Great home win against Butler. Valparaiso has the #1 seed. Let's hope VU goes on and takes the conference. It will be great to see them in post-season tournament action.
As disappointing as Tuesday night's game against Detroit was, it may be a blessing in disguise for Valparaiso. As things stood, Valpo looked to be a 15th seed. They would have faced one of the very top teams right away. Remember, the year that they went to the 16, they started as a 12th seed. That meant facing a 5th seed; an uphill fight, but manageable. Valpo can't beat a team like Michigan State. Remember the horror show that was the loss to Ohio State? On the other hand, having lost, they're still likely, at 22-11, to get an invitation to the NIT. The opponents there will be good, but not overwhelming. Valpo might be able to score a win or two over opposition from the Big Ten, ACC, etc., and make the post-season a successful one.
One thing about Broekhoff and Van Wijk. They can't be 6'7 and 6'8. Either Broekhoff's 6'6, or Van Wijk's 6'9. Van Wijk is a lot more than one inch taller than Broekhoff. I saw them standing next to each other. They're not close in size. I tend to think it's that Van Wijk's 6'9. He's a big guy, perfect for a power forward, but just a tad short for a center.
It was a horror story. Valparaiso was dominating that game in the first half. The air seemed to go out of them when Kevin Van Wijk went down hurt, and when he came back into the game, he was no longer playing the way he did before he got hurt. Richie Edwards is really a small forward; he doesn't replace Van Wijk fully.
After the beating at the hands of Miami, some notes. Valpo is one of the best mid-majors right now with what it has. To make a real dent, however, it will have to upgrade. No need of upgrade at forward; Kevin van Wijk and Ryan Broekhoff are forwards worthy of the big time. Richie Edwards makes a decent small forward, but when they try to use him as a power forward, especially given that they have no center, he is overmatched. At forward, they should be grooming van Wijk's eventual successor. That might be Vashil Fernandez, though Fernandez would also fill the team's really crying need.
That crying need is center. Van Wijk, and Edwards when he comes in, are matched up inside not with the opposing teams' power forwards but with their centers. Against big-time teams, that means that the 6'8 or 6'9 van Wijk or the 6'7 Edwards are matched up with 6'10-7'1 opposing centers. Valpo has a big man, Hrvoje Vucic. But Vucic has still not shown that he has a move to the hoop or that he can be sufficiently aggressive in fighting for rebounds. He has filled out since he first arrived; he was a real string bean than. He has to use that size more effectively. If he can't, Vashil Fernandez, 6'10, has to fill that role. Fernandez is said to be extremely athletic. Great athleticism and 6'10 could add up to that dominating center Valpo hasn't had since the graduation of Raitis Grafs. If he and van Wijk are on the court at the same time, he can be matched up with the opposing center, and van Wijk will be facing matchups with men his own size instead of two inches taller.
At the guards, Erik Buggs finally did a little shooting during the conference tournament, and it had an effect; opposing defenses could no longer completely ignore him. However, Jay Harris has to become the point guard. Like Buggs he is very fast; unlike Buggs, he is an outstanding shooter. The one knock on him is an occasional failure to take care of the ball; he turns the ball over too often. What they could really use would be a 6'4 or 6'5 man who can shoot the lights out. Matt Kenney has his moments, but they aren't often enough; Will Bogan isn't tall enough, and has too many nights when his shots aren't going in.
The coaching staff has done a great job; Valpo has risen to the top of one of the best mid-major conferences in the country, beating the two-time NCAA finalists, Butler, three times this season. But the 2-forward/3-guard offense doesn't work when you're playing the big boys. If Valpo is to take another step forward--to be able to stay on the court with an Ohio State or Michigan--it has to go to a 2-guard/2-forward/center configuration that gives them full competitiveness on the boards and prevents bad size matchups as Matt Kenney or Will Bogan suddenly finds himself matched up with some 6'8 small forward who keeps him from getting a good look at the basket.
