Forgot to mention, I was sitting up in the back row behind the Elmhurst bench and with a few minutes to go in the game I heard someone start barking at the refs from the upper deck behind me.  I'm like, I know that voice.  It was Bosko.   

Good to see him there to celebrate the conference championship with Steve.

I had a chance to see Carthage play Elmhurst in person this week.  First live game for me.  I was very impressed with the team.  Really nice job on the boards for not the biggest lineup.  They don't rely on one or two players to rebound, they are all around the hoop.  Also, very good defensively.  AJ Williams has some sneaky quick hands and Daun was making nice stops and taking on different players. 

I agree with Bopol and Michael, Daun is really a difference maker.  A nice fourth option who can take someone off the dribble.  He had 15 points and 11 boards, all around great game.  I can see why Steve said he is a glue guy...can fill the stat sheet and just plays really smart. 

All five starters in double figures (between 14 to 17 points).  They don't go very deep, but I didn't see anyone wearing down during the game. Really nice roles for all of them and they play a nice team game.  I think they can make some noise this year. One of their better teams I have seen since the Wiertel, Garnes and McDaniel years.

I would think Ryan Johnson will be the player of the year.  Three time player of the week (Roper only once).  They won the league so he should be rewarded.  His brother should be first team too. 

Carthage news...

https://athletics.carthage.edu/news/2023/11/13/carthage-football-head-coach-dustin-hass-resigns.aspx

Carthage roster is now posted - https://athletics.carthage.edu/sports/football/roster/2023

Some major losses on offense.  Starting QB, top three rushers and their all conference receiver are not listed on the roster.

Greg, 

Late to the party here, but congrats on such a nice honor.  That really is awesome to get that king of recognition.

Greg nailed the key points of the game tonight.  Clutch three point shooting for Carthage and some real poor FT shooting for IWU were key factors.   The large rebounding advantage for IWU just wasn't enough.

As we have seen by now, Steve has been going with a short bench, but tonight he only had Bernero in for 3 minutes and Lamb for 10 and that was it.  Nesbitt and Johnson played all 40 minutes. 

All but three points came from the starters too.   Nice to see all of them in double figures and balanced scoring with Johnson leading the way with 16, Campbell and Bulatovic with 15 each, Nesbitt with 14 and Sigel with 11.

Hope the starters have another good 40 minutes in them against NPU.   Campbell logged 37 minutes tonight which has to be the most he has played in one game this year.  He looked good though.   Just keeps getting better and didn't rush things tonight. 

Really think they are going to be the top two teams going into next season. 

Carthage up 41 to 36 at the half here at the Tarble.  IWU was playing well and using their size when Steve went to a small lineup with 4 guards and Campbell.  They hit five big threes to take the lead.  Great job of pick and pops by Campbell, Lamb, Johnson and Nesbit. IWU just couldn't recover on the picks.

Coach Smith from NPU in the row in front of me.  Presume his assistant coach is with him too.

Congrats to Bosko for being inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame for 2023.

https://www.kenosha.com/2023/02/14/former-carthage-basketball-coach-bosko-djurickovic-named-to-2023-wbca-hall-of-fame-class/

Entertaining game at the Tarble Arena tonight.  Carthage played a strong game and had a lead a few times in the second half, but just couldn't withstand the North Park runs.  I thought the keys for Carthage were minimizing the turnovers.  They had 16 for the game, but I would venture they had double digits of them in the first half alone.  Of the 16 turnovers, it only related into 18 fast break points. 

Carthage used Bulatovic, Nesbitt and Johnson to take turns bringing the ball up the court as to not just wear one person out.  Thought this was a nice strategy and helped limit the turnovers.  Unfortunately, Steve doesn't have a long rotation so there were a few tired errors towards the end. 

Carthage did get all five starters in double figures so again, they were able to spread the scoring around and not just have to rely on 2 or 3 scorers.

I'm really feeling like Nesbitt is their best overall player right now.  Bulatovic will get his points, but Nesbitt is just so efficient with not forcing things, passing the ball, making his free throws and being able to create his own shots. 

I like Campbell and he will be a force in the future, but his next pass will be his first.  Regardless where he gets the ball, he is going to launch it.   Just a little to anxious for my liking, but he will learn. 

As far as North Park, Jackson is the real deal...so quick and strong.  I like how they play defense and put pressure on the other team.  Better start cleaning up their FT shooting though, that will hurt them. 

Quote from: Stertorous Thunder on January 28, 2023, 07:29:56 PM

Quote from: GoPerry on January 28, 2023, 06:58:25 PM
Wheaton 76
Carthage  60

It is concerning that the Thunder were playing without starter Eddie Scott but Andrew Williams was equally good.

It's probably fair to note that Filip Bulatovic was not fully healthy, but today I don't think that the Firebirds with Bulatovic at 100% would have beaten the Thunder behind the red-hot shooting of Cruickshank.  It was a good win for Wheaton, who looked far more comfortable playing a traditional CCIW opponent than the chaotic attack of North Park on Wednesday.

Sophomore AJ Johnson received a lot of praise early this season but I really like the play of sophomore Antuan Nesbitt and freshman Julian Campbell for Carthage.  For anyone in Kenosha wondering what's going to happen when Bulatovic is done, I think you're in good hands.  This week I jotted down a list of potential all-conference honorees and Nesbitt ended up shockingly high on my personal rankings, in part because he is leading the conference in minutes per game and in a three-way battle for the assists title with Tyson Cruickshank and Shamar Pumphrey, who are both pretty good point guards.

Thunder, good call out regarding Nesbitt and Campbell.  I know I had mentioned AJ Johnson weeks back as he had really been playing well....as of late, a bit inconsistent.   I do believe Nesbitt deserves some all conference acknowledgement this year.  He isn't flashy, just very consistent and always under control.  He is currently 12th in scoring, first in FG% at an outstanding 59.5%, second in assists and first in minutes played at 37 (almost 2 more minutes a game than the next two players).   Pretty evident that Steve knows he needs him on the floor as much as possible to give them the best chance to be successful. 

He was a highly ranked player in WI coming out of high school and I think he originally was recruited to Northern Michigan, but not sure he ever played as he came to Carthage as semester break last year. 

(modified by GS for formatting)

Couple observations from being at the Carthage game tonight.

*.  The game turned as soon as Lewis came in the game.  He hit a number of nice jump shots and Campbell just couldn't guard him (part of the reason for lack of minutes)
*.  Bulatovic had a poor game tonight.  He didn't score in the first half and the majority of his shots were taken off balance.  He did end up in double figures, but not a great game.
*.  NC went 25 for 28 from the FT line vs. 9 for 15 for Carthage.  Hard to overcome that advantage and efficiency.
*.  Carthage cut the lead to 4 twice in the second half, but couldn't get a big stop to get it down to one possession.
*.  Nesbitt started out hot with I think the first 8 points and then didn't really get going again until middle of second half.  Not flashy, but a real nice player who is provides good defense, scoring and very unselfish play.

Hey Greg,

Thanks for the shout out regarding the lighting in the "old" Tarble building.  We had a few laughs over that.

Been meaning to give my take on the team so far.  Wanted to wait a bit to see how things kept playing out as I have seen two games in person (Beloit and Ripon) and watched a few others.

* Carthage finally has multiple scoring options they have lacked for some time.  They have five guys scoring in double figures and those five are in the top 22 scorers in the conference.  No longer is Bulatovic need to carry the team from the offensive end.
* This team plays better on the ball defense than I have seen in some time too.   Sigel has some sneaky quick hands, Johnson is just a good all around defender, Nesbitt has good length to handle the taller guards and Bernero is such a great role player and does a nice job underneath for being undersized in the post.
* Bosko always used to say that players made their biggest jump between their freshmen and sophomore years. That is an understatement with AJ Johnson.   This kid can play...knocks down the three and likes to get into the lane as well. Other than a two point game against Beloit, he has been lighting it up as of late and is the number six scorer in the conference. 
* Carthage is winning games this year that I have seen them lose regularly in the past.  They are jumping out to nice leads and then holding off the runs by other teams.  Did that against Ripon and held off Augie just recently. 
* That Ripon win was impressive.  Carthage shot out to a big lead, withstood a nice Ripon run and added back to the lead they had.  Ripon has beaten a few WIAC teams including Oshkosh just recently.
* It feels like Steve has found his groove on the types of players he likes. He had to play some freshmen last year, but it is paying off now.
* Of the top eight in the rotation, there is one senior, one junior, four sophomores and two freshmen.  There are only 3 or 4 other junior/seniors on the team and they aren't seeing much time so this feels like we could see Carthage elevating themselves back into the top of the conference again.
Speaking of the freshmen, the Campbell kid is coming off the bench and still rounding into shape (I feel).  If he can slim down some, he is going to be a force at 6'8" and someone willing to step out and take the three.   Jendusa is going to be a nice complimentary point guard they can count on to run the team when they need to sub perimeter players in. 

All in all, glad Steve is finding success.  These guys play hard and I really like the way they play defense and push the ball up the floor on offense. 

Carthage is hosting Beloit tonight as well.  Will recap later tonight or tomorrow

Carthage roster is finally up - https://athletics.carthage.edu/sports/mens-basketball/roster?path=mbball

31 players listed, more than I have ever seen before.   Big freshman class and a few transfers.   Lost Horner which we knew about, but also Kostes is not listed on this roster.  He was getting some good minutes as the season went on last year.

Looks like a few good newcomers, especially the kid from Peoria.  Time will tell. 

Mark,  The team is loaded with size.   Two of the returning all Americans are 6'6" and 6'7"  and are middle blockers so besides rebounding, they could certainly protect the lane.   I know you were joking, but what it shows is Carthage can recruit outstanding athletes for the volleyball team, we need to have that carry over to the basketball team like in ages past.