously must be an idiot because I have NO idea what you're talking about. Sorry for my incompetence. Please forgive me, leader of the world.

Translation
If you want side bets on VU finishing bottom half for 2019-20 you'll find all the takers you want and you won't have to look far to find them.

[mj]

I think Smits is the canary in the coal mine for this program. If he jumps ship for a P5 school, then maybe the outlook for next year isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

[truth219]

Maybe a bottom dweller power 5

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[M]

Like Vanderbilt 🤔😂

[crusader05]

I feel like Smits would worry me the least as even if we had a decent season I could see him being lured away.

[FieldGoodie05]

The goal right now should be to pull out all stops to keep Smits on board for next year. He's grad-transfer eligible and you know he has plenty of schools sniffing around him now that the season is over. Hopefully those P5 schools be a bit more classy and tactful about it than they were with Alec.

(That said, I have heard the fact that said P5 schools basically treated Alec like a piece of meat who'd automatically bail on his teammates because of the brand name on their jerseys was one of the things that helped to keep him at Valpo. So maybe we're rooting for P5 fans and coaches to be as crass and arrogant about this as they've always been).

Smits improved significantly this season and there's no reason to think he won't be a dominant Valley player next year. ML would be wise to put a full-court press on to keep him around.

Smits is a gump who can't guard MVC level players let alone P5...I'm not worried even if he decides to leave.  He is the least self aware defender on the court (except for when McMillan enters the game for his prerequisite 5-and-2...five minutes and two fouls).

Still excited to see what we have with our three new guys for next season.

[VU2014]

I'm not sure what he's suppose to say in this circumstance and it's probably best not to be 100% candid but there is no way he hasn't thought about it.

I hope he stays and helps lead Valpo to a special season. We need our perimeter player to get better at hitting their outside shots to help Smits and Sorolla down low. Loyola was just crashing the paint and disrespecting our backcourt and it was a smart strategy that ever Valley team was doing towards the end of the season to us. Guys need to work on their shooting this offseason, among other things.

https://twitter.com/nwioren/status/1104129126447894528?s=21

[VU2014]

I went with two transfers. I think a few individuals who frequent this board know something and they weren't will to share during the season for worry of creating a bunch of further speculation and now that the season is over it will be interesting to see if they're willing share with us all.

[VUGrad1314]

The goal right now should be to pull out all stops to keep Smits on board for next year. He's grad-transfer eligible and you know he has plenty of schools sniffing around him now that the season is over. Hopefully those P5 schools be a bit more classy and tactful about it than they were with Alec. (That said, I have heard the fact that said P5 schools basically treated Alec like a piece of meat who'd automatically bail on his teammates because of the brand name on their jerseys was one of the things that helped to keep him at Valpo. So maybe we're rooting for P5 fans and coaches to be as crass and arrogant about this as they've always been). Smits improved significantly this season and there's no reason to think he won't be a dominant Valley player next year. ML would be wise to put a full-court press on to keep him around.

Smits is a gump who can't guard MVC level players let alone P5...I'm not worried even if he decides to leave.  He is the least self aware defender on the court (except for when McMillan enters the game for his prerequisite 5-and-2...five minutes and two fouls). Still excited to see what we have with our three new guys for next season.

Call me crazy but I still believe in McMillan if he ever learns to control and use his body without fouling he will be a force.

[valpolaw]

I like McMillan too. He could be really good if he didn't foul so much. What's the deal with Micah's injury?

[VU2014]

Was Micah in St. Louis?

[oklahomamick]

I did not see him but injured players typically don't travel

[vu72]

Luckily nobody on this team is irreplaceable. We have no stars...we don't even have a fan favorite...maybe John kiaser. I love Valpo but i find it hard to support this coach and most of the players....i just want to see improvements. I want to see development. I want to see plays getting ran successfully. If our current roster returns minus Dion and we develope like we have..i see us in the lower half of the conference next season.

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Dude, have you not followed the physical issues surrounding this team?  Do you think a healthy Ryan Fazekas won't help the team?  Do you think adding a guy like Eron Gordon, a top five kid coming out of Indiana or Nick Robinson, a top ten kid coming out of illinois or adding Donovon Clay, a 6'7" freaky athletic kid, won't make this a successful team?  I don't know either, but if you can't see the possibility of success then perhaps you should follow a different team.

And as far as fan favorites, I vote for an all freshman, all defensive team kid.  I'm pretty sure his name is Javon Freeman.

[vu72]

I like McMillan too. He could be really good if he didn't foul so much. What's the deal with Micah's injury?

[/b]

Darn good question.  I have wondered this as well.  What kind of injury that keeps you out of uniform for basicly the entire year, doesn't require surgery?  And if it does, why didn't the surgery already occur?  My guess is, and that is all it is, is that he and the coach have decided that in all likelihood, given the added depth at guard, that his playing time would be very limited to zero and so why not preserve a year of eligibility and allow him to play someplace else.  It is the only thing that makes sense given what we know--(which is ZERO)