Rossi eligible immediately

[valpo4life]

Per @ValpoBasketball twitter account we learned today that Rossi is good to go from the start of the season. Great news as we turn the corner into August.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

WOW.  That is great news and I'll update the eligibility chart accordingly.

http://www.valpofanzone.com/2012/05/02/tentative-eligibility-chart/

BTW, NCAA, this only means I detest you slightly less.

[vufan75]

Excellent news!! I want to say welcome to Crusader basketball Alex Rossi!!

this info as it was announced on twitter....

Valpo Basketball‏@ValpoBasketball
We learned today that Alex Rossi will be eligible to play immediately next season! Look forward to seeing him on #ValpoGameday next year!

[MattCarter]

Man this is excellent!  We are finally greasing the right palms at the NCAA clearing house!

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Although: is it wrong that I had almost started hoping that maybe he'd have to wait a year?

Hear me out: at the 2 and 3 we already have Bogan, Boggs, Broekhoff (though of course he can and does also play 4), Coleman, Dority (though of course he is more likely to spend time at 1), Kenney and Kurth.

That's 7 (now eight) bodies for 4 (or 5) roles (2 starters, 2 or 3 subs).

Obviously, if he's good enough to supplant any of them, that's good.  But if he's not better by a significant (i.e. measurable) amount, then maybe we could have saved that extra year?  Put another way, would you rather have 2010-11 Ryan Broekhoff or 2012-13 Ryan Broekhoff?

Thus, what it boils down to, all questions of his understandably wanting to graduate and be on with his life aside of course, as that's another (non-basketball) consideration, is this:

Is Alex Rossi more valuable to an already-loaded team this year than he would be as a 24-year-old super senior in 2015-16 (where he would have been the only senior in that class currently)?

[vusupporter]

Although: is it wrong that I had almost started hoping that maybe he'd have to wait a year?

Hear me out: at the 2 and 3 we already have Bogan, Boggs, Broekhoff (though of course he can and does also play 4), Coleman, Dority (though of course he is more likely to spend time at 1), Kenney and Kurth.

That's 7 (now eight) bodies for 4 (or 5) roles (2 starters, 2 or 3 subs).

Obviously, if he's good enough to supplant any of them, that's good.  But if he's not better by a significant (i.e. measurable) amount, then maybe we could have saved that extra year?  Put another way, would you rather have 2010-11 Ryan Broekhoff or 2012-13 Ryan Broekhoff?

Thus, what it boils down to, all questions of his understandably wanting to graduate and be on with his life aside of course, as that's another (non-basketball) consideration, is this:

Is Alex Rossi more valuable to an already-loaded team this year than he would be as a 24-year-old super senior in 2015-16 (where he would have been the only senior in that class currently)?

I believe he's already used two of his five years at Cal (redshirting one of them), so he only would have three years total here regardless of whether he'd be able to play all three or have to sit this year.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

That is true, but since the first redshirt was for injury, it's quite possible he could get another (a la Greg Tonagel on the six-year-plan).

Or think Scott Martin, who had an injury redshirt at ND as well as a transfer year sit out.

[humbleopinion]

The non-con schedule starts tilting more in Valpo's favor...

[swiftmutiny]

Good deal.  It'll be interesting to see what kind of rotations Bryce decides to use with the deep bench this season.

[wh]

Two returning 1st team all-conf. players, the reigning conf. MVP, last year's entire starting 5, 5 BCS transfers --- good heavens!

[vubballfan10]

I am new to this forum, but have been following Valpo and the Horizon League for the past couple years

With the addition of Rossi for 2012-13, here is how I see the depth chart

4 and 5: Kevin Van Wijk, Ryan Broekhoff, Bobby Capobianco, Vashil Fernandez
I see Bobby and Kevin each playing about 20 mpg, Ryan 31 mpg, and Vashil Fernandez 9 mpg.  I know we would all love to see Ryan at the 3, but that is not likely to happen.  It would have been great if Cory Johnson could've played the 4 but that didn't happen either.

2 and 3: Alex Rossi, Matt Kenney, Ben Boggs, Will Bogan, Jordan Coleman
Defensively, I do not know how ready Rossi is to play huge minutes, considering he has barely played college basketball.  I see Kenney and Bogan starting, with Jordan Coleman being the odd man out in this rotation.  I am not going to give minute projections because too much could happen.  Ben Boggs needs to prove that he can be a good shooter (29% is not gonna get it done) or his minutes could slip to Rossi.

1: Erik Buggs, Lavonte Dority, Tommy Kurth
If Dority is not eligible until mid-December, Kurth might have to play about 10 mpg at point guard for the first six weeks of the season.  Or, Matt Kenney could play point guard for a few minutes as he averaged 2.5 apg last year.  Once Dority is eligible, he will probably play maybe 18-19 minutes at PG while Buggs plays about 21.


This is a very deep team, and they'll still be fine depth-wise even with 1-2 injuries on the perimeter.  If healthy, there is no reason this team shouldn't win the HL, especially if Rossi is playing well.  Having three great 3-point shooters on the floor potentially (Bogan, Broekhoff, Rossi) could make up somewhat for Buggs' non-existent jump shot, and could give him more driving lanes.  Go Valpo!!!!!

[vu72]

I am new to this forum, but have been following Valpo and the Horizon League for the past couple years

With the addition of Rossi for 2012-13, here is how I see the depth chart

4 and 5: Kevin Van Wijk, Ryan Broekhoff, Bobby Capobianco, Vashil Fernandez
I see Bobby and Kevin each playing about 20 mpg, Ryan 31 mpg, and Vashil Fernandez 9 mpg.  I know we would all love to see Ryan at the 3, but that is not likely to happen.  It would have been great if Cory Johnson could've played the 4 but that didn't happen either.

2 and 3: Alex Rossi, Matt Kenney, Ben Boggs, Will Bogan, Jordan Coleman
Defensively, I do not know how ready Rossi is to play huge minutes, considering he has barely played college basketball.  I see Kenney and Bogan starting, with Jordan Coleman being the odd man out in this rotation.  I am not going to give minute projections because too much could happen.  Ben Boggs needs to prove that he can be a good shooter (29% is not gonna get it done) or his minutes could slip to Rossi.

1: Erik Buggs, Lavonte Dority, Tommy Kurth
If Dority is not eligible until mid-December, Kurth might have to play about 10 mpg at point guard for the first six weeks of the season.  Or, Matt Kenney could play point guard for a few minutes as he averaged 2.5 apg last year.  Once Dority is eligible, he will probably play maybe 18-19 minutes at PG while Buggs plays about 21.


This is a very deep team, and they'll still be fine depth-wise even with 1-2 injuries on the perimeter.  If healthy, there is no reason this team shouldn't win the HL, especially if Rossi is playing well.  Having three great 3-point shooters on the floor potentially (Bogan, Broekhoff, Rossi) could make up somewhat for Buggs' non-existent jump shot, and could give him more driving lanes.  Go Valpo!!!!!

  A good analysis and sure good to be talking basketball again versus the death penalty!  I do think we will see Ryan some at the 3 as you could easily see Bobby, Kevin and Ryan on the floor all at the same time.  The question is whether or not Ryan can cover a 3 as in the Horizon they are more likely 6'3 or 4 so naturally quicker.  The opposite is true as well as he, being 6'7" will be a matchup problem too.  Rossi is a natural 3 and at 6'5 or 6 is said to be a very good defender in addition to a lights out shooter.  He has had plenty of time to recover but only time will tell...

[FWalum]

I see Bobby and Kevin each playing about 20 mpg, Ryan 31 mpg, and Vashil Fernandez 9 mpg.  I know we would all love to see Ryan at the 3, but that is not likely to happen.  It would have been great if Cory Johnson could've played the 4 but that didn't happen either.

I would have to politely disagree.  I think that Ryan will be in the rotation at both the 4 and the 3.  There most certainly will be times when Kevin, Bobby and Ryan are on the floor at the same time and unless Capobianco is going to play the 3 on a regular basis, then Ryan will have to fill that role in that particular rotation.  Your comparison to Cory's situation is not really valid as we literally had no one else physically capable and competent to play the 5.  Kevin could only be counted on for short periods to give Cory a breather.  If Kevin had been in the same physical condition Cory's senior year as he was last year I have no doubt that we would have seen some rotations with Cory at the 4. 

[vubballfan10]

With the departures of Vucic and Edwards, this team is not that deep in the frontcourt.  Therefore, I can't see a Bobby-Kevin-Ryan lineup for more than a few minutes per game.  I also don't know how much Vashil is going to play, but I don't think it will be more than 10 mpg.  There are too many guards who played a lot of minutes last season, if Broekhoff plays the 3, then some of the guards (boggs, kenney, bogan, etc.) could see their playing time drop too much. 


I don't think Ryan would have trouble guarding the 3 spot, especially since some teams could possibly go big at the 3 to guard Ryan, (such as Ryan Haggerty or Armond Battle). 

[vubballfan10]

I see Bobby and Kevin each playing about 20 mpg, Ryan 31 mpg, and Vashil Fernandez 9 mpg.  I know we would all love to see Ryan at the 3, but that is not likely to happen.  It would have been great if Cory Johnson could've played the 4 but that didn't happen either.

I would have to politely disagree.  I think that Ryan will be in the rotation at both the 4 and the 3.  There most certainly will be times when Kevin, Bobby and Ryan are on the floor at the same time and unless Capobianco is going to play the 3 on a regular basis, then Ryan will have to fill that role in that particular rotation.  Your comparison to Cory's situation is not really valid as we literally had no one else physically capable and competent to play the 5.  Kevin could only be counted on for short periods to give Cory a breather.  If Kevin had been in the same physical condition Cory's senior year as he was last year I have no doubt that we would have seen some rotations with Cory at the 4.

There is no reason that the 2010-11 team couldn't have had Van Wijk, Cam Witt, and Vucic play a majority of the minutes at center.  Would that have been good for the team? Maybe not (although it would've been good for Cory individually), but it could have been done, even if it was Van Wijk 20, Witt and Vucic 10 each. 

[vubballfan10]

Sorry for getting off-topic with the "Cory Johnson not at the four spot" talk

Back to Rossi, If he can be a 40% 3 point shooter, it will make up for the poor shooting of Buggs, Boggs, and sometimes Kenney.  Shooting will be how he helps the team this year, and he will definitely help the offensively if nothing else

[vu72]

I see Bobby and Kevin each playing about 20 mpg, Ryan 31 mpg, and Vashil Fernandez 9 mpg.  I know we would all love to see Ryan at the 3, but that is not likely to happen.  It would have been great if Cory Johnson could've played the 4 but that didn't happen either.

I would have to politely disagree.  I think that Ryan will be in the rotation at both the 4 and the 3.  There most certainly will be times when Kevin, Bobby and Ryan are on the floor at the same time and unless Capobianco is going to play the 3 on a regular basis, then Ryan will have to fill that role in that particular rotation.  Your comparison to Cory's situation is not really valid as we literally had no one else physically capable and competent to play the 5.  Kevin could only be counted on for short periods to give Cory a breather.  If Kevin had been in the same physical condition Cory's senior year as he was last year I have no doubt that we would have seen some rotations with Cory at the 4.

There is no reason that the 2010-11 team couldn't have had Van Wijk, Cam Witt, and Vucic play a majority of the minutes at center.  Would that have been good for the team? Maybe not (although it would've been good for Cory individually), but it could have been done, even if it was Van Wijk 20, Witt and Vucic 10 each. 

Now you're getting into it! 2 years ago Kevin was in constant pain and couldn't go longer minutes.  Vucic?  Really?  He was never going to be a D1 player.  Cam could have played some, but would have been a drastic dropoff from Cory.  In an earlier post you said that we wouldn't be very deep up front with the loss of Richie and Vucic.  Same story: Vucic isn't a loss and Richie was more comfortable on the perimeter--not a banger at all.  Now we bring in a true banger and a real shot blocker.  That's a 2 for 1 so we actually are deeper than last year and, we add some size in Rossi as well.

[vubballfan10]

[size=78%]I see Bobby and Kevin each playing about 20 mpg, Ryan 31 mpg, and Vashil Fernandez 9 mpg.  I know we would all love to see Ryan at the 3, but that is not likely to happen.  It would have been great if Cory Johnson could've played the 4 but that didn't happen either.[/size]

[size=78%] I would have to politely disagree.  I think that Ryan will be in the rotation at both the 4 and the 3.  There most certainly will be times when Kevin, Bobby and Ryan are on the floor at the same time and unless Capobianco is going to play the 3 on a regular basis, then Ryan will have to fill that role in that particular rotation.  Your comparison to Cory's situation is not really valid as we literally had no one else physically capable and competent to play the 5.  Kevin could only be counted on for short periods to give Cory a breather.  If Kevin had been in the same physical condition Cory's senior year as he was last year I have no doubt that we would have seen some rotations with Cory at the 4. [/size]

[size=78%] There is no reason that the 2010-11 team couldn't have had Van Wijk, Cam Witt, and Vucic play a majority of the minutes at center.  Would that have been good for the team? Maybe not (although it would've been good for Cory individually), but it could have been done, even if it was Van Wijk 20, Witt and Vucic 10 each. [/size]

[size=78%] Now you're getting into it! 2 years ago Kevin was in constant pain and couldn't go longer minutes.  Vucic?  Really?  He was never going to be a D1 player.  Cam could have played some, but would have been a drastic dropoff from Cory.  In an earlier post you said that we wouldn't be very deep up front with the loss of Richie and Vucic.  Same story: Vucic isn't a loss and Richie was more comfortable on the perimeter--not a banger at all.  Now we bring in a true banger and a real shot blocker.  That's a 2 for 1 so we actually are deeper than last year and, we add some size in Rossi as well. [/size]

I guess I have a higher opinion of Cam and Vucic than you do.  They both showed some ability to make a 15 foot jump shot, something Kevin hasn't done.  See Cam in the game at Cleveland State in his junior year.  Also, I wouldn't go as far as saying that Vucic couldn't have been a serviceable 10-15 minute guy by NEXT season.  He would've needed to get stronger, and maybe developed a post move or two.  I am not sad that he is gone, but with two more years, I think he could have at least become a decent backup post player to Bobby and Vashil.


Don't forget that Cam had 7 double figure scoring games as a freshman, but was never given the playing time or touches to score that much from that point on.


Going on with International big men, is Vashil ready to make an impact already.  He seems like a guy who will take a couple of years to develop an offensive game.  With Kevin, Bobby, and Ryan, I don't think he will make too big of a splash this season. 


While I do think Capo is a major upgrade from Richie, I still think Richie is a better 3-point shooter.  Bobby was 5/19 on threes in his two years at Indiana.  With the addition of Rossi, I don't know how many threes Valpo will need him to take.  I still believe that Bobby is going to make an even bigger impact next year, I am not going to pencil him in for 10 ppg this year.


PS. Also interested to see how Richie does at ASU, against higher level competition

[FWalum]

I see Bobby and Kevin each playing about 20 mpg, Ryan 31 mpg, and Vashil Fernandez 9 mpg.  I know we would all love to see Ryan at the 3, but that is not likely to happen.  It would have been great if Cory Johnson could've played the 4 but that didn't happen either.

I would have to politely disagree.  I think that Ryan will be in the rotation at both the 4 and the 3.  There most certainly will be times when Kevin, Bobby and Ryan are on the floor at the same time and unless Capobianco is going to play the 3 on a regular basis, then Ryan will have to fill that role in that particular rotation.  Your comparison to Cory's situation is not really valid as we literally had no one else physically capable and competent to play the 5.  Kevin could only be counted on for short periods to give Cory a breather.  If Kevin had been in the same physical condition Cory's senior year as he was last year I have no doubt that we would have seen some rotations with Cory at the 4.

There is no reason that the 2010-11 team couldn't have had Van Wijk, Cam Witt, and Vucic play a majority of the minutes at center.  Would that have been good for the team? Maybe not (although it would've been good for Cory individually), but it could have been done, even if it was Van Wijk 20, Witt and Vucic 10 each. 

So I would have to concluded that your starting lineup has Capobianco sitting on the bench and being used primarily as a sub for Kevin.  I am sorry but I don't see that happening.  We will make the adjustment to move Ryan over when  needed and other guys will have to fill in for short stretches.  It has been a very long time since we have had a 4 and 5 of this caliber and I don't think we will waste the opportunity.

Your assertion that VanWijk, Witt and Vucic could have played the majority of minutes at center is of course possible, almost anything is possible, but the probability was almost nil.  Kevin could not play more than 4 or 5 minutes at a stretch with out back spasms and pain, Witt had his own injury problems which made him unavailable for a number of games and Vucic was no where near being competent enough to play his sophomore year. To put any of these players during that year at the same level as Capobianco is just not thinkable.  If Kevin had been capable of playing in 2010-2011 at the level he played last year don't you think we would have seen Kevin and Cory on the floor at the same time a significant number of minutes?  I do, and we would have been better for it.

[vubballfan10]

With the addition of Rossi for this season, how many minutes per game do you think a Broekhoff, Van Wijk, Capobianco lineup will be used?

[justducky]

With the addition of Rossi for this season, how many minutes per game do you think a Broekhoff, Van Wijk, Capobianco lineup will be used?

Against certain opponents it could go as high as 14,but the average for the season will probably be more like 7 or 8. Of course we have to to assume that Rossi will be fully recovered , and that might not be the case.

[vubballfan10]

What is the latest health status on Rossi?  How ready will he be come November?

[vu72]

What is the latest health status on Rossi?  How ready will he be come November?

I don't anything about it but this article, dated March of 2011, say he is coming along great and expected to be at full strength by summer, 2011.

http://www.ibabuzz.com/beartalk/2011/03/04/basketball-20-questions-with-alex-rossi/

[vu84v2]

I've never seen Capobianco play, but if he is more like KVW it will be a change for Valpo to play offense with two post players.  If that is the case, I would expect that a Broekhoff, KVW, Capobianco lineup will be rare - especially early in the season and against better opponents.  If Capobianco is more mobile than KVW (not meant as a negative on KVW), then that lineup could be used more often (and could be very good).

Broekhoff is Valpo's best player and will get 30-35 minutes per game.  He can play the 2, 3 or 4.  KVW is the next best player and will get all of the minutes he can handle - assume 25-28 minutes per game.  KVW really can only play the 5 in college unless the opponent has two low post players (rare in college).  Rossi and Capobianco will get playing time around that.  If Rossi is as good as people think he may be, he will either play a lot of 3 (with Broekhoff playing the 4) or will compete with the other 2's for playing time.  Thus, Capobianco's flexibilty to play the 4 or 5 becomes the key since that would open up many different lineup possibilities due to the versatility of Broekhoff.

[vu72]

I've never seen Capobianco play, but if he is more like KVW it will be a change for Valpo to play offense with two post players.  If that is the case, I would expect that a Broekhoff, KVW, Capobianco lineup will be rare - especially early in the season and against better opponents.  If Capobianco is more mobile than KVW (not meant as a negative on KVW), then that lineup could be used more often (and could be very good).

Broekhoff is Valpo's best player and will get 30-35 minutes per game.  He can play the 2, 3 or 4.  KVW is the next best player and will get all of the minutes he can handle - assume 25-28 minutes per game.  KVW really can only play the 5 in college unless the opponent has two low post players (rare in college).  Rossi and Capobianco will get playing time around that.  If Rossi is as good as people think he may be, he will either play a lot of 3 (with Broekhoff playing the 4) or will compete with the other 2's for playing time.  Thus, Capobianco's flexibilty to play the 4 or 5 becomes the key since that would open up many different lineup possibilities due to the versatility of Broekhoff.

This is a short video I posted some time ago which shows Bobby doing several different things.  It was made in 2008.  I suspect, just a guess, that he may be a little stronger or improved on a few aspects to his game during the last four years. 

Commit of the Day: Bobby Capobianco (11/10/08)