Transfers

[valpotx]

Goodnews officially in the transfer portal.  Can't fault him, with the amount of talent that we are bringing in.  He was probably hoping for a starting role with the folks leaving, and that quickly changed in the last few weeks.

[humbleopinion]

I think this could have been expected for Goodnews.  With his lack of consistency, I don't believe he would have been asked to to contribute much on game days.  It has to be difficult to keep a team together: freshmen recruits are lured by the prospect of immediate playing time, and upperclassmen are not content if they aren't in the starting lineup or are getting significant minutes. I guess the bench is much more uncomfortable than it has been in the past.

I see that Illinois State's Abdou Ndiaye has entered the portal as well.  As I see names, I wonder which are those of players looking to transfer up and which are athletes hoping for more playing time. Ndiaye seemed to have strong potential.  Unless the Redbirds have brought in someone to play in front of him, I would presume that he is looking for an upgrade.

[vu72]

I think this could have been expected for Goodnews.  With his lack of consistency, I don't believe he would have been asked to to contribute much on game days.  It has to be difficult to keep a team together: freshmen recruits are lured by the prospect of immediate playing time, and upperclassmen are not content if they aren't in the starting lineup or are getting significant minutes. I guess the bench is much more uncomfortable than it has been in the past.

I see that Illinois State's Abdou Ndiaye has entered the portal as well. As I see names, I wonder which are those of players looking to transfer up and which are athletes hoping for more playing time. Ndiaye seemed to have strong potential.  Unless the Redbirds have brought in someone to play in front of him, I would presume that he is looking for an upgrade.

Illinois State appears to be in free fall.  They were young last year but now have lost over half of their points to transfer.  Is Muller long for this coaching world?

[humbleopinion]

Ndiaye is heading to Cal St Fullerton -- I hope he doesn't think of that as an upgrade!

[wh]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Packer fans, you are hereby put on notice. My Bears finally drafted an elite QB (and great team leader), Justin Fields. No more "game managers." Your days are numbered.

RETURNING NOW TO REGULAR PROGRAMMING

[VUBBFan]

Coach's take on transfers

https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/1388462502862860288

[vu72]

Finally Joe is in the house!

http://www.valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/news/2020-21/20474/hedstrom-ruedinger-to-join-valpo-basketball-program/

[usc4valpo]

In this chaos is it fair to say Valpo is in a better situation talentwise?

[vu72]

In this chaos is it fair to say Valpo is in a better situation talentwise?

I would say, ABSOLUTELY!!  Think about it. What were our biggest problems last year?  Well, first, we had point guards (Sackey and Zion) who shot a combined 8-47 from the three.  The other guys lost to transfer (Helm, Siggy and Goodnews) shot a combined 7-44. Obviously we also lost our best three point shooter too.  We have added a fifth year senior and three freshman who all shoot over 40%, plus, they are BIG.

So then another problem was rebounding. For the season we were out rebounded by a margin of 4 per game.  We lost Donovan's 5.5 rpg but add two guys who played in the Big 10 who have man sized bodies.

So then we had scoring problems and added a senior who averaged over 20 points per game and freshman who can really score plus we keep Sheldon and get Connor back. 

My guess is that we will be significantly better and of course, VERY deep.

[VUGrad1314]

I can't believe I'm about to say this with how negatively I reacted to the transfers of Clay and JO especially but yes. Our PGs now have size and can shoot which will help us and (I hope and believe) we should stop getting abused on the boards and in the front court. These were our two biggest most glaring weaknesses and hindered us a great deal in many games. The MVC is loaded this year but I have to believe that we'll be more competitive this year. I don't know if it will translate into wins because of how good the top of the conference is but we should be competitive in every game.

[wh]

Great interview by Harry, second only to our own Paul Oren's group interview with our new recruiting class. Making a zoom conversation click with 4 high schoolers who you don't know and don't know each other was impressive, to say the least.

[nkvu]

I would be very disappointed if we don't greatly improve our three point shooting and rebounding with the guys that are coming in. I expect our point guard play to be greatly improved as well. I think our defense may take a step back as Clay and Morgan were above average defenders and I don't have a feel for how good the new guys will be on defense.  When Hedstrom is on the floor we may have a rim protector that we haven't had, so it may be a wash. Where we finish in conference will depend on how quickly the coaches can put all the pieces together. If the players mesh we could do very well. If they don't we'll be mediocre once again.

[Chairback]

So If we have improved our talent significantly over last year, what is the expectation for next season? 

To me middle of the pack doesn't cut it. 

[covufan]

So If we have improved our talent significantly over last year, what is the expectation for next season? 

To me middle of the pack doesn't cut it.

Just win, baby!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wh]

So If we have improved our talent significantly over last year, what is the expectation for next season? 

To me middle of the pack doesn't cut it. 

IMO we hit a home run in the portal after a home run recruiting class. Add in our key returning players, and I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect better than middle of the pack. Now's the time.

[justducky]

So If we have improved our talent significantly over last year, what is the expectation for next season? 

With the length of the Barrett injury and with Emil rarely suited up we have only 3 fully familiar faces returning.    We have nothing to compare this with and very little team play style successes we can build on. On paper we look great but sight unseen I don't want to place any bets!

Ask me again while I am eating my thanksgiving turkey. 

[a3uge]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Packer fans, you are hereby put on notice. My Bears finally drafted an elite QB (and great team leader), Justin Fields. No more "game managers." Your days are numbered.

RETURNING NOW TO REGULAR PROGRAMMING

Always funny to watch bears fans every 3-4 years think they finally have a decent quarterback. You'd think they'd have learned their lesson by now, but it's an amusing tradition dating back to Sid Luckman.

[usc4valpo]

Remember, this is Bears management, and they will find a way to mess this up.
Could the issue with some Bear QBs is the coaching and development ant not the actual mold of clay brought to the team? That may have been the issue with Trubisky, Grossman, etc.

[David81]

Between one-and-done in the Power 5 and the impact of the transfer portal on just about everyone, it appears that building a cohesive roster over a period of seasons has been supplanted by 1-2 year mini-plans. Not good for mid-majors who traditionally have developed players who missed out on the top tier but grew into quality DI starters.

Does this mean that VU's best chance to get back into the tourney is for lightning to strike with a transfer or two, while somehow managing to hold on to a talented player or two who was developed from scratch -- followed by rinse-and-rebuild the next year?

[vu72]

Between one-and-done in the Power 5 and the impact of the transfer portal on just about everyone, it appears that building a cohesive roster over a period of seasons has been supplanted by 1-2 year mini-plans. Not good for mid-majors who traditionally have developed players who missed out on the top tier but grew into quality DI starters.

Does this mean that VU's best chance to get back into the tourney is for lightning to strike with a transfer or two, while somehow managing to hold on to a talented player or two who was developed from scratch -- followed by rinse-and-rebuild the next year?

It is the new reality but one that Valpo can use to its advantage.  Over the last two years we have lost players (the talented ones) who either didn't fit or had bigger plans (or at least their managers did).  So how will it work for mid-majors?  I think just fine.  Valpo has a long history of bringing in transfers from Power 5 conferences who performed at a very high level once they landed at Valpo.  Think of guys like Cory Johnson with 15 ppg and 6 boards after barely getting playing time at Iowa State.  The guys we have added this off season, in my humble opinion, have significantly improved our chances because of the maturity and experience they bring.  If you lose a kid after their freshman year, most have a ways to go before being able to fully assess their talent.  We know full well what guys like Kithier, Anderson or Taylor can do.  I, like many here, felt like the sky was falling but now think the sun may be shining brightly!

[wh]

Between one-and-done in the Power 5 and the impact of the transfer portal on just about everyone, it appears that building a cohesive roster over a period of seasons has been supplanted by 1-2 year mini-plans. Not good for mid-majors who traditionally have developed players who missed out on the top tier but grew into quality DI starters.

Does this mean that VU's best chance to get back into the tourney is for lightning to strike with a transfer or two, while somehow managing to hold on to a talented player or two who was developed from scratch -- followed by rinse-and-rebuild the next year?

I think that's it in a nutshell. That said, with 2 recruiting periods per year (traditional and portal) instead of one, advantage goes to programs with the best recruiting skills. I'll put Valpo's staff right up with the best mids based on what I see right now. These Wisconsin/Minnesota/Canada/Oklahoma/Florida connections seem to be broader than any other MVC program. Now, it's a matter of adjusting schemes and style of play to match your player skill set. Scott Drew has become a master at that. It's never one size fits all at Baylor.

[valpo64]

When does the portal close?  Or does it?  Also, are there time limits on when someone in the portal can return to his original team?

[VUGrad1314]

I don't think the portal ever really closes although there are recruiting windows in the Spring and a brief one during the season. I believe there is no limit on time to return to the original school if that is what both parties desire but there has to be an opening for the player. Someone else can correct any wrong information but I think I understand this correctly.

[bb33]

If they aren't going to fill that last spot, could they reward Brock for being a 4th year walk on?   I am not sure how that all works, but those walk ons usually bust their butt in practice for the sole purpose of bettering the team.  They already have academic scholarships (so I assume) so the marginal cost isn't that significant.

[talksalot]

Brock's Mom works in the Education Department... he's on Tuition Remission...(and she attends EVERY game in the ARC.)