MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[piperinsider]

I found myself in Hutton for the first time in almost two years Saturday. Great second half for the Pipers, who have some nice looking young players. I was really impressed with Jordan Schmidt. Schmidty and Noah Aguirre did a great job of spot-up shooting. They hit some open 3s while Brown did a good job of driving into the lane and kicking out (or traveling).

Hipp was a bit inconsistent but still put up a double-double. He needs to be on the court as Hamline isn't a great rebounding team outside of him and Brown - who had a nice posse sitting a few rows up from the court. Dan Andersen also had a nice game, making his first 4 shots for 10 points. His minutes, though, are sparingly maybe because of his defense. I also liked Victor Easter, who played much better than Wenrich and Nick Carroll.

As DP said, Carleton is very average. Rosett is solid, Seth Jonker played well, but beyond that, the Knights have decent guards in Davis and Sutherland, but no bench. Number 41 and 53 didn't even look to shoot. I think Carleton would have benefited from a zone defense in the second half, limiting the driving abilities of the Vipers.

Other observations:
* $1.50 for a can of pop - I've already been bleeped by Hamline for a large chunk of tuition. Seriously? A 24-pack costs $6. 24 x 1.50=$36....that's a 30 dollar profit!!!!!!
* Good seeing DP in the stands yesterday. Didn't introduce myself because I wasn't sure it was you, but now that I see that you were there, the mystery man is no more - well, to me at least.

As Goldberg once said in the WCW: "Who's Next?"

[Drake Palmer]

* Good seeing DP in the stands yesterday. Didn't introduce myself because I wasn't sure it was you, but now that I see that you were there, the mystery man is no more - well, to me at least.

As Goldberg once said in the WCW: "Who's Next?"

To quote VOJ - "not so quick" PI.    Through the miracle of modern webcast technology, I could have been watching the game from the comfort of my home rather than braving the subarctic chills & paying the exorbitant price of 1.50 for a lousy 12 oz can of pop, & 2.00 for a freaking program! At least it was 2.00 for a program the last time I was there. 

How 'bout them Vikes eh?

[huhoops]

I found myself in Hutton for the first time in almost two years Saturday. Great second half for the Pipers, who have some nice looking young players. I was really impressed with Jordan Schmidt. Schmidty and Noah Aguirre did a great job of spot-up shooting. They hit some open 3s while Brown did a good job of driving into the lane and kicking out (or traveling).

Hipp was a bit inconsistent but still put up a double-double. He needs to be on the court as Hamline isn't a great rebounding team outside of him and Brown - who had a nice posse sitting a few rows up from the court. Dan Andersen also had a nice game, making his first 4 shots for 10 points. His minutes, though, are sparingly maybe because of his defense. I also liked Victor Easter, who played much better than Wenrich and Nick Carroll.

As DP said, Carleton is very average. Rosett is solid, Seth Jonker played well, but beyond that, the Knights have decent guards in Davis and Sutherland, but no bench. Number 41 and 53 didn't even look to shoot. I think Carleton would have benefited from a zone defense in the second half, limiting the driving abilities of the Vipers.

Other observations:
* $1.50 for a can of pop - I've already been bleeped by Hamline for a large chunk of tuition. Seriously? A 24-pack costs $6. 24 x 1.50=$36....that's a 30 dollar profit!!!!!!
* Good seeing DP in the stands yesterday. Didn't introduce myself because I wasn't sure it was you, but now that I see that you were there, the mystery man is no more - well, to me at least.

As Goldberg once said in the WCW: "Who's Next?"

HU is actually a really good rebounding team. They are leading the conference in rebounding through 9 games (not including yesterday) and are second in overall rebounding margin (+6) only behind GAC(+7). If you take out the 2 leading rebounders from a given team (like you did with Brown and Hipp), on average, there are roughly 22-25 rebounds dispersed between the rest of the players. HU is averaging 24 rebounds outside of Brown and Hipp, which isn't bad at all.

Andersen is a great shooter and the Taber kid has shown some promise too. Unfortunately for one reason or another they don't/can't play much defense. You need to be able to stop someone or you can't consistently help a team. That's why regardless of offensive production, guys like Carroll and Wenrich (who "didn't play that well") will always be in the rotation and sometimes be playing major minutes on given nights.

Good call on Easter. He was turning it over a lot early in the season but now seems to have shaken out some of those freshman jitters and found a level of comfort. This guy is a great passer as well as a crafty finisher around the rim. I wouldn't be surprised to see his role continue to expand for HU.

[papahoops]

Not to reiterate what some people are already saying, but if HAM keeps playing up to their apparent potential, this could be a real fun conference season. Let's just say I'm starting to become a believer. SJU, CON, HAM, AUG, GAC, and UST are looking like the possible playoff teams with a pesky SMU team and STO putting pressure on the 6th seed as well. Can't wait to see how things shake out.

After seing some teams and reviewing the results of the weekend, I believe Gacman is right on. I went into the weekend thinking MAC was the only definite non-playoff team, but after seeing Carleton's lack of depth in their Hamline loss and how CON throttled Bethel in their gym, I am inclined to add the Knights and Royals to the projected "non-playoff team" category.

[papahoops]

[
* Good seeing DP in the stands yesterday. Didn't introduce myself because I wasn't sure it was you, but now that I see that you were there, the mystery man is no more - well, to me at least.

As Goldberg once said in the WCW: "Who's Next?"
[/quote]

PI,
I question whether you saw the real Drake Palmer, as he is the master of illusion . Rumor has it he was hiding out yesterday at the Hamline gym in the middle of Ray Brown's posse

[Mr. Ypsi]

My understanding is that Drake Palmer does not, in fact, even exist.  I'm told 'he' is a hologram from Pixar.

[piperinsider]

* Good seeing DP in the stands yesterday. Didn't introduce myself because I wasn't sure it was you, but now that I see that you were there, the mystery man is no more - well, to me at least.

As Goldberg once said in the WCW: "Who's Next?"

PI,
I question whether you saw the real Drake Palmer, as he is the master of illusion . Rumor has it he was hiding out yesterday at the Hamline gym in the middle of Ray Brown's posse

Here's the thing about Hutton Arena -
The parents of the players generally sit behind the benches. Opponent fans also sit behind the bench, while you'll see a few Hamline students directly behind the Viper bench.

On the west side, students generally sit on the south end, the Brown posse in the middle scattered with the elderly alums on the back of the sections. If you want to find D3Hoops posters, they generally sit in the open section of the stands....northwest corner of the gym. It's quiet, close to the over-priced concession table and has easy access to a door out to Snelling Ave.

You just got to know where to look.

DP...at least you got there in time to get a game-day info sheet with your $2 program. Here's a little fact on those game-day sheets - I was the one that started it way back in 2001 when I was a student SID. I have to give Gene McGivern a little cred as I pretty much copied his design. From afar, it looks like the game-day sheets have been updated a bit since my guy Troy Mallat left.

HUHoops - thanks for the rebounding numbers. I guess I based my opinion on one day's work. Having Hipp will definitely help the rebounding cause as he likes to rebound his own miss I'm thinking purely for pumping up his stats

As for the defense of Wenrich and Carroll, I'll maybe agree with you on Levi, who plays pretty good defense despite being undersized, but Carroll, really? He got beat twice on cuts through the lane and one time just pushed the cutter instead of moving his feet. Now, I've seen Nick play a better game, but Saturday he didn't do much.

Didn't see much from Taber against Carleton either. Love Schmidt, love Aguirre in the second half.

[Buddo]

Just scanning some conference stats as I watch the Vikes right now and the conference MVP through the first 20% of the season seems to be pretty clear — SJU's Aaron Burtzel. I've never seen the kid play, but his production in every facet of the game is truly impressive...

3-1 MIAC record
14.0+ PPG (10th)
8.7+ RPG (4th)
68%+ shooting (1st)
4.0+ APG (4th)
2.33- SPG (2nd)
1.0 BPG (8th)
2.0- Assist/TO ratio (7th)
36.33+ minutes (1st)

* + and - signs indicate how the numbers will change after Saturday's game, since the MIAC stats haven't been updated yet

I've seen Burtzel play three times, and he always impresses. The guy is SO smooth down low, and by looking at the rest of his stats he is simply well-rounded.

[miacsuperfan]

did i see the name of todd herman in the sju box vs. smu?    
if he is back permanently, that should be great news for the johnnies.  he brings something defensively that nobody else on that team appears to have.  i never felt like sju was the same team last year following his 'departure' around the holidays.  it looks like herman's presence might move andy burns (who is actually having a pretty decent year) out of the starting line-up.   

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

My understanding is that Drake Palmer does not, in fact, even exist.  I'm told 'he' is a hologram from Pixar.

No, he is not a hologram. He really exisits, though, just like Santa Claus. He is in the hearts and minds of everyone.

I thought for sure Id figured out who DP is last year, and went up to him and introduced myself. Turns out it was PapaHoops!

After that, I gave up on playing "who is it" and decided to let DP have his privacy...and enjoy his mystique

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Cobbers looked AWFULLY strong last night at BU. Bethel has had a rash of injuries and flu bugs, but Cord looks like a top 2 team. They very well may be the team to beat in 2010-11, as they dont have a senior on the roster.

Olmschied, Olson, Hartmann, Lien-- thats a nice group of scrappy players with outshide shooting skills. Fraase is a horse, gets the job done. His backups- Hagemeyer and Baldwin- give them plenty of size. Molina runs the point well, and Martinson does a good job spelling him. I like their hustle, scrappiness and obvious team-first play. All in all, a fabuous final recruiting class by Sieverson, who is now assisting the Cobber womens program that he built up in the 80s

[VOJ]

did i see the name of todd herman in the sju box vs. smu?    
if he is back permanently, that should be great news for the johnnies.  he brings something defensively that nobody else on that team appears to have.  i never felt like sju was the same team last year following his 'departure' around the holidays.  it looks like herman's presence might move andy burns (who is actually having a pretty decent year) out of the starting line-up.   

The starting line-up is an interesting question to ponder for SJU...I don't think that Burnsy will be out of the line-up...too valuable as a PG, and as Coach Smith says its really not who starts, but who is on the floor closing things out that matters.

I could see Burns, Herman Schwartz, Burtzel and Barmore make up the starting line-up in the near future or you could go with Latzke instead of Herman and have the high energy wing coming off the bench, if that is the case does anyone else have a guy with his skills coming off the bench? 

Should have a good game with St. Olaf tonight...it always seems to go down to the final 2 or 3 minutes with those guys especially in their gym...Anyone attend the Oles-Auggies matchup Saturday who can give a report?

[Gacman]

Just got done looking at the match-ups for tonights games and their is only one game that really stands out to me, a couple other decent games, and two games that shouldn't be a problem.

The game of the night has to be the CON @ AUG game. Can the size and athleticism of the Cobbers out duel the quickness and depth of the Auggies guards. Should be a fun one.

SJU and STO should be a good game as STO has been playing everyone tough except their last game.

I think this is a must win for the Pipers if they want to not only build on their west coast success but show that they are a legitimate threat for the playoffs.

UST and GAC should both win their games tonight. GAC's size with Paulson, Blacklock, and McPartland should be to much for MAC, and Niccolai and Scott need to just cancel out Wright and Holland for a win.

[Buddo]

UST and GAC should both win their games tonight. GAC's size with Paulson, Blacklock, and McPartland should be to much for MAC, and Niccolai and Scott need to just cancel out Wright and Holland for a win.

Carleton plays SMU, UST doesn't play today.

[Willy Wonka]

Just got done looking at the match-ups for tonights games and their is only one game that really stands out to me, a couple other decent games, and two games that shouldn't be a problem.

The game of the night has to be the CON @ AUG game. Can the size and athleticism of the Cobbers out duel the quickness and depth of the Auggies guards. Should be a fun one.

SJU and STO should be a good game as STO has been playing everyone tough except their last game.

I think this is a must win for the Pipers if they want to not only build on their west coast success but show that they are a legitimate threat for the playoffs.

UST and GAC should both win their games tonight. GAC's size with Paulson, Blacklock, and McPartland should be to much for MAC, and Niccolai and Scott need to just cancel out Wright and Holland for a win.

Let's hope our Gusties aren't still "jet-legged" from their trip, eh?