Valparaiso (4-8, 0-2 MVC)
at Elon (6-6, 0-0 CAA)

Game No. 13 – Friday, Dec. 29, 1 p.m. CT
Schar Center (5,100) – Elon, N.C.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will return to the court following a nine-day hiatus for the Christmas holiday on Friday, Dec. 29 as the Beacons close out the nonconference portion of the season with an afternoon tilt at Elon. After the final horn sounds on Friday afternoon in North Carolina, it will be exclusively conference games from that point forward, starting on Wednesday, Jan. 3 vs. Bradley.

Last Time Out: Valpo fell to Samford 79-61 on Dec. 19 in the final game before the Christmas holiday, the last home contest of the calendar year and the nonconference home finale. Freshmen Cooper Schwieger (15) and Sherman Weatherspoon IV (11) were the team’s top two scorers, while it was also rookies who owned the squad’s top rebounding totals as Kaspar Sepp pulled down 11 in his first collegiate start and Schwieger added seven.

Following the Beacons: Streaming – FloHoops

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 Roger Powell Jr.: Roger Powell Jr. (4-8) is in his first season as the head coach of the Valpo men’s basketball program. After helping guide Gonzaga to a 121-13 record during his four seasons as an assistant coach, Powell returned to Valpo, where he was part of head coach Bryce Drew’s staff from 2011-2016 and led the team to 124 wins in five seasons, including a program-record 30 victories and a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title game appearance in 2015-16. He was part of head coach Mark Few’s Gonzaga staff as the Bulldogs reached the 2021 national championship game after winning their first 31 games of the season. During Powell’s first season on staff in 2019-20, Gonzaga was 31-2 at the time the NCAA college basketball season was halted due to COVID-19. The Bulldogs reached the Sweet Sixteen in each of his final three seasons on staff, including two Elite Eight appearances and the aforementioned trip to the 2021 national title game. Prior to his arrival at Gonzaga, Powell served as the associate head coach at Vanderbilt University under Bryce Drew from 2016-2019. During his stint as an assistant at Valpo, he was part of four Horizon League regular-season championships in a five-year period while also leading the 2012-13 and 2014-15 squads to Horizon League tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. A product of Joliet West High School and a native of Joliet, Ill., Powell capped a prolific collegiate playing career at Illinois with a national title game appearance in 2005 before going on to a successful professional playing career.

Series Notes: This marks just the second clash between these two foes after Valpo prevailed 71-66 at the ARC last season. The Beacons will make their first-ever journey to Elon, N.C. In last season’s victorious effort, Valpo made 10 triples and built up an 18-point advantage before holding on for the triumph.  

Scouting the Phoenix

• Most recently played at South Carolina on Dec. 22.
• Undefeated in home and neutral site games this season, owning a combined 6-0 mark in those contests, a streak Valpo hopes to snap.
• Are close to eclipsing their season win total from a year ago, when they went 8-24 overall and 6-12 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
• Picked to finish 10^th of 14 in the CAA preseason poll.
• There are only two teams in all of Division-I known as the Phoenix, and both are on the Valpo nonconference schedule this season – Green Bay and Elon. Valpo will look to finish out the Phoenix sweep on Friday.

Sepp Starts

• Valpo had featured the same starting lineup for each of the first 11 games this season – Jerome Palm, Cooper Schwieger, Jaxon Edwards, Darius DeAveiro and Isaiah Stafford.
• This marked the first time Valpo had utilized the same starting five for each of the first 11 games of a season since 2012-13, when the eventual Horizon League champions started Ryan Broekhoff, Kevin Van Wijk, Ben Boggs, Erik Buggs and Will Bogan.
• In 2012-13, the 12^th game featured Valpo’s first starting lineup change of the year as LaVonte Dority and Matt Kenney replaced Will Bogan and Erik Buggs for the Dec. 20 game vs. IUPUI.
• This season, it was once again the 12^th game where Valpo made its first lineup tweak. Freshman Kaspar Sepp replaced Palm in the starting five for the Dec. 19 contest vs. Samford.
• The last time Valpo used the same starting lineup for each of the first 12 games of the season was 2007-08. That season’s quintet was comprised of Shawn Huff, Samuel Haanpaa, Urule Igbavboa, Brandon McPherson and Jake Diebler.

Sepp Surging

• Speaking of Kaspar Sepp, the freshman tallied a game-high 11 rebounds on Dec. 19 vs. Samford, his second double-figure rebound total in his last four contests, joining 12 on Dec. 6 at Central Michigan.
• Over the last four games, Sepp is averaging 8.3 rebounds per game. He has squeezed five boards or more in each of those contests after totaling six rebounds over the team’s first eight games of the year, only four of which he played.
• Sepp has also averaged 6.5 points per game on an efficient 13-of-20 (65 percent) shooting over the last four games. That came after he had just five shot attempts all season prior to this stretch.
• Before the last four games, Sepp had not scored in any of the team’s previous seven games, three where he played and did not score and four where he did not play (coach’s decision).

Cooper Returns to Form

• Cooper Schwieger is averaging 10.8 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game this season.
• Schwieger had scored 12 points or more in five consecutive games and in six of his eight games this season before Dec. 6 at Central Michigan, when he was tagged with foul trouble and had a season-low four points in a season-low 19 minutes, his first game this season with fewer than eight points. He was then held to two points on Dec. 9 at Virginia Tech and seven on Dec. 16 vs. Chicago State.
• Schwieger returned to form on Dec. 19 vs. Samford, scoring 15 points, his highest total of the last four games and his third game this season with 15+ points. He did so on 6-of-8 shooting against the Bulldogs.
• Schwieger also hauled in seven rebounds against Samford, his highest total in the last six games and tied for his highest total against a Division-I opponent this season. This marked his fifth overall game with seven rebounds or more.
• The Overland Park, Kan. native ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring average among freshmen at 10.8 points per game. He is one of two rookies averaging double figures, joining Drake’s Kevin Overton (13.8 ppg).
• Schwieger ranks second among MVC freshmen with 0.9 blocks per game and is second among MVC rookies with 4.8 rebounds per game, behind only his teammate Kaspar Sepp at 4.9.
• Schwieger is one of seven freshmen nationally averaging at least 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks.

Taking the Takeaway Battle

• Valpo ranks third in the MVC in turnovers forced per game (14.1) and third in turnover margin (+2.8).
• Valpo has lost the turnover battle just twice in the team’s 12 games this year.
• Valpo has won or tied the turnover battle in each of the last five games.
• Most recently, Valpo and Samford each committed 10 turnovers on Dec. 19. This marked the fewest turnovers this season by an opponent of the Bulldogs, who are known for their full-court press.

The Season of Giving

• Valpo starting point guard Darius DeAveiro has thrived in the assist department of late, giving out five or more helpers in each of the last eight games, including a season-high 10 on Dec. 19 vs. Samford.
• Just 12 games into the season, DeAveiro has 67 assists, one shy of his single-season career high of 68, set in 25 games last year. He’s up to 185 career assists, 15 shy of 200.
• His 10 assists against the Bulldogs tied a career high set on Nov. 13, 2022 vs. Western Michigan.
• Entering the Nov. 21 game vs. Western Illinois, DeAveiro had played 58 career games and owned a career high of eight points, achieved twice (Jan. 15, 2022 vs. Missouri State and Nov. 13, 2022 vs. Western Michigan). After that, he scored at least eight points in three straight games including a personal-best 11 on Nov. 21 vs. Western Illinois and Nov. 29 vs. Drake.
• DeAveiro made three 3-pointers on Nov. 29 vs. Drake after having entered the game with no more than one 3-point make in any of his first 60 career games. For further comparison, he made three 3s all of last season in 25 games.
• The junior entered this season with seven career made 3s over 54 games and has surpassed that with eight made 3s in the first 11 contests this year.
• DeAveiro busted out of a shooting slump as he entered the Nov. 21 game against the Leathernecks having gone 0-for-10 from the field over his previous three games and 2-for-17 shooting for the season. He had scored seven total points over his first four games this season before scoring 30 points in a three-game span.
• DeAveiro became just the third Valpo player in the last decade to shoot 80 percent or better from the field (minimum five attempts) while handing out at least seven assists in the game against the Leathernecks. He was the first to do it since Max Joseph on Jan. 10, 2018 vs. Drake. Before that, the most recent was Erik Buggs on March 2, 2013 against Green Bay.

Notes Wrapping Up Dec. 19: Samford 79, Valpo 61

• ­Samford extended its winning streak to 10 games and improved to 10-2 on the season. The Bulldogs entered the game ranked third in the country in scoring average at 91.5 points per game.
• Valpo held Samford to 79 points, its first time under 88 in a six-game span and tied for the team’s lowest scoring output during the 10-game winning streak.
• Valpo’s 10 turnovers were an improvement from last year’s game at Samford, when Valpo gave it away 17 times in a 79-49 setback. The Beacons trailed that game by 30 at halftime versus trailing by only eight at the break this season.
• Valpo attempted 30 3-pointers, its highest attempt total against a Division-I opponent this season and highest since the season opener vs. Trinity Christian (33). The Beacons made just six of their 30 attempts in the game against Samford.
• Samford shot a robust 67.9 percent from the field after halftime (19-of-28) to finish the game at 50.8 percent. Valpo shot 35.4 percent for the afternoon.
• The Beacons shot 81.8 percent from the free-throw line (9-of-11), while Samford shot just 45.5 percent at the stripe (5-of-11).

Jahari’s Jumpers

• Jahari Williamson returned to the rotation on Dec. 16 vs. Chicago State after missing the previous two games due to an illness. He made a significant impact, tallying 20 points and going 4-of-6 from 3-point territory.
• Williamson’s scoring output against Chicago State represented a career high. He surpassed his previous best of 16 established in the Nov. 6 season opener vs. Trinity Christian and his previous high against a Division-I opponent of 13, which came on Nov. 21 vs. Western Illinois.
• Before the 20-point outpouring, Williamson had been held to six points or fewer in six of his previous seven games.
• His four made 3s matched a season high set in the aforementioned season opener against the Trolls.
• Williamson became the third different Valpo player to score 20 points or more in a game this season, joining Isaiah Stafford (five times) and Ola Ajiboye (once).
• This was the highest single-game scoring output by a Valpo true freshman since Sheldon Edwards had 20 on Dec. 9, 2020 vs. SIUE.

Notes Wrapping Up Dec. 16: Chicago State 63, Valpo 62

• Ola Ajiboye was 3-of-3 shooting and tallied seven points in 15 minutes of action. He boasted a plus-minus of +9.
• Chicago State had 22 free-throw attempts (17 made) to Valpo’s 11 (eight made).
• Valpo’s bench outscored Chicago State’s bench 33-5, thanks in large part to 20 points from Jahari Williamson.
• Chicago State picked up its first-ever win at the ARC in 17 chances, but it should be noted that this is not the Chicago State team of yesteryear, when Valpo dominated the matchup in the Mid-Continent Conference. The Cougars, who beat Valpo 87-74 last season, snapped a 38-game losing streak to Top-25 teams by knocking off No. 25 Northwestern in Evanston on Dec. 13.
• This was Valpo’s first game decided by the slimmest of margins since Feb. 26 of last season, a 77-76 defeat at Murray State.
• If you take out the first four minutes and the last four minutes of the game, Valpo outscored Chicago State 62-43, but the Cougars started and finished on 10-0 runs.

Stafford’s Steady Scoring

• Isaiah Stafford had scored 14 points or more in five straight games before being held to eight on Dec. 16 vs. Chicago State, just his second single-figure output in 11 contests this season. He followed that with a season-low two points on Dec. 19 vs. Samford, when he was limited to 15 minutes and battled an injury.
• The junior college transfer has led the team in scoring (outright or tied) in eight of the 12 games this season.
• Stafford, who ranks 10th in the MVC in scoring at 16.2 points per game, had a season-high two blocks in the Dec. 9 game at Virginia Tech to go along with four steals, matching a personal best that was set in the Nov. 6 opener vs. Trinity Christian.
• In the Dec. 9 game at Virginia Tech, Stafford became the first Valpo player with 14+ points, four or more steals and multiple blocks in a game since Ryan Broekhoff on Feb. 10, 2011 vs. Detroit Mercy.

Welcome to The Valley

• Valpo newcomers have achieved Missouri Valley Conference recognition in back-to-back weeks as Isaiah Stafford was tabbed MVC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 20 before Cooper Schwieger earned MVC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 27.
• Valpo has already won two MVC weekly awards in the first three weeks this season, one away from the team’s season total from last year and already only two away from the team’s highest total number of weekly awards in a season since joining The Valley.
• Schwieger’s honor came after he averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range in a pair of wins over Western Illinois and Southern.
• Stafford averaged 24.0 points per game during the week of his award, tallying 18 in a home win over Green Bay before exploding for 30 at No. 23 Illinois.

Bench Boost

• In the Nov. 21 win over Western Illinois, Valpo held the upper hand in bench points, 41-8. Three players – all underclassmen – combined for the 41 bench points as Ola Ajiboye (21), Jahari Williamson (13) and Sherman Weatherspoon IV (seven) all made key contributions.
• Ajiboye’s career-high 21 points came on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one assist.
• Ajiboye over doubled his previous career high of 10 points, which came on Nov. 6 of this season vs. Trinity Christian.
• He became the first Valpo player to shoot 80 percent or better at the ARC (with a minimum of 10 attempts) in a game against a Division-I opponent since Alec Peters on March 4, 2014 vs. UIC. He became just the 10^th Valpo player in the last decade to shoot at an 80 percent clip or better with at least 10 shots.
• Ajiboye became the first Valpo player to come off the bench and score 20 points or more against a Division-I opponent since Sheldon Edwards on Feb. 16, 2022 vs. Loyola.
• This marked quite the turnaround for Ajiboye as he played but did not score in the previous game on Nov. 17 at No. 23 Illinois.
• Ajiboye became just the fourth Valpo player in the last decade to come off the bench and score 20+ points while pulling down 8+ rebounds. He joined Sheldon Edwards (Dec. 9, 2020 vs. SIUE), Darien Walker (Nov. 14, 2014 vs. East Tennessee State) and Bobby Capobianco (Nov. 29, 2013 vs. Mercer).
• Williamson hit three 3s en route to his 13 points while also swiping three steals. He became the first Valpo freshman to achieve that combo since Connor Barrett on Jan. 9, 2021 vs. Missouri State.

 “I” Stands for Isaiah

• As Paul Oren of “The Victory Bell” put it, the “I” on the center of the court in Champaign stood for Isaiah – as in Valpo’s Isaiah Stafford – rather than Illinois on Nov. 17 as the Beacons clashed with the No. 23 Fighting Illini.
• Stafford scored 30 points on 11-of-23 shooting, 3-of-8 from 3 and 5-of-7 at the free-throw line. He finished one point shy of a career high that was set on Feb. 26, 2022 while playing for Southern Indiana vs. Lindenwood.
• Stafford’s performance against the Illini coupled with his 18 points on Nov. 14 vs. Green Bay helped him earn MVC Newcomer of the Week honors on Nov. 20.
• The 30 points at Illinois marked the most points scored by a Beacon since Ben Krikke tallied 34 at UIC on Feb. 19 of last season.
• Stafford joined Krikke (3x), Javon Freeman-Liberty (twice), Bakari Evelyn, Alec Peters (10x) and Lavone Dority (twice) as the only Valpo players in the last decade with a 30-point performance.
• Stafford had the most points scored by a non-power conference opponent against Illinois since Ohio’s Jason Preston in 2020.
• The bulk of Stafford’s damage came before the break as he had 23 first-half points. This marked the highest scoring half by a Beacon since Javon Freeman-Liberty had 23 on March 7, 2020 vs. Missouri State in the MVC semifinals. However, that included points scored in overtime so Freeman-Liberty’s total came in 25 minutes rather than 20.
• The last time a Valpo player scored more than 23 in a half was Alec Peters on Dec. 22, 2016, but that included double overtime.
• Stafford had Valpo’s biggest first half and biggest half that did not include OT by a Valpo player since Peters scored 23 in the opening half on Dec. 17, 2016 vs. Indiana State.

Hats Off for Half 1

• Valpo led for the entirety of a brilliant first half and held a 45-38 advantage at No. 23 Illinois at the break after owning a cushion as big as 10.
• The program was hoping to record its fifth all-time victory against a nationally-ranked opponent and its first true road win against an AP Top-25 foe. The Brown & Gold fell to 0-44 all-time on the road against nationally-ranked opponents, with three of the program’s four ranked wins coming at home and one on a neutral floor.
• Each of the last two road games against Top-25 teams and three of the last six have seen Valpo own the halftime lead. In addition to the Nov. 17 game at No. 23 Illinois, Valpo led No. 22 Loyola 29-26 at the break on Feb. 17, 2021 and held a 35-33 edge at No. 25 Oregon midway through the Nov. 22, 2015 matchup.
• Valpo was also seeking its first power-conference win since 2016 vs. Alabama and was hoping to snap a 15-game skid against Big Ten Conference competition that dates back to Dec. 28, 2004 vs. Penn State.

The Game’s Biggest Stage

• Valpo head coach Roger Powell Jr. owns the unique distinction of having played and coached in the national championship game.
• Just 12 coaches in the last 25 years have coached in the national title game after previously playing in the national title game, and two others have coached in the national championship game after being a rostered player but not seeing action in the national title game as a student-athlete.
• In the last quarter of a century, only two coaches have coached in the national title game after previously playing in the national title game at a different school – Roger Powell Jr. and Kenny Payne.

Name                          Year, Team as Player             Year, Team as Coach

Sean May                    2005, UNC                              2022, UNC
Roger Powell Jr.        2005, Illinois                          2021, Gonzaga
Jeff Capel                    1994, Duke                             2015, Duke
Nate James                  1999 & 2001, Duke                2015, Duke
Jon Scheyer                2010, Duke                             2015, Duke
Ricky Moore               1999, UConn                           2014, UConn
Kenny Payne              1986, Louisville                     2014, Kentucky
Danny Manning          1988, Kansas                          2008 & 2012, Kansas
Chris Collins               1994, Duke                             2010, Duke
Jim Thomas                1981, Indiana                          2002, Indiana
Johnny Dawkins         1986, Duke                             2001, Duke
David Henderson        1986, Duke                             1999, Duke
Quin Snyder                1986, Duke                              1999, Duke - DNP
Jeremy Case               2008, Kansas                          2022, Kansas - DNP

“The Rev” in the Community

• Since head coach Roger Powell Jr. was hired to lead Valpo’s program, he has made numerous community engagement appearances including IBCA State Wide Clinic, Popcorn Fest, Valpo Kiwanis, Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana, Big Shoulders NWI, the Valpo Athletics Coaches Tour and many more.
• An engaging speaker with an active social media presence, Powell has launched a video series featuring local restaurants called “Powell Party of Six,” showcasing the Powell family meals in the community. Episode 1 featuring Burgerhaus was released prior to the season with more editions to come.
• Nicknamed “The Rev” because of his strong faith and calling as a preacher, Powell’s hire as Valpo head coach made an immediate media splash. The news was featured prominently in the Chicago Sun-Times, on CBS 2 Chicago’s 4 p.m. news and WGN-TV’s GN Sports. He appeared on the Mully & Haugh morning show on 670 The Score in Chicago and Indiana Sports Talk with Bob Lovell out of Indianapolis.

What They’re Saying About Coach Powell

• Bryce Drew, Valpo Legend, Former Valpo Head Coach, GCU Head Coach: “I am very excited for Roger to be a head coach. He is more than ready to lead his own program, so this is perfect timing for him. I will be cheering for Roger and the Beacons!”
• Homer Drew, Legendary Valpo Head Coach: “We’re really happy and thrilled to see Roger return to Valparaiso University. His love for the University and the community of Valparaiso makes him a great fit. Roger is an excellent teacher; he has tremendous knowledge of the game of basketball. He has been part of the Drew family since he arrived on campus and was an assistant coach for Bryce. He is a dedicated and hard recruiter, and being from the Chicago area, he has a lot of friends and contacts in that area.”
• Mark Few, Gonzaga Head Coach: “Roger has been a very instrumental part of our program these past four years. He is the total package as a coach, and one of the best human beings I have ever been around. He will not only be a great addition to the University, but a positive force in the surrounding community. We look forward to watching his teams grow not only on the floor, but also in their life away from basketball.”
• Chris Standiford, Gonzaga Athletic Director: “I am happy for Roger and his family. His positive energy and winning attitude will serve him well as a head coach. Valpo is getting a great coach, and more importantly, a terrific person.”
• Scott Drew, Baylor Head Coach: “Roger is not only an outstanding basketball coach, but an even better person and representative of Valparaiso University. The community will welcome him as they already know him and his family. He will do a tremendous job.”
• Tommy Lloyd, Arizona Head Coach: “Roger Powell is a first-class individual. He is well liked by the players he coaches and his colleagues in the business. I have no doubt that Roger’s passion, energy and fire will help bring back the glory days of Valpo Basketball!”
• Alec Peters, Valpo’s All-Time Leading Scorer: “The amount of love and passion that Coach Powell is going to put into the program is going to be unmatched. His energy, competitiveness and character are going to show up every day and everyone will feel it.”

Inside the Assistants

• Valpo’s staff features two coaches who have played in the national title game – Powell and A.J. Moye. Powell has also coached in the national title game.
• Powell, Moye and Matt Gordon have all either coached or played in the Final Four.
• Powell, Moye, Gordon, Pat Baldwin and Lubos Barton have all either coached or played in the NCAA Tournament.
• Assistant coach Pat Baldwin brings head coaching experience to the staff as he spent five seasons at the helm at Milwaukee before serving as an assistant coach under Patrick Ewing at Georgetown during the 2022-23 season. He also worked under Chris Collins as an assistant during a successful run at Northwestern, so he has recent stops in the Big Ten and Big East to go along with head coaching experience.
• Assistant coach Matt Gordon spent the last two years in the Big 12 Conference at Oklahoma as Director of Recruiting and Special Assistant to head coach Porter Moser. He joined Moser in Norman, Okla. after they previously worked together for a decade at Loyola. Gordon knows what it takes to win in the Missouri Valley Conference as he played a key role in a turnaround that saw the Ramblers post a 156-80 (.661) record during his seven seasons as an assistant coach. He helped the team to two Sweet Sixteen appearances in a four-year period including a historic run to the Final Four.
• Assistant coach J. Moye was a standout during his playing days at Indiana, where he took the Hoosiers to the 2002 national title game before beginning a professional playing career. He trained professional and collegiate players from 2011-2023 as part of Rising Talent Development (Mamba Sports Academy), serving as the Master Basketball Trainer for Kobe Bryant’s academy. Moye played against Powell in the Big Ten and they later finished out their playing careers as teammates with Skyliners Frankfurt in Germany in 2010-11.
• Director of Recruiting & Player Development Lubos Barton returns to Valpo over two decades after wrapping up his storied career donning the brown and gold. After retiring from his professional playing career, Barton stayed in the game of basketball by beginning his coaching career overseas in 2016. A member of the Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2017, Barton was a standout on the court from 1998-2002, leading the team to three Mid-Continent Conference regular-season titles, three conference tournament championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Special Assistant to the Head Coach Quintin Garrison served as the associate head coach at Trinity International University from 2018-2023.
• Video coordinator / Director of Basketball Operations Sean Taylor served as SIUE’s graduate assistant/video coordinator from August 2021 to May 2023.
• Associate Director of Sports Performance Vijay Blackmon is in his second season as the strength & conditioning coach for Valpo men’s basketball. He previously worked with strength & conditioning as part of Bryce Drew’s Grand Canyon program.

Inside the Roster

• The 2023-24 roster features four returning letterwinners and 11 newcomers. The team lost 11 letterwinners from last season including all five starters.
• This marks the first time since the 2013-14 season that Valpo has no starters returning from the previous season. The 2012-13 NCAA Tournament team started all seniors – Ryan Broekhoff, Kevin Van Wijk, Erik Buggs, Will Bogan and Ben Boggs. The 2013-14 season featured a five-member freshmen class led by Alec Peters.
• Prior to this season, Valpo had at least two returning starters in nine consecutive years.
• The 12 scholarship players on the roster include three returners, five true freshmen and four transfers. Valpo also has three walk-ons – one returner, one former Valpo football player and one transfer.
• The 12 scholarship players are comprised of two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and six freshmen (five true; one redshirt).
• The half dozen freshmen represent the team’s most since 2008-09, when the team also had six on the roster – De’Andre Haskins, Cameron Witt, Nick Shelton, Andrew Ferry, Erik Buggs and Logan Jones.
• This year’s roster features players from five different countries – The Netherlands, Canada, Estonia, South Sudan and the United States. In addition, six states are represented – Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia and Kansas.

Returnee Rundown

• Junior guard Darius DeAveiro ranked 14^th in the Missouri Valley Conference in assists per game last season. He ranked fifth in the league in assist to turnover ratio at 1.89. During his rookie year in 2021-22, he finished the season as one of two freshmen nationally with 50 or more assists and fewer than 25 turnovers. He was named a captain by head coach Roger Powell Jr. prior to the season.
• Senior guard/forward Connor Barrett is the team’s leading returning scorer and the longest-tenured member of the program. Now in his fourth season at Valpo, Barrett saw action in 31 of the team’s 32 games a year ago and scored a season-high 13 points including three made 3s on Dec. 18 vs. Elon.
• Senior forward Jerome Palm was named a captain by head coach Roger Powell Jr. prior to the season. He joined Valpo last year after a pair of junior college seasons. He had a season-high 11 points to go along with nine rebounds on Dec. 1 at Belmont.

Newcomer Notes

• Sophomore guard Jaxon Edwards has experience in the Missouri Valley Conference after playing in 11 games during the 2022-23 season as a freshman at Murray State. He led Cathedral to the 2021-22 Indiana 4A state championship in high school.
• Freshman guard Sherman Weatherspoon IV played at Golden State Prep in Napa Valley, Calif. in 2022-23, averaging 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
• Sophomore forward Ola Ajiobye played in 30 of 31 games with 14 starts at Central Michigan as a true freshman in 2022-23.
• Freshman guard Jahari Williamson played for Canada’s U19 World Cup Team in Summer 2023 after participating in the U18 2022 Canada Games for Team Ontario.
• Freshman forward Lucas Scroggins spent the 2022-23 season at Bosco Institute in Crown Point.
• Freshman forward Cooper Schwieger averaged 11.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists at Link Year Prep in Branson, Mo. last season.
• Junior guard Isaiah Stafford averaged 12.5 points per game to help John A. Logan to the junior college national title and a 33-2 mark in 2022-23 after spending his freshman season at Southern Indiana in 2021-22.
• Freshman forward Kaspar Sepp played for the Estonian national team during the 2023 summer after helping Estonia beat Finland to earn a promotion to the “A” division during the 2022 summer.
• Redshirt freshman Lual Manyang received a medical redshirt in 2022-23 due to a preseason injury at Hofstra.

The Dot Farewell Tour

• Longtime Valpo men’s basketball official scorekeeper Dot Nuechterlein has announced that she will retire from her duties at the scorer’s table following the 2023-24 season.
• Nuechterlein, age 86, began as the official scorer at Valpo in 1984. Her four-decade long tenure as the holder of an official scorebook featured two seasons doing so at Columbia while she lived in New York City during a brief hiatus from Valpo.
• According to Nuechterlein, she was the first female to serve as full-time official scorer for a Division-I men’s college basketball team when she took over the post at Valpo in 1984.

Beacon Bits

Random facts on each Valpo player.

• #0 Jaxon Edwards – Played football up until high school but stopped after eighth grade when he injured his hand.
• #1 Jerome Palm – Started playing basketball at age 15.
• #2 Connor Barrett – Is an avid golfer.
• #3 Anthony Sciarroni – Spent three years on the Valpo football team before joining the men’s basketball program as a walk-on.
• #4 Sherman Weatherspoon IV – Father Sherman Weatherspoon III is a Northwest Indiana native and Gary Roosevelt product... Enjoys clothes, going on walks, nature and hiking.
• #5 Ola Ajiboye – Enjoys meeting new people, playing table tennis, swimming and being around people.
• #6 Darius DeAveiro – Played soccer until his freshman year of high school, when he gave up the sport to focus on basketball. Played on the state team for soccer at age 13 and traveled significantly for the sport, including a trip to England.
• #7 Jahari Williamson – Owns numerous golf medals.
• #10 Lucas Scroggins – Loves to draw and hopes to pursue an art-related career.
• #13 Cooper Schwieger – Twin brother Carson plays at Wright State. A lot of people think they are identical, but they are fraternal twins.
• #19 Isaiah Stafford – Enjoys spending time with family as well as playing board games, card games and video games.
• #20 Joe Vick – Walk-on whose favorite sports memory is playing in Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now Gainbridge Fieldhouse).
• #21 Kaspar Sepp – His national team coach is former teammates with Valpo assistant coach A.J. Moye and his prep coach is Moye’s former roommate.
• #34 Lual Manyang – Favorite TV show is Shark Tank and his favorite athletes are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kobe Bryant.
• #35 Luke Carroll – Walk-on who enjoys golfing and fishing in his spare time.

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 15 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 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.