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Valpo at SLU


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Valpo is returning all starters and is adding Bobby Capobianco-Indiana transfer, Alex Rossi-UC Berkeley transfer who will play at the beginning of the season if given an NCAA waiver or second semester, LaVonte Dority-South Florida transfer and Jordan Coleman-transfer from U of Hawaii through Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville. All of the last three played HS ball in the Chicago area and Valpo being within 50 miles of downtown Chicago and 35 miles from some parts of Chicago helped get these transfers along with having former U of Illinois star, Roger Powell Jr., from the Joliet area, as an assistant coach.

Last season Valpo won the Horizon League by 2 games and beat Butler 3 times, the last time by 19.

Plain and simple you are going to hear a bunch of bravado from Butler fans because they had 2 great players and a great system that got them to the final game twice. Last year BU fell way way down. They were seeded 5th in the Horizon Tourney. Butler fans are going to tell you that with the addition of Rotnei Clarke-Arkansas transfer and freshman Kellen Dunham from Pendleton Heights HS near Indy that they have solved all their terrible shooting woes from last year. One ESPN story said it loud and clear that Butler's shooting woes are over. Just my opinion--until they do it on the floor and the shooters can get open for enough looks this Butler team has a lot to prove.

Back to Valpo--I'm looking at Valpo's RPI to be in the 75 or lower area. I believe that the Horizon League is there for the taking since Detroit lost more than 50% of their scoring. But I never count the chicks too early and I say Valpo has a lot of new talent to meld in with the old and Bryce Drew will have to show a lot of skill again in his early coaching career.

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Bobby Capobianco was a player SLU was looking at. Not sure how interested he was in SLU, but then IU swooped in.

Lavonte Dority went to the same high school as Mike McCall (SLU guard for the Valpo fan). They played together growing up. I think Dority had been the more highly regarded recruit, but then McCall blew up his senior year after he had signed with SLU.

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during the CBE classic last year, the top four teams played two games prior at home, not in KC. I wonder if valpo is part of those 2 "build up" home games. It would be cool for MM to play a former teammate, and for drew to return to his parents home town.

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during the CBE classic last year, the top four teams played two games prior at home, not in KC. I wonder if valpo is part of those 2 "build up" home games. It would be cool for MM to play a former teammate, and for drew to return to his parents home town.

-are Drew's parents from stl? this would be a home game for us, wouldn't it?

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yes homer drew played for webster groves high, and last year, the four top teams were... ND CAL mizzou and I forgot the other, mizzou played two home games right before playing the cbe at kc, tune up games pretty much, but they were part of the cbe. I wonder is valpo is part of those tune home home games.

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yes homer drew played for webster groves high, and last year, the four top teams were... ND CAL mizzou and I forgot the other, mizzou played two home games right before playing the cbe at kc, tune up games pretty much, but they were part of the cbe. I wonder is valpo is part of those tune home home games.

-i was thinking 'Drew' was in reference to incoming SLU frosh Jared Drew

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-i was thinking 'Drew' was in reference to incoming SLU frosh Jared Drew

http://www.valpofanz...time=1343078395

FYI, Homer Drew coached at Valpo for 22 years. The team made 10 NCAA tourneys during Homer's time. His son, Scott Drew, coached the Crusaders for 1 year and then took over the head coaching job at Baylor after the Dave Bliss fiasco and the murder of a Baylor player by another Baylor player. Bliss was caught on tape discussing blaming the dead player for improper payments to players that Bliss orchestrated. After 6 seasons as asst coach and associate head coach under his father, Bryce Drew took over as head coach last season. His team finished first in the Horizon League standings with a 2 game advantage. They lost in the HL championship game to Detroit-Mercy, who lost their first round NCAA game.

Homer Drew is a 1962 graduate of Webster Groves HS and attended William Jewell College and graduated in 1966. He coached as an asst for Dale Brown at LSU. He was head coach at Bethel College in Mishawaka, IN (South Bend area) and Indiana U.-South Bend before taking the Valpo job.

Bryce Drew played at Valparaiso HS and was 4th in the state in 1994 losing to South Bend Adams in double OT in the famous, single class, "Hoosier Hysteria" basketball tournament.

Then of course he played for his dad at Valpo and ended up the overall points leader at Valpo. In 1998 Bryce hit "the shot" known throughout NCAA lore as the "Pacer" play that propelled Valpo over Ole Miss in their first round NCAA game and put Valpo on the map.

He was drafted in the 1st round, 16th pick by the Houston Rockets. He played 6 years in the NBA for the Rockets, Bulls and Hornets. He made $1.1 million per year in the NBA. Then Bryce played 1 year in Europe before coming back to Valpo as an asst coach under Homer.

Bryce married a New Orleans Hornets cheerleader during his NBA days. His father-in-law is the actor who played "Little Ricky" on the "I Love Lucy" TV show. We jokingly call Bryce Lucille Ball's grandson-in-law.

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http://www.valpofanz...time=1343078395

FYI, Homer Drew coached at Valpo for 22 years. The team made 10 NCAA tourneys during Homer's time. His son, Scott Drew, coached the Crusaders for 1 year and then took over the head coaching job at Baylor after the Dave Bliss fiasco and the murder of a Baylor player by another Baylor player. Bliss was caught on tape discussing blaming the dead player for improper payments to players that Bliss orchestrated. After 6 seasons as asst coach and associate head coach under his father, Bryce Drew took over as head coach last season. His team finished first in the Horizon League standings with a 2 game advantage. They lost in the HL championship game to Detroit-Mercy, who lost their first round NCAA game.

Homer Drew is a 1962 graduate of Webster Groves HS and attended William Jewell College and graduated in 1966. He coached as an asst for Dale Brown at LSU. He was head coach at Bethel College in Mishawaka, IN (South Bend area) and Indiana U.-South Bend before taking the Valpo job.

Bryce Drew played at Valparaiso HS and was 4th in the state in 1994 losing to South Bend Adams in double OT in the famous, single class, "Hoosier Hysteria" basketball tournament.

Then of course he played for his dad at Valpo and ended up the overall points leader at Valpo. In 1998 Bryce hit "the shot" known throughout NCAA lore as the "Pacer" play that propelled Valpo over Ole Miss in their first round NCAA game and put Valpo on the map.

He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Houston Rockets. He played 6 years in the NBA for the Rockets, Bulls and Hornets. He made $1.1 million per year in the NBA. Then Bryce played 3 years in Europe before coming back to Valpo as an asst coach under Homer.

True story: in 98 Valpo played at SLU (the Larry Hughes year) and SLU won but it was a close game. Dad/willie had an ongoing feud with a Mizloser, (that ****** Espenhour or something that writes into the Post all the time) and that guy was saying SLU couldn't be very good because Valpo played us so close, etc.

When we went to Atlanta for the tourney, dad sent a postcard to the Mizloser and made sure to point out what a good time we were having and that Valpo was going to the Sweet 16. Mizzou was not in the tourney that year.

That trip was also the Shoe's first exposure to Eastside, Westy and Davola. Good times.

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Question: anybody know how this CBE thing works?

Fact: last year, the CBE held four "regionals. Essentially, the big four, last year being Mizzou, Cal, Notre Dame and Georgia, got two home games as prelims or warm-ups or whatever prior to moving on to KC. All four home teams won their respective regionals. Then while the four "winners" advanced, the remaining eight teams broke off into two more "sub regionals," --- one played at Bowling Green University (one of the eight "losers" from the regionals), while the other four went back to Georgia's home arena and round-robined there (strange?). Is that the same format for this year and how does that work?

What if SLU or Kansas or Texas A&M loses one of those two prelim/regional games? Are they out of going to KC? Or is KC a guarantee for these four "bigger" teams (bigger or host whatever)? I ask only because not a single underdog won on any card last year but I don't know if that matters. And if the format holds true, where will the remaining 8 teams from this year's regional round go, if anywhere? Could they be headed back to Valpo? Better yet, who are the other eight teams, if that is indeed the number?

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Question: anybody know how this CBE thing works?

Fact: last year, the CBE held four "regionals. Essentially, the big four, last year being Mizzou, Cal, Notre Dame and Georgia, got two home games as prelims or warm-ups or whatever prior to moving on to KC. All four home teams won their respective regionals. Then while the four "winners" advanced, the remaining eight teams broke off into two more "sub regionals," --- one played at Bowling Green University (one of the eight "losers" from the regionals), while the other four went back to Georgia's home arena and round-robined there (strange?). Is that the same format for this year and how does that work?

What if SLU or Kansas or Texas A&M loses one of those two prelim/regional games? Are they out of going to KC? Or is KC a guarantee for these four "bigger" teams (bigger or host whatever)? I ask only because not a single underdog won on any card last year but I don't know if that matters. And if the format holds true, where will the remaining 8 teams from this year's regional round go, if anywhere? Could they be headed back to Valpo? Better yet, who are the other eight teams, if that is indeed the number?

The CBE is similar to the Chicago tourney we played in a few years ago. We'll play two home games as part of the "tourney". One of the opponents is Santa Clara and the other is TBD. It may be Valpo, if may not. Win or lose, we go on to KC with Kansas, Texas A&M and Wash St. I'm not sure what the other teams do but it really doesn't matter.

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True story: in 98 Valpo played at SLU (the Larry Hughes year) and SLU won but it was a close game. Dad/willie had an ongoing feud with a Mizloser, (that ****** Espenhour or something that writes into the Post all the time) and that guy was saying SLU couldn't be very good because Valpo played us so close, etc.

When we went to Atlanta for the tourney, dad sent a postcard to the Mizloser and made sure to point out what a good time we were having and that Valpo was going to the Sweet 16. Mizzou was not in the tourney that year.

That trip was also the Shoe's first exposure to Eastside, Westy and Davola. Good times.

Stephen Einspanier of Webster Groves. Huge d-bag. Apparently has tons of free time.

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Stephen Einspanier of Webster Groves. Huge d-bag. Apparently has tons of free time.

"Einspanier" is a name with a proud heritage for people of my vintage at a certain Jesuit high school. One of them is currently listed as living in Webster Groves. There was also one a generation removed, and one a generation following.

"Stephen," however, is not on the alumni list for any year.

One can only conclude that he wasn't even accepted into the legacy freshman home room and has held a grudge ever since. ;)

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-

It remains to be seen if this game is part of the CBE or just a regular buy game but either way its good news. A semi-regional, likely top 100 team, with a realistic chance of winning their conference is about as good as it gets for buy games. Kudos to the staff for making it happen.

-could valpo be a 2 for 1 candidate to avoid the buy fee and its proximity to chi and indy for MM, KC and JD?

-interesting to see in that link from katz that barron was making $350k at rhodey

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