Practice

[wh]

I think that basketball practice officially begins next Friday, Oct. 12th.  Does anyone know if there are any activities planned for the students or the community?

[vu72]

It will be interesting to see how practices go and who has stepped it up.

Here's the question for Coach Drew:  How are you going to keep the most talented, loaded team in recent history all happy?

Last year He played an eight man rotation.  The entire starting lineup is back, Ryan, Kevin, Erik, Ben and Will. Add Matt and there is six of the eight, with Harris and Edwards departing.  Now add Capo, Rossi, Coleman, Fernandez and, after December, Dority and you have an entire additional starting lineup.  Don't forget about Tommy Kurth, who is presumably healthy again but looks to be 13th on the depth chart.  Still, he was a starter a few years ago.

That's way more people than makes sense unless Bryce wants a non-stop full court press.  Should be VERY interesting--someones not going to be too happy.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Allen Iverson talks about PRACTICE.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

In all seriousness, this is why I was counterintuitively chagrined that Alex Rossi became immediately eligible--because, assuming he would use all his eligibility, he would have been able to play in 2015-16, when the great incoming class were juniors.  Imagine that lineup--regardless of who else took the other 7 scholarships!

First, then, it's hard to wager Alex Rossi, v.2012-13, being better than Alex Rossi, v.2015-16 (not that Vegas is taking bets on the line, but that's your trade-off).  That's considered in isolation.

Then second, to take it back to the team and the rotation, it's hard to imagine him getting more time this year, with the lineup what it is, than next year, let alone 2015.

But that is just my $0.02.  This, AI, is what practice is for.

[FWalum]

That's way more people than makes sense unless Bryce wants a non-stop full court press.  Should be VERY interesting--someones not going to be too happy.

If they win it will be less of a problem.  Winning with reasonable rotations will go a long way in promoting team harmony.  If we lose with some questionable substitution patterns then things will heat up.  Too early in IMO to flag this as a real issue.

[vubballfan10]

Either Boggs or Kenney might be out of the rotation.  They are very similar players, they both played the 3 spot, but Kenney was clearly better last year.  However, Rossi will likely take one of their spots in the rotation at the 3 spot.  Boggs has a higher ceiling in my opinion, but just didn't shoot well last year.  To me Kenney reached his full offensive and defensive potential in the last 5 games of his Freshman season.  He better be careful or he might lose his minutes entirely.

[milanmiracle]

Either Boggs or Kenney might be out of the rotation.  They are very similar players, they both played the 3 spot, but Kenney was clearly better last year.  However, Rossi will likely take one of their spots in the rotation at the 3 spot.  Boggs has a higher ceiling in my opinion, but just didn't shoot well last year.  To me Kenney reached his full offensive and defensive potential in the last 5 games of his Freshman season.  He better be careful or he might lose his minutes entirely.

I'd say stick with Kenney a I am not sure he doesn't have a higher ceiling than Boggs. Nice choices to have though.

I'll help with the rotation though...Kurth should never see the floor again, unless of course it's against PNC or someone of that ilk. Buggs is a liability on offense, and while his defense is very good, playing 4 on 5 makes things difficult. The last few games at the end of the season showed teams daring Buggs to knock down open shots...he couldn't do it. He's never been able to do it.

This isn't a Final 4 team, so there are minutes to be had, and lets not forget that playing well together trumps individual talent in most cases. It's going to be up to Bryce to find which players compliment each other, not just the five best players.

NCAA or bust!

[VULB#62]

In all seriousness, this is why I was counterintuitively chagrined that Alex Rossi became immediately eligible--because, assuming he would use all his eligibility, he would have been able to play in 2015-16, when the great incoming class were juniors.  Imagine that lineup--regardless of who else took the other 7 scholarships!

Apostle, what are the chances the kid would accept a redshirt year (if he's eligible) knowing how tough the minutes here in 12-13 will be to get?  Given what you observed, it would have been nice for the NCAA to make the minutes decision for Bryce.  Actually, the NCAA decision could have been an unwanted decision by the staff and now they have an embarrassment of riches.  But, if I'm a kid, I would want to play regardless  ........... so, I guess I answered my own question, huh?

I'm dating myself again, but do you remember when Lew Alcindor's UCLA frosh clobbered the varsity and the varsity went on to an 18-8 season?  Of course, there is no comparison, but there is a slight analogy in terms of what the HC has to do to set a line-up and the rotations to deal with a ton of talent talent.  But that was John Wooden............  He was a master at controlling young egos.  He also coached in a totally different era -- twitter was a sound a bird made outside your window.

[VULB#62]

This isn't a Final 4 team, so there are minutes to be had, and lets not forget that playing well together trumps individual talent in most cases. It's going to be up to Bryce to find which players compliment each other, not just the five best players.

NCAA or bust!

In the previous post I mentioned John Wooden and talked about how he handled youthful egos.  Maybe more than last season, we'll see how good a coach Bryce really is.  But, right now, based on his personality I'd ride that pony.  He has to do what he thinks is right and if they lose another kid to XFER so be it.  But in season he cannot, absolutely, allow any malcontent to undermine team unity.  I also believe that this senior bunch will have a way of managing the locker room so that won't happen.  During the Patriot's run to 3 SBs in 4 years, that's the way the vets handled ego issues.  No one is bigger than the team, you do your job no matter how menial,  and you revel in the outcome.   As Miracle points out, none of these guys, maybe Rowdy excepted, will be drafted by the NBA, so their greatest memories will be winning the games they do and advancing as far as they can in the NCAA.  Then they will go about the business of being of being like all the rest of us.

[vubballfan10]

I was just playing devil's advocate.  Of Course Kenney is ahead of Boggs in the rotation!  He's been in the program for 4 years and is a better overall player than Boggs.  Here is their stats comparison in 2011-12:

Stat       Kenney      Boggs

PPG          7.3           4.5
RPG          4.5           3.2
APG          2.5           0.9
SPG          1.1           0.3
BPG          0.8           0.1
FG%         48.6         29.4
FT%         65.8         80.5
3P%         31.3         29.6
A/TO ratio 1.21         0.61   

The only category Ben Boggs won was Free throw shooting, Kenney was clearly better in almost all of the other statistical categories.

[vubballfan10]

It will be interesting to see how practices go and who has stepped it up. Here's the question for Coach Drew:  How are you going to keep the most talented, loaded team in recent history all happy? Last year He played an eight man rotation.  The entire starting lineup is back, Ryan, Kevin, Erik, Ben and Will. Add Matt and there is six of the eight, with Harris and Edwards departing.  Now add Capo, Rossi, Coleman, Fernandez and, after December, Dority and you have an entire additional starting lineup.  Don't forget about Tommy Kurth, who is presumably healthy again but looks to be 13th on the depth chart.  Still, he was a starter a few years ago. That's way more people than makes sense unless Bryce wants a non-stop full court press.  Should be VERY interesting--someones not going to be too happy.

The only reason Kurth started in 2009-10 is because Buggs missed almost that entire season (he only played 6 or 7 games).  Kurth started because it seems as though Homer Drew wanted a pass first player at point guard that year, and not put Wood or McPherson at point guard.  Had Buggs been healthy, Kurth would not have played so much his Freshman season.

[wh]

I was just playing devil's advocate.  Of Course Kenney is ahead of Boggs in the rotation!  He's been in the program for 4 years and is a better overall player than Boggs.  Here is their stats comparison in 2011-12:

Stat       Kenney      Boggs

PPG          7.3           4.5
RPG          4.5           3.2
APG          2.5           0.9
SPG          1.1           0.3
BPG          0.8           0.1
FG%         48.6         29.4
FT%         65.8         80.5
3P%         31.3         29.6
A/TO ratio 1.21         0.61   

The only category Ben Boggs won was Free throw shooting, Kenney was clearly better in almost all of the other statistical categories.

You have to remember that Ben played in only 4 games as a Sophomore at VT and did not start playing last year until the end of the 1st semester.  That's a lot of downtime followed by playing for a new coach in a new system in a new league.  I have a feeling he will show some considerable improvement over last year and will be in the thick of the "minutes battle."

[vubballfan10]

Do you think it would be fair to say that Boggs/Kenney/Rossi will all be sharing the 40 minutes at the 3 spot?

[justducky]

Do you think it would be fair to say that Boggs/Kenney/Rossi will all be sharing the 40 minutes at the 3 spot?

After Ryan gets his 6 or 7 that should leave 33 or 34 to be split among them. They should also be splitting a significant amount of 2-guard minutes and until Dority can play possibly some of the back up point as well (although I hope we do not have to do that).  There could even be times  when we might choose to use one of them as a ball control 4. They should all get some playing time, and the more versatility they show the more they should get.

[chef]

I lot to say about this topic. First no way will matt kenny be removed from the rotation. he does some positives on offense, but really excels defensively, and that is very critical to the team. Bob Boggs has to get better otherwise he'll lose minutes. On a positive note, Ben needed the time on the court and should be able to take his game up a notch. He's a high character   guy that the coaches will give him a starters role early. If Boggs plays like last year, Rossi will get some of his minutes. Look for Matt Kenny to eat up some minutes at the one and two early on.
I'll try and give updates  like these about once a week....
go crusaders.

[lowposter]

Two of the best players in the conference are on the squad and set the tone for the mental attitude of this team.  Ryan has always been an unselfish player (dont we all agree we would love to see him look for his shot a little more?).  The key, as I see it for this team this season is senior leadership and an understanding of what the roles of players are to be.  There is no doubt this is the most talented (at least on paper) squad that VU has assembled in years (if not ever). 

There is obvious offensive firepower.  Will VU be able to apply defensive pressure?  With Buggs and Kenney, there are two lock down defenders.  Will there be a shot blocker down low?  Will it be critical to protect the basket?  Can everyone stay healthy? 

It should be an excellent season.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Apostle, what are the chances the kid would accept a redshirt year (if he's eligible)

62, that's a good question...he has already used a medical redshirt year, so whether he could use a voluntary one is something that'd have to be researched.  He could have taken one had the NCAA forced one upon him, of course...

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Stat       Kenney      BoggsPPG          7.3           4.5RPG          4.5           3.2APG          2.5           0.9SPG          1.1           0.3BPG          0.8           0.1FG%         48.6         29.4FT%         65.8         80.53P%         31.3         29.6A/TO ratio 1.21         0.61 

Somewhat misleading, however, as Kenney played about 30% more minutes than Boggs, accounting for a good deal of the skew:

Points per minute played:  Kenney .2625; Boggs .2108
Rebounds per minute played: Kenney .1623; Boggs .1470
Fouls per minute played: Kenney .0882; Boggs .0889

Still, Kenney has a slight edge, but perhaps the biggest answer to the question is that Kenney had more minutes in the first place!  Even in the conference season, when Boggs was already fully eligible, he had 21 mpg where Kenney was a couple rotations in front at 27 mpg.  So it's hard to imagine Boggs passing him not only based on the stats, but on the fact that he was behind him in minutes to begin with...

[vu84v2]

How Valpo defines the three this year, in my opinion, is one of the keys to the season (along with defense - especially interior defense).  If Valpo is playing three guards, Broekhoff and a post player - they'll be good, but I don't think they can reach their potential.  Matt Kenney should be in the rotation - he plays defense and works darn hard.  But he rarely should play the three because everyone else has guards that can match him.  Playing Broekhoff (potentially with Rossi behind him) at the three brings this team to an entirely different level (and Broekhoff and Rossi together at 3 and 4 could be fine too).  This lineup is a matchup nightmare for anyone in the Horizon League.  A big requirement for this:  Van Wijk, Capobianco, and Fernandez all must be able to play quality minutes.  A big challenge:  keeping peace among all of the guards with only 40 PGs minutes, 40SG minutes, and (maybe) a handful of minutes at the three available.

[zvillehaze]

Apostle, what are the chances the kid would accept a redshirt year (if he's eligible)

62, that's a good question...he has already used a medical redshirt year, so whether he could use a voluntary one is something that'd have to be researched.  He could have taken one had the NCAA forced one upon him, of course...

My  :

1.  The kid has played 16 minutes in his first two seasons of college basketball.  If he's eligible (he is) and healthy (I've heard he is), there is roughly 0% chance that he would willingly sit out another year.

2.  If he did agree to sit out, the odds of the NCAA granting him a 6th year would also be near 0%.  The kids who get a 6th year are usually guys who missed 2 seasons with injury.  Scott Martin is an exception and got a 6th year with a transfer + injury combination, but Abromaitis was denied for a voluntary redshirt + injury combination (even though the injury came after the voluntary redshirt).   In Rossi's case, the only way for a 6th year would be if he had a medical condition/injury that prevented him from playing this year, IMO.  I just can't see the NCAA granting a 6th year for the sole purpose of balancing classes/extending eligibility, which is what seemed to be proposed here.

[VULB#62]

Makes sense.

[lowposter]

I am not looking at the roster right now, but the usually the roster is sprinkled with players from freshmen thru seniors, often 3 or 4 players per year.  This group is completely top heavy with a ton of seniors.  The transfers have taken spots normally "taken" by freshmen. 

The reloading next year will be interesting, my guess, and only a guess is that the current staff is going "all in" this year with expectations of moving on after the season is over.  Cant say that I blame them, the name of the coaching game these days is keep moving onward and upward.

lowposter

[vubballfan10]

The average age for each player on this roster is between 21 and 22 years old, probably the oldest team (in terms of age) in the country except for BYU.  (b/c of their 2 year Mormon missions)

[vubballfan10]

From the discussions I have been reading, it seems clear that guys will still have to produce in limited minutes.  A good example of this in recent memory is Mike Rogers, whose playing time got cut in half from his sophomore year to his senior year (29.7 to 14.6 mpg).  However he did a great job of choosing his spots during his senior year.  He shot 54.5 % from the field as a senior after shooting 43.6% over his first three years.  He bought in to the fact that Broekhoff was taking most of his minutes, and still contributed immensely to the 2010-11 team despite limited minutes.

That is what some players will have to learn to do this year.

[lowposter]

And they will have to buy into it, at least the transfers will as their options are limited (for further transfer) unless they graduate and still have eligibility due to the Masters Degree program.

lowposter