Rossi eligible immediately

[vubballfan10]

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.

How many minutes do you see guys like Kenney, Bogan, and Boggs getting?

[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.

How many minutes do you see guys like Kenney, Bogan, and Boggs getting?

I posted this short video of Bobby a while ago but it does show some of the things he can do, and they include several things we've never seen Kevin do.  Remember, this was made in 2008, so, presumably he has improved on some if not all of these skills. 

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

[EddieCabot]

If that video of Capobianco doesn't get your blood pumping, then you don't have a pulse!   

[valpo4life]

I don't expect our offense to change a whole lot really. It is focused around a lot of ball screens coming from Kevin, this year Bobby will add another body to set screens but what I think some people don't realize is how well he shoots the ball from deep. When he is on he could possibly  be one of our best shooters. The lineup that Coach Drew decides to put on the floor at any given time will most likely depend on what time of game it is or whether he wants to change up the tempo to become bigger or faster. Either way there isn't a lineup that I don't like out there. Hopefully big things to come this season!

[covufan]

Getting Rossi immediately will sure help.  Yes, Bryce will have his hands full with the rotation.  Our teams, and a lot of college teams since the 3-pt line, are very G-SF centric - interchanging players between all of the positions.  Sometimes it may also seem that we have four perimeter players on offense, with some zone and switching on defense.  Maybe we can expect a more up-tempo game this year.  If we can keep our G's and SF's fresh, we might be able to take advantage of those situations.

[sectionee]

Rowdy can, and I'm sure at times will, play the three.  Guarding the opposing three man won't be that big of an issue.  Valpo played a lot of zone last year and played it very well.  As far as the starting lineup, I would imagine it will be the same one we saw last year.  I think Buggs will have a career year and Boggs can only play better then he did last year.

[vu72]

I would be surprised is Capo doesn't start.  That means probably Boggs comes off the bench.  Not the big a deal because of the Bryce/Homer method of bringing in new guys early in the first half.  I really don't think Fernandez will be an automatic supstitution wise but think we will see a lot of Boggs, Rossi and Coleman.  Nice poblems to have.

[mrvalpo]

I was not overly impressed by the Capobianco video. He'll be good but not great. When you're a big boy, you've got to like banging! ha ha ha   

[wh]

The video is 4 years old.  It's the same as looking at a Ryan Broekhoff high school video and using it to speculate what Ryan's role will be this coming season.

[lowposter]

There is certainly considerable talent on board for this coming year...or at least players that didnt play at the BCS level of schools.  The team chemistry should be there, but with an influx of BCS talent (looking for minutes) there might be some unhappy campers.  Of course it sure helps when your best player...make that the HL's BEST PLAYER is on your team and sets the tone for team play.

Rossi hasnt played since high school.  Not sure how that is going to affect his play.  Also, I thnk most schools are going to be careful about stockpiling redshirt players.  With the NCAA graduate degree free agency rule, you really do not want to invest more into a player and then see him walk away his senior year.

I realize the video of Capobianco is 4 years old, but didnt his outside shot seem very flat?  He is a big one tho and should be an effective banger, but remember the HL is a skilled quick guard/small forward league.  Defensive matchups might be an issue.

This team will be able to go big or go small/quick.  They should be able to turn Buggs lose defensively.  He was one of the main keys to last year's success.  We finally had the quickest player on the floor for most games.

lowposter

[FWalum]

I realize the video of Capobianco is 4 years old, but didnt his outside shot seem very flat? 

And Ryan had a very low release point.   

Everything we have seen and heard about Capobianco indicates that he has a very good mid range jumper, can also hit the occasional 3 while liking to bang inside.  I'll take the slightly flat shot if it goes in consistently.

[swiftmutiny]

I watched Bobby shoot around by himself about 2 hours before one of the games towards the end of this last season and his shot looked really smooth. I wouldn't put too much stock in a 4 year old video.

[DMvalpo18]

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.

Bobby is really good. He can bang down low, but has an inside-out game. He can shoot it pretty well, has good mobility, and gets up to throw it down pretty hard too. I have pretty high expectations about how he will produce for the team.

[cmack]

I was just thinking how much Valpo has lacked a big strong post player who can shoot long jump shots!!!  I hear Coach Woodson is on the hunt for a big strong clean up hitter who bunts well.

[wh]

I was just thinking how much Valpo has lacked a big strong post player who can shoot long jump shots!!!  I hear Coach Woodson is on the hunt for a big strong clean up hitter who bunts well.

IF -and I say IF- Capo is going to used only at the 5, I would agree that he should be working almost exclusively on post moves - a Kevin McHale style up and under, a Shaq style drop step, and a Kareem style jump hook would be good for openers  .  That said, as good as we were last year there were times that we were outsized and out muscled and it cost us.  IMO if we hope to be great this year - not just good or even very good - a front court of Ryan, Capo and KVD has to be one of  several viable combinations - maybe even a primary option.  With that lineup Capo would have to have a reliable jump shot. 

[vu84v2]

I agree fully with wh.  Against big teams, Valpo needs to matchup better upfront and not get hammered inside.  Against other opponents, the lineup wh suggests will create huge matchup problems at the three with Broekhoff (and probably at the 4 with Capobianco).  With the amount of depth that this team has, there is going to be a group of players that are going to struggle to get minuntes and my guess is that it will be guards that cannot play the point.

[justducky]

I agree fully with wh.  Against big teams, Valpo needs to matchup better upfront and not get hammered inside.  Against other opponents, the lineup wh suggests will create huge matchup problems at the three with Broekhoff (and probably at the 4 with Capobianco).  With the amount of depth that this team has, there is going to be a group of players that are going to struggle to get minuntes and my guess is that it will be guards that cannot play the point.

Early on expect intense defensive pressure from any team capable of delivering it. So until we are at full strength (or find a clear answer)  I would expect that our backup minutes at the 1 and most all of our minutes at the 2 will have as much to do with ballhandling and turnovers as it has to do with hitting the jumpshot. This is because if we can get it into a half court game we should do pretty well.

Given that  I have almost no idea how the available guard minutes will be divided, but I would count no one out. In fact I am almost expecting to be surprised by somebody, I just do not yet know who.

[FWalum]

I agree fully with wh.  Against big teams, Valpo needs to matchup better upfront and not get hammered inside.  Against other opponents, the lineup wh suggests will create huge matchup problems at the three with Broekhoff (and probably at the 4 with Capobianco).  With the amount of depth that this team has, there is going to be a group of players that are going to struggle to get minuntes and my guess is that it will be guards that cannot play the point.

Early on expect intense defensive pressure from any team capable of delivering it. So until we are at full strength (or find a clear answer)  I would expect that our backup minutes at the 1 and most all of our minutes at the 2 will have as much to do with ballhandling and turnovers as it has to do with hitting the jumpshot. This is because if we can get it into a half court game we should do pretty well.

Given that  I have almost no idea how the available guard minutes will be divided, but I would count no one out. In fact I am almost expecting to be surprised by somebody, I just do not yet know who.

If I were the opposing coach, one stat would glaringly stick out from all the rest.  In games where Buggs got in foul trouble early we struggled big time (see IPFW and other similar games). Nearly every game in which he got 3 fouls before half or shortly after, we lost. As justducky said, we should expect lots of ball pressure especially if Buggs gets a couple of fouls early.  It will be interesting to see if Dority can negate the Buggs foul situation with his point play.  While all this talk about Capo and will he start or won't he, will he play the 5 exclusively or play the 4 so Ryan can play the 3, is interesting the real issue is keeping Buggs or a similar talent on the floor.

[justducky]

we should expect lots of ball pressure especially if Buggs gets a couple of fouls early.  It will be interesting to see if Dority can negate the Buggs foul situation with his point play.

Dority sounds like a point guard who can also play the 2 as opposed to Jay Harris who was a 2 who could also play a little 1. So I am going to assume that we should be ok when he becomes available and that his minutes may be pretty similar to Jays minutes at the 1 and 2 last year.

So how are we going to muddle through the early non-conference schedule until he can suit up? Can Will handle the back-up point? Kind of, sort of; if the pressure isn't too great. Might Boggs or Kenny get pressed into playing a little 1? It could happen. Coleman would seem to be the wildcard here, but just how good is he at playing either the 2 or the 1? Nobody seems to know. So maybe that leaves us with Tommy Kurth a true point guard who started for VU for almost an entire season as a freshman until he physically started falling apart.  I just don't know how this is going to shape up but as I said earlier "count nobody out".

Now that we know for sure that Dority will be out for the first semester I would say that our odds for an at-large bid have fallen from "not bad" to "not too good" but we still have been dealt an interesting , playable hand, and many good things could happen.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Dority is the real deal, the only problem being, how many of the tough noncon games will he be eligible for?  He is eligible at the end of the first semester--not the beginning of the second, an important distinction.

If classes end Dec 7, commencement is the 9th, but finals run through the 14th, does anyone know when the official "end" is?

Also: "Valpo bracket", according to Jerry Palm, last year's RPI:
Bethune-Cookman 239
Chicago State 337
UNO...unranked
sigh.

[valporun]

If classes end Dec 7, commencement is the 9th, but finals run through the 14th, does anyone know when the official "end" is?

5PM on Friday, December 14th is when Dority would officially be eligible because that's when the end of the finals period is for VU.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Bummeroo.  Understandable, but still, bummeroo.

I was already plotting to get him to take classes without finals or ones that all happen on the 9th in case his being done earlier would facilitate the process : )