MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[CMSfan]

Do you Claremont guys ever graciously accept a defeat?

Gosh, I hope not.  Accepting defeat strikes me as contrary to the competitive nature of sports.  Accepting defeat after losing a game comes pretty close to thinking you just weren't good enough to win.  I think the most successful competitive athletes at any level are the ones who lose a game/match/race and afterward focus on what they could have done better, and what they will do better the next time.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's appropriate and sportsmanlike to give credit where it's due for a brief moment.  I think us Claremont guys are pretty good about doing that.  But I hope it's never more than a brief moment.  I hope the same is true for the rest of SCIAC.  Otherwise, we should just stop keeping score and start giving everyone participation trophies.

Bring it, SCIAC!

[OxyBob]

Oxybob, I really like how quiet you were about the game @ Oxy.  

Oxy scored a lousy 33 points. CMS whipped 'em bad, real bad. There, happy?

Parsons really sealed the deal with about 2:30 to go off a broken play ball screen where the paint opend up and he stuffed a dunk that sent the student section into a frenzy. He capped off that night with a THUNDEROUS dunk with 10 seconds to go that really blew the roof off.

Maybe you can get Willis Reed Parsons to limp out of the CMS locker room onto the court.

OxyBob

[stag44]

Oxybob, I really like how quiet you were about the game @ Oxy. 

Oxy scored a lousy 33 points. CMS whipped 'em bad, real bad. There, happy?

Parsons really sealed the deal with about 2:30 to go off a broken play ball screen where the paint opend up and he stuffed a dunk that sent the student section into a frenzy. He capped off that night with a THUNDEROUS dunk with 10 seconds to go that really blew the roof off.

Maybe you can get Willis Reed Parsons to limp out of the CMS locker room onto the court.

OxyBob

Although he's a Stag and CMC legend, I think this 09-10 version of the Stags will be just fine without him. He's doing very well right now though, working in the Bay and is the Head Coach of Half Moon Bay High school.

At the end of the day CMS-Oxy is always a great rivalry, especially when they are both playing a high level. This friendly banter is really nothing compared to some of the talking Connor Whitman got into during his time at Oxy.

[fhsutiger]

Oxybob, I really like how quiet you were about the game @ Oxy. 

Oxy scored a lousy 33 points. CMS whipped 'em bad, real bad. There, happy?

Parsons really sealed the deal with about 2:30 to go off a broken play ball screen where the paint opend up and he stuffed a dunk that sent the student section into a frenzy. He capped off that night with a THUNDEROUS dunk with 10 seconds to go that really blew the roof off.

Maybe you can get Willis Reed Parsons to limp out of the CMS locker room onto the court.

OxyBob

Although he's a Stag and CMC legend, I think this 09-10 version of the Stags will be just fine without him. He's doing very well right now though, working in the Bay and is the Head Coach of Half Moon Bay High school.

At the end of the day CMS-Oxy is always a great rivalry, especially when they are both playing a high level. This friendly banter is really nothing compared to some of the talking Connor Whitman got into during his time at Oxy.

Too bad Conner isn't around anymore...I can honestly say I don't think I have ever seen a player go up to a coach (Scalmanini) and talk s**t before the game started, and then return at half-time and talk some more. I was sitting on the bench, and couldn't believe what I saw before my eyes. Conner was a great player, but had little class compared to all of the other kids that Oxy has ever had. I have always thought Oxy was a very classy program, and still do, but Conner Whitman is the exception. He was a great shooter, and I wish him nothing but the best, but his mouth is going to get him in trouble some day.

I'm just glad that Conner did it during the game, because Austin Soldner and Dan Winterbottom were about ready to take him out. And believe when I say this, they would have taken care of him real QUICK!

I would rather see players like Myers, Knudsen and the rest of the Cal Lu athletes who came over to Coach Scalmanini and gave him a hug before the game. That is class!  Competition is good for everyone, but being a classy individual is more important! Conner just wasn't one of those type of kids in my book.

Been wanting to get that off my chest since that incident, and know feel at ease!

[DIIIghetto]

Better leave CW out of the conversation.  Kid had balls of steel and is our only SCIAC player ever to show up in the post-season against an NWC opponent and play like he did every night in the SCIAC.  I'll take him earning respect by raining Js down from all over the floor rather than by hugging the opposing coach before the game.   

While the Stag's SCIAC success has brought out a fair amount of cockiness on this thread, it is worthwhile to note yet again that we are all still waiting for Scali's success to translate beyond our bottom-tier conference.  All of those post-season and out of region non-conference losses keep the entire conference in the SWAC of DIII category.  That means that this weekend's game is the equivalent of Jackson St. (CMS) against Prarie View A & M (Oxy).  Nothing to get too excited about.

We should all be frustrated, disappointed and even angry, that Middlebury, Amherst, Williams & MIT have all been in the top 20 this year getting respect heaped on them.  If we can't get to that level then we should drop our NCAA status and go to club status.   

[OxyBob]

Too bad Conner isn't around anymore...I can honestly say I don't think I have ever seen a player go up to a coach (Scalmanini) and talk s**t before the game started, and then return at half-time and talk some more.
...

Competition is good for everyone, but being a classy individual is more important! Conner just wasn't one of those type of kids in my book.

Been wanting to get that off my chest since that incident, and know feel at ease!

And here you are talking s**t about an opposing player who graduated from Oxy two years ago about something that happened what, 4 years ago? That's classy. Glad you feel better. At least you were consistent and misspelled his name all five times.

That means that this weekend's game is the equivalent of Jackson St. (CMS) against Prarie View A & M (Oxy).

In that scenario Oxy would be the Jackson State Tigers.

OxyBob

[cmsme]

How accurate is the top 25 poll?  (any statistics?)
In this last poll, only 33 teams received even one point.  CMS dropped out.
I don't know much about basketball, but it seems they need more voters with a wider point of view.

And i think it is difficult flying to Spokane--flight delays, snow etc.  A team has to be a lot better to win in that kind of situation.  Has any team from the SCIAC ever won after flying up north?

[fhsutiger]

Too bad Conner isn't around anymore...I can honestly say I don't think I have ever seen a player go up to a coach (Scalmanini) and talk s**t before the game started, and then return at half-time and talk some more.
...

Competition is good for everyone, but being a classy individual is more important! Conner just wasn't one of those type of kids in my book.

Been wanting to get that off my chest since that incident, and know feel at ease!

And here you are talking s**t about an opposing player who graduated from Oxy two years ago about something that happened what, 4 years ago? That's classy. Glad you feel better. At least you were consistent and misspelled his name all five times.

In that scenario Oxy would be the Jackson State Tigers.

OxyBob

While you know and have met me many times, my intention was not to say that CW is a bad person, I just believe the way he handled himself on the court was not something to be desired. I do believe I may have been a little harsh on the young man, but I stand strong that that kind of behavior should never happen on a basketball court.

While the Stag's SCIAC success has brought out a fair amount of cockiness on this thread, it is worthwhile to note yet again that we are all still waiting for Scali's success to translate beyond our bottom-tier conference.  All of those post-season and out of region non-conference losses keep the entire conference in the SWAC of DIII category.  That means that this weekend's game is the equivalent of Jackson St. (CMS) against Prarie View A & M (Oxy).  Nothing to get too excited about.

I really don't have much to say except you are right in a bunch of ways. The SCIAC in whole has to do a better job when we get to the big dance. We must continue to build our non-conference record so that we can host a post-season game in SCIAC country instead of the cold northwest. I don't want to make excuses for the STAGS when it comes to non-conference play, we must play better!

[stag44]

How accurate is the top 25 poll?  (any statistics?)
In this last poll, only 33 teams received even one point.  CMS dropped out.
I don't know much about basketball, but it seems they need more voters with a wider point of view.

And i think it is difficult flying to Spokane--flight delays, snow etc.  A team has to be a lot better to win in that kind of situation.  Has any team from the SCIAC ever won after flying up north?

The top 25 is actually a very good poll. For the most part, D3 champion comes out of the top 10, and they are actually very good at capturing the national view.

CMS dropped out because we lost to P-P. Usually if a team is just RV and loses, they'll get dropped from the poll. Also, regardless, the national view on the SCIAC isn't the greatest, justifiably so because when we play out of conference, we don't perform, especially in the NCAAs. In the past 10 years, only Oxy's 03 team has advanced to the Sweet 16 or further. Also, in the last 5 years, the SCIAC champ has been bounced the first game in the NCAAs vs a Non-SCIAC opponent.

I do agreed that travel is tough. Going upto Spokane last year was very difficult - our flight from Seattle to Spokane was cancelled and we were stuck at Seattle airport for 5 hours. Didn't end up getting into Spokane till about 9pm - after leaving Claremont at 10am. This was the day before the game as well. No excuses though - we competed for the first half, but forgot how to play defense in the Second half, and were unable to score for about a 4 minute stretch. WW simply out played us and were the better team. That gym is TOUGH to play in as well - great fans and atmosphere for hoops.

I think in general Spokane is tough for anyone. I think since Heyford tookover they have something like a .900 win percentage at home. As for the NWC overall - we usually do not fare too well when travelling up there. In general, the SCIAC does not travel well at all. Most teams travel at MOST once a year, so come tournament time, I think there is somewhat of a shock and awe effect with travel and hooping. Everyone in conference is used to sleeping in their own bed and being on campus the night before games and having a routine through the whole conference. The longest commute for anyone is the CLU - Redlands which is about 3 hour with some traffic, so there isn't any burden of travel for us. Whereas someone in the UAA - ala Wash U, Chicago, Rochester - they travel 4 or 5 weekends out of the year.

Again, these aren't excuses. At the end of the day, the SCIAC has simply not brought it during the NCAAs and on the national stage and it doesnt get any easier having to play on the road. Here's to getting a break through this year!

[OxyBob]

We should all be frustrated, disappointed and even angry, that Middlebury, Amherst, Williams & MIT have all been in the top 20 this year getting respect heaped on them.

Strength of schedule through Jan. 31:

093 Pomona .528
101 Middlebury .527
232 MIT .499
251 La Verne .472
254 Cal Lutheran .477
267 Redlands .477
276 Amherst .488
280 Claremont .477
320 Williams .481
335 Occidental .459
336 Whittier .453
358 Caltech .448

The Division III tournament selection committee determines strength of schedule using opponents' winning percentage and opponents' opponents' winning percentage. A team's SOS is two-thirds opponents' winning percentage (OWP) and one-third opponents' opponents' winning percentage (OOWP).

407 D-III teams ranked. The number at the beginning of each line is a team's rank in OWP.

OxyBob

[Howlinwolf]

Fact: CMS has had a few smothering Ws over the Eagle Rock denizens over the years.

Fact: Oxy went into the "Temple of Doom" last year and came out with more than loose change. Props to the Tigers.

Fact: CMS should be a healthy favorite on Saturday night.

Fact: I appreciate the commentary of those on this board, but if I read (or hear elsewhere) "at the end of the day" one more time, I'm going to lose my burrito.

[OxyBob]

Fact: I appreciate the commentary of those on this board, but if I read (or hear elsewhere) "at the end of the day" one more time, I'm going to lose my burrito.

Howlinwolf, by and large, everyone from Wall Street to Main Street agrees that when all is said and done you're absolutely right about that trite phrase, and when we take everything into consideration we should put it to rest and stick a fork in it.

OxyBob

[Gray Fox]

Fact: I appreciate the commentary of those on this board, but if I read (or hear elsewhere) "at the end of the day" one more time, I'm going to lose my burrito.

Howlinwolf, by and large, everyone from Wall Street to Main Street agrees that when all is said and done you're absolutely right about that trite phrase, and when we take everything into consideration we should put it to rest and stick a fork in it.

OxyBob

Yes,  phone it in.

[Gregory Sager]

How accurate is the top 25 poll?  (any statistics?)
In this last poll, only 33 teams received even one point.  CMS dropped out.
I don't know much about basketball, but it seems they need more voters with a wider point of view.

I've been told by an insider that one of the Top 25 pollsters is a SCIAC head coach.

A team has to be a lot better to win in that kind of situation.  Has any team from the SCIAC ever won after flying up north?

No. The SCIAC is 0-4 when playing at a NWC team in the D3 tourney.

[Pat Coleman]

I'll confirm that a SCIAC coach is on the panel.