Valpo vs Missouri St

VUSWIM08-12 · March 05, 2021, 08:52:13 PM

Worst half I've ever seen over 13 years of Valpo Basketball , no set plays. Goodnews

NativeCheesehead · March 05, 2021, 08:55:33 PM

Love my Cru******, but f*** this game.

justducky · March 05, 2021, 08:58:29 PM

Walk the ball down the floor, cut as little as possible, pull up for bad shots, and send nobody to the offensive glass

Is that our game plan?

covufan · March 05, 2021, 09:04:29 PM

As many shots as we're missing, we shouldn't be getting out rebounded by this much.

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nkvu · March 05, 2021, 09:06:20 PM

Quote from: justducky on March 05, 2021, 08:58:29 PM
Walk the ball down the floor, cut as little as possible, pull up for bad shots, and send nobody to the offensive glass Is that our game plan?

Partly. It also includes dribbling on the perimeter, trying to take someone off the dribble, fail, pass to someone else who does the same thing, repeat until the shot clock gets to 5 seconds then pass to the poorest shooter on the court and let him jack up a contested 3.

mj · March 05, 2021, 09:25:10 PM

We better not lose this game by 3 considering the call to end the first half...

VUSL98 · March 05, 2021, 09:37:15 PM

Anyone else notice how the ref walked into the key on Gordan's first free throw?

Explanation?

oklahomamick · March 05, 2021, 09:38:05 PM

Our best offense is when we don't set up in half court.

oklahomamick · March 05, 2021, 09:42:20 PM

Clay can't shoot. Looks painful.

VUSL98 · March 05, 2021, 09:44:39 PM

Same ref did it again to Gordon, just waited a little longer. That weird stutter shot of Gordon's.

oklahomamick · March 05, 2021, 09:48:42 PM

Don't worry, Gordan's line drive free throw wasn't going in anyways

oklahomamick · March 05, 2021, 09:53:46 PM

Missouri St went 3-0 against us this year. Better players or better coached?

valpotx · March 05, 2021, 09:59:04 PM

Quote from: VUSL98 on March 05, 2021, 09:37:15 PM
Anyone else notice how the ref walked into the key on Gordan's first free throw?

Explanation?

Yes, I said the same thing, but as pointed out, his line drive shot might not have been affected anyways.

valpotx · March 05, 2021, 10:00:50 PM

Quote from: oklahomamick on March 05, 2021, 09:53:46 PM
Missouri St went 3-0 against us this year. Better players or better coached?

I remember someone saying last season how great our athletes were, and how they were so much better than prior Valpo teams that won the Mid-Con. I can tell you that some of our Mid-Con teams would have smoked this year's team, as they knew that the orange round object is supposed to go into the orange cylinder, which is attached to a backing-board of sorts.

nkvu · March 05, 2021, 10:02:45 PM

Ok, we won the second half. If we could have scored even 20 in the first half this might have been interesting. Credit the team for cutting it to eight at one point, but with Mosley scoring whenever he wanted, it really wasn't in doubt.

justducky · March 05, 2021, 10:06:28 PM

Anybody want to speculate on Kpegeol sitting out the second half?

VUSERF · March 05, 2021, 10:06:45 PM

Missouri State is significantly better coached. I rarely have anything good to say about Lottich and I have not considered him "the guy" for this program (even as a HL team we deserved better).

That said he will get better, just at what cost?

Despite all of this, I just cannot help but see this game as more of the players failing the coach as opposed to the other way around. Not sure what happened to the team in the first half on offense. I was happy with their defense all game.

NativeCheesehead · March 05, 2021, 10:07:02 PM

If this were a one time scoring drought I'd write it off to a bad shooting night in a hockey arena. But this was just another in a long line of inept offensive performances. So what changes? Whatever any of us think of Lottich he's our coach for at least 3 more seasons. This needs to be fixed.

a3uge · March 05, 2021, 10:12:32 PM

Quote from: oklahomamick on March 05, 2021, 09:53:46 PM
Missouri St went 3-0 against us this year. Better players or better coached?

Yes.

IndyEIT777 · March 05, 2021, 10:15:59 PM

Quote from: justducky on March 05, 2021, 10:06:28 PM
Anybody want to speculate on Kpegeol sitting out the second half?

That is a question I really hope Paul asks Lottich postgame. I don't understand our best player from the 1st half not stepping foot on the court during the 2nd half.

I'll say this team is going nowhere without a competent point guard. Sackey has proven over the season he's not the guy and Zion tonight proved he's not the guy if he chooses to come back next year. I really hope our young guys stick around cause next year really could be a stepping stone year if they do (maybe I've said that the last couple of years, but this freshman class can play at the MVC level).

justducky · March 05, 2021, 10:16:31 PM

I will spend no time worrying about a Clay transfer. Guys who shoot 20% from 3 are not in the greatest demand. Pretty good chance that Donovan loses 21-22 playing time even when he does return. His 3 point shooting needs so much work!

VUSERF · March 05, 2021, 10:22:15 PM

I could not tell who it was exactly, but I saw a few players with really awkward shooting mechanics, especially during threes and jumpshots.

1) strange sideways leans

2) Legs flailing like a swimmer

3) arms bending way backwards so the ball is nearly in the small of their back before shooting.

I just wonder how so many of these things are not improved upon during practice.

AB · March 05, 2021, 11:24:30 PM

Bears had scouted us well on the ghost screens, forced us into deep jump shots, kept us out of paint. When you start missing lots of shots it snowballs and we get away from who we are. Too much one on one/not enough ball movement inside and out. Only partially coaching.
Not one open shot/look from JO? Goodnews not playing the second half was baffling. Zion missed every open look tonight, shots he's been making of late. Bears let foot off gas in second half, Valpo found rhythm but it was too late. When you by far have the best player in the conference in Mosley that erases the average x's and o's of Ford. Here's the ball, go create on your own. Questions remain in the offseason who comes back. Krikke, Clay, Edwards, JO will take a big step forward next year with a normal off season. Valpo will be a problem the next two three years for opponents.

nkvu · March 05, 2021, 11:52:00 PM

Lots of ways MS was better tonight but the biggest difference was they had a Mosley and we didn't. When we managed a run in the second half and cut the lead to eight I had no doubt the ball would go to Mosley and he would hit a shot to stop the run. He did anything he wanted to do against any defense we threw against him. That's one thing we lacked this year. We do not have a player that we can go to to get that bucket that stops a run or stops a drought and keeps us in the game. And I don't think we have a player who obviously fits that role. Edwards wants to be that guy but he hasn't shown it yet. Clay wants to be that guy but he can't shoot well enough to count on him to hit that crucial shot. Krikke will get better and better but he can't win a game unless his teammates get him the ball in a place where he can do his thing. I keep hearing good things about next year's incoming freshman. Maybe one of them will be that guy. We have a bunch of nice young players who will get better, but I don't see any Mosleys among what we have now. If we are ever going to contend for conference titles we are going to have to find one of those type players and keep him from transferring.

valpotx · March 06, 2021, 01:01:09 AM

As said on the Arch Madness thread, I am actually happy that I won't have the stress of worrying about our transfers this offseason. The most likely guy to transfer, it would seem, is Clay. That is not only based on what we have seen from his father's Tweets, but also that it seemed like he just didn't care at times throughout the season. He would be very energetic some games, and then the next game, it seemed like he didn't want anything to do with the game. I will say that it seemed like he was one of the first guys in today's game, to pull everyone together. That was nice to see. If Clay did transfer, I would miss him for his defense, overall athleticism, and occasional offensive drives, but not his jump shot. If he comes back, he needs to work A LOT on his jump shot.

I could be wrong, but I can't see a Krikke or JO transferring. Krikke is still quite raw, and has a lot of potential, but not enough skills as of yet to draw P5 eyes. Definitely same thing for JO. Barrett is very one-dimensional at the moment and got injured, so unless he just wants a change of scenery, I don't see him trying to leave. Edwards seems like a guy that has bought into the program and freedom he has been given. I see him as more of a transfer option after his SO or JR year, but not after this season. I can't tell if Goodnews and ML get along, so he is a risk, but he has also been to so many schools, it would be foolish for him to leave somewhere that is giving him a shot, when minutes are being freed up from Gordon graduating.

I hate putting it this way, but if EFV or Siggy leave, it won't mean anything. Maybe they surprise us and comeback next year, and have good seasons, while being healthy.

Appreciate Gordon's contributions over the last 2 seasons. Seems like a solid guy that provided character in the locker room, and had his moments of solid play, even while not being a scorer.

Sad to see Mileek hampered by injuries, and doubt that he tries another season. He had a lot of potential after last season. Just unfortunate. Credit to him for sticking around and holding down the fort while others gave up on the program. Others can bad-mouth Mileek all they want, but that loyalty means something to me. He also had the balls to play through some debilitating injuries this season. Mileek has a solid future ahead of him, regardless of what he does.

Zion was the same guy today that he was last season, but had some really good games for us over the last few weeks. He will be missed overall, but still one of the ugliest shooting forms that I have seen in a long time. Who was it that we signed instead of Zion, coming out of HS? It would have been interesting to see if Zion would have improved more at Valpo, versus his actual journey to get here.

Sackey took a major step backwards this season. He seems like a Valpo guy, and probably comes back, but he is really needing to work on his shooting and layup drills, or he will get passed by for minutes next season. He seems to psych himself out more than anyone playing good D against him. Almost like the yips in baseball.

Appreciate Robinson's contributions, and he was having a good year before his family situation and priorities changed. Good luck to him in his career, but maybe he tries his luck for 1 more year elsewhere.

Does Helm come back? Another calming presence, but can't see him averaging anymore minutes next season, versus what he was given this season. Seems like a character guy that can provide a stabilizing presence, if he comes back.