Lets also be realistic in saying that our reputation is also not great as of now. I'm sure Powell is hitting the portal as hard as he said he was, but his sweet talk can only do so much.
Yes, let's be realistic. Powell knew all you say when he made his promise of bringing in studs and challenged everyone to hold him to that promise. I am following his guidance.
Powell repeatedly towards the end of the season said he was at a disadvantage last season because he couldn't hit the portal the way he would have wanted. He also said and/or suggested that his roster needed upgrading and players who weren't playing up to standard were going to be replaced. One of those guys he seemed to be talking about...Ola...is gone. One other....Edwards....is still around. He also pitter pattered around calling his team not tough enough or aggressive enough. He said he was going to solve these issues through the portal. He didn't reference incoming freshman or redshirts. The portal. Powell said to hold him to this.
So far he's come up with a potential replacement for Edwards...I would assume and a kid with a name but we don't know how much game. I understand that he's not going to turn the program around completely in a season however his own words are belying his actions or successes at the moment. That..and the MVC may be more there for the taking with some successes.
@jd24 I would refer you to the words of PO and of Chef. Their opinions are the stance I share on this matter. I have said multiple times now that both of our gets have the potential to be great and have proven that they can play at a high level. There just needs to be some consistency in their performance at said high level.
The coaching staff has already demonstrated they know how to evaluate talent. Look no further than Cooper. He was a late signing after getting limited interest from other teams. The coaching staff he was going to be great…and he was.
So if the coaching staff is this excited to get Shaw, then I’m pumped to get him as well.
Another thing that I think is worth noting again is the relationship that Coach Powell has with our recruits. In an era where players are becoming mercenaries, signing year to year deals, Coach Powell is signing players that’s he’s known for years. Kids of longtime friends.
If they turn into stars and the big schools start calling, hopefully those relationships are the thing that keep the players at Valpo. And allow us to rebuild this program.
His Instagram is absolutely blowing up after he signed either valpo. More comments and likes than any of our recent recruits or gets. A lot of it is people saying that theh are "now Valpo fans" or that they "need to catch a game" heck, even Dana said that she needs to bring the family back in town to catch a game and the Shaws would all be in attendance. This kid is going to bring in some fan support. Like PO mentioned
From reading Paul's articles it seems like a high chance that #24 is going to get reinstated for a season. He already has Bryces blessing, and Powell let him wear it for his pictures. 24 gets one final ride.
Sorry for the frustration but my big picture vision for the Powell Plan has now had time to refocus. I was expecting a much shorter upperclassman with a tested 3 point shooting record. Instead we received another project player who needs and has a very high ceiling. This Shaw selection might not significantly change our 24-25 best case results but if 25-26-27 is the real Powell vision target then another part of the puzzle may have just been located.
Is this the same Shaw we were talking about recruiting some years back?
Scroggins, Schwieger and Shaw? Has a nice ring to it but just how good are they 2 years from now?
@jd24 I would refer you to the words of PO and of Chef. Their opinions are the stance I share on this matter. I have said multiple times now that both of our gets have the potential to be great and have proven that they can play at a high level. There just needs to be some consistency in their performance at said high level.
No offense to Mr. Oren but I think he's got the glasses on himself. He's a little too wrapped up in the Family Drew aspect of this caper which I'm concerned runs a bit too deep.
Also...one player has proven a bit that they can play at a high level. The other hasn't played.
Okay, I am willing to move along, keep my eye on the prize and my fingers crossed. Looking forward, Powell still has at least two transfer positions to fill. All of the frustration, questioning, and fretting evident in comments from this recent discussion likely goes away quickly if the Rev signs a stud center who could offer an immediate impact.
The fact he's a Drew family member is just an added bonus, and there maybe some residual positive affects to that, but the real bonus is the fact Valpo got a guy with 3 years remaining, that is very talented. I want to stress one last time, I've talked to numerous people around college basketball, who I trust greatly, and I will say with great confidence, Isaiah Shaw will be a very good player in the MVC.
Okay, I am willing to move along, keep my eye on the prize and my fingers crossed. Looking forward, Powell still has at least two transfer positions to fill. All of the frustration, questioning, and fretting evident in comments from this recent discussion likely goes away quickly if the Rev signs a stud center who could offer an immediate impact.
That just doesn't seem to be his mojo. I don't think he wants to or is trying to. He wants 4 year guys who will play together and stay here. I bet whoever our starting center ends up being is a guy with 3 or 4 years of eligibility left who redshirted, has a lot of talent but has yet to prove anything on a D1 level yet. Which is great if they end up developing, but for it to be a success at the mid major level would definitely be an exception to the rule since NIL came into the picture. Not everyone is going to be a Cooper. This is a long term plan that is either going to create reproducible success or constant frustration of missing that one piece we need. I have cautious excitement but have to practice my patience and understand the long term plan.
The fact he's a Drew family member is just an added bonus, and there maybe some residual positive affects to that, but the real bonus is the fact Valpo got a guy with 3 years remaining, that is very talented. I want to stress one last time, I've talked to numerous people around college basketball, who I trust greatly, and I will say with great confidence, Isaiah Shaw will be a very good player in the MVC.
In checking PO’s spread, that jumped out at me. Class-wise, he is Coop’s classmate for the next three seasons - but a year (or two?) older.
Sure, we’re all waiting for that xfer big (or bigs) to boom, but that’s out of range just now - who knows where that’s at? But we have a semi-known talent ready to step onto the court: Scroggins, all 6’9” of him. Roger makes no bones about his skills, but the unknown is can he establish himself among all those MVC bigs down low?
So…… here’s my question to anyone out there who might have insider information: Has he put in the time in the weight room and has that resulted in him reshaping his body with 15-20# of muscle to withstand the rigors of MVC play?
This kid is already having an impact and has grown our fan support a bit without even stepping a foot on the court. Let's root for his success
Hi Guys: I used to read here a decade ago when Bryce and the guys were on staff. When they vanished, so did I. I read this forum regularly and don’t plan to post often. You can take my posts with a grain of salt if you want as I have no established credibility here. Regardless, I did want to chime in after reading PO and Chef’s posts. They are right! Here are some things to keep in mind regarding expectations.
Our NIL budget is not competitive and relatively nonexistent. Even the days of getting a Kobe King and Thomas Kithier are tough to repeat as high major transfers of any kind cost significant dollars (think 6 figures). So we need to be measured in our expectations.
As Chef mentioned, GCU is a high major team in a midmajor conference. The conference player of the year and possible first round NBA draft pick played Shaw’s position. Also the starting PF on GCU was also first team all league. GCU has a high major budget and larger NIL than any midmajor period. They will reload. Shaw wants to play. He is transferring to a better league with the hopes of getting significant playing time.
Also note that when these kids visit, as PO mentioned, they workout with the staff and guys. Shaw was good!
We had many glaring weaknesses last year, primarily that we couldn’t shoot. Our offense ranked right around 300 in the country. Shaw can shoot. Ellis is very solid from what I understand. We have several other possible transfers that can really shoot as well. Hopefully we land several. Again, don’t worry about huge names. They are very hard to get and quite frankly often are just eh players. Look at Jndiana State last year, there was not one guy on that roster that anyone here would have been overly excited about when they committed to Indiana state.
we need to have 8-10 guys that can play basketball. Coop and Stafford are all league caliber guys. If the staff sees guys workout and wants them, and if they want Valpo, we need to take them.
With some good news over the next 2 weeks, I think we will have some very nice pieces added to our existing roster. We aren’t close to done yet.
If anyone could be classified as a good judge of prospects of prospective quality big men, perhaps some with potential not yet fully developed. I would think that Coach Powell would be that guy. After all he was the main influence in getting Alec Peters to Valpo. Coach also had a big hand in recruiting at Gonzaga and year after year they always had at least one quality big man. Coach also was the main reason Cooper came to Valpo and remember from the start Coach tooted his horn about "Coop"...'nuf said'. Let's keep the faith.
