7 a.m. Nov. 13 vs. NIU

[LaPorteAveApostle]

As of today, through their careers: 

(I just crunched the numbers, and despite playing one year longer, McCallum only has 5 fewer shot attempts...)

Broekhoff:  1.44 points per shot attempt.  This season (2 games):  2 points per shot... (!)

McCallum:  1.36 pps.  This season: 1.19 pps

[valpopal]

7 a.m is a good time of the day this week: Today the game on ESPN was at 7 a.m. local time and tomorrow each of our verbal commits is allowed to sign his Letter of Intent beginning at 7 a.m. local time!

[setshot]

8:00 am game out here in G'sC. Good win over an inferior opponent. Takes the sting awayfrom our horrific football performance. Nep runs a good program,he's a keeper. Carlson - FTSOB!

[a3uge]

It's been awhile... Glad to catch my first game of the season. Here we go:

• Valpo needs to do something about the pregame notes. Why are they formatted like they're Tweets, especially since they don't link to anything? What's with the fake hash tags? The email on the pdf game notes is Aaron.Leavitt@valpo.edu, so we should all harass him to change it to a more reasonable format.
• It was incredibly weird waking up early to watch a sporting event before work. It was almost like the Olympics... Good thing ESPN was in charge and not NBC, who would have tape delayed the game 6 hours while someone on Twitter spoils the ending for me.
• Highlighter Yellow? Why? Our fans looked like we received defunct Baylor 2012 tournament uniforms. Now every home game for the next 3 years will be littered with a couple dozen students wearing neon shirts next to the other various shades of gold.
• Very impressed with the student turnout. Good excuse to miss class.
• Both teams looked understandably flat early on. Valpo played tenacious defense the entire game.
• The obligatory 'the shot' highlight came about 20 minutes into the ESPN broadcast, which is much later than usual.
• Coleman threw the ball out of bounds to an invisible man in the first half... honestly thought Jay Harris was back on the team. Coleman does have a good 55 pounds on Jay Harris, and I think will exceed Jay's role on the team. I think Valpo will miss his ability to drain free throws.
• I really hope this team can stay healthy. KVW and Buggs both looked a bit dinged up and are already both injury prone. I would hate to see either of them go down in a game like this (aka vs Chicago State, UNO, etc).
• Valpo could use some work on fast break odd man rushes... They missed two easy ones in the first half, but had a couple nice layups in the second half. Other than that, not much else to complain about.

[vubballfan10]

Kenney needs to get more minutes, especially if he continues to play like this.  Since he comes of the bench and doesn't come in until about the 16:00 mark of each half, its as though he can play a maximum of 32 minutes.  He should be consistently getting 25-26 minutes per game, and in my opinion, should play more minutes than Boggs and Bogan. 

[milanmiracle]

Kenney needs to get more minutes, especially if he continues to play like this.  Since he comes of the bench and doesn't come in until about the 16:00 mark of each half, its as though he can play a maximum of 32 minutes.  He should be consistently getting 25-26 minutes per game, and in my opinion, should play more minutes than Boggs and Bogan. 

He's a better player than either Boggs or Bogan, but seems to provide a spark off the bench. Maybe he can be Valpo's version of Vinny "the microwave" Johnson.

[valporun]

I think the only reason Kenney doesn't start is because he's the spark off the bench that gets us going again, if we come out sluggish/slow, or when we need a little bit more speed or aggressive play from the backcourt. I think his minutes are apportioned based on what is going on with the game, and he adapts however the team needs him to. Boggs and Bogan only get more minutes because they can spread the floor out a little, due to what little shooting they both tend to do.

[milanmiracle]

Broekhoff vs. McCallum - today's games:


Ryan      points 20   min. 30   FG 6-12      3pt.FG 4-8   FT 4-4   Reb 13     

Assessment: typical Ryan performance - highly efficient and unselfish


McCallum points 21   min. 38   FG 8-23    3pt.FG 4-12   FT 1-2    Reb 1     

Assessment: Proof positive that if you play enough minutes and take enough shots, you can score 20 points in a basketball game

Hard to say if McCallum was just jacking up shots, or was that the only offense Detroit could muster against a BCS team. I watched Chris Thomas at Notre Dame get stuck in that situation more than once. The...here you take it offense. Ryan is certainly a more unselfish player...sometimes to Valpo's detriment. From what I've seen this year, he might be getting over some of that. To get where they want to go, he's going to have to go on his own sometime. This first half was a perfect example as his teammates couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in the first 10 minutes or so.

[valporun]

I saw the Detroit game, and as they were walking off the floor, Ray Jr. was talking Ray Sr.'s ear off about this, that, or the other, like he was a player-coach. Oh wait, he is the head coach, since he doesn't seem to run anything his father wants him to. He just "audibles" everything to help his draft status.

[milanmiracle]

I saw the Detroit game, and as they were walking off the floor, Ray Jr. was talking Ray Sr.'s ear off about this, that, or the other, like he was a player-coach. Oh wait, he is the head coach, since he doesn't seem to run anything his father wants him to. He just "audibles" everything to help his draft status.

While I'll buy that, how much of the "offense" was in the last 7 seconds of the shot clock?

[valporun]

Trying to keep St. John's guessing? Obviously, it didn't work. Steve Lavin is no dummy. There is a reason he was hired to coach St. John's after so much time as an analyst at ESPN.

[sliman]

1.  Kudos to the students for a great turnout today.  Their enthusiastic vocal support had to have been helpful in lifting a team that played very ugly much of the game.  Hopefully they'll remember how much fun attending a game can be when they get the next chance to see the team at home in three weeks against IPFW.  That's the only time students will be on campus for a game until Jan. 19 (they'll be gone for six of seven home games in the interim, not good).
2.  Kevin got very frustrated by NIU's physical play today which was surprising since he usually thrives in that environment.  We'll need him at his best against Nebraska's size, something I fear will be tough for us to handle given Capo's absence.
3.  Ryan saved us once again.
4.  Rossi still seems a little weak (from illness?) and isn't very aggressive on defense, but we'll need his shooting from time to time.
5.  Watched much of the Detroit game and thought they looked like the force we expect them to be.  As much as we may be critical of Ray Jr. he's a talent.  Detroit may be quicker than last year and it will take a good defense to control them.
6.  Also saw Cleveland State and felt they are probably better than they looked against Michigan.  Reminded me of the way we've looked at times against "power conference" teams when we should have played them tougher.
7.  Kent State will be another handful, but that's no surprise.
8.  If you like college basketball, today was a blast.
9.  But it doesn't seem we got much love from ESPN.  Our score was not in the scroll as often as games that had no more marque value than ours and I never saw any highlights, although we were included in a graphic once that noted Ryan's double double.
10.  Any word on Chicago State?  They apparently stayed with Green Bay in a free throw shooting contest.
11.  And is there any doubt now that Youngstown needs to be taken seriously?
12.  Horizon League could be stronger top to bottom than in several years, but will have work to do to be a two-bid conference this year, especially if teams have trouble winning on the road.
Just a dozen of the many rambling thoughts after too much time in front of the tube...

[valpospartan]

I think there will be more townies than students in attendance - just a hunch.

I also think that a big public splash would have been in order.  Let the people decide if they can attend or not, but at least advertise the darn thing.

I was really wrong about the student attendance.  I was impressed.

[valpospartan]

Apostle, I think Digger found that tape in the vault, and BURNED IT!

I still have a copy... I'd be happy to share with ESPN.

I also have one.

[FWalum]

While I'll buy that, how much of the "offense" was in the last 7 seconds of the shot clock?

EXACTLY, you have hit the nail on the head. I understand the need to run clock when you have the lead in the closing minutes of the game, but repeatedly compressing a one dimensional offense ( Ray Jr ) into a 7 or 8 second window and watching it fail possession after possession is crazy. 

[Smj]

The difference from the first half to the second was ... Buggs....   I think we play much better when Buggs continually does the dribble penetration and then finds the open player.   Defense collapses and with so many scoring opportunities Buggs just needs to find an open player.   Not as much of that in the first half.

Not sure why Kevin had difficultly with this team?   He usually can move well even when the defender is playing a little rough.   There were definitely a few times you could see his frustration.   

I definitely Like Bogan much better in shooting guard position.   

Vashil is great on defense -makes so many shooter adjust their shot.   I think they need to work on his footwork and his hands.   At times he misses passes and loose balls that he should be able get.

[valpotx]

I have also been impressed with Vashil's defensive positioning so far.  I do worry about running into some smarter guards who love tackling the 'big guy,' and will go right into him to get the body fouls.  I really like that he goes for his swats at where the ball will be, not where the ball is coming from.  I hate it when someone tries to block a shot and always goes for the straight stuff which is more likely to be called a foul.

[milanmiracle]

The difference from the first half to the second was ... Buggs....   I think we play much better when Buggs continually does the dribble penetration and then finds the open player.   Defense collapses and with so many scoring opportunities Buggs just needs to find an open player.   Not as much of that in the first half.

Not sure why Kevin had difficultly with this team?   He usually can move well even when the defender is playing a little rough.   There were definitely a few times you could see his frustration.   

I definitely Like Bogan much better in shooting guard position.   

Vashil is great on defense -makes so many shooter adjust their shot.   I think they need to work on his footwork and his hands.   At times he misses passes and loose balls that he should be able get.

My big fear with Buggs is...he can't shoot. As the season goes along (and certainly in the HL), they'll learn you can leave him open from 17ft out. At the end of last year, teams started sagging off and daring him to shoot outside. The other side of that coin is the driving lanes...when you play off, they close up much quicker. Hard to play the drive and kick game if there's nowhere to drive. There are ways to combat that with the talent on this team, I just hope they are working on it now, rather than adapting on the fly.

[Smj]

Sorry but i need to take a step backwards....   Were we picked to lose this game?   Just read an article that said we "upset" NIU?   I went into this one thinking the betting "odds" had us winning...

[agibson]

I didn't see the line, but I can't imagine that we were picked to lose to NIU.

[valpotx]

The article you read is a joke, meaning that their methods are terrible, which I imagine is this one:

http://valpodaily.com/valparaiso-basketball/game-recap/valparaiso-upsets-northern-illinois-69-46

Here is their preview.  We were supposed to lose by 19 in their statistical methods.

http://valpodaily.com/valparaiso-basketball/game-preview/valparaiso-1-0-goes-up-against-northern-illinois-0-1

[wh]

The article you read is a joke, meaning that their methods are terrible, which I imagine is this one:

http://valpodaily.com/valparaiso-basketball/game-recap/valparaiso-upsets-northern-illinois-69-46

Here is their preview.  We were supposed to lose by 19 in their statistical methods.

http://valpodaily.com/valparaiso-basketball/game-preview/valparaiso-1-0-goes-up-against-northern-illinois-0-1

We were 19 point favorites.

http://www.oddsshark.com/ncaab/northern-illinois-huskies-visit-valparaiso-crusaders-in-college-basketball-clash-november-13-2012

Someone mistakenly keyed in +19 instead of -19, and then wrote a game storyline consistent with the wrong number.  Obviously, the author knows nothing about either team.

[Smj]

The article you read is a joke, meaning that their methods are terrible, which I imagine is this one:

http://valpodaily.com/valparaiso-basketball/game-recap/valparaiso-upsets-northern-illinois-69-46

Here is their preview.  We were supposed to lose by 19 in their statistical methods.

http://valpodaily.com/valparaiso-basketball/game-preview/valparaiso-1-0-goes-up-against-northern-illinois-0-1

That is what i saw and got a little confused.   Thought i was in bizarro world: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IcjSDZNbOs0&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DIcjSDZNbOs0   

Thanks...

[StlVUFan]

I guarantee that robots write the prose over there.  I have been assuming that the only value to that website was the statistical stuff.  The prose is typically like a bad mad-libs game.  There's a template paired with some kind of elementary AI that has a list of keywords to choose from in various places, algorithmically determined by some aspect of the result.

Either that, or it's written by the fine writers from Bleacher Report, who knows.

If the stats are not even of any decent quality, let me know.  There's a page like that for every single team, and I've been including links in my daily blog.  If even the math is crap, I'll stop.  I certainly don't recommend reading the prose, it looks like it was composed by a 3rd grader.