Quote from: JMM on November 07, 2010, 07:02:07 AM
Took in the EC intra squad game. Plendil looked very good in it. Also Callie Halama. EC needed mucho help in the guard area last year. A host of good quality ball handlers have now joined the team. Laura Olson really came on strong in the gaurd role last year (that was about it for EC) , Laura looked very good the other night, but did not shoot much. Messick was Messick, subtley played very well. To me, it never seeems like Messick is doing alot on offense until I see the final stats her point total is always there between 14-18. Really like her defense, aggressive but usually very few fouls. The twin towers (Messick and Plendil) looked very good in the game. EC has added yet more hieght. Emily Miller, chatfield (same as Messick) is a very strong and aggressive player. Nice addition. Another player I'm interested in seeing more of is Brynn Salava, Eleva-Strum. Those sitting by me say she is really good. My general impression with the many new freshman was that they all had played alot of hoops and were very in controll of their game, controlled in bringing the ball up (or over or under). Not forcing the ball in passing (Sorry upper classmen, EC still needs to work on not forcing the ball - it killed them last year - still saw some of this going on in the game). Finally and most importantly, two new faces on the team, Nicole Christianson, junior, (Chetek) transfer from Mankato State and Casteele Miller, sophmore, I beleive another transfer. Both play guard. They played a fair amount in the game. Both were very seasoned and exceptional ball handlers. Both were cool, calm and collective while under fire when the defense put pressure on them. Both appeared to be play-makers who could also shoot. Saw a few 3 pointers dropped by them as well.
Reminded me  a liitle of Hendricks and Sonntag of WW (a liitle and pardon my spelling). Had that same mental toughness and extreme self assurance - seasoned. I could not wait to see the two WW players play and know WW will miss them. Sonntag had attitude and was fearless. Saw a little of that in both these players. Soooooo, the big question is will they fit in, will they play allot and will they be as they appear at first introduction - exceptional guards. If so EC may get a thought or two about the NCAA playoffs. That said, if the upperclassmen who have a tendency to throw too many forced, lazy, flopper passes, don't clean up their passing - don't even think about. Fundamentals - if she ain't open, don't throw her the ball and every haphazard pass is two points for the other team. It would be great if#21 Christianson and #20 Miller are what they at first glance appear to be, A number two finish in the WIAC (I really think SP is superb this year) and a trip to the playoff would be grand. Even without the two new additions, EC could go along way in the WIAC if they would do two things: get killer instinct and lose the toughtless uncontolled passes. Several well known names on the team who really shine, need to think before they pass. Good news is it appeared better than last year - that was tough to watch. Tonja, Becca, Amanda or Peg, if you ever read these amatuer posts, three days of intense passing drill and lots of film watching of last years games could correct this. Maybe even a $20 dollar fine for each not thought out pass - For you folk out there who take everything literal, I don't really mean this. Realize it is against the rules. Though, I do hear the pay in the WIAC is really good and the players could afford it.  n

Christianson is at EC after having a baby and Casteele Miller is a transfer from Superior that came off the bench for them as a freshman. Not sure that Miller will make much of an impact, although she is a decent athlete.

As for UWSP, Barber could end up being their leading scorer this year.

Quote from: Just Bill on November 05, 2010, 08:51:08 PM
Superior won't come within 30 points of UW.

Way to go out on a limb. I could see Superior being held to under 30 pts.

Coe is going to be tough. Won a split of the league last year and has some very talented players back along with what is rumored to be a very solid recruiting class. There are a lot of midwest d3s that don't get the top 25 recognition that they deserve and a lot of east coast teams that would be avg in the midwest steal their thunder w/better records vs weaker competition.

Quote from: Bird Dog on November 02, 2010, 08:50:36 PM
Preseason poll is out.

1.    Amherst               621 pts.

6.  U.W. Stevens Pt.    460 pts.

9.    Carthage             340 pts.

25.  St. Vincent             74 pts.

others receiving votes

Simpson                        71 pts.

U. W. LaCrosse             66 pts.

U.W. River Falls             40 Pts.

Coe                                 1 pt.

Who voted for Coe to give them one point.  Is he/she a fool or a psychic?  Coe will get a chance to prove themselves playing #9 Cathage and 26 and 27 Simpson and U.W. LaCrosse.  Simpson can move up by playing #6 U.W. Stevens Pt. and River Falls.   Amherst and St. Vincent is to show the pt. spread between #1 and #25 and how close Simpson and LaCrosse are to #25.

Also heard that Dirks is at Wartburg. She is a nice player, wonder why she left Mt. Mercy?

Rumor is that Camille Stenhaug has quit the team at Luther. If so, that is a major loss for the Norse. She has been one of the better guards in the league the last couple years.

Quote from: Bears rule on September 10, 2010, 11:12:16 PM
Hoop Junkie,

UWRF? What happened with them last year? Won there first 10-15 games and fell apart. They lost two seniors starters, I just do not see it.

UWSP and everyone else, agree. Last year Coach Enger did a great job coaching them up to get the team where she did, this year, she could only mess it up by over caoching. They are LOADED.

They have one of the better backcourts in the WIAC and have added the best post player in the conference in transfer Danielle Jorgenson. I would say they'll be better than they were a year ago.

I think SOME people are overly optimistic as to just how talented their team(s) will be this coming year. Yes, Stout has once again brought in a small country's worth of players, however a lot of those names mentioned, including transfers are not going to be enough to replace the class that they just lost. Nothing against the kids that they've brought in, but those players are a step down from what they've had in the past. Make no mistake, this is UWSP's race to lose. After that, and perhaps the most talent laden team in the WIAC in 2010-11 is UWRF. RF has the toughness, athleticism and size to beat anyone in D3. Here's my predicted order of finish...

1. UWSP
2. UWRF
3. UWW
4. Lax
5. EC
6. Stout
7. Oshkosh
8. Platteville
9. Superior

I see EC, Stout and Oshkosh all battling it out for slots 5-7, those spots are really a coin flip.

I think Cornell would prefer a move to the Midwest Conference which would open the door for Nebraska Wesleyan (Lincoln, NE) to join the Iowa Conference. Not sure if we will see this happen anytime soon but it's definitely been talked about.

I believe that decision came from the athletic director. There's definitely a lot of pressure on their program right now. I don't see them getting it turned around this year. This could be it for Botham.

I believe the reason he left Cornell was because they cut his pay by %20. I heard this from a very reliable source. I also heard that Coach Brase was given the same pay cut. This obviously had nothing to do with performance but rather a tight budget at Cornell. I'm not sure if other coaches at Cornell were forced to take a pay cut but my guess is that they all were affected. If my source is correct, this is definitely uncharted territory, to cut a coach's pay after he takes a team to the NCAA tournament. Easy to see how that would make someone bitter enough to leave. Rhodes is a very good D3 school and they play in arguably the best D3 conference in the country. That is definitely an upgrade for DeGeorge.

Rumor is that Emily Decorah is leaving Edgewood to walk on at UWM. This sounds realistic, as UWM gave her the option of walking on coming out of HS. If this is true, this is a BIG blow to Edgewood.

Also heard that one of Wartburg's top returing players, Abby Hempen is out with an ACL tear. That's too bad, she is a very good 3 pt shooter and a huge part of that offense. Not sure if it's more than a rumor at this point but that's what I've heard.

Rumor has it that Coe has a very good recruiting class coming in this year. Kohawk, care to shed some light on this...? Haven't heard much about recruits this year for the IIAC schools. Anybody else have the skinny from around the conference?

Coach Barnes did an outstanding job in his time at Tech and Sam Hoyt was a steal of a recruit for them. In his 2010 recruiting class he also signed 6'4 Emily Harrison. Harrison flew under the recruiting radar all along and has the ability to play at the major D1 level. Wisconsin and several other division 1 schools tried to sign her at the last minute but were unable to do so because Tech has the exact major she was looking for. She will probably be an all-american there in the future. Getting a player of her caliber/ability level was a MAJOR steal for a d2 school. I think people will see that Emily will be one of Barnes' best recruits yet. UW is getting a solid coach in Barnes and it'll be interesting to see if the new head coach can continue the winning ways up there in the U.P.

Yea, heard it from several different sources. If she went d3 I don't know where else she would go. Seems to me that the kids from that area have tunnel vision on UWSP only. Me personally, I think she is a good d2 type kid and needed to wait 1 more year to get on the floor. 5'10 w/big time physical strength that can shoot the 3, come on. Maybe Winona isn't the right place for her but there's a school out there in d2 that she could play major minutes for as a sophomore.