Quote from: TommieHoops4Life on February 26, 2010, 12:36:41 PM
I would love to see the Jonker/Paulson match-up Saturday night. If Jonker keeps up what he's doing, he's going to eat Paulson for lunch.

POY Sam Paulson will tear down one backboard tomorrow night and MVP Jesse Van Sickle will cut the net off of the other.

I haven't seen enough MIAC contests to have much to say about POY. Nostalgia for #32 tempts me to say McPartland, Paulson has become a deceptively effective force in the paint, Wirtjes has matured, Van Sickle is dangerous... Coach of the year is self-evident, isn't it?

In today's game, the Waseca native Sam Paulson and the Gusties learned an important lesson or two a little bit too late into this afternoon's contest: Beating St. Thomas does not win any subsequent contest. It only makes each game harder. Today's game was the first time current Gustavus players have fully experienced being prey. You'd prefer not to have to learn this lesson the hard way, but let's hope the players take it to heart.  Oh, and make your "free" throws.

This was an all-around lousy basketball game. I have not seen Bethel play in a while, but if their fans are pleased with today's efforts, then the program has in fact degraded at least as much as their season record suggests.

Let's just be glad we didn't waste a good officiating crew on this one.

Tonight the Tommies will find no answer for Waseca native Sam Paulson. Go Gusties!

Sam Paulson's double-double leads the Gusties to an early season conference road win. Are the Cobbers ready for the Waseca native and unstoppable force in the paint?

You know what I love about MIAC hoops? With the Gusties trailing Carleton late in the MIAC semifinal, I didn't have to worry that Greg Gumbel was going to take me up to St. Paul where the Royals were giving the Tommies problems.

Quote from: Willy Wonka on March 10, 2008, 03:00:28 PM

Viau had a great statistical game (24 and 11), but did anyone else feel the way BV "dorked" him — Boschee's old term for leaving the worst offensive threat wide open.

Boschee never would have used that term to describe how an opposing defense handled a particular Gustavus player. 

Maybe I'm overgeneralizing from my own situations, but I think I have some insight on the general poor behavior of fans these days. Be warned that the following is a rant.

First of all, administrators create the impression that just about any form of cheering is poor sportsmanship. They try to control fans with a list of "thou-shalt-nots." Sometimes, it even feels like they are making up rules strictly to suppress the students. Last year, they would not permit Gustavus students to have the Gustavus flag because they considered the pole to be a weapon. Maybe they're just guarding their backs from the lawyers.

Naturally, students are going to exceed the limits of good taste, sportsmanship, and decency. But telling them what not to do only creates an us-against-them mentality. Instead, adminstrators ought to try to channel the students' enthusiasm. Give students flags and let them feel like they're allowed to at least show some pride in their college. Basically, they need to encourage positive behaviors rather than discourage the negative. They're the professionals. They're the adults. Students have plenty of enthusiasm, but they need a little gentle guidance.

Of course some people are just idiots.

Congratulations to Kane Sivisend. He deserves every one of those accolades. He's not very flashy, and that's precisely what makes him an outstanding player. To any Sivisend doubters, let me ask just one question: If you could make entire team out of Kane Sivisend, would you? I know I would.

A few years ago, I felt nervous when he was on the floor. He seemed like the guy who couldn't handle the ball because he was tall, couldn't play in the post, and was shaky on defense. Fast forward a few years, and I felt considerably more nervous when he was on the bench. He can defend anybody, help out on the boards, dribble the ball up the floor, and blend with the offense. And as we saw last Saturday, he hits the big shots. He's really one of those players who is so good you don't begin to notice everything he is doing on the floor. He will be missed in St. Peter.

Quote from: Dawg-Dude on March 03, 2008, 10:27:06 PM
1) On GAC's last possession, why no time out? They definitely struggled to get the ball to Van Sic and even when he did get the ball, UST road him like Seabiscuit. Buy why no time out to set something up with 16 seconds left? Help me understand the thinking....

Coach Hanson has enough confidence in his players to put together a solid possesion without a timeout. Conventional wisdom suggests calling a time out to diagram a play. From the basketball I've seen, this is usually a huge mistake. The only thing a timeout accomplishes is to give the defense a chance to regroup.

A play in an almost identical situation put the Gusties in the championship game. Carleton missed the front end of a 1-1 leading by 3 with 11 seconds to play. The Gusties grabbed the rebound and took the ball straight down the court. The Carleton defense was scrambling trying to cover any shooters. They managed to contest Van Sickle's shot, but Robbie Schmidt was standing unguarded in the corner.

I'll take my chances against a disorganized defense any day.

Back when I was the board's mudslinging rookie, I had the fortitude to talk trash before the game.

(And thanks largely to Willy, I couldn't make a prediction so ridiculous that it wouldn't come true).

We've all heard the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." After watching the Tommies shamelessly taking dives for the whole game, it's only natural Gustie fans might assume everything is a flop.

Quote from: miacsuperfan on March 02, 2008, 09:47:50 AM
how ironic that k varnsen was mentioning "new lows" when discussion of officiating occured BEFORE last night's game.   pretty prophetic stuff, huh kel?

Except it wasn't a new low for- for me anyway. I've seen refs give the wrong team the ball after a timeout during the final minute of a close high school sectional playoff game.

First of all, great effort by the Gusties. I'll save my sentimental ramblings, just in case they grab a Pool C bid.

The criticism of the officials tonight points to what I see as a growing problem in basketball more generally. We're asking referees to do the impossible. They have to compromise between traditional "non-contact" basketball and the modern physical style of play. Think about this. Imagine watching a basketball game with someone who has never seen the sport before. He's going to ask, "What's a foul?" Could you explain it to him? I know I couldn't. That's the entire problem, and the powers-that-be in basketball need to consider this carefully.

I don't want to say anymore along these lines, as it is the postseason, and we ought to have better things to talk about.

The game hasn't started, and we're already complaining about the refs? That's a new low.

Great game at Gus Young. It would be nice if the Gusties could start with a lead for a change. It's really nice to have 4 seniors to put on the floor. The experience really shows on the defensive end of the floor. Down the stretch, the Carleton shooters couldn't find too many open looks. Credit the experience of the Gusties for the discipline to play solid defense without fouling.The Gusties did a great job on the glass, too.

Quote from: oldtimefan on February 28, 2008, 11:13:37 PM
The whining paid off however, as Carleton really got homered by the refs down the stretch.

Any particular plays in mind?