Loyola @ Valpo Women Tues 19'th ESPN3 Men Wed 20'th ESPN+ 6PM For Both

justducky · January 18, 2021, 01:02:02 PM

Lets throw away the rule book and try a 2-For thread because nothing else is working.

Do we still have a men's basketball team? As a recovering men's basketball addict I'm still trying to lose track.

Looking forward to the girls game hoping that more of the Maya Dunson Loyola to Valpo transfer story will come out. Her addition looks like 2 or 3 additional Valley wins if all 18 scheduled games are ever played. For any MVC tourney success her inclusion was essential.

Thoughts on either contest will be welcome.

valpotx · January 19, 2021, 12:42:34 AM

Women:

Valpo 72
Loyola 64

Men:

Loyola 75
Valpo 67

bbtds · January 19, 2021, 03:37:39 AM

W: Loyola 57
Valpo 72

M: Loyola 87
Valpo 61

justducky · January 19, 2021, 10:22:18 AM

For those not following this is the first year for Net Rankings in women's basketball and the Valley sits as the 8'th best conference. Briefly we have Bradley at 69, Drake 48, Missouri St 25, ISUr 73, Northern Iowa 76, VU 105, and SIU at 170 looking like they should be higher.

Covid cancellations have greatly magnified the confusion on how good some of these teams actually are. While Drake and Northern have gotten in 13 D-1 games MSU has played only 7 and Loyola (235 Net) has only 5 with 2 of those being a split with ISUb. So Valpo has logged 11 games and Loyola only 5. Nothing fair about this but I would still expect a competitive game. Hopefully there is no overconfidence and coach Evans will get the opportunity to give our talented freshman class some significant and needed minutes.

I really think the Valley might end with 6 top 100 Net teams with SIU not that far behind. This League is for real!

VU2014 · January 19, 2021, 11:19:17 AM

Robinson out again. Is Zion injured or what's going on? I don't think he's played all season. I know he just launched his first amateur rap album. But haven't heard a peep about why we haven't seen him all year. Nick, maybe still on paternity leave? Emil, I'm just completely speculating a medical redshirt. He was extremely hampered with his development with the travel restrictions. Maybe they want him to get stronger for another year and not waste a potentially more fruitful year for his development.

Siggy idk. I think had an issue with a thumb or his hand earlier in the year.

https://twitter.com/nwioren/status/1351560907810369537?s=21

vu72 · January 19, 2021, 11:25:27 AM

They should just red-shirt both Emil and Siggie or possibly Zion as well. Geez, we are spending scholarship money and getting zero in return.

justducky · January 19, 2021, 08:20:44 PM

Quote from: justducky on January 18, 2021, 01:02:02 PMLets throw away the rule book and try a 2-For thread because nothing else is working.

Well, so far my 2-For idea is another bust. Great showing by the Ramblers with much of our lineup mentally taking the night off leading to a 17 point loss which seemed more like 40. Shooting 1 for infinity from 3 also didn't help. If any of you watched our loss at Miami Ohio (now sitting at 1-10) our play tonight was very similar. Kind of looked like our guys vs the Blue Demons. If tasked with naming a Valpo player of the game I'm not sure I could provide an answer. Fine Rambler defense vs no successful adjustments. I participated in a game like this in HS and coach kept us there till midnight for an unannounced post game practice session. Back to the drawing board!

bbtds · January 19, 2021, 08:21:41 PM

This video reminds me of the kind of evening the Valpo women had.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFRXP21lk2E

VU2014 · January 19, 2021, 09:20:35 PM

Quote from: VU2014 on January 19, 2021, 11:19:17 AM
Robinson out again. Is Zion injured or what's going on? I don't think he's played all season. I know he just launched his first amateur rap album. But haven't heard a peep about why we haven't seen him all year. Nick, maybe still on paternity leave? Emil, I'm just completely speculating a medical redshirt. He was extremely hampered with his development with the travel restrictions. Maybe they want him to get stronger for another year and not waste a potentially more fruitful year for his development.

Siggy idk. I think had an issue with a thumb or his hand earlier in the year.

https://twitter.com/nwioren/status/1351560907810369537?s=21

I just realized I posted in the wrong thread. My bad. I wouldn't redshirt Zion. It may sound harsh but I don't think I saw enough upside from him to justify tying up a scholarship for another year. Maybe preserve his eligibility as a courtesy but with understanding that it's not a guarantee he'll be offered back after the graduation. I saw solid defense out of him last year, but the ball handling for a guy in the back court needs to be better than what he showed last year. I remember a few occasions where he got his pocket picked in broad daylight. I could be totally wrong my evaluation but I wasn't wowed with his skills last season.

Brandon · January 19, 2021, 09:36:42 PM

Quote from: VU2014 on January 19, 2021, 09:20:35 PM
Quote from: VU2014 on January 19, 2021, 11:19:17 AM
Robinson out again. Is Zion injured or what's going on? I don't think he's played all season. I know he just launched his first amateur rap album. But haven't heard a peep about why we haven't seen him all year. Nick, maybe still on paternity leave? Emil, I'm just completely speculating a medical redshirt. He was extremely hampered with his development with the travel restrictions. Maybe they want him to get stronger for another year and not waste a potentially more fruitful year for his development.

Siggy idk. I think had an issue with a thumb or his hand earlier in the year.

https://twitter.com/nwioren/status/1351560907810369537?s=21

I just realized I posted in the wrong thread. My bad. I wouldn't redshirt Zion. It may sound harsh but I don't think I saw enough upside from him to justify tying up a scholarship for another year. Maybe preserve his eligibility as a courtesy but with understanding that it's not a guarantee he'll be offered back after the graduation. I saw solid defense out of him last year, but the ball handling for a guy in the back court needs to be better than what he showed last year. I remember a few occasions where he got his pocket picked in broad daylight. I could be totally wrong my evaluation but I wasn't wowed with his skills last season.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is no need to redshirt players this year because this year does not count against eligibility for anyone due to COVID, including those who are playing in every game. So all of those players will play when and if they are able to -- there won't be a need to hold anyone out to preserve of a year of eligibility because this year doesn't count toward eligibility anyway.

vu72 · January 20, 2021, 08:11:54 AM

There was a positive from last night and hopefully a big positive. President-Elect Padilla was in attendance and Mark was apparently selling hard! He also was at the men's game at DePaul. He doesn't take office till March 1 so he could have been moving or relaxing but instead chose to be in attendance at the games. Hopefully a positive for his support for athletics.

vok22 · January 20, 2021, 08:16:07 AM

Quote from: vu72 on January 20, 2021, 08:11:54 AM
There was a positive from last night and hopefully a big positive. President-Elect Padilla was in attendance and Mark was apparently selling hard! He also was at the men's game at DePaul. He doesn't take office till March 1 so he could have been moving or relaxing but instead chose to be in attendance at the games. Hopefully a positive for his support for athletics.

Couldn't have chosen a worse two games to attend unfortunately.

justducky · January 20, 2021, 08:42:46 AM

Quote from: vok22 on January 20, 2021, 08:16:07 AM
Quote from: vu72 on January 20, 2021, 08:11:54 AM
There was a positive from last night and hopefully a big positive. President-Elect Padilla was in attendance and Mark was apparently selling hard! He also was at the men's game at DePaul. He doesn't take office till March 1 so he could have been moving or relaxing but instead chose to be in attendance at the games. Hopefully a positive for his support for athletics.

Couldn't have chosen a worse two games to attend unfortunately.

Was it him who walked in wearing a mask and walked out wearing a clothespin?

valpo64 · January 20, 2021, 02:54:46 PM

I'm sorry but I see no future in Siggie and Zion at Valpo. Enough of the small guard. Sackey can't cut it at this level. The little guy has to be as complete player...good distributer, GOOD shooter, can play defense against bigger guys, have good speed ands CAN FINISH AT THE BUCKET! In today's game the small guard has to be able to do those things to play and contribute.

valpo64 · January 20, 2021, 03:05:56 PM

Maybe we should lock up the ARC and then we can all look forward to FOOTBALL this Spring.

I can't believe I said that.

VU2014 · January 20, 2021, 05:51:11 PM

Quote from: valpo64 on January 20, 2021, 02:54:46 PM
I'm sorry but I see no future in Siggie and Zion at Valpo. Enough of the small guard. Sackey can't cut it at this level. The little guy has to be as complete player...good distributer, GOOD shooter, can play defense against bigger guys, have good speed ands CAN FINISH AT THE BUCKET! In today's game the small guard has to be able to do those things to play and contribute.

Siggy is a big unknown for me. He's apparently a great 3 point shooter but hasn't seen enough court time make a judgement about. Seems have some nagging injuries. He's limited by his size and length but he has solid European league experience. Others like Nick and Zion are out so this would have been a prime opportunity for him if he wasn't injured.

VU2014 · January 20, 2021, 06:26:49 PM

Watching Loyola's Team play reminds me of how Bryce's Team played. Not in style of the Drew high pick and rolls but they are just a well oiled machine. Guys know what they're supposed to do and know their roles...

vok22 · January 20, 2021, 06:37:08 PM

Is there a single thing this team does well.

VU2014 · January 20, 2021, 06:39:14 PM

Nobody is playing with any joy this season. Conference play just started for us and this team looks dejected. Not a great sign.

VALPO LI · January 20, 2021, 06:40:35 PM

Quote from: vok22 on January 20, 2021, 06:37:08 PM
Is there a single thing this team does well.

Loose

VU2014 · January 20, 2021, 06:45:22 PM

I know I'm being harsh on Lottich and the Coaches but there is a clear talent gap with this team. Watching team honestly just makes me sad...

Out gunned and the offense is a jumbled mess... and blown defensive assignments.

I like David Kaplan who is on the call but he is really talking up Lottich.

oklahomamick · January 20, 2021, 07:03:40 PM

I thought the two commentators were going far and out of their way to talk up Lottich. It was awkward.

Yes, there is a talent gap. It's very odd, because before Lottich (who people say recruits well) our 6th player was usually better than the opposing teams best player.

Plus our coach was better every single time. So, yeah it's a big change for us and difficult for a lot of us.

If we can't shoot (and we clearly can't) we should run and gun. We have the athletes. Don't let the defense get set.

VU2014 · January 20, 2021, 07:05:47 PM

Quote from: oklahomamick on January 20, 2021, 07:03:40 PM
I thought the two commentators were going far and out of their way to talk up Lottich. It was awkward.

Yes, there is a talent gap. It's very odd, because before Lottich (who people say recruits well) our 6th player was usually better than the opposing teams best player.

Plus our coach was better every single time. So, yeah it's a big change for us and difficult for a lot of us.

If we can't shoot (and we clearly can't) we should run and gun. We have the athletes. Don't let the defense get set.

Lottich is a local Chicago guy and they know he's going through a tough time and taking heat. Doing him a solid when they know fans aren't happy and people are frustrated

oklahomamick · January 20, 2021, 07:13:15 PM

Not as much chatter on the forum as there once was......I used to set my schedule around the Valpo basketball game.

The Good: 1. We hit 20 points before the 16 minute timeout of the second half.
2. I saw a couple set plays out of timeouts and halftime that led to good looks.
3. Krikke is good.

valpotx · January 20, 2021, 07:21:24 PM

I am done watching for today. I can't watch any other moronic passes by Sackey and Edwards, where they lob it ever so gently to their teammate, expecting the defense to just stand there and let it happen. At what point do you learn that you need to throw it like a man, and not some limp-wristed wuss?