Game #11 Chicago State at the ARC 12/16 3pm CT payback

NativeCheesehead · December 16, 2023, 05:10:17 PM

I'll get over this by tomorrow and remember that we're a BIG work in progress. And I know this CSU team is sneaky good.

But back to back home losses to Chicago State is embarrassing. Period. End of story.

mj · December 16, 2023, 05:10:37 PM

Heartbreaker. Ugh

valpotx · December 16, 2023, 05:14:08 PM

Wow, that last 5 minutes was f'ing pathetic. I was going to say that was actually a good win, as Chicago State seems very athletic and tough on drives, but it turned into a bad loss. Why in the world do we have 6'0" Darius throwing balls in under the basket? I get that we got one assist to Kasper, but you are really limiting yourself when you have such a short player inbounding under the basket that you are trying to score on, which led to that ridiculous rainbow pass that was easily intercepted for an easy 2 the other way. Darius then panics when passed the ball at half court, and almost threw away another pass in the closing minute, that Edwards luckily saved from going out of bounds. He is normally someone that I trust, but his last 2 minutes were not good. I'm not going to hold that late missed bunny against Edwards, as his athletic play throughout most of the game, is what got us back into it. On the positive side, Williamson with a solid game, and Sepp is our glue guy. You have to point out that one defensive stand somewhere around 5 minutes to go, where the guy with the ball was trying to brutally back him down, and Sepp didn't move, taking a shot in the process. The guy misses that shot and we get a rebound, which I thought was going to be the defensive stand to put the dagger in Chicago State. Disappointing, to say the least...

AB · December 16, 2023, 05:14:34 PM

uggggh. Young team growing pains. Ice cold the last 3 minutes, didn't put Cougs away. Good teams extend leads, something this team may or may not be capable of this year. Cooper, Palm were non existent in this game. Edwards point blank miss at the rim, a killer. Williams, nice game. Good to see Connor back.

tiny707 · December 16, 2023, 05:31:35 PM

Would have been nice to see Cooper in the game at the end for scoring.

valpotx · December 16, 2023, 05:41:50 PM

I hadn't thought of this in a long time, but I think we should be resolved to the possibility that our 26+ year streak of having an even or winning record at home, will end this season.

tiny707 · December 16, 2023, 06:36:09 PM

Probably go 0-20 rest of year...

Chairback · December 16, 2023, 07:18:48 PM

This team is young and completely inexperienced. I really enjoy watching this team and I'm not giving up on them. They are getting beat up and going thru growing pains. They have to be one of the youngest teams in D1.

You can see the talent is there and they are being thrown into the fire as freshman and sophomores.

I truly enjoy watching this team, more than any valpo teams in the last 5 years.

JD24 · December 16, 2023, 09:18:26 PM

I'm going to assume Schwieger is either hurt or sick cuz I haven't a clue why he was out at the end.

Was it Darius who picked up his dribble after crossing the half court line and then threw it off Stafford's hands or the other way around? I had the sound off and was watching on a small screen. Whichever order it was...picking up your dribble in that spot should have been coached out of him at least one level down...probably two.

I didn't particularly like Powell's postgame either. He seemed quite defensive "if you can't see....I don't know what you're watching..." l

historyman · December 17, 2023, 01:18:59 AM

Quote from: JD24 on December 16, 2023, 09:18:26 PMI didn't particularly like Powell's postgame either. He seemed quite defensive "if you can't see....I don't know what you're watching..." l

Are you saying that Powell is falling into the "excuse trap" pressers that Lottich was imfamous for?

Could Powell be getting over frustrated with the results because he really has never had to do these kinds of press conferences over and over?

mj · December 17, 2023, 07:23:09 AM

The growing pains this season are also going to happen on the coaching side. We started to run clock and get out of our offensive rhythm way too early. If we learn from this, then it's a tough but tolerable lesson.

Other than the first and last 5 minutes, I thought this team looked and played well.

VUBBFan · December 17, 2023, 08:10:47 AM

I agree, we started running clock to early, then were forced to take late shots that were not in normal good rhythm. I hate it when teams play not to lose. Play to win.
Don't take your foot off the gas and hope to coast to a win. Slam the foot down and drive away.

usc4valpo · December 17, 2023, 08:21:46 AM

I check the ESPN site before going out to dinner and saw Valpo up by 10 with 5 minutes left. I check the site today and wow, this is a journey starting with a lot of learning.

This isn't going to be easy of course. However, you certainly need to have patience in this situation and think about how this program will improve over time and hopefully enjoy the long term improvement. My feeling is that we'll see good things in the future; Powell is not a used car salesman.

JD24 · December 17, 2023, 09:01:53 AM

Quote from: historyman on December 17, 2023, 01:18:59 AM
Quote from: JD24 on December 16, 2023, 09:18:26 PMI didn't particularly like Powell's postgame either. He seemed quite defensive "if you can't see....I don't know what you're watching..." l
Are you saying that Powell is falling into the "excuse trap" pressers that Lottich was imfamous for? Could Powell be getting over frustrated with the results because he really has never had to do these kinds of press conferences over and over?

I don't give a crap about Lottich and never watched his PC's anyway.

Powell seemed to be arguing against some unseen opinion that he doesn't like. It came across to me as quite defensive. I thought it called for "we can't lose a game like this but we're growing and will learn to win" or something like that. Instead of being positive in that regard he seemed to take an adversary angle I thought is way premature.

JD24 · December 17, 2023, 09:03:22 AM

Back to Cooper. Where was he at the end? He may be the team's smartest player basketball wise in addition to giving them some size. Hurt? Sick? Anyone ask?

usc4valpo · December 17, 2023, 09:19:41 AM

In reality Powell needs the 2023-24 season to be his honeymoon period. He inherited crumbs talentwise and building the team from the foundation up.

VUSWIM08-12 · December 17, 2023, 02:12:35 PM

I was actually ok with Roger's post game presser , he was frustrated , wants to win, but his team has improved tremendously from that IUPUI loss, 2025-2026 will be right at .500 and we'll be on our way IMO...patience, D1 basketball is highly competitive and overnight success is nearly impossible...

AB · December 17, 2023, 02:47:46 PM

He's saying everything he needs to say at the presser. He knows that this year they are going to take it on the chin. A lot of times, the coaches do nothing differently, guys just get older and figure things out the next season. I also like how he said, Connor, Palm...Better start producing or your playing time is in jeopardy. Bringing in older guys etc.. We all know this will be a tough season to watch. We know the young guys are coming but have we seen the ceiling with Palm and Connor? Powell will have to figure out how to get the most of them.

valpopal · December 17, 2023, 05:41:56 PM

Quote from: mj on December 17, 2023, 07:23:09 AM
The growing pains this season are also going to happen on the coaching side. We started to run clock and get out of our offensive rhythm way too early. If we learn from this, then it's a tough but tolerable lesson.

Other than the first and last 5 minutes, I thought this team looked and played well.

Yes, the 10-0 start and the 10-0 finish for Chicago State were both the result of tentative play that spotted CSU 20 points in a one-point loss. The pace and play calling during those spells were the problem. That is on the coach, who in this instance showed he is as much a freshman in his role as some of his players are in theirs.

covufan · December 17, 2023, 06:05:39 PM

We need to fix the first five minutes of the game, and soon!

We just looked out of sorts the last five minutes, like their bodies were rejecting the slow down. Keep the pace up. Need to bring ball up against pressure better and find the mismatches quicker - there is always a mismatch when other team is trapping.

wh · December 18, 2023, 03:06:32 PM

Quote from: Chairback on December 16, 2023, 07:18:48 PM
This team is young and completely inexperienced. I really enjoy watching this team and I'm not giving up on them. They are getting beat up and going thru growing pains. They have to be one of the youngest teams in D1.

You can see the talent is there and they are being thrown into the fire as freshman and sophomores.

I truly enjoy watching this team, more than any valpo teams in the last 5 years.

Agreed. This season is nothing more than a dress rehearsal for next year. In the meantime it's fun to watch this young group buying into the process and working their tales off.

justducky · December 18, 2023, 03:45:32 PM

Quote from: wh on December 18, 2023, 03:06:32 PM
Quote from: Chairback on December 16, 2023, 07:18:48 PM
This team is young and completely inexperienced. I really enjoy watching this team and I'm not giving up on them. They are getting beat up and going thru growing pains. They have to be one of the youngest teams in D1.

You can see the talent is there and they are being thrown into the fire as freshman and sophomores.

I truly enjoy watching this team, more than any valpo teams in the last 5 years.
Agreed. This season is nothing more than a dress rehearsal for next year. In the meantime it's fun to watch this young group buying into the process and working their tales off.

Totally agree with every word quoted above! Double thumbs up to Chairback and wh

humbleopinion · December 19, 2023, 07:53:46 AM

I thought the most noteworthy comment from the press conference was the indication (or, perhaps, implication) that this will be the last year for Jerome and Conner in a Valpo uniform. It seems that we'll have a couple scholarships available even if all of the underclassmen decide to stay.

valpo64 · December 19, 2023, 10:03:32 AM

We not only have a young, inexperienced team but we also have a young first year HEAD coach who is learning the ropes being in charge of the entire program. I would expect him to also make "Rookie" mistakes as the season progresses. Overall, I believe the future is bright and both players and coaches will get better as the season progresses. I hate to say it, but sometimes it gets very frustrating to watch this team play. But let's all hang in there and watch it get better as the season moves along.