Valparaiso Basketball is a surprising 3-0 to start out MVC play. It hasn’t been one player to lead the way but rather a complete team effort.
Coming into the 2018-19 season, the Missouri Valley was supposed to be led by either the defending conference champions (Loyola-Chicago), or two teams who brought back the vast majority of their players from the year prior (Illinois State and Southern Illinois). And while all three can certainly win the MVC regular season title, only one is currently unbeaten to start off conference play.
After leaving the Horizon League, Valparaiso went to a better situation with the MVC, hoping to continue elevating the program. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, it was a bad first impression, with the team finishing last in the conference at a 6-12 disappointing effort.
But with a healthier roster, combined with key new additions and the program getting used to their new surroundings, Valpo has looked much better this time around. The Crusaders are 10-6 overall, while being the only 3-0 team in conference play. Those wins included Illinois State, Missouri State, and Bradley.
A huge reason for the improved play has been due to newcomers Ryan Fazekas and freshman Javon Freeman. After sitting out last season after transferring in from Providence, the 6’8 forward Fazekas has made a big impact, leading the Crusaders in scoring while shooting 44% from three-point range. Freeman is a double-digit scorer himself, including being the only Valpo player in double figures in the last game with 17 points.
With the team’s leading scorer at just 12.7 ppg, Valpo has had to rely on multiple contributions per night to win games. Five players are currently averaging 10+ ppg, including quality sixth man Markus Golder. There have been different players leading the team in scoring on any given night, including junior Derrik Smits going for 20 points and 12 rebounds in the team’s biggest win to date over UNLV.
The balance has been there on the offensive end but also defensively as well, giving up just 57.3 ppg (1st in MVC) to start conference play. The combination of size and speed has allowed the Crusaders to defend any kind of opponent this season.
What should make Valpo fans really excited is that the best may be yet to come. There’s only one senior on the roster in Deion Lavender and his replacement for the following season is already there in Seton Hall transfer Eron Gordon, sitting out due to NCAA rules. If he has the same kind of impact as fellow Big East transfer Fazekas, the Crusaders will be hard to beat.
Things will start to really heat up for head coach Matt Lottich’s team, with back-to-back road games against Loyola-Chicago and Southern Illinois. That kind of road trip last season would’ve doomed Valpo. This time around, the team and their fans should enjoy that kind of challenge, as they’re capable of being up to the task.