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Post by Tipp City Raider on Jan 10, 2009 17:40:28 GMT -5
Hamga to ValparaisoThe future keeps getting brighter for the Valparaiso men’s basketball team. Beas Hamga informed the Crusader coaching staff on Saturday that he picked Valparaiso over South Carolina, Mississippi and Rutgers after deciding to transfer from UNLV last month. The Cameroon native was ranked the No. 5 center in the country in 2007 by Rivals.com and was a five-star recruit. Hamga sat out his first year at UNLV because of elgibility concerns regarding his freshman year of high school and then decided to leave the Runnin’ Rebels after just five games this season. Hamga will be eligible to play beginning with the second semester next season. “I really like the coaching staff and I feel comfortable with them,” Hamga said. “I like the chance to come in and play right away.” Hamga went to several different high schools in the United States, including Cornerstone Christian in San Antonio with former VU star Samuel Haanpaa. His last high school was Decatur Christian in Illinois where he played for coach Alan Huss. Huss is now the high school coach at Culver Academy. While at Decatur Christian, Hamga played AAU with Indiana Elite, which is coached by his guardian, Mark Adams. Teammates with Indiana Elite included Valparaiso freshman Logan Jones and Chesterton graduate Zack Novak. Hamga was on Valparaiso’s campus on Tuesday before heading to Rutgers on Wednesday to see the Scarlet Knights host Marquette. Hamga had to make his decision quickly in order to enroll in classes so he could be eligible for the spring semester in 2010. Valparaiso started classes last Wednesday. “I just wish that I could play right away,” Hamga said. “There’s nothing I can do, I just need to start getting ready.” As a senior in high school, Hamga averaged 13.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 7.0 blocks per game at Decatur Christian. He has a wingspan of 7-feet, 5-inches and a standing reach of 9-feet, 6-inches. — Paul Oren nwitimes.com/blogs/vusports/?p=180#more-180
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Post by Raider Alumni on Jan 10, 2009 17:43:12 GMT -5
How is that possible? Valpo has already signed 6 players for next year. He makes #7. They don't have that many roster openings.
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Post by Doliboabros on Jan 10, 2009 18:07:52 GMT -5
Valpo will be way over the scholarship limit unless they run a few players off.
Michael Rogers Benjamin Fumey De'Andre Haskins Cameron Witt Brandon McPherson Nick Shelton Andrew Ferry Howard Little Erik Buggs Logan Jones Beas Hamga Cory Johnson Matt Kenney Tommy Kurth Chris Halvorsen Ryan Broekhoff Brandon Wood
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Post by OG Raiderfan on Jan 15, 2009 19:02:48 GMT -5
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Post by OG Raiderfan on Jan 15, 2009 19:03:50 GMT -5
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Post by Doliboabros on Jan 17, 2009 9:01:22 GMT -5
Igbavboa out; VU down to sixJanuary 17, 2009 By Mark Lazerus Post-Tribune sports editor It's a fair question, given Valparaiso's sudden spate of injuries. What happens if a couple of guys foul out and suddenly the Crusaders can't field a full team? "You finish the game with four, or three, or whatever," VU coach Homer Drew said. No, he didn't need to look up that rule after senior Urule Igbavboa became the latest injured VU player, his knee severely swelling up after taking a hit during Thursday's 77-52 loss at UIC. www.post-trib.com/sports/1383282,VUmen.article
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Post by Doliboabros on Jan 21, 2009 18:40:28 GMT -5
UIC Flames' chemistry flickeringBy John Mullin | Tribune reporter January 21, 2009 Jimmy Collins knows that answers explaining collapses are rarely simple. "I doubt there is a magic bullet," the Illinois-Chicago coach said. "If there is, I'm going to use it here," he added with a pained smile, pointing to his head. UIC was picked to finish third in the Horizon League's preseason poll, but a season of promise has spiraled downward in the last month. On Saturday the Flames couldn't hold a 13-point second-half lead in a 59-52 loss to then-No. 17 Butler. The team that upset Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt on the road in the span of 12 days in December and stood 7-2 as it traveled to Illinois State on Dec. 20 has gone 2-6 since then. Something happened at Illinois State that UIC has not been able to fix with that elusive magic bullet. "Our chemistry is a little off right now," sophomore guard Robo Kreps said. "We're playing together at times, and then in the second half (vs. Butler) we just didn't play together. We saw that at Illinois State and it's kind of stayed with us. We've got to come together as one, work as one heart, and we'll be all right." The month-long stumble has dropped the Flames (9-8, 2-5) far back in the league standings. It also has exposed cracks in a team with a senior guard (Josh Mayo) who leads the Horizon League in scoring and a senior center (Scott VanderMeer) who leads in rebounding and blocked shots. "When teams go on a run, we start fighting back and forth and we panic," sophomore forward Tori Boyd said. "When the pressure gets on you, it's going to create tension. We've got to avoid that and we'll be all right." But only if they resolve a major issue. "We've got to have some leadership on the floor," Collins said. "When the going gets tough, you've got to have someone who will take the bull by the horns and steer the rest of the cattle. Right now we don't have that." Simple reasons are simply not there. The six losses of the last month have been to Illinois State (16-2) and Butler (16-1) plus three other conference opponents each at least six games over .500. But there also was a 10-point loss at lowly Youngstown State. UIC was without Spencer Stewart (right foot bruise) against Butler, and the absence of the junior point guard from Edwardsville was felt not so much because of his team-leading 4.6 assists per game but for his team leading, period. The Flames were 2-4 without Stewart last season. They lost six in a seven-game stretch of 2006-07 when he was out. But they also beat 14-1 Butler without him. "When you talk about losing composure and not being poised, you might as well say it's because Spencer wasn't out there," Collins said. "When games get like [Butler] did, someone on the floor has got to provide leadership." uicflames.proboards28.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=2023
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Post by Bomber on Jan 21, 2009 22:39:29 GMT -5
Football, name change not imminent for CSUby Janet Okoben Plain Dealer January 20, 2009 CLEVELAND — Looks like Cleveland State University isn't going to be anything other than CSU for a while. Ron Weinberg, chairman of the CSU board of trustees, said Tuesday that there is "no real work or traction" going on around the ideas of changing the school's name or creating a football team, as suggested by CSU President Michael Schwartz in October. Schwartz, who is retiring in June, asked last fall for feasibility reports on the name-change and football ideas by spring. The Vikings have never had more than a club football team. Supporters of the name change say it would distinguish CSU from two-year schools such as Columbus State and Cincinnati State. One of the ideas floated was to rename CSU as "University of Cleveland." But with a presidential search in motion and a struggling economy, Weinberg said trustees aren't focusing on a new name or football. "Those are things that, obviously, stir people's imagination," he said. "And I think they're interesting civic discussions, but right now those aren't the most important things that we're working on. They're very expensive and it would be hard for us as trustees to justify focusing on them." CSU Athletic Director Lee Reed, who could not be reached to comment on Tuesday, convened a 10-member panel in November to study the feasibility of varsity football. In a letter to the committee, Schwartz said it was time "to have a definitive answer" on the subject. His one requirement has been that any football program be self-supporting; a daunting proposition because college football programs are expensive to run. Five small focus groups have been gathered so far to float the idea of a name change, said Brian Johnston, a CSU spokesman. The groups included alumni, current students, college-bound high-school students and faculty. The feedback has been mixed, Johnston said. He said more focus groups are set to meet later this month. The football-study committee had tentatively scheduled a meeting for next month. But Weinberg said trustees, who would have to sign off on either idea, would rather spend time on the presidential search and what he called "more immediate issues that will make a difference to the students and the community." blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/football_name_change_not_immin.html
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Post by Sixth Man on Jan 29, 2009 18:55:52 GMT -5
Horizon simply is not in Butler's leagueJanuary 29, 2009 By Mark Lazerus Post-Tribune sports editor Not too long ago, it would have been borderline unthinkable for Valparaiso to be in the situation it's in for Friday's game at Butler. Mired in a losing season, seeking one great moment, one magical night when it all comes together, to make the season something other than a disappointment. David, going up against Goliath. Well, now the Crusaders know what the rest of the Mid-Continent Conference felt like. While the benefits of moving to the Horizon League have been pointed out countless times in the past two years, this is the very obvious tradeoff. Valparaiso will have bad seasons. Valparaiso will not go the NCAA Tournament often, if at all. Valparaiso simply isn't the big boy anymore. Butler is. And Butler isn't to the Horizon what VU was to the Mid-Con. Butler's worse than that. And by worse, we mean better. Valparaiso was never ranked 13th in the country. Valparaiso never felt disrespected year in and year out by the NCAA Tournament seeding committe. Valparaiso never beat big-time programs on a regular basis. This Butler program and its obnoxiously cheesy-yet-effective "Butler Way" -- as their increasingly yet understandably cocky fans will tell you at length -- is a whole different beast. Because there's no sign of slowing down. In fact, things are only getting bleaker for the other nine teams in the Horizon League. Think about it -- this might be Butler's best team yet, and it was supposed to be the rebuilding year, the year in which Butler would have four new starters, the year in which the Bulldogs fell back to earth, the year in which someone else had a chance at the league's automatic NCAA bid. Yeah. Not so much. With three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior starting -- including the league's best player in sophomore Matt Howard and possibly two more first-teamers in freshmen Shelvin Mack and Gordon Hayward -- Butler's not going anywhere. The Bulldogs will win the Horizon League this year. They will win it next year. They will win it the year after that. And by that point, recruiting more Macks and Haywards will become even easier, as winning begets winning. Valparaiso is making an admirable run at contending in this league by adding the likes of Cory Johnson and Beas Hamga, but it's unreasonable to expect VU to become a Top 25 team the way Butler inevitably will be. Valparaiso can be very good next year. But not Butler good. Green Bay is very good this year. But not Butler good. Wright State, Milwaukee, UIC -- good. Not Butler good. That's just the way it is. That's just the way it's going to be for a while. Sure, anything can happen in a tournament setting, even one that so grossly protects the top two seeds (of which Butler will be one every year for the forseeable future). And it's not inconceivable that a team -- any team, really -- can win three in a row. Let's keep things in perspective -- Butler's great relative to the Horizon League team, but it's not quite Duke we're talking about. Duke wouldn't have almost lost to Detroit at home. VU and the rest of the Horizon League need to realize that. And they do. But all those teams also know one thing, whether they'll admit it or not. Yes, the Bulldogs are beatable. In one game. In one night. Anyone is. But in the long term? Over the course of a season? Over the course of a four-year career? Not now. Not anytime soon. Like it or not, everyone else is playing for second -- and that's an oddly familiar yet wholly foreign feeling for Valparaiso. www.post-trib.com/sports/lazerus/1403389,laze.article
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Post by fizztharaider on Jan 29, 2009 19:16:33 GMT -5
Sad but true @ above article.
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Post by Retired Coach on Jan 29, 2009 19:21:08 GMT -5
BS. When we have Vaughn back next year, we will have more than enough to take on Butler.
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Post by riceownz2 on Jan 29, 2009 19:35:38 GMT -5
I dont give them the win next year. Your crazy. We will be crazy good next year. CRAZY good. After next year maybe they will win for sure. But I dont think they will win next year.
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Post by Sixth Man on Mar 17, 2009 19:06:06 GMT -5
March 16, 2009 UWM names Koonce new ADRyan Bartow Rivals.com Staff It's hard to find a better fit in the Badger State than an ex-Green Bay Packer. Wisconsin-Milwaukee struck gold Monday evening in hiring a former standout from the Green and Gold as the school's new athletic director. Former Packers linebacker George Koonce met with UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago at 5 p.m. Monday and had accepted the position within an hour, Rivals.com learned. "I just wanted the opportunity," the 40-year old Koonce told Rivals.com. "It's a great fit for UW-M and for the state of Wisconsin. I connect well with everyone in Wisconsin. Milwaukee is the most diverse city in the whole state and I'm fortunate to be here. I want to raise the profile of the whole university." Koonce will start on April 1, replacing retiring athletic director Bud Haidet. Other finalists for the position included Montgomery Porter, associate athletic director at Western Michigan; Paul Schlickmann, formerly at Yale and now executive associate director of athletics at Stony Brook in New York; and Vince Sweeney, senior associate athletic director for external relations at the University of Wisconsin. Koonce comes to UWM from nearby Marquette University where he has worked as a senior associate athletic director since 2007. He was responsible for fundraising, major gifts, community relations, and student welfare. "An individual does not arrive at this point in their career without the nurturing, counseling and assistance of others along the way," Koonce said. "I have been blessed with abundant opportunity to grow, develop and learn from the experiences of some talented individuals and development-oriented organizations. Thus, I will always be indebted to Marquette University, Father [Robert] Wild, and Steve Cottingham for the privilege of serving as Senior Associate Athletics Director and, therefore, being positioned to serve and to succeed." Prior to arriving at Marquette, Koonce served as the Packers Director of Player Development in 2006-07 and worked as a special assistant to the athletic director at East Carolina, his alma mater, from 2003 to 2006. Koonce earned his Master's degree from ECU in Sports Management in 2006. During that time he helped raise $5 million for a basketball practice facility and was part of a four-member committee that hired Skip Holtz as the school's football coach. The National Junior College Football Hall of Fame member sees upside in the Panthers' athletic department. "They have a great soccer tradition in both men's and women's," Koonce said. "They have 15 sports, and everyone knows they've had some real good success this decade in men's basketball, too. I want to raise the profile of the whole athletic department and university. Getting in, working with the coaches and the student-athletes there." The standout linebacker retired from the NFL in 2000 season with 720 tackles, nine sacks, and five interceptions in 128 games and helped lead the Packers to the Super Bowl in 1997. "Words cannot adequately express the gratitude I have for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in extending me the privilege to lead its athletics program," Koonce said. "I look forward to partnering with the university officials, staff and coaches that are engaged in intercollegiate competition to take UWM athletics to unparalleled heights and maintain a legacy of excellence -- a legacy rooted in both integrity and athletic accomplishment. I truly believe UWM's athletics is poised to assume its place among the nation's elite." www.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=924822
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Post by Nutt House on Mar 30, 2009 10:05:16 GMT -5
Lee Remmel Sports Awards Profile: UWGB senior menMarch 30, 2009 What do Terry Evans, Mike Schachtner and Ryan Tillema have in common besides being seniors on this year's University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men's basketball team? They made up the only senior class in program history to feature three players who have topped the career 1,000-point mark. All three did so this season, when they led the Phoenix to a 22-11 record – the program's best in more than a decade. Evans was a four-time selection to the Horizon League's all-defensive team, including being defensive player of the year in 2008. Schachtner was a two-time all-Horizon League second-team pick. Tillema capped his career by being selected as a first-team all-league pick this season. The trio will be honored with the collegiate achievement award at Thursday's Lee Remmel Sports Awards at the Swan Club in De Pere. By the numbers 4,092 Combined career points scored by Schachtner (1,667), Tillema (1,326) and Evans (1,099). They rank fifth, 10th and 18th, respectively in school history. 70-57 UWGB's record during the four seasons Evans, Schachtner and Tillema played together. Fast facts UWGB finished second, tied for fourth, tied for fourth and tied for third in the Horizon League during their careers. Schachtner became the school's first three-time Academic All-American in any sport, while Evans and Tillema both are scheduled to complete their degrees. Did you know? Evans won't be able to attend the Remmel awards banquet because he will be competing in the annual college basketball slam dunk contest as part of Final Four week in Detroit. Quotable "I'd be shocked if they're not all three (Phoenix) Hall of Fame players." — UWGB coach Tod Kowalczyk said of the three seniors. www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090330/GPG0211/903300440&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
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Post by OG Raiderfan on Apr 4, 2009 12:43:47 GMT -5
Scott VanderMeer To Play At Portsmouth Invitational TournamentApril 3, 2009 CHICAGO- UIC senior center Scott VanderMeer (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central H.S.) will participate in the 57th annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament that takes place Apr. 8-11 at the Churchland High School gym in Portsmouth, Va. The four-day event, the oldest amateur basketball tournament in the United States, serves as a showcase of 64 of the nation's best senior college players in front of representatives of every NBA team in preparation for the NBA Draft. Other professional teams in America and overseas are also represented at Portsmouth. "I'm excited about this chance to compete at Portsmouth," said VanderMeer. "This will give me a better opportunity to pursue a position with a team either here in the United States or overseas. "I want to thank everyone at UIC, in the men's basketball program, in the athletic department and on campus, for their help in preparing me in my pursuit of a professional basketball career." VanderMeer is on the Sales Systems LTD roster with Texas A&M's Josh Carter, Notre Dame's Kyle McAlarney, Clemson's K.C. Rivers, Arizona State's Jeff Pendergraph, St. Mary's Diamon Simpson, UAB's Paul Delaney III and Miami's Michael Bramos. Other notable players slated to play at Portsmouth include A.J. Price of Connecticut, Levance Fields and Sam Young of Pittsburgh, Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier of Memphis, Jon Brockman of Washington, A.J. Abrams of Texas, Marcus Landry of Wisconsin, Goran Suton of Michigan State and a host of others. VanderMeer averaged 11.9 ppg and finished 2008-09 as the Horizon League leader in rebounding (8.9 rpg) and blocked shots (2.5 bpg), the second consecutive season he led the conference in both categories. The three-time Horizon League All-Defensive Team selection holds school and league records for blocked shots in a career (273 from 2006-2009), in a season (111 in 2006-07) and in a single game (nine vs. Cleveland State on Jan. 27, 2007). Past participants include NBA legends Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Rick Barry, Earl Monroe, Dave Cowens, Tim Hardaway, Dennis Rodman and numerous others. Current NBA players who displayed their talents at Portsmouth include John Salmons of the Chicago Bulls, Ben Wallace of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jason Maxiell of the Detroit Pistons, Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers and former Detroit Titan and current Philadelphia 76er Willie Green. Fans can follow the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament on the event's official website, www.portsmouthinvitational.com. uicflames.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=2181
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