@vu72 Can’t argue with your assessment of Roger. I love the guy too. And he is a helluva coach.
He made a commitment to Valpo two years ago. But like everything today, change accelerates at an exponential rate. That includes the evolution (explosion) of the NIL monster in just two short years. The truth is little Valpo, my beloved alma mater and the source off one of the best 4 years of my life, is freakin in over its head without a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.
Cooper, some knowledgeable experts/pundits have stated, will be in the $700K-$900K bidding bracket. Even as a freshman, Wright, All-Arch Madness, is right up there as well. He’s gone too next year or sooner.
Valpo is now, in just these two years, already relegated to the MVC bottom three in perpetuity. Based on past performance by Valpo supporters, all of the 10 larger schools will find ways to raise more NIL $$$ than Valpo can even imagine.
And Roger getting excited at becoming a feeder to the big boys keeps us in the basement and that doesn’t quite fit into the motto: Champions in competition, the community and the classroom.
If we were to step down to D-II and Roger stayed around for a few years, I believe Valpo will quickly return to impressive winning and he would eventually be in the same position McCallum was in when Drake hired him. All this NIL crap will sort itself out in the sort run and Roger would be looking at a totally new and different DI possessing more experience, an incredible winning record and tons of coaching offers vs. a losing record in that same time frame if we stubbornly stay in the MVC merely as a developer program for P5 schools — AKA, the college version of Don Bosco, or Link Academy.
Not certain how this is going to play out for me but this might be my last rodeo. I don't like our position or options for the future and I refuse to be fan of a mercenary system of constantly changing new faces. So personally, I am leaning toward ending my life long love affair with college basketball and taking the total cold turkey approach. To make this work I am now considering choosing a new comcast package which excludes all college basketball, dropping ESPN+, never going to the ARC except for volleyball, and sorry Paul but maybe dropping my Victory Bell subscription as well. I know this sounds extreme but in the bizarre and alien world in which I have just landed it might be my best path for shaking a serious addiction.
@vu72 Can’t argue with your assessment of Roger. I love the guy too. And he is a helluva coach.
He made a commitment to Valpo two years ago. But like everything today, change accelerates at an exponential rate. That includes the evolution (explosion) of the NIL monster in just two years. The truth is little Valpo, my beloved alma mater and the source off one of the best 4 years of my life, is freakin in over its head without a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.
Cooper, some knowledgeable experts/pundits have stated, will be in the $700K-$900K bidding bracket. Even as a freshman, Wright, All-Arch Madness, is right up there as well. He’s gone too next year or sooner.
Valpo is now, in just these two years, already relegated to the MVC bottom three in perpetuity. Based on past performance by Valpo supporters, all of the 10 larger schools will find ways to raise more NIL $$$ than Valpo can even imagine.
And Roger getting excited at becoming a feeder to the big boys keeps us in the basement and doesn’t quite fit into the motto: Champions in competition, the community and the classroom.
If we were to downgrade to D-II and Roger stayed around for a few years, I believe Valpo will quickly return to impressive winning and he would eventually be in the same position McCallum was in when Drake hired him. All this NIL crap will sort itself out in the sort run and Roger would be looking at a new DI possessing an incredible winning record and tons of offers vs. a losing record in the the same time frame if we stubbornly stay in the MVC.
Powell's 90 sec social media post was an ad to high school and prep school seniors that Valpo will build their resume so they can earn future dollars. As a fan of the program he's telling me that this season may be the best it gets. The chances of a high rate of success with a roster full of freshman and sophomore's is pretty low. Frankly, if that's the plan....and I absolutely don't know if it is or is just advertising....then Powell should be jettisoned tomorrow as he has next to no chance to field a competitive team. Bring in someone who'll attempt to compete in the MVC in a more diverse manner.
As to dropping divisions....I don't see the program doing it and I don't see Powell having any part of it if by some bizarre happenstance it were to occur.
According to All Wrights Twitter he had multiple offers. Also, NIL deals cannot be over 1 year. I believe they are on an annual basis. A buyout really wouldn’t work unless there were updates to the NCAAs rules who generally move slow.
I also noticed that Powells message got a good response from the new recruits parents.
It looks like Valpo has been mentioned a few times for transfers receiving interest. Glad to see that theyre active already.
I hope that Tyler stays, with his 6th year of eligibility. The guy proved that he can be a great 3rd option for around half a season, and knows what he needs to do with his body in the offseason, to last a full D-1 season at that level. If Stafford stays, I am less worried about Wright potentially following Cooper. It'd be great to pair Stafford and Wright together, throw in Tyler, Pettigrew, and Jeff/Sepp. We don't have to replace Cooper's production at his exact position, if our guards are all ballers.
@mj08 You literally just described Scenarios 2, 3, & 4 as a stated earlier. Either we are tying ourselves to 4 years to an ultimately undeserving player. OR we are trapping a player who has an opportunity to get more. I truly don't believe a player like All who has limitless confidence would sign that deal. Because he believes he's making the next level and he doesn't want to discourage those next level schools by tying a kicker onto his NIL. Duke could get players to sign multi-year deals. To think a school like Valpo could is beyond laughable. And it feels almost coercive to do it at our level. Like its only purpose is to attempt to force players to stay against their will. For players who have no intention of leaving, it adds no value at all.
@vu72 Can’t argue with your assessment of Roger. I love the guy too. And he is a helluva coach.
He made a commitment to Valpo two years ago. But like everything today, change accelerates at an exponential rate. That includes the evolution (explosion) of the NIL monster in just two short years. The truth is little Valpo, my beloved alma mater and the source off one of the best 4 years of my life, is freakin in over its head without a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.
Cooper, some knowledgeable experts/pundits have stated, will be in the $700K-$900K bidding bracket. Even as a freshman, Wright, All-Arch Madness, is right up there as well. He’s gone too next year or sooner.
Valpo is now, in just these two years, already relegated to the MVC bottom three in perpetuity. Based on past performance by Valpo supporters, all of the 10 larger schools will find ways to raise more NIL $$$ than Valpo can even imagine.
And Roger getting excited at becoming a feeder to the big boys keeps us in the basement and that doesn’t quite fit into the motto: Champions in competition, the community and the classroom.
If we were to step down to D-II and Roger stayed around for a few years, I believe Valpo will quickly return to impressive winning and he would eventually be in the same position McCallum was in when Drake hired him. All this NIL crap will sort itself out in the sort run and Roger would be looking at a totally new and different DI possessing more experience, an incredible winning record and tons of coaching offers vs. a losing record in that same time frame if we stubbornly stay in the MVC merely as a developer program for P5 schools — AKA, the college version of Don Bosco, or Link Academy.
Of course, while other sports could easily transition along with MBB, football would likely have to move to D-II as well and leave the PFL. That would be sad, given that Valpo was one of the charter members. But, even there, we could also be more competitive in a D-II regional conference with significant savings in travel. And the prospects of a post season run could be brighter as well.
Look, no one wants to leave Division I athletics, not even me. But let’s be realistic. The Division I athletics we originally signed up for (with rules, standards and some semblance of integrity) in 1976 and could compete in as a small school MM, has almost over night morphed into something unrecognizable. We never would have made the move to D-I in the first place if it was like it is now.
@cmack You can draft a contract to be flexible, to allow modification, to provide for early termination.
Yes, there might be players who won’t sign because they think they’ll be able to make more money in the long run. And that’s ok. Do we want a player who’s is solely focused on the money? I’m not sure that fits Rogers vision of this program.
Valpo offers an opportunity to play D1 basketball. There are a finite number of roster spots across the NCAA. The school has leverage in that respect. Especially when a player has no other D1 offers
Pal is continuing his famous whinning. Powell knows what challenges he is facing. Zero people understood MVC players getting 700k two years ago. Powell and his staff include zero dummies. They will seek out discouraged players from upper divisions, top flight shooters from D2 and top flight freshman. Rinse, repeat. If he can’t provide a n increasing performance in the Valley then maybe we need a different coach. I’d give him the balance of his five year contract, and maybe more, as he is a superior representative of all things Valpo.
And once again 72 shows how out of touch he is...Valpo will never get a coach as good as Powell...his resume is as good as we can ever get.We either
1. Beg to go back to Horizon (which with N Ill there we probably missed our chance...another epic fuck up by admin
or
2 Go d3 or similar...we have no resources..no cash and abysmal facilities...
only options we have
A recent Victory Bell post asked, "is this the end or the beginning?" Unfortunately, it looks like that question was answered yesterday.
Once upon a time, college sports were many things, but primarily a vehicle for obtaining a perhaps otherwise unaffordable college education. Remember when a college education was important? Remember when the name on the front of the uniform was important? Ironically, now college is a vehicle for playing sports and making money.
I think young athletes should thank their adult mentors for showing them what is really important.
I swear some of you old farts need to take off your cheaters because you're reading too much into a Twitter post. The post was primarily a vehicle to Garner support for the nil collective. In the modern era of college basketball, what else are you supposed to say. Are you expecting Powell to dog on Cooper for transferring when he was in a situation where he was making 30k and is going to most likely be making upwards of $700 to 900k? Is he supposed to I'd be defeated and say we're never going to get better and the situation's never going to change as long as nil exists? In all reality. This was going to happen regardless of what Powell said. People were going to come on here and bitch and moan about a player who had no D1 offers who turned his situation into something better. I recommend you look at the post on Twitter that quoted Powell's original video from a former Loyola player before you continue to bitch and moan.
"Look guys Cooper transfered. We want nothing but the best for him and we are going to continue to find those diamonds in the rough, and turn them into elite ball players. If you want to help us have a chance at helping to keep that talent home, maybe consider making a donation."
That is basically what was said on this post cut down into SparkNotes.
This one hurts. Hoping we can stop the bleeding and Carson can step up to fill that position.
I'm saddened and depressed by this. But I don't think Cooper makes a wrong decision to stay or go. It does not appear that there are any "right" decisions in this NIL landscape.
I just hope that he does not ride the bench wherever he goes. He could become a professional level player and support himself in that career if he can get playing time, grow, and showcase his skillset.
@rezynezy Did you ever take a class that explained effective uses of discussion and debate? First, to suggest everyone was criticizing Coach Powell for his compliments and his congratulations to Cooper is inaccurate, a "red herring fallacy." Most posters, including myself, admired Powell's regard for Cooper, and I specifically said I "respect" that part of his message. Therefore, you are also engaging in a "straw man fallacy" in making your argument. Moreover, when you disparagingly refer to others on the list with a phrase like "old farts who need to take off your cheaters," you are participating in a form of "backfire fallacy," in which your comment reverts to actually display a weakness you possess, namely a youth and inexperience that inhibits wisdom, undercutting your authority on the subject.
Finally, the real dilemma arises from your "ad hominem fallacy" establishing an inability to counter the real objection mentioned by some, Powell's comment that nothing will change, "everything will stay the same." For fans who have witnessed a team in 12th place and 11th place (and the only team behind Valpo is leaving the conference), yet have exhibited admirable patience and goodwill the past two years with blind faith in the process and a coach we admire, it is understandable that the exit of Schwieger indicates Powell's experiment isn't working. Since he clearly can't rely on freshman/sophomore teams to win championships, he should be flexible with recruiting strategy as he moves forward.
If you and Krutwig—whose comment praising Powell's unwillingness to adjust is limiting and less than inspiring as it seems satisfied with the current condition/"niche" of the program ("Low to mid major schools can find a niche in this new college basketball") believe Coach Powell's request for Valpo fans to commit more money without a similar statement that he will commit to an adjustment in strategy moving forward, you are both using "a red herring fallacy" argument. Let's be realistic, there aren't ever going to be enough donations among Valpo fans to offset NIL disparities with other teams, and suggesting this is an answer avoids seeking the true solution.
