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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Mar 11, 2015 21:39:23 GMT -6
I really don't have a problem with how Wardle has recruited. He has a vision for his system and is recruiting guys who he thinks can play that way. When asked after the game last night if he wished GB had more shooters he quickly responded the team is 24-8, has plenty of talent and that he wouldn't trade any of it. The hard part for GB is having Wardle stick around long enough to see his vision through. He has recruited guards that can handle the ball first and foremost. He has recruited athletic big men that can defend and rebound. As the team has more success then he should be able to recruit higher quality players. Guys like Okafor and Pittman look custom made for Wardle's style. However, I don't think Wardle from 5 years ago can walk into the state of Indiana with no track record and pull in Francis or Okafor. It just isn't happening but now that those guys can see what GB does and that GB wins with this style he can get them. It is a process, a process that builds a program and not just a team. If he ends up moving on it starts all over again.
Brown, Sykes, Mays, Fouse, McKinnie and Love all improved under Wardle. Some of them started from really low points so they still have room to grow. Humphrey is the only long term guy who didn't improve. The last two recruiting classes have Francis and maybe Lowe so far. Right now Botz and Findlay look lost. Hendo, Kanter and Small are unknowns but I know the staff likes those guys.
Garrett, Fulton, Muhammed, Cougill, Baker and Jarvis Williams were stop gap transfers. Arenz, Stefan, Terry Johnson and Armstead were intended to be long term guys who didn't last.
In 12-13 Valpo had 6 D1 transfers on their team to start the year. In 13-14 they had 6 D1 transfers on that team. Even this year Carter and Nickerson are transfers from higher programs. As they have won more they had landed talented freshman but to say Valpo has been all home grown is false. Trey Lewis, Andre Yates and Kaza Keene are all D1 transfers from higher programs that played for CSU this year. Last year they had Jon Harris play as a transfer. They have some nice home grown players too but not a roster full.
Back to Wardle I think he has done a great job for GB but I don't think he has done enough to deserve a job like DePaul. I believe MEG talks to the AD at DePaul so maybe this has come up between them already. I do think he should be on the list for UIC although that would hurt to lose him in the conference. He should also be on the list for Bradley and Northern Illinois if they open up. Prior to the UW system budget cuts I would have just assumed this offseason they would give Wardle and his staff a pay raise and it would be back to business as usual trying to fill the schedule and land at least one more recruit. With the budget issues front and center it might be more reason to bolt for a similar level position.
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Post by jonnyindepere on Mar 12, 2015 14:24:49 GMT -6
Made my first ever trip to the ARC. I thought it would be cool to see live a team I followed get to go dancing. The place is more like a cage, you can't get anywhere you want to without rubbing up or bumping people. However, it does provide a pretty exciting atmosphere for the fans and players.
At halftime, I was very confident in our chances. The ball movement and spacing were both excellent. The defense was even better. While I was worried about the minutes the starters had already played I was optimistic that adrenaline would carry them through.
The last ten minutes of the second half my worries came to fruition as GB simply just ran out of gas. GB, a typically outstanding defensive team, gave up 35 second half points. That is the telling tale right there, when you have starters who all go 35+ besides McKinnie due to foul trouble, you're not going to be successful. Valpo had one starter over 35 and three guys off the bench get 33, 28, and 18.
I'm sorry but the development isn't there. Keifer was going to succeed wherever he went due to his killer instinct and toughness. Mays has developed a better jumper, kind of, and there are absolutley no post moves in his arsenal. He simply just tries to out jump everyone. McKinnie is a late transfer who also, doesn't have any post moves. Our bigs shoot jump shots, and that counts as development? I could spend a summer shooting and shoot a higher percentage too. Love was brutal but that's how the last month has been and Fouse does the same stuff he did his Freshman year. Grab boards and play defense.
The reason for a lack of bench is the lack of development of the younger players. The last three years have been focused on Brown and this years senior class. My feeling is that the rest of the team has been left to take care of themselves. From a marketing stand point you could see it early this season when the "team poster" featured only the starters. That was odd to me and something I had never seen from a "team" before. BW was riding Sykes and his senior high jumpers to a better gig.
GB is a one man show with nice side kicks who make eye popping plays. Valpo is a complete team.
Good luck in the NIT. But I won't be paying for that ticket. Hoping for a better finish next season!
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Post by shooting the J on Mar 12, 2015 16:01:40 GMT -6
From a marketing stand point you could see it early this season when the "team poster" featured only the starters. That was odd to me and something I had never seen from a "team" before. Didn't the poster feature the 4 seniors, including Josh Humphrey? |
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Post by knightlyfe920 on Mar 12, 2015 18:08:14 GMT -6
From a marketing stand point you could see it early this season when the "team poster" featured only the starters. That was odd to me and something I had never seen from a "team" before. Didn't the poster feature the 4 seniors, including Josh Humphrey? Reluctantly, I'll have to agree with you for once J, the poster is on my wall and features the upperclassmen. Sure would have been cool to have the whole team but with the upperclassmen in the foreground or something. However, I really do agree with what Jonny said about the lack of a "team" sense. I feel like some of the younger guys could have developed more this year but were put on the backburner in order to just showcase 6 or 7 guys. I do believe that Wardle wants to look elsewhere and that is reflected in the lack of playing time/development of the underclassmen. I really thought Botz would get enough minutes to develop his three point shot, something we could desperately use, and I thought Tevin could develop into a similar role as Love as an off the bench ball handler but he barely played at all. Not to mention Small and Kanter being used sparingly, they both really impressed me in their limited time on the court. |
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Post by jonnyindepere on Mar 12, 2015 18:11:05 GMT -6
I stand corrected, it is the four seniors. Which is still true to my point.
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Post by ramsfan920 on Mar 13, 2015 5:32:44 GMT -6
We caught a huge break I think by uic beating oakland. Had oakland won the way they shoot 3s I think it would have been nine in a row in terms of semifinal losses. The only big games we seem to win away from home are when teams are missing key players like when forbes was out with the flu at cleveland st last year or when we play a team that lacks talent. The Miami win this year wasn't really that big of a win as they ended up losing to teams like easter Kentucky at home and wake forest on the road. Plus miamis "big" wins at the time were against florida and Illinois two teams that won't be dancing this year.
As much grief as I gave alec for not showing up in big games the presence of him on the court made Skyes special. Without a second great player this year it was all dependent on our other players hitting outside shots and they falled at that more often than that. Skyes is a great one on one player and I think that is why he can excel in the NBA because they won't be able to double him there.
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Post by shooting the J on Mar 13, 2015 5:52:03 GMT -6
We caught a huge break I think by uic beating oakland. Had oakland won the way they shoot 3s I think it would have been nine in a row in terms of semifinal losses. The only big games we seem to win away from home are when teams are missing key players like when forbes was out with the flu at cleveland st last year or when we play a team that lacks talent. The Miami win this year wasn't really that big of a win as they ended up losing to teams like easter Kentucky at home and wake forest on the road. Plus miamis "big" wins at the time were against florida and Illinois two teams that won't be dancing this year. As much grief as I gave alec for not showing up in big games the presence of him on the court made Skyes special. Without a second great player this year it was all dependent on our other players hitting outside shots and they falled at that more often than that. Skyes is a great one on one player and I think that is why he can excel in the NBA because they won't be able to double him there. Oakland is really poor away from home. Your giving them too much credit. |
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Post by Fanforever on Mar 13, 2015 9:56:46 GMT -6
We lost the game due to poor shooting. Love shot 1-10 and you can't win when your shooting guard is only hitting 10% of their shot attempts. My hope is with an offseason of shooting Small and Francis will be better and the addition for the recruits will offset the lack of a shot blocker.
So i am predicting we will finish 3rd in the conference as we will have more balance.
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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Mar 14, 2015 10:35:58 GMT -6
Valpo at home scored 54 points. They shot 37.5% from the field and 27.8% from deep. Their mostly highly regarded player, Alec Peters, was 3-13 from the field including 1-8 from deep. When GB lost to them in the ARC two years ago on a buzzer beater the score was 70-69. This team was built to play defense and win through defense.
If you throw sophomore year Kam Cerroni or junior year Brenan Cougill out there does the shooting improve? Probably yes. Does the defense stay the same? Probably not. Just adding more shooting isn't the answer. The mantra of this team is compete, defend and rebound. CDR, CDR, CDR. These guys competed, they certainly defended and they were plus 5 rebounding on a team that was plus 8 for the year.
It didn't help that Love and Mays combined for 4-24 from the field and 1-10 from deep in this game. Add in Mays with 5 turnovers and there goes the game. Mays is one of the ten best players in the league and layed a total egg when it counted. A guy who had shown an ability all year to drive in from the elbow and score going off glass, something he couldn't do when he arrived at GB. A guy that all year was making running hook shots over his left shoulder from the left box/baseline, something he couldn't do when he arrived at GB. A guy who had extended his shooting range and was 4-9 in the four prior games from deep, something he never did when he arrived in GB. Wardle played the guys who got them there and in some cases they had bad games. Valpo wasn't winning that game until guys on GB started to turn over the ball leading to easy buckets. If they control the turnovers, they control the tempo and maybe don't have the bad shots those guys missed trying to force their way back into the game.
The team is based on defending and rebounding. As they win with that style they will get upstream on recruiting and bring in guys who can also shoot but play their defensive style. These guys currently end up at higher level schools but more success from GB will bring them in. Just throwing everything out that this team was built on and recruiting shooters isn't entirely going to help in my opinion.
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