Detroit at Valpo (2/2) Game Thread

[vu84v2]

Only saw the second half...which was great.  Valpo's effort was great and the team never gave up.  Great performance by Broekhoff and it does look like Edwards is playing better.

However, I have to comment on two huge bad coaching decisions down the stretch by Detroit.
1.  Tight game, less than 3 minutes left.  Valpo is 11-21 from three-point range and has struggled down low except for back door plays.  Detroit unbelieveably switches to zone.  Broekhoff drills his sixth straight three pointer of the game.
2.  50 seconds left, Valpo up three with the ball and is in the double bonus.  Detroit "intentionally" fouls, using a "foul anyone other than Harris strategy".  This is really stupid since one free throw makes it a two possession game...and Valpo hits both free throws.

While Bryce is having a good first season (sure he has made a few mistakes), McCallum is without a doubt the worst coach in the Horizon League and maybe the worst in D1.

[sectionee]

http://sectionee.blogspot.com/2012/02/game-wrap-up-no-hustle-detroit.html

Agreed, McCallum is a terrible coach and that was either an awful decision to order his team to foul or a bonehead play by Holman.  I think the turning point was when Ray missed a lay up then pouted around and barely made it to half court before Ryan finished off the uneven break with a layup of his own. 

[letsgovu]

or all you guys who ripped richie after the milwaukee game, what say you now? 16 points and 5 boards en route to runner up as player of the game behind ryan. everybody has good days and bad ones.

Hopefully he used that as a learning experience and will continue to put up performances that help us get the win.

[letsgovu]

2.  50 seconds left, Valpo up three with the ball and is in the double bonus.  Detroit "intentionally" fouls, using a "foul anyone other than Harris strategy".  This is really stupid since one free throw makes it a two possession game...and Valpo hits both free throws.

after this foul, it looked like another detroit player was questioning the player who fouled.  Seems like with a game that close and time that short the players should have had a clear picture of what to do.  lucky for us, they didn't.

Also it seemed like detroit wasted a lot of clock in the last minute or two. again, not sure what the plan was there, but it worked in our favor.

[StlVUFan]

What a game, Ryan Broekhoff!

Career high 26!  Ties the Crusader record for single game 3PT% at 6 for 6 (Jared Nuness at Belmont, 12/22/97).  Two key steals late.  (We'll not dwell on that 0-2 trip to the line, he made his other 4.)

It seems like it shouldn't take that to beat Detroit.  Not to mention the greatly improved team defense in the second half.  But, to come back from ten down in the second half, OK, I'll take it.

Go Valpo!

Detroit should beat the crap out of us, they have at least twice the talent and athleticism.  I'm beginning to think folks are right about the coach, there's just not a better explanation that I can think of.

[valpo84]

Anderson's dunk was very good, but only counts 2 points, same as 2 FTs, a layup or a 15 ft knock down J.  Not sure why someone hadn't rotated and taken the charge on that one. KVW was slow to help and was merely "Perkinized."

Great comeback win!! Ryan adds to the POY credentials.

[valpotx]

Great comeback win.  Kind of funny how we were talking about our hopes that McCallum would try to coach his team to a victory in the second half on the chat, and it worked in our favor just as suspected  .  His defensive shifts made no sense, and he couldn't get his offense adjusted to our defensive changes.

[chef]

There was some confusion from the Detroit bench in what to do with 50 seconds left, The entire bench wanted a foul to be taken when Buggs had it at mid court, but he quickly got the ball to Jay Harris and then there was immediate confusion all over the court, The players were trying to be instructed all on the fly to foul anybody but Jay Harris. It took a few seconds of the play to reach Eli Holman, who finally fouled Van Wyjk. Conventional wisdom would dispute this decision. The way things were going, detroit had one defensive stop to make and that could give them the ball needing a three for overtme. Hey they were vastly being outplayed, so why then would turn the game into a two possession situation. There's no way this gave them a better chance of winning. Basically the foul was committed at 50 seconds left. thus saying we'll now we have to foul the rest of the way. Instead all you needed was a defensive stop and a basket for O.T.

[valpopal]

There have been a number of comments suggesting poor coaching on the Detroit side; however, we certainly need to compliment Bryce on his coaching by again adjusting and switching to the zone as he did in Milwaukee to shut down an offense that worked so well up till then.

In addition, Bryce often does a good job of rotating players to keep everyone fresh, which he can do when the bench (Edwards, Kenney, Harris outscored the Detroit bench 31-19) is contributing well. In fact, the time on court was spread so well that all 8 men who played for Valpo logged 20 minutes or more.

Final oddity for Valpo: the number of 2-point field goal shots and percent (12-22) were exactly the same as the 3-point field goal shots and percent (12-22): 54.5%!

[valpotx]

Yes, Bryce has done a great job of making adjustments throughout the year.

Hopefully KVW has a high enough level of confidence that he can get over being posterized by Doug Anderson.  Making the Top 10 list of ESPN on the receiving end of a thunderous dunk can sometimes give you some issues, especially when it ends up as the #1 play lol.  Nowhere near what Griffin did to Perkins, but pretty vicious regardless.

[sectionee]

Big guys are going to be dunked on...I'm 100% confident KVW will be and was excited to see himself on tv!

[Smj]

 

Great win ...  I was not able to watch - hate that I missed a game that looks so good in the box score.   Bryce and the team seem to be making good second half adjustments.

[crusadermoe]

Typical Detroit game in a lot of ways.    Remember Detroit's Anderson doing a tomahawk slam over Kevin in last minute of the first half?     I think it was Detroit's 5th or 6th dunk of the half from a half-court offense.   The Anderson dunk was included in the ESPN Sports Center highlights this morning!   
But..... then they lose focus and Valpo pulls off the W.    They can have the dunks when we get the W.   Awesome game by Ryan!

[valpo64]

Once again another great defensive adjustment at half-time..Very impressive how the guys respond to a first year coach and staff..they have really played well and hard, especially on the defensive end during the second halves of the last 2 games...Bryce should be a shoo-in for Coach of the Year as he has done an outstanding job for a first year coach (good training helps/lol)

[crusaderjoe]

Nice to see Valpo finally put defensive pressure on the ball deep in the opposing team's end of the floor during the last minute or so of a game instead of simply letting the inbounding pass roll up to the half court line uncontested.  I've seen opposing teams do that enough this year. 

Chase Simon somehow found a way to involve himself in a Valpo win yet again for at least the third time in this series...

[wh]

There have been a number of comments suggesting poor coaching on the Detroit side; however, we certainly need to compliment Bryce on his coaching by again adjusting and switching to the zone as he did in Milwaukee to shut down an offense that worked so well up till then.

In addition, Bryce often does a good job of rotating players to keep everyone fresh, which he can do when the bench (Edwards, Kenney, Harris outscored the Detroit bench 31-19) is contributing well. In fact, the time on court was spread so well that all 8 men who played for Valpo logged 20 minutes or more.

Final oddity for Valpo: the number of 2-point field goal shots and percent (12-22) were exactly the same as the 3-point field goal shots and percent (12-22): 54.5%!

Good comment.  IMO the storyline of this game should be more about what we did as opposed to what Detroit did not do. Overall, Detroit played very well, coaching mistakes notwithstanding.   They shot extremely well, especially for a road game.   They did a good job of sharing the ball and as a result got balanced scoring from several players.  They played quick, aggressive defense for most of the game. They took it to us in the first half; we took it to them in the second.  If Detroit continues to play the way they did last night (and recently) I look to see them win most of their remaining games.  This is not a team I would want to have to play again in the HL tournament.   

[vuweathernerd]

Typical Detroit game in a lot of ways.    Remember Detroit's Anderson doing a tomahawk slam over Kevin in last minute of the first half?     I think it was Detroit's 5th or 6th dunk of the half from a half-court offense.   The Anderson dunk was included in the ESPN Sports Center highlights this morning!   
But..... then they lose focus and Valpo pulls off the W.    They can have the dunks when we get the W.   Awesome game by Ryan!

it was also the top play from last night according to their top 10, i believe

[agibson]

I'm 100% confident KVW will be and was excited to see himself on tv!

Do they archive these things?

[valpotx]

Typical Detroit game in a lot of ways.    Remember Detroit's Anderson doing a tomahawk slam over Kevin in last minute of the first half?     I think it was Detroit's 5th or 6th dunk of the half from a half-court offense.   The Anderson dunk was included in the ESPN Sports Center highlights this morning!   
But..... then they lose focus and Valpo pulls off the W.    They can have the dunks when we get the W.   Awesome game by Ryan!

it was also the top play from last night according to their top 10, i believe

Stated earlier 

[agibson]

I think the turning point was when Ray missed a lay up then pouted around and barely made it to half court before Ryan finished off the uneven break with a layup of his own. 

Makes me think, also, about a similar play with Holman and van Wijk late in the game.  Holman ended up on the ground after a Detroit possession.  I'm not sure what happened exactly, scramble for the rebound maybe?  Maybe he got elbowed in the gut or hit in the face and had a legitimate reason for being slow to get up.  But, the camera lingered on him deliciously.  It looked like he was OK, just sort of taking his time, laying on his side, propped up on one arm.

While Valpo ran the other way, with numbers (maybe just 4-3 or 5-4).  It took them a few quick passes, but they found KVW underneath for an easy layup. 

It may be completely unfair to pick out this one visual.  But, it made me think about Holman's career, his 6th man status, his (and his teams) seeming failure to convert on their talent and athleticism.

Great that we pulled it out!

[PatVU07]

I've been looking for a youtube video of the top 10 from last night.  Does ESPN have these online anywhere or has anyone found it on youtube?  A link would be awesome if you have.

[agibson]

I looked a little myself.  I saw a "highlight of the night" clip - but apparently #1 of the Top 10 is not the same as "highlight of the night".

[vuweathernerd]

I've been looking for a youtube video of the top 10 from last night.  Does ESPN have these online anywhere or has anyone found it on youtube?  A link would be awesome if you have.

i was looking earlier as well. but the closest i could find was today's "not top 10"

[valpopal]

Here is the game highlights video, which is worth watching again. (It also includes the monster dunk over Kevin.)

http://youtu.be/xiCSa-gdNoY

[vu72]

If you are interested in just seeing the dunk, it's part of the highlite video on the Valpo game report.

Valpo Crusaders (MBB) vs. Detroit Titans (2/2/2012)