Brandon Wood Update

Wood on the drive

Disclaimer: I will do my best to stay objective in writing any updates regarding Wood's future.  I do wish him the best with whatever decision he arrives at.  Much of what you are about to read comes from message board posts and personal messages I have received from Anthony Wood, Brandon's father, who has graciously given me permission to write about Brandon and the process he is currently going through.

The odds of Brandon returning to Valpo are quite bleak at the moment for several reasons.  There is no question about Brandon's offensive capabilities.  He has led Valpo in scoring the past two years, he was tied for the team lead in assist this past year, and is clearly capable of scoring from anywhere on the court.  He has proved those things and, according to Anthony Wood, these are not qualities that are in question about Brandon by the NBA people.  What they want to see is how Brandon is at "matching up defensively against bigger, stronger and NBA ready players is the number one concern along with the ability to play with and against other NBA ready players on a night in and night out basis."

What the scouts want to see

This is red flag number one.  I don't really see how this is possible in the Horizon League next season.  With Norris Cole being gone and the possibility of Shelvin Mack leaving Butler that really only leaves a guy like Ray McCullum Jr. as the best player at Brandon's position.  Playing in a major conference like the Big Ten would put Brandon up against these bigger, stronger, more NBA ready guards on a more consistent basis.  Valpo and the Horizon League just can't offer the same competition next season.

Ready for red flag number 2?  It's a big one.  In a message from Anthony Wood received late Monday (4/25) evening, Brandon is in the process of scheduling "Official Visits" with both Purdue University and Michigan State University to take place in the next week or so.  For this to happen, it tells me that there is mutual interest from all parties.  I'm told the visit with Purdue will probably happen first this week, and the visit with MSU will most likely take place next week.

The Valparaiso coaching staff has not issued Brandon any kind of deadline for making his decision on whether or not he will transfer, but I'm told Brandon is taking this is into consideration and will not drag things out longer then need be.

My two sense.  The NBA is full of guys who only have one job, score points (Kyle Korver, Mike Bibby, Eddie House, Mike Miller these are just the first few that came to mind that would play a similar position as Brandon).  There aren't many guys in the league outside of a few big men who are in the Association because they can defend.  With that being said, Brandon can prove to the NBA scouts that he is an offensive force by staying at Valpo.  He would be the focus of every team's defense that VU would go up against, and if he could score 20-25ppg that would mean more to me (the furthest person from an NBA scout) then would scoring say 8-10ppg at a Big Ten school where everything will be new (again trying hard not to be too biased).

Whatever decision he comes to, I do wish Brandon the best and would like to thank him for the couple years he spent at Valpo helping this program succeed in the Horizon League.  Please feel free to leave any comments, and if you'd like an email alert when a new post is made at sectionee.blogspot.com please put your email address in the space provided above this post and click submit.

New Crusaders 2011-2012

The Crusaders had four scholarships available (and potentially a fifth with the possiblity of Brandon Wood being on the move) with which to improve upon a team that finished the season 23-12 and a disappointing fourth in the Horizon League.  The Crusader coaching staff have had the difficult challenge of finding guys to fill the void left by Cory Johnson, Howard Little, and Michael Rogers.  So far, so good.

Dino Jakolis

Today, Coach Drew inked LaLumiere guard/forward Dino Jakolis as his third recruit of the season to go along with JUCO transfer Richie Edwards and Virginia Tech transfer Ben Boggs.  Lets take a look at what each player brings to the table and how/if they can be an immediate help to the 2011-2012 Crusader team.

Dino Jakolis is a 6'7'', 215 pound, kid from Croatia who spent last year playing for the 17-9 LaLumiere Lakes.   Jakolis is a small forward who can score and rebound.  He averaged over 12 points per game and 4 rebounds this past season for the Lakers.  Hopefully he can put on a few pounds of muscle and lend the Crusaders a much needed hand inside both defending the other team's big guys and rebounding.  Jakolis has range up to 22 feet and has a nice pull up jumper off the dribble.  Jakolis has played on the Croatian national team so he has big game experience.  He is ranked 86th at his position according to ESPN.

Richie Edwards

Justin "Richie" Edwards comes in as JUCO transfer from Hillsborough Community College in Tampa.  He is built similarly to Jakolis at 6'8'' 215 pounds.  Edwards averaged 15.6ppg and 7.7rpg this past season and hit 40% of his three point attempts.  "Richie is a high post four-man who is very offensive minded," Hillsborough coach Byron Samuels said. "He is working on being more of a complete player and to become a better rebounder, but he'll be able to help Valparaiso right away."  Sounds like he will be able to step in and fill the void left by Johnson, and probably be a more potent outside shooter then Johnson ever was.  I'm hearing he will also lead the Crusaders in tatoo's as he is well inked.  Edwards was ranked 28th at his position coming out of high school by ESPN.

Ben Boggs

Ben Boggs is the third recruit and another transfer.  Boggs comes to Valpo from Virginia Tech.  He is a 6'3'' shooting guard who was ranked 56th at his position coming out of high school by ESPN.  Boggs will look to step into a already crowded backcourt and look to stretch the opposing defense.

So far this has been a solid recruiting class for Coach Drew.  He has brought in several guys with collegiate playing experience as well as a third guy who has played in national competitions.  With one more recruit to go, lets hope Coach Drew and his staff can find another big body to play in the paint.  Let's also hope they get lucky and Brandon Wood decides it is in his best interest to return to Valparaiso.

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FYI: Basketball Team Banquet

Picked this up off the team's facebook page. 

Monday, April 25 6-8pm
Community Room in the Christopher Center

Make plans now to attend the Valpo Men's Basketball year end team banquet. This year's event will be held in the beautiful Community Room of the Christopher Center on Valpo's campus. Cost to attend is only $20 and includes dinner. If you would like to reserve a seat, please contact Sherry Williams in the Basketball Office at 219-464-5254 or at sherry.williams@valpo.edu.

A brief interview with CSU Assistant Coach Larry DeSimpelare

Cleveland State Assistant Coach Larry DeSimpelare was kind of enough to take a few minutes of his time to answer a couple of my questions regarding his CSU Vikings as well as our Valparaiso Crusaders.  Coach DeSimpelare has been coaching at the collegiate level for 20 years and has been working with current CSU head coach Gary Waters for the past 14 years.  According to DeSimpelare's bio he works hard with the guards, defense, is responsible for helping with game preparation, and is the primary person in charge of scouting and recruiting.  Again, a big thank you to Coach DeSimpelare for taking a few minutes to briefly answer my questions!

Aaron Pogue

The first thing DeSimpelare mentioned, before answering any of the questions, was about the great respect he has for Coach Drew, his staff, and the Crusader team.  The first question I asked had to do with CSU losing the Horizon League Player of the Year in Norris Cole to graduation and which returning players would be expected to fill the void.  DeSimpelare mentioned three guys: Aaron Pogue, D'Aundray Brown, and Trey Harmon.  All three of these guys are upperclassmen.  Brown and Harmon are both guards and Pogue is a forward.  Brown, who is listed as a senior, must have taken a medical redshirt last season.  Harmon and Pogue both played significant roles for the Vikings last season averaging a combined 21ppg and 10rpg. 

The next few questions didn't reveal a whole lot.  Those questions dealt with where he focuses his recruiting efforts and whether he thought CSU would be competing for the top spots in the HL next season.  I also asked him if CSU has any incoming freshmen the rest of the league should be worried about and got a pretty funny response:  "Hopefully.  Freshman only look good on paper." 

"Great offensive team"

Finally we got to the couple questions about our Crusaders.  As we all know, Valpo lost quite a bit of fire power in the graduations of Cory Johnson, Howard Little, and Michael Rogers.  These graduations plus the possibility of losing Brandon Wood to the NBA or transfer have me, and other Crusader fans, a bit nervous about the upcoming season.  Coach had some encouraging words, "Valpo is always a good team and one of the best offensive teams in the league.  They have a lot of really good players coming back...they will be fine."  Finally, as a key member of an opposing coaching staff who's job it is to help get his guys prepared for the games, I asked what they focus on when preparing to take on a Homer Drew coached Crusader team.  DeSimpelare's response, "Guys that can shoot the ball.  Great offensive team."

Hopefully, we'll have a few more of these brief interviews with the opponents throughout the Summer.  Thanks again Coach DeSimpelare and good luck to you and the CSU Vikings whenever you aren't playing our Crusaders!