Ripon game last night:

First, Schmitting is a beast.  UWGB could not stop him, and i doubt anyone in the MWC will be able to either.  He should get a touch on every possession this year, which probably won't happen, because of ripon's perimeter based offense.

Second, this game was much closer than the final score.  Ripon not only had the lead at half, but they had the lead by 2 with around 10 minutes to go in the game.  I'm not going to blame the refs, but there were some questionable calls, and the fouls were 10 to 2 to start the second half in GB's favor.  A couple of technical fouls from Ripon didnt' help their cause either.  GB was in the double bonus with 10 minutes to go, and they made their free thows down the stretch.

Finally, i really like this Ripon team.  I was wondering if there was going to be a guy who stepped up his game this year other than the "big three" (McMullen, Johnson, Schmitting), and i was pleased to see that there was.  That guy was Paul Wise.  He played hard, and provided a much needed scoring punch as well.

I'm excited to see what the hawks can do the rest of the season.

I believe I'll be heading up to GB on Nov. 1 and watching them play, so I'll have a better update on the team then.  Stay tuned.

Am i really getting called out on the D3hoops board?  Wow.  I've been out of the RC loop, and don't have much to add, but i can see the hawks being very competitive with their three returning starters from last year McMullen, Johnson, and Schmitting.  I haven't heard much about their freshmen, but i did hear that they have an ultra-athletic guy who's last name i believe is Brown.  I'm not sure how much he'll play as a freshman, but he might be a guy to remember down the road.

The loss of Becker and Massen will hurt, but i think their core is definitely strong enough to get them back to the tourney.

I'm back baby!!!