@vu2010 I am not trying to be brash, I am genuinely asking a question. I didn't go to VU, but I grew up in Valpo and went to near every home game growing up. My family and I regularly spent time on the campus going to musical performances, the art gallery, the library, and other random festivities. I remember what the university was like in the 2010s - it is not what it is today.
Growing up, Valpo wasn't a meme. Good students went there to get respected degrees and get interesting career opportunities through small classrooms that offered hands on learning and deeper connections with professors/faculty. I am not that far removed from college, and by the time I chose my college VU had already gone downhill. I have 3 close friends that did end up choosing VU, though. One chose them because he played football there. He spent near every weekend at Purdue because of VUs dismal campus life - even as a member of the football team. The other friend spent 1 year at VU before transferring to Purdue. He described the campus as "depressing" and "glorified community college". The other one lasted all 4 years as a Meteorology major. He tried living on campus but eventually stopped living in his dorm and moved back home and commuted instead.
Valpos enrollment is 43% less than what it was in 2014. The acceptance rate is NINETY-TWO percent. Faculty morale is at record lows and they clearly do not feel appreciated. They cannot afford to maintain top teaching talent. For all intents and purposes - VU HAS become a glorified community college, and that is it’s reputation among prospective students. I remember when VU had a reputation for pumping out great engineers and business leaders. A place where students felt they could get more focused and niche opportunities than a huge school like Purdue or IU. That is not where they are right now. The more their reputation falls, the less motivated students they are going to attract, and the further their reputation is going to fall.
My point is, the vibe on campus is not the same as it used to be. Campus is no longer a community, it is a place where people drive to to go to class and then drive home. Not only that, but they have half the students that they used to have, further taking away from that campus feel. I'm sure most of you guys already know all this if you've been on campus the last 5 years.
To bring this back to basketball, who wants to spend their time in a campus environment like that? There are plenty of other mid majors that guys like Monegro or Schmidt can get playing time at, even if not NIL, that might also suck at basketball but they are at least feel like a full time college. Part of the rebuilding of the basketball program is going to have to wait for the rebuilding of the university. As much as I love VU basketball, the university needs to turn around enrollment and rebuild their academic reputation before their athletics can reach their full potential.
It is plausible to see mid major colleges go out of business in the next 10-15 years with declining enrollment/revenue etc,
The enrollment boost effect of having mid major success in March madness is now a thing of the past,
when Florida gulf coast made the sweet 16 as a 15 seed, applications were up 30%, same could be said for George Mason and St. Peter’s . Agreed campus life is not great at VU but who cares, these players are only after the money. the most money is the right fit. If the money is there, they stay and get paid even at a school with a bad campus vibe.
this will be very interesting what the pre season conference rankings/predictions will be in October.
Will Drake hire a third good coach in a row and duplicate success? Indiana state last year. Sheeesh
Good for Ramzi, I hope that he finds a good school at the D2 or D3 level that he can play.
Just a friendly reminder…. Here is the exact legal language provided by a law firm regarding NIL, “Furthermore, as has always been the case since the inception of NIL, NIL deals must be independent and not tied to enrollment, performance, or team membership. Additionally, agreements with third parties can’t be contingent on continuing enrollment at an institution.” NIL is not performance based, and cannot alter a students enrollment status within the university.
Would you rather have the worst house in a nice neighborhood or the best house in a bad one?
With regard to houses, I'll take the worst house in good neighborhood.
With respect to basketball, I want the best house. We built our program reputation by being the best house in the bad neighborhood. And the entire conversation is centered about why our house is so bad right now, we just wish it were good again.
There are players who would love to play in the MVC.
I keep coming back to this and this mode of thinking is stuck in the past. Conference prestige is simply never going to matter again compared to the money. We are two steps behind in recognizing the changed environment we are in, still clinging to past fixes to new problems. We were 100% right to jump to the MVC when we did. Conference name mattered. It doesn't anymore. How long will we use old logic to justify bad choices.
Just a friendly reminder…. Here is the exact legal language provided by a law firm regarding NIL, “Furthermore, as has always been the case since the inception of NIL, NIL deals must be independent and not tied to enrollment, performance, or team membership. Additionally, agreements with third parties can’t be contingent on continuing enrollment at an institution.” NIL is not performance based, and cannot alter a students enrollment status within the university.
That reminder may be true for NIL in the past year or two, yet the landscape is changing very quickly. In particular, it is very likely that the NCAA will allow universities to offer their own NIL funds rather than have them exclusively from independent entities.
I'm not arguing that is a good thing, just saying that seems to be where this is heading.
Watched Hopoi play on ESPN3. He is the tallest player on his team, but on offense for some reason he spent almost the whole game standing outside the 3-pt line, where he went 0-4. Therefore, he didn't get to use the strength of his length much, and only had 5 rebounds in 30 minutes of play. On defense, he was mostly outmuscled and pushed around by the opponents' big center. However, he does have very long arms and was able to block or intimidate on some shots, getting credited with 3 blocks.
Conclusions: on offense, he has to play inside rather than plant himself way outside where he was uninvolved in most plays, and he will need to bulk up, especially if he is going to be guarding bigs inside. His length could be a greater asset if he spent more time inside the paint, where he went 4-7, a few being dunks. Additionally, inside he would get fouled more: he was 3-3 at the free throw line. I would rate him as a "project."
When I was watching Hopoi play on ESPN3, I realized he appears like a project who will need a year or two of physical training, skills development, and D-1 experience to possibly become a significant player, assuming the VU coaches are successful; but then he would be snatched by a program in one of the top conferences. The "Portal Watch" for a mid-major fan suddenly seemed like a frustrating and discouraging activity, exposing a problem which many finally are willing to acknowledge openly, yet for which nobody has an answer, and many admit will only get worse.
"For the first time in NCAA tournament history, the Sweet 16 will be comprised of only four conferences, the fewest ever, and it is the four biggest leagues: ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC. Some incredible matchups await, but we are lacking mid-major/Cinderella flavor, which is a bummer." —Matt Norlander, CBS Sports
"NIL is the death of mid-major Cinderella runs...." —Jay Williams, ESPN
"If this continues, it will be the death of college basketball." —Stephen A. Smith on no Cinderella teams in this year's Sweet 16
"All Sweet 16 teams are from power four conferences because NIL and unlimited transfers have killed mid-majors and the concept of Cinderellas in the tourney." —Clay Travis
"In the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament, there’s no longer a place for the little guy. Cinderella has been killed. It’s all for the elite." —Jason Whitlock
"Mid majors in college basketball have become the G-League for power conference schools." —Seth Greenberg
"No mid-majors left in the NCAA tournament second weekend. Get used to it. Big programs are buying up the best players. Feel bad for mid-major coaches who discovered them, developed their talent." —Dick Weiss
Growing up, Valpo wasn't a meme. Good students went there to get respected degrees and get interesting career opportunities through small classrooms that offered hands on learning and deeper connections with professors/faculty. I am not that far removed from college, and by the time I chose my college VU had already gone downhill. I have 3 close friends that did end up choosing VU, though. One chose them because he played football there. He spent near every weekend at Purdue because of VUs dismal campus life - even as a member of the football team. The other friend spent 1 year at VU before transferring to Purdue. He described the campus as "depressing" and "glorified community college". The other one lasted all 4 years as a Meteorology major. He tried living on campus but eventually stopped living in his dorm and moved back home and commuted instead....
My point is, the vibe on campus is not the same as it used to be. Campus is no longer a community, it is a place where people drive to to go to class and then drive home. Not only that, but they have half the students that they used to have, further taking away from that campus feel. I'm sure most of you guys already know all this if you've been on campus the last 5 years.
To bring this back to basketball, who wants to spend their time in a campus environment like that? There are plenty of other mid majors that guys like Monegro or Schmidt can get playing time at, even if not NIL, that might also suck at basketball but they are at least feel like a full time college. Part of the rebuilding of the basketball program is going to have to wait for the rebuilding of the university. As much as I love VU basketball, the university needs to turn around enrollment and rebuild their academic reputation before their athletics can reach their full potential.
Yeah, I think this is a key point amid all these debates about NIL and division I/II/III.
I am not sure that the wider (non-recent, non-local) fanbase really understands the extent to which the campus culture has devolved over the last 10 years as VU has become more of a glorified community college and commuter campus of disconnected students and disaffected staff. While of course players do care lots about the NIL money and that tail wags a lot of dogs, they do also want the 'college experience' and that's just not something VU is able to deliver on much either these days. It's going to be hard to keep players from hitting the transfer portal every year when it's a combination of financial benefit AND/OR playing opportunities AND/OR the potential of shifting to a fuller residential 'collegiate' feeling experience all luring them away to wonder 'what else is out there?'
What is the best portal site to get updated and all info regarding player movement?
Yes, it sucks to lose talent. Especially guys like Cooper and AW. But, I think were throwing a little bit too much of a pity party here. Some of the guys transferring were going to leave anyway because they never played. Players want to play, so of course they are going to look for other options. It's not a crisis situation. Everything is cyclical.
Are mid-majors at a disadvantage? Yes. But, this is always been the case. Valpo has always struggled when compared to other programs. We have lost talented players to other schools before, even before the portal/NIL era. We don't have the greatest campus (it's good, not great), we don't have the greatest academics (good, not great), we don't have the best student section, we don't have the best boosters. But, guess what, we still managed to be relevant. It is harder today than five years ago? Yes. But it doesn't mean the program is dead.
We also have to remember every other program in our conference is having the same difficulties. Everyone is losing players. Everyone is struggling with NIL. And yes, many schools have more money than us. However, someone on here said Murray State had $400,000 for NIL and they weren't very good last year. Money is a major contributor, but it's only one factor. We were never going to compete with the IUs of the world, but luckily the teams we are competing against (the ones in our conference) are similarly situated, facing the same problems.
The key is to focus on a better strategy. Grab players from lower programs, even D2. Today, recruiting in high school is easier than ever because there is more talent available. Pitino and several other coaches have said they are not even recruiting high school players. So, let's be strategic and be better at the margins.
I have no idea why you would want to go back to the HL or go to Division 2. We left the HL primarily for two reasons: (1) to be in a more talented conference where we could therefore recruit more talented players that want to play in quality conferences and (2) receive more financial benefits which in turn could help with resources that could help with acquiring talent (if used correctly). So, why would we go backwards?
Also, there is no guarantee we would be any better in the lower division. Detroit Mercy was a powerhouse for several years 15 years ago, and now they suck. Everything is cyclical. And the fact that you have less talented rosters doesn't help provide stability or guaranteed success.
Most importantly, as a fan, I would much rather watch someone who will transfer up to the Big Ten or ACC, then watch someone who will transfer up to Belmont. You're going to lose players no matter what. Now were in the middle, why would we want to be a bottom feeder?
I'm perfectly fine with the English soccer model. Programs like Brighton and Nottingham Forest were development teams. But, the more success they had at development or resurrecting careers, the more talent they acquired and now are top 7 in the EPL.
In summation, yes, it's frustrating. But there is no need to lose hope.
One thing to consider, if it is not being considered, is that a player who comes in for so much NIL money in the MVC and is good enough to do so is likely leaving for a higher program anyway because they will be offered enough money that a MVC school cannot match. So the best thing for Valpo to do is to get the best talent available no matter the source and count on doing that every year. My argument against what Roger Powell has said is that it seems that he may be focusing on HS recruits over older players. I don't think that will work and Valpo's an example of why.
I think the commenters here fall into two camps.
1) Those who fully understand the reality of the system stacked against us and our lack of resources.
2) Those who need another year or two to fully understand the reality of the system stacked against us and our lack of resources.
As of 5PM Tuesday March 25th ..... 1166 D1 transfers and 752 D2 transfers. Did not see Ramzi Salem listed anywhere. Did someone see it in a tweet? Speaking with Darius he thought Ramzi would do ok at VU
