Transfers 2020

[VUBBFan]

Javon opened up the conversation (after I imagine he was asked the question by a reporter) when he announced he is returning next year!  Here's where I put my confidence level on guys returning based on absolutely no knowledge. He's Back: JFL, McMillan, Sackey, Robinson, Gordon, Krikke 50/50: Clay, Morgan, Lorange, Freese-Villien Clay really played great and I could see where bigger programs may have got in his ear. Morgan didn't have much of a role, maybe that changes maybe it doesn't for next year. Siggurd and Emil never really had much of an opportunity. I don't see that changing much next season either. I could understand them looking elsewhere. It'll be interesting to see where how the dominoes start falling, not just with Valpo but everywhere. Hopefully there will be a couple more tournament games in our future before things in this thread progress too far.

Clay is not going anywhere. I have spoken to his parents and they are very happy and impressed with Valpo and say Donovan absolutely loves it here. So unless something major happens, I don't see him leaving.
With Morgan I don't see him leaving unless Robinson goes. He told me at the beginning of the season the reason he came to Valpo was because of Nick. They have been friends for 10+ years and are tied to the hip with each other. They seem to regard friendship/relationships as an important aspect of where they go to school, and are also pretty tight with some of the other players here. However, if one bails I feel the other might also, but I think they stay.
Don't know about Gordon, but I think he's happy at Valpo.
Don't see Emil leaving unless he gets home sick. My thought is he is here for his engineering degree and being at Valpo, he can get a scholarship for it by playing basketball.
Lorange, I have no clue or feel on him transferring so by default he's my leading candidate to leave.


I have no idea what will happen. This is just my 2cents , but I would not be surprised if we only had one or none transfer and would actually prefer that

[VUGrad1314]

So you prefer stability and continuity then? Yeah me too... Stability is nice... It's been a couple of years since we've had it and I think we would really benefit from some right about now! Go Valpo! I BELIEVE!

[VUBBFan]

So is Lorange still hurt? I like Lorange and hope he stays.

He just had surgery and is currently rehabbing. That's why you didn't see him in St Louis.

[Chairback]

I'm ok with Lorange and Freese-Villien if they left.  We could upgrade their spots significantly over their current abilities.  Add a grad transfer. 

[Valpo89]

Remember, Steve Helm could end up being a factor. Siggy = not needed.

[valpotx]

Siggy is my next Vashil and Kiser.  I went to bat for both early on.  I am going to bat for him against the many folks that don't seem to think he can cut it.  If he stays, count on him being a strong contributor in years 3 and 4

[Chairback]

Kiser is 6-5. Siggy might be able to grab the net and is slow and cannot guard in the MVC.  He's using a scholarship that can go to someone who can contribute. 

[ValpoFan]

Dear Siggy,

If you are reading this thread, please be aware of the following two points:
1 - The opinions of people who write on this forum have absolutely NO impact on your future with Valpo basketball. The only opinion that counts when it comes to evaluating your talent is that of coach Lottich. And he recruited you, so he obviously wants you here! 
2 - The vast majority of us Valpo fans love and support you and anyone else who puts on a Valpo jersey and give a 100% effort.

So to conclude, good luck with your rehab. I can't wait to see you back on the court.

Sincerely,
Valpofan!   

[valpotx]

Kiser is 6-5. Siggy might be able to grab the net and is slow and cannot guard in the MVC.  He's using a scholarship that can go to someone who can contribute. 

I believe that you were one of the fans that said the same thing about Vashil over his first two years.  I hope that Siggy also proves you wrong

[FieldGoodie05]

Dear Siggy,

If you are reading this thread, please be aware of the following two points:
1 - The opinions of people who write on this forum have absolutely NO impact on your future with Valpo basketball. The only opinion that counts when it comes to evaluating your talent is that of coach Lottich. And he recruited you, so he obviously wants you here! 
2 - The vast majority of us Valpo fans love and support you and anyone else who puts on a Valpo jersey and give a 100% effort.

So to conclude, good luck with your rehab. I can't wait to see you back on the court.

Sincerely,
Valpofan!

Well said, I also think that we need more depth at the PG.  If we lose a player like Siggy to transfer that puts us further behind the curve.  He needs time (a full season) to adapt as a healthy contributor before I can comment one way or the other.  Despite coach talking about Javon handling PG duties as a (new age PG) we still need to beat the trap and Javon is good but not great at handling these duties.  Not to mention, New Age or not . . . the PG exerts a ton of energy on the offense and defense ends of the court.  If he were to carry PG duties through a whole season he'd have nothing left in his legs.

We need players like Siggy for next year undoubtedly.  As long as he progresses like Mileek and other players have in the last 4-years then I don't see why him bolstering the PG position is a bad thing.  I would argue that the middle 50% of this season was missing a PG as much as a seasoned F/C, if not more.  Because our offense looked quite stagnate when Daniel was working through things.

[M]

Did not start this tread in hopes of seeing any of our guys leave. I'd love to see everyone return. Odds are not everyone will though.

[VUBBFan]

Did not start this tread in hopes of seeing any of our guys leave. I'd love to see everyone return. Odds are not everyone will though.

I agree. I would like to see everyone return. There is not one player I want to leave. My feeling is no one is leaving and that this One Team - family thing is real and solid. I've never seen a group that appears to be so close and that is great. But then again statistically one would expect there to be some movement. I'm hoping. however, this year the stat on transfers evens out for us and we get 0% transfers.

[JD24]

Dear Siggy, If you are reading this thread, please be aware of the following two points: 1 - The opinions of people who write on this forum have absolutely NO impact on your future with Valpo basketball. The only opinion that counts when it comes to evaluating your talent is that of coach Lottich. And he recruited you, so he obviously wants you here! 2 - The vast majority of us Valpo fans love and support you and anyone else who puts on a Valpo jersey and give a 100% effort. So to conclude, good luck with your rehab. I can't wait to see you back on the court. Sincerely, Valpofan!

Well said, I also think that we need more depth at the PG.  If we lose a player like Siggy to transfer that puts us further behind the curve.  He needs time (a full season) to adapt as a healthy contributor before I can comment one way or the other.  Despite coach talking about Javon handling PG duties as a (new age PG) we still need to beat the trap and Javon is good but not great at handling these duties.  Not to mention, New Age or not . . . the PG exerts a ton of energy on the offense and defense ends of the court.  If he were to carry PG duties through a whole season he'd have nothing left in his legs. We need players like Siggy for next year undoubtedly.  As long as he progresses like Mileek and other players have in the last 4-years then I don't see why him bolstering the PG position is a bad thing.  I would argue that the middle 50% of this season was missing a PG as much as a seasoned F/C, if not more.  Because our offense looked quite stagnate when Daniel was working through things.

Good point guards are hard to come buy. What makes Sackey's defensive abilities work is what makes his ability to play the point lag. That's his frenetic style of play. If he is working with Buggsy, I hope he can learn to run the offense under control instead of at the mad sprint he always seems to be at.

Siggy I don't think we know anything about. When he played he looked lost on the court and mis-spaced a lot of the time. Plus he apparently was hurt a lot. We don't even know if he's a point guard. He may be more of a spot up three point guy...something the team needs even in an off the bench role.

[vu72]

Siggy I don't think we know anything about.

We know he may be the best shot on the team and that includes a 50% shooter.

[vu72]

Is something up with King Kampe at Oakland?  5 kids have announced transfers.

[SanityLost17]

If Siggy really is that good of a 3 point shooter when he is healthy I hope he stays.   Over the next 2 years Clay/JFL are going to draw a lot of attention going to the basket so even a guy who is 5'10" (guessing, I know he is short) may get lots of open looks on kickouts.   Not sure he will be able to hang defensively or not, but I would like to see him healthy for a year before making decisions on him. 

[FieldGoodie05]

Did not start this tread in hopes of seeing any of our guys leave. I'd love to see everyone return. Odds are not everyone will though.

For conversation sake, let's say that (2) transfers occur which is still below national average.  We cannot control who they "might" be, but we can discuss areas of need after watching this team play . . .

Here is my list in order of need:
1) 42%+ three point shooter with quick release
2) Rebounder from the 3 or 4 position
3) Backup PG to Sackey that can play starters minutes when he tries too hard (Zion?)

This turned out to be a difficult exercise because the team (as it stands today) looks pretty complete and ready to grow in experience together.  I came into this season thinking we needed big help at the PG and C position and I feel "better" today than at that time.  If we can get Zion more minutes as a lock-down defender and strong dribble/driver and develop Freese-Vilein into a 10 mpg player that is not out of his element, we should have a fun 2020/21 season.

[VUGrad1314]

Paul Oren laid out a really nice case on the last episode of Union Street Hoops to suggest that Siggy could fill needs 1 and 3 himself. I also think Barrett and Edwards are being recruited because they can shoot and Ognacevic looks like he may have the makings of a great stretch 4.

[FieldGoodie05]

Paul Oren laid out a really nice case on the last episode of Union Street Hoops to suggest that Siggy could fill needs 1 and 3 himself. I also think Barrett and Edwards are being recruited because they can shoot and Ognacevic looks like he may have the makings of a great stretch 4.

I'd agree that Siggy potentially fills #1 and #3, hoping anyways.  But can we play him strong minutes if he is a defensive liability?  Fazekas ended up being a better defender than I expected and he shot lights out, that is why he got minutes.  I don't think Siggy can get strong minutes because we probably cannot play him and Sackey at the same time.  Not to mention coach liked Javon at PG at times.

IMO we need starters minutes from a player that shoots 42%+ from deep.  Our current roster doesn't have that besides Gordon @ 42%.  If we lean on Gordon for starters mpg, how do we think his defense is?  He is the 6'2" G that isn't giving up a ton of size or athleticism . . . does he take those minutes and shoot 42%+ with 2x more attempts?  Gordon only took 69 attempts and Freeman (178), Donovan (112) and Mileek (110).

Freeman 29%
Donovan 29%
McMllan 36%
Krikke 34%
Sackey 31%
Robinson 27%
Siggy 60%

[SanityLost17]

Paul Oren laid out a really nice case on the last episode of Union Street Hoops to suggest that Siggy could fill needs 1 and 3 himself. I also think Barrett and Edwards are being recruited because they can shoot and Ognacevic looks like he may have the makings of a great stretch 4.

I'd agree that Siggy potentially fills #1 and #3, hoping anyways.  But can we play him strong minutes if he is a defensive liability?  Fazekas ended up being a better defender than I expected and he shot lights out, that is why he got minutes.  I don't think Siggy can get strong minutes because we probably cannot play him and Sackey at the same time.  Not to mention coach liked Javon at PG at times.

IMO we need starters minutes from a player that shoots 42%+ from deep.  Our current roster doesn't have that besides Gordon @ 42%.  If we lean on Gordon for starters mpg, how do we think his defense is?  He is the 6'2" G that isn't giving up a ton of size or athleticism . . . does he take those minutes and shoot 42%+ with 2x more attempts?  Gordon only took 69 attempts and Freeman (178), Donovan (112) and Mileek (110).

Freeman 29%
Donovan 29%
McMllan 36%
Krikke 34%
Sackey 31%
Robinson 27%
Siggy 60%

You MUST take into consideration player improvement. 
Freeman 29%   <---  Mono played a role in this being low.  Started the season in the 34%/35% range before falling off a cliff late.
Donovan 29% <---  No reason to believe this won't bump to the mid 30's with natural player progression
McMllan 36%  <--- He finished the season real strong.  I think he could get to 40% next year.
Krikke 34%  <--- Again, natural player progression from a young kid should bring this up
Sackey 31%  <--- shot 22% as a freshman... His shot improved.  Gotta think he bumps that up a few ticks higher next year. 
Robinson 27%   <--- back injury played a role in this being low.  He is better than that.  Was almost 35% his sophomore season. 
Siggy 60%   <-- Not sure this # means a whole lot without meaningful minutes against, but it is intriguing enough to want to keep him to see.

**Long story short**   Don't absolutely need a 42% guy if the whole team is shooting 36-38% so that on any given night 1 of them can go off for 45%. 

[VUGrad1314]

Here's the thing: we don't know a lot of things yet. This season just ended. We don't know how our new recruits will perform. We don't know if or to what degree some of the players who struggled from outside will improve their shot. The improvement in team shooting could come from everybody on the roster improving incrementally as much as any one addition. We don't even know what kind of player Lorange is yet. I think Paul said he played exactly 60 minutes. Can\should a player be judged by his performance over a game and a half? Now compound that issue by knowing that he was usually getting bit minutes (8-10 at most.) Do you really think we know what we have in him yet? It seemed like Lottich really wanted to play him more especially as Sackey struggled earlier this year but couldn't mostly because Lorange was hurt most of the year. We've seen what back injuries can do (After all, Robinson was not the same player with his back problems). Let's let Siggy get some run when he's healthy for a few games and assess what we have then if we get the opportunity. And if he was playing through his injury whatever you saw and judged his defense to be should be filtered through that lens and judged accordingly as injuries would understandably hamper a player's defensive abilities.

[tiny707]

I am definitely hoping no one transfers but if we do have one slot open up I would love Jeremiah Williams from Simeon. I think he is friends with Javon and would fit in well with the team chemistry.

[FieldGoodie05]

Here's the thing: we don't know a lot of things yet. This season just ended. We don't know how our new recruits will perform. We don't know if or to what degree some of the players who struggled from outside will improve their shot. The improvement in team shooting could come from everybody on the roster improving incrementally as much as any one addition. We don't even know what kind of player Lorange is yet. I think Paul said he played exactly 60 minutes. Can\should a player be judged by his performance over a game and a half? Now compound that issue by knowing that he was usually getting bit minutes (8-10 at most.) Do you really think we know what we have in him yet? It seemed like Lottich really wanted to play him more especially as Sackey struggled earlier this year but couldn't mostly because Lorange was hurt most of the year. We've seen what back injuries can do (After all, Robinson was not the same player with his back problems). Let's let Siggy get some run when he's healthy for a few games and assess what we have then if we get the opportunity. And if he was playing through his injury whatever you saw and judged his defense to be should be filtered through that lens and judged accordingly as injuries would understandably hamper a player's defensive abilities.

We are getting a 5'8" skilled shooter that may or may not get his shot off.  I am going to be that guy, the only way he gets his shot off is by us running plays with 2 and 3 screens upon screens.  Not even Fazekas was able to get that type of open and he was commonly taller than those defending him.  I just don't know, he has a lot to overcome because of his height.

[VUBBFan]

I am definitely hoping no one transfers but if we do have one slot open up I would love Jeremiah Williams from Simeon. I think he is friends with Javon and would fit in well with the team chemistry.

I like Williams and was hoping he would come to Valpo until all the slots filled up suddenly. I too think their friends. I've seen some twitter interaction between them and I might be reading a little to much into it, but I see the conversations more than just casual chatter between strangers. If it were to make Javon happy having him here, I say let's keep Javon Happy.

[Chairback]

Fieldgoodie You are dead on. 


If you are a smaller guard you have to have freakish athleticism to compensate for it.  Not just a set shooter from 3. 


Buggs had phenomenal speed, could pass and distribute and was a unbelievable on ball defender. He could get to the rim and finish.   


Daniel is the fastest player I have ever seen and can change a game when he is under control.


Kay Felder same thing.  Royce Parran at Chicago State.

I'd take him as a walk on, but not use up a scholarship.