Valparaiso (6-7, 0-2 MVC)
at Drake (10-3, 1-1 MVC)

Game No. 14 – Thursday, Dec. 29, 8 p.m. CT
Knapp Center (7,152) – Des Moines, Iowa

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: After closing out the nonconference portion of the season with a winning record in nonleague games, the Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will begin the continuous portion of Missouri Valley Conference play with a post-Christmas visit to Des Moines, Iowa, where the S’s may be silent, but the Knapp Center will be buzzing as the Beacons match up with MVC preseason favorite Drake. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.

Last Time Out: Valpo closed out the nonconference portion of the season with a 77-67 victory over Stonehill on the program’s Community Day – a special holiday-themed afternoon matinee leading into Christmas. Nick Edwards turned in a double-double of 20 points and 12 assists as one of four Beacons who scored in double figures. Valpo led by 26 with 5:15 remaining in a game that was not nearly as close as the 10-point margin would indicate.

Following the Beacons: Television – CBS Sports Network – Alex Del Barrio (play-by-play) and King McClure (analyst)  

Radio – 95.1 FM, WVUR, ValpoAthletics.com, TuneIn Radio App – Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Brandon Vickrey (analyst)

Twitter updates - @ValpoBasketball

Links for video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.

Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (103-103) is in his seventh season as the head coach of the men’s basketball program in 2022-2023. Twice during his tenure, Valpo has upset Top-25 opponents, defeating Drake and Rhode Island at the ARC. Valpo has four wins over AP Top 25 teams in program history, and two have come under Lottich. In 2019-2020, Valpo became the first team in the history of Arch Madness, the annual Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis, to reach the title game after playing in the opening round by winning three games in three days. Lottich, hired as the 22nd head coach of the Valpo men’s basketball program in April 2016, graduated from Stanford University in 2004 and New Trier High School (Illinois) in 2000.

Series Notes: The two teams have split the 16 all-time matchups in a series that began in 1944-45. Since Valpo’s arrival in the Missouri Valley Conference, Drake holds a 6-4 head-to-head edge. The Bulldogs won both matchups last season, 73-66 on Dec. 2 in Des Moines and 71-65 on Feb. 23 in Northwest Indiana. On Feb. 7, 2021, Valpo upstaged the No. 25 Bulldogs 74-57 at the ARC for the fourth win over an AP Top 25 team in program history, knocking Drake from the ranks of the unbeaten. That came a day after a narrow 80-77 Drake victory as the two teams met on consecutive days. Valpo is 1-4 all-time in Des Moines with the victory coming on Feb. 24, 2018 by a 69-64 score.

The Season of Giving

• Nick Edwards displayed his holiday spirit the week leading into Christmas by dishing out 13 assists on Dec. 18 vs. Elon and 12 on Dec. 21 vs. Stonehill.
• Edwards is one of four players nationally with multiple games of 12+ assists this season, joining Yuri Collins of Saint Louis, Tyler Robertson of Portland and Markquis Nowell of Kansas State. His 13-assist game ranks tied for ninth nationally and his 12-assist game ranks tied for 13^th, as of Dec. 22.
• Prior to Dec. 18, the last time a Valpo player had 12 or more assists in a single game was Bryce Drew on Jan. 21, 1995 vs. Eastern Illinois. Now, Edwards has turned the trick in consecutive contests.
• In the game against Stonehill, he posted a double-double with 18 of his 20 points coming after halftime, when he knocked down six of his seven field-goal attempts. This marked Valpo’s second double-double of the season and first since Ben Krikke had 18 points and 13 rebounds in the Nov. 7 season opener at Toledo.
• Edwards became just the 11^th player in the nation with a 20-point, 10-assist game this season. He became the first player in the nation to notch 20 or more points and 12 or more assists in a game this year. The last time that happened nationally was Yuri Collins of Saint Louis on Feb. 2, 2022 at George Mason. No Missouri Valley Conference player had achieved that feat in the last decade prior to Edwards.
• Edwards had Valpo’s first 20&10 game since Kobe King on Feb. 5, 2022 vs. Indiana State (24 points, 11 rebounds).
• Edwards posted the first points-assists double-double by a Valpo player since Ron Howard (15 points, 10 assists) on Jan. 24, 2005.
• Edwards also swiped four steals and collected six rebounds in the win over Stonehill. He became just the second player in the nation this season with 20 or more points, 10 or more assists, five or rebounds and four or more steals, joining UConn’s Tristen Newton (Nov. 15 vs. Buffalo).
• He finished just three assists shy of a longstanding program record for dimes in a single game by dishing out 13 in the Dec. 18 victory over Elon.
• He became the first member of the program to give out 13 or more assists in a single game since Todd Smith on Feb. 22, 1986 vs. Eastern Illinois.
• Edwards became just the 10^th player in the nation to notch 13 or more assists in a single game in 2022-23.
• Prior to this season, only one Valpo player over the previous decade (Deion Lavender, twice) had accrued 10 or more assists in a game. Now, two different Beacons have done so this year with Edwards joining Darius DeAviero (Nov. 13 vs. Western Michigan).
• This marks the first season where two different Valpo players have had double-figure assist games since 2004-05 (Ron Howard and Seth Colclasure).
• The program record of 16 assists in a game came courtesy of John McIlvain on Jan. 13, 1983 at UIC.
• The 13 assists nearly doubled Edwards’ previous season best of seven that came on Dec. 6 vs. Trinity Christian.

On the Upswing

• Over the last four games, Edwards is averaging 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 2.5 steals per outing.
• Over the first nine games of the season, Edwards averaged 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.9 steals per contest.
• Edwards has played at least 25 minutes in each of the last four games including 39 minutes in each of the last two contests (since then starting point guard Preston Ruedinger was ruled out for the season with an injury).
• Edwards saw fewer than 12 minutes of action in three straight games – Nov. 19 vs. Incarnate Word, Nov. 23 at Samford and Nov. 25 vs. South Dakota State. He also played just 11 minutes on Dec. 4 vs. Murray State.

Lottich Leaps J.M. Christiansen

• Valpo head coach Matt Lottich moved into sole possession of third in program history when he garnered his 103^rd career victory on Dec. 21 vs. Stonehill. That triumph helped him snap a tie with J.M. Christiansen (1929-1941) for third all-time.
• Lottich reached the 100-win milestone with an 81-79 overtime victory over James Madison on Nov. 27 in Savannah, Ga.
• The former Stanford sharpshooter became just the fourth head coach in program history to get to 100 wins, joining Homer Drew, Bryce Drew and J.M. Christiansen.
• Lottich is now trailing only the Drews on the program’s all-time wins list.

Name                          Years                                      Wins

Homer Drew               1988-2002; 2003-2011           371

Bryce Drew                 2011-2016                               124

Matt Lottich                2017-pres.                               103

J.M. Christiansen       1929-1941                               102

King Approaching A Thousand

• Kobe King is up to 936 career points, just 64 points away from reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.
• King has scored 550 with the Brown & Gold after registering 386 over his three seasons at Wisconsin.
• If he reaches the milestone, King would become the second Valpo player to do so this season. Ben Krikke achieved the feat in the Nov. 13 home-opening victory over Western Michigan.
• Prior to this year, the last Valpo player to join that esteemed group was current graduate assistant Tevonn Walker exactly five years prior to Krikke’s milestone – Nov. 13, 2017 vs. Trinity Christian.
• King has scored in double figures in 32 of his 36 games in a Valpo uniform, including each of the first 13 games this season.
• The former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball has scored 15 points or more in 11 of his 13 games this season. He has five 20-point outputs this year and has scored 15 or more points in 21 of his 36 games with the Beacons.
• King is up to 37 career double-figure scoring efforts including his tenure at Wisconsin.
• At the end of last season, King became Valpo’s second All-Newcomer Team choice since joining the league and first since Bakari Evelyn in 2017-18.
• He appeared on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays after a three-quarter court buzzer-beater on Dec. 11 vs. Charlotte, a play that ranked No. 9 on the popular countdown that evening.

Krikke Cracks Top 20 

• Ben Krikke cracked the top 20 on Valpo’s all-time scoring list when he scored the first basket of the game on Dec. 18 vs. Elon.
• Krikke enters the Dec. 29 game at Drake with 1,212 career points after recently surpassing Lance Barker (1991-1995; 1,196) for 20^th in the Valpo record book.
• Darryl Ashby is 19^th at 1,247, meaning Krikke is 35 points away from moving up another place.
• Krikke also reached a milestone on Dec. 6 vs. Trinity Christian when he played his 100^th collegiate game.
• Krikke’s scoring has been held in check over the last two games, which have produced two of his three lowest scoring outputs of the season – Dec. 18 vs. Elon (seven points) and Dec. 21 vs. Stonehill (10 points). Prior to that, he had scored 15 or more in five straight and 15+ in nine of the season’s first 11 games.

Arc Turnaround

• Entering the Dec. 18 game vs. Elon, the 3-point arc had not been particularly kind to Valpo on either end of the floor over the course of the season. However, the 3-point shooting and 3-point defense both experienced a turnaround in the win over the Phoenix.
• Valpo knocked in a season-most 10 made triples while shooting 40 percent or better from long distance for the third time this year. This was the squad’s first game with 10 or more made 3s since last season’s MVC Tournament victory over Evansville (10).
• Elon made just three of its 27 3-point tries, good for just 11.1 percent. That represented Valpo’s best effort in terms of 3-point defense since Feb. 23 of last season vs. Drake (10 percent).
• The success at the 3-point arc on both ends of the floor continued on Dec. 21 vs. Stonehill, when Valpo knocked down 10 triples for the second straight contest. This marked the first time Valpo made 10 or more 3s in back-to-back games that were both against Division-I opponents since Feb. 22-25, 2020 vs. Bradley and Missouri State.
• The Beacons held the Skyhawks to 6-of-25 (24 percent) from long range, the first time Valpo has held the opposition to 25 percent or worse from 3 in consecutive games since Nov. 28, 2018 (at UNLV) and Dec. 2, 2018 vs. UC Riverside.
• There have been only six times (counting only games vs. D1 opponents) in the Matt Lottich head coaching era that Valpo has had 10 or more made 3s and held the opponent to 25 percent or lower from 3 in the same game, and two of them have been the last two contests.

Starter Shuffle

• Ben Krikke, Kobe King and Quinton Green have been fixtures in the starting lineup this season as all three have started each of the first 13 games.
• The other two spots have seen some shuffling. At point guard, Nick Edwards started the first three games of the season, then came off the bench for eight straight, and has been back in the starting lineup for each of the last two contests.
• During the eight-game stretch where Edwards was not starting at the point, Darius DeAveiro started the first two games before Preston Ruedinger took over for the next six.
• Jerome Palm joined Krikke in the starting frontcourt for the first five games of the season before freshman Maximus Nelson made five straight starts. The last two games have seen Palm return to the starting five.
• Krikke plays the four when he’s alongside Palm and slides to the five alongside Nelson.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Dec. 21: Valpo 77, Stonehill 67

• To go along with Nick Edwards’ 20-point, 12-assist game, Kobe King finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, sharing the team lead on the glass with Quinton Green. Both King and Green enjoyed season highs on the glass.
• Green (11) and Ben Krikke (10) made it four Beacons in double figures.
• Valpo shot an even 50 percent from the field and had four different shooters knock down multiple 3-pointers.
• Walk-on Joe Vick made his collegiate debut and took a charge on one end of the court while handing out an assist (on a Joe-to-Joe dunk with Joe Hedstrom slamming it home) in his 1:18 of run.
• Former Valpo walk-on player, student manager, graduate assistant and Director of Basketball Operations Jason Karys returned to the ARC as a Stonehill assistant coach.
• Valpo played shorthanded at the point guard spot with Preston Ruedinger (shoulder) out for the season and Darius DeAveiro (knee) out for this game.

Scouting the Bulldogs

• Finished the nonconference portion of the season with a 10-3 record including a 58-52 upset over No. 15 Mississippi State on Dec. 20 in Lincoln, Neb.
• Followed up the Mississippi State win by pounding St. Ambrose 124-48 on Dec. 21 to close out the nonconference schedule.
• Only losses have come to Saint Louis, Richmond and Indiana State.
• Heavily favored to win the MVC after collecting 52 of 54 first-place votes in the preseason poll.
• Won 25 games last season en route to a College Basketball Invitational (CBI) berth

Other Notes Wrapping Up Dec. 18: Valpo 71, Elon 66

• Kobe King was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field in the opening half on his way to a game-high 21 points.
• Jerome Palm paced the team on the glass with seven rebounds to go along with three blocks, the first three-block game by a Beacon this season. Palm has squeezed seven or more rebounds on seven occasions this season including five of his last six games.
• Quinton Green scored 16 points and had six rebounds while knocking down five 3s. The five 3s tied a season high set in the Nov. 7 opener at Toledo and matched on Nov. 27 vs. James Madison.
• Connor Barrett went 4-of-5 from the field on his way to a season-high 13 points, outdoing his previous season best of three. This marked Barrett’s first double-figure scoring output since his freshman season – Jan. 28, 2021, a 14-point performance vs. Bradley.
• The Beacons shot a season-best 51 percent from the floor.
• Valpo improved to 3-0 this season in games decided by five points or fewer while upping its home record to 4-1.
• The win came while playing shorthanded as point guards Darius DeAveiro (knee) and Preston Ruedinger (shoulder) were not in uniform. Ruedinger is out for the season.

Ben Bits

• Ben Krikke has reached double figures in 11 of his 13 games this season including six outputs of 20 points or more.
• Krikke got off to a strong start to his fourth season at Valpo, as the Edmonton native scored 18 points or more in each of his first four games including three straight with 20 or more points.
• Krikke became the first Valpo player with three straight 20-point outputs since program legend Alec Peters did so in December 2016 (at Missouri State, vs. Indiana State, vs. Santa Clara).
• Krikke played all 40 minutes on Nov. 19 vs. Incarnate Word. This marked the first time in his career that he has played the entire game. He did play 40+ minutes on two prior occasions but both were overtime affairs.
• After tallying a then-career-high 28 points in the Nov. 13 home opener vs. Western Michigan, Ben Krikke followed with 27 on Nov. 16 at Chicago State.
• Krikke’s 27 points on Nov. 16 at Chicago State were the most by a Valpo player in a true road game since Javon Freeman-Liberty’s 28 on Jan. 15, 2020 at UNI.
• Krikke became the first Valpo player to score 27 points or more in back-to-back games since Alec Peters did so in three straight outings in December 2016 (at Missouri State, vs. Indiana State, vs. Santa Clara).
• Last season, Ben Krikke was one of three players in the Missouri Valley Conference to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor and 80 percent or better from the free-throw line, joining Isiaih Mosley of Missouri State and Malevy Leons of Bradley while owning the highest field-goal percentage of that elite group.
• Krikke entered the season with a career field-goal percentage of 53.4, a mark that ranks seventh in program history.
• Krikke had a 12-game double-figure scoring streak that was snapped in the final game of the season, the MVC Tournament quarterfinal vs. Missouri State. He totaled 22 double-figure outputs and seven performances of 20 points or more while pacing the team in scoring on 11 occasions.
• After earning third team honors for the second straight year, Krikke became the first Valpo player to earn All-MVC accolades in two different seasons. The program’s last multi-time all-conference honoree was Alec Peters, who was a first-team all-Horizon League pick in each of his final three seasons, concluding in 2016-17.
• He earned MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team status for the second straight year. He is the only Valpo player who has been part of the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team since the department joined the conference.

Stat Sheet Stuffer

• On Dec. 6 vs. Trinity Christian, Nick Edwards stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. He became the first Valpo basketball player since at least 2010 with 20 or more points and seven or more assists in the same game.
• Edwards’ 21 points against the Trolls represented a new season high, outdoing his previous best of 15 established on Nov. 16 at Chicago State. He also achieved a season high in the assist department with seven as he had handed out six twice this season, most recently Nov. 27 vs. James Madison.
• Not only did Edwards score the game-winning basket in the closing seconds of overtime on Nov. 27 vs. James Madison, but he posted a stat line that puts him in elite Valpo company.
• Edwards accrued nine points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.
• Edwards became just the third Valpo player since the start of the 2010-11 season with nine or more points, six or more rebounds, six or more assists and two or more steals in the same game, joining Javon Freeman-Liberty and Brandon Wood.
• Freeman-Liberty posted that stat line on three occasions – Dec. 21, 2019 vs. Arkansas, Dec. 8, 2019 vs. Central Michigan and Feb. 19, 2020 at Drake. Wood did so twice – Nov. 23, 2010 at Ohio and Nov. 18, 2010 vs. Purdue North Central.

In the Nick of Time

• Fifth-year senior Nick Edwards became the latest entry on the list of Valpo basketball players who have hit game-winning shots in the final five seconds of regulation or overtime when he drove to the basket and scored in the closing ticks of OT to lift Valpo past James Madison 81-79 on Sunday in Savannah, Ga.
• This was Valpo’s first game-winning shot since March 6, 2020, Eron Gordon’s memorable basket to beat Loyola at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis.
• The bucket by Edwards marked Valpo’s 26^th last-second shot in the final five seconds since the start of the 1992-93 season.
• There have been four total last-second shots during the Lottich Era, with Javon Freeman-Liberty vs. Toledo to open the 2019-20 season and Markus Golder’s 50-footer at the buzzer to beat Illinois State on Jan. 2, 2019 joining the aforementioned baskets by Edwards and Gordon.

A Quality Victory

• James Madison entered the game against Valpo at No. 78 in the KenPom rankings and had a 6-1 record with the lone loss coming 80-64 at the nation’s No. 1 team, North Carolina.
• The Dukes were a top-50 NET team in the first release of NET rankings and represented a Quad 1 win for Valpo.
• The Dukes entered the game leading the nation in scoring margin by outscoring the opposition by an average of 34.7 points per game.
• James Madison entered the contest third in the nation in scoring offense at 94.9 points per game, but the Beacons kept the Dukes to just 79 points despite playing an extra five minutes.
• James Madison had downed South Dakota State 79-60 after Valpo fell to the defending Summit League champion Jackrabbits by a 61-50 score as part of the multi-team event.

Top Two Scorers Back

• With both Ben Krikke (14.2 ppg) and Kobe King (14.0 ppg) back, Valpo returns its top two scorers from last season.
• The last time the program had its top two scorers back from the previous year was 2015-2016, when Alec Peters and Darien Walker both returned after finishing as the team’s top two scorers in 2014-15. The 2015-16 season was a historic one, as the Brown & Gold reached the NIT championship game.
• Only four of the 12 teams in the Missouri Valley Conference have their top two scorers back from last season, as Valpo joins Drake, Southern Illinois and Indiana State.

Looking Back at 2021-2022

• The team boasted two MVC Scholar-Athlete team selections, the captain of the All-Bench Team, an MVC Most-Improved Team honoree, an All-MVC Third Team performer, an All-Newcomer team member and an All-Freshman team honoree. Valpo had seven different MVC postseason honors won by five different players.
• Valpo went a combined 5-0 against instate foes Indiana State and Evansville, sweeping the Hoosier State for the first time since joining the MVC.
• Valpo finished with a home record of .500 or better for the 30^th consecutive season.
• Eight of Valpo’s 18 MVC games were decided by three points or fewer or required overtime.
• The Beacons overcame double-figure deficits to win on three occasions (Tulane, Eastern Michigan and Evansville), something that has occurred 19 times during the Matt Lottich Era.
• The team finished fourth in the MVC in both free-throw percentage (.759) and field-goal percentage (.459) while also finishing fourth in assists per game (12.5), steals per game (6.4) and third in assist/turnover ratio (1.1).
• Valpo played six overtime games, the program’s most since tying a Division-I record with eight in 1993.

Preseason Picks

• Ben Krikke was tabbed to the Preseason All-MVC First Team, becoming the first player to earn that honor in Valpo’s time in the conference.
• Prior to this season, Valpo had five preseason all-conference selections since joining The Valley in 2017-18, all second team honorees.
• Kobe King was named to the Preseason All-MVC Third Team, making this the second time in the team’s six years in The Valley that Valpo has boasted a pair of preseason all-league choices.
• Krikke, also a Preseason All-MVC Second Team choice last year, became the first Valpo player to earn Preseason All-MVC honors on multiple occasions.
• Valpo was picked to finish ninth of 12 in the preseason poll, ahead of Illinois State, UIC and Evansville.
• Drake hauled in 52 of the 54 first-place votes and finished a heavy preseason favorite, while Drake’s Tucker DeVries was named MVC Preseason Player of the Year.
• In addition to the conference’s honor, Krikke was named to the Preseason All-MVC First Team by Blue Ribbon Magazine

Roster Rundown

• The 2022-23 roster features eight returning letter winners, one returning player who redshirted last season and six newcomers (three freshmen, three transfers).
• Five Valpo players hail from outside of the United States – two from The Netherlands, two from Canada and one from Denmark.
• Four members of the roster are natives of the state of Wisconsin, while two call Illinois home and one has remained in his home state of Indiana. The remaining players come from Georgia, Minnesota and Ohio.
• Nick Edwards is the first Georgia native to play for the program since E. Victor Nickerson in 2015-16.

Newcomer Notes

• Nick Edwards had a triple-double while playing at Glenville last season, one of eight Division-II players in the nation to achieve that feat.
• Quinton Green earned All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) honors for three straight seasons. He finished with 1,288 points over four seasons at Cedarville and knocked down a team-high 59 3-point field goals last year.
• Ibra Bayu spent three years in the United States playing high school basketball before arriving at Valpo. He dealt with a serious medical issue during his junior season before being sidelined by two separate fractured ankles as a senior.
• Jerome Palm comes to Valpo after two junior college seasons at Hillsborough CC and Daytona State. He competed for the championship-winning Netherlands national team in the 2021 3x3 national tournament.
• Maximus Nelson was a unanimous first team all-conference and first-team all-state selection after his senior season at Appleton North High School in Appleton, Wis.

Beacon Bits

Random off-the-court facts on each Valpo player.

• #1 Cam Palesse – Enjoys building fish-tank ecosystems.
• #2 Preston Ruedinger – Is an avid golfer in his spare time... Has an interest in coaching in the future.
• #3 Connor Barrett – Is also an avid golfer.
• #4 Darius DeAveiro – Father David is the former head coach at McGill University in Montreal and is now the head coach of the Ryerson Rams... Played on the state soccer team at age 13 and traveled significantly for the sport, including a trip to England.
• #5 Nick Edwards – Describes himself as a “wing fanatic” with his preference being either honey barbeque or lemon pepper... Cousin is Champ Bailey, who was a 12-time Pro Bowl selection during his NFL career that spanned from 1999-2014.
• #11 Emil Freese-Vilien – Civil engineering major who spends a lot of time drawing blueprints and houses... His first basketball practice came at age 14... Played serious badminton growing up... Is teaching himself how to cook.
• #12 Ibra Bayu – Played soccer during his youth but was advised to try basketball at age 10 during a gym class... Describes himself as a very social person who enjoys talking, making jokes and laughing.
• #13 Maximus Nelson – Enjoys working kids camp and teaching young children how to play the sport of basketball.
• #14 Quinton Green – Married his wife Liana English on Aug. 20, 2022. They met at Cedarville, where she was a member of the women's tennis team... Has four younger brothers and sisters... His roommate for five years at Cedarville was Conner TenHove, a Valparaiso, Ind. native... Scored 23 points and pulled down seven rebounds against Valpo in an exhibition game on Oct. 19, 2019 while playing for Cedarville...
• #15 Luke Morrill – Walk-on who enjoys wakesurfing.
• #20 Joe Vick – Walk-on who is the son of Julie Vick, the administrative assistant for Valpo Basketball.
• #23 Ben Krikke – Spent over 100 days in quarantine before and during the 2020-2021 season... Enjoys mountain biking and chess, which he learned from his grandfather... Credits his father’s Michael Jordon DVD set for helping hone his skills.
• #32 Joe Hedstrom – Is an avid fisherman and Valpo’s proximity to Lake Michigan added to his desire to play at Valpo... Grandfather Burt Hedstrom played basketball, football and baseball at Northwestern University (1944-47) and both of his parents played college basketball, mother Sharon (Bethel) and father Peter (St. Olaf).
• #33 Jerome Palm – Enjoys cutting hair for fun as a makeshift barber as he cuts hair for friends and family members in addition to his own.
• #35 Kobe King –Enjoys making music and writing song lyrics.

Staff Sidebars

• Associate head coach Luke Gore is in his 21^st year on staff and has served under four different head coaches. The Valpo veteran has helped the team to eight postseason berths in the last 12 years and was on staff for the three winningest seasons in program history. He serves as the team’s defensive coordinator in addition to leading Valpo’s scheduling and scouting efforts.
• Assistant coach Matt Bowen returned to Valpo’s staff in 2018-19 after previously spending four seasons with the Brown & Gold from 2002-2006. He was the head coach at the University of Minnesota Duluth from 2012-2018. Bowen coordinates the team’s offense.
• Assistant coach Rob Holloway is back for his fifth season after spending the previous two years on staff at Eastern Illinois, his alma mater.
• Director of Basketball Operations Peter Funk is in his second season in that role after spending the previous two years as a graduate assistant and the three years prior to that as a student manager.
• Vijay Blackmon joined the Valpo staff this summer, leading the program’s strength & conditioning efforts. He arrived at Valpo after serving as the head strength & conditioning coach at Bella Vista College Prep School in Phoenix, Ariz. from October 2021 to April 2022. During that time, he also served as a strength coach intern for the Grand Canyon men’s basketball program, which is under the direction of Valpo legend Bryce Drew.
• Former Valpo basketball standout Tevonn Walker has rejoined the program as a graduate assistant. He scored 1,405 career points with the Brown & Gold, a total that ranks 14^th in program history. He went on to play professionally in Germany and Canada.
• After starting his career at Michigan State, Thomas Kithier was a key player for the Beacons last season. Due to a career-ending back injury, he has transitioned into a graduate assistant role.
• Sam Back is in his fifth season as a student manager and third as head manager. The North Judson, Ind. native was named to Grow the Game’s Manager All-American Team following the 2021-2022 campaign.

Who’s Next?

• Valpo signed a trio of incoming student-athletes during the early signing period in November.
• 6-foot-9 forward Zane Dougherty (Avon, Ind. / Ben Davis), 6-foot-1 point guard Jahari Williamson (Pickering, Ontario, Canada / Royal Crown Academy) and 6-foot-6 combo guard Yanis Bamba (Laval, Quebec, Canada / Jean-de-Brebeuf) are poised to join the Valpo program for the 2023-2024 season.
• Lottich on Bamba: “Yanis is a little bit of a late bloomer,” Lottich said. “He’s from a very similar area to where Max (Joseph) and Tevonn (Walker) are from. He’s a native French speaker. He’s a big-body guard, about 6-6, 200. He’s very athletic and a very good passer. He was excited about the opportunity to come to Valpo, where he’s seen the improvement that players make here. I think he will come in and be able to compete right away because of his athleticism, size and physicality. He’s just scratching the surface of who he is as a basketball player.”
• Lottich on Williamson: “We saw Jahari in Milwaukee for the first time,” Lottich said. “The Canadian pipeline that we’ve had has been really good to us. He’s cerebral, and he shoots it really well. Recruiting internationally can be tougher because you don’t get your eyes on the players as much, but we were able to see Jahari play in some Canadian games where he was in high-level environments. This was similar to how we recruited Ben Krikke. Right now, Jahari is one of the five best players in Canada. His ability to stretch the defense and play with pick-and-rolls with the ball in his hands is going to be big for us.”
• Lottich on Doughty: “We saw him at a high school showcase, and what we really liked was his motor as a big man,” Lottich said. “There’s one thing that we don’t want to have to coach, and that’s effort. When you recruit big men, they are typically coming into their own and then have vast improvements when they get to college. In Zane’s case, one thing that really stood out to us was just how tenacious he was on both ends of the floor. He was rebounding out of his area and loves contact. We followed him throughout the summer and got to watch him play in a few high-level games. We love his toughness, and he really fits Valpo. He saw the family atmosphere at Valpo, and that resonated with him. His family is really important to him.”

Tradition of Excellence

• Valpo has 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and four NIT berths in the program’s proud history, with the team’s postseason success highlighted by a Sweet Sixteen run in 1998.
• The program has produced nine All-Americans, won 18 regular season conference championships and 10 conference tournament crowns.
• Valpo also boasts eight NBA players, 10 conference players of the year and 20 20-win seasons.
• Nine of the team’s NCAA appearances have come since 1996.
• Valpo has qualified for the postseason eight times in the last 12 years, including 2019-20 where Valpo accepted a postseason berth but the tournament was not played due to COVID-19.
• Valpo has developed a myriad of professional basketball players over the last quarter century, most notably a pair of recent NBA players. Ryan Broekhoff (class of 2013) signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks in the summer of 2018 after spending five seasons playing internationally in Russia and Turkey. Alec Peters (class of 2017) was the 54th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Peters appeared in 20 games for the Suns in 2017-18, highlighted by a 36-point performance in the season finale against Dallas – a new single-game high by a Valpo alum in the NBA. He has gone on to a successful career overseas with CSKA Moscow (2018-2019), Anadolu Efes (2019-2020) and Kirolbet Baskonia (2020-2022) and Olympiacos (2022-present).
• Valpo has produced over 50 professional players in the last three decades.