No comment yet on Shaw as a player or prospect. BUT, I wouldn't be at all surprised if GCU and Valpo aren't working on a home and home series as we speak.
This seems like a likely event to happen. Both mid major level with comparable program strengths. History between coaches. Comparable in fan support. That game would draw a lot of people.
That is a massive letdown on many fronts. I was waiting for a big splash and what we got was a single molecule of water. Even if he quadruples his output he still wouldn't be doing enough to elevate this team from the bottom of the MVC. No idea why the whole coaching staff, PO, and others in the know would be hyping this up so much. PO called it a "significant addition". A 2ppg scorer off the bench of a mid major? Come on no viewer, objective or not, could even say that moves the needle let alone calling it a significant addition. Maybe he is a solid rotational player, idk, but he doesn't ELEVATE this team and what we need this offseason is somebody that ELEVATES us. Somebody we know we can go to for a bucket. Who can create their own shot and make it.
He's an unknown. Too small of a sample size to tell if he can shoot. So what hole does this fill? So far we have added two transfers and somehow 0% of our issues have been addressed. In fact, we have more holes on the roster now than we did to start. With ajiboye gone, who is backing up Coop? If its Scroggins, then we likely need TWO centers since we currently have 0 on the roster. We only have 2 spots left, so that means we are either going to be extremely thin at Center, a huge position of need last season, or we add two centers and don't add ANY shooting.
I am already growing tired of this strategy of recruiting mediocre bench players from other mid majors and hope we can coach them up (Jaxon Edwards, Ajiboye, now Shaw). Unless this coaching staff thinks they can turn Shaw into a star, I won't be trusting anything else I hear out of this program until they actually do make a splash.
Just wanted to chime in here. Call it B&G colored glasses or call me crazy, but I've talked to a couple of people and Shaw isn't the typical 2.6 ppg transfer coming in. The expectation is this kid is coming in and will not only be a starter, but has a chance to be special. The word from someone not affiliated with Valpo/GCU/Drew is he is an immediate impact player for Valpo.
Take it all with a grain of salt if you'd like. I'm even in the "believe it when I see it" camp, but this kid isn't coming here just because of who his family is.
We also got Devin Ellis as well Powell has displayed his recruiting power with all of the portal gets and HS guys in Justus McNair. He is hitting the portal hard as promised. It is still early in the portal cycle keep that in mind. Also, you dont care about the story? The Drew family has done so much for the program, having a Drew back isnt something you would enjoy? As for changing his name, he shows a lot of promise as an athlete if he wasd 53% from 3 in 7 games.
Devon Ellis? The second leading scorer on a team that was even worse than us in a no name conference? I understand Powell wants to build through 4 year players he gets out of high school, and he seems to be very good at attracting talent out of high school. But we live in a world where the transfer portal is king. You have to be able to fill your holes offseason after offseason through the portal because if you don't, other teams will and they'll get better. We have to be able to land impact players in the transfer portal. So far, they have not done that.
Just wanted to chime in here. Call it B&G colored glasses or call me crazy, but I've talked to a couple of people and Shaw isn't the typical 2.6 ppg transfer coming in. The expectation is this kid is coming in and will not only be a starter, but has a chance to be special. The word from someone not affiliated with Valpo/GCU/Drew is he is an immediate impact player for Valpo.
Take it all with a grain of salt if you'd like. I'm even in the "believe it when I see it" camp, but this kid isn't coming here just because of who his family is.
Just read your article, I appreciate the time you put into Valpo reporting. Without you we wouldn't be able to build any emotional connections to the players, coaches, or valpo athletics. I still find myself asking the question though: why did he not play much last year? Was he still battling injury?
Lets take an objective look at both our verbal commit and our new signee.
Ellis, while playing for a small school as proven he can compete at the high level given he was holding his own against NC State putting up 12 points in their loss. He also put up 13 points against The Dame. While ND is not that great, they are still a power school and he was able to hold his own.
Shaw may not have looked his best this season, but lets keep in mind he was injured in his previous year at GCU. Pre injury, he still put up numbers. Post injury. He show for avg. He has a full offseason to work with Powell. Lets give PO some credit here. GCU was also a very upperclassman heavy team last year. In fact Shaw is the first underclassman listed on their ESPN. Everyone above him is either a Junior or a Senior. Obviously he isnt going to get minuets above the more experienced athletes on the roster
Will these guys both have to prove they can compete at this level, yes, but what transfer doesnt have to prove they can compete. Furthermore. Every year is a blank slate for guys. Sometimes a fresh start is all you need. Just look at Cody Bellinger before he came to Chicago.
There is still a lot of athletes out there in the portal and a lot of time to get em. We will fill our scholarship slots with athletes. Centers seemed to be a hot commodity this year. I have not seen as many this year in the portal, I think we will find the right guy for the job
I am not impressed by this addition taking a transfer slot. Shaw was a benchwarmer who averaged 2.6 pts and 0.9 rebs. Even Bryce just got a player from TCU who averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 42% from the 3-point line to replace Shaw, who shot just 30% from the 3-point line, only 13% in conference. This is not the kind of "stud" Powell promised, and if he had a different name, I am convinced we would not even consider him. I hope he proves me wrong. Anyway, Powell had better have a stud big man signee to make up for this.
Feel free to rose colored glasses this signing if you wish but if the kid wasn't related to the Drew's would you have the same reaction? I find that very hard to believe.
If this is the "boom" my only comment is a very solid you've got to be kidding me. What "numbers" was the guy putting up before he got hurt. Less than 40% from the field? Not 3 pointers...the field.
vok has it right. Two of the scholarships are gone and on players in which there may not have been an immediate need to get unless simply getting Edwards off the floor was the main goal.
We're getting to the hot air stage of working the portal.
That is a massive letdown on many fronts. I was waiting for a big splash and what we got was a single molecule of water. Even if he quadruples his output he still wouldn't be doing enough to elevate this team from the bottom of the MVC. No idea why the whole coaching staff, PO, and others in the know would be hyping this up so much. PO called it a "significant addition". A 2ppg scorer off the bench of a mid major? Come on no viewer, objective or not, could even say that moves the needle let alone calling it a significant addition. Maybe he is a solid rotational player, idk, but he doesn't ELEVATE this team and what we need this offseason is somebody that ELEVATES us. Somebody we know we can go to for a bucket. Who can create their own shot and make it.
Bryce Drew left after setting a school record for victories in 2016. In the last eight years, Homer Drew has returned to the ARC for one basketball game (in 2019 when he was honored). In that time, the program has fallen on hard times. I don't know about you, but his grandson joining the program is certainly a "significant addition" that "Valpo fans are going to like." Throw in the fact the kid is 6-foot-8 and can knock down 3-pointers. Is it a gamble? Sure. Aren't they all? Building a bridge back to the Drew family is meaningful to the community. As for Shaw, the basketball player, well, the coaching staff erupted when he committed. I guess we'll see.
No comment yet on Shaw as a player or prospect. BUT, I wouldn't be at all surprised if GCU and Valpo aren't working on a home and home series as we speak.
This seems like a likely event to happen. Both mid major level with comparable program strengths. History between coaches. Comparable in fan support. That game would draw a lot of people.
I think Roger is on the record saying that he doesn’t want to coach against the Drews (or Jake).
Shaws a stud. Look up some video. 6’8 athletic and can shoot. Basketball mind. What’s there not to like? GCU was ultra talented with P5 transfers. He will be an immediate impact player. All league down the road.
Concur with others. Landing Shaw is a nice story but not worth the hype. Unless GCU was that loaded and he the dude couldn't get off the bench. I don't know maybe he's a gem in the rough and just needs playing time. How good was his dad @ Toledo?
Every team is after that Dalton Knecht type one and done program changing player.
@burnee77 To me it seems like GCU was loaded roster wise. As previously mentioned, he was the second underclassman listed on GCUs ESPN statistics list. The only other one being Duke Brennan who got 22 minutes and avged 7 pts. I agree with PO here. He is a gamble, but given his history growing up with the team and with Powell. There is already a trust and sense of playstyle. He still has room to develop. Rome was not built in 1 night
There's two issues here. One is, at least hopefully, can the kid play at a high level at this level.
The second is is he worth the supposed fuss we've seen over the last couple of days.
@burnee77 To me it seems like GCU was loaded roster wise. As previously mentioned, he was the second underclassman listed on GCUs ESPN statistics list. The only other one being Duke Brennan who got 22 minutes and avged less pts than Shaw. I agree with PO here. He is a gamble, but given his history growing up with the team and with Powell. There is already a trust and sense of playstyle. He still has room to develop. Rome was not built in 1 night
I hope for the best, but the two 6'7" starters ahead of Shaw are graduating. If he is so good, he should have been next in line. Why isn't he staying at GCU? By the way, Brennan is a 6'10" center who averaged 7 pts and 7 rebs this year. I watched many of the GCU games this past season. Brennan was often a stud, Shaw usually was a bystander.
