Bradley (21-8, 14-4 MVC)
at Valparaiso (11-18, 5-13 MVC)

Game No. 30 – Wednesday, Feb. 22, 6 p.m. CT
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) – Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will take the Athletics-Recreation Center floor for the final time this season on Wednesday night as first-place Bradley comes to town for the home finale. It’s Senior Night for the Beacons as Kobe King, Quinton Green, Nick Edwards, Luke Morrill and Ben Krikke as well as student manager Sam Back and senior cheer/dance team members will be recognized prior to the game. After the game, head coach Matt Lottich and senior players will address the crowd. Krikke is currently undecided on whether or not he will utilize his extra year of eligibility created due to COVID-19, while the other aforementioned seniors will close out the home portion of their collegiate careers on Wednesday. The pregame festivities will also feature O Canada in honor of Krikke’s Senior Night. The game will be televised regionally in the Chicago market on NBC Sports Chicago Plus.

Last Time Out: Ben Krikke poured in a career-high 34 points on 14-of-19 shooting while grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds, but UIC edged Valpo 74-73 at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago. Valpo had two empty possessions with opportunities to shoot for the lead in the game’s closing seconds, allowing the Flames to hold on in a zany affair that saw UIC lead by as many as 11 and Valpo lead by as many as nine in the first half before the second half was tightly-contested throughout. Neither team led by more than three points over the final 10 minutes of the game and the gap was no larger than four over the final 18:30. Kobe King supported Krikke with 15 points, while Nick Edwards gave out eight assists.

Following the Beacons: Television – MVC TV Network (NBC Sports Chicago Plus, Ball Sports Indiana Extra, Bally Sports Midwest, Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Southeast) – Jordan Bernfield (play-by-play) and David Kaplan (analyst)

Streaming – ESPN+ – available out of market only, blacked out in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

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

Twitter updates - @ValpoBasketball

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

Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (108-114) 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: Bradley holds a 10-5 lead in the all-time series, but Valpo is 5-2 at home against the Braves. Bradley has won four straight head-to-head matchups including the first meeting of the year between the two squads. The home team is 12-2 in the 14 matchups between these two foes that have been held at campus sites.

Jan. 7 – Bradley 88, Valpo 66: Bradley used a pair of 11-0 runs and all told a 22-2 spurt in the first half to take control of an 88-66 victory over Valpo in early January in Peoria. Ben Krikke was a Beacon bright spot with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Four Valpo players reached double figures but Bradley sustained its home dominance and extended its then home-court winning streak to 16.

Senior Night Success: Valpo holds a 26-5 record in its final home game of the season over the last 31 years, but did fall 71-65 to Drake in last year’s ARC finale. Valpo has already secured a winning record at home, the team’s 31^st straight season with an ARC mark of .500 or better.

Seeding Scenarios

• With two games remaining in the regular season, Valpo’s seeding possibilities for the upcoming State Farm MVC Tournament in St. Louis are ninth, 10^th and 11^th. The team’s possible first-round opponents are Missouri State, Murray State, UNI and Belmont.
• Valpo needs one more win or one more UIC loss to remove the 11 seed as a possibility and clinch finishing ahead of the Flames.
• Valpo and Illinois State are currently tied for ninth with the Beacons holding the tiebreaker based on winning both head-to-head matchups.
• Illinois State travels to Drake on Wednesday before hosting Evansville in Sunday’s season finale. Valpo hosts Bradley before visiting Murray State to close out the year. UIC plays at Evansville on Wednesday before hosting Southern Illinois on Sunday.
• The No. 9 seed will start Arch Madness at noon on Thursday, March 2 against the No. 8 seed. The No. 10 seed plays the No. 7 seed that night at 6 p.m., while the No. 11 seed will play the No. 6 seed at 8:30 p.m. that evening.

The Conference’s Leading Scorer

• Ben Krikke has taken over as the Missouri Valley Conference’s leading scorer at 19.6 points per game, ahead of Belmont’s Ben Sheppard (19.2) and Drake’s Tucker DeVries (19.2) in the race for the Valley scoring title.
• Krikke also owns the top spot in league-only scoring average at 21.0 ppg, ahead of DeVries at 19.7 and Sheppard at 19.6.
• Krikke ranks among the league leaders in the following categories as well – rebounds per game (5.9, 11^th), field goal percentage (54.8, second), free-throw percentage (79.5, ninth) and blocked shots per game (0.9, ninth).
• Krikke is hoping to become the first Valpo player to lead the MVC in scoring and the first Valpo player to sit atop any league in scoring since Alec Peters paced the Horizon League at 23.0 ppg in 2016-17.
• Kobe King ranks seventh in the league at 16.6 points per game, making Valpo the lone team in the league with two players who rank in the top 10 in scoring.

Krikke’s Career Night

• Ben Krikke continued to reach new heights on Feb. 19 at UIC, when he once again delivered his best performance yet, this time going off for a career-high 34 points to outdo his previous personal best of 31 set on Dec. 4 vs. Murray State.
• Krikke’s 34 points came on 14-of-19 shooting, with the 14 made field goals also representing a personal watermark.
• The 34 points marked the second-highest single-game scoring output by any Missouri Valley Conference player this season behind Belmont’s Ben Sheppard, who scored 35 on Feb. 1 at Murray State.
• Krikke delivered the highest single-game scoring output by a Valpo player since Alec Peters had 35 on Dec. 22, 2016 vs. Santa Clara, a game that went to double overtime.
• This was the highest scoring output by a Valpo player in a regulation game since Peters had 36 on Nov. 12, 2016 vs. Trinity Christian.
• Krikke had Valpo’s highest scoring output in a road game since Peters posted a career-high 39 on Jan. 10, 2016 at Detroit Mercy.
• Krikke also led the team with 10 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass. This was his second double-double of the season and first since the season opener on Nov. 7 at Toledo. It was Valpo’s fifth double-double of the year.
• Krikke recorded the first “30&10” game by a Valpo player since Javon Freeman-Liberty on Nov. 12, 2019 at SIUE. Krikke joins JFL and Peters (6x) as the only Valpo players with 30-point double-doubles in the last decade.
• Krikke’s 14 made field goals tied with Peters’ 14 vs. Trinity Christian on Nov. 12, 2016 for the most by a Valpo player in the last decade.
• Krikke’s 14 made field goals were the most by a Valpo player against a Division-I opponent since Anthony Allison had 15 on Jan. 15, 1996 at Troy State.
• The 14 made field goals were the most by any MVC player in a game this season.
• Krikke became just the 10^th player in the nation this season with 34 or more points, 14 or more made field goals and 10 or more rebounds in the same game.

Krikke in the Record Book

• With his first basket on Feb. 18 at UIC, Ben Krikke joined the top 10 in program history in career scoring by usurping Harry Bell (1984-88; 1,508). By the day’s end, his career point total was up to 1,541 and he had climbed past Dick Jones (1965-68; 1,520) and Bruce Lindner (1967-70; 1,539) to move into eighth in program lore.
• Entering Feb. 22 vs. Bradley, Krikke is 50 points away from tying and 51 from passing Ryan Broekhoff (2009-2013) for seventh in program history.
• On Feb. 14 vs. Southern Illinois, Ben Krikke became the 11^th player in program history to reach 1,500 career points.
• Entering Feb. 22 vs. Bradley, Krikke is on the cusp of the program’s single-season top 10. He has scored 567 points this season, six away from moving into a tie for 10^th with Dan Oppland’s 2005-06 season. He is 10 points away from tying and 11 from passing Oppland’s 2004-05 campaign for ninth on that list. He needs 28 to join Tracy Gipson (1992-93) in a tie for eighth.
• Krikke has also joined the program’s single-season top 10 for made field goals thanks to his 14 makes on Feb. 19 at UIC. He has knocked down 223 field goals this season, recently bumping Tracy Gipson’s 1992-93 season (217) from the top 10.
• In the Feb. 19 game at UIC, Krikke also surpassed Alec Peters’ 2016-17 season (218) and tied Peters’ 2015-16 season (223) on the single-season made field goal list. Entering Feb. 22 vs. Bradley, Krikke is tied for eighth in program history for made field goals in a season, needing one more to move into sole possession of eighth, four to join Javon-Freeman-Liberty in a tie for seventh and seven to join John Wolfenberg in a tie for sixth.
• Entering Feb. 22 vs. Bradley, Krikke has 611 career made field goals, a mark that ranks sixth in program history. He recently passed Harry Bell (1985-88; 606) on that list, and the threshold to get into the top five is 634 (John Wolfenberg; 1970-73).
• Krikke hit another milestone on Feb. 11 vs. Illinois State as he pulled down his 500^th career rebound.

Single Season Points

1. Bruce Lindner 1969-70 725
2. Alec Peters 2015-16     679
3. Alec Peters 2016-17     666
4. Dick Jones 1966-67     662
5. Freeman-Liberty 2019-20 628
6. Bryce Drew 1996-97     617
7. Bryce Drew 1997-98     613
8. Tracy Gipson 1992-93 595
9. Dan Oppland 2004-05 577
10. Dan Oppland 2005-06 573
11. Ben Krikke 2022-23 567

Single Season Scoring Average

1. Bruce Lindner 1969-70 27.8
2. Alec Peters 2016-17     23.0
3. Dick Jones 1966-67     22.8
4. John Wolfenberg 1971-72 21.4
5. Tracy Gipson 1992-93 21.3
6. Chuck Kriston 1962-63 21.2
7. Jim Zweifel 1960-61     20.9
8. Bryce Drew 1996-97     19.9
9. Bryce Drew 1997-98     19.8

     Dan Oppland 2005-06     19.8
NR. Ben Krikke 2022-23     19.6

Single Season Field Goals

1. Bruce Lindner 1969-70 274
2. John Wolfenberg 1971-72 253
3. Dick Jones 1966-67     248
4. Anthony Allison 1995-96 240
5. Dan Oppland 2005-06 231
6. John Wolfenberg 1972-73 230
7. Javon Freeman-Liberty 2019-20 227

t8. Alec Peters   2015-16     223

t8. Ben Krikke   2022-23     223

10. Alec Peters 2016-17 218

Career Points

1. Alec Peters 2013-17    2,348
2. Bryce Drew 1994-98    2,142
3. Tracy Gipson 1989-93 1,785
4. Dan Oppland 2002-06 1,780
5. Lubos Barton 1998-02 1,675
6. Raitis Grafs 1999-03    1,621
7. Ryan Broekhoff 2009-13 1,591
8. Ben Krikke 2019-pres. 1,541
9. Bruce Lindner 1967-70 1,539
10. Dick Jones 1965-68 1,520

Career Field Goals

1. Alec Peters 2013-17     790
2. Bryce Drew 1994-98     696
3. Tracy Gipson 1989-93 682
4. Dan Oppland 2002-06 673
5. John Wolfenberg 1970-73 634
6. Ben Krikke 2019-pres. 611
7. Harry Bell 1984-88     606
8. Raitis Grafs 1999-03     592
9. Bruce Lindner 1967-70 575
10. Lubos Barton 1998-02 566

Career Field Goal Percentage

1. Kevin Van Wijk 2010-13 60.8%
2. Zoran Viskovic 1996-99 59.5%
3. Derrik Smits 2016-19 56.4%
4. Ivan Vujic 1998-00   56.3%
5. Raitis Grafs 1999-03   55.7%
6. Ben Krikke 2019-pres. 53.9%
7. Urule Igbavboa 2005-09 53.6%
8. Chris Ensminger 1992-96 52.3%
9. Morris Smith* 1979-81 52.2%
10. Cory Johnson 2009-11 51.9%

More Ben Bits

• Ben Krikke has reached double figures in 27 of his 29 games this season including 12 outputs of 20 points or more.
• Krikke has scored 15+ points in 24 out of 29 contests.
• Krikke has tallied double figures in 17 consecutive games and all 18 league contests this season.
• Krikke has scored 19 points or more in eight consecutive games and is averaging 25.3 points per game during that stretch. He has scored 20 points or more in five straight outings.
• Last season, 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 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.

Krikke in Select Company

• Ben Krikke is one of five players in the country who is averaging at least 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting better than 75 percent from the free-throw line and better than 50 percent from the field.
• He joins Chattanooga’s Jake Stephens, Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis, Iowa’s Kris Murray and Penn State’s Jalen Pickett.
• Krikke is on pace to become just the third different Missouri Valley Conference player since 2005 to average at least 17 points and five boards while shooting better than 75 percent from the free-throw line and 50 percent from the field. He would join Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley and Creighton’s Doug McDermott, who did so twice each.
• Krikke is one of three Missouri Valley Conference players averaging 18.0 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game this year, joining fellow first team all-league candidates Belmont’s Ben Sheppard and Drake’s Tucker DeVries.

King’s Double-Figure Streak Ties Program Record

• The only player in the Missouri Valley Conference who has scored in double figures in each of his team’s games this season is Kobe King, who has scored 10+ in 29 straight.
• Thanks to his 15-point output on Feb. 19 at UIC, King has tied a program record for consecutive double-figure scoring outputs within the same season. He joins Alec Peters and Javon Freeman-Liberty.
• Freeman-Liberty scored in double figures in all 29 regular season games that he played during the 2019-20 season before seeing his streak snapped in the first MVC Tournament game. Alec Peters scored in double figures in all 29 games he played in 2016-17 before seeing his season cut short by an injury.
• If King reaches double figures on Feb. 22 vs. Bradley, he will become the first player in program history to do so in 30 consecutive games within the same season.
• King has scored in double figures in 48 of his 52 games in a Valpo uniform.
• The former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball has scored 15 points or more in 18 of his 29 games this season. He has eight 20-point outputs this year.
• King is up to 53 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.

Edwards Anecdotes

• Valpo point guard Nick Edwards ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference and 21^st nationally with 144 total assists.
• Entering Feb. 22 vs. Bradley, Edwards is one assist away from cracking the program’s single-season top 10. Bryce Drew’s 1996-97 output of 145 currently ranks 10^th.
• Edwards is averaging 7.3 points per game and 5.0 assists per game. Just two Valpo players in the last 30 years have finished a season with 7.0 ppg and better than 5.0 apg – Ali Berdiel (2003-04) and Bryce Drew (three times, 1994-1998).
• If Edwards stays on his current pace, he would post Valpo’s highest apg number since Berdiel’s 6.0 in 2003-2004.

1. John McIlvain 1982-83 197
2. Ali Berdiel 2003-04     185
3. John McIlvain 1983-84 165
4. Bryce Drew 1995-96     164
5. Scott Anselm 1988-89 163
6. Bryce Drew 1994-95     162
7. Keith Carter 2015-16     161
8. Bryce Drew 1997-98     155
9. Ali Berdiel 2002-03     146
10. Bryce Drew 1996-97 145
11. Nick Edwards 2022-23 144

Close Calls Continue

• Valpo fell to 0-6 this season in MVC games that are decided by fewer than five points or go overtime with the 74-73 loss at UIC on Feb. 18.
• Nearly half of Valpo’s 13 Missouri Valley Conference defeats have come in those aforementioned close calls.
• Valpo has dropped five of its last six games, but four of those five losses have come by fewer than five points or in overtime.
• The Feb. 19 game at UIC was the first Valpo contest decided by the slimmest of margins this season. The last such game was Dec. 11, 2021, a 68-67 loss to Charlotte. The game in Chicago was Valpo’s first league game dictated by a single point since a 66-65 win at SIU on Feb. 21, 2021.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Feb. 19: UIC 74, Valpo 73

• Ben Krikke had a career-high 34 points, while Kobe King contributed 15. Nick Edwards dished out eight assists, while Krikke topped the team on the glass with 10 boards.
• UIC connected on nine of its 18 first-half 3-point attempts (50 percent), but cooled off to 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from long range after the break.
• Each team had 9-0 runs in the first four minutes of the game. Valpo’s largest lead of the first half was nine, while UIC led by as many as 11 before the break.
• The entire second half was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than four points for the final 18:30 of the game.
• This marked Valpo’s first defeat against a team picked to finish below the Beacons in the preseason poll. Each of Valpo’s first 17 Valley games went according to expectations based on the preseason projections.

Scouting the Braves

• On an eight-game winning streak with their last loss coming vs. Belmont back on Jan. 21.
• Edged SIU 50-48 on Sunday in Carbondale to stay tied atop the MVC standings.
• Enter the final week of the season deadlocked with Drake atop the league, with Indiana State just one game out and SIU and Belmont two games behind.
• Led in scoring by Rienk Mast at 13.9 points per game.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Feb. 14: Southern Illinois 66, Valpo 62

• Quinton Green gobbled a team-high 10 rebounds to tie his career high. He had one double-figure rebounding effort in his first 133 career games and then achieved that feat in back-to-back contests – Feb. 11 vs. Illinois State and Feb. 14 vs. SIU.
• Ben Krikke and Kobe King had 24 points apiece with King tying his MVC-only season high set on Jan. 17 vs. UIC. He was two points shy of his overall career best of 26 set on Nov. 13 of this season vs. Western Michigan. He went 8-of-13 from the field and 8-of-9 at the stripe against the Salukis, tying a career high for made free throws in a game.
• Krikke rejected five shots, outdoing his previous career high of four that came on Feb. 9, 2022 at Illinois State. The last time a Valpo player swatted five shots in a game was Dec. 17, 2020 (Donovan Clay vs. Purdue Northwest) and the last time it occurred against a Division-I foe was Jan. 26, 2019 (Jaume Sorolla vs. Drake).
• Valpo flipped a 26.1 percent shooting percentage from the first half into a 55.6 percent mark after halftime.
• Both team’s shot 2-of-14 from 3-point territory on Valentine’s Day (2/14).

Starters Cemented? 

• 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 29 games.
• The other two spots rotated some earlier in the season, but Valpo seems to have found a consistent starting five with Maximus Nelson (20 starts) serving as Krikke’s front court mate.
• Nick Edwards (21 total starts) has started 18 straight games at point guard.
• Valpo has featured the same starting five in 14 straight games.

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.                               108

J.M. Christiansen       1929-1941                               102

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.