Exhibition Game vs St. Joseph's

[historyman]

If we don't hit 100 I'll be shocked...

[valpotx]

Just watched Rossi hit 19 of 21 3's in warm-ups.

He needs to save them for the game next time 

[historyman]

Anyone interested in hearing my impression of the Valpo vs St.Joe exhibition game?

[wh]

If we don't hit 100 I'll be shocked...

Easily >100 had KVW played.  Does anyone know more about his situation?

[chef]

Nothing serious with Kevin...precaution. Hard to judge to much from an exhibition game against a lesser opponent. However, one thing that stuck out to me was the improved play of Ben Boggs.

[valpopal]

A few quick highlight pictures from the game:

[milanmiracle]

Anyone interested in hearing my impression of the Valpo vs St.Joe exhibition game?

Of course.

[HC]

Agree with Chef, Ben looked more comfortable last night then at any point last year. 
Valpopal, those are some neat looking photos! 
This teams depth and, dare I say, athleticism is going to make this a fun team to watch!

[Valpo2010]

However, one thing that stuck out to me was the improved play of Ben Boggs.

Ben was definitely more of a presence on the court last night than he was last season. 

I was also impressed at times with Bogan's ability to handle the point.

[historyman]

I believe Boggs and Coleman will make the biggest impacts to improve this Valpo team from 2011-12 to 2012-13, until Dority starts to play and we see how he is able to mesh with the rest of the team. I don't think that Van Wijk would have made a huge difference in last night's game. Because Valpo now has more bigs to handle his role. That doesn't mean I think Van Wijk should play less. It means I believe that we don't lose as much when Kevin is out out the game for any reason.

Fernandez doesn't look nearly as raw as I thought he would. His wingspan and presence in the lane on defense and his ability to take the ball to the rim on offense is an element we haven't had for some time and is game altering. I think Vashil should either get his dunking perfected or make lay-ups every time. Missing dunks has to be made unacceptable. I realize the dunks get the crowd into the game but Vashil better make them every time or give them up. Every dunk MUST be made.

Alex Rossi isn't going to play much until he gets his shot to fall. Let's hope he gets back to form. He could be another huge weapon to add to the arsenal but I don't see it yet.

We still need to play better defense. This was an athletic Puma team but not a fundamentally good St.Joe team. They missed a ton of shots. Of course the Valpo big men might have played some role in that. Over 60 points was too much for that St.Joe team to score. Valpo can play better defense.

I think Capobianco wants so desperately to play outside and bring the opposing big defenders outside to him but his better game is on the inside and I think he proved it by being a huge scorer for Valpo in this game. There sure are a bunch of scoring options on this team. It's extremely exciting to watch. 

[justducky]

Ben was definitely more of a presence on the court last night than he was last season. 

I was also impressed at times with Bogan's ability to handle the point.

What percent of playing time did Matt, Ben and Jordan spend at the 1, the 2, and the 3? How many of the turnovers might have been caused by guards playing out of position?

[VULB#62]

KVW didn't play last night, but from an unsophisticated fan perspective to you guys who know the ins and outs of VU BB, will we see a line up of Capo, Vashil, KVW, Rowdy (and pick your PG) on the court for any lengthy stretches of a game? That's 6-10, 6-10, 6-8 and 6-7.  Throw in Coleman or Boggs at 6-4 or Rossi at 6-5 and I'd call that a BIG line-up that is still pretty darned athletic.  Has a shot blocker presence in the middle and two pounders inside with Ryan being Mr. Everything.

Just wondering.

Pics are super too.

[historyman]

What percent of playing time did Matt, Ben and Jordan spend at the 1, the 2, and the 3? How many of the turnovers might have been caused by guards playing out of position?

I believe a large percentage of the turnovers happened because the referees were way over aggresive with calling traveling. There must have been some directive to watch for it. I thought the traveling calls faded a bit towards the end of the game. I don't believe it cost Valpo a lot when Buggs was out for 16 minutes (Erik played 24 minutes). Didn't Buggs get several traveling calls also?

[valpo64]

OK, we've heard comments on the game last night but what the heck was the score?  And who scored how many, etc? 
The pictures were great!

[VULB#62]

90-62

Box Score:  http://www.valpoathletics.com/media/basketball-men/2012-13/Box%20Scores/mbbexh1.htm

[vubballfan10]

I agree with Paul Oren in that Matt Kenney has a good chance to win the HL 6th man of the year award.  Brings as much energy as anyone in the league off the bench, and his outside shooting has improved.

[SadersofthelostArc]

Where did the pictures come from?  They look pretty cool...done in photoshop?

Hope we can get plenty of those of the girls...and Coach Dorow *blush*

[Smj]

Fun game...  Saw some flashes of great potential.  (Drove 3 hours so that i could see the opener.)   

I think it was hard to judge a lot from this game because you could tell that Bryce was trying to get a feel for his players and never really got a smooth rhythm.   However, I predict a good season with this team.   So many options will be difficult to defend against but we will need the experience that KVW brings.  I'm looking forward to next weekend - and the rest of the season.

[justducky]

Do any of you now have a clearer picture of how the backup minutes at the point and off guard might be divided? At this time do we have any idea which of the trio of Ben, Matt or Jordan will play the most 2? Might Rossi also be given a look at this position? How will our turnover numbers look against big time competition? Can any of you answere all of these questions in ten words or less?

[dgrinde13]

Bogan ended up running the point most of the time Buggs sat, although there were some occasions where he passed it off to Kenney.  Granted, this will most likely change once Dority becomes eligible.   


Rossi played some 2, but from what I saw, was mostly at the 3, with a brief stint at the 4.


No idea who will end up playing the most at the 2 spot, although Kenney's versatility might give him the upper hand, especially seeing his improved perimeter shooting. 

[vubballfan10]

Bogan ended up running the point most of the time Buggs sat, although there were some occasions where he passed it off to Kenney.  Granted, this will most likely change once Dority becomes eligible. Rossi played some 2, but from what I saw, was mostly at the 3, with a brief stint at the 4. No idea who will end up playing the most at the 2 spot, although Kenney's versatility might give him the upper hand, especially seeing his improved perimeter shooting.

More like regained perimeter shooting for Kenney rather than improved.  Remember, he was 10/19 from three in the last five games of his freshman season and he was 17/36 from three during a 17 game stretch in the middle of his junior year last season.  He just needs to be able to make threes on a consistent basis all year long, which he has not been able to do yet at Valpo.

[valpo64]

Thanks for all of our comments regarding last night...looking forward to seeing the Crusaders in person...it should be a fun season to say the least!!

[valpopal]

Where did the pictures come from?  They look pretty cool...done in photoshop?

Hope we can get plenty of those of the girls...and Coach Dorow *blush*

Thanks to all for the various kind comments about my hdr (high dynamic range) photos, a style I often use. Yes, I hope to take some pictures at a women's game in the future as well.

Also, although the chairbacks and reserved sections had a number of open spaces for this exhibition game, I want to compliment the students for pretty much filling their section at the visiting team's end of the court. I will be optimistic and hope this indicates the student support will be greater throughout the season than in recent years.

Meanwhile, here are a couple more of my shots from last night's game:

[valporun]

Hey valpopal, not to be a meanie, but every once in awhile could you post pictures with a regular look, and not have every picture look like a poster style piece of art?

[wh]

Hey valpopal, not to be a meanie, but every once in awhile could you post pictures with a regular look, and not have every picture look like a poster style piece of art?

I think we should start a thread for special requests.  So far justducky wants answers to his questions in 10 words or less and valporun wants a mixture of regular and stylish game photos.  Got it!