MBB: American Rivers Conference

[The Show]

I imagine there has to be at least one upset this weekend, so I'll take all the home teams for Saturday.

[sportsknight]

Central, Loras, Dubuque, Wartburg.  Cedar Rapids is the place to be tomorrow.

[coocooforcoekohawk]

Does anyone else find it funny that Wartburg played Ashford & Simpson this year.

[Charlie Kohawk]

Great atmosphere today at Eby Fieldhouse as Coe topped #11 Wartburg 75-65. Maybe that'll get some voters' attention.

[coocooforcoekohawk]

One of the biggest crowds I've ever seen at Eby fieldhouse.  I can only think of one or two other games back when Cornell was competitive with Coe in the cage that packed more excitement than that crowd!  How about Kilburg!  He played less than half of the game and led all scorers with 23!

COOCOOFORCOEKOHAWKS!!!

[Walston Hoover]

Knights on a slide right now, hopefully they get the ship righted before tourney time.

[PainTrain]

Was very impressed with Coe's new coach and how hard his kids played vs. WB last night. It was a great game to watch. Just some thoughts-Coe plays much tougher defense than when in the Brase era; Kilburg is tough as nail, very smooth player; the officiating was up and down for both sides all night but overall I thought it wasn't too bad; Wartburg has some good looking young kids.  Have some more thoughts but out of time...

[KohawkSideliner]

I've been to a lot of Kohawk games at Eby but against Wartburg, that gym was the fullest and the loudest I've ever seen. That Coe student section was the biggest ever.
Props to whoever got that going

[Charlie Kohawk]

CooCoo, PainTrain and Sideliner are all right on the mark. You get the feeling that there's something special going on with Kohawk basketball. All credit goes to coach Pat Juckem and the excitement and energy he's brought to the program. He's worth the price of admission even if the team weren't so much fun to watch.

[coocooforcoekohawk]

I can't remember a better crowd since Landis was coaching.  Back when E.J. was dishing it and Kleppe was rebounding it.  Do any of you Kohawks remember the Kleppe board.  Those were good times.  Great job by the fans on saturday.  Some alums are starting to come to the games.  That in it self is an accomplishment.

[viking68]

Coe got a great coach in Juckem (as you are discovering this year). Not only is he a good coach, he is a great person. I saw him at the Coe-Cornell game and congratulated him on the season so far, and he was very humble and gave all the credit to his players.

I knew him when he was an assistant a Lawrence University (my alma mater) and was always impressed with him. I hope another Tharp assistant (DeGeorge) can get the Rams turned around and make the Coe-Cornell rivarly meaningful again...

[viking68]

Oh, yeah, speaking of Coach DeGeorge and the Rams - big win for them against Central this weekend. I really think he is starting to turn the program around. We'll see in the next few years.

[sportsknight]

Can't say I was all that impressed with Coe's crowd on Saturday.  Yes, there were a lot of people in Eby, but they weren't all Coe fans.  Wartburg brought a lot of people too and the atmosphere was nothing compared to the game a couple weeks back in Knights Gym.

I didn't think either team played all that well.  Coe did a nice job of getting back into the ballgame after Wartburg got out to a 6 point lead in the first five minutes or so and leading from about the 13:30 mark of the first half.  Every time Wartburg would cut the lead inside 5 or 6, Coe would make a shot or make a play on defense to keep Wartburg at bay, so a lot of credit to the Kohawks there. 

Juckems seems like he's got the team buying into what he's saying, but on the bench the guy is like Brase on speed.  He's always jumping up and down off the bench and is halfway out on the court at times.  If Coe gets into some big spots down the stretch, I think he's got to be more composed or the players are going to get way to jumpy.

As far as the officiating went, I'll agree with the earlier statement that it left a lot to be desired both ways.  When we saw Pat Brown come out of the locker room, I think everyone in the gym knew what kind of a game it was going to be, but the stripes lost control of that game a couple different times.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Wartburg lost because of the officiating, but I've never announced a game where I referenced the officials as much.

The Knights really need to get their heads on straight in the next 24 hours.  Tuesday is a big game, because a loss to Loras and Wartburg drops to the #3 spot in the league with a tough road trip to BV next week.  I'm starting to think that this team will be a lot like last year's in that they never come to a peak.  As good as Wartburg played at times in 04-05, there was no one game that you could point to and say "They played their best basketball that night." 

These Knights need to step up.  Steege can't do it all.  They need to develop a consistent third option, rather than having it by committee.  Their interior defense needs to get a lot better or they're going to keep giving opposing post players career nights (White, Kilburg, Kuentsling, etc).  Nate Schmidt hasn't looked like a reigning MVP all season and he needs to start acting like he cares whether Wartburg wins or loses, because right now his body language and production say that he doesn't.

I know there are people that are going to read this and be surprised by what I've said (especially that last paragraph), but if losing at Luther and Coe isn't a big enough wake-up call for this team, then nothing I write is going to matter.

[coocooforcoekohawk]

Can't say I was all that impressed with Coe's crowd on Saturday.  Yes, there were a lot of people in Eby, but they weren't all Coe fans.  Wartburg brought a lot of people too and the atmosphere was nothing compared to the game a couple weeks back in Knights Gym.

Your point is taken, however, we Kohawks sense something big happening throughout athletics.  It's an enthusiasm that is infecting the college.  Coe has not always had the most support from the student body.  Now, there is a positive swing of support and those of us who are passionate about Kohawk Nation are excited to see the passion spreading.  We can all thank the A.D. for his hard work in getting things to where they should be in Coe athletics.

[Charlie Kohawk]

on the bench the guy is like Brase on speed.

Now that's funny! I can assure you, Sportsknight, Juckem is nothing like Brase off the court, except perhaps in his passion for success.