Copper was the difference. He woke up, was extremely aggressive, and they couldn’t stop him.
He was dominant during that stretch.
I was only on LiveStat for that ending. Can anyone list the 5 guys who were on the floor at the time? Obviously McNair. Sepp and All Wright figured in the tying basket. Thought I saw Tyler too. Coop? If that’s it, 4/5 are sophs or younger. Quick question, now that the JUCO THING has opened up NCAA eligibility, can Tyler play next year?
Where was Coop and the rest of the team hiding for the first 33 minutes?Copper was the difference. He woke up, was extremely aggressive, and they couldn’t stop him.
He was dominant during that stretch.
@vulb62 Tyler is NAIA. Different from juco. However there is talk about a suit for naia too. If it goes through. Tyler likey gets 3 more years
I almost shut the game off 4 times... rebounding was poor, shooting gawdawful turnovers aplenty... guys looked listless with the noon start etc...but with this newfound depth it seems like someone can get buckets. But play like that first 30 minutes ya gonna lose 15 valley games. The heart and fight is so encouraging... justus was a spark and cooper actually CAN play dee when he wants I guess. Lessgo VU!
Glad that Valpo won and nice that Valpo is and will get some good publicity from the great shot to win it. That said:
-Let's remember that they were playing Western Michigan, who is now 3-8.
-The true relevance of this wil play out in the next several games...does it create a spark that carries on further into the season?
Nonetheless, terrific comeback and great shot by McNair.
@rezynezy i know that. But if you read what’s happening more closely you will see that some pretty knowledgeable people are predicting that this finding will wind up being across the board. The reason: any collegiate athlete who has not played in the NCAA ( i.e., JUCO, and by extension, NAIA) has full NCAA eligibility. That’s why I pondered Tyler’s possible next season (or more depending on NIL). Hell, he might be able to play three more years and graduate with a Valpo PhD while pulling down a salary and free tuition,
Don’t we live in a wonderfully predictable world?.
It’s hurting us that Schmidt has had to sit after that blow to the face
I disagree , Ellis and the bench should be able to respond…relying on an NAIA transfer to keep us in it isn’t a recipe for success…just FYI I coach an NAIA Swim Team!
We'll notify Ben McCollum of your findings.
Made Sportscenter "Best thing I saw Today"
#1 Play as well
THere are other clips of shows covering the game as well
You could see some of the Western Michigan players/friends giving Jefferson a hard time throughout the game, so this has to feel really good for him. Kudos to the Assistant Coaches on keeping Powell in control when Jefferson fouled out, as he was definitely hulking up like he was going to go after someone lol. I completely forgot about Schmidt's toughness, as you could tell his top front teeth were messed up, when they went to a bench shot of him getting worked on. Playing 28 minutes overall, that is quite impressive. I do still think that Scroggins and/or Louth should have been brought in at some point in the first 30 minutes, to see if we could stop all of the inside penetration and get some defensive rebounds, but it worked out in the end.
I was going home on the subway last night here in Boston, and a guy was watching stuff on his phone — without ear buds, which can be annoying. But this time I didn’t mind, because I heard the ESPN highlights of the McNair shot. It really is great free publicity.
So what are we going to call this game in the future? The Kalamazoo Comeback?
According to Aaron Leavitt, the comeback was the only non ND-Indiana related piece on ESPN in the first half hour, It also made NBC news. I think calling it "Poetic Justus" works just fine considering the circumstances surrounding Jeff DLCM.
There are soooo many things to celebrate about this win:
- The sheer achievement of coming back from a 22 point deficit, storming the court as a team after the buzzer beater;
- The symbolism of Justus McNair -- Coach Powell's first recruit -- making the incredible shot, while scoring 13 points in only 14 minutes;
- Cooper Schwieger finally looking like the guy who was MVC freshman of the year last year;
- The players seeing Valpo featured on ESPN highlights on TV and online;
- Winning despite sub-par shooting performances by Ali Wright and Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro.
It's shoehorning a lot of lessons into a 5-6 minute game segment against a so-so opponent, but can this be a pivotal turnaround moment for the program overall? Does it plant the seeds for these younger players to stay because they sense that it could be a great experience?
The comeback and final shot were nice but Valpo should have won this game and fairly handily. It's actually concerning how it played out and likely doesn't bode well for conference play.
