Sycamores visit the ARC -- 1 pm New Year's Day

[usc4valpo]

Drake and Indiana State compete in the same environment. At the MVC level, Valpo has been in the bottom half. Time for a change, change is painful but good for the long term. Valpo tends to be so passive in their decision making.

[vu72]

Valpo is left getting busts (harsh term but yes a P5 transfer to a mid major is a bust) from larger schools, or taking a chance on fliers / over achievers from small majors or juco.

Here is where memories can be a little faulty.  We have had transfers from P5 schools who have either been stars or very valuable role players.

Witness:

Thomas Kithier  10.1 ppg (would have been very good if heathy)
Trevor Anderson  9.2 ppg (ditto Kithier)
Ryan Fazekas  10.6 ppg (ditto Kithier)
Bakari Evelyn  9.2 ppg
Shane Hammink  15.1 ppg
LaVonte Dority  15.7 ppg
Cory Johnson  14.1 ppg
Ron Howard
Tony Falu (while it lasted!)
Joe Burton (ditto Falu)

So it is very possible to bring in a guy from a P5 who either didn't play much (Cory Johnson) or was a starter but not featured (Thomas Kithier).  Sure, there are the Joe Hedstrom's of our recruiting past who will never be a main line contributor but many others who have come in and been great supporting actors like, say, Will Bogan or Ben Boggs.

[JD24]

Valpo is left getting busts (harsh term but yes a P5 transfer to a mid major is a bust) from larger schools, or taking a chance on fliers / over achievers from small majors or juco.

Here is where memories can be a little faulty.  We have had transfers from P5 schools who have either been stars or very valuable role players. Witness: Thomas Kithier  10.1 ppg (would have been very good if heathy) Trevor Anderson  9.2 ppg (ditto Kithier) Ryan Fazekas  10.6 ppg (ditto Kithier) Bakari Evelyn  9.2 ppg Shane Hammink  15.1 ppg LaVonte Dority  15.7 ppg Cory Johnson  14.1 ppg Ron Howard Tony Falu (while it lasted!) Joe Burton (ditto Falu) So it is very possible to bring in a guy from a P5 who either didn't play much (Cory Johnson) or was a starter but not featured (Thomas Kithier).  Sure, there are the Joe Hedstrom's of our recruiting past who will never be a main line contributor but many others who have come in and been great supporting actors like, say, Will Bogan or Ben Boggs.

We're going hack a bit for Cory Johnson but the first three listed had problems staying healthy and that is part of the overall point. These are flawed players in some fashion. For some its inconsistency. For others its the simple fact that they can't really play. For others its that they can't stay healthy. In addition, these are still role players best left to feed off a high end talent which will either never get to Valpo or leave quickly if they do.

[VULB#62]

Given the hypothetical (repeat, hypothetical) that Valpo goes "all-in" to boost its MBB program, can Valpo......

1 - Find and pay for a coach who can annually assemble a cadre of new mercenaries who can jell over night to become a force in the MVC?

2 - Find the money and sponsorships necessary to compete for players in the new NIL world — something that is just beginning to rear its ugly head beyond the P5 domain?

3 - Find a way to create a more fan/player-attractive entertainment venue (i.e., the playing arena and ancillary trappings) that actually contributes to generating enough income to help pay for 1 and 2 above.

And finally.....

4 - Find a way to change institutionally, culturally and financially to facilitate an all-in commitment?

And related to #4. Can just two people, Padilla and Smart, both of whom have displayed the leadership characteristics Valpo needs, lift Valpo over what seems innumerable obstacles to make this happen?

[valpofb16]

None of the above players moved the needle at a P5 program. Some were good-fine Valpo players.

Guys like Peters will be hard to come by to stay for four because teams are quite literally poaching mid majors.

Guys like Browkhoff and Van Wijk are hard finds because the world is a lot more connected than in 2008 in terms of technology.

So yes Valpo is left getting power 5 left overs, mid major recruits, and any sleepers will move on.

In terms of pumping money into basketball. Valpo should look at what provides its highest overall profit and value to the university and triple down at this time

[JD24]

2 - Find the money and sponsorships necessary to compete for players in the new NIL world — something that is just beginning to rear its ugly head beyond the P5 domain? 

It's going to take a while for NIL to settle down. Right now its just a free for all. At some point players down the food chain a bigger places will not get the dollars they might at the moment and those players will move down the list where they can earn some as the bigger fish in the smaller pond.

That said, I'm not particularly confident that Valpo has the kind of alumni commitment to fund NIL as will be necessary even as a mid major.

[VULB#62]

The accelerating pace of change in college athletics is mind-boggling — and, with a few exceptions, more-so at the mid-major level. It's head-spinning.

At least when free agency hit professional sports there were player contracts that provided some stability.  No so in college sports. Kids can transfer willy-nilly - no restrictions, no repercussions, no responsibility, no accountability.

When the NCAA basically opened the barn door with the transfer portal and no restrictions like sitting out a year, and then, for good measure, tore the barn down completely with NIL that, in effect, incentivized the scramble to transfer, it (the NCAA) did nothing to provide for any semblance of order or stability. This self-inflicted mayhem, and it is mayhem, will cause a shakeout that actually will harm the institution of college athletics more than it helps. And schools like Valpo with meager alumni support and weak revenue streams will be among the first schools pushed off the cliff.

Nuff for now. Gotta go recharge my metephor mixer. It just ran out of juice.

[usc4valpo]

If the NCAA and Emmert were not so academic and pompous jerks, NIL would not have been so extreme.

[VULB#62]

Former governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, the first non-academic, has been chosen to replace Emmert.  He gets a chance to bring some credibility to the NCAA this year.

[usc4valpo]

Why Emmert is not gone is beyond me. The NCAA needs an enema.

[Valpo89]

One thing I've always said, there's a reason basketball players end up at VU ... and not at a Big 10 school (or other Power 5).
Usually, the reason is a flaw (or combination of flaws) that is exposed either during the recruiting process, or the reason for a transfer.

[VULB#62]

Why Emmert is not gone is beyond me. The NCAA needs an enema.

USC, he is done (i.e., gone), kaput, outta there. It is now the Baker era.

[usc4valpo]

Actually, he is still there until February. He is a complete putz.

[VULB#62]

Very lame duck there merely for transition purposes. He is now powerless to do anything (assuming he ever did anything positive    ).

[David81]

Valpo is left getting busts (harsh term but yes a P5 transfer to a mid major is a bust) from larger schools, or taking a chance on fliers / over achievers from small majors or juco.

Here is where memories can be a little faulty.  We have had transfers from P5 schools who have either been stars or very valuable role players.

Witness:

Thomas Kithier  10.1 ppg (would have been very good if heathy)
Trevor Anderson  9.2 ppg (ditto Kithier)
Ryan Fazekas  10.6 ppg (ditto Kithier)
Bakari Evelyn  9.2 ppg
Shane Hammink  15.1 ppg
LaVonte Dority  15.7 ppg
Cory Johnson  14.1 ppg
Ron Howard
Tony Falu (while it lasted!)
Joe Burton (ditto Falu)

So it is very possible to bring in a guy from a P5 who either didn't play much (Cory Johnson) or was a starter but not featured (Thomas Kithier).  Sure, there are the Joe Hedstrom's of our recruiting past who will never be a main line contributor but many others who have come in and been great supporting actors like, say, Will Bogan or Ben Boggs.

Some very good players on that list -- and a lot of what-could-have-beens, minus injuries -- but I would count even the best of them (Hammink, Dority, Johnson) as solid #2s, not the kind of player who leads a team into the NCAA tourney.

But to play the devil's advocate, could what seems so far be closer than we think? After all, the fan fiction version of last year would be JFL leading a team that includes Krikke, King, Taylor, S. Edwards, and healthy versions of Kithier and Anderson. Now that's a group that puts VU into the post-season conversation.

[beacons23]

The guy was a self serving pompous ass