2022-23 Season

[humbleopinion]

Knocking on wood, as I type this, but if TK plays another year, and Kobe is granted another season, I think that we are in good position, all things considered.  With limited video examples, I think that Nick Edwards is a good replacement for Sheldon leaving, and if Connor can return to his FR form, the loss of Keyondre/Trey is minimized.  We would need someone to step up to replace what Kevion brought, however.

Rather than continuing in the "Transfers" thread, valpotx has opened the door to looking toward next fall.

Nick Edwards to replace Sheldon: we move from a "me first" pseudo guard who can rebound and hit big shots as well as make bad decisions, to a pass-first true point guard whose weaknesses are yet to be discovered. Preston has shown that he can be a competent sub, and Darius may have a higher up-side than Preston over time.

Will Joe or Emil develop enough to allow TK to take a breather? 

When are we expecting to hear about Kobe?  Will Cam be trusted to sub for him?

It will be interesting to hear what sort of players take the last two slots.  I hope that each is 6'6" or taller.

[vuny98]

I didn't realize Kobe needed to be granted another season. I thought it was already confirmed he had eligibility this year, but I may have just assumed that.

I feel ok about 4 players on our team. The rest are question marks in my mind.

King, Krikke, Kithier (assuming healthy), Edwards - A decent starting four by all accounts. King needs to be more of the go to guy that can take over a game, which will open up the rest.

Beyond that, I see question marks.
Darius DeAveiro - Showed he can fill in well, but can he take the next step
Preston Ruedinger - A good backup point, good as a sub and minutes guy
Cam Palesse - No idea, but I am hopeful he's good enough to provide serious minutes
Emil Freese-Vilien/Joe Hedstrom - I'm not expecting much but would be happy for a surprise
Connor Barrett - If he can return to Freshman form, where he played better than Sheldon for most of the year, he could play a big role. But who knows.
Maximus Nelson - Would be huge if he can play right away. His skill set, size and position are much needed.

I'm sure we will be hitting the transfer market hard with the last two spots open. We did well last year, and I am confident we will do well again this year.

[vok22]

Right now to me our lineup is looking like:

1. Edwards
2. ?
3. Kobe
4. Ben
5. Thomas

Bench
Preston/Darius
Green
Connor Barrett
Palesse
Hedstrom

Who starts at the 2. Surely not Connor, he's a 3 and barely played this year. Preston and Darius play point. Palesse isn't going to jump into the starting lineup. But at the same time, who is going to be our backup center. If it's Joe, we are in big trouble. I think starting shooting guard and bench center are two gaping holes, and do we even have 1 scholarship left ?

[crusader05]

We have one scholarship left. and I believe Kobe is still not confirmed as a sure thing right? so that may be another whole.

We have Emil as back up center as well I believe.

[JD24]

Right now the answer to who starts at the 2 would be Green.

The backup center issue? It is ugly.

[vu72]

Right now to me our lineup is looking like:

1. Edwards
2. ?
3. Kobe
4. Ben
5. Thomas

Bench
Preston/Darius
Green
Connor Barrett
Palesse
Hedstrom

Who starts at the 2. Surely not Connor, he's a 3 and barely played this year. Preston and Darius play point. Palesse isn't going to jump into the starting lineup. But at the same time, who is going to be our backup center. If it's Joe, we are in big trouble. I think starting shooting guard and bench center are two gaping holes, and do we even have 1 scholarship left ?

I think the answer at the 2 is Kobe.  Green or Barrett can play the 3.  The backup 5 is the same as last year. Ben plays the 5 when Thomas isn't in the game.  I doubt we see them both on the court together unless we find another big out there.  I would assume that is the number one goal.  I think we have two slots left or three if Kobe is gone but one is no doubt going to Preston.

[David81]

Wondering whether closer students of this team (me: watch/listen to games when possible, follow this and Paul Oren's boards) think this team is capable of a winning record and possibly a lower-level tourney invite. Unless, say, King or Krikke take big steps up, I don't see a genuine star akin to Bryce, Broekhoff, Peters, JFL, et al., who can take the team beyond OK. Am I underestimating the talent on this roster?

[Valpo89]

Wondering whether closer students of this team (me: watch/listen to games when possible, follow this and Paul Oren's boards) think this team is capable of a winning record and possibly a lower-level tourney invite. Unless, say, King or Krikke take big steps up, I don't see a genuine star akin to Bryce, Broekhoff, Peters, JFL, et al., who can take the team beyond OK. Am I underestimating the talent on this roster?

No, you are not.

[usc4valpo]

I hope for a better season and some decent post tournament (not CBI or CIT). If things go sour, I hope Padilla and the suitors are watching.

[AlaskaCrusader19]

Adding Division II transfers is great and all, but it doesn't move the needle against programs like UNI, Bradley, Loyola, etc. This group still has a long way to go, and I don't have a ton of reason to be optimistic that next year will be much better than this was

[vok22]

The only reason for optimism is that the rest of the league should be much worse than last year, so it might be easier to pick up a few more in league wins.

[justducky]

The only reason for optimism is that the rest of the league should be much worse than last year, so it might be easier to pick up a few more in league wins.

  That doesn't really get my adrenalin pumping.

[vu72]

The only reason for optimism is that the rest of the league should be much worse than last year, so it might be easier to pick up a few more in league wins.

  That doesn't really get my adrenalin pumping.

And probably not true, at least at the top of the conference.  Drake, UNI, Missouri State and Belmont will be loaded.

[humbleopinion]

Vijay Blackmon has been hired as the men's basketball strength coach.  I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but I don't think that there has been a strength coach dedicated  just to men's basketball in recent seasons.  This is a behind-the-scenes investment that the coaches hoped for. 

It will be interesting to see this hire has any impact on the number of injuries over the course of the season.

[Chairback]

Anyone hearing Thomas has not recovered and a there is a high possibility he's done playing.

[historyman]

Anyone hearing Thomas has not recovered and a there is a high possibility he's done playing.

Thomas "he's just not Kith, he's" Kithier





I certainly hope he is like the Star Wars film "Revenge of the Kith"

[vu72]

Anyone hearing Thomas has not recovered and a there is a high possibility he's done playing.

Heard a rumor, but if true, wouldn't the staff be after a replacement?  Getting kinda late I would think.

[vuny98]

Anyone hearing Thomas has not recovered and a there is a high possibility he's done playing.

Heard a rumor, but if true, wouldn't the staff be after a replacement?  Getting kinda late I would think.

Jerome Palm / Maximus Nelson
Hope its not true, but those two on roster do provide some relief already.

[chgovalpofan]

I heard this a while ago and I do think it is true.  Not sure why there hasn't been anything formal.  I also believe he is staying on scholarship to help the team but I do not think he will see the floor.  Don't ask me about the logic in that.  That is just what I heard. 

[mp91]

Vijay Blackmon has been hired as the men's basketball strength coach.  I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but I don't think that there has been a strength coach dedicated  just to men's basketball in recent seasons.  This is a behind-the-scenes investment that the coaches hoped for. 

It will be interesting to see this hire has any impact on the number of injuries over the course of the season.

This is an interesting move. Love that he played under one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in college basketball with Clif Marshall. Marshall is famous for some of the impressive player body transformations within the Hoosier program. I also like that Vijay is younger and can more easily relate to the players and the modern basketball training cycle (AAU, high school, and the transition to college).

[vu72]

So we still have some big question marks.  Can Thomas play? Is Kobe eligible?  With the addition of Max and Jerome, the loss of Thomas is less of an impact, but you can't replace his basketball smarts and team quarterbacking skill very easily. Kobe will be the bigger loss as he has that Big Ten body and scoring ability--again, very hard to replace.  That's two five year (six?) guys and a lot of experience.

As is usually the case, much will depend on skills gained in the off season. The picture on the Valpo athletic site of guys training, shows several guys staying around campus and that is good. Not sure of all the players pictured but I recognize Preston, Joe, Quinton, Nick, Connor(?) and Darius.

[humbleopinion]

Luke told me that he expected that everyone except a player playing for a national team to be on campus in June.

[VUSupport]

Cool, everyone but Ben

[vu72]

Cool, everyone but Ben

Or perhaps Jerome Palm from the Netherlands or even Emil from Denmark

[humbleopinion]

I'm pretty sure it was Jerome.