Valparaiso (11-17, 5-12 MVC)
at UIC (10-18, 2-15 MVC) 

Game No. 29 – Sunday, Feb. 19, 2 p.m. CT
Credit Union 1 Arena (8,000) – Chicago, Ill.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will look to close out its perfect record against teams picked to finish below the Beacons in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll on Sunday afternoon. The team will take the short bus ride into the Windy City for a matchup with UIC in hopes of securing its third season sweep of the league slate. Valpo is currently 5-0 against Illinois State, UIC and Evansville. This also represents a big game in terms of Arch Madness seeding as Valpo is in a tight battle with Illinois State to earn the No. 9 seed in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Last Time Out: Valpo trailed by as many as 12 before rallying to take its first lead of the game with 5:48 remaining, but the Beacons could not put away visiting Southern Illinois in a 66-62 loss on Tuesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Ben Krikke and Kobe King scored 24 points apiece, but didn’t get enough help as no other Beacon tallied more than five points. Valpo shot 55.6 percent in the second half compared to just 26.1 percent before the break.

Following the Beacons: Streaming – ESPN+

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 (108-113) 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: These two teams will face off for the 59^th time with UIC owning a 31-27 lead in the series. Valpo is 18-2 in the last 20 matchups between the two teams including a 76-66 win at the ARC earlier this season. The Flames are in their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, marking the third time these two programs have shared conference affiliation. They were previously league mates in the Horizon League (2008-2017) and the AMCU/Mid-Continent Conference (1982-1994).  

Jan. 17 – Valpo 76, UIC 66: Valpo and UIC were even at 51 with 8:23 remaining in regulation in the first matchup of the season between the two teams, but it was the Beacons who made the big plays in crunch time on Jan. 17 at the ARC. Valpo outscored the visiting Flames 25-15 down the stretch including Nick Edwards twice beating the shot clock horn with 3-point makes and Quinton Green completing a crucial 4-point play. That helped Valpo prevail 76-66 in the first Missouri Valley Conference showdown between two longtime foes. Kobe King was recognized for joining Valpo’s 1,000-point club prior to the game and went on to score a team-high 24 points.

Krikke in the Record Book

• On Feb. 14 vs. Southern Illinois, Ben Krikke became the 11^th player in program history to reach 1,500 career points.
• Krikke is on the cusp of the program’s all-time top 10. He enters Feb. 19 at UIC a single point shy of Harry Bell (1984-88; 1,508) for 10^th in Valpo lore. He is also closing in on Dick Jones (1965-68; 1,520) for ninth and Bruce Lindner (1967-70; 1,539) for eighth.
• Krikke surpassed 500 points for the season in the Feb. 11 game vs. Illinois State, becoming the team’s second 500-point scorer in a single season during the Missouri Valley Conference Era, joining Javon Freeman-Liberty’s 628 during the 2019-20 campaign. Only four players had 500-point seasons during Valpo’s Horizon League tenure – Alec Peters (3x), LaVonte Dority, Ryan Broekhoff (twice) and Brandon Wood (twice).
• The threshold to reach the program’s single-season top 10 is 573, and Krikke enters Feb. 14 vs. Southern Illinois at 533 for the year.
• Krikke has 209 made field goals on the season, becoming just the eighth Valpo player in the last 30 years with 200 field goals in a campaign. He joins Javon Freeman-Liberty, Alec Peters (twice), Brandon Wood, Dan Oppland (twice), Bryce Drew, Anthony Allison and Tracy Gipson.
• He needs to get to 217 made field goals to join the program’s single-season top 10 in that area. Tracy Gipson’s 1992-93 season (217) is 10^th.
• Krikke has 597 career made field goals, a mark that ranks seventh in program history. He recently passed Raitis Grafs (1999-03, 592) for seventh and next up is Harry Bell (1984-88, 606) for sixth.
• Krikke hit another milestone on Feb. 11 vs. Illinois State as he pulled down his 500^th career rebound.

More Ben Bits

• Ben Krikke has reached double figures in 26 of his 28 games this season including 11 outputs of 20 points or more.
• Krikke has scored 15+ points in 23 out of 28 contests.
• Krikke has tallied double figures in 16 consecutive games and all 17 league contests this season.
• Krikke has scored 19 points or more in seven consecutive games and is averaging 24.0 points per game during that stretch. He has scored 20 points or more in four 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 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.

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.

Double Figure Streak

• 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 28 straight. King is one double-figure output away from tying the program record shared by Javon Freeman-Liberty and Alec Peters for consecutive double-figure games within the same season.
• 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.
• Freeman-Liberty and Peters currently share the program record for consecutive double-figure scoring outputs within the same season.
• King has scored in double figures in 47 of his 51 games in a Valpo uniform.
• The former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball has scored 15 points or more in 17 of his 28 games this season. He has eight 20-point outputs this year and has scored 16 or more points in 27 of his 51 games with the Beacons.
• King is up to 52 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 136 total assists.
• He is nine assists 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 7.5 points per game and 4.9 assists per game. Just two Valpo players in the last 30 years have finished a season with 7.5 ppg and better than 4.9 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.

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.
• Close calls continued the plague the Beacons, who slipped to 0-5 in MVC games that are decided by fewer than five points or go to overtime.
• Both team’s shot 2-of-14 from 3-point territory on Valentine’s Day (2/14).

Scouting the Flames

• Coming off a 79-60 loss to Indiana State on Wednesday.
• Have dropped 12 of their last 13 with the win coming on Feb. 4 vs. Evansville (70-61).
• Led in scoring by Jace Carter at 16.2 points per game.
• Picked to finish 11^th of 12 in the MVC preseason poll.

Among Conference & National Leaders

• Valpo has two of the top three players in the MVC in terms of field goals made and two of the top 41 nationally. Ben Krikke leads the conference and ranks sixth in the nation with 206 made field goals, while Kobe King ranks third in the conference and 41^st nationally with 173.
• Krikke and King also represent two of the league’s top seven players in terms of scoring average. Krikke’s 19.0 points per game rank third in The Valley with King not far behind at 16.6 ppg, sixth.
• Valpo is the only team in the conference with two players who rank in the top 10 in the league in scoring average.

Red Light, Green Light

• Contrary to what his last name would indicate, Quinton Green’s favorite color has been red this season, as in Redbirds. He has scored 51 points in the two games against Illinois State, going 10-of-15 from 3-point territory, 17-of-23 from the field and 7-of-8 at the foul line in those contests.
• In the Feb. 11 win over the Redbirds, Green grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. That outdid his previous season best of seven and tied his career high, which came on Dec. 18, 2018 while playing for Cedarville against Florida Southern.
• Green scored a season-high 26 points on Jan. 21 at Illinois State before finishing a point shy of that mark on Feb. 11 when the Redbirds came to the ARC. His only two games this season with upward of 20 points have come against Illinois State, and in his last 18 games, his two outputs of greater than 16 are the games against the ‘Birds.
• Green has made 17 3-pointers over the last seven games, and 10 of those have come against Illinois State.
• The Feb. 11 game against Illinois State represented Green’s first double-double in a Valpo uniform as he became the fourth Beacon to record one this season, joining Ben Krikke, Kobe King and Nick Edwards.
• He became the first Valpo player with a “25&10” game since Thomas Kithier on Nov. 13 of last season vs. UIC. Only six Valpo players in the last decade have recorded 25-point double-doubles – Green, Kithier, Ben Krikke, Javon Freeman-Liberty, Alec Peters (11x) and Ryan Broekhoff.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Feb. 11: Valpo 81, Illinois State 76

• The Beacons shot 54.9 percent from the field, their second-highest rate of the season behind only the 57.4 percent in the first game against Illinois State. The hosts shot a sizzling 61.5 percent clip in the opening half including five of 10 from long range.
• This win was a big one for Arch Madness seeding, as the victory allowed Valpo to move into a tie with Illinois State for ninth in the league standings. Valpo holds the tiebreaker over the Redbirds based on winning both head-to-head matchups.
• Valpo continued its domination of Illinois State as the Beacons have won 10 of the last 11 head-to-head meetings and own a 10-2 mark against the Redbirds since joining The Valley. The Brown & Gold extended its home court winning streak over the ‘Birds to five.
• Quinton Green (25) and Ben Krikke (24) combined for 49 points, while Kobe King mustered up 18 of his own on 6-of-7 shooting, his highest single-game field goal percentage of the season.
• Krikke tied a career high with six assists, matching his mark set on Jan. 4 of this season vs. UNI. That was part of an effort where Valpo handed out 17 assists on 28 made baskets.
• The game was not as close as the five-point margin would indicate as Valpo led by double figures on multiple occasions and had an eight-point lead with just 26 seconds remaining before a quick burst of five points including a steal and a flurry of offensive rebounds suddenly trimmed the gap to three with four seconds to go at 79-76. Kobe King sealed the win with two free throws.

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 28 games.
• The other two spots rotated some earlier in the season, but Valpo seems to have found a consistent starting five with Maximus Nelson (19 starts) serving as Krikke’s front court mate.
• Nick Edwards (20 total starts) has started 17 straight games at point guard.
• Valpo has featured the same starting five in 13 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.