MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[bleednavyblue_GoBU]

Are the Tom Cats scared?

It is always great to be a Royal!

Happy 2009.

[Drake Palmer]

A couple of observations...

Not to single out coaches, but Coach Smith at SJU seems about 2-3 years behind the other coaches in the league.  If you've got a bunch of talent & depth, you use it, & the Johnnies have assembled some nice talent in Collegeville.  A number of the other up and coming teams seem to be patterning themselves after UST's new found hockey like substitution patterns – Bethel, STO, Cobbs, Hamline, Augsburg, & Gustavus to a certain extent.  For years it seemed like Coach Fritz didn't know what developing bench strength meant & he played 6-7 players tops, but now he has the Gophers' coaches Don Lucia & Tubby Smith on speed dial, exchanges fist bumps and talks about ballers & hoopers. 

***
I've seen the Oles play a couple of times this season. They're a talented young ball club, & they could be real dangerous in a year or so, but right now they're the "gang that couldn't shoot straight."  Their defense is solid, but what really hurts their chances is their erratic scoring. They don't have a consistent inside scoring presence & are very streaky from the perimeter.

They are currently:

10th in the league in scoring offense at 59.8ppg
11th in FGA % at 37.2%
10th in 3pt FGA at 28%

I still believe FY Bobby Fong will be a major presence in this league & is leading the Oles in scoring with 13.2 ppg.  However, the downside is he's only making shots at a 36.4% clip, 17.4% from behind the arc, & 66.7% from the FT line.

[hoopmaster]

I still believe FY Bobby Fong will be a major presence in this league & is leading the Oles in scoring with 13.2 ppg.  However, the downside is he's only making shots at a 36.4% clip, 17.4% from behind the arc, & 66.7% from the FT line.

Fresh out of high school and the kid is getting every teams best defender.  His numbers will improve when he learns how to use his advantages against his defenders.  They will also go up when the coaching staff finds ways for him to get some easy baskets.  He has to work extra hard for everything.  If he decides to stay at this level he will be a multi-year MVP.  You heard it here first.

[dkd]

fun, entertaining game at Hamline tonight...I love the energy the Pipers play with.. Bethel had a solid edge in talent, but HU hustled like there's no tomorrow.  Balanced scoring for BU-- Laugen, Vavra and Madson, 15 (mostly garbage time) for Robertson (who easily replaces K Foster as the hothead of the MIAC), and 12 for Moberg.

BU dominated the boards (40-26) and was 35-for-47 form the line....the keys to the win

MM-I agree with your comments on the BU-HU game, particularly that BU had the edge on talent.  While HU exhibited good hustle, I think their "ameba" defense (or whatever they call it) gave up a lot of points in the paint .  I would have loved to see a shot chart, to include all the missed points in the paint for BU.  I didn't quite understand why the HU Coach did not use or at least attempt to use the big Gusaas kid as when I have seen him in the past he took up a lot of real estate on the defensive end.  He can be really physical.  Rather, it appears that the HU Coach lives and dies (more the later based on their record) on the small line up.  If I am right, too bad for Gusaas as he should have transferred to a team who knows how to handle big sturdy workhorses and willing to show them just a little love.  It believe it was something like BU16-HU15 when HU went small and from there BU for the most part took the lead and never looked back.  I would suspect all the MIAC coaches have figured this out and will exploit it going forward.  Also, I thought Barnhill looked like he is getting comfortable and should be fun to watch down the road.  As for Much, I was surprised not to see him on the floor or on the roster sheet as well and knew something was up when Papa Much was not there with his big camera.  Unfortunate situation, I guess. 

[Nites]

fun, entertaining game at Hamline tonight...I love the energy the Pipers play with.. Bethel had a solid edge in talent, but HU hustled like there's no tomorrow.  Balanced scoring for BU-- Laugen, Vavra and Madson, 15 (mostly garbage time) for Robertson (who easily replaces K Foster as the hothead of the MIAC), and 12 for Moberg.

BU dominated the boards (40-26) and was 35-for-47 form the line....the keys to the win

MM-I agree with your comments on the BU-HU game, particularly that BU had the edge on talent.  While HU exhibited good hustle, I think their "ameba" defense (or whatever they call it) gave up a lot of points in the paint .  I would have loved to see a shot chart, to include all the missed points in the paint for BU.  I didn't quite understand why the HU Coach did not use or at least attempt to use the big Gusaas kid as when I have seen him in the past he took up a lot of real estate on the defensive end.  He can be really physical.  Rather, it appears that the HU Coach lives and dies (more the later based on their record) on the small line up.  If I am right, too bad for Gusaas as he should have transferred to a team who knows how to handle big sturdy workhorses and willing to show them just a little love.  It believe it was something like BU16-HU15 when HU went small and from there BU for the most part took the lead and never looked back.  I would suspect all the MIAC coaches have figured this out and will exploit it going forward.  Also, I thought Barnhill looked like he is getting comfortable and should be fun to watch down the road.  As for Much, I was surprised not to see him on the floor or on the roster sheet as well and knew something was up when Papa Much was not there with his big camera.  Unfortunate situation, I guess. 

Welcome aboard, dkd.  +k for joining in.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Nites, Being a USC fan first and an OSU fan second my disdain for burnt orange has reached new levels!

Doing a little box score creeping and I see the SJU starters averaged 35.4 minutes last night with Burtzel playing all 40 minutes. Barmore and Burns played 37 and 39 minutes respectively. My first thought was these guys are going to be worn out by the end of this month let alone the end of the season!

Then I go to the Daily Planet and read Frank's Game Story and see Coach Smith is even chastising himself for playing them that many minutes. Seems to me with 7 games in the next 18 days Coach may want to get a few more players involved.

Sum - Good to have you check in every once in a while.  You need to get back go posting and not leave it to VOJ to keep us updated on the Johnnies.   

I thought Coach Smith had his starters in pretty late in the game against SMU the other night when the game seemed to be in hand, and I noticed as you did, the high minutes they all logged against STO.

I noticed the other day that Coach Koz seems to like to substitute in waves and he rotates a lot of players in and out.  From the box score, it looks like the Johnnies simply wilted in the second half.


As for college football, Longhorn fans (I'm not a UT alum, so I just have the State of Texas pride thing going) are feeling pretty slighted on the whole BCS thing.  I have to admit, they have a legitimate gripe since they beat OU fair and square by 10 points on a neutral field.  The Longhorns only loss was on the road at Texas Tech (ranked top 5 or 6 at the time) on a last second touchdown right after its freshman safety dropped an easy pick.  One play doomed their national title hopes.  Their game against Tech was their last of a gauntlet of games against ranked opponents - OU, Missouri and OSU.  They also beat Kansas and Rice, both bowl game winners.

HOWEVER, now it's time for my Big 12 bias - Go Sooners!

Unless Okie wins big, there are quite a few (of us) out there who wonder...maybe Utah is the best in the land? After what they did to Bama and the rest of the BCS teams on their sked, you gotta wonder, I think

Back to hoops.... dkd, I too wondered what was the deal with Gusaas, especially when Hipp got in foul trouble. I also was perplexed by the reliance on Carroll, who was overmatched all over the court. Welcome to the forum, hopefully you become a regular.

drake-- I echo your comment on coaches/substitutions. There is something to be said for relying on your top 5/6/7, but the pace of today's game necessitates a deep bench and utilizing it, unless we go back to 1976-era ball, like the Voice of the UMAC seemed to advocate. 

Seeing the pub Coach Meyer is getting at Northern (and rightfully so) brings back memories of when he was at Hamline in the 70s. It seemed that his "offense" consisted of Tim Mieure who was a 97% free throw shooter. So, the Pipers would settle into the 4-corners-- they were loaded with excellent ball handlers-- and the object seemed to be "get Tim the ball as much as possible in hopes he goes to the line 20+ times a night." It drove guys like Feeley, Skoog, Gulsvig and Smith nuts and resulted in some 38-29 wins.

[Drake Palmer]

Doing a little box score creeping and I see the SJU starters averaged 35.4 minutes last night with Burtzel playing all 40 minutes. Barmore and Burns played 37 and 39 minutes respectively. My first thought was these guys are going to be worn out by the end of this month let alone the end of the season!

Then I go to the Daily Planet and read Frank's Game Story and see Coach Smith is even chastising himself for playing them that many minutes. Seems to me with 7 games in the next 18 days Coach may want to get a few more players involved.

Sum - Good to have you check in every once in a while.  You need to get back go posting and not leave it to VOJ to keep us updated on the Johnnies.   

I thought Coach Smith had his starters in pretty late in the game against SMU the other night when the game seemed to be in hand, and I noticed as you did, the high minutes they all logged against STO.

I noticed the other day that Coach Koz seems to like to substitute in waves and he rotates a lot of players in and out.  From the box score, it looks like the Johnnies simply wilted in the second half.

As for college football, Longhorn fans (I'm not a UT alum, so I just have the State of Texas pride thing going) are feeling pretty slighted on the whole BCS thing.  I have to admit, they have a legitimate gripe since they beat OU fair and square by 10 points on a neutral field.  The Longhorns only loss was on the road at Texas Tech (ranked top 5 or 6 at the time) on a last second touchdown right after its freshman safety dropped an easy pick.  One play doomed their national title hopes.  Their game against Tech was their last of a gauntlet of games against ranked opponents - OU, Missouri and OSU.  They also beat Kansas and Rice, both bowl game winners.

HOWEVER, now it's time for my Big 12 bias - Go Sooners!

I've been remiss myself in joining in with Nites to say - welcome back SUM! It's nice to have some of the regulars pop back in on the board. +k when the clock permits.  Now if we could just stir up some of those on-campus Johnnies' posters who were arguing among themselves a year or so ago.

Speaking of Johnnies - do they offer Live Video coverage of their home games? At one point I was thinking of making the drive up to C-ville for the big showdown next Wednesday, but now with the Jays lost to the Oles, I don't know.  Live Video is sounding more attractive & listen to the mellifluous, dulcet tones of the Johnnie radio announcer as he calls the game.   "Nicolai dribble drives, beats Burns & feeds B.J. Viau for a pretty layup and assist."  Or is it the other way around? 

League play is really starting to heat to up & other than maybe the Scots, the old adage "on any given night"... Looking at the current top 4  teams' schedule over the next 3 games -

Tommies are at Bethel, Carleton at home & then SJU away.
Bethel has the Tommies & STO at home, & then take to the road to play Gustavus.
Carleton has a bye, @ UST, Augsburg at home, & MAC @ home.
SJU @ Augsburg, @ CORD, home against  UST.

I don't care that they're from the Big 12 but I'm also hoping for a Sooner victory on Thursday. 

[TommieHoops4Life]

St. John's loses at home to St. Olaf? What is the MIAC coming to?? As sad as it sounds, i'll be taking in my first conference action tomorrow night when Olaf hosts Gustavus, should be an interesting match-up. I watched the Carleton/SMU game online, and contrary to earlier posting by DP, it wasn't that close. The Knights led by 4 at the break but by as many as 17 in the second half.

I don't have a problem with Fritz doing substitutions like line changes. He has 10-12 very capable players who know their roles and can play at a very high level. You'll notice that when guys come off the bench there's not a significant drop off in talent on the floor, it's a nice problem to have. Look at Tubby with the Gophers. He's gone into Big 10 play and the only guy on the team that hasn't seen significant minutes is Kevin Payton. He has 12 guys that can all contribute in some way and have a presence on the floor. I love the fact that guys like Devron Bostick, Devoe Joseph, Busch, Paul Carter, Hoffarber and Abu-Shamala all can do something out there. I give the credit to Tubby there. That, and the best thing that could've happened to the team was  the early injuries, it let a lot of the young players get game time and experience.

Look at the Tommies game at CSP as a good example. They rely on Joe Scott's shooting, and that night, he couldn't hit the ocean if he was standing on the beach. Nicolai stepped up and hit some big shots, as did McCoy and a few others. Good teams have players that can step up when the stud is having an off night.

I've got Florida beating Oklahoma, and I don't think it'll be all that close, we'll see.

[Willy Wonka]

http://www.mankatofreepress.com/sports/local_story_006003928.html?keyword=topstory

Is this the worst MIAC team in 10 years? I know there has been some bad St. Mary's teams and some very below average Hamline and Augsburg teams, but 37 points? That's worse than the 1xx-5x loss Willy and the boys put on the Pipes in early 1999.

I haven't seen Mac play — and won't, hopefully — but I believe we held Warren Sapp's SMU team to around 33 points one time on Biebel Memorial Court. If we're having this conversation, I think they've got to at least be in the discussion. The Dusty Wards of the world don't just grow on trees...

TH4L - You come off pretty defensive there. No one was arguing against what Fritz has been doing. It's worked and seems justified.

I haven't seen a MIAC game yet...and won't see my first until the 17th. It's made for a quiet board while the rest post straight facts and offer little in the way of opinions...

Drake - Check your PM.

[ChairmanYao]

Just a few thoughts on the Pipes/BU game. Robertson is quite the hothead but it sure would have been nice to see him in a Hamline uniform. I believe HU was the frontrunner for him. Not sure what happened. I too am perplexed why Mr. Gusaas does not see any floor time. Granted he is very streaky on the offensive end and no he cannot run the uptempo style that Whitmore likes to play. However, he has size and that is where the Pipes have gotten just hammered in all of their losses this season except for the Cobbers who made it rain all day.  It would be nice to see him get some clock especially against teams like BU who have a lot of size. To address the Nick Carroll playing time. He has proven himself as a solid man on man defender (i.e. he guarded madson pretty much the entire game when HU upset BU last season) That was his role yesterday. Looking ahead to tomorrow I am hoping Willy has an off night or it could be a glum trip home.

[VOJ]

Doing a little box score creeping and I see the SJU starters averaged 35.4 minutes last night with Burtzel playing all 40 minutes. Barmore and Burns played 37 and 39 minutes respectively. My first thought was these guys are going to be worn out by the end of this month let alone the end of the season!

Then I go to the Daily Planet and read Frank's Game Story and see Coach Smith is even chastising himself for playing them that many minutes. Seems to me with 7 games in the next 18 days Coach may want to get a few more players involved.

Sum - Good to have you check in every once in a while.  You need to get back go posting and not leave it to VOJ to keep us updated on the Johnnies.   

I thought Coach Smith had his starters in pretty late in the game against SMU the other night when the game seemed to be in hand, and I noticed as you did, the high minutes they all logged against STO.

I noticed the other day that Coach Koz seems to like to substitute in waves and he rotates a lot of players in and out.  From the box score, it looks like the Johnnies simply wilted in the second half.

As for college football, Longhorn fans (I'm not a UT alum, so I just have the State of Texas pride thing going) are feeling pretty slighted on the whole BCS thing.  I have to admit, they have a legitimate gripe since they beat OU fair and square by 10 points on a neutral field.  The Longhorns only loss was on the road at Texas Tech (ranked top 5 or 6 at the time) on a last second touchdown right after its freshman safety dropped an easy pick.  One play doomed their national title hopes.  Their game against Tech was their last of a gauntlet of games against ranked opponents - OU, Missouri and OSU.  They also beat Kansas and Rice, both bowl game winners.

HOWEVER, now it's time for my Big 12 bias - Go Sooners!

I've been remiss myself in joining in with Nites to say - welcome back SUM! It's nice to have some of the regulars pop back in on the board. +k when the clock permits.  Now if we could just stir up some of those on-campus Johnnies' posters who were arguing among themselves a year or so ago.

Speaking of Johnnies - do they offer Live Video coverage of their home games? At one point I was thinking of making the drive up to C-ville for the big showdown next Wednesday, but now with the Jays lost to the Oles, I don't know.  Live Video is sounding more attractive & listen to the mellifluous, dulcet tones of the Johnnie radio announcer as he calls the game.   "Nicolai dribble drives, beats Burns & feeds B.J. Viau for a pretty layup and assist."  Or is it the other way around? 

League play is really starting to heat to up & other than maybe the Scots, the old adage "on any given night"... Looking at the current top 4  teams' schedule over the next 3 games -

Tommies are at Bethel, Carleton at home & then SJU away.
Bethel has the Tommies & STO at home, & then take to the road to play Gustavus.
Carleton has a bye, @ UST, Augsburg at home, & MAC @ home.
SJU @ Augsburg, @ CORD, home against  UST.

I don't care that they're from the Big 12 but I'm also hoping for a Sooner victory on Thursday. 

There would be no pretty layups for the Tommies...come on Drake...I will admit to a new gentler sound on  J's broadcasts this year...but never would there be a pretty layup for the Toms.  Drake you should drive up, because being it will be a Wednesday night there will be some good seats available, I don't think that live video is offered...sorry.  Hey Drake that was a bit of a cheap shot at Coach Smith saying he was 2 to 3 years behind others in terms of substitution...others will get their chance but so far other than Latzke no one has provided consistent scoring off the bench and even he struggled against the Oles, who may not shoot it well, but definitely defend and do other things to force their style of play on you...I think they have a good shot to get the Gusties tonight who will be flying high after their performance against MAC on Monday.

Drake if you do come up I will buy the first round at the Stonehouse after the game or if you are an animal lover we can journey to the Buckhead in Avon...course you would have to let me know who you are first, or will you be sporting your brand new UWRF shirt and be easy to pick out of the crowd?  

In reading previous posts one comment really stuck out, Fong as a multiple MVP winner...I guess Beano Cook has joined our board and is having flashbacks to his 4 Heisman's for Brady Quinn comments?  Traditionally there are 3 to 4 guys up for the honor and you can make an argument for all of them.  Let's see how he does this year and if he sticks around at St. Olaf...also part of the comments, is he thinking of DeRocking out of town?

Oh wanted to shed some light on the Robertson to Bethel vs Hamline comment, what I learned is that the Robertson families sons have been going to Bethel for a long time, not all were bball players but the Bethel ties are strong.

Speaking of Bob Beibel he is assisting at SMU and is really enjoying it from what I am told.

Tough one for the J's tonight at Augsburg,  hopefully they will do the little things needed to win with a long road trip to Concordia looming...


Welcome to the board and +K dkd

[Drake Palmer]

Hey Drake that was a bit of a cheap shot at Coach Smith saying he was 2 to 3 years behind others in terms of substitution...others will get their chance but so far other than Latzke no one has provided consistent scoring off the bench and even he struggled against the Oles, who may not shoot it well, but definitely defend and do other things to force their style of play on you...I think they have a good shot to get the Gusties tonight who will be flying high after their performance against MAC on Monday.

If that was a cheap shot I'd hate to think of your responses if I disliked the guy.    Those are just my observations.  At  the rate he's going we might have to start calling him "Jim Kalland" after the longtime coach at Carleton.  As of now, Smith has 4 starters in the top 15 who average 30+ minutes per game.

As my esteemed colleague A Snow said earlier this season, the Johnnie roster is heavier than the Minneapolis phone book.  Coach Smith  has got tons of talent on that bench & there are more than a few Jays parents who would be willing to tell you about it. Smith might want to share a few moments with Coach Fritz next week before the game and get some inside tips on how to develop good bench strength.  In the meantime here's a book I might recommend that he can pick up on Amazon.com 

[dkd]

A Few thoughts on the Pipes/BU game. Robertson is quite the hothead but it sure would have been nice to see him in a Hamline uniform. I believe HU was the frontrunner for him. Not sure what happened.

First off, thanks for the welcome by all the gurus.  I hope I don't disappoint you or go cross ways with anyone.  Rather, I plan to just state my thoughts when I can.
As to the Robertson-Gusaas thing. I think I had heard that Wohler & UW-RF were both recruiting Robertson and Gusaas real hard in the spring of '06 (and Gusaas had most MIAC schools after him..not sure about Robertson) If I understood it correctly, Robertson waited for Gusaas to commit and then went the other direction.  The rest is history.  Unfortunately for Gusaas he may have been better off at UW-RF after Wohler left, although I saw he earned MIAC Academic All-Conference...so he must be a good student.  Regardless, it's my belief that Whitmore has pretty much trainwrecked his career with his inability to effectively use big men/adjust based on personnel or should I say it's masked by his only ability seems to be run small.   It's tough when you can't see the trees or the forrest!  Regardless, I think Gusaas is a solid role player that we won't see playing at HU next year.  Similarly,  I am sad to see Much gone at BU & Baldwin at Concordia.  All seem to be good people & good players.

I had not heard about Robertson's connection to BU.   Good for him.  I look forward to seeing him fill in for Kyle Foster.  It's been awhile since I have seen a player go off!

[localcoach]

Wednesday night scoreboard:

Concordia 68-49 over Macalester
Saint Mary's 80-72 over Hamline
Augsburg 68-51 over Saint John's

Last I heard Gustavus was up big on the Oles and St. Thomas was up by about 10 on Bethel with under 5 minutes to play.

[Willy Wonka]

Welcome to the league, Bobby J Jr!

I wasn't at the game, but looks like Hanson finally went to the 3-guard lineup I expected to start the season (unless the box score reads wrong). I thought it would be Schmidtknecht slotted there, but Robbie Schmidt got the start tonight. The minutes were basically even, in any case.

My sources say Paulson was the man tonight. And this is coming from a Paulson doubter, so he must have played well. An aggressive 6-10 post can create some matchup problems for most teams when his teammates are willing to work the ball inside. Coincidentally, this excludes Bethel from the discussion.

He's a nice guy and worked hard for the opportunity to start, but I'm not sure how much longer Tim Olmstead will be seeing clock — especially if Bobby J starts producing like many thought he would to start the year. If fact, a surge from Bobby J could send Olmstead, Crowder and Battern to the bench and solidify a more steady rotation. The sooner one or two of those guys can cement their role the better, I'd think.

Can Wonka own PI on Friday night *and* Saturday afternoon? My Magic 8 ball says "chances are good."