Valparaiso Crusader's 2011-2012 Team Preview

Valparaiso University Crusaders

23-12 overall      12-6 conference               Lost in first round of the CIT to Iona

What Valpo lost:

Cory Johnson (graduated), Michael Rogers (graduated), Howard Little (graduated), Brandon Wood (transferred), Coach Homer Drew (retired)

What Valpo gained:

Ben Boggs (transfer from Virginia Tech), Will Bogan (transfer from Ole Miss), Richie Edwards (JUCO transfer), Dino Jakolis (freshman), Vashil Fernandez (freshman), Coach Bryce Drew (promoted)

Roster Breakdown (*indicates my projected starter):

Hrvoje Vucic, Jr/So, 7’1’’ Center: Valpo fans are looking for Vucic to become a regular contributor this season.  His height could provide a real presence on defense for a Valpo team that hasn’t had a true center in the starting lineup in some time.  While I don't think he will be a starter, I do believe we will see much more of Hrvoje this year.  Vuch answered some questions and spoke about his goals for the upcoming season recently for SectionEE.

*Erik Buggs, Sr/Jr, 5’10’’ Point Guard: Buggs does a nice job running the point for the Crusaders.  He had a nice assist to turnover ratio last season.  I think Erik will get the first crack at the starting point position.  However, Buggs was an offensive liability last season though, if he can’t find a way to attract a defender expect to see his minutes decrease with the depth VU has at the guard position.  More on Buggs and his aspirations for the upcoming season here.

Tommy Kurth, Jr/So, 6’1’’ Guard: Kurth sat out all of last season with injury.  I'm not real familiar with Kurth, so I will just say I think he will need to work hard in practice to grab some of the important game minutes with the depth we have at the guard position.

*Jay Harris, So, 6’1’’ Guard:  A combo guard who can light it up from long range.  Harris hasn’t met a shot he doesn’t like.  Last year he had some trouble with the turnover as he adjusted to life at a D1 program, but was playing much better by year's end.  I expect Harris to stretch the defense and take another big step towards fulfilling his potential.  Jay will start for the Crusaders but only as long as turnovers don't plague him like they did for most of last year.

Matt Kenney, Jr, 6’3’’ Guard: A big guard who has played quality defense and has found ways to contribute on the offensive end.  He is a true hustle player with great hops who I think will step right into the role that Howard Little played last season (good rebounder and defender).  We would like to see Kenney’s shooting percentage from range improve this season (16%).

*Ryan Broekhoff, Jr, 6’6’’ Shooting Guard: A lanky guard who can fill it up from the outside.  Broekhoff will probably be the focus of many opposing defenses.  One of the best shooters in the conference look for Broekhoff to lead the Crusaders in points per game this year.  Ryan is also a very good rebounder and led the team in blocked shots (19) last season.

*Kevin Van Wijk, Jr, 6’8’’ Power Forward: Van Wijk biggest challenge is his own health.  If healthy, I suspect Van Wijk will have another good season for VU.  A banger in the paint who isn’t afraid to rough it up with opposing big men, Van Wijk brings a tough guy attitude to the team.  An area for KVW to work on would be defending without fouling.  A healthy Van Wijk would go a long way in helping the Crusaders find success this season.

Ben Boggs, Jr, 6’4’’ Guard: Boggs brings another shooter to the lineup for Coach Drew.  Here is more on our Virginia Tech transfer.  He may start come Horizon League season if he doesn't end up red shirting.

Will Bogan, Jr, 6’1’’ Guard: A combo guard with some real scoring ability.  Great court vision and the willingness to put his teammates first make him even more dangerous.  Bogan comes in through the graduation transfer rule from Ole Miss.  Read more from Bogan in our interview with him here.

*Richie Edwards, Jr, 6’8’’ Power Forward: Edwards comes to Valpo after a stellar two year career at JUCO Hillsborough C.C.  He has a nice mid range jumper and is a good rebounder.   Edwards will undoubtedly see big minutes in the front court.

Dino Jakolis, Fr, 6’4’’ Guard/Small Forward:  Still awaiting his name to show up on the official roster.  Jakolis is a big guard with a nice jump shot.   Jakolis comes to Valpo from prep school LaLumiere where he played against very good competition on a regular basis.  For more on Jakolis check out our interview here.  Dino will need to really prove his value with the team being very deep at his position.  A year learning the D1 game and a chance to work out with his coaches and teammates to put on some muscle weight and Dino will be a solid contributor come next year.

Vashil Fernandez, Fr, 6’11’’ Center:  Fernandez comes in with very raw basketball skills.  The big man is full of potential. I suspect Fernandez to see plenty of time on the court this season as he should be able to establish himself on the defensive end of the court immediately.  Rebounding, shot blocking, and offensive put backs will get Fernandez through and establish him as an up and coming player in the Horizon League.  For more on Fernandez click here. With his big body, Vashil could find himself in the starting lineup at some point this season.

Griffyn Carpenter, Fr, 6' Guard: A walk-on to the team this year, Carpenter comes from a small local high school in Triton.  He has led his teams on deep state tournament runs the past couple of years.  Carpenter is a great shooter and could see some playing time to help stretch the opposing defense.  Griffyn answered some questions for us earlier in the Summer, read it here.

Bryce Drew, Head Coach: Drew has made his impact felt immediately.  Getting a verbal commitment from a highly ranked local kid is something that Valpo hasn’t been able to do in sometime.  Fans are looking forward to a new era in Crusader hoops.  It should be interesting to see which starting Coach Drew has settled on come the middle of January.  He has a lot of solid players and could go with just about any combination of 8 or 9 guys.

Team Strengths:

Valpo should once again be one of the deepest teams in the HL this year, especially at the guard position.  VU boasts several tall bodies, a luxury not seen here in some time, so defending the paint should be a strength.  Valpo has been a very good shooting team, expect that to continue.  Last year VU held a slight rebounding edge over their opponents, with new big bodies, I expect team rebounding to be another strength of this year’s club.  Coach Drew should also have the ability to go big or small with his lineups depending on matchups. 

Team Weaknesses:

Many new faces could cause the team some issues when it comes to gelling on the court as a group.  I expect by the time league play begins any issue with this will most likely be resolved.  Along with all the new players is a new head coach who may or may not bring an entire different style of play.  While we have some tall guys we don’t have a lot of girth.  An opposing big man with some weight and muscle could push our bigs around if help doesn’t come quick enough.

How Valpo will fare in the Horizon League this year:

I suspect Valpo will finish in the top half of the league again this year.  I think this team is one year away from doing some special things.  I will pick Valpo to finish 4^th in the league this season and host a HL tournament game.  The team could surprise Horizon League opponents and this writer if they manage to gel as a productive unit.  I think another visit to the CIT or CBI is in line for this season, which is not a bad thing.

The Nickname's are in...

 You have submitted your selections in our Nickname Hrvoje Vucic contest.  Here is what we have.  Please vote for one of the nicknames by leaving your selection in the comment section of this post.  Voting will last from now until 4pm Central Time on July 19th.  In the event of a tie, we will eliminate those not involved and then do a revote.  Don't forget, the winner takes home a stylish Valpo Travel Mug (photo available here)!

1. div ubojica  - the giant assassin....works on two levels...he is going to be a gigantic killer this year, but he will also kill the other horizon league giants
2. Centar  - translation  Center
3. Irv
4. Bob
5. Junior
6. Harvey
7. T.P.O.T.T  - translation Tallest Player On The Team
8. Big V
9. H-Vuc
10. Vuch
11. Tattoo - As Hrvoje sounds a lot like Herve, and the most famous Herve was most known as "Tattoo," (I know it is an "old school" reference, it's a natural that he be called "Tattoo." And with his wingspan maybe his teammates can go "da plane, da plane."

Nickname Hrvoje Vucic Contest

SectionEE's nickname Hrvoje Vucic contest will go from 12pm on July 13th and end on July 17th at 9pm Central Time.  In order to submit a nickname you must "Like" the SectionEE Facebook page and put your entry there.  Find our Facebook page by clicking here!  The winner of the contest will receive a brand new travel mug with the "Valpo fund" logo on it.  I'm sure this will be a highly coveted prize, so take some time and come up with a good nickname for our Croatian big man!

Getting to know Hrvoje Vucic

Croatian big man Hrvoje Vucic agreed to answer some questions for me recently.  Before we get to the Q/A a little bit about Vucic.  Vucic has three years of eligibility remaining after red shirting his first season back in 2009-2010.  Hrvoje's action was limited last year.  He saw action in 11 games last year, hit 5 of his 9 field goal attempts, and sent four opponent shots to the block party.  This year I suspect we will be seeing a lot more Hrvoje patrolling the paint.  Let's get to the good stuff:

HC:  Can you tell us the events that lead up to you coming to Valparaiso University?
Vucic: Well I realized that I wouldn't develop my bball skills and knowledge back in Croatia so i wanted to try out something new which in this case was coming to the states.
HC: What other schools recruited you?
Vucic: No D1 schools just a couple preps and high schools I was supposed to go to but I chose Valpo cause a couple Croats graduated from here so that makes it a lot easier for me.

HC: I heard a rumor that you've added some muscle weight this off-season, any truth to that? What is your height and weight currently?

I suspect this is what Hrvoje looks like now

Vucic: Yeah when I came in I was around 7 feet and 208 lbs, I added some muscle weight and I am about 245lbs right now.
HC: What role do you expect to play on this years club?
Vucic: I am hoping I will start this year, that is my #1 goal for this season personally, but what I want the most is for the team to win the Horizon League and make it to the NCAA
HC: How will a Coach Bryce team play differently then a Coach Homer team (faster pace, different D)?
Vucic: I am sure we'll play a lot faster and run fast breaks a lot. I think we will do better than last year just cause we have so many guys that can play and I think coach Bryce will use more than 9 guys in his rotation.
HC: Did you play a role in bringing Dino to Valpo? What advice would you give an incoming freshman who is from overseas?
Vucic: Ummm coach Bryce asked me about him couple times, I said he was pretty good so if that helped I guess I did my job, lol. But my advice to him is to be patient like I was and his time will come.


HC: You and Vashil could be quite the force on the inside in the Horizon League this season, will VU block records fall this year?
Vucic: Well we are definitely a taller team this year than we were last year, we have Vashil and me, and we also brought in Richie who is 6'8 so I am sure we will be better in segments such as rebounding and inside scoring but also low block defending.
HC: Any pregame rituals or superstitions that you can share with us?
Vucic: Umm not that I can think of. We just kinda go out there an d have fun, and win games of course, lol.
HC: Any nicknames?
Vucic:  Not really, now that you asked we do need to work on that...haha.


Big thanks to Hrvoje for taking some of his time to answer these questions.  Now readers, we have a contest.  Hrvoje needs a nickname.  Go to the SectionEE Facebook page for the contest!

As always if you'd like to receive an email alert when a new post is made just put your email address in the space provided above this post and click submit.

The newest Crusader: Will Bogan

All Valpo fans recently learned about the NCAA transfer loophole for graduating students seeking a Master degree in a program that their institution does not offer.  Shortly after losing Brandon Wood to Michigan State, the Crusader welcomed Will Bogan in from the University of Mississippi.  Like Wood, Bogan will be eligible to play immediately, but unlike Wood he will have two years of eligibility left.  You see, Bogan took full advantage of his time at Ole Miss completing his undergrad in three years!

Will took a few minutes of his time to answer some of my questions to help myself and all Valpo fans get a better understanding of the new guy on the team.

HC: How's the wrist? What kind of injury did you sustain?
Bogan: The wrist is all good now. I fractured a bone in my left hand.
HC: What led you to Valpo, besides the Master degree?
Bogan: Aside from the Master degree, I really liked the coaching staff, players, style of play. It seems like an all around good fit for me.
HC: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your game? What should Valpo fans expect to see when Will Bogan is on the court?

Bogan: Valpo fans can expect to get a competitor who plays hard all the time and wants to win. I am a combo guard who can play the one or the two spot. They can expect to see a guy who plays defense along with a solid offensive skill set.
HC: We have a plethora of guards, should be some real good competition for playing time. What has Coach Drew told you about your role on the team?
Bogan: Coach Drew recruited me as a combo to play both on and off the ball.
HC: Valpo's roster is a bit undersized, any chance you can grow 7 or 8 inches by the fall?
Bogan: Haha I wish I could grow that much..I guess we are just going to have to get out and run and shoot a lot of 3's.
HC: What schools recruited you out of high school?
Bogan: Out of high school, I was recruited by Air Force, Stanford, Ole Miss, and a number of other mid majors. This second time around my decision came down to UC Davis, Utah, and Valpo.
HC: Any nicknames or pregame rituals you can let us in on?
Bogan: I do not really have any pregame rituals but if we get on a winning streak I will keep doing the same pregame routine..so I guess you could say I'm a little superstitious.
HC: So you're from Idaho, lot to do out there?
Bogan: I am from Idaho and I love it there. There is plenty to do.
HC: Anything else you'd like the Valpo fans to know about you?
Bogan: Something kind of ironic..my high school colors are the same as Valpo..I tried to get away from them but I just come right back haha. I'm excited to get there and do big things.


Bogan is listed as a 6'1'' guard.  Watching this video from his high school years, he seems to be a very capable scorer from anywhere on the court who should provide the Crusaders and Coach Drew with yet another threat from the outside.  I wonder if Hrvoje Vucic will give up his #3?Thanks Will for taking out some of your time to let us know a bit more about you.

As always, if you'd like to receive an email alert when a new post is made simply put your email address in the space provided above this post and click submit!