The best teams I have seen would be in order:

1) Willamette 1992 - Mahoney the PG and Greg Ward were studs.  Mahoney was a 6'6" D1 transfer PG that could get down with anyone.  The big fella Ward was a monster and they big strong guards who could shoot it and play.  That team could have beaten any NAIA D1 team in my opinion.  They could play fast or slow, and you were not going to out rebound them.  It was one and out everytime.  And, they did not turn the ball over.  Just a GREAT team.

2) The 1994 LC team with Derek Foster at the PG.  Foster lead the nation in assists and was the best player at that level that year.  Their team lost to a VERY good Northern State team in the Final Four.  That year all five starters averaged between 12 and 20 points per game.  They were good.

3) The WW team that went to the Final game in 1996, I believe.  They had incredible guards and athletic big guys who finished over anyone.  Roman Wickers, who the called "The mouth of the South", was as unstoppable as you could get, and their PG was a general.

4) The 2002 LC team with Scott Davis.  That team had a blend of size and great guard play.  If they had more ball handlers, I would put them above #2 and #3, but they rebounded, shot it, and just played ball.  That team didn't run many plays, as they just played off of Scott.  John Mietus, Chris Spier, Scott D, and Colin Oriard were just tough.

5) a tie between UPS's Final 8 team and WW's team with Gunner Nelson, I believe his name to be.  Both of those team could flat out play.

These are only my opinion and to be honest the teams since we have become D3 aren't as tough as what we had as NAIA.  The overall talent has dropped off.

And last year's WW team probably should be in there, but so should the LC team with Brooks Meek as a senior.  Man, I forgot the Pacific team with Brett Jefferies.  They were good, too.  I can go on for days.

GS -

I can dig it.  You do your thing pretty dang solid.

Soundlogs -

I just happened to look at these past posts.  I have been away for too long to have anything concrete, other than it looks like WW has reloaded, and UPS has everyone back, plus some.  Also heard that bartlett from PU is out for the year.  He was a glue type of guy, so that could hurt.  Willamette lost it's best player and have already struggled.  Gordy is the best at using lesser talent, so he will come up with something.  My three questions are:

1) Can WW, who will never have a shortage of talent, have a QB like BWilliams?  I loved JJones, but BW was the heart of that squad.  That's only my opinion, though.   Without a cool PG, WW can struggle.  I only say that because the PG has the ball in his hands a lot in that system.

2) Is UPS going to to run the same style?  It looks like the league is catching up to that style of play and the Saturday games are being much harder to win after expending all that energy the night before.

3) Is anyone going to pay PLU any attention.  They were scary last year and lost only one player.  Plus, they brought in a pretty good group this year from what I have heard.

I am not as close to the action as I was before, but I keep in contact with peopel and will drop some dimes as I get info.

Peace.

I am laughing my butt off right now.  Those HOFs go to the limit.  I do remember , though, when a pretty good Lewis & Clark State team, who went 30-2 going into the national tournament, lost their only two games to Lewis & Clark College.  And, those loses were by an average of 20 points.

This is not an argument because I don't want to read "War and Peace" again.  Just remembering a pretty good NAIA school going down to an average D3 squad.

NAIA D1 is better by a long shot for the most part, but isn't comparing apples to oranges being that those schools have the ability to give extra dough to student athletes?  And, I couldn't believe the entrance requirements are anywhere close to those of DIII schools.

GS, can I get you to do some research for a couple of my term papers?  You are pretty thorough. 

If there were a coach who can get those question marks answered, it would be Coach James, too.  He does a great job year in and year out.

addict -

Your statement explains exactly what I meant.  LC was picked to come in 4th.  That means that no one, except the coaches and players in their locker room believed they could win the league.  I have seen it before.  No one had the LC games circled on their schedules.  Everyone was trying to figure out how to beat UPS Whitworth and Willamette.  That makes a team dangerous, especially if they are out there playing loose.

And, there are good players on Willamette's team.  But, you can't argue that the guards they had last year were a small step above what they have now, right?  Guards win championships in this league.  You have to have play makers.  Willamette has always done a GREAT job of having big strong play making guards who rebounded, handled the rock, and defended well.  I just don't see that on their roster right now, but I may be wrong.  And, I will admit it......

I would guess that Willamette will not be picked to finish in the top three of the league, thus, they are not expected to win.  No desrespect for them, just saying the truth of the matter.  That makes a team tougher in most cases.  At least to me.  The way they are coached makes them a threat no matter how strong of a team they have.  But, I think they will have to have a very strong recruiting class to be where they have been.  Olinger and Stuvland were a great backcourt, with a sprinkle of Fife and Erickson.  I loved those combos.  Good guards do it in this league.  I think Willamette needs to refuel in that regard.  The lefty is pretty good though.  Smith, I think....

You can never count Whitworth out of the equation.  They will always get good transfers.  The power to get players out there is for real. 

LC has to be counted in the mix, especially if no one is leaving and if Gaillard is out there hunting down players to help get them better.

UPS is sort of a question mark to me, though.  The talent was illmatic, and they will bring in more players, but the swagger wasn't there this year.  And, Bridge kind of put that swagger in those kids.  I wonder if that has been lost with Eric gone.  Just a thought.

Pacific will be tough.  They keep getting better and they don't lose much from this year's team.  The surprise might be PLU.  They are freaky athletic, capable of putting hurts on people.

I  think it will be a four dog race, with any of the other teams able to put hits on anyone.  Look out for Willamette, too.  They are always scary, especially if they are not supposed to win.

So it could be safe to say that in Wisconsin, there are less schools to fight for the better, non-DI type players?  As stated, there are players who go away to school, but for Wisconsin talent, the DIIIs don't have to battle as much with DIIs that might be right there recruiting the same person?  Is it only the WIAC battling for the most part?

Pat -

Uh, the postgame press conference maybe?

And, in these post game conferences, you hear some of the most outlandish comments, too.  Basketball is emotional and you need time to calm down most times.  We have all seen it before.   

You guys are talking as if Hayford has ordered a code red on the WIAC.  I wonder how much offense the Steven's Point coach took offense.  Does anyone know?

Are there any DIIs in Wisconsin?  Any NAIAs?  is it true that you either go DI or DIII?  I've never really looked into it.

Just read the article and it just looks like a poor choice of words, but I don't think it should be taken as hard as people are.  Stevens Point and that conference is tough.  Watching how they did UPS at UPS, I would say they were a good DII.  They are good for DIII, but that talent would beat lots of DII's around here.  Let's be real.  Western Oregon, Northwest Nazarene, etc... 

Anyways, you put a mic infront of a coach who just lost an emotional game.  Give the guy a break.  COY's get that pass, right??

WW represented the NWC to the fullest.  Great job on a great season.

Tuxguy -

No coaching in me.  just lots of playing.  LC looks like it is going in the right direction, but time will tell.  The league as a whole looks good.  Fresh new blood in the coaching ranks and solid line-ups.  I was scared, though, because the SCIAC is starting to creep up on the NWC.