Game #3 Valpo @ SIU-Edwardsville Cougars 11/12 7:00 ESPN+

[bbtds]

The big breakthrough for me is Maleek.   Wow its fun to watch a big guy jump, reach out to the ball, and pull it down against his body!!   Great work by Luke.   He is a really strong kid!!

I still believe progress needs to be made in the area of Maleek's uncontrolled fouling in situations where it is totally unwarranted.

[bbtds]

This is a pet peeve of mine, but can we PLEASE spell these guys' names correctly?

With auto correct and the speed which posters must post in their busy lives it appears we can not.

[valpo64]

I sure agree with all of the positive comments about this year's team.  Now lets hear the same and show some love to Coach Lottich.  With all of the negative comments about him during this past season, I think he has shown remarkable progress.  He recognized the problems with last year's squad and personnel and has made great strides in correcting those problems.  From recruiting, to strategy,  to personnel development, developing  positive attitudes, hustle and cohesive play on the court, It appears at this point at least, that he and the staff have overcome most , if not all of those impediments and put together an exciting team for this season, even with all the "new" faces. It is obvious that he  and the other coaches have worked extremely hard during this past off-season and it now shows.  Looking forward with the 3 great new recruits coming in for next year I believe we will again have some exciting times ahead for VU basketball. GO VALPO!

[VUBBFan]

https://twitter.com/AlBillets/status/1195749791793340419

[FieldGoodie05]

The big breakthrough for me is Maleek.   Wow its fun to watch a big guy jump, reach out to the ball, and pull it down against his body!!   Great work by Luke.   He is a really strong kid!!

I still believe progress needs to be made in the area of Maleek's uncontrolled fouling in situations where it is totally unwarranted.

100% agree, he has not been closely monitored for fouls by refs in the 3 games thus far.  But I think you'd agree that he is overly aggressive in trying to 1) fight for position (unnecessarily) and 2) back a guy down in the paint.  I still think he has improved over previous years . . . but as soon as an opposing coach or the refs spotlight him, he will foul out easily.

I seriously question whether it's lack of awareness on his part?  I like the kid, he is developing but he still moves around the court like a bull in the china shop.  It's as if he still is the 6'0" tall 150 lb high school kid fighting bigger kids for position.  Problem is he is probably 6'8" and 225 lbs of pure muscle . . . he doesn't have to try THAT hard to get position and keep it.

One area of improvement is his picks, he no longer flattens the player . . . at least noticeable!

[covufan]

This is a pet peeve of mine, but can we PLEASE spell these guys' names correctly?

I know I've done it unknowingly, as spell check sometimes changes things against my wishes. If I notice it, I'll go back and edit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[valpotx]

SIU-E with the huge 79-69 win AT Belmont today!

[bbtds]

SIU-E with the huge 79-69 win AT Belmont today!

Now that is a serious low for the program. If they lose to SEMO then something is really wrong.

[valpo64]

I wonder what the Belmont bloggers have to say about their coach now.

[VUGrad1314]

Should have joined the MVC when they had the chance (Would still take them though)

[valpo95]

I wonder what the Belmont bloggers have to say about their coach now.

You mean their first year coach, Casey Alexander?

[VUGrad1314]

I wonder what the Belmont bloggers have to say about their coach now.

He worked wonders at Lipscomb. He'll be fine at Belmont. It's a bad loss but I wouldn't expect it to happen again or extend several years like a certain someone that you are clearly making a thinly veiled attempt at defending. If it does, whatever online fan presence they have (not much as we all saw in the MVC expansion discussion) will likely feel the same way about potentially looking in a new direction if issues aren't resolved. That, or they will be content with that mediocrity and are not a fan base we should be emulating. I think that it is good to have standards and expectations, and to expect that those be met by the program you support. Nobody will ever convince me otherwise. Mine are high--perhaps even too high--but, again, I fail to see any sort of problem with that. The right coach and administration would appreciate a fanbase full of people who think like I do (and I believe--or at least I hope) that we already have such a fanbase. The question right now is do we have the right coach and administration who can embrace and work productively toward meeting those high standards for competitiveness? And if not, what can we do to get\create one?