MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Gregory Sager]

Nice article by D3hoops lead columnist Ryan Scott on UST & the Tommie basketball team.  I wonder if D3hoops board scold, our own Greg Sager will reprimand Ryan for his use of the phrase "perennially among the best teams in the country" in his sentence - "Relying so much on young players is new for Tauer and St. Thomas, perennially among the best teams in the country and seemingly always full of experienced and talented seniors." 

https://www.d3hoops.com/playoffs/men/2019/tommies-12-year-challenge

Ryan was yanking my chain, just as people tend to yank my chain regarding my quixotic quest to put a lance through the "tough to beat a team three times" windmill. And I'm fine with him doing that. Life must be a real slog through Hades for people who never develop the capacity to laugh at themselves.

It's a great article about the Tommies, by the way. Ryan's pieces are always well-written and well-researched, and they're among the key reasons why people who do nothing but loiter on this site ought to fetch themselves over to d3hoops.com more often. But there I go, scolding again.

I happen to agree with Ryan.  A 10+ year run in the D3 Hoops Top 25, two National Championships, plus a final four appearance, and a one year blip, equals a perennial power.  Conversely, a two year absence from the polls and sub .500 record should warrant an "oh how the mighty have fallen" post.  I would add that I certainly did not expect to see this type of season from the Tommies this year.  My two cents worth.   

Words have meanings, Drake. I don't write the dictionary. I merely quote it.

Oh no...here comes Sager...you don't mention transfers or perennial powers or use anything short of perfect grammar without Sager coming after you to tell you you're opinion is wrong.

It's your not "you're". 

[Gregory Sager]

Nah, Greg usually lets the grammar slide.

On occasion, making an exception to regular practice is too tempting to resist.

[Drake Palmer]

Perennial Power

a. Lasting an indefinitely long time; enduring: an author's perennial popularity among children. b. Appearing again and again or year after year; recurrent: a perennial contender for the championship.
Perennial - definition of perennial by The Free Dictionary


Now, where we draw the line as fans is our own personal definition of recurrent, or how deep must a team go into the tournament to qualify as a deep run, or a long time?  That's a matter of opinion, not fact.   

That's why I always double proof my posts when I think you might be reading them.  But even then...

[Gregory Sager]

Three initial thoughts, DP:

1) Kudos to you for finding an online dictionary that uses "perennial contender for the championship" as its example sentence for perennial. I don't know if you actively hunted for that or if it was just plain kismet, but, either way, nicely done!



2) As a matter of form, it's always sound to go with the primary definition, unless specifically called upon to do otherwise. So the single-word synonym presented here shouldn't be recurrent, it should be enduring. As you noted, recurrent is vague enough to lend itself to interpretation. But enduring ("lasting; continuing; durable") does not.

3) Your campaign to, in your words:

create a bit more readership on the board and create some talk in the next few days before the Sweet 16.    

... will likely draw nothing but brickbats directed at you for turning the MIAC board into two guys flinging dictionaries at each other.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Dictionaries do not determine meanings, they merely report them.  As language changes, so do dictionaries.

[Gregory Sager]

True. But this one hasn't changed yet.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

True. But this one hasn't changed yet.

It's literally on the horizon.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The second weekend of the DIII Men's and Women's Championship Tournaments is set to start. Can the upset minded teams continue to prevail? Can the "favorites" maintain their poise? What home team will enjoy their own cooking? And who will still be playing in Fort Wayne and Salem?

On Thursday's Hoopsville, Dave is joined by a number of guests to get a look not only at the action ahead this weekend, but the action coming at the final fours. Which teams seemed ready to be playing one more weekend?

Hoopsville is presented by D3hoops.com and airs from the WBCA/NABC Studio. Thursday's show will air live starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. here: http://bit.ly/2C82LcA (or via Facebook Live and Periscope simulcasts).

If you have questions about Division III basketball, feel free to send them and we will answer them on a the show. Email them to dave.mchugh@d3sports.com or use any of the social media options below.

Guests Schedule (order subject to change):
- John Tauer, No. 13 St. Thomas men's coach
- Dave Hixon, No. 7 Amherst men's coach
- Nathan Dennison, VP for Sales, Memorial Coliseum (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
- Mark Morefield, No. 12 UMHB women's coach
- Carla Berube, No. 4 Tufts women's coach

If you enjoy the show via the podcasts, choose your favorite avenue to listen and/or subscribe via the the following four avenues (click on the images when necessary):
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville




Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville

[Drake Palmer]

Tough loss for the Tommies last night.Congrats on a terrific season which far exceeded most expectations,including this poster. Coach Tauer and staff truly do a great job over there at Cretin and Summit. Now if they could just find a couple of good sized athetic bigs to take the pressure of their sharpshooters.

I was able to watch most of the other Sweet 16 games, and man, are there some nice forwards left in the tourney. Should be another great night of viewing.

[PurpleReign]

Tough loss for the Tommies last night.Congrats on a terrific season which far exceeded most expectations,including this poster. Coach Tauer and staff truly do a great job over there at Cretin and Summit. Now if they could just find a couple of good sized athetic bigs to take the pressure of their sharpshooters.

I was able to watch most of the other Sweet 16 games, and man, are there some nice forwards left in the tourney. Should be another great night of viewing.

St. Thomas recruiting got off to a nice start with Lakeville North 6'7 senior forward Tate Staloch committing for 2019.

[Drake Palmer]

Tough loss for the Tommies last night.Congrats on a terrific season which far exceeded most expectations,including this poster. Coach Tauer and staff truly do a great job over there at Cretin and Summit. Now if they could just find a couple of good sized athetic bigs to take the pressure of their sharpshooters.

I was able to watch most of the other Sweet 16 games, and man, are there some nice forwards left in the tourney. Should be another great night of viewing.

St. Thomas recruiting got off to a nice start with Lakeville North 6'7 senior forward Tate Staloch committing for 2019.

If Staloch can have a similar career to another Lakeville North alum, Ryan Saarela, the Tommies will be in good shape.

Aside from maybe Wheaton College, the other three teams competing at the Final Four next weekend all have several,quality big men to complement the perimeter guys.

[Drake Palmer]

D3hoops All Region teams were announced today.  In a bit of a surprise to me, Booker Coplin was NOT selected Player of the Year for the West Region.  It would be interesting to know how close the vote was.  Ryan Garver is a stud, and I've seen him play a handful of times online, but IMO, Coplin was the man.  However, Coplin did make All West Region First Team.

As expected, Anders Nelson was selected FY of the Year - West Region.

https://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-region/2018-19/index

[Pat Coleman]

D3hoops All Region teams were announced today.  In a bit of a surprise to me, Booker Coplin was NOT selected Player of the Year for the West Region.  It would be interesting to know how close the vote was.  Ryan Garver is a stud, and I've seen him play a handful of times online, but IMO, Coplin was the man.  However, Coplin did make All West Region First Team.

As expected, Anders Nelson was selected FY of the Year - West Region.

https://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-region/2018-19/index

Super super close. And I wonder if Coplin had been a senior, if that might have swung it, but voters sometimes factor in seniority in close decisions.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Garver was named both POY and DPOY for the American River Conference two years in a row.  Those for awards signify a lot of talent.  I'm actually glad voters don't always just pick the highest scoring nominees.

[Smitty Oom]

Ryan, I know you probably don't think this way, but your posts almost suggests you don't believe Coplin has "a lot of talent." Ryan Garver is a very deserving player, Drake mentioned that in his original post. NWU had an amazing season, finishing at 27-2 and winning a competitive ARC where as Augsburg only had a solid season in comparison, finishing at 19-9. That had a lot to do with the selection, as did seniority as Pat mentioned. But, Booker Coplin was named to the MIAC All-Defensive team this year, showing that the Coaches believe he is much more on both ends of the court than his eye popping stats show.  Both Coplin and Garver are both very deserving of high praise and being named West Region POY, and I hope NABC votes for Coplin as their POY so they both get rewarded for their great seasons.

I was really shocked with Kent Hanson being selected to the 3rd team. I mean congrats to him, he is a great player, but the Carlies were pretty bad this year. I thought either Sam Gabbard of UC-Santa Cruz or Jaran Sabus of Wartburg were just as deserving on better teams.