MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Pipes]

The heir apparent seems to be Lars Johnson.  He played some point last year as did Brad Liddell when Jackson was out of the game for those 3-10 minutes last year. 

As I have said previously Mac is solid on the inside with Conboy, Stein, and Bosman.  Their success will hinge on their ability to handle the ball and make outside shots to keep teams from doubling on the inside. 

Will get a peek at the Mac team this weekend as the alums face the current team.  My prediction is alums by 15-25.

[crazy_carl]

Pacific Rim-  Carleton has never listed weights on the roster for whatever reason (thankfully, in my instance. 6'9", 205 never is very intimidating). 

From my time playing with Forkrud, he has always been an extremely dedicated weight lifter both in and out of season.  I would expect he stepped his program up a notch (if possible) since this is his senior year.  Whether he is bigger, stronger, heavier, etc, I don't know.  I am sure he will be in good enough shape to play the 35 minutes Kalland essentially requires of starters though, and barring any nagging ankle injuries, will have an extremely successful season, which will lead to a strong one for the Knights as a whole.

BigS- I don't doubt the bench will be an achilles heel.  Whether it is from a lack of skill or a lack of guys getting valuable game experience and making an impact with those limited minutes remains to be seen.   

[SPLASH]

Drake -
I don't recognize many of the new guys on Mac's roster. The only two I have hear anything about are Nate Assel and Andy Stein.

Also, as Pipes mentioned, Johnson will likely be starting at point for Mac this year, although I wouldn't be surprised if it is more of a point guard by committee as the year goes on. Both Liddell and Nate Assel could be handling the ball a lot. However, I hope it does not have to be Liddell. Mac needs him to be coming of screens and getting open shots as much as possible since he is by far their best outside shooter. From playing countless games of 1 on 1 against him after last season, I predict that he will score a ton of points this year.

[Willy Wonka]

I like the idea of alumni games. Do other schools do these as well? GAC is having a group of former starters (designed to exclude the Shockers, obviously) come back for a fun outing on the 20th at 3 pm - the day after the season opener, so they should be a little tired at least. The team is set, but it will be open to the public, with donations going to a good cause.

I'm not sure how "gamey" the whole experience will be, but it will be fun regardless. Rumor says Boschee may be returning to coach us, bringing along his IIAC team to show them how a real league plays

[miacsuperfan]

wonka,   alumni games are funny to watch cuz of all the overweight has-beens trying to suck in their mid-sections and not fall down much.   the games are of little value to most varsity teams, and as a player i found them less fun than practice.
enough said.

alright, history students, pull up your chairs and let's learn something other than people's random thoughts.
as we consider the programs in the miac in the upcoming year, we need to continue to learn from the past about what might be coming ahead.   in the past five years, consider that 25 miac playoff games have occured.   here are the records/results of those 25 games:

gac    7-2
bu      6-5
ust     4-4
sju      3-3   
con     2-3
mac    2-3
car     1-4     
sto     0-1

these include the play-in games as well as semi-finals and finals.   you would have to admit that this is not terribly surprising, although from some recent posts one would be led to believe that some PROGRAMS  have been a bit more impressive than can be justified by anything tangible.   be careful of what you say , cuz the record book doesn't tell lies.
gustavus will win again, and ust will not.   look it up, dudes.

[Willy Wonka]

I just rechecked the email and the scrimmage is taking place THIS Sunday at 3 pm. Four days in Florida makes you lose your mind apparently. My fault.

Oh, and happy birthday to Philly! No Gopher hockey-type run-ins for him any longer

[Russian Mig AK47]

Just got back from the UST vs. UWRF skirmish.  UST made it close to a weak UWRF squad in the first one.  Relying heavily on their size and strength down low.  Outside play not a factor throughout the night as UST hits only 2 treys the whole night (granted they weren't casting).  They clearly take the second one handling the falcons with ease.  Overall the defense was not that impressive, and as with every first skirmish there were many sloppy plays.  Two observations; 1.) The tommies are a lot more physically developed than anticipated, Sweeney looks like a 'pocket urlacher' and the team looks like healthy farm boys from top to bottom. 2.) Playing time was suprisingly scarce for some key individuals and if trends continue it will be frustrating to watch from the stands such talented players on the bench, the key will be how they and the team respond.

On a side note, Forkrud told me this summer that he does not lift weights.  Why would he lie to me?!

On a second side note, Pipes you will have to let us know your stat line from your alumni game... you might be too old and decrepit to have a significant impact on those youthful, strapping Scots.

[columbianmaffia]

Fork's big man boobs cant get much bigger unless he goes and talks to Mr. McGwire, Sosa, Palmero and company

good night in hoops

twolves win with stellar defense

and

colombian/greek maffia/UST alumni team is 3-0 in mens league

for all you neal anderson rebound haters out there he nabbed about 5 tonight

bad news for lady gophers though...prolly hear about it in the paper in the mornin

[localcoach]

Russian Mig - Thanks for the St. Thomas update.  I will be interested to see how they fare against UW-Stout in their opener.  That will be a great test for them. 

According to the front page of D3Hoops.com, Keith Eckhoff was named pre-season fourth team all-american.  Good for him!  No other MIAC players were on the list.

According to their website, Hamline has their intersquad game this Saturday at 1pm.  I might have to check that out.

I also see that Gustavus has posted their season preview and that Bethel finally has a roster up.  Only two freshmen on it, both are guards and one is the Laugen kid.

[shocker]

Willy-

This Shocker for one would be first in line to admit his lack of business in anything alumni-related. As someone who's seen me play at my best and can prognosticate the subsequent decline, you understand better than most what a loss of close to 20 pounds of muscle, 4-6" on a vertical leap, and what limited footspeed I did have would do to my already limited ability to compete

As for lifting in the MIAC, since it has entered into discussion, I myself was never a fan. It was like oil and water, we just didn't mix. That said, Forkrud has the genetic make-up to bulk up pretty quickly if he so chose and it wouldn't surprise me if he's spent some time working on it. He's also a natural man-child/wunderkind ready to impose his will this year.

Good luck on Sunday, Willy. Hope the feet hold up for another day and you make some more perfect, yet somehow completely style-less passes

[crazy_carl]

Carleton has an alumni vs. current team game, though it is usually sometime in the week between Christmas and New Year's.  It generally serves as a tune up for the Knights after a bit of a break from game play.  With officials, scorekeepers, fans, regular uniforms, etc, it is taken fairly seriously by all (with the exception of dunking allowed in warm-ups).  The current team usually rides a conditioning advantage to a 10-20 point victory. 

man-child for MVP

[funbballer]

c...maffia:  what's the REAL story on Broback? Academics? Other personal matters....??

[BETHEL34]

Bethel also has an Alumni Game, but it is against the JV right before a Varsity Game.  I don't believe the JV have ever come closer than 15-20 pts.  Alumni usually hands it to them pretty good.  This year there are two of them, first one is Dec. 10th.  I guess i don't know why coaches haven't ever set it up for alumni to play against the Varsity.  Kind of wish they did do that. 

Anyways, Keith Eckhoff Fourth Team huh?  Good for him.  I was talking to a player that plays at CC, and he said that Eckhoff has gotten so much better this yr than last.  Like it was unbelievable how much better he has gotten...if that is true, he could take CC to that 3rd or even 2nd spot in the standings this yr.  He has enough around him to make a run for the tourni.  It is not easy taking that 4 hour trip then playing in that Yellow lighted gym.  My bet is that is where the Tommies and Gusties drop a game this yr, mark my words.

Side Question?  When was the last time a team other than Gusties or Tommies have gone to the Tourni, and what team was it?  I guess i could look it up, but this is easier.

[3m71578]

Bethel34,

I believe AUG made it in 98 and 99 when George was playing.

Also SJU made it when Troy Bigalke was Sr. (2000-2001).  They may have made it in his Jr. year as well - I forgot.

[Willy Wonka]

Yes, SJU made it in both of those years.

34 - Gustavus has played very well up north each of the last two seasons. Prior to that, it was U-G-L-Y despite GAC being good and the Cobbs generally struggling. Hollerich matches up pretty well with Eckhoff, but I could see them losing that one too.

As for the JV talk...that should change some this year. In case people have forgotten, the boys games will be preceded by the girls games now instead of the JVers (during conference games). That works out great for me, with a sister who plays, but it should also hurt all the JV feeder programs - especially at Bethel, GAC and UST.

I could see the JV being phased out entirely within 5 years since the interest and draw is basically gone if they are forced to play opposite the varsity - it's almost as if they aren't truly a part of the program anymore. It will be interesting to see how this change effects the quality of play over the coming years in any case.