Went and watched Senior Day at EC this past weekend and noticed Shea Feehan was honored as a "senior"

Still has 1 year of eligibility left but it appears he may not be using it at Eureka next year.  Would be a real bummer to see him go.  With the group of guys returning next year I think they had a chance to make some serious noise and possibly get some national recognition.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out

I'm an avid reader part time (at best) poster but I'll take a stab at some of your questions to see if it generates any additional conversation:

1 - I don't think there's a whole lot that Prin can do to get additional quality players on the roster due to the fact the school is associated with the Christian Scientology church.  From what I hear this is the best Prin squad they've had in 10 years I've been associated with the SLIAC and it's sad they only have  9 guys on the roster.  Maybe Todd laces them up and plays during practice so they can at least go up and down.

2.  I think this is the second or third year of Greenville running the system...and I've seen them play Eureka twice.   If a team has quality guards that can take care of the ball it seems the system is fairly easy to beat.  The game I watched this year Greenville shot the ball at a horrendous rate.   In order for Greenville to be successful against the top tier of the SLIAC, I think they need to bring in a few more quality shooters.  I just don't know who would ever want to play on a team that runs this....not me

4.  Haven't seen anyone other than Feehan yet this year but I hear Paulson is a ton at Prin.  In regards to Shea, he is super smooth with his handle and has such a quick pull-up game he is tough to guard.  I know what I would do to try and stop him so I won't give away any secrets.  Anyone that can go 50-40-90 and score 30ppg has to be an All-American candidate right?

5.  I'd like to know your thoughts on this.  I saw the Greenville game where a large portion of the student section, including a faculty member, asked to leave the gym.  I'm not sure it was warranted.  I referee myself (not at the college level) and if you can't handle chirping from the stands (which you really shouldn't be paying attention to) then I don't think you should be reffing.  I can only imagine what is said at the D1 levels.   However if any vulgarities were being thrown the refs way then I agree he did the right thing.  Also I think it's funny that guys at the higher levels (D1 /NBA) are allowed to talk to the refs or complain about a call a heck of a lot more than we D3 guys (except the ref that turned his back on Joel Berry....that was unprofessional on his part).  I always felt like anytime I tried to talk to a ref about a call it was shut down or a T was thrown out.  I won't continue on this soapbox haha

6.  No Comment

8.  Always felt like this was an issue for the SLIAC.  They see a lot of talented young players either head for "greener" pastures or just decide not to play anymore.  I don't understand why kids think since they have a successful year as a freshman that they are better than the SLIAC.  Why not be a big fish in a small pond?  I'd rather play at a super high level for 3-4 years than go sit the bench at a D2 school or play <10min per game.  The SLIAC produces top teams that can compete with the national powerhouses every couple years and it would happen more often if these types of kids stayed.

I'll be at Eureka vs Iowa Wes on Saturday and provide a recap if I find time Sunday or Monday.  The little one keeps me awful busy these days.

Surprised no one mentioned the new face at Eureka that Hopefan had hinted about earlier this month.  Dakota Bennington from Peoria Christian has joined the Red Devils for the rest of the year.  Dakota transferred from Olivet Nazarene where he played decent minutes last year and averaged 10ppg.  He was the 2015-16 PJStar Small School PoY and named to the 2A All State Team.  He has some youtube videos out there and it looks like the kid is a serious athlete.

A nice get for Coach Wilde!  Should be a high level SLIAC Player this year and the next 2 years assuming he stays in a Red Devil uniform.

Word on the street is that Shea has a sprained foot.  I don't know the severity of the injury but I think he did it Thursday in practice before the Blackburn game.

Just a note that the Eureka Men's game has been postponed this Saturday and moved to January 9th.  Not sure the reasoning....

http://eurekareddevils.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/releases/20161213o5gji6

Talked with Coach Wilde on Friday at my wife's HoF Induction Ceremony about the upcoming season. Sounded like he had some good numbers on campus to play ball this year (20ish if I remember correctly).

They may also have a small JV schedule this year to get some of the guys deeper on the bench experience.  He only mentioned one name and it was one of the Lobdell brothers from last year (the guard).  When I saw him play and played against him I thought he had a real good motor and could put the ball in the hole when needed.  not sure why he fizzled out but hopefully he's with the squad all year.

Will be interesting to meet the new faces and see how they stack up at the alumni game.  I believe it will be sometime in early November so I will post back after the game as long as I am able to attend/play.

I am going to disagree respectfully of course with a couple of hopefans points:

I don't think Brashers strength affected Lessen much. Mark is a big boy as well. He shot 7-12 from the floor and had 7 free throw attempts (which should have been more IMO)

As far as the charge calls on kindred the first one he basically jumped over the player who slid in underneath him when he was in the air. Should have been an and 1...

The 2nd charge call was even worse. The player was set I will give him that but he was directly under the hoop in the restricted area. The ref on the sideline by the benches signaled block but the ref under the hoop signaled charge. The 2 never discussed the call to see what the other had.

As a player and a fan I think that the SLIAC has some of the worst officials I've ever seen. They missed calls for both teams. One that clearly sticks out to me from yesterday was when Brasher was attacking the hoop he got slapped. Everyone in the gym could hear it but there was no whistle and he missed the shot badly.

Spaldings poor free throw shooting and Eurekas turnovers are what kept this game close. If either team improved in these areas they win by 10 in regulation.

One thing that irritated me was Misuracas T. He shoved a Spalding player in the chest on his way to the bench right in front of the official. Got to keep your head in the biggest game of the year especially as a senior.

Eureka better do some recruiting because the cupboard is looking pretty bare with all these seniors leaving. I wonder if Wilde will go the Juco route again

It hurts....let me tell you.  I was still attached to this team bc of mark and Jordan.  There were multiple chances for each team to win the game. Very frustrating the way it ended.

Congrats to Spalding. Make the sliac proud in the tourney.

24-23 eureka at half. Very physical game. Brasher with 2 fouls. Eureka too many dumb turnovers could be up 10 if they cut them down

On a side note downtown Louisville is awesome. Lots of cool bars and restaurants to go to. Went to a microbrewery for dinner that was very good then walked down on 4th street. Might have stayed out a little longer than planned but that must have been due to the time change. It was only 2:30 back in Illinois 

Here are my thoughts on the conference tourney after last night assuming it stays at 4 teams:

There needs to be a permanent location for the tournament. I don't care if it is a neutral site or at one of the STL schools. The location should be in the STL area. This way parents fans and teams that don't make the tournament can still plan a weekend and come watch. Have the semi finals on Saturday and the championship Sunday afternoon so people don't have to take off work or skip class on Friday.

As far as door money goes you can split it between the school hosting the event and whichever team takes 1st in te regular season.

This to me would allow for a better turnout because last nights atmosphere in the gym was terrible.

Sorry for the rant.

Winner winner. Less POY Fritsch 2nd tram

EC 55-51. Mark lessen playing like a man.

39-39 15min

Halftime score 34-33 EC. Both teams playing with intensity. Lessen 2 nice dunks.