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Post by Wolf on Dec 2, 2007 9:22:32 GMT -5
![](http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/truthserum607/College%20logos/WrightState_Raiders.png) vs. Thu., Dec. 6 vs. Valparaiso Ervin J. Nutter Center 7:00 PM Valparaiso is 6-1 (5-1 vs. D1) with an RPI of 103. This is their first Horizon League game. IPFW 74-64 W Vanderbilt 78-87 L MD Eastern Shore 66-55 W Austin Peay 61-47 W West. Michigan 77-65 W Ball St. 71-58 W
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Post by Wolf on Dec 2, 2007 9:26:00 GMT -5
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Post by Wolf on Dec 2, 2007 9:27:16 GMT -5
Men's Basketball Preview, Part 5: ValparaisoOct. 30, 2007 The Valparaiso University men's basketball team begins writing a new chapter in program history as the Crusaders prepare for the start of the 2007-08 season. The Horizon League awaits the Crusaders this year after a very successful 25-year run in the Mid-Continent Conference that included nine regular season championships, eight tournament championships and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. While the move in conference affiliation will present a stern challenge for the Crusaders, they will meet the challenge head-on with a very experienced squad. Eight of last season's 11 letterwinners return this year for Valpo, including four starters who averaged over 10 points per game in 2006-07. The eight returnees combined to account for 93.6 percent of the scoring and 86.6 percent of the rebounding on last year's team. COACHING One of the winningest head coaches in the history of Division I basketball, Homer Drew returns for his 31st season on the sidelines. In his fifth season of his second stint at Valparaiso, and his 19th year overall coaching the Crusaders, Drew currently ranks ninth among active Division I coaches in career victories with 571. His 571 wins also is good for 37th all-time among Division I head coaches, just 27 victories out of the top-30. Drew enters the 2007-08 campaign with 302 victories at the helm of the Crusader program, and has averaged better than 20 wins a season over his last 13 years guiding Valpo. Joining Drew on the sidelines once again will be the most successful player in Crusader basketball history, Bryce Drew. Drew, who put Valparaiso on the national radar when he hit "The Shot" in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament to lift the Crusaders over Ole Miss, is in his third season as a member of the Valpo coaching staff and his second year as the associate head coach. Assistant coach Luke Gore enters his sixth season on the Crusader coaching staff in 2007-08, while Chris Sparks returns to the Athletics-Recreation Center for his first season as an assistant coach after playing for Valpo from 1997-2000. Tarrance Price, also a former Crusader player, is in his second year as Valpo's director of basketball operations. SENIORS Drew has three seniors ready to lead the Crusaders into the Horizon League for the 2007-2008 campaign. Forward Shawn Huff started all 31 games for Valpo a year ago, bouncing back from an injury that caused him to miss the second half of his sophomore season. Huff averaged 11.4 points per game as a junior, increasing his scoring average nearly four points from the previous year. He posted double-figure point totals 19 times last season and broke the 20-point barrier on four occasions, including a career-high 25 points at Chicago State. Huff was the most prolific Crusader from the free throw line last season, hitting 87 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe, tenth-best in a single season in Valpo history. He is also one of the most accurate 3-point shooters to ever play at Valpo, with a career 3-point percentage of .393 good for ninth all-time. Guard Jarryd Loyd showcased his versatility last season, coming off the bench in a sixth man role in all but one contest after making 43 starts over his first two years. Loyd is also one of Valpo's best 3-point shooters, having hit 39.9 percent of his attempts from behind the arc in his career, eighth-best in the Crusader annals. Seeing most of his time at point guard, Loyd has also shown the ability to distribute the basketball in his first three seasons. He has registered 262 career assists, good for 14th all-time at Valpo and just 33 helpers shy of the top-ten in the category. Loyd dished out 84 assists last season, second-most on the team, and led the Crusaders in scoring off of the bench with 6.4 points per game. Calum MacLeod will look to try to earn a starting spot this year after receiving five starts during his first year with the Crusaders. The 7-1 center from New Zealand showed flashes of potential during his junior campaign, reaching double figures in scoring five times, including three games with at least 16 points. MacLeod has shown a soft touch on his shot, as he hit 58.7 percent of his field goal attempts and 84.8 percent of his free throw attempts last year. JUNIORS Valpo's three juniors all jumped into the starting lineup last season after seeing limited playing time as freshmen, and will use that year of experience to their advantage this season. Guard Jake Diebler started all 31 games for the Crusaders last year after seeing action in just 18 games his first season. Diebler was on the floor the most of any Valpo player, averaging 32 minutes per game and playing at least 20 minutes in all 31 contests. The Crusaders' defensive leader, Diebler paced the team with 1.52 steals per game, which ranked fourth among all Mid-Con players. He especially stood out on the defensive end over the regular season's final weekend, holding two First Team All-Conference selections in Steve Barnes and Quinton Day to a combined seven points on 2-of-22 shooting. Not to be overlooked offensively, Diebler averaged 5.4 points per game, including three double-figure efforts. Forward Urule Igbavboa had a breakout season last year, earning Valpo's Homer W. Drew Sr. Memorial Award as the Crusaders' most improved player. Igbavboa emerged as Valpo's top post threat, averaging 11.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, the latter mark being good for second among all Mid-Con players. He also ranked among the Mid-Con's top-10 in field goal percentage (.563, fourth) and blocked shots (0.68/game, eighth) on his way to earning Second Team All Mid-Con recognition. Igbavboa reached double figures in scoring 20 times last year, including a career-best 21 points at Western Michigan, and broke the 10-rebound barrier on 12 occasions. He tallied 10 double-doubles on the season, including his first career triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists at Chicago State. Guard Brandon McPherson rounds out the Crusaders' trio of juniors returning to the starting lineup this year. McPherson started all 31 games for Valpo last year, averaging 11.3 points and 3.3 assists per game from the point. His assist average was good for sixth in the Mid-Con, one of four statistical categories McPherson ranked in the top-10 in league-wide. McPherson owned a team-best assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.51, third-best in the league, and ranked second in the league by hitting 44.8% of his 3-point attempts, a mark which ranks tenth-best in a season in Valpo history. He reached double figures in scoring in 19 games last year, including back-to-back career-high 24-point efforts at the Rainbow Classic. SOPHOMORES One Crusader sophomore will look to gain a permanent position in the starting lineup, while another will look to see increased playing time heading into this season. Samuel Haanpää received All-Newcomer accolades from the Mid-Con last season and became the first Crusader freshman since Lubos Barton (1998-99) to lead Valpo in scoring, averaging 12.0 points per game in his debut campaign. Haanpää ranked 12th nationally and led the Mid-Con, hitting 45.7 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point line. In addition, the sharpshooter's 75 made 3-pointers rank sixth in a single season all-time at Valpo. Haanpää, who started 12 games and came off the bench in 17 others as a freshman, hit five 3-pointers in seven different games, including a season-best 24-point effort at Western Illinois that earned him Mid-Con Player of the Week honors. Matt Bennett walked on to the Crusader squad prior to his freshman year and provided valuable minutes off the bench, seeing action in 16 games. Bennett played a season-high nine minutes against Centenary in Valpo's win over the Gents. FRESHMEN Coach Drew has brought four freshmen in for the 2007-08 season to go along with the eight returnees in the quest for Horizon League gold. Bryan Bouchie and Benjamin Fumey will provide depth for the Crusaders in the frontcourt as freshmen. Bouchie comes to Valpo from Indiana's Washington H.S., where he was a member of the Hatchets' state championship team as a sophomore and was twice named to the All-Regional team. Fumey joins the Crusader squad after playing in his native Germany. Two freshmen, Howard Little and Mike Rogers, will look to make an impact in the backcourt this season. Little played a season of prep basketball at Stoneridge [Calif.] School after earning All-Area honors four times at Rich Central H.S. in Illinois. Rogers arrives at Valpo from Redemption [N.Y.] Christian Academy, where he earned team MVP honors. SCHEDULE Coach Drew has put together a challenging schedule for the 2007-08 campaign, one which features seven games against five NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. The schedule also contains 16 home games at the Athletics-Recreation Center, the most since the ARC was constructed prior to the 1984-85 season. The season kicks off with a home game November 12 against Grace, the first of four contests the Crusaders will play as part of the South Padre Island Invitational. Valpo will travel to Vanderbilt, an NCAA Sweet 16 team last season, on November 20 for the second game before heading to South Padre Island for the final two games. The Crusaders will take on Maryland Eastern Shore on November 23, with Austin Peay, 2007 Ohio Valley Conference regular season champions, and Florida Gulf Coast facing off on the other side of the pod. The Crusaders will also play at IPFW in between games of the tournament. Valpo returns home November 28, hosting Western Michigan, and will follow with a December 1 home contest against Ball State. The Horizon League slate gets off to an early start, as the Crusaders play at 2007 NCAA Tournament participant Wright State on December 6 and at Detroit two days later. The Crusaders return home for two more contests, hosting Evansville and Chicago State, before hitting the road for two challenging games. Valpo will play at Big Ten power and 2007 NCAA second round foe Wisconsin on December 22. They follow on December 30 with a game at the Dean Smith Center against North Carolina, which went to the NCAA Elite 8 last year. Valpo hosts Indiana Wesleyan on January 2 before resuming the double round-robin league schedule January 5 at Butler, the 2007 Horizon League regular season champions and NCAA Sweet 16 participants. The Bulldogs' return trip to the ARC on February 5 will be televised to a nationwide audience on ESPN2. The Crusaders will once again be part of the ESPN BracketBusters event, hosting a game on February 23. The regular season closes out when Valpo hosts Wright State on March 1. The Horizon League Championship runs from March 4-11, with the top two seeds getting byes into the semifinals. The first round contests will be at the higher seeds, while the second round and semifinal games will be hosted by the top overall seed. The championship game on March 11 will be hosted by the highest remaining seed. horizonleague.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/103007aaa.html
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Post by Wolf on Dec 2, 2007 9:28:56 GMT -5
Blue Ribbon Valparaiso Preview:COACH AND PROGRAM Valparaiso's Crusaders are the new kids on the block in the Horizon League, coming over after a successful run in the far-flung Mid-Continent Conference. The Horizon is certainly a better geographic fit. No more 1,614-mile trips to Southern Utah (an ordeal that involved a four-hour flight to Las Vegas and a three-hour bus ride). The northern Indiana campus is an easy bus ride to both of the Chicago league members, as well as Milwaukee, Butler and Detroit. Another factor in the school's decision to change affiliations: 71 percent of Valparaiso's students and 61 percent of alumni are from Horizon League states. ''It's a great opportunity,'' said coach Homer Drew, ''from the standpoint we're really stepping up in terms of competition. I think the Horizon League was 12th in the RPI last year and the Mid-Con was 23rd. So we're excited about that, as fans, as players and as a coaching staff. As a competitor you love to go against good players. ''We'll miss the Mid-Con in terms of friendships, but we will not miss the travel. We're dead in the center of the Horizon teams and we can bus everywhere we go.'' The Crusaders, once dominant in the Mid-Con with 10 championships, have been in a slump the last couple of years. Still, they can boast having only one losing season the last 14 years. They've been to seven NCAA Tournaments [with two wins], most recently in 2004. The Horizon programs are aware the new guys can hit the court running. ''For the [Horizon] league, it's good,'' Loyola of Chicago coach Jim Whitesell said. ''It's certainly somebody who can come in right away and compete with us. We're all geographically close and they've got a good basketball tradition. ''So the league is excited about getting them, but for the coaches, it's, 'Man, another two tough games.' '' The timing of the switch to the Horizon is fortuitous for Valparaiso. The Crusaders return five starters, their top seven scorers, 93.6 percent of their scoring, 86.6 percent of their rebounding and 90 percent of their minutes. PLAYERS The program has an international flavor, with two players from Finland, one from England, one from New Zealand and new additions from Germany and Jamaica. But don't jump to conclu-sions based on names. Urule Igbavboa is of Nigerian and German heritage but he's all American, born and raised in Minnesota. Shawn Huff sounds like he could be from Fort Wayne, but is in fact from Helsinki, Finland. Barring some cage rattling, the starting lineup will be the same as last year, when four of the five starters averaged between 12.0 and 11.3 points a game. There may not be a go-to guy, but the Crusaders can work that to their favor. Opposing defenses have to respect virtually everyone in a Valpo uniform, and if a couple of guys are having an off night, somebody else can pick up the slack. The Crusaders run a motion offense and generally keep things at a half-court tempo. This squad, however, has the quickness to play faster when the opportunity arises. Defensively, they'll pressure at times and play a switching man-to-man in the half-court. A hybrid zone defense that Valpo picked up from Mid-Con rival Southern Utah could be a useful wrinkle that the Horizon teams haven't seen. The 6-8 Igbavboa (11.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg), a junior, is the primary offensive threat in the post. He's a smart player who likes to back defenders down deep and make his move, or, if he knows he's quicker, take them out to the elbow and try to beat them on the drive. He's worked on his mid-range jumper and can be counted on night in, night out to deliver a high-percentage of his shots (56 percent last year). ''He really blossomed as a sophomore,'' Drew said. ''He can shoot it and he can put the ball down on the floor. He's come back stronger and better.'' Huff (11.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg) is a 6-6 senior swing man who can play the two or three and even drop down to the four on occasion. He has struggled with his shot at times but can take defenders off the drive. Samuel Haanpaa (12.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg), like Huff, hails from Finland. The 6-8 sophomore guard hit the court running as a freshman last year, knocking down 45.7 percent of his three-pointers (75-of-164). He has the green light to shoot from long range and will catch defenders off guard by launching from 26- to 28 feet if they back off. Haanpaa worked hard in the off-season to broaden his game and shed the rap of being just a spot-up shooter. Look for him to try taking defenders off the dribble this year. ''He's a pure shooter and he's very comfortable at the NBA line,'' Drew said. ''He's the type kid who makes coaching enjoyable. He's got a 3.5 grade point average and in between classes he's in the gym shooting.'' Brandon McPherson (11.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg), a 6-1 junior, runs the point. It's a bonus when a point guard shoots 51.6 percent from the field and 44.8 from three-point range. Defenses can't back off and pack inside the arc, thus the Crusaders generally have more room to run their offense. The fifth starter is Jake Diebler (5.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg), a 6-2 junior at the off-guard. Diebler is the low scorer in the lineup, but he earns 32 minutes a game with defensive intensity. He'll draw the other team's top scoring guard and recorded a team-high 47 steals a year ago. But if you back off, he can hit the three-ball on occasion (30-of-87, .344). Jarryd Loyd (6.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg) is the sixth man and could almost be considered a sixth starter. The 6-0 senior averaged 22 minutes a game off the bench as a junior after starting a combined 43 games his first two seasons. Loyd's 84 assists ranked second on the team behind McPherson. He hit 33.1 percent of his 93 three-point tries, but is potentially more dangerous than that stat indicates. He led the team at 51 percent behind the arc as a junior. When the Crusaders sub in the paint, 7-1, 245-pound senior and New Zealand import Calum MacLeod (5.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg) changes the skyline. MacLeod originally came to the States to play at Gonzaga, but left after one year to attend a junior college. He arrived at Valpo last winter and averaged 11.4 minutes a game. A late comer to basketball, MacLeod is still a bit raw as he continues to develop an all-around game. He hit 58.7 percent of his field goals and even popped in a few three-pointers. MacLeod has been a defensive liability who must continue to develop that side of his game. Four newcomers flesh out the roster. Howard Little is a 6-4 freshman wing from Chicago who prepped for a year in California to gain maturity. He can play the two or three spot but finds himself behind several veterans. Bryan Bouchie is a 6-9 freshman from Washington, Ind., who should find some minutes off the bench because the Crusaders can use a dose of size. Bouchie is hard-nosed and has a chance to help this year. Benjamin Fumey is a 6-7 power forward from Germany who could also be a factor right out of the gate. Fumey was a late addition to the signing class and has experience with the German under-20 national team. Mike Rogers was an even later addition. The athletic 6-5 wing is a native of Jamaica who prepped in New York and flew under the radar. The university hopes neither Fumey nor Rogers runs into eligibility issues like those that snagged British signee Paul Guede last season and forced him to move on to a junior college. Drew has two concerns in the Crusaders' transitional year. ''We've got to improve our rebounding, especially on the defensive end,'' he said. ''We've got to limit opportunities for our opponents. The other thing is our defense has got to become stronger and tighten up.'' The schedule doesn't need to become any stronger. Valpo pays visits to North Carolina, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin, among others. If, per chance, North Carolina should be ranked No. 1, it would make four consecutive years the Crusaders have played the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS BACKCOURT: B BENCH/DEPTH: B FRONTCOURT: C+ INTANGIBLES: C Valparaiso is aware the program is stepping up in class with the transition from the Mid-Continent to the Horizon League, but the fit is attractive enough to offset any trepidation. The good news is shorter travel to away games. The bad news is tougher games when you get there. The switch comes at a good time for Valpo in that all five starters and two key reserves return. Chemistry and leadership will be important as the Crusaders make their way through an unfamil-iar set of opponents and gyms. The caliber of Horizon defenses will be an adjustment for Valpo, but the Crusaders' philosophy of valuing possessions will mesh well in their new home. Valpo's best attribute may be the bal-anced scoring of Igbavboa, Huff and Haanpaa and McPherson. They all know where each other's shots should come from, and that will be a good thing in a new environment. Valpo won't contend for a title in its maiden voyage in the Horizon, but the Crusaders will be competitive and dish out as much as they get. wrightstate.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&n=1&thread=1209
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wh
Mail Room
Posts: 6
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Post by wh on Dec 2, 2007 23:26:31 GMT -5
It's a long trip to your place, but since I have a conference in Indy on Friday I'm going to make the trek to Dayton in time for the game Thurs. evening. I'm excited to see how we're going to fare in our new conference, and no better way to test the waters than go up against one of the top 2 teams at your place. Here's to Thursday!
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Post by rock70 on Dec 4, 2007 14:16:46 GMT -5
Thursday's game with Valparaiso is a critical game. The Crusaders have been one of the top teams in the Horizon League based on out of conference play. They have some serious height on the team with a 7'1" and 6'11" player on its roster plus a couple of 6'8" kids.
We open League play with probably two of the top teams in the League. We must at the very least split our home games against Valparaiso and Butler. We are still very young so hopefully our home court advantage will be enough to carry us to the win.
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Post by Willie on Dec 4, 2007 17:51:03 GMT -5
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Post by Willie on Dec 4, 2007 17:53:50 GMT -5
Crusader Men Kick Off Inaugural Horizon League SlateWright State Game Notes*Game 8 - Valparaiso at Wright State - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - 6 p.m. CST The Matchup: Valparaiso gets its first taste of Horizon League play on Thursday, as the Crusaders travel to Dayton, Ohio to take on Wright State. Valpo will be attempting to snap the Raiders’ 14-game home winning streak at the Nutter Center, dating back to last season. The Crusaders are just 2-5 all-time versus Wright State, but the two squads have not met on the hardwood since the 1993-94 campaign, the last season that Wright State was a member of the Mid-Continent Conference. Last Meeting: David Redmon scored a game-high 28 points, pacing four Crusaders in double figures as Valpo downed Wright State at the Nutter Center, 75-68, in overtime on February 7, 1994. Redmon hit 10-of-19 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers, to lead the Crusaders. Lance Barker, Chris Ensminger and Casey Schmidt each scored 10 points in the winning effort. Sean Hammonds led the Raiders with 16 points and pulled down a game-best 10 rebounds, but went just 2-for-10 from the free throw line. Andy Holderman also scored 16 points for Wright State, while Delme Herriman chipped in 15 points. Last Time Out: After having a 13-point halftime lead cut to as few as four points, Valparaiso erupted with four 3-pointers in a five-possession span in the second half to put the game away, eventually defeating Ball State Saturday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center, 71-58. The victory was the tenth straight win by the Crusaders at the ARC. For the second straight game, Shawn Huff led the Crusaders in scoring, putting up 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from behind the arc. Samuel Haanpää added 15 points, hitting five of his 11 attempts from downtown, while Urule Igbavboa rounded out the Crusaders in double figures with 13 points. On the Air: Today’s game, like every game this season, can be heard live on the Valpo Sports Radio Network, a four-station entity carrying Crusader athletics all over Northwest Indiana, and online at www.valpo.edu/athletics. Originating from WVUR, 95.1 FM in Valparaiso, the Valpo Sports Radio Network also includes WEFM, 95.9 FM in Michigan City; WAKE, 1500 AM in Valparaiso; and WWLO, 89.1 FM in Lowell. Veteran broadcaster Todd Ickow returns for his 17th season on play-by-play, while WVUR’s Adam Amin will handle the color commentary. The game can also be seen online through the Horizon League Network at www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv. Changing Leagues: Valparaiso moves to the Horizon League this season after a very successful 25-year run in the Mid-Continent Conference (now known as the Summit League). The Crusaders captured nine regular season championships and eight tournament championships during their quarter-century tenure in the Mid-Con, advancing to seven NCAA Tournaments. Valpo also holds conference records for overall wins (385), league wins (208), conference tournament wins (29) and conference tournament winning percentage (.707). RPI Soaring: The overall strength of the Horizon League can be seen by looking at the Rating Percentage Index. The Horizon League, which boasts seven of ten teams with at least a .500 record, ranks tenth among all conferences in RPI. The Horizon League is in front of leagues such as the Mountain West, Mid-American and Conference USA.. Four Horizon League squads currently rank among the top-100 in RPI (as of Dec. 4), including the Crusaders, who stand at 99. Cracking the Top 25: Valpo broke into the Mid-Major Top 25 poll for the first time this season on Dec. 3. The Crusaders, who had been in the Also Receiving Votes category the previous two weeks, debuted at #21 after downing Western Michigan and Ball State last week. Valpo is the second-highest Horizon squad in the polling, trailing only Butler, which sits atop the poll. Fast Start: Since Homer Drew’s arrival prior to the 1988-89 season, starting the season with six wins in the first seven games has been a good omen for things to come. This year’s team is off to a 6-1 start, matching the 1996-97 and 1998-99 squads for the best six-game start under Drew. Both of those teams won Mid-Con regular season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in their respective seasons. Winning Big: All six of Valpo’s wins so far have been by at least ten points, a rare feat in Crusader history. Only three times have the Crusaders’ first six wins all come by double figures, and it was in three consecutive seasons: 1963-64, 1964-65 and 1965-66. Bringing Experience With Them: The Crusaders make the step up to the Horizon League with a core group of experienced players. Valpo returns eight of 11 players who took the court last season, including each of its top seven scorers. 93.6% of last year’s scoring, 86.6% of last year’s rebounding and 90.4% of last year’s minutes played are back for the 2007-08 campaign, the highest returning percentage in each category among Horizon League squads. Valpo Tabbed Sixth in Horizon: The Crusaders have been projected to finish in sixth place in their inaugural season of Horizon League play in polling of the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and media representatives. Butler was picked to win the league, receiving 42 of 46 first-place votes. 2007 tournament champion Wright State was projected second, followed by Green Bay, Milwaukee and Loyola. Detroit was chosen seventh, with UIC, Cleveland State and Youngstown State rounding out the polling. Huff Heats Up: Senior forward Shawn Huff has turned his game up a notch, reaching double figures in four of his last five games while leading the Crusaders to a 6-1 start. Huff earned All-Tournament honors at the South Padre Island Invitational after posting 18 points and nine rebounds at Vanderbilt and following on the island with an 11-point, nine-rebound performance in Valpo’s win over Austin Peay. Last week, Huff led all scorers in both of the Crusaders’ victories. He put up 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the win over Western Michigan and followed three days later with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the victory against Ball State. On the season, Huff is scoring 12.4 points per game, pacing the Crusader squad, and is also second on the team in rebounding (5.6 RPG) and field goal percentage (.500). Steady in the Post: Junior forward Urule Igbavboa averaged 11.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore, and has remained right around those marks so far this season, putting up 11.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest through Valpo’s first seven games. His 7.9 RPG rank second among all Horizon League players. Over the last five games, Igbavboa has been especially steady, averaging 12.4 points per game on 63.4% shooting and grabbing 9.0 rebounds per game. Over the span, he has not scored fewer than eight points or pulled down less than seven rebounds in a game. In Valpo’s wins over Western Michigan and Ball State last week, the junior combined for 28 points and 16 rebounds while hitting 12 of his 17 shots from the floor. Loyd Provides Helping Hand: Senior guard Jarryd Loyd is stepping up his game during his final season as a Crusader. Loyd, who is averaging 22.6 minutes per game as Valpo’s sixth man, is third on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game on 50.0% shooting, and has hit the same percentage from behind the arc. Loyd is also leading all Crusaders with 3.6 assists per game, and dished out seven helpers in Valpo’s win over Western Michigan on Wednesday. Loyd’s seven assists were the most he has registered in a single game since his freshman season. Haanpää Keeps Firing: Sophomore guard Samuel Haanpää struggled with his shot in the first half against Ball State on Saturday, hitting just 1-of-7 attempts form behind the arc. But the sophomore stepped up in the second half, draining all four of his 3-point attempts to help stave off the comeback attempt by the Cardinals. The sophomore is just eight triples shy of hitting his 100th career trifecta, and remains Valpo’s career 3-point percentage leader at 43.8%. NOTES ON WRIGHT STATEFewest Games in the Nation: Wright State enters Thursday’s contest having played the fewest games among any Division I team to date. The Raiders have only taken the hardwood three times and have a 2-1 record. Taking Advantage at the Stripe: The Raiders have proven especially potent at the free throw stripe through their first three contests. They have averaged 25.7 free throw attempts per game, and are hitting at an 80.5% rate, the second-best free throw percentage in the nation. Trio of Scorers: Nine different players have played at least 10 minutes per game for Wright State so far this season, but three players have stood out as the best offensive threats. Todd Brown leads the team with 18.3 points per game, having hit a team-best eight triples on the year. Vaughn Duggins is averaging 14.7 PPG, while Scottie Wilson has put up 11.3 PPG on 68.8% shooting. www.valpo.edu/athletics/news/mbb/120407_Wright_State_Game_Notes.php
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Post by wsu97 on Dec 5, 2007 6:45:21 GMT -5
Brownell: Coaches dwell on WSU lossBy Marc Katz Staff Writer Wednesday, December 05, 2007 FAIRBORN — The day after a loss can drag on. "It bothers you at least until the next game, at the earliest, bare minimum," said Wright State senior Jordan Pleiman. "You don't want to get over it right away. That shows you don't care." Wright State will have to care a lot this week. The Raiders open play in the Horizon League, hosting 6-1 newcomer Valparaiso on Thursday and 13th-ranked and 7-0 Butler on Saturday. Wright State is 2-1 after losing 79-64 Saturday at Marist. The next morning, even before the Raiders boarded their bus for the airport — about a half hour from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where the game was played — they watched tape of the game. WSU coach Brad Brownell would have had his team watching tape even if it had won. Losing makes it tougher. "I think it affects everybody in the program to varying levels," Brownell said of the loss. "The head coach the most. Losses stay with coaches longer than with players, usually. As a player, you get past it. "The head coach experiences everything longer. In bed that night, you wake up in the middle of the morning. Two nights later, you're playing things in your head you could have done differently. You're upset at things that happened if you think you didn't play well." Brownell thinks his team didn't play well against Marist, losing control at the end of each half. Wright State was outscored 14-3 to close out the first half and 9-4 to finish the second. "Players move on from losses quicker," Brownell said. "There's so many other things in your life between the ages of 18 and 22 you think about. Basketball's certainly one of them, but there are a few other things going through those guys' minds — music, girls, movies, football. That's part of being a young kid. It's not their job. "They go away from practice and games and they do other things. We (coaches) go away from practice and games and we watch more film and we think about the game forever and talk about it. It's certainly different." At the same time, Brownell and his staff urge the players to move on. "It bugs us a lot," senior Scottie Wilson said. "But you can't be thinking we lost to Marist when we're preparing for Valparaiso. Right now, we've got to focus on Valpo. If it wasn't a league game, I believe we would still be focused. You don't want to lose two in a row, period." Despite being downcast, junior guard Will Graham says his team is ready for the next game. "We feel we prepare to win every game," Graham said. "When things don't go our way, we're always disappointed. If it doesn't affect you if you lose, you're not a good competitor. But our Saturday loss was not in the league. These games (Valpo and Butler) are the most important games." www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2007/12/04/ddn120507wsubb.html
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Post by Class of '83 on Dec 5, 2007 20:27:05 GMT -5
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Post by bballraider on Dec 6, 2007 1:20:04 GMT -5
My take for the game, (use with caution!): ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) Wright State hosts a talented Valparaiso team in both team's Horizon League Opener. This should be a fairly close game, and should go down to the last few minutes of the game. I think Wright State will have to jump out early and get a 8-10 point lead by the half in order to win this game, and then hit foul shots down the wire to hold off a late surge by the Crusaders. Despite their size, Valpo is basically a perimeter team that is well balanced in scoring. They take 45% of their shots from beyond the arc and hit almost 40% of them. As a matter of fact, if you take out 6'9" F, Urule Igbavboa who doesn't shoot from the 3, then the other 4 starters actually take 66% of their shots from beyond the arc. The Raiders will need to contain their outside shooters, in particular 6'8" SG Sam Haanpaa who has unlimited range and is 2nd in total shots taken on the team, but takes around 80% of those shots from beyond the arc. Stopping Haanpaa may be the key to this game, he was a terrific shooter last year (45.7% from 3, 75 treys made on the year) and the Raiders do not want him to get hot. Also 2 other starters (McPhearson and Huff) that make around 43% of their 3s while also hoisting well over half of their shots from downtown will need to be accounted for also. The lone starter Igbavboa that doesn't shoot the 3 is a banger underneath the basket and is also their main rebounder at almost 8/game. He averages 11 points a game but sometimes gets a little out of control both on offense and defense, and can be taken advantage of if the Raiders can get the ball inside with some quick reversing of the ball and then a pass into the post. Igbavboa has already fouled out of 2 games this year. Valpo's bench is nothing to sneeze at as they score 35% of Valpo's scoring and bring some versatile players off the bench. Quick 6'0 senior guard, Jarryd Loyd is a spark off the bench and is dangerous both from 3 and driving to the rim, as he shoots 50% from both zones and averages 10 points/game. In addition to Loyd, 6'11" freshman, Bryan Bouchie, comes off the bench and is a good athlete for his size averaging 9 pts/game, mostly from in the paint, but he will step out to shoot an occasional 3. As a team Valparaiso has had spurts where they turn the ball over. They actually give up a quarter of their points off of turnovers this year. Hopefully the Raiders can take advantage of the turnovers in this game without giving up many of their own. As far as defense, the Crusaders seem to be vulnerable to being scored on in the paint more than anywhere else on the court, hopefully in this game the Raiders do not try to rely too much on the 3 point shot early and either get the ball into the post, drive to the rim, or take some pull up jumpers in the paint, and force Valpo to collapse their defense. Once the Crusaders sag on defense, then the 3 could be more open for a higher percentage shot. Another weakness of the Crusaders is their interior player's foul shooting, most of the guys that try to get to the rim for Valpo are very poor foul shooters (and shoot somewhere around the 50% area give or take a little), so fouling them on an easy basket is not necessarily a bad thing if the defender is not in foul trouble. This could be helpful at the end of a close game, if we need to keep them from scoring an easy basket. According to Coach Brownell, the Marist loss was not a good thing, but since it was early in the season, it helped show them some of the weaknesses the Raiders still needed to work on. Coach also said it got the players attention and they have had some good practices this week. I feel this renewed attentiveness, free throw shooting and home court advantage are going to be the difference in this game. Look for Brown and Duggins to have good games inside the arc, and this may be the game assuming he stays out of foul trouble early, that Jordan has a break out game on the offensive end. The key to Jordan's game tonight is patience, if he doesn't have a shot he needs to not force it and kick the ball back out, and then the perimeter players also need to have patience and give Jordan a chance to re-establish his position and feed it back inside again. I see a close game with the Raiders winning by 4-6 pts, hitting their free throws down the stretch. Final score prediction : WSU 70, Valpo 65.
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Post by Bomber on Dec 6, 2007 6:43:18 GMT -5
Wright State welcomes Valpo to Horizon LeagueBy Marc Katz Staff Writer Thursday, December 06, 2007 FAIRBORN — If all you know about Valparaiso basketball is Bryce Drew's 3-point buzzer-beater to upset Mississippi in the 1998 NCAA tournament, well, you don't know very much at all. It's true that the highlight has been around for years, but Valpo also has had strong teams for most of the past decade. Valparaiso visits Wright State at the Nutter Center tonight to begin the Horizon League schedule, a first after Valpo competed 25 years in the Mid-Continent Conference, of which WSU once was a member. The two schools have met seven times — the last time in 1994. Then, as now, Homer Drew was Valparaiso's coach. His son Bryce is now associate head coach. "The Horizon League is a wonderful thing for us," said Homer Drew, who noted the league was ranked No. 12 in last season's Ratings Percentage Index. "And in the Mid-Con (now the Summit League), we had to fly a lot of places. In this league, every game is a bus trip." Indeed, Drew was on the bus as he spoke. Valparaiso is in northwest Indiana, about an hour from Chicago. Valparaiso had an unprecedented string of success after Drew took over in 1988 a program with 11 straight losing seasons. He tacked on five more (36-103) before recording the first of six straight 20-victory campaigns beginning in 1993-94. The Crusaders won 20 or more for nine of 10 seasons, the last in 2002-03 when Scott Drew, another of Homer's sons, led Valpo to a 20-11 record before moving on to Baylor. Homer Drew, who stepped down for one season to become an assistant to the president of VU, returned to coaching in 2003. "We're excited to see where we fit in," Drew said. "This is a good start for us, at Wright State. We were picked to finish sixth and Wright State second. I'm not sure how we'll do. We'll find out." Today's game Who: Valparaiso (6-1) at Wright State (2-1) When: 7 p.m. Radio: WONE-AM (980), WIZE-AM (1340) www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2007/12/05/ddn120607wsubb.html
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Post by Bomber on Dec 6, 2007 6:44:57 GMT -5
Preview: Wright State (2-1) vs. Valparaiso (6-1)By Marc Katz Staff Writer Thursday, December 06, 2007 When: 7 p.m. Where: Nutter Center Radio: WONE-AM (980), WIZE-AM (1340) Valparaiso Brandon McPherson Jr. 6-1 G 7.7 Samuel Haanpaa So. 6-8 G 9.4 Jake Diebler Jr. 6-2 G 5.4 Shawn Huff Sr. 6-6 F 12.4 Urule Igbavboa Jr. 6-8 F 11.0 Wright State Vaughn Duggins So. 6-3 G 14.7 William Graham Jr. 6-2 G 8.0 Todd Brown So. 6-5 G 18.3 Jordan Pleiman Sr. 6-8 F 7.3 Scottie Wilson Sr. 6-6 F 11.3 About Valparaiso Valpo spent three years with WSU in the Mid-Continent Conference, ending in 1994, and now rejoins the Raiders in the Horizon League. Valpo already has beaten two Mid-American Conference teams (Western Michigan and Ball State) and is riding a four-game winning streak. While the same five guys have started every game, Jarryd Loyd and Bryan Bouchie have been big boosts off the bench, averaging 10.1 and 9.0 points, respectively. The Crusaders make nearly 40 percent of their 3-point shots but only 60 percent of their foul shots. Jake Diebler is the older brother of all-time Ohio prep scorer and current Ohio State freshman Jon Diebler. About WSU Raiders have played the fewest games of any Division I team, but play five in the next 13 days, all at home. Only twice last season did the Raiders lose two straight, to Coastal Carolina and Chicago State and to Marshall and Bowling Green, both times at the beginning of the season ... WSU opens its league schedule against the Horizon's hottest teams: 6-1 Valparaiso, then Saturday against 7-0 Butler (which visits Detroit tonight). Team ranks second nationally in free throw percentage at 80.5 percent, 0.3 percent behind Florida State. Ronnie Thomas, the 6-foot-9 transfer from Duquesne, has been out with a broken left foot, but could be available tonight for the first time. www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2007/12/05/ddn120607wsuprev.html
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Post by Bomber on Dec 6, 2007 6:52:55 GMT -5
VU men's hoops opens up play in HorizonThursday, December 6, 2007 12:53 AM CST BY DAVID ROBB VALPARAISO | Yes, the Valparaiso men's basketball team is 6-1, its best start since the 1998-99 season. Yes, the Crusaders notched quality wins against Austin Peay and Western Michigan. And yes, Homer Drew knows that similar success in the Horizon League is anything but a sure thing. He knows this because the Horizon is undeniably more competitive than the Crusaders' former conference (then the Mid-Continent, now the Summit League). He knows this because the preseason poll pegged his experienced squad for a sixth-place finish in the 10-team league. He knows this because, when you get right down to it, RPIs, film sessions and scouting reports are poor substitutes for what VU will do tonight: suit up against a Horizon foe for the first time. "We're anxious to see how we'll fit in," Drew said. Given the parity playing out in the Horizon this season -- outside of clear-cut favorite Butler -- stealing a few wins away from the Athletics-Recreation Center could be the difference between, say, a No. 3 seed and No. 7 seed in the league tournament. A victory at Wright State, which has a 14-game home winning streak, would also give the Crusaders instant credibility among their new peers. "This is why we went to the South Padre (Island Invitational), this is why we went to Vanderbilt, this is why we went to (IPFW) -- to get used to the feeling of being on the road," Drew said. More importantly, VU must get acclimated to the athleticism of its new league. Wright State, not unlike other Horizon teams, has better athletes than the Crusaders are used to seeing in conference play. "They're a little bit quicker than we are," Drew said of the Raiders, who return three starters from last year's NCAA tournament team. VU struggled with Ball State's quickness in Saturday's win, allowing the undersized Cardinals to outrebound and outscore them in the paint. But the Crusaders' biggest struggle this season has been their faulty free-throw shooting. "We are concerned with our free-throw shooting," Drew said. "We are better than our 60 percent as a team shows." Senior swingman Shawn Huff, for one, isn't struggling with his free throws -- or with much of anything for that matter. After pouring in 36 points over the past two games, Huff is averaging a team-best 12.4 points per game. He's also tops in minutes played and second in rebounds, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage. And who knows, maybe one of these days he'll finally be fully healthy. "I wish my back and ankle would get healthier so I could be more of a physical presence and help us out in rebounding," Huff said. Huff hasn't been the only one battling aches, pains and sprains. Drew said Brandon McPherson's bruised left knee is still only 70 percent healthy, and Sam Haanpaa has been nursing a sprained ankle. "We've had these very different nagging injuries," Drew said. "They've played through them, and that's why we're 6-1." Valparaiso (6-1) at Wright State (2-1) When: 6 p.m. today. Where: Ervin J. Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio. Radio/Internet: WVUR-FM (95.1), WEFM-FM (95.9), WWLO-FM (89.1), WAKE-AM (1500)/www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv/www.valpo.edu/athletics. Valparaiso will win if: It corrects its free throw woes and contains Wright State's quick guards. The Crusaders won't win many close games if it continues shooting 60 percent from the foul line. Wright State will win if: It continues to play confidently on its home court. The Ramblers have won 14 straight at the Ervin J. Nutter Center, and were a perfect 8-0 at home last year against league foes. Notes: Wright State leads the all-time series 5-2. ... Valparaiso is No. 21 in collegeinsider.com's latest Top 25 Mid-Major Poll. ... After winning their first Horizon League title last year and recording a program-best 23 wins since moving to Division I, the Raiders were picked to finished second in the league. This year's squad, though, won't have the services of graduated guard DaShaun Wood, the Horizon League's reigning player of the year. ... Sophomore guard Vaughn Duggins (14.7 ppg, 5 rpg) was a preseason all-league selection, but classmate and fellow guard Todd Brown (18.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) is the team's top scorer through three games. - David Robb www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2007/12/06/sports/college_sports/docf74d7d37f7370cc3862573a800724450.txt
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Post by rock70 on Dec 6, 2007 9:20:30 GMT -5
My take for the game, (use with caution!): ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) Wright State hosts a talented Valparaiso team in both team's Horizon League Opener. This should be a fairly close game, and should go down to the last few minutes of the game. I think Wright State will have to jump out early and get a 8-10 point lead by the half in order to win this game, and then hit foul shots down the wire to hold off a late surge by the Crusaders. Despite their size, Valpo is basically a perimeter team that is well balanced in scoring. They take 45% of their shots from beyond the arc and hit almost 40% of them. As a matter of fact, if you take out 6'9" F, Urule Igbavboa who doesn't shoot from the 3, then the other 4 starters actually take 66% of their shots from beyond the arc. The Raiders will need to contain their outside shooters, in particular 6'8" SG Sam Haanpaa who has unlimited range and is 2nd in total shots taken on the team, but takes around 80% of those shots from beyond the arc. Stopping Haanpaa may be the key to this game, he was a terrific shooter last year (45.7% from 3, 75 treys made on the year) and the Raiders do not want him to get hot. Also 2 other starters (McPhearson and Huff) that make around 43% of their 3s while also hoisting well over half of their shots from downtown will need to be accounted for also. The lone starter Igbavboa that doesn't shoot the 3 is a banger underneath the basket and is also their main rebounder at almost 8/game. He averages 11 points a game but sometimes gets a little out of control both on offense and defense, and can be taken advantage of if the Raiders can get the ball inside with some quick reversing of the ball and then a pass into the post. Igbavboa has already fouled out of 2 games this year. Valpo's bench is nothing to sneeze at as they score 35% of Valpo's scoring and bring some versatile players off the bench. Quick 6'0 senior guard, Jarryd Loyd is a spark off the bench and is dangerous both from 3 and driving to the rim, as he shoots 50% from both zones and averages 10 points/game. In addition to Loyd, 6'11" freshman, Bryan Bouchie, comes off the bench and is a good athlete for his size averaging 9 pts/game, mostly from in the paint, but he will step out to shoot an occasional 3. As a team Valparaiso has had spurts where they turn the ball over. They actually give up a quarter of their points off of turnovers this year. Hopefully the Raiders can take advantage of the turnovers in this game without giving up many of their own. As far as defense, the Crusaders seem to be vulnerable to being scored on in the paint more than anywhere else on the court, hopefully in this game the Raiders do not try to rely too much on the 3 point shot early and either get the ball into the post, drive to the rim, or take some pull up jumpers in the paint, and force Valpo to collapse their defense. Once the Crusaders sag on defense, then the 3 could be more open for a higher percentage shot. Another weakness of the Crusaders is their interior player's foul shooting, most of the guys that try to get to the rim for Valpo are very poor foul shooters (and shoot somewhere around the 50% area give or take a little), so fouling them on an easy basket is not necessarily a bad thing if the defender is not in foul trouble. This could be helpful at the end of a close game, if we need to keep them from scoring an easy basket. According to Coach Brownell, the Marist loss was not a good thing, but since it was early in the season, it helped show them some of the weaknesses the Raiders still needed to work on. Coach also said it got the players attention and they have had some good practices this week. I feel this renewed attentiveness, free throw shooting and home court advantage are going to be the difference in this game. Look for Brown and Duggins to have good games inside the arc, and this may be the game assuming he stays out of foul trouble early, that Jordan has a break out game on the offensive end. The key to Jordan's game tonight is patience, if he doesn't have a shot he needs to not force it and kick the ball back out, and then the perimeter players also need to have patience and give Jordan a chance to re-establish his position and feed it back inside again. I see a close game with the Raiders winning by 4-6 pts, hitting their free throws down the stretch. Final score prediction : WSU 70, Valpo 65. Bballraider I love your pregame analysis. I was surprised to see that Valparaiso takes 45% of their shots from the three. Who do you see us putting on Haanpaa? Will it be Todd or Vaughn? Vaughn is the better defender but Todd has more height. I see Scottie Wilson and Gavin Horne teaming up on Huff. This game concerns me because our defense has been sub par over the last game and a half. We looked terrible the second half against Marshall and coach Brownell said several times on his show that our defense was below expectations at Marist. My key to the game is if we can hold Valparaiso to under 40% from the field we win if they shot better then 40% we lose. The odds of beating Butler are not really good so we need this game tonight.
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