Valpo vs Toledo 11/9 @ 6pm ARC

[vok22]

Honestly, I don't really know how to react to this game. It was closer than I expected when I learned Krikke would be out, but somehow still managed to be even more frustrating than usual. That is saying a lot. I think the reason it was so frustrating is because you can see the individual skillsets on display, and see they have a lot of potential as a group, but you know it will never get realized. I have never seen the inside of a real Valpo practice, but based on the play on the court, I have to imagine it is an extremely undisciplined environment. It is the same sloppiness every game. The same carless mistakes over and over. While we did miss a lot of open looks from three, we basically just threw away 6-10 possessions on just awful shots that should have never been taken. Players that fear some sort of playing time repercussions or discipline in practice aren't taking THAT MANY bad shots or being THAT carless with the ball so consistently. For heavens sake, Edwards has played over 30 games for us now and he is still jacking up 10 threes a game, 7 of which are essentially turnovers Our defense also would not have been that bad if we didn't bail them out with fouls so often. Undisciplined. If specific players were having issues with these things, I would say it's on the player. But these are team wide issues over the course of 5 years over entire rosters. I feel like this same exact rosters, even with the injuries, would have won this game by double digits with a solid coach. I am excited for Krikke to return because I know most teams we play this year will not be able to stop Krikke AND Kithier in the post together. They are simply too skilled. But I KNOW that when Krikke is healthy, we will not be using it to our advantage. We wont be attacking team down low until they force us to take open threes (which this roster, unlike past years, actually have the ability to hit). I know for a fact that instead of playing through one of the best skilled big men duos in mid major basketball, we will be content watching Edwards jack up 8 contested threes and have our guards turn it over 14 times. This roster has everything they need to compete for the Valley this year, but they do all the little things, the things that actually matter in winning games, completely wrong and have absolutely no game-plan.

[VUSupport]

You must be an idiot to not know about Kobe King. It's been widely known since he got here that he has to sit out the first 9 games of the season for signing with an agent when he left Wisconsin.

[Valpofamfan]

Is Preston injured too?

[bbtds]

Honestly, I don't really know how to react to this game. It was closer than I expected when I learned Krikke would be out, but somehow still managed to be even more frustrating than usual. That is saying a lot. I think the reason it was so frustrating is because you can see the individual skillsets on display, and see they have a lot of potential as a group, but you know it will never get realized.

I have never seen the inside of a real Valpo practice, but based on the play on the court, I have to imagine it is an extremely undisciplined environment. It is the same sloppiness every game. The same carless careless mistakes over and over. While we did miss a lot of open looks from three, we basically just threw away 6-10 possessions on just awful shots that should have never been taken. Players that fear some sort of playing time repercussions or discipline in practice aren't taking THAT MANY bad shots or being THAT carless careless with the ball so consistently. For heavens sake, Edwards has played over 30 games for us now and he is still jacking up 10 threes a game, 7 of which are essentially turnovers

Our defense also would not have been that bad if we didn't bail them out with fouls so often. Undisciplined. If specific players were having issues with these things, I would say it's on the player. But these are team wide issues over the course of 5 years over entire rosters. I feel like this same exact rosters, even with the injuries, would have won this game by double digits with a solid coach.

I am excited for Krikke to return because I know most teams we play this year will not be able to stop Krikke AND Kithier in the post together. They are simply too skilled. But I KNOW that when Krikke is healthy, we will not be using it to our advantage. We wont be attacking team down low until they force us to take open threes (which this roster, unlike past years, actually have the ability to hit). I know for a fact that instead of playing through one of the best skilled big men duos in mid major basketball, we will be content watching Edwards jack up 8 contested threes and have our guards turn it over 14 times. This roster has everything they need to compete for the Valley this year, but they do all the little things, the things that actually matter in winning games, completely wrong and have absolutely no game-plan.

I thought I would make it easier for others to read your post.

[AlaskaCrusader19]

Krikke needs to come back ASAP. Playing Emil isn't going to be sustainable this year. Krikke and King could make this team substantially better, but expectations are important. What I would do for Bryce Drew to come back...

[IndyEIT777]

After sleeping on this game, I'm not too discouraged...yet. I listened to the Ashland game and attended last night's game, and the defensive effort was much better yesterday. Still too many breakdowns on defense leaving sharpshooters wide open giving the other team 3 easy points.

I will say, we may have finally hit on transfers for the first time since Keith Carter/Levonte. Kithier when he took advantage of a mismatch inside was so much fun to watch. Anderson facilitated quite nicely on offense (which had significantly more flow than the previous Lottich teams). My favorite thing to see though was Taylor's defense in the 2nd half. A big guard that actually holds his ground in front of a ball handler was such a welcomed sight to see.

No question we missed Krikke and Conner last night, and we may have won last night and maybe the Flagler game if they had been available. While embarrassing to lose to non-D1s, the fact is we haven't played scrubs yet. UIC (picked to finish 8th in the HL) is the first team I perceive as below average. Win that game, and I think myself and hopefully most of us can calm down a bit. Now if we lose that game...then we probably are looking at another Thursday team.

[oklahomamick]

You guys don't want to hear this.....

I've made a lot (a lot to me...) of money betting against Valpo the last several years.  It's one of those things, if I lose then at least my team won so it doesn't feel quite as bad......

Vegas has over valued Valpo for some years now.  Of course, the lines will correct themselves.  Eventually the name, the history, the respect, the homecourt advantage will likely disappear for Valpo.  Last night I wagered more than I usually do and won the under (offense doesn't move and we don't have shooters, a 3 year problem) and Toledo -4. 

I was worried about Toledo -4.  It's not ideal to go against the home dog in mid-majors where they can pack the little fieldhouse and have an advantage.  I'm also sure that Toledo took a bus.  When at Valpo we took a bus from campus to Bowling Green (near Toledo) and it's not fun to drive 4 hours one way on a school night and then play. 

[vu72]

I liked a lot of what I saw last night. Frankly, it was just great to be able to watch a game versus listening on the radio.  Without Ben we are pretty small and so we end up having to take threes which weren't falling last night.  The point guard play of Darius and Trevor is just so refreshing after all those games with Daniel.  Eron needs to be a bench contributor though he does rebound well for a guard. Getting to full strength together with playing a few more games together will make all the deference. And Thomas Kithier is the real deal!

It's going to be a long, tough season for everybody.  How do you think they feel in Iowa losing to Nicholls State (?) and the super star AJ Green going  one for 14 for 4 points in 36 minutes.  Now that is depressing.

The women play tonight!!

[crusader05]

Yeah I found last night while frustrating much better.  I think that just because we can seem similar issues to last team we also need to think about impact and scale.  Yes we had some stupid fouls and 3 of them were from Emil who hasn't played in a year. Yes we ran into trouble getting set for offense but some of that was due to a freshman point guard still learning not to dribble into corners and having trouble getting out of them.

This offense is no where near as stagnant as past ones have been. The scoring droughts and collapses no where near as bad and there seemed to be actual improvement from each game to the next. It has been a much more enjoyable team to watch this year compared to last year and even the year before where it could be downright painful for even a casual fan.

[SanityLost17]

Eron really does need to be a bench player.   I am not trying to be mean, but he is just not an MVC player.   If he is getting big minutes for us we are going to struggle.   He really is a 10-12 minute a game hustle "lift" guy.  He gives it his all and I like him, but he simply just isn't good enough to play more than that. 

Sheldon is not a star, but is trying to act like one.  He is a good basketball player but definitely not a star.   

I have a million other takeaways, but I'll keep it simple and go with those 2 for now.    Assuming we have players better than Eron, once he is out there less and Sheldon plays within himself we might look alright.   

Overall...  I don't think this team is nearly as athletic as I thought we would be, especially Anderson and Kithier.   

[bbtds]

We simply have to find a way to score more when the other team is making shots. When not hitting threes it's time to find another way to score. The fact that our football team outscored our basketball team is one fact that I never hope to hear about again.

[vok22]

I will say there were a lot more positives to take away from last night than most games since 2017. I am just losing my patience on having to take positives away from losses. Still, I think this team will end up being our best team since the Peters era ended.

Kithier was outstanding with the exception of a missed layup that would have put us up 3 with 2 minutes to go.

Taylor finally started to settle in in the second half and showed his potential as a D1 player, although he has to make those free throws.

Trevor Anderson had 11 points 5 assists 5 rebounds and ZERO turnovers. With how sloppy the team played, I was shocked to see he had zero turnovers.

Darius looks way more mature than most freshmen handling the ball. While he hasn't made any "spectacular" plays, he also really hasn't made any mistakes and handled the pressure better than anybody last night. Zero turnovers from him, a freshman in his first game, in 26 minutes of play against what was a pretty good press last night is impressive.

Keyondre played some solid minutes but looked very much like a freshmen and took some bad shots. He looked like he has a lot of defensive potential and will be able to settle into an offensive roll if it is organized right.  Sucks that he wasn't able to get some warm up in the exhibitions but understand the circumstances changed.

Edwards played awful offensively, but I am encouraged by the defense he showed last night. He just has way too much of a green light and it I concerning that that hasn't been curbed even a little bit by now. He is costing us a LOT of possessions with bad shots.

I cannot wait till we are healthy so Eron Gordon can be relegated to 10 or less minutes per game.


While the game was very sloppy last night, I would say that, with the exception of Edwards, it was more of a team sloppiness than individual sloppiness. People weren't in the right places and looked like they hadn't played together a lot. I think that will improve a lot over the course of the season, but it will require the help of the coaching staff. Hopefully they can pull everybody together. The additions of Krikke and King are going to be HUGE, so it is hard not to still be excited for this season. Just always frustrating when you are so close to pulling one out at home against a good team, in a game that was very much winnable, but manage to fumble it away.

[crusader05]

Edwards always plays to where his potential COULD be but doesn't adjust to where he actually is at game time. Yes you can hit ridiculous threes but if they're not falling you pull back and focus on where you're clearly excelling in the game such as defense and try to get some fast breaks.

Until he realizes to adjust to what's working and setting into the game he will have these streaks.

[wh]

Wow! I almost didn't log in today, anticipating an array of full blown meltdowns over last night's loss. Instead, it's a collection of thoughtful, measured comments, appropriately critical, offering hope for better things ahead, lots of basketball savvy mixed in. Good to see.

[crusader05]

Shhh wh don't jinx it

[VUSupport]

Preston is redshirting

[vuny98]

Maybe I missed it, but I thought the assumption was that Keyondre Young was redshirting and that was why he sat out the two preseason games. I was surprised to see him play yesterday. Anyone know the story (sorry if its been covered elsewhere).

[vok22]

Maybe I missed it, but I thought the assumption was that Keyondre Young was redshirting and that was why he sat out the two preseason games. I was surprised to see him play yesterday. Anyone know the story (sorry if its been covered elsewhere).

I dont know for sure but I am going to assume that after the injuries already started to mount up and krikke being out, we realized we are really thin at the forward position and decided to activate him instead of Preston.

[humbleopinion]

Preston is redshirting

If this is true, my guess for the over/under tiebreaker went down the tubes,

[JD24]

Valpo probably wins this game with Krikke in there. He changes the rotation and even the few minutes Emil played go away. He may also take the ball out of Edwards hands...metaphorically speaking.

Edwards.....Daniel Sackey annoyed the piss out of me last year. Edwards has already started to get there with me. When did this guy become the "go to" guy on offense...he's a very good defensive player. On offense he should be a cog.

The rotations will really be interesting when Krikke (and if he's wearing a boot that's not good), Barrett and King get on the court. Gordon may be reduced to mop up duty.

Anderson has his plusses and minuses. Controlled the offense well but he looks a bit slow afoot defensively.

[tjjvalpo]

If you had seen Edwards during open practice for Season Ticket holders, you would understand why he is given the freedom to put up that many 3's. He did the one minute drill 3 separate times and he made about 75% of shots. I will say he needs to take the shots when he is open and look for other options when he is not, but the guy can shoot! He is going to have more nights like he had against Ashland than what he had against Toledo. Also, Toledo was one of the best teams defending the three last year. We helped those statistics for them to start this season, as well.

[valpo64]

Not having seen the exhibition games, I was curious to see us against a good, top-tier MAC team.  I had mixed emotions,  It was very very obvious to me that we are still trying to find some chemistry with all the new guys. 
That will take time, I don't care what level of talent is involved.  We do miss Kricke alot. I talked to him outside the Union Wednesday a.m. and he is really anxious to get back.  He said when in the "boot" he feels fine but once it is off it immediately bothers him again.

Kithier is very impressive, Sheldon needs to relax and settle down in order to maximize his talents.  As the season progresses, I think we will have a good club but it seemed obvious that with all the new faces they still are not blending together. 

With all the new faces and various backgrounds, the coaches have their hands full but I think they will succeed with time...let's hope sooner than later.

[JD24]

If you had seen Edwards during open practice for Season Ticket holders, you would understand why he is given the freedom to put up that many 3's. He did the one minute drill 3 separate times and he made about 75% of shots. I will say he needs to take the shots when he is open and look for other options when he is not, but the guy can shoot! He is going to have more nights like he had against Ashland than what he had against Toledo. Also, Toledo was one of the best teams defending the three last year. We helped those statistics for them to start this season, as well.

It's the decision making that concerns me not the shooting pct. by itself although that becomes a part of it. There's too much "wtf is he doing" to his game which I think remained a bit in the background last year. I'm also not sure how a guy comes off in practice really matters.

[96]

Must have fresh legs out there, starters were too tired at the end of the game, easy fix for some

[Just Sayin]

Must have fresh legs out there, starters were too tired at the end of the game, easy fix for some

Elite athletes take it upon themselves work to their a$$es off on cardio training. Go above and beyond.