Recruiting

[valpo95]

Would you have rather the program just not use that last scholarship?  Seems silly to play games without a full roster of scholarship players.  Valpo had a need, and Gueye fills that need.

That's exactly right.  I don't think you end up a regular starter at Alabama without at least some skills.  The alternative is that Valpo doesn't use the scholarship next year, or takes a flyer on some other junior college transfer big man.  Does anyone think that Valpo can get a player for 2013-14 that will be head and shoulders above someone like this?  Seems unlikely to me.  At absolute minimum, he would be a fine player to practice against for one year.  At maximum, he could add defense, rebounding and hopefully some scoring at times.  Lastly, it is for ONE year, so it seems like a low-risk kind of move to make.

[historyman]

Would you have rather the program just not use that last scholarship?  Seems silly to play games without a full roster of scholarship players.  Valpo had a need, and Gueye fills that need.

That's exactly right.  I don't think you end up a regular starter at Alabama without at least some skills.  The alternative is that Valpo doesn't use the scholarship next year, or takes a flyer on some other junior college transfer big man.  Does anyone think that Valpo can get a player for 2013-14 that will be head and shoulders above someone like this?  Seems unlikely to me.  At absolute minimum, he would be a fine player to practice against for one year.  At maximum, he could add defense, rebounding and hopefully some scoring at times.  Lastly, it is for ONE year, so it seems like a low-risk kind of move to make.

I have to agree. Even if Gueye just stands there and holds his hands up and moves towards the player with the ball during practices that is a huge advantage over not signing anyone. The guy wants to come to Valpo. By the way, I think he heard we have no tornadoes (or at least very few-worth the risk for one year) while Tuscaloosa had the worst tornadoes in it's history while he was there. Weather can go either way or anyway. You just never know.

[78crusader]

No answer means you're just straight-up trolling.

This is an old man question, but what does "straight up trolling" mean, exactly?  And, yeah, I've seen Moneyball more than once. 

Everyone here has raised good points.  I hope this guy works out.  Bryce obviously does.  I just don't think he will, that's all. 

Paul

[agibson]

A profile video from the University of Alabama athletics webpage where Moussa Gueye talks about his goals for the past season....

http://www.crimsontidehoops.com/Alabama_Basketball/Roster/

Nice video!  His pronunciation seems pretty close to "Gay", with maybe a little extra on the end.

His favorite superhero?  His Mom!  Fantastic!

[valpotx]

Scoring down low in the SEC is much different than scoring down low in the HL.  There are some bruisers, as expected, in the SEC.  If Cory Johnson can score for us (1-2 ppg at Iowa State before Valpo), I can see Moussa getting some putback points.  I am sure that during Moussa's 15 mpg, he was not even the 4th or 5th options in offensive schemes at 23 win Alabama.  Just having people drive to the basket (Yeo, Peters, Adekoya, etc) will open up the lane for Moussa putbacks in the HL.  If he gets us even 4-6 ppg, then this was a great signing due to the defense and size he brings.  I can bet that he is much more athletic than Vashil, and has more current skills in regards to rebounding/blocked shots, just based on playing/starting for Alabama.

[valpopal]

Since Moose was the starting center at Alabama, I am assuming Bryce assured him that he would get the shot at being the starting center here as well. Therefore, the interesting consequence and big question for me would be: How does this help Bobby?

We saw Bobby during spells at the 4 position last year, but most of the time he had to play the 5 as Kevin's back up. Will this free Bobby to be even more conscious of scoring? Will Bobby get more opportunities playing against a 4 rather than a 5? Will Bobby take a few more outside shots (hopefully not too many more 3-point shots)? Will Bobby's individual rebound stat go down, but the team rebounding go up with both him and Moose on the court at the same time?

Also, What does the predicted starting line up look like? If we were to go on experience alone, the line up (after Carter is eligible) would be Carter-Dority-Coleman-Capobianco-Gueye. However, we have some good freshmen who could work their way into the starting five, especially Peters at the 3. In addition, the freshmen have an experienced five to practice against and make them better.

As we have said in the past, the next season has moved from a typical rebuilding year to more of a restocking year. It is going to be an adventure and frustrating at times. There is a lot of scoring and leadership in that wonderful group of seniors to replace. However, we are now guaranteed the upcoming season will be a very entertaining one.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

"straight up trolling"

Just unadulterated trolling, which is criticism without the constructive (i.e. offering a better alternative to have signed), not to contribute to the discourse but to rile everybody up.

Now that Saders is gone and Truth largely inactive, you might be the closest thing we have to one

[classof2014]

I think a guy like Gueye can elevate our team in so many ways. I look at the MSU game in the tourney as a prime-example of missing a somebody who can compete with the big-men in higher conferences. Perhaps if we had him for that game, he has the size and abilities to stop a guy like a Payne or Nix down low and in that game no matter what we did it was all for not. He will fill up the stat sheet just not with points, but I think he'll average 5-10 PPG this season. He'll be the biggest player in the HL and I'm Alec Brown will love facing another 7 footer with 30 pounds on him. He WILL be a difference maker on the defensive end. He didn't start 26? games for Bama for no reason. He can play, Bama was good and he started. He never quite filled up the PPG area but his rebounding and blocks were pretty good. He only aver 15 MPG or so, I think he'll be closer to 20 and in a mid-major league he will be pretty intimidating for the other big men throughout the league.

Like I said before, I think he may be the missing link to our team this season. He will sure up our defense, while being able to grab rebounds on the offensive side. Great one-year signing for Valpo. Wouldn't be shocked if he makes it on the All-Defensive Team for the HL this upcoming season.

[vu72]

A couple of things:  First, chef said earlier that he expected Bobby to play the four which probably fits him better.  Second, per this article in the Times, Bryce and the coaches think thAT adding Moussa will help Vashil a bunch.  With Kevin being unable to practice much it limited Vashil's ability to practice against another big.  This big is a lot bigger than Kevin!

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/alabama-s-moussa-gueye-transfers-to-valparaiso/article_44e56471-50cc-5abf-8fac-202c306b4e34.html

[valpopal]

Since Moose was the starting center at Alabama, I am assuming Bryce assured him that he would get the shot at being the starting center here as well. Therefore, the interesting consequence and big question for me would be: How does this help Bobby?

We saw Bobby during spells at the 4 position last year, but most of the time he had to play the 5 as Kevin's back up. Will this free Bobby to be even more conscious of scoring? Will Bobby get more opportunities playing against a 4 rather than a 5? Will Bobby take a few more outside shots (hopefully not too many more 3-point shots)? Will Bobby's individual rebound stat go down, but the team rebounding go up with both him and Moose on the court at the same time?

Also, What does the predicted starting line up look like? If we were to go on experience alone, the line up (after Carter is eligible) would be Carter-Dority-Coleman-Capobianco-Gueye. However, we have some good freshmen who could work their way into the starting five, especially Peters at the 3. In addition, the freshmen have an experienced five to practice against and make them better.

As we have said in the past, the next season has moved from a typical rebuilding year to more of a restocking year. It is going to be an adventure and frustrating at times. There is a lot of scoring and leadership in that wonderful group of seniors to replace. However, we are now guaranteed the upcoming season will be a very entertaining one.

I left out the forgotten man and biggest question mark: Rossi. If he comes back and is 100% healthy, the possibilities for the team are magnified, and he could fight for a starting position. I hope that is the case; however, on the other extreme, his health means he won't come back, and Valpo recruits another transfer player to fill his spot.

Does anyone know more about Rossi's condition? I have seen all the other players working out on campus or playing basketball during open gym in the off season thus far, but I haven't seen Rossi, which makes me wonder.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

What does the predicted starting line up look like? If we were to go on experience alone, the line up (after Carter is eligible) would be Carter-Dority-Coleman-Capobianco-Gueye.

I think the Great Chef answered that question, in that we WILL go to a big lineup, with:
G-Man at 5
Capo at 4
Peters at 3
Dority at 2
Carter at 1

Then first man in might look like this:
Fernandez at 5
Adekoya at 4
Rossi at 3
Coleman at 2
Williams at 1

which would in turn leave Yeo, Davidson, Chadwick out.

Of course, it wouldn't have to be them, and probably not even them alone, as it's hard to imagine a functional 10-man rotation.

In the "next year" thread it would be fun to speculate about minute distribution, and people can make their own list predicting the shakeout, and see who's 'closest to the pin' at the end of the year

(I'm also thinking we should have an "Over-Under" thread, like "LaVonte Dority, 11.0 ppg:  over or under?" and have people predict. 

I mean, this is the offseason, and now all our slots are full, and for the first time since tex was a redshirt sophomore, nobody is transferring out (CHEERS to that!), so what else is there to do?

[historyman]

nobody is transferring out (CHEERS to that!),

YET!

Like the weather, you just never know.

[a3uge]

I woke up this morning and saw the posts about Moussa and prayed they were from a couple years ago and not some Freddy Krueger-style resurrection of a bad recruit. 

Remember the scene in Moneyball when Billy Beane decides to trade Carlos Pena and his young assistant says "Billy, you know this is the kind of trade that gets you fired."  This dialogue could be slightly changed to "Bryce, you know this is the kind of signing that gets you INDICTED."

Seriously, this is a TERRIBLE signing, plain and simple.  It is a throwback to the bad old days of a few years ago when Homer decided to mortgage not only his good name, but the good name of VU basketball, and sign every 7 foot bandit recruit he could find.  NONE of whom, it should be noted, panned out.  It says to me three things: first, Bryce woke up and realize that outside of Capo he has no one to rebound; second, that Vashill or whatever his name is cannot play; and third, this is a desperation move if ever there was one.

I know, people will be quick to jump on the excuse bandwagon and try to come up a litany of reasons why this guy only averaged ONE POINT FOUR points per game. "The coaches didn't play him enough."  "He didn't have time to learn the system."  "He just needs more playing time."  "He will dominate in the lesser-talented Horizon League" (as if the post players in our league consisted of a bunch of 5'11" guys who starred on their high school debate team).   Please.  The real reason is: he cannot play.  The headline will say we signed a 7-foot player.  The real story is: another guy who can't catch the basketball and who is on the Welcome Wagon to Turnover City. 

Paul

"Bryce, you know this is the kind of signing that gets you INDICTED."

INDICTED? Really?? You outcho damn mind.

This isn't Ditka completely mortgaging a team for Ricky Williams (winning more Super Bowls for another team rather than teams he coached). You seem to be constantly bringing up Moneyball, but forget the whole point of Moneyball. It's right in the title. MONEY. Now if the movie was Scholarshipball, I think you'd have some good comparisons. This signing is worth a 1-year scholarship. If he turns out horrible, than we've just wasted a scholarship. Whatever. Every school in the country has bench warmers that waste a scholarship. Obviously if there was someone who was younger and wanted to sign, we would have signed them. It's not like Bryce went, "Hey, 22ppg big guy, I know you're interested in Valpo, but we're going to sign the guy with the Moose nickname instead." We used a dormant scholarship on a big guy. If he scores 1.2 PPG or, better yet, doesn't even play a single minute, it's still not a big deal.

Your reaction is even more baffling considering it helps address our biggest short term need: big guys. With the departure of KVW, Valpo was down to Capo (6-10) Vashil (6-10) and Chadwick (6-9). Are you comfortable with a rotation of your bigs between those guys? I'm not. Vashil has a LONG way to go before we depend on him. This signing gives us a player that's probably better than Vashil. If anything we just gained a bit of depth down low.

I'm not going to sugar coat this and pretend he's going to be more productive than KVW... but does it really matter? Coming off a large senior class graduating year, we're in much better shape than we were 4 or 5 years ago. We don't have to play an undersized forward at the 5 (Cory Johnson) because we don't have any other big guys who can catch a basketball. We added a guy who might get 10 min per game. I fail to see this huge drawback, and I certainly don't see how Bryce Drew will get INDICTED for it.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

YET!

Like the weather, you just never know.

True, but it would be a really bad idea now, wouldn't it?  Most of the dance cards have been filled up.

Jay Harris announced April 24th of last year, and Oren felt that his announcement took "this long" required an explanation.
http://www.nwitimes.com/blogs/sports/valparaiso-university/harris-leaves-valparaiso/article_6b258e32-8e3d-11e1-9342-001a4bcf887a.html

It's three weeks after that...if people are leaving now, they're leaving D1 and maybe even D2, or basketball itself...

[covufan]

Wow.  Not on the board for 16-18 hours and POW, some news really stirs things up for some on this board.  I really like the addition.  When it comes to recruiting, I'm leaning towards the two time defending HL champion coach and his staff.  While recruiting is not a guarantee, this signing of Gueye has much more upside than downside.  '78 may not be able to see the upside, but most on this board do see the potential of a 7 foot player that started on a 23 win SEC team.  His rebounding and defense will help the scorers on this team.  We need a selfless player, and he has the stats to show his potential. 

I know that '78 only wants Valpo to recruit HS kids that play four years.  The reality is where would the Valpo program be without transfers and JUCOs.  We need to let Bryce and his staff do the evaluations of recruits - I think they've earned our respect.

[covufan]

A couple of things:  First, chef said earlier that he expected Bobby to play the four which probably fits him better.  Second, per this article in the Times, Bryce and the coaches think thAT adding Moussa will help Vashil a bunch.  With Kevin being unable to practice much it limited Vashil's ability to practice against another big.  This big is a lot bigger than Kevin!

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/alabama-s-moussa-gueye-transfers-to-valparaiso/article_44e56471-50cc-5abf-8fac-202c306b4e34.html

Another Oren article comparing Kone and Gueye:

http://www.nwitimes.com/blogs/sports/valparaiso-university/moussa-gueye-and-mohamed-kone/article_ceb13240-bdd9-11e2-99a0-0019bb2963f4.html

[valporun]

If I recall correctly, I believe that Gueye was a guy that Homer looked at first, but setup a deal with Lakeland College for Gueye to go hone up some of his skills to be a successful D-I big, but in the time of his development, KVW became healthier, and we picked up a couple other bigs that left Gueye out to dry. Now that we don't have KVW and we have a handful of weaker/unknown bigs, Gueye comes in with one year left to be hopeful be that guy that Homer envisioned him being. Let's hope that Bryce and this crew benefit amazingly from Homer's vision for this player down the road. Taking Gueye from project to awesome big man by making him work his way up the system, like a minor league baseball player developing a better hitter's mentality, or consistency in control of his pitches, is a smart move that will do a lot for the growth of the young roster of the upcoming years of HL play and NCAA appearances.

[vu72]

OK, now I'm getting really excited about Gueye's addition to our team.

Read this report about Alabama's win over Kentucky this last season.  In that game Gueye went head to head with a guy named Noel, who is projected to be the first pick in the upcoming NBA draft.  Moussa gave up 8 points and recorded 5 blocks against a team full of McDonald All Americans.  Not too bad...

http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/012213aaa.html

[Pgmado]

If I recall correctly, I believe that Gueye was a guy that Homer looked at first, but setup a deal with Lakeland College for Gueye to go hone up some of his skills to be a successful D-I big, but in the time of his development, KVW became healthier, and we picked up a couple other bigs that left Gueye out to dry.

That's inaccurate. Moussa verbaled to Valparaiso in July, 2009 and then decommitted in March, 2010. Van Wijk didn't sign with the Crusaders until July, 2010. Gueye had already selected Alabama when Valparaiso signed Richie Edwards. Valparaiso never left Gueye out to dry, it was Lake Land coach Cedric Brown that left Valparaiso out to dry. The Valparaiso coaching staff badly wanted Gueye even after he decommitted.

[valpopal]

If I recall correctly, I believe that Gueye was a guy that Homer looked at first, but setup a deal with Lakeland College for Gueye to go hone up some of his skills to be a successful D-I big, but in the time of his development, KVW became healthier, and we picked up a couple other bigs that left Gueye out to dry.

That's inaccurate. Moussa verbaled to Valparaiso in July, 2009 and then decommitted in March, 2010. Van Wijk didn't sign with the Crusaders until July, 2010. Gueye had already selected Alabama when Valparaiso signed Richie Edwards. Valparaiso never left Gueye out to dry, it was Lake Land coach Cedric Brown that left Valparaiso out to dry. The Valparaiso coaching staff badly wanted Gueye even after he decommitted.

That's correct. We have discussed this once before. When Gueye decommitted that opened up a position at center for Kevin, and we have been thankful ever since. Now it would be nice symmetry if Gueye returns to fill Kevin's spot, and he flourishes in the role.

[bbtds]

Maybe the whole system should be shifted around a two year commitment. If a player commits for 2 years they don't feel trapped at one school for their whole college career. Maybe all student athletes should be forced to choose at the end of their 2nd year at which school they will finish their college careers. That way the student athletes don't have to lose playing time just because they want to switch and everybody involved makes a firm commitment. It couldn't be any worse than what we have now and going into the future. It also fits into the junior college system and saves scholarship money that could be best used in other areas.

[wh]

If I recall correctly, I believe that Gueye was a guy that Homer looked at first, but setup a deal with Lakeland College for Gueye to go hone up some of his skills to be a successful D-I big, but in the time of his development, KVW became healthier, and we picked up a couple other bigs that left Gueye out to dry.

That's inaccurate. Moussa verbaled to Valparaiso in July, 2009 and then decommitted in March, 2010. Van Wijk didn't sign with the Crusaders until July, 2010. Gueye had already selected Alabama when Valparaiso signed Richie Edwards. Valparaiso never left Gueye out to dry, it was Lake Land coach Cedric Brown that left Valparaiso out to dry. The Valparaiso coaching staff badly wanted Gueye even after he decommitted.

Yeah, Brown was the "trusted friend" that Homer sent Gueye to for "safekeeping."  Instead, the word on the street was that Brown started to shop Gueye around to bigger programs, hopeful for some sort of quid pro quo (coaching job or whatever).  Who knows, but nothing is beyond the realm of possibility in the sleazy world of college basketball recruiting.

[vufan75]

Another Valpo mention in the world of recruiting. This young man, Johnny Hill, is a 6-3 180# guard who is leaving Illinois State, and he mentions in an article on chicagohoops.com that Valpo among others has shown interest. He just completed his sophomore year, averaging about 8ppg, 4rpg, and 3apg in the MVC conference. He played his high school ball at Glenbard East High School. which is in the metro Chicago area. Below are article links from chicagohoops.com, as well as collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com, and Illinois State's goredbirds.com which talk about Johnny Hill career and his decision to transfer. The nbcsports and ISU goredbirds links don't mention Valpo or any other schools, but do provide some stats and background info on Johnny Hill. Guess if he opted for Valpo he would sit out next season, and then have 2 years eligibility beginning with the 2014-15 season.

http://chicagohoops.hoops247.com/index.php/2011-08-04-18-06-26/1366-johnny-hill-talks-transfer

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/10/illinois-state-sophomore-guard-johnny-hill-to-transfer/

http://www.goredbirds.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/johnny_hill_758016.html

[HC]

I don't think there is a scholarship available for him this year is there?

[valpotx]

It looks like he is targeting 'high major' schools.  Not sure how that will go for him in only averaging 7.7 ppg for an average Illinois State team.  It isn't like he is Brandon Wood scoring all over the place, and moving on to Michigan State...