Welp. Now its offseason time, I think Valpopal put it best in the Arch Madness thread. Now that Powell gets a full offseason of work to get things done, there can be no more excuses.
The Good.
Locker Room Culture: The locker room has, seemingly, been full of newfound chemistry under Powell. The introduction of the "Grit Chain", and the celebrations after wins are proof that Powell is definitely a players coach.
Rebounds: Compared to earlier in the season, rebounding has been improved. Rebounds proved to be major setbacks in the early going.
The Coop
Schwieger: He needs to bulk up. He is getting bullied when he gets the ball in the paint and is forced to rely on hooks. He needs to be able to throw himself around the establish dominance in the paint. Ultimately the pick ups we get in the offseason need to be building the team around him barring any transferring circumstances
The Bad
The 3 Ball: We need to be able to shoot outside of the ARC. In the game on senior night the 3 ball was working, and this is what largely allowed for us to take the win. Gone are the days where you can get by without having a good 3 point game.
Shooting in general: While rebounding has improved over the course of the season, and defense has been serviceable, these are only 1/2 of the game. Gotta be able to convert. Settling for a hot and cold style shooting is not going to win games in the Valley
40 Minute Basketball: Oh boy. This is the big one. Many heartbreaking losses and blown leads (See Missouri State) all because the team gets too tired and cannot close out games. And in all 3 appearances against Belmont, the exact opposite has occurred! Its hard to keep your heads in the game when you get down by as much as 10 in the opening 4 minutes of the game.
In Closing
There were Beacons of light in the darkness, there are pieces to a puzzle, but ultimately. This team has potential for the future. We are not loosing to many of our guys, and Powell is now in for the biggest test of his coaching career. The rebuild of the Valley of Paradise.
Feel free to add any more comments
Excellent analysis. The question also is who will stay on the team. Coop will be around but I wonder if Powell will push some of these guys to the portal. They need a major talent upgrade.
Excellent analysis. The question also is who will stay on the team. Coop will be around but I wonder if Powell will push some of these guys to the portal. They need a major talent upgrade.
I think Powell has said it best himself. "If you aren't playing well. You aren't playing at all
As far as the current roster, Palm and Barrett have surely played their final games in a Valpo uniform. On the flip we know we'll at least be adding Justus McNair as a recruit. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that leaves us with 2 open scholarships before transfers. I'll break the remaining into position groups:
PG: Darius, McNair, Williamson
- From this group, I actually hope to see McNair starting at the beginning of the season. I am not convinced that Darius' improvement was much more than benefiting from the lack of talent on the team, although I'll give him credit for his improved 3 ball. I still don't think that he's a starting caliber PG in the MVC. Albeit a freshman, I do think that Justus is the real deal and is a starting quality talent in our conference. He'll have lumps early on, but it's not unheard of for a freshman PG to start, think Lexus Williams and JFL.
- As far as Jahari, I hope he sticks around. He didn't make a ton of noise but quietly shot well from 3 which is something we desperately need. I can see him being an MVC caliber role player if he sticks around.
Other Guards: Stafford, Edwards, Weatherspoon
- Stafford is much more of a question mark regarding whether he'll return. I don't really know where he would end up if he transferred. He is simply too inconsistent to play in a much stronger league, and I can't imagine him transferring down when he is getting so many shot attempts at this level. If he does return, he needs to be the second guard option we are, a nice person to have "on" when he's on but not detrimental when he's "off". I am sure Powell will tell him that, so he's a transfer candidate.
- I was pleasantly surprised by Edwards at the beginning fo the season, but he has fallen off recently. I am not so sure that he can be a carve out a large enough role on a good MVC team. He had some really impressive games, and some games where I didn't hear his name once. Interested to see what Powell does with him this offseason.
- I was really disappointed by Weatherspoon this year. I had high expectations for him coming in, but he didn't make much of an impression. I will say he seemed to shoot the ball better the second half of the year, but the volume was pretty low. Another question mark
- All in all, this is a spot I would love to see an experienced transfer come in. Ideally with the impact that Isaiah Swope had at ISUb, but I know thats a long shot. Somebody that we KNOW can hit an open three and score off the dribble.
PF: Schwieger, Scroggins
- I don't think we have to worry about Cooper transferring---yet. I think he still needs to bulk up and show a little more before the big guys really come calling.
- Powell seems to have high hopes for Scroggins. After redshirting a year, I am hoping to see him stronger than a typical freshman. Practicing against the MVC freshman of the year will hopefully have helped him develop a bit too. He looks long and athletic, so I am hoping he can be a good defender and solid rebounder at the very least. Big question mark but I am excited to see him play.
Center: Manyang, Ola
- Ola had some fun games, but overall our centers REALLY let us down this year. Just simply isn't big enough to defend or rebound against some of the big centers. I could see Powell telling him he'd be better off elsewhere.
- I do not anticipate Manyang to turn around this position unit by himself. He seems to be just as much of a project as Vashil, so I would expect some tough times in his first with a grander plan down the road. Just looking at him on the bench, he profiles as somebody that SHOULD be a good defender and rebounder. Hes massive and lengthy. We'll see how that turns out next year, if he can stay healthy.
- It goes without saying that center needs to be a position that we bring in a proven, older transfer. As inexperienced as we were this year, not having a starting caliber center might have single handedly cost us 5 games this year. We simply could NOT stop any big men or collect rebounds.
My hope for a starting lineup next year
1) Justus
2) Stafford
3) Transfer
4) Cooper
5) Transfer
I hate to have so much turnover again, but it is necessary. Powell simply didn't have the time to rebuild the roster with actual MVC caliber players in half an offseason, and he's indicated he knows he needs to hit the transfer portal this offseason. I am really excited to see what he can do in the transfer portal to supplement Cooper, Justus, and Stafford. If he plays his cards right I see no reason we can't get out of the bottom 4 of the conference next season.
@vok22 I think we should go after some d2 guys or maybe some low major guys. A lot of talent at those levels that would realistically want to transfer to Valpo.
@azvalpo lottich focused too much on d2 and nothing enough on low major or HS recruitment d2 should be used sparingly.
I'd also like to note that lottich. Was not really a good recruit. Powell is a proven guy that knows how to recruit athletes. He just needs to do it on the largest scale he has ever done. Rebuild won't be easy, but powell is the guy that could do it
I don't think Manyang is not nearly the project that Vashil was as Vashil was a totally unknown coming into Valpo and played that way. Manyang was listed by 247Sports as the 17th best center and the 142nd best overall player in the class of 2022…Was named a three-star recruit by ESPN100 in addition to being the eighth-best recruit in New Jersey and the 49th best center in the nation.
That was three years ago! What we have here is less a project and more a health issue. IF, and it is a BIG IF, we can get this kid healthy and stay that way, he could be the rim protector we so desperately need.
Paul's latest article reads to me like Stafford and Schweiger will likely be back, and bolsters the sentiment that Powell showed earlier this year about adding via the portal. Powell has the connections and persuasions to add some really nice pieces that will help immediately, can't wait to see who they are. Portal opens in less than 2 weeks.
Paul's latest article reads to me like Stafford and Schweiger will likely be back, and bolsters the sentiment that Powell showed earlier this year about adding via the portal. Powell has the connections and persuasions to add some really nice pieces that will help immediately, can't wait to see who they are. Portal opens in less than 2 weeks.
Powell is also already putting his connections to this area to good use. He pulled McNair who has 4 stars under his belt! Justus could have easily gone to other places as a 4-star, but he chose Powell and the Beacs. I am very excited to see where we go this offseason. We might be able to make a significant turnaround in just one year, but that all comes down to who Powell can pull out of the portal.
Isn't Stafford out of transfers? I can't remember if the double transfer rule is now defunct.
Good writeup vok. Edwards and Ola I would say would be two prime candidates to be replaced by some more solid (physically) and experienced front court players. Assuming Stafford is back he would be best a fit coming off the bench than as a two guard. I count on no freshmen so McNair is an unknown with upside at this point. Darius played well enough (and I was a big early critic of his) to have me believe that a team which featured a few guys who can shoot he'd be an even more effective player.
As far as recruiting is concerned, this will be an off season whether Powell can recruit or not. To this point he hasn't shown that but also has had limited opportunities to do so.
Isn't Stafford out of transfers? I can't remember if the double transfer rule is now defunct.
Apparently there are now no transfer limitations. No requirement to sit either.
Double Transfer Rule Still exists. It does not apply to Stafford because he would not be transferring to his third 4 year school. If you transfer from JUCO to D1. You get an extra transfer before the rule applies. You are only penalized if you are transferring from a 4 year institution to another 4 year institution in the same Division, so D1 to D1 or D2 to D2.
EDIT:
Stafford's route was D1 (SIU) -> JUCO (John A. Logan) -> D1 (Valpo). This therefore makes the double transfer rule not apply to Stafford.
Paul's latest article reads to me like Stafford and Schweiger will likely be back, and bolsters the sentiment that Powell showed earlier this year about adding via the portal. Powell has the connections and persuasions to add some really nice pieces that will help immediately, can't wait to see who they are. Portal opens in less than 2 weeks.
Powell is also already putting his connections to this area to good use. He pulled McNair who has 4 stars under his belt! Justus could have easily gone to other places as a 4-star, but he chose Powell and the Beacs. I am very excited to see where we go this offseason. We might be able to make a significant turnaround in just one year, but that all comes down to who Powell can pull out of the portal.
where is McNair a 4 star? I’m not finding anything at rivals, 247 or ESPN.
A 4 star would be an awesome get.
