Recruiting

[classof2014]

Agreed. I see Davidson more as a Matt Kenney type as a 2 guard. We already have 2 natural PGs in Carter and Williams. Davidson probably will only be used as an emergency PG. And with Dority back next season we have 3 different PGs ahead of Davidson. With Kenney obviously graduating Davidson was recruited to take over his role. Not the PG since we already have 3 PGs for next year.

[wh]

According to the eligibility chart we have 4 open slots for the 2014-15 season:

https://docs.google.com/a/group7even.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlQ2tPhus3WCdElfelJobS1BOXVfU09YU19UbENmdWc&pli=1#gid=0

If I recall correctly, by this time last year we had verbal commitments from nearly our entire 2013 Freshman class, all of which were HS Juniors at that time.  Even with Alec Peters, who didn't commit until last fall, we at least knew that Valpo was one of the schools he was seriously considering. Here we are a year later with zero verbals for the 2014 class.  I couldn't even tell you who is seriously considering us or who we're chasing.  There's still several months until the early signing period next fall, but it seems to be a pretty big difference from one year to the next as far as early recruiting results - especially given the success of the program over the last 2 years.

[IndyValpo]

Let it be known right now, I think Yeo will be much more successful than Davidson. Yes, you can say Yeo played weaker competition, but Yeo showed his dominant capabilities that I've not seen from Davidson. Yeo can dunk consistently, Davidson can't. I would've loved to have Mike Schlotman rather than Nick Davidson. Davidson played absolutely horrible in the 3A semi state game vs Concordia and he cost his team a chance at winning a state title. Schlotman was flashy and looked more like a college player and Davidson did not seem as comfortable playing at PG.

So by this analysis basically everyone to have played at Valpo would be better than Bryce Drew who I do not recall dunking on a consistent basis. I watched most of the state finals last week, did I miss Munster playing?

[wh]

Let it be known right now, I think Yeo will be much more successful than Davidson. Yes, you can say Yeo played weaker competition, but Yeo showed his dominant capabilities that I've not seen from Davidson. Yeo can dunk consistently, Davidson can't. I would've loved to have Mike Schlotman rather than Nick Davidson. Davidson played absolutely horrible in the 3A semi state game vs Concordia and he cost his team a chance at winning a state title. Schlotman was flashy and looked more like a college player and Davidson did not seem as comfortable playing at PG.

So by this analysis basically everyone to have played at Valpo would be better than Bryce Drew who I do not recall dunking on a consistent basis. I watched most of the state finals last week, did I miss Munster playing?

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/18707945-556/boys-basketball-mike-schlotman-is-munsters-mr-efficiency.html

This recent PT article is entitled Mike Schlotman is Munster's "Mr. efficiency."  It opens by calling his style "anything but dazzling."  I'm not sure you can be "anything but dazzling" on one hand and "flashy" on the other.  That said he sounds like a fine player.  I pull for all the kids in NWI, so I hope he does well at William & Mary.  As to comparisons with Nick, Nick's final game was probably his poorest performance of the year and Schlotman's final game was probably his best of the year.  Neither one was typical of how either played overall.  Nick is much more of a scorer, averaging about 23 ppt, while Schlotman only averaged 12.  Both were named to the Times Top 10 team, but Nick was also named Player of the Year by the Times high school sports reporters that see these players in action all season long. I have seen Nick's name as being considered for the Indiana All-Star team.  I have not seen Schlotman's.  Last, but not least, I don't recall ever hearing that Bryce and staff ever pursued Schlotman, so they obviously made their choice in favor of Nick, as well.  I think we have to allow that Bryce is a pretty good judge of talent himself.   

[FWalum]

This recent PT article is entitled Mike Schlotman is Munster's "Mr. efficiency."  It opens by calling his style "anything but dazzling."  I'm not sure you can be "anything but dazzling" on one hand and "flashy" on the other.  That said he sounds like a fine player.  I pull for all the kids in NWI, so I hope he does well at William & Mary.  As to comparisons with Nick, Nick's final game was probably his poorest performance of the year and Schlotman's final game was probably his best of the year.  Neither one was typical of how either played overall.  Nick is much more of a scorer, averaging about 23 ppt, while Schlotman only averaged 12.  Both were named to the Times Top 10 team, but Nick was also named Player of the Year by the Times high school sports reporters that see these players in action all season long. I have seen Nick's name as being considered for the Indiana All-Star team.  I have not seen Schlotman's.  Last, but not least, I don't recall ever hearing that Bryce and staff ever pursued Schlotman, so they obviously made their choice in favor of Nick, as well.  I think we have to allow that Bryce is a pretty good judge of talent himself. 

Well said wh.  I had a hard time writing my semi-state review of Nick because I knew that posters would look at it and wonder about Nick before he ever set foot on the VU hardwood.  That is why I stated how hard it is to see a player one time in one game and make a judgement on talent. Players do have good and bad games, just look at the NCAA tournament, teams look great one game and talent-less the next. Obviously the coaching staff has seen him play many time and I believe, as you said, that they are pretty good at judging talent.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

There's still several months until the early signing period next fall, but it seems to be a pretty big difference from one year to the next as far as early recruiting results - especially given the success of the program over the last 2 years.

I would agree with this if a) this class weren't such an anomaly in several ways and b) if it were really true.

Verbal commits in the 2013 class:
Davidson, July 2011.
Yeo, August 2011.
Williams, May 2012.
Adekoya, June 2012.
Peters, September 2012.

So yeah, at this time in the 2013 cycle, we already had 2 recruits.  But they were both committed halfway through high school, and that is rare, unless you're Kenny Harris.  Part of the reason that is rare is because we get a lot of transfers.  But then part of the reason we get TRANSFERS is because kids commit too early and then change their minds later.  I don't think it's rare that we had three recruits commit during the offseason before their senior year.  If this summer passes without any, well then, yeah, let's worry a bit.

If all you're saying is that we don't have a lot of information on recruiting, at least in this cycle, then I totally agree with you.  I really think it shouldn't be this hard to get info to fans!  Perhaps Paul Oren (for example) might be hamstrung as far as contacting recruits a la people at Scout, Rivals, etc., since he is also an employee of the university, so we can't have a regular column on that.  But I for one would shell out cash money for something like what Sam Webb does for the Detroit News--an in-depth article on recent visitors and their thoughts on visiting, their accomplishments thus far, etc. 

[classof2014]

I wouldn't worry too much, at least right now, about the 2014-15 recruiting class. As of right now we will only be graduating 3 players in Coleman, Caps, and Dority, and at most 4 if the final scholarship spot is filled by a transfer who will be a senior and immediately eligible for play next season, which is highly unlikely. I think the coaching staff realized that this next recruiting class, with 6 potential spots to fill is much more important to the program than the 2014-15 one. So over the past 2 years I think the coaching staff put a large majority of their recruiting efforts into this class realizing that if Valpo wants to be an elite program it will start with this class, with basically the whole team graduating this past season. They knew if this recruiting class was subpar or if they started to look ahead to the future classes it might have hindered their ability to recruit the kids they have coming in now.

[atkins]

Davidson will be a good addition.  The comparison to Kenney seems accurate.  He doesn't appear to have the same skill set as Yeo and Peters, and he is not nearly as athletic as Carter or Lexus Williams, but he's a hard-nosed guard.  Not a starter, perhaps, but a good sixth-man. 

We still need athletic power forwards, in addition to Adekoya.  Look at the NCAA tournament this year -- Nearly all of the lower-seeded teams have physically strong, athletic forwards who are great inside the paint.  In addition, most of the lower-seeded teams have strong guards who are great rebounders (e.g., Wichita State, LaSalle, etc.).  Wouldn't it be great to see Valpo's guards consistently hit the boards hard?  That would help to compensate for a lack of athletic, strong forwards. 

[grad66]

Yes, he's that good. It's been a long, long time since Valpo had a player who could do this.

I think that is a tad bit of an exaggeration. A nice athletic move but not uber athletic. I know that both Matt and Ryan could also make such a dunk, but doing it against D1 competition is a whole different ballgame. I don't want to get into a p!$$!^& contest but check out the 3A state finals video that I posted with the link on page 29 of this thread. McCall makes almost the exact same move down the middle of the lane only he slams it two handed and is about a foot higher off the floor than Yeo.

We will agree to disagree on the degree of Clay's athleticism.  You can also find on youtube a video of Clay bounding down the court on a breakaway dunk, in which he takes exactly 5 steps from the half court line to the middle of the lane, where he skies from 8 feet out for the easy dunk.  5 steps.  Again, I reiterate I haven't seen that at Valpo in a long time, if ever.

Ah yes, back in my days 62-66 Valpo had some very good teams under Bartow.  There was a "little all American" high hurdler who also played some basketball. He was Steve
Cook.  Now back then "dunking in a game was outlawed!  Ncaa's answer to Lew Alcinder aka Karem.  Before the game warmups were free territory, and Tom Smith (guard) would put the ball off the board and high, Steve at about 6'2" would come in and 2-handed stuff it as the exclamation point!    Elbows above the rim.

[vubballfan10]

Agreed. I see Davidson more as a Matt Kenney type as a 2 guard. We already have 2 natural PGs in Carter and Williams. Davidson probably will only be used as an emergency PG. And with Dority back next season we have 3 different PGs ahead of Davidson. With Kenney obviously graduating Davidson was recruited to take over his role. Not the PG since we already have 3 PGs for next year.

Davidson taking over Kenney's role seems similar to when Kenney took over Howard Little's role for the past two seasons.  All three are similar 2-guards.

[atkins]

Anyone know whether one or more of the guys transferring out of Illinois would be a good fit for Valpo?  A couple of highly regarded bigs and a lesser-known wing.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

here's a link for anyone curious about the above statement:

http://www.sj-r.com/sports/x609794722/3-bench-players-leaving-Illinois-basketball-team

http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/032913aae.html

University of Illinois sophomores Mike Shaw and Ibby Djimde and redshirt freshman Devin Langford will transfer following the completion of the spring semester. All three have requested and been granted permission to contact other institutions regarding potential transfer opportunities.

Mike Shaw (6'8", 215; Chicago De La Salle--their all time leading scorer):  34 games in 2 years, averaging 5.6 min/gm, 0.9 ppg, and this money quote from his media guide bio:  "Loyal player who says, "My team is my family and I bleed Orange and Blue."  Freshman highlight: "Scored a career-high seven points, including first career three-pointer, vs. Chicago State (Nov. 27)"

Ibby Djimde (6'8", 245; from Mali [yeah THAT mali] via Huntington WV Prep):  28 games in 2 years, 2.9 mpg, 0.3 pp.  Money quote from media guide:  "Lists biggest thrill in sports as receiving a scholarship to Illinois".  Freshman highlight:  "Hit a free throw and took a charge in 12 minutes vs. Gonzaga (Dec. 3)"

Devin Langford (6'7", 200; Huntsville, AL) redshirted last year; this year played 22 games, 4.3 mpg.  0.8 rpg, 0.5 ppg. 

Eh...i doubt it.

[classof2014]

Would be pretty cool if we could land one of them. Chances are slim but still would be pretty neat! Chances are they'd have to be redshirted for a year though due to the "beloved" ncaa transfer policy.

[truth219]

All three of those guys hardly played....I wouldn't want any of them

[HC]

Hate to say it, but I agree with Truth

[lowposter]

Schlotman is a point guard, Davidson is not.  Davidson was placed at PG position as a freshman at Andrean but rotated to more of a 2/3.  There were much more quicker guards on Andrean.  Comments a year ago from Andrean fans were that Nick couldnt keep up with the quicker elite PGs like Jackson of Mishawaka Marion (of course not too many people can). 

Schlotman will fit in very well running a team.  He is a Mike Hackett PG...well schooled and a coach on the floor.  He has very good bloodlines.  I believe his mother played at Purdue.  He is one of my favorite players in the Region.  He statistically had a very good game against Merrillville but the overall quickness and pressure of Merrillville's uber quick guards was the difference in 4Q.  The Jenkins kid is a load. 

Dominique Hawkins was named Mr. Basketball in KY.  He is showing offers from Western Ky, South Carolina, Morehead St, Tennessee Tech, and VU.  He is waiting for an offer from UK.  This kid is a load.  He is a 6'1" guard.  If you believe your current recruiting class is athletic...take a look at him.  If he comes here, it will completely push the guard position into a sprint for playing time.

lowposter

[Big D]

Dominique Hawkins was named Mr. Basketball in KY.  He is showing offers from Western Ky, South Carolina, Morehead St, Tennessee Tech, and VU.  He is waiting for an offer from UK. 

Hawkins also has offers from Wright State, Purdue and he got his offer from UK that he has been waiting on Friday.  They expect him to commit to UK by next weekend when he gets back from spring break.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Hate to say it, but I agree with Truth

While I have come to the same conclusion, it is not for the same reason that "they hardly played".  They all got Vucic-like (actually slightly fewer) minutes in the B1G, which is not nothing. 

I would say that Shaw played about the same minutes as Capo his last year at IU, but Truth doesn't like him anyway, and so it's unlikely to convince him.

Finally--why didn't they play?  Seems to me as good a reason as any would be that they were recruited by Bruce Weber and were now coached by John Groce.  Obviously the latter needs to clear space for his new regime--not saying that he told them so in so many words, but obviously a coach can make it clear to a guy how much he fits (or doesn't) in the new plans...

This is all largely moot; though I am not satisfied that any of them really match up with our needs, I don't know that we're at the place yet where we don't return a B1G transfer's calls.  The point is merely that we shouldn't not want them because of PT.

[classof2014]

It would be nice if VU could pick up a kid like Hawkins. The one thing that scares me with him is that he is deadset on going to Kentucky, and if he does get an offer from KY we have a ZERO percent chance we get him. Another thing that scares me if he does wind up at VU will he transfer after his first or second season if KY does show interest in him.


But if the reports are right and KY offered him a scholarship, chances are he will be a Wildcat.

[valpotx]

A lot of our solid transfers played similar minutes at other BCS programs, and were great pickups for us.  I would not mind any of these 6'7"-6'8" players on our team, if they turn out similar to the improvement that Bobby showed as the season progressed.

[wh]

Here's someone who could help us next year...

Sandi Marcius saga still playing itself out

http://www.indystar.com/article/20130330/SPORTS0602/303300046/Purdue-basketball-Sandi-Marcius-saga-still-playing-itself-out

He played at La Lumiere.  I am guessing Bryce would know him from there and he would probably know Bryce. 

[classof2014]

Wouldn't mind to see him here for his final year. It's only one season and I think he can be that big man we need to compete with upper level competition. He played good minutes towards the end of the year for Purdue averaging almost 20 mins a game in March, and he finished with a 53% field goal percentage which is pretty good, we were definitely spoiled with KVWs finishing abilities and he was going up against B1G competition, which is much strong than the Horizon competition both Caps and KVW went up against. Being 6'9" and 270 lbs is a huge plus compared to KVWs 240 and Caps 245.

Could possibly be that big man down low that we need against higher level competition.

[historyman]

Also Valpo's history with foreign big men could have a positive effect with Marcius. Although foreign players in general are not nearly as unique as they used to be.

[classof2014]

Agreed, can't hurt that Valpo has had a strong presence in the past with international players. He know he will be get ample playing time and Valpo is just a short drive from Lafayette.

I think we are seeing that Bryce tries to go for more local kids, which I don't have a problem with. In fact I like it more than the internationals. Valpo is really lucky to have grade A talent in their own backyard pretty much in both Illinois and Indiana. And with this incoming class being from: Chicago, Peoria area, Bourbon, and Merrillville, I think will be the start of Valpo going local, which I think is the best option for the program moving forward.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Michigan will reload next year with Derrick Walton to step into Trey Burke's shoes and Zak Irvin for THJ (if he goes):

Hamilton Southeastern's Zak Irvin named Mr. Basketball
http://www.indystar.com/article/20130403/SPORTS02/304030052/Mr-Basketball-Hamilton-Souteastern-s-Zak-Irvin-has-gone-from-JV-No-1

Neither of our commits received a vote, unfortunately, but interestingly, Yeo would have received one if he had outpolled Bryson Scott on the internet poll I linked here a few times. Hm.  (Rather it seems they didn't but they could have...the 1994 article says only the top 3 are released, but that's clearly no longer true...)

Anyway, for fun and giggles' sake:
1982 Mr. Basketball:  Roger Harden
http://indylb-2135524474.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com/production/sports/standing/mrbasketballpdf/1982.pdf

1994 Mr. Basketball:  Bryce Drew (that's who)
http://indylb-2135524474.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com/production/sports/standing/mrbasketballpdf/1994.pdf