Game #21: Valpo

[GBPhoenix1]

I am sure we all want to know Alec's status for this game, I know I will be looking online a lot today and tomorrow. Valpo has a good amount of size. Without Alec GB better hope that McKinnie is ready to go because we only have two remaining big men at the end of the Detroit game.

As for the game itself, if GB keeps brining their defense they should still be solid. Valpo has a lot of young players that might be hitting the wall and have struggled against a good defense. If this game is turned in to a shootout well that might favor Valpo at home.

[phearthephoenix]

This sounds promising. Hopefully we will know more tonight after "Inside Phoenix Basketball" or tomorrow when Wardle talks to the media

GB sends out update on Alec Brown: "Early prognosis looks good. Will undergo further testing." And that's it. Wardle talks tomorrow.

Dan Koob (@dankoob)

[stillaphoenixphan]

I was only 30' or less away when it happened Sec. 223 row C. It was interesting watching the other teams bench yelling at the Ref's to stop the game. The good part is it looked like a anterior dislocation and they popped it back in right away. They also had plenty of ice on it. It sounds like no fractures and only stretched ligaments. I'll be suprised if he plays Wednesday, he'll be very sore. But with a light brace he could be back very soon and not lose much in conditioning.
That said everyone will have to play their best game Wednesday. We've got plenty of weapons. Encouraging that Tevin looked good and he was playing good defense. Lowe, Love, Mays, Fouse and Vince can all score. So Keifer will have others to support him and they all play D.
This game will be a gut check for the whole team.

[GBPhoenix1]

Well it is clear that they are keeping a lot of info out of the public eye. The quotes are covering both sides of the fence. On one hand Wardle doesn’t admit to knowing the extent of the injury. On the other hand he indicates Alec wants to play. That makes sense as you want Valpo to have to game plan for a game both with and without him.

I think we can also close the book on McKinnie playing this year. It has been 3 months since his surgery and over a month since he played 6 minutes. In a game that GB absolutely needs another bigger body he is ruled out. I can’t imagine he is coming back to play for maybe 8+ games that are left after tonight.

[GBPhoenix1]

This would also be a really good time for Vince to put together a good game. He plays hard but does make mistakes. He is pretty strong and has good size which would be helpful if Brown is out. He had a dnp in the 2nd half on Sunday, hopefully he bounces back.

[stillaphoenixphan]

Jan 29, 2014 10:47:37 GMT -6 GBPhoenix1 said:

This would also be a really good time for Vince to put together a good game. He plays hard but does make mistakes. He is pretty strong and has good size which would be helpful if Brown is out. He had a dnp in the 2nd half on Sunday, hopefully he bounces back.

Vince having a good game would be big. He has the talent, just seems to be out of control on to many plays. With luck Alec will be able to play some minutes. It depends on how comfortable he'll feel with a harness and his pain tolerance which I beleive is very high. Even a one handed Alec would be a plus tonight. We also have a very tough game after this game so we need all the help and luck we can get. At this time of the season every game is big.

[Nix]

Chris Roth tweeted that Alec is Ruled out.

[shooting the J]

It's going to be super-tough without Alec. At least we're playing a team without an interior scorer. GBs guards will need to stop dribble penatration tonight without the dominant shot-blocker behind them.

I could see Turner Botz getting some run tonight. We'll need the help on the glass.

[stillaphoenixphan]

Valpo shooting 70.8% at half. also outrebounding GB by a 2-1 margin. Most of Valpo's points have come on layups and stuffs. Halftime score 42-29 with Keifer having 14 pts. Hopefully a big comback in 2nd half. Keifer and Mays need someone to help them.
It was hard to watch but I watched the whole thing.

[gbnix11]

Get well soon, Alec!

[stillaphoenixphan]

Valpo 75 Gb 60 this was probably as close as it ever was in the 2nd half. As gbnix11 said please get well soon Alec.
With probably 10 minutes left Valpo had 36 points in the paint.

[truth]

Oh well, these things happen. Maybe they needed a dose of reality. All the hype about dunks, the tweets and hashtag PhoSlammaJamma, etc. and etc... Well, tonight the dunks weren't falling.

The defense was awful and rebounding not much better and this willl give Wardle something to get on them about.

It is a little worrying to see Fouse, who the rest of the season is just a great player, put up a statline of five fouls, 1 rebound, no steals, one basket. everybody gets one bad game, and a lot of good players have had the occasional bad game especially on the road, but is he that dependent on playing alonsgide Brown? 1-7 happens, but you're defense and floor game is supposed to be forever. In fairness it was a wierdly-officiated game and he might have gotten some bad foul calls.

[Nix]

I wasn't able to catch this game. Just caught the score and stats. Was it a productive loss: Needed reality check?

[gbbrl97]

I figured that we would lose a game eventually, but not to this Valpo team. If we were to lose tonight, I would have at least expected a close loss. Other than Keifer, no one else showed up. We shouldn't have let this Valpo team shoot that well. It appeared to be a lack of energy and effort......Maybe this loss will be a teaching point that BW will use the rest of the season.

I think we have one more loss in us in the regular season(hopefully if we do, it's against CSU, WSU, or YSU - one of the HL contenders), but if that's the case, we MUST get to the HL tourney final and lose a close one to get an at-large.

[FunDmentals]

I kept hearing Wardle say that they weren't good enough to have an off night or take anyone lightly, and that anyone in the Horizon could beat them on any night.

Hopefully, this will be the reality check the team needs.

Those 5 AP Top 25 votes? Gone! The chance of running the table and a potential at large? Probably gone! The opportunity to build a huge lead in the conference standings? Gone! Probably the most disappointing loss in a long time against a very beatable team.

Sorry to be negative, but I have very little faith that this team will win the conference tournament after seeing nothing but let-downs over the last 10 years.