MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Congrats to Tommy Hannon:

http://www.goldfieldsgiants.com/giants-sign-second-import-for-2014-season/

[Drake Palmer]

Congrats to Tommy Hannon:

http://www.goldfieldsgiants.com/giants-sign-second-import-for-2014-season/

Best of luck to Tommy Hannon.  Based on what I've seen from the Tommies so far this season, they could use certainly use a little boost from his talent and leadership. But the season is young, & young post guys like Ryan Saarela & others appear to be developing their game.

[Drake Palmer]

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm sort of a hoops junkie. Got that out of the way. And as everyone knows, most of the MIAC & the rest of the state shut down last night because of the frigid temperatures.  But, in my desperation to watch a game, I discovered that the Gustavus –Macalester game wasn't postponed.  So unfortunately, I watched the first half webcast, and wished I hadn't.  Perhaps the Gusties felt the same way.  At the end of the first half the Gusties shot 20.7% from the floor and had 9 TOs which resulted in a MAC lead of 27-14.  MIGAWD!

Fortunately for Gustavus, they woke up in the 2nd half & shot 69% from the floor to pull away for a 75-52.  They even broke out their version of a zone press which created even more problems for the Scots.  MAC must be leading the league in TOs, as they had another 27 TOs last night. Personally, I was feeling fairly optimistic about the Gusties chances at the beginning of the year, but these last couple of losses to UW-LAX, St. Olaf, & this near fiasco against Macalester are certainly head scratchers. I would guess the Gustie faithful must be more than a bit concerned.

So here's something new.  The Palmer Random Arbitrary League Power Rankings

UST: 4-0 – Good overall team depth, but after Connor Nord the inside presence seems shaky. And the defense doesn't look as stony as in years past.

STO: 3-1 – Might this be the year the Coach Koz puts it all together? Nice inside outside combination & possibly best all around PG in the league, Sterling Nielsen. 

GAC: 5-1 – Very precarious third place berth.

AUG: 1-3 – JR Pg Parker Hines is scheduled to make his return.  Could this be the boost the Dawgs need?  I'm still drinking the Auggie-Doggie kool aid.

SJU: 2-2 – There's a storm cloud of Johnnie talent being assembled that is poised to make a move.

BET: 3-2 – First year Coach Doug Novak has the baby Royals exceeding expectations.  Can it continue?  I don't think so.



HAM: 3-3 – I like what first year Coach Jim Hayes has the Pipes doing.

CARL: 2-2 – Injury prone Taylor Hanson suffers another setback & depletes an already thin Carleton squad.

CON: 2-4 – Cobbers have got some talent.  Will the return of "glue-man" JR Ryan Rude be the impetus the Cobbs need to return to early season form?

SMU: 1-4 – Nice young talent in Winona, Coach Rusthoven just needs to keep adding to it.

MAC: 1-5 – The Scots are actually not that bad.  However, they could certainly use a sure-handed PG like Abe Woldeslassie, or the good old days of Erik "Splash" Jackson.

[Drake Palmer]

I watched a portion of the UST-Ole game and the tail end of the Bethel-Gustavus game last night. 

UST-St. Olaf: UST was extremely fortunate to come away with the win.  You would have thought the Tommies were playing on the road the way they shot free throws & handled the ball. UST was 16-27 from behind the FT line, & had 16 TOs.  JR post Conner Nord had a forgettable shooting night as he was only 3-9 FGA basically 5 feet or less from the basket. Fortunately for him, Nord hit the boards well, 11 rebs, & the rest of the team rebounded well. Timely defense, opportunistic shooting, plus a huge dollop of luck went a long way in securing the win.

Tough luck for the Oles who definitely played well enough to win.  JR PG Sterling Nielsen led the way as he stuffed the stat sheet, 18 pts on 7-11 FGA, 4 rebs, 4 assist, & 5 steals. IMO, best all-around PG in the league.  This is a very dangerous Olaf team.

Bethel-Gustavus:  In a matchup of two teams missing key starters, Bethel was without forward Kyle Zimmermann while Gustavus was without guard Isaac Tapp, the Royals kicked butt for a good portion of the game before they pulled out an 8 point win, 68-60.  At various stages of the game Bethel led by as many as 16 points. Another statistical oddity, Gustavus turned over the ball 18 times which resulted in 34 points for Bethel.

If Bethel's FY Brycen Wojta keeps his level of play up, he could easily earn a number of post season honors. Last night he scored 26 pts, 9-12 FGA, 2-2 3FGA, 6-6 FTA, 5 rebs, 4 assists, 3 steals, & only 2 TOs in 38 minutes of action. What's all the more impressive is that at first glance Wojta looks like a member of the college choir & not a prospect for basketball Freshman Player of the Year award. 

AUG-HAM: Speaking of point guards, nice to see Augsburg's Parker Hines back in action.  I also caught a portion of the Hamline –Augsburg game last night & even the Hamline game announcers were commenting on what a difference his presence seem to make. In 28 minutes of play, Hines dropped off 5 assists. I expect his overall numbers will go up as he gets his game legs underneath him. Dawgs beat Hamline 86-71.

[Gregory Sager]

Kind of crazy to have mid-season transfer and even more bizarre that he will be eligible to play immediately. 
http://www.sctimes.com/article/20131227/SPORTS04/312270009/Rocori-basketball-standout-transfers-Johnnies-from-Bulldogs

Neither crazy nor bizarre, but actually fairly commonplace in D3. It's probably more unusual in the MIAC than it is in other leagues.

That is quite strange.  Sounds like a good pickup for SJU.

I assume it is because he is going from D2 to D3 that he is able to play right away? 

Can anyone provide insight to the rules?

You've got the gist of it. Players transferring from D1 to D2 or D3, or from D2 to D3, or from any other level (NAIA, USCAA, juco, etc.) to D3, become eligible immediately upon enrollment if they transfer in at midseason as students in academic good standing. Players transferring "up" (D2 or D3 to D1, D3 to D2) have to sit out the remainder of the year.

It's all contingent upon the academic calendars of the schools in question, of course, and upon the willingness of the head coach at the recipient school to accept a midseason transfer. Some coaches won't bring them onto the team, fearing things such as a disruption of team morale or the inability of the transfer to pick up the team's sets and philosophies on short notice, and will instead ask the transfer to sit out the rest of the year and come back the next year fresh.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Thought I'd throw up a quick post so that Drake doesn't get too lonely in here...

Went to the BU - Hamline game on saturday, and caught my first game of the Doug Novak era.  I came away very impressed overall with the style of play, and what he's been able to do with a roster that I, and apparently most of the MIAC coaches thought would be possible, as they finished 9 out of 11 in the pre-season poll.  I think they'll still have a tougher time against the top teams, but I believe they'll compete for a playoff spot, which I thought was absolutely out of the picture for this season.

Wojta was very impressive to me.  He looks like a player well beyond his freshman year, and it could be fun to watch him develop over the next few seasons.  Given that the lineup that saw the most clock for BU consisted of 3 freshman, a sophomore, and a senior, I'd say the future is bright.  Especially if they can add some height to the lineup.  One unfortunate thing that I noticed was that Kyle Zimmerman was on crutches, and wearing a boot, so he appears to be shelved indefinitely, which is a big loss for such a young team.

Dior Ford looked like the best player for Hamline, and the most athletic player on the floor between both teams, but he seems to be most dangerous while driving, which is tougher to do against BU's zone defense.

[Drake Palmer]

Week of January 13, 2014 Random Palmer Power Rankings

St Thomas: 9-2, 6-0 – Survived first big conference test of the season at home against STO.  Should be a barnburner in Northfield. Another big week with games @ BET, GAC, & CORD

St. Olaf:  8-4, 5-2 –Barely lost to UST, & came back strong to knock off SJU in a shootout at home on Saturday. Bye on Monday, then @ MAC, and @ HAM to close out the week.

Augsburg: 7-4, 3-3 – Brought in the bench & then some in a big win over MAC last week. Parker Hines & Joey Sonnenfeld look to be making their mark on this team. Huge game against SJU tonight, @ CARL, & @ BET to close out a tough week.

Bethel: 9-3, 5-2 – This team is starting to make a believer out of me. After a season ending injury to Kyle Zimmerman, they still chalked up decisive wins over GAC & Ham last week.  Vertically challenged Luke Buttenhoff might be this year's recipient of the AL McCoy award. Shorter post player who has amazing quickness for his size, quick hands, & overall court awareness.  Another big week as they play UST tonight, a bye, & host Augsburg on Saturday.

Gustavus: 9-4, 6-2 – Gusties get to collect themselves today, play at UST on Wednesday, & close out the week in Winona against SMU. Does the loss of Isaac Tapp mean that much to the Gusties?

St John's: 5-6, 3-3 – The Jays are starting to put the pieces together, but lost a shoot out to the Oles on Saturday. Another dangerous week ahead as they play @ AUGS, @ CORD, CARL.

Carleton: 5-6, 3-3 – Little depth makes for a thin margin for the Knights.  Tough week ahead with games against SMU, AUG, @ SJU.

Hamline: 6-7, 3-5 – Pipes should be battling for one of the top 6-8 spots all season. Like the Cobbs, they need to find a consistent 3rd scorer. N/A, @ SMU, STO

Concordia: 6-7, 2-6 - Tough luck Cobbers.  N/A, SJU, @ UST

St Mary's: 2-9, 1-7 – CARL, HAM, GAC.  The Birds needs to get one of these three home games this week. Best chance might be against HAM.

Macalester:  2-11, 1-7 -   Things have started going in the wrong direction for the Scots.  N/A, STO, N/A.

[Drake Palmer]

A blubbering Drake - "thanks GoldandBlueBU"  I haven't heard from another poster in months.   

You're absolutely right about Wojta.  The kid's a stud.  Another player I was impressed with was Luke Buttenhoff.  He does some pretty athletic things for a man of his girth. : -)  Overall, Coach Novak has got this team playing way beyond anyone's expectations.  I would think AD Bob Bjorklund and the rest of the Bethel community must feel good about his hire thus far. 

If my schedule works out, I hope to be able to catch the Bethel Augsburg game this Saturday.  One of my fonder memories was the Bethel -Augsburg game a few years ago (2008?) when Femi Solaja, Jon Cassens played for the Dawgs, & Tim Madson played for the Royals. Dawgs needed the win to clinch a playoff spot, but Timmy Madson was at his best & drained a last second 3 pointer to break the Dawgs' heart. Awesome game & electric atmosphere. The Bethel fan with the white suit, umbrellas, noise, sweet. 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

We interrupt the Drake Palmer monolouge for.......
                                 Musings of the past week

Observation #1----Bethel Basketball is Back!!!!  After being dormant for far too long, hoops is alive and kicking in Arden Hills. Robertson Gym, once a nightmare for visiting teams had grown quiet, empty and lifeless over the past 3-5 seasons. Maybe last night was an exception, but the BU students turned out en mass like in the glory days (1990-2008) and were loud, proud and created a real college basketball atmosphere! The players definitely fed off the crowd's energy, which in turn drove the crowd. 

The night started with an incredible rendition of the national anthem sung by BU player Tyler Schmidt. It was as good a performance as I've seen at an MAIC game—you could feel emotion in his notes – excellent voice. The young Royals are fun to watch (unless you're their opponent) and play with a fire and drive I can't recall seeing in a BU team in over a decade, maybe longer. They were energetic, played awesome D, hustled their asses off and didn't understand the meaning of the word "quit" (a nearly-180 degree turnaround from last season). They handled the ball better than anyone I've seen go at it against the UST press and defense, with just nine TOs. DP's man-crush on Brycen Wojta is well documented, and the kid has a sweet, sweet shot, has an exceptional ability to drive, handles the rock well and is a top-notch defender.  Coach Novak has the Royals playing with an intensity and determination and it looks like he has them believing they can win—which is a key reason, IMO, to their success and will they will continue to be a major party in the MIAC championship chase. I'd call them a lock for the playoffs. As good as Wojta is, I also like the play of Trevor Hall, Jackson Canfield, Schmidt and Luke Buttenhoff. 

All in all, it was a magnificent night of hoops at Robertson, but UST proved to be too much for BU to handle. Coming out for the 2nd half, the Toms trailed by four but quickly turned that to a 12-15 point lead, relying on the long ball and (especially) the charity toss to win. Cortez Tillman was brilliant off the bench, dropping in a career-best 23 points, including 12 of 13 from the line. Zach Riederman showed why I feel he should be a strong MVP candidate with 14 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks and a pair of steals. Conner Nord was dominant for stretches in the paint with 11 boards and six points. Erik Tengwall had yet another impressive defensive game and has stepped up his scoring this year, He dropped in 7 points to go with 7 boards and 0 TOs at the point.

Observation#2--- the Oles are for real!   UST was lucky to escape with a win at home over the Oles last Wednesday. Coach Koz looked like another Coach K at times and as assembled a talented group who play well and play well together. The Oles committed just FIVE turnovers vs UST...fewer than anyone has in the 7-8 years the Tommies have been playing their "40 minutes of pure hell" pressure defense. You can count on seeing the Oles in the Playoffs as well.

Observation #3---UST is growing stronger with each game. This is something I expected to see happen as this year's seniors (and juniors0 grew into their leadership roles.  Ryan Saarela has emerged as a major presence in the paint, Marcus Alipate hasn't made me forget Ty Nicolai, but he does do a solid impersonation!

Observation #-- SMU is on track. I was VERY impressed with the play of SMU's freshmen on Saturday. When the lineups were announced and I noted SMU was starting 3 rookies, I snickered inwardly. But they played with a poise most freshmen don't have and if Coach R can keep this group together and bring in another FY class like it, the Cards could be back to their standards of the late 70s and early 80s when they were among the better MIAC teams (behind the SJU and Augs powerhouses of that era)

[Drake Palmer]

I agreed with most everything Mose said with several exceptions as noted below.

Connor Nord dominated? 2-7 FGA against some veritable munchkins is not dominating.  11 Rebs is nice.   Ryan Saarela is starting to come along real nicely & is adding some offensive firepower to his defensive abilities. 8 pts last night on 3-3 FGA, 2-3 FTA, 8 rebs, 1 steal & 1 block.

Unless I see evidence to prove other otherwise, Luke Buttenhoff will be the winner of this year's Alex McCoy award.  Love the big man's footwork & hands. 

I caught a portion of the UST-Bethel and Augsburg –St Johns games on the webcast last night before I had to get in some of my own cardio work.

The fun was definitely back in the Bethel student section.  Bethel appears to be the real deal. Although they're undersized, they're quick, athletic, & their 2-3 zone defense does a great job of masking their height disadvantages.  The Royals actually led the Tommies at the half 32-28, only to fall 81-68.  Another statistical quirk, Tommies out rebounded the Royals 43-25, yet are outscored in the paint, Bethel 30 pts, and UST 20 pts.

I hate to keep pounding the drum (not really)  but if UST can't get more consistent production from their bigs, I don't see a long run this year.  Even the undersized UST teams of BJ Viau, Al McCoy, Lonnie Robinson, Joe Scott, Tyler Nicolai et al did a really nice job of moving without the ball, which resulted in points in the lane from everyone. If Cortez Tillman didn't have a career night, 23 pts on 4-8 FGA, 12-13 FTA, UST loses this game.

When, or if SJU figures out how to make defensive stops, they're going to be tough.  Augsburg pulled out the win 75-71 behind another big night from Dan Kornbaum, 28 pts, 1 trey (really?), & 9 rebs.  Andy Seidlitz followed with 22 pts, 5-6 3FGA, 5 assists, Noah Veach 13 pts, & Parker Hines 8 assists.  In total, the Dawgs shot 55% FGA, & 7-11 for 63.6% from behind the arc, out rebounded the Jays, 35-25, 18 total assists along with their Achilles heel, 15 TOs.

Jays handled the ball well, only 4 TOs, but on the other hand, only 6 assists.  Four Johnnies in double figures – Patrick Butcher & Alex Schmidt with 15 pts each, Joe Risinger 11 pts, & Kevin McKenzie 10 pts. However, the Jays only shot 42.9% FGA & was 4-13 3FGA for 30.8%.  In a close game like last night, perhaps if they moved the ball better, they would have gotten better looks at the basket?  With the disparity in TOs, SJU 4, AUG 15, better ball movement might have done the trick.

[Retired Old Rat]

Any word on why the SJU transfer, Jonah Eisenschenk, is not logging any minutes?  His relative was the Abbot at SJU while I was spending time drinking studying in Collegeville in the 70's.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Any word on why the SJU transfer, Jonah Eisenschenk, is not logging any minutes?  His relative was the Abbot at SJU while I was spending time drinking studying in Collegeville in the 70's.

Probably just because he's only a freshman, and he came to an already decent team in the middle of the year.  It takes time to get acclimated in a new system, and for the guys that were already there to get used  to the playing style and capabilities of their new addition.  If he goes to a place like Mac, he's probably starting already.

Sonnenfeld wasn't getting much time early in the season at Augsburg either, since he got a late start due to football, but his minutes have been gradually increasing (with the exception of the SJU game, where he only got 7 minutes).

[miacsuperfan]

It is good to see this board getting a bit more activity following the holidays.  Even Miacmaniac getting involved.  And Drake, thanks for keeping things going even when this board appeared to have flat-lined.

After following much of the GAC @ UST game last night, it appears that the loss of Isaac Tapp is going to be a bit of a problem for the Gusties.  They are not real deep in the backcourt to begin with, so his ball handling and ability to score are going to be sorely missed.  He IS expected to return before the year is out, but the timeline is uncertain. The Gusties had stretches where they played fairly decently, but clearly were outmanned by a quicker and more talented group of Tommies.  The Toms once again wore a team down in the second half, after allowing the opponent to hang tough in the first.

I will get my first on-line look at the Dawgs and my second look at the Royals this weekend when they tee it up at the Robertson Center.   Drake's recent reminiscence of the 2008 match-up between these two teams brought me back down memory lane, having listened to that game on the internet.  Madson's game winning fade away three caused both radio announcers to go berserk!  Jon Cassens had a break-out game as well.  That was the same year that UST beat BU by one in the semi-finals, and GAC in the finals by three....eventually unexplainably losing to BV in the NCAAs.

My Northfield sources tell me that before the year is done, St. Olaf will be a force with which to be reckoned.  With 9 or 10 players getting some major tick, they will handle the January/February grind well.  Connor Gunderson has been good, but some feel is not living up to his potential as a scorer.  He is shooting a ridiculous percentage and needs to be putting up more than 8 shots a game.  In his final year, Gunderson should flourish and impose himself more on each game.  The Oles have won two straight, and looking at their schedule are positioned to win their next five without a hiccup. 

[hazzben]

Novak has been hitting every note correctly. From the sounds of things, he's an incredible teacher. He not only knows the game, he's incredibly adept at distilling information for the players and putting them in the best positions to win. Early word is also that the players have fully bought in to his philosophy. For a guy hired fairly late, he's earned an immediate trust from the team. They've rallied around him and he seems like a great fit for Bethel. I'm excited to see how he does in the years to come as he is able to hit the recruiting trail as well.

On the downer side, sounds like Zimmerman is done for the season (barring a miracle). Word is he tore, yes tore, his plantar fascia. Tough deal for a kid who worked his tail off rehabbing in the offseason to make it back to the court. His presence, experience and length down low would have been a big boost to this young Royals squad. They'll have to adapt, and I've got a growing confidence Novak is the coach to figure out a way to make it work.

[GoldandBlueBU]

On the downer side, sounds like Zimmerman is done for the season (barring a miracle). Word is he tore, yes tore, his plantar fascia. Tough deal for a kid who worked his tail off rehabbing in the offseason to make it back to the court. His presence, experience and length down low would have been a big boost to this young Royals squad. They'll have to adapt, and I've got a growing confidence Novak is the coach to figure out a way to make it work.

Too bad about Zimmerman.  The fact that, as you noted, losing a guy who is only 6'3 hurts their length down low, really speaks to their lack of size.  They do a decent job of boarding up against teams out of their zone defense, but the way that better teams with decent size (like UST) out rebound them really hurts.