MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

bethelbacker · February 17, 2006, 01:25:05 PM

I agree with BG, I also like Wittwer's game and would have liked to see him at BU.

I think the criteria for this award should be specified. To me the 6th man is a difference maker. While Wittwer is indeed a good player is it safe to say that even if he has an off night GAC can still win with TeBrake and Sowden picking up the slack? I don't think the same can be said of BU- when Freddy logs 23+ min the Royals are 10-3. Clearly he is the pulse of this team- if he isn't playing well or many min the team struggles plain and simple.

As is the case with BG my argument isn't against Wittwer but more for Fredrickson.

miacwatchmen · February 17, 2006, 01:46:29 PM

Bethel boys out in full force today. Congrats on the playoff birth!!

columbianmaffia · February 17, 2006, 02:29:03 PM

oh america are you serious, its showtime baby here we go, wham bam jam slam...ITS AWESOME BABY!!!

name that cd (its the intro to the cd)

fun game on saturday when CAR goes to heaven to play GOD

Flip the Red Bird · February 17, 2006, 02:37:06 PM

For the non-catholics out there, and I guess there are some. There is a Chicago Catholic league and its a solid league. Most of SMU's players past or present played in that league (Big T is one). SMU is better known in Chicago than the cities. Lovelace had good connection in Chicago as he was from Lewis University (in Chicago), but I agree that he isn't the reason there are Chicago kids there. I don't believe Trewick has ever set foot in Chicago and he still has kids from there who are freshman.

The bigger debate is:

Are Chicago kids better than MN kids? And does SMU get the upper end DIII kid or just the ones that can't cut it so they get away from home and try SMU? Chicago has great high school basketball, but SMU never wins in the MIAC.

sumander · February 17, 2006, 02:49:46 PM

Quote from: columbianmaffia on February 17, 2006, 02:29:03 PM
oh america are you serious, its showtime baby here we go, wham bam jam slam...ITS AWESOME BABY!!!

name that cd (its the intro to the cd)

fun game on saturday when CAR goes to heaven to play GOD

Jock Jams.

That's a road trip!

miacwatchmen · February 17, 2006, 04:07:59 PM

Quote from: Flip the Red Bird on February 17, 2006, 02:37:06 PM
For the non-catholics out there, and I guess there are some. There is a Chicago Catholic league and its a solid league. Most of SMU's players past or present played in that league (Big T is one). SMU is better known in Chicago than the cities. Lovelace had good connection in Chicago as he was from Lewis University (in Chicago), but I agree that he isn't the reason there are Chicago kids there. I don't believe Trewick has ever set foot in Chicago and he still has kids from there who are freshman.

The bigger debate is:

Are Chicago kids better than MN kids? And does SMU get the upper end DIII kid or just the ones that can't cut it so they get away from home and try SMU? Chicago has great high school basketball, but SMU never wins in the MIAC.

That is because Chicago kids never play defense!! Hello Trewick.....defense should be priority number 1 if you want to win. I think the Chicago kids are pretty darn good offensively but on defense they suck. The MIAC is alot about the D baby as Dick Vitale....ooppss i mean Columbianmaffia would say

finsleft · February 17, 2006, 04:23:00 PM

In 24 hours the Guppie pounding will be well underway. The only big Q is if Henricks is healthy enough. If not, Johnnies margin of victory may only be in the single figures. If so, open up a can.

miacwatchmen · February 17, 2006, 04:47:30 PM

Has anyone heard if there will be suspensions handed down in the CAR SMU fiasco?? I heard Zoro threw an elbow and that almost set off the powder keg.

Drake Palmer · February 17, 2006, 05:28:39 PM

Quote from: miacwatchmen on February 17, 2006, 04:47:30 PM
Has anyone heard if there will be suspensions handed down in the CAR SMU fiasco?? I heard Zoro threw an elbow and that almost set off the powder keg.

Hmmm, that's interesting.

More on the Wittwer/Fredrickson 6th man debate. Up until Bethel-Ham #2, I was convinced the 6th man award should go to Wittwer. But Fredrickson's performance at least made me pause to double check my vote. Before the Bethel faithful re-emerged, I pointed out in my post game summary post that Fredrickson was the Bethel player successfully defending Hamline's Joe Smock late in the 2nd half.

If the award is based strictly on versatility & "well-roundedness" I would give the award to Wittwer in a second. He can effectively play 4-5 positions. Also, in the Gustavus scheme of things I don't really think they need an "instant offense" threat like a Bethel does. Gustavus needs Wittwer to bring the ball up, get a board, make a stop, get a steal, score etc. In fact, I think the Coach Hanson approach is the model to developing a league MVP. Bring the kid off the bench for his first couple of years, have him win the 6th man Award in his soph or junior year, & by the time he's a senior the kid's the MVP. More than likely the Gusties are holding up another league championship trophy at the same time.

Bethel's similar to Hamline - they need to outscore you in order to win. (Edited-Bethel believes the best defense is a strong offense. Thanks Oas ) Fredrickson suits Bethel's needs perfectly. He's their instant offense & while he's at it, he plays a little defense too. I must admit I was somewhat surprised by the Bethel coaches' decision to have Steve Strom sitting on the bench in the closing minutes of the game against Hamline. I think Strom does an excellent job defensively, but his offense appears to be limited. BG you stated - "And I would think that finishing a game would indicate his defensive value to a team more than starting." Or could it be because Strom doesn't bring enough offensively?

I also thought no one from Hamline ever challenged Fredrickson enough to make him go to his left hand which proved to be one of Hamline's downfalls.

I'd love to see how close the voting is.

onearmedscot · February 17, 2006, 05:45:49 PM

Drake Madden--

Are you sure about your quote?

QuoteBethel's similar to Hamline - they need to outscore you in order to win

I think BU is similar to every team in the MIAC and the nation in that they definitely need to outscore their opponent in order to win.

Sorry man, couldn't resist. I love a good madden quote when I see one. I think you just made the Quote Machine page on my site...

oAs.

Drake Palmer · February 17, 2006, 05:51:31 PM

Sheesh - I only edited my post like three times

. & logged off.

Can you forgive oh infallible One? I seemed to recall Wonka pointing out an error or two fr'instance Luke Linz from Gustavus?!?

You cut me me slack, I'll cut you slack.

onearmedscot · February 17, 2006, 09:51:46 PM

Postseason Awards Updated

I like the top 15 that the fans have chosen. I think it's pretty darn accurate.

oAs.

Gregory Sager · February 17, 2006, 10:04:54 PM

Quote from: Flip the Red Bird on February 17, 2006, 02:37:06 PMFor the non-catholics out there, and I guess there are some. There is a Chicago Catholic league and its a solid league. Most of SMU's players past or present played in that league (Big T is one).

Of the nine Illinois players currently listed on the St. Mary's roster, only one is from the Chicago Catholic League: John Gencius of St. Laurence HS. In fact, Gencius is the only Chicagoan who was handed a Cardinals uni this season.

Of the seven kids from Chicago's suburbs listed on the St. Mary's roster, one is from the North Suburban Prairie Conference (Eric Lear, Antioch HS); one is from the SICA North Silver Conference (Rayshawn Redmond, Hillcrest HS); two are from the East Suburban Catholic Conference (Brensley Haywood, Joliet Catholic HS, and Terrence Smith, St. Joseph HS); one is from the Suburban Prairie East Conference (Fiore Buccieri, Riverside-Brookfield); one is from the Upstate Eight Conference (Michael Rohr, Lake Park); and one is from the Fox Valley Conference (Joby Svec, Dundee-Crown).

Jack Nelson is from downstate Springfield, and he attended Blackhawk CC over on the western side of the state near the Quad Cities.

Some of these kids may be Catholic, but only three of them went to Catholic high schools -- and only one of them is a Chicagoan who played in the Chicago Catholic League. And if "Big T" refers to Terrence Smith -- whom I take it is the guy that this room's regulars refer to as "Warren Sapp" -- you're wrong about him playing in the Chicago Catholic League. As I said, he's a suburban kid who played in the East Suburban Catholic Conference, which is a completely different circuit than the CCL.

Quote from: Flip the Red Bird on February 17, 2006, 02:37:06 PMSMU is better known in Chicago than the cities.

That may be true, but it doesn't mean that anyone is aware of SMU's existence down here in Chicagoland. Heck, even the local D3 schools here are barely on the periphery of public awareness.

Quote from: Flip the Red Bird on February 17, 2006, 02:37:06 PMLovelace had good connection in Chicago as he was from Lewis University (in Chicago), but I agree that he isn't the reason there are Chicago kids there. I don't believe Trewick has ever set foot in Chicago and he still has kids from there who are freshman.

Lewis University isn't in Chicago. It's in Romeoville, which is a 45-minute drive southwest of the city, near Joliet. And, again, there's only one Chicagoan on the SMU roster. There are eight Chicagolanders on the SMU roster, but I can assure you that recruiting in the city and recruiting in the suburbs are two vastly different things.

Quote from: Flip the Red Bird on February 17, 2006, 02:37:06 PMAre Chicago kids better than MN kids? And does SMU get the upper end DIII kid or just the ones that can't cut it so they get away from home and try SMU?

None of these kids would be described as "upper end D3". Those players mostly go to the CCIW, or to one of the local NAIA leagues, Chicago or Wash U, sometimes to Aurora or Benedictine, occasionally to a WIAC school, or even to an Ivy League or Patriot League school. A few of them (Gencius, Rohr, Buccieri, and Lear come to mind) drew some minor press attention by being listed in the Chicago Tribune's annual HS media guide, but that's not the same as saying that they were highly-regarded recruits. I don't think that some of these kids (Smith from St. Joe's, for instance) even started on their HS teams. (That's not a condemnation of Smith, by the way; St. Joe's is one of the best HS programs in the entire midwest -- it produced Isiah Thomas, among others.) I'm not sure if Redmond started for Hillcrest, either. Half the Hillcrest roster seems to end up on scholarship somewhere every year.

Some of them may have gotten recruiting feelers from some of the local D3 outfits. But I doubt that there was a lot of such contact. You'd be hard-pressed to put together a decent NIIC team from those guys.

Quote from: miacwatchmen on February 17, 2006, 04:07:59 PMThat is because Chicago kids never play defense!!

I sure hope that you're kidding ... because if you're not, that's one of the dumbest comments I've ever read on Posting Up, even for the ever-popular "Sweeping Generalizations" category.

miacwatchmen · February 17, 2006, 10:27:53 PM

Quote from: onearmedscot on February 17, 2006, 09:51:46 PM
Postseason Awards Updated

I like the top 15 that the fans have chosen. I think it's pretty darn accurate.

oAs.

I don't think these results are final but if they are how did you break the tie in the all defensive team between Sweeney and Tebrake??

I like the whole thing oAs, I am glad you had the time to do it.

onearmedscot · February 17, 2006, 10:46:20 PM

They're not final. We'll go up through the playoffs. Give the Wally Szerbiaks and the Kirk Snyder's a chance to claim last minute votes with successful tourney runs.

Vote while you still can...
oAs.