Yacine Toumi now in the portal from Evansville, after averaging 10 ppg and 6 rpg
Dear lord. Not everything is an issue of rosy glasses people! Powell has largely done what he said he was going to do. He hit the portal hard and reachout out to a ton of guys.
Let's face the music, we aren't going to get a guy to come to our school who is a "stud" by your standards. They are just too expensive for the school to afford. No amount of sweet talk by Powell can compete with a kid who wants to get paid. Clearly Powell thinks these guys can be studs. And considering some people have spoken with the staff and displayed their thoughts here. They very well could be. Let's wait to doubt the coach and cast shade until we have seen these guys on the court yes.
Dear lord. Not everything is an issue of rosy glasses people! Powell has largely done what he said he was going to do. He hit the portal hard and reachout out to a ton of guys.
Let's face the music, we aren't going to get a guy to come to our school who is a "stud" by your standards. They are just too expensive for the school to afford. No amount of sweet talk by Powell can compete with a kid who wants to get paid. Clearly Powell thinks these guys can be studs. And considering some people have spoken with the staff and displayed their thoughts here. They very well could be. Let's wait to doubt the coach and cast shade until we have seen these guys on the court yes.
Yes, "let's face the music." Powell advised everyone to hold him accountable to his words. JD24 and I are following his guidance. Go back and watch the first two minutes of the 2/14 press conference. Powell forcefully says he is going to the transfer portal to get "high level players with experience." In the 2/21 conference he declares he is going "to bring in guys with experience that can help." In other news conferences he states he will bring in studs with toughness to help with rebounding and defense. If it is impossible to do so, as you suggest, why did he make the promise? Do you think the coach is naive?
The signing period isn't over yet, and we will get at least one more transfer. I have my fingers crossed, and I hope all the players signed so far are surprises like Cooper. Though I will continue to raise questions, I will withhold final judgment until all is done, and I will wish for the best as I always do.
I watched every on of Powell's conferences, but I think that these kids are in fact studs, and have displayed high level talent. The key is going to be keeping them at the high level while transitioning to a more competitive league. I also think our own in house player development skills are something to be acknowledged with Scroggins being one of our projects who is reportedly very good in practice. We have been trying to get some guys who have high levels of experience as displayed by portal trackers, but still, sweet talk only does so much when the school doesn't have the green. We have to build our reputation from the ground up again. But like you said, the signing period is still young. I also see a lack of centers in this year's portal cycle which could be a factor. I just feel like we should wait until some practice film, or until preseason to criticize Powell on his gets. Would we all have thought Coop would have performed as well as he did last year around this time?
Coach isnt naive, but I think there are some unrealistic expectations being set upon him. We aren't going to get any P6 centers out to play for Valpo anytime soon. We can hold him to his word while also realizing that we arent going to find the next Zach Edey and convince him that VU is his home.
We can also acknowledge that we kept our guys as well. 17 starters are set to return for the MVC, and 5 of them are for Valpo. We can debate how impactful these guys were and will be, but Powell was able to keep these guys home.
Coach isnt naive, but I think there are some unrealistic expectations being set upon him. We aren't going to get any P6 centers out to play for Valpo anytime soon. We can hold him to his word while also realizing that we arent going to find the next Zach Edey and convince him that VU is his home.
If there's any expectations at all being set upon Roger Powell, they were placed by Roger Powell who said what he was going to do and then went about not doing it...with one exception. He also said to call him on it. He's got, at the moment, one more shot. Nobody's looking for Zack Edey. Just someone who can rebound and score a few points here and there while not getting pushed all over the gym. I thought the team needed multiple players of this ilk and there's yet to be anyone added who fits this mold. Virtually the entire board agreed on that last point. Now that it hasn't been done all of the sudden that's ok and we'll just ride along with whatever the staff does even if it isn't what they said they would do...transfer portal for experienced tough guys.
On a separate note....and they are separate points to me....the guys being brought in may be able to play. I don't know and neither does anyone else on the board know. Let's hope so.
We need to trust in Powell and what he has been saying, and yes, hold him accountable to end results. However, we shouldn't make any assumptions on the recent signees, as we were all ecstatic at the steal in getting Parker Hazen and his great ratings, only to end up with what we experienced in quality.
Lots of "ifs" stand in the way of my general expectation for a .500 season. Seems to me that Lucas Scroggins is the key "if" in this team improvement process. I'm anticipating that he scores few points on even fewer assisted post passes. Maybe he gets 3.5 points from offensive rebound put backs? Expecting him to foul out frequently as he learns the defensive ropes and tries to block everything. Turnovers? Yes I'm sure he will and this will annoy us. BUT "IF" he can give us 16 minutes per game as a significant interior defensive deterrent and rebounder then we are already a much improved team with our other size concentrating more on their individual and team strengths.
Lots of "ifs" stand in the way of my general expectation for a .500 season. Seems to me that Lucas Scroggins is the key "if" in this team improvement process. I'm anticipating that he scores few points on even fewer assisted post passes. Maybe he gets 3.5 points from offensive rebound put backs? Expecting him to foul out frequently as he learns the defensive ropes and tries to block everything. Turnovers? Yes I'm sure he will and this will annoy us. BUT "IF" he can give us 16 minutes per game as a significant interior defensive deterrent and rebounder then we are already a much improved team with our other size concentrating more on their individual and team strengths.
Scroggins will have plenty of chances and he certainly adds something we didn’t have previously.
I’m also not sure why everyone expects just one more add. I expect multiple. Hopefully several as soon as this week. A rugged rebounder to have a presence and maybe score a few points would be nice. The staff is working hard!!! Fingers crossed.
Lots of "ifs" stand in the way of my general expectation for a .500 season. Seems to me that Lucas Scroggins is the key "if" in this team improvement process. I'm anticipating that he scores few points on even fewer assisted post passes. Maybe he gets 3.5 points from offensive rebound put backs? Expecting him to foul out frequently as he learns the defensive ropes and tries to block everything. Turnovers? Yes I'm sure he will and this will annoy us. BUT "IF" he can give us 16 minutes per game as a significant interior defensive deterrent and rebounder then we are already a much improved team with our other size concentrating more on their individual and team strengths.
Scroggins will have plenty of chances and he certainly adds something we didn’t have previously.
I’m also not sure why everyone expects just one more add. I expect multiple. Hopefully several as soon as this week. A rugged rebounder to have a presence and maybe score a few points would be nice. The staff is working hard!!! Fingers crossed.
The primary reason I only expect one more notable addition (now zero after Schmidt) is that they only had 1 (now 0) scholarships remaining. So unless somebody transfers out, which they might, the only additions we can make are walk ons.
One guy to keep an eye on as far as incoming transfers could be Olivet Naz’s Tyler Schmidt. He’s played 3 years at Olivet and most recently averaged 21ppg on 61% from the field and is a career 41% from three. He’s D3, but a shooter is a shooter, the court is still the same size in D1. Oh yea… he’s from Valpo, a graduate of Victory Christian Academy. I’d keep an eye out.
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Lots of "ifs" stand in the way of my general expectation for a .500 season. Seems to me that Lucas Scroggins is the key "if" in this team improvement process. I'm anticipating that he scores few points on even fewer assisted post passes. Maybe he gets 3.5 points from offensive rebound put backs? Expecting him to foul out frequently as he learns the defensive ropes and tries to block everything. Turnovers? Yes I'm sure he will and this will annoy us. BUT "IF" he can give us 16 minutes per game as a significant interior defensive deterrent and rebounder then we are already a much improved team with our other size concentrating more on their individual and team strengths.
Scroggins will have plenty of chances and he certainly adds something we didn’t have previously.
I’m also not sure why everyone expects just one more add. I expect multiple. Hopefully several as soon as this week. A rugged rebounder to have a presence and maybe score a few points would be nice. The staff is working hard!!! Fingers crossed.
The primary reason I only expect one more notable addition (now zero after Schmidt) is that they only had 1 (now 0) scholarships remaining. So unless somebody transfers out, which they might, the only additions we can make are walk ons.
And just like that...Jahari Williamson to the portal
It’s OK. If we have any depth, its at G. But he stuck with us in transition 🥺. Gives Roger more room to move. Wish Jahari all the best.
Here’s my take. Unlike all the immediate bail-outs across the conference our kids stayed until they got more info about their roles. That’s a tribute to at least some loyalty and an evolving process.
we now have an additional open slot.
Schmidt seems to be a good get. A senior Prescence on the roster to act as a role model
