Drake @ Valpo: 2/6 & 2/7

[wh]

Like everyone, I'm disappointed that we couldn't close the deal. That said we came within a eyelash of beating an undefeated, 25th ranked, veteran team favored by 13.5 points. This was Drake's second closest winning margin of the season. 70% of Valpo's points came from freshmen and sophomores. 70% of Drake's points came from juniors and seniors. This isn't our year, but the future continues to look bright, especially knowing how good next year's freshman recruiting class is. Keep building!

[JBC1824]

I'm with Dexter. JO had 11 points, 3 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, and a block in the first half with only 7 minutes of play, but he sits on the bench and gets no shots in the second half. I'd love to see him sometimes in the 4 slot and able to shoot from outside while Krikke is still in the game on the inside. I also don't want to hear compliments for the game being close. This game was a blown victory. Valpo did not score a point from 4:52 to 00:36, a more than 4-minute drought in the end of the game. Moral victories are for losers.

Well said.

[Valpofamfan]

According to Paul, Sheldon is back out there shooting. Love the work ethic and hope we see it continue to pay off

[nkvu]

Didn't expect to win so disappointed but not devastated that we gave it up at the end. Just lost our poise when the better team made their run.  Can't miss the front end of one and ones or layups when the other team is coming on in crunch time.  Kind of tired of getting killed on the   boards game in game out too. But hey, we played pretty well for most of the game against a ranked team, so there is that.

[NativeCheesehead]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: IF all the underclassmen continue to develop as they have and IF they all return next year I'll be be excited as hell for the next couple of seasons.

[valpopal]

I just watched the postgame conference in which Paul noted JO was shouting for the ball with confidence in the first half when he made the 3 3-pointers. Matt acknowledged JO as a "consistent scorer" who makes the most of his opportunities and even played well on defense. Of course, the follow-up question could have been: "Why didn't JO get a touch in the second half?" or "During the long drought at the end of the game, why was JO sitting on the bench?" or maybe more importantly since Krikke was on the court, "Why didn't Krikke take a single shot in the last 8 minutes of the game?"

[VUGrad1314]

I just watched the postgame conference in which Paul noted JO was shouting for the ball with confidence in the first half when he made the 3 3-pointers. Matt acknowledged JO as a "consistent scorer" who makes the most of his opportunities and even played well on defense. Of course, the follow-up question could have been: "Why didn't JO get a touch in the second half?" or "During the long drought at the end of the game, why was JO sitting on the bench?" or maybe more importantly since Krikke was on the court, "Why didn't Krikke take a single shot in the last 8 minutes of the game?"

So we CAN have a consistently good MVC level program if our coach just made better decisions? That's disappointing...

[JBC1824]

I just watched the postgame conference in which Paul noted JO was shouting for the ball with confidence in the first half when he made the 3 3-pointers. Matt acknowledged JO as a "consistent scorer" who makes the most of his opportunities and even played well on defense. Of course, the follow-up question could have been: "Why didn't JO get a touch in the second half?" or "During the long drought at the end of the game, why was JO sitting on the bench?" or maybe more importantly since Krikke was on the court, "Why didn't Krikke take a single shot in the last 8 minutes of the game?"

Very poor reporting not to have asked such pressing questions....

[wh]

I just watched the postgame conference in which Paul noted JO was shouting for the ball with confidence in the first half when he made the 3 3-pointers. Matt acknowledged JO as a "consistent scorer" who makes the most of his opportunities and even played well on defense. Of course, the follow-up question could have been: "Why didn't JO get a touch in the second half?" or "During the long drought at the end of the game, why was JO sitting on the bench?" or maybe more importantly since Krikke was on the court, "Why didn't Krikke take a single shot in the last 8 minutes of the game?"

Very poor reporting not to have asked such pressing questions....

I didn't watch, so I'm not going to criticize PO. He's done some very good work this year, including some excellent feature stories. That said, in hindsight I agree that those would have been some good questions to ask.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/valpo_hoops/status/1358199360471851013?s=21

[Pgmado]

You guys make good points on the follow up questions. They should've been asked.

That said, this game was tricky from a reporting standpoint. I was writing for the AP as well and I needed to get to the Drake presser ASAP.

Knowing that I'd be writing mostly about the Region kids for both AP and NWI, I didn't spend nearly as much time talking to Lottich as normal.

Certainly these questions will be asked at the teleconference on Tuesday.

I'll add that I was paying a lot of attention to Drake stuff during the game and I don't think I realized in the moment some of the statistical flows of the game.

[vok22]

As frustrating as this game was to watch down the stretch, I can't help but be excited. Assuming this team sticks together, they are going to get plenty of chances the next 2+ seasons to win games like this. They were minutes away from beating Vanderbilt, Purdue, and Drake. The Central Michigan and second Evansville game were two games we probably should've won, too. That's 5 games right there in which we probably win 4 of them with another year under some of these players belts. That's not even including the freshmen we have coming in next year. I am particularly excited for Palesse. He can score at all three levels but also makes plays and can put up double digit assists. Having a point guard that can knock down shots, even when just left open, is something that I expect will relieve some of the offensive bottlenecks. I truly believe that next year we won't have to worry about Thursday night. We might not win the league but 20 wins seems like a solid goal. I'm starting to think Edwards may develop into a go-to scorer. He can finish, and I think he's a better three point shooter than his current percentage shows. He looks so dedicated and hard working and I have already seen improvement. Jacob O has proven he can contribute, its just a matter of bulking up so he can get more minutes. The more three point shooters we have on this team, the more open shots Barrett is gonna get, a 40% shooter. We know what Krikke and Clay can do and they have only been here a year and half. We have a lot to be excited for. If games are 5 minutes shorter, we are 10-8 and very hopeful. Unfortunately, games are a full 40 minutes, and this group of guys have 2 and a half more years to improve.

[wh]

It was great seeing Ryan in the stands at today's game. So many great memories of his playing days. An amazing talent with a high basketball IQ and not a selfish bone in his body. I always hold out hope that he will join the Valpo coaching staff when his playing days are over. I remember suggesting that one time, and Koala (Ryan's mum who loved their Valpo visits) saying wouldn't that be great. 

[valpotx]

Does anyone know if Rowdy was able to speak to the team, or did they not risk any exposure on both sides?

[justducky]

"Why didn't JO get a touch in the second half?" or "During the long drought at the end of the game, why was JO sitting on the bench?"

JO, Edwards, Barrett and Clay were all perfect candidates for recruitment to a positionless style of basketball. Couple of temporary problems with this are Clay only hitting 20% from 3 (ouch- they are starting to sag which limits his ability to drive) and Jacob not yet being able to beat a tight defender off the dribble. Drake adjusts the JO defense which removes his strength and exposes his weakness so Matt elects for a different lineup. For our style of play to consistently win we need some dramatic 3 point shooting improvement. Sackey and Kpegeol are only shooting 12% from 3 with Krikke and McMillan stuck at 25. Meanwhile Conner is hitting 39% and JO 51%. Edwards, while only showing 28% for the season has really heated up recently.

I'm having trouble picturing Jacob scoring big off the dribble this year but next year who knows and when that happens it could be explosive. Same goes with Donovan. If he could hit 35% from outside then driving opportunities would appear from everywhere.

[humbleopinion]

For game #2  (far be it for me to start a new thread):

Has Valpo ever faced a top 25 team for two consecutive games?

[nkvu]

On another note, if anyone has seen dexter clay's Twitter he is still not happy

Not on Twitter so didn't see the post, but is he not happy with the team or is he not happy that Donovan can't seem to hit a shot lately outside of an occasional layup?  I get the sense that he is setting up for a transfer next year, but based on the quality of his play so far this season where would he go that would feature him?  He's getting open looks, but not knocking them down, and you can only go to a dry well so often before you look elsewhere (except for Sackey who continues to try to take over games at times resulting in badly missed threes or drives to the hoop with no finish).  I don't see any fall off in Donavan's effort and he does a lot of positive things, but I know he's frustrated that he can't get a shot to fall. I think once he comes out of this slump things will look a lot brighter for both him and the team.

[crusader05]

I've seen just generally frustrated tweets but there have also been tweets that seemed like a dad criticizing a son. I do think Clay's erratic playing this year has contributed to our offensive flows. When he and Krikke are both on together we are unstoppable but it's not something that's happened often.

[vu72]

OK, I know, I know, moral victories suck.  But, reality is reality. We aren't very good--but we're close. 

Here's the truth: as with Evansville, Drake is a VERY mature team.  The announcers joked that they could all go out to a bar and have a beer to review the stats.

Drake got 15 points from Freshman and Sophomores.  We got 56.  They got 65 points from Junior and Seniors. We got 21.  We had three freshman on the floor together at times.  Freshman turn into sophomores, sophomores into juniors. 

[wh]

For game #2  (far be it for me to start a new thread):

Has Valpo ever faced a top 25 team for two consecutive games?

2001-2002, games 14 and 15:
Arizona (14)
Kansas (2)

2002-2003, games 11 and 12:
Missouri (17)
Norte Dame (6)

2006-2007, games 5, 6, and7:
Marquette (13)
Butler (19)
Ohio State (3)

2009-2010, games 8 and 9:
Butler (23)
Purdue (5)

2016-2017, games 8 and 9:
Rhode Island (21)
Kentucky (9)

[IndyEIT777]

To me, it looks like Krikke and Sheldon are going to be the top 2 guys going into next season. Krikke whether he wants to be the guy or not, has stepped in and has consistently put up solid numbers for us. Sheldon has not shied away from the moment and has already hit a number of huge shots for us. Not to knock on Gordon cause he's the one senior who has consistently tried all season, but I hope that Lottich starts Edwards at the 2 from here on out.

Unfortunately, while I think his potential is certainly there, Donovan has not taken the reigns as a top 2 guy on this team. More times than not, it seems he can't get to double figure scoring and that can't happen for a top guy. If we have more pieces around him, maybe he'd get a little more pressure taken off and he could be one of our strongest players then, but right now he's definitely not progressed as much as I would've like to see.

[Pgmado]

I looked back at the game late last night and went through the substitution patterns of the second half. Here's what it looks like.

Brodie can't guard JO on the perimeter, so if Brodie was in, JO came in.

JO can't guard smaller guys like Hemphill, so if Brodie went out, JO went out.

[valpopal]

I looked back at the game late last night and went through the substitution patterns of the second half. Here's what it looks like.

Brodie can't guard JO on the perimeter, so if Brodie was in, JO came in.

JO can't guard smaller guys like Hemphill, so if Brodie went out, JO went out.

I don't see where the math adds up to support this. In the second half Brodie played 16 minutes and JO only played 3 minutes. Also, I still think the more important question is why Krikke, arguably our best player who already had scored 16 points, took no shots in the final 8 minutes of the game, especially inside since Brodie had 3 fouls and Krikke could at least have gotten to the foul line. That seems like coaching malpractice to me.

[vok22]

Well, Connor Barrett is out and in a walking boot with an Achilles injury, per Paul Oren. We are so snakebite with the injuries.

[wh]

I looked back at the game late last night and went through the substitution patterns of the second half. Here's what it looks like.

Brodie can't guard JO on the perimeter, so if Brodie was in, JO came in.

JO can't guard smaller guys like Hemphill, so if Brodie went out, JO went out.

I don't see where the math adds up to support this. In the second half Brodie played 16 minutes and JO only played 3 minutes. Also, I still think the more important question is why Krikke, arguably our best player who already had scored 16 points, took no shots in the final 8 minutes of the game, especially inside since Brodie had 3 fouls and Krikke could at least have gotten to the foul line. That seems like coaching malpractice to me.

To your larger point, Jacob needs more court time. I don't know how (not my problem to figure out), but a 6-9 college player that can rain 3's at a 50% clip has got to be given a bigger slice of the "minutes" pie. Heck, he's shooting 50% despite never knowing from 1 game to the next if he's even going to get in the game or when he does how long he'll be in before he gets pulled. Talk about performing under pressure. The kid scored a gazillion points in high school from all over the court. It shouldn't be that surprising that he can shoot the basketball.