Huge week for VU

[rlh]

This now becomes a HUGE week for VU....with Oakland Thursday and IUPUI Saturday night, we need to reestablish ourselves in the conference race. IUPUI has a chance to basically eliminate us if we can't get ourselves turned around....Without Kone, Huff and Miles it will be difficult, but someone has to step up and help Oppland inside. Igbavboa or Mbaye HAVE to find a way to contribute....with Kone back it helps, but we'll still need someone to back him up .....It will be an interesting week

[valpotentate]

Amazing how we've fallen so far, so fast. However, if we can find a way to regroup and take the Oakland game I think we will defeat IUPUI as well. It's just a matter of getting over the hump now.

[crusaderfan07]

Igbavboa played well in his 19 minutes against Southern Utah, I just think he needs to hit his free throws and then Homer needs to get him more minutes if we are still without Kone. Urule had 8 points and 6 rebounds in those 19 mins. I think with more mins, he could actually become our best third option behind Dan and Ron this year.

[rick]

crusaderfan07 said:

Igbavboa played well in his 19 minutes against Southern Utah, I just think he needs to hit his free throws and then Homer needs to get him more minutes if we are still without Kone. Urule had 8 points and 6 rebounds in those 19 mins. I think with more mins, he could actually become our best third option behind Dan and Ron this year.

As much as I like Moussa's attitude on the court, he just cannot contribute enough to help the team this year. From injuries to his inability to get physical to not being able put up any numbers or whatever, he is hurting the team with his playing time. Urule, on the other hand makes significantly more contributions than does Moussa. He should start. He's not yet had enough experience and is a little rough right now but look at what last year's experience did for Jaryd. Throw U in the fire and let him grow himself into a force by conference tourney time. Sorry Moussa, I like you but you need to get healthy and you just can't help the team right now.

[jmill]

The way things are going throughout the conference, I'd hesitate to predict anything.
It will be a tight race regardless, but if Valpo can get over the hump and start playing like Valpo again, they'll be a huge part of that tight race.

[rick]

jmill said:

The way things are going throughout the conference, I'd hesitate to predict anything.
It will be a tight race regardless, but if Valpo can get over the hump and start playing like Valpo again, they'll be a huge part of that tight race.

[/size]

Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry. A missing ingredient changes or spoils the outcome completely. Don't mix bleach with Mr. Clean. Don't clean the toilet with plain water if you want any real cleaning action or germs killed.

[wh]

As crusaderfan07 notes, Igbavboa's point and rebound production per minute played was good in the Southern Utah game. And, as Rick stated his production is certainly better than Moussa's. Having said that, he still has a long way to go to be a reliable offensive contributer. On the downside he has a VERY slow release on his shot. He makes a slow, almost mechanical pivot to face the basket on a post up move, giving the defender ample time for good defensive positioning. On the few occasions he finds himself open at that point, he is slow to extend his arms and raise the ball to a shooting position, again giving his defender ample time to get in position for a closely contested shot. To ever make a meaningful offensive contribution, he's going to have to become a quicker, more fluid post-up player. In thinking about some past and present Crusaders who arrived with some fundamental flaws, some overcome them - some didn't. Two of the most positive examples, in my opinion, are Dan and Mike Oppland. Both came in with very quirky, fundamentally-flawed shots, so much so that one has to wonder if their high school coach knew anything about shooting fundamentals. To their credit, however, both have developed a much better looking shot over their college careers and thus have become consistently major contributors at VU and CCSJ, respectively. On the other side I remember how Antti Nikkla released the ball on the way down instead of at the height of his jump, making himself more like a 6-6 player than 6-11. He played that way for his entire 4 years. Or, Vince Humphreys last year, a very slow and mechanical shooter, who played the same way in game 25 as he did in game 1 in that respect. I hope Igbavboa follows the Oppland road map and develops his game to the level he needs to. I think the Oppland formula starts with an incredibly strong work ethic coupled with a willingness to change (being coachable).

[crusaderfan07]

Kone is back so I hope that he can provide what we have been missing badly the last two games, an inside presence on defense to change shots and a little bit of offense so teams can't triple Oppland

[stlvufan]

crusaderfan07 said:

Kone is back so I hope that he can provide what we have been missing badly the last two games, an inside presence on defense to change shots and a little bit of offense so teams can't triple Oppland

As a plus though, I bet Urule gained a wee bit of confidence this past week and gives Homer slightly more options to go to.

[wh]

You're absolutely right crusaderfan07, it's hard to grow and develop just sitting on the bench. I think its great that Urule's getting some real game experience to help him gain confidence and hone his skills. That could pay dividends for the team "down the road."