Smits transfer

[NativeCheesehead]

As a Christian I wish Derrik the best.  As a vengeful fan I would love to see him not box someone out on a Hurley coached team.

[valpotx]

He graduated with a Valpo degree, as did Sorolla, Bakari, and Golder.  They are Valpo alums, regardless of how we might feel about it.  However, Buck Futler, and choose one of the other 2.

[valpospartan]

He graduated with a Valpo degree, as did Sorolla, Bakari, and Golder.  They are Valpo alums, regardless of how we might feel about it.  However, Buck Futler, and choose one of the other 2.

According to the VU athletics website, Golder and Sorolla are Juniors this year.

[VU2014]

It will be hard to watch Smits in a Butler uni if he ends up there. I don't watch a ton of Butler basketball but they don't seem to utilize their bigs very much from a offensive standpoint, which was Smits' bread and butter.

[valpospartan]

Overall, I'm not sure the loss is a net negative. His numbers may have, in fact, gone up. It's a big question as to whether that would have helped the team overall. The ball stagnated with him too much. He'd score but he'd also eliminate chances by stopping the ball too much. He wasn't either a great defensive player nor rebounder. In fact he was pretty poor at both.

Ignoring his raw numbers, which you absolutely should in most cases, Derrik was the best defensive rebounder on the team, gathering in 20.7% of the other team's misses.  Next highest was Lavender at 19.7%.  Overall, Derrik was 2nd on the team in individual defensive efficiency rating (just behind Sorolla by 0.1 PPP), and if you only look at conference play, was tied for 3rd behind Freeman and Sorolla.  He was one of only 5 Valpo players with a positive Box Plus Minus rating (essentially shows PPP above an average player on an average team), and was 3rd on the team in that category behind Freeman and Fazekas.

Was he a great player overall?  No, I wouldn't say that, but he was second on the team in offensive efficiency on what was a really bad offensive team (291st out of 353 teams), and at least statistically speaking, was a good defensive player as well.  His biggest issue was turning the ball over too much, but his turnover rate was actually better than average on this Valpo team. 

Ultimately how big of a loss he is to next year's team will depend on how well Gordon and Robinson integrate into the offense, and whether or not Fazekas can stay healthy, but I do think it's hard to say that he was a net negative in any way on this year's team when you had guys like Evelyn and Sackey who both played more minutes than Smits in conference play, and ranked 65th (Evelyn) and 67th (Sackey) out of 67 qualifying players (players who played 40% or more minutes on average in a conference game) in offensive efficiency.  Smits was ranked 29th, which was best among qualifying Valpo players in conference play.

Statistics tell a story, for sure, but not an entire story.   For instance, Smits missed so many lay ups that could have easily been dunks, if he would have tried. IMHO, as a fan who saw every home game and many televised away games, of his career, his PPG should have been higher if he would have dunked the ball more. At 7'2", if you have the ball 3', or less, from the hoop, DUNK IT. Another instance, is rebounding.  He looked like he never learned proper techniques of rebounding.  He was poor at getting into position to rebound - blocking out wasn't his strong suit.

[IrishDawg]

It will be hard to watch Smits in a Butler uni if he ends up there. I don't watch a ton of Butler basketball but they don't seem to utilize their bigs very much from a offensive standpoint, which was Smits' bread and butter.

I don't think any of the teams he is looking at currently put a major focus on getting the ball in the post. He might wind up at Butler, he might not, but I think no matter which school he picks, he'll definitely help, but won't be the main focus by any stretch.

[vu72]

It will be hard to watch Smits in a Butler uni if he ends up there. I don't watch a ton of Butler basketball but they don't seem to utilize their bigs very much from a offensive standpoint, which was Smits' bread and butter.

I don't think any of the teams he is looking at currently put a major focus on getting the ball in the post. He might wind up at Butler, he might not, but I think no matter which school he picks, he'll definitely help, but won't be the main focus by any stretch.

So how would you compare his game to Joey Brunk?  Where is Joey going to land?

[tiny707]

Any chance we get Joey Brunk from Butler? He is friends with Eron Gordon.

[IrishDawg]

It will be hard to watch Smits in a Butler uni if he ends up there. I don't watch a ton of Butler basketball but they don't seem to utilize their bigs very much from a offensive standpoint, which was Smits' bread and butter.

I don't think any of the teams he is looking at currently put a major focus on getting the ball in the post. He might wind up at Butler, he might not, but I think no matter which school he picks, he'll definitely help, but won't be the main focus by any stretch.

So how would you compare his game to Joey Brunk?  Where is Joey going to land?

Similar offensively (Brunk might be slightly better), but defensively Brunk was one of the worst on what was collectively a bad defensive team.  Physically he couldn't defend a ball screen.  Smits was a better rebounder and shot blocker.

Rumor has been since the transfer that he's going to wind up at IU, but has visits to Florida, Ole Miss and Northwestern set up as well.

[FieldGoodie05]

It will be hard to watch Smits in a Butler uni if he ends up there. I don't watch a ton of Butler basketball but they don't seem to utilize their bigs very much from a offensive standpoint, which was Smits' bread and butter.

I don't think any of the teams he is looking at currently put a major focus on getting the ball in the post. He might wind up at Butler, he might not, but I think no matter which school he picks, he'll definitely help, but won't be the main focus by any stretch.

So how would you compare his game to Joey Brunk?  Where is Joey going to land?

Similar offensively (Brunk might be slightly better), but defensively Brunk was one of the worst on what was collectively a bad defensive team.  Physically he couldn't defend a ball screen.  Smits was a better rebounder and shot blocker.

Rumor has been since the transfer that he's going to wind up at IU, but has visits to Florida, Ole Miss and Northwestern set up as well.

Worse in a better conference....maybe sizably better when playing comparable competition.  Derrick flat out can't play competitive defense, it's hard to imagine anyone being much worse that received high marks in high school such as Brunk.

[IrishDawg]

Worse in a better conference....maybe sizably better when playing comparable competition.  Derrick flat out can't play competitive defense, it's hard to imagine anyone being much worse that received high marks in high school such as Brunk.

I watched every Butler game and most Valpo games that were not on ESPN+, Brunk's defense would not have been good in any league last year because when hedging he couldn't keep any guards in front of him, which gave them a clear passing lane to the rolling big.  Generally guards aren't that much more athletic going from the Big East to the MVC.  High school also doesn't matter much when guys are 3 and 4 years into their college careers like Brunk and Smits are at this point.  But both are offensively skilled, have size and are immediately eligible, which means they'll be desirable on the transfer market.  How much of an impact either will have next year (and the year after for Brunk) remains to be seen.

[FieldGoodie05]

Worse in a better conference....maybe sizably better when playing comparable competition.  Derrick flat out can't play competitive defense, it's hard to imagine anyone being much worse that received high marks in high school such as Brunk.

I watched every Butler game and most Valpo games that were not on ESPN+, Brunk's defense would not have been good in any league last year because when hedging he couldn't keep any guards in front of him, which gave them a clear passing lane to the rolling big.  Generally guards aren't that much more athletic going from the Big East to the MVC.  High school also doesn't matter much when guys are 3 and 4 years into their college careers like Brunk and Smits are at this point.  But both are offensively skilled, have size and are immediately eligible, which means they'll be desirable on the transfer market.  How much of an impact either will have next year (and the year after for Brunk) remains to be seen.

Who is more athletic? Push?

Also, who complains to the refs more? Push?

[wh]

Brunk would definitely help offensively, plus he has 2 years remaining. What I would want to know is how much heart does he have, what kind of attitude, what's his work ethic, does he deflect blame to others, does he cry to the refs, does he team-up on on-court huddles, does he run over to pick up a teammate, does he dive for loose balls, does he credit teammates to the press, can he complete a post move in under 10 seconds?

[vu72]

Brunk would definitely help offensively, plus he has 2 years remaining. What I would want to know is how much heart does he have, what kind of attitude, what's his work ethic, does he deflect blame to others, does he cry to the refs, does he team-up on on-court huddles, does he run over to pick up a teammate, does he dive for loose balls, does he credit teammates to the press, can he complete a post move in under 10 seconds?

[/b]

[FWalum]

can he complete a post move in under 10 seconds?

I really don't like critisizing young men or women athletes in general, but josh I wish I had said this.

[bbtds]

can he complete a post move in under 10 seconds?

I really don't like critisizing young men or women athletes in general, but josh I wish I had said this.

Who's josh and why are you directing this comment to him?   

[JD24]

can he complete a post move in under 10 seconds?

This is spectacular.

[FWalum]

can he complete a post move in under 10 seconds?

I really don't like critisizing young men or women athletes in general, but josh I wish I had said this.

Who's josh and why are you directing this comment to him?   

Sorry josh, I meant to direct my comment at gosh  .

[valpo95]

According to Jeff Goodman on twitter, the three remaining schools for Smits are NC State, Arizona State and Butler.

https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1118275219490258944

[valpopal]

Arizona State's 7' center has decided to transfer, making it even more likely as the landing spot for Smits.


[tweet]1120480980790333441[/tweet]

[bbtds]

Arizona State's 7' center has decided to transfer, making it even more likely as the landing spot for Smits.

Hmmmmmm! I believe someone on this message board predicted this after Smits announced his transfer. At least his choosing a program in the Phoenix area.

[VUBBFan]

https://twitter.com/BrianNichols19/status/1133412181612146688