MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

with UST winning big in Moorhead and Wheaton losing....if the Tommies can beat Olaf Saturday, they should become the first MIAC hoops team to be ranked #1, ever

+k you beat me to that post.  Is it really the first ever?

yep...no MIAC team has been as high as #2 in regular season...GAC was #2 in final poll in 2003

but UST must win Sat to move up. Sounded like they were on track in Cobberville tonight

Congrats on the big win Mose, but you know you can never post again don't you?  You've got that great symmetry thing going on with 300 karma & 900 posts. 
Stuck, I tell you, beautifully & eloquently stuck.   

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January 21, 2009

[sumander]

Mose, I would love to break the symmetry by giving you a little +k....but I can't. You will have to do it yourself.

I did in fact attend the Tommie/Cobber game last night. Fun to see MIAC basketball in person once again. Count yourself as fortunate if you live in an area where you can attend MIAC games on a regular basis.

Save for a 10 minute stretch at the end of the first half I thought the Cobbers acquitted themselves nicely. They played the Tommies tough for the first 10 minutes of the game and actually took the fight to them for about the first 12 minutes of the second half.

I was impressed with the usual suspects for the Tommies...Scott, Nicolai, Robinson etc. The player of the game was big Al. While Fraase  for CORD got his points, McCoy made him earn everyone of them. On the offensive end Al was mostly unstoppable. He would back Fraase down and go to either his left or right hand for that baby scoop shot. He made some big buckets and had some huge rebounds when the T's needed them the most.

Player of the game #2 goes to someone I have never heard of, Brady Earvin. His entry in the game in the first half corresponded with the start of the Tommies run. The guy has obviously seen the inside of a weight room. He was easily the strongest guard on the court for either team. UST went to a soft 3/4 court man to man press with the off guard jumping to trap the ball handler. The CORD guards are much improved but this still caused them problems. Earvin seemed to be a one man wrecking crew. He had a couple of steals that led to easy baskets. He was diving and tipping balls. He led the T's in rebounds and to top it all off he was 4-4 from the field. If memory serves me correctly at least 3 of the 4 were jump shots from the elbow too.

Cobbs cut the lead to 10 with about 9 minutes to play and had the ball. Fraase missed a bunny that would have cut the lead to 8. McCoy hit the next two baskets to restore order to the festivities. From there the T's crusied.

On Concordia's side the player that impressed me the most was Olmscheid. The box score doesn't bear out my recollection of the  game, but about the time the Tom's restored order to the game he picked up two quick fouls giving him 4 on the game. Glas sat him for a couple of minutes. When it did finally return it was too late. The Cobb guards of Olson, Hartmann and Molina will be good. On a combined basis they had 7 TO's to 4 assists. The rest of the team was 11-2. Not exactly what you want from your guards but the UST defense will do that to you.  A little more seasoning and I think this team will be a playoff contender in the next couple of years.

Hope the Tommies can take care of business on Saturday and get the MIAC there first #1 seed. Also hope to catch some more MIAC hoops in person this year.

[localcoach]

A couple of observations from last night's games:

- I feel for Macalester.  They had a great chance to get a win last night and if not for a last second 3-pointer to force OT, the Scots would have won the contest.  Sounds like a very competitive game.  I hope they pull one out this season. 

- Don't ask me what's going on over at Hamline, because I have absolutely no clue.  The Pipes have lost 11 of their last 12 and I believe 9 in a row.  Scanning the box score, a few notables - Carl Hipp, 0pts and 5 fouls in 20mins; Eric Clute for the 2nd game in a row plays single digit minutes.  PI or anyone else with insight

- Does anyone have a recap of the CAR/GAC game?  I think I was the lone pick'em to take the Gusties, so clearly I misjudged things.

- How about some "love" for Coach Griess and the Auggies.  They're alone in second place right now and have won 6 of  7, the only loss being a 2-point defeat to Carleton.  Can they maintain this pace?

- Finally, what's the over/under on the Tommies finishing the MIAC campaign with an undefeated record?

[Willy Wonka]

with UST winning big in Moorhead and Wheaton losing....if the Tommies can beat Olaf Saturday, they should become the first MIAC hoops team to be ranked #1, ever

+k you beat me to that post.  Is it really the first ever?

yep...no MIAC team has been as high as #2 in regular season...GAC was #2 in final poll in 2003

That's half true, anyway. GAC was #2 in the final poll of 2003 and to start the 2004 season. An 0-2 start quickly put an end to that tho

Drake - Here are the stats comparisons I was referring to. Please feel free to tell me again how wrong I was after taking a gander.

2009
Junior shooting guard: Van Sickle 11.0 PPG, 43% from deep, 2.5 RPG
Sophomore post: McPartland 9.6 PPG, 53% FG, 5.9 RPG
Freshman: Bobby J 5.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 12.3 minutes

2005
Junior shooting guard: Tebrake 14.6 PPG, 44% from deep, 3.8 RPG
Sophomore post: Sowden 11.3 PPG, 49% FG, 5.6 RPG
Freshman: Wittwer 4.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 16.2 minutes

As of next Thursday, Wonka is officially on the IR with foot surgery. Apparently he's not still 18 and can't hang with the young bucks. Might not be able to hit another MIAC game all season

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Nice recap, Sum, wish work had allowed me to attend at Cord. Maybe you'll be a convert to the Purple? 

Brady Ervin is an all-MIAC football player who transferred to UST before this year from Iowa St (? am I remembering right, DP?). In my observation, he is definitely not a "football player pretending to be a basketball player" but, rather, is as talented at hoops as he is at football and your comments support that. I wish you could have seen the job he did defending Madson at Bethel-- it was beyond sick. It was the only time I've seen Madson obviously uncomfortable with a defender. I expect that, as the hoops season progresses, Ervin will become an even more integral part of the UST scheme.

Following the game on the live stats (while watching the video of CAR/GAC and prepping some crap for the office), I noticed Halverson had a strong outing again. His younger brother is at Sibley and has accepted a scholly to Valpo, so Anders didn't hog the athletic gene. As he, Ervin and Healy continue to emerge, I don't think UST will experience a significant drop-off in 2009-10, although the loss of Big Al potentially leaves a hole in the paint. From the sound of things last night, the Cobbs were very much in the game the first 8-12 minutes but their inexperience coupled with UST's aggressive D was the big factor.

Zorro had a sweet night against GAC. The webcast on the Carlie site was a treat to watch but still only a substitute for being there. Still, excellent camera work!


WW-- I thought GAC was #2 at the beginning of the 03-04 season but couldnt remember for sure... no slight intended.

[sumander]

MM, now i can give you a little +kool-aid.

In my opinion Halvorson's line was better than he played. I am not a fan of having my 6-8 guy 20+ feet away from the basket shooting 3's.

Healy needs to visit the weight room with the afore mentioned Mr. Earvin (emphasis on the Mr.). They should also have Nicolai tag along. Nicolai and Hartmann simultaneously grabbed at a rebound last night. I was afraid Hartmann was going to rip an arm off of Nicolai.

I have watched McCoy since his frosh year. The stuff he does on the court still amazes me. He has suprisingly quick hands and does an outstanding job using his body. Program listed both Al and Fraase at 6'6", McCoy was easily giving up 2".

[Drake Palmer]

Good posts Sum & LC.
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Man, heresy - Mose sez-" ain't no Symmetry Chemistry D3 Karma Gods gonna censor me!  The truth must be told!"  You're a braver man than I Gunga Din.  +K as time permits. 
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Sum - be careful heaping too much praise on UST's Alex McCoy, you might be accused by one of our GAC friends as having a "man-crush" on the kid. 
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Brady Ervin is a stud.  To expand a bit on what Mose said.  I told Mose earlier this fall that if Ervin made the basketball team he could potentially be a high impact defensive player.  I saw him play basketball back in high school for Eden Prairie & I thought to myself "my Gawd" this kid is a defensive beast.  Quick, strong, aggressive, & physical.  As it turned out, Ervin is one of those dual sports guys & football was his first love.  So Ervin went to Iowa State for 2 years where he was a walkon for the football team & played free safety.  He transferred to UST this fall, where the coaches said he could play both football & basketball.  In his first season in the MIAC he made first team All-Conference as free safety.

From the couple of times I've seen him play this season it looks like he might have lost half a step because of the increased bulk, but he's every bit as nasty.  From a team perspective I think the emergence of Brady Ervin helps the Tommie coaching staff dealing with Teddy Archer.  Teddy knows if he doesn't rein in his antics a bit they've got a more than capable replacement for him in the lineup.
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LC – I watched a part of the MAC/SMU game & I was sick.  I really thought Mac was going to pull that game out, but Lukas Holland was clutch big time down the stretch.
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TD – Will Wright needs to put in more work on the defensive end of the floor.  I saw your Birds play Augsburg on Monday night & I was more than a bit disappointed.
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Hamline:  If the coaching staff doesn't want anyone to get too comfortable or complacent in their roles, they're doing a good job.  In the last 3 games, Sr PG Brandon Hayes has gone from leading the Piper team as he averaged 20+ minutes pg against GAC, a few assists, points, key rebounds & now he's playing 6-7 minutes a game?  All FY Eric Clute has totally dropped off the Piper landscape.  It seems Clute's lack of foot speed seems to have put him the doghouse with the coaches.  When he does enter the game he's pressing so he's been turning the ball over or taking ill-advised shots. But I really don't understand Haye's disappearance.

Augsburg- I'm wondering how long Nate Alm can keep this incredible shooting & rebounding streak of his going? He was never known as a big time scorer in high school.  I think he's had something like 6 straight double doubles.  As far as I know he's not shown this kind of consistency - ever.  Nice senior year campaign.  Interesting thing about this winning streak by the Auggies is that they're doing it without Jon Cassens having particularly strong shooting nights.  Sort of like the Tommies, other players seem to be stepping up & filling the scoring roles on various nights - Alm, David Olson, Andy Gresiak –Grimm, Matt Quammen & others.

Willy – I'm not walking into this trap & spending the next 2-3 days praising the virtues of the Gusties.    With the exception of a Wittwer & Johnson stats comparison, statistically, the 05 Gusties had the edge. A slight edge in one of the rebounding categories belongs to McPartland, but the overall edge goes to the 05 Gusties.

IMO & I'm sure of other posters' opinions as well, the 05 Gusties had a MUCH bigger advantage than the present day Gusties on the court.  Van Sickle is probably the best pure shooter, but he would never beat you off the bounce like TeBrake could.  TeBrake is more of the explosive scorer you mentioned the Gusties are lacking.  He's bigger, faster, stronger than van Sickle, has better handles & in my opinion TeBrake was a better defender.

Of the 3 players I'd say McPartland & Sowden might be a wash, but let's check back at year's end.  I'd still go with Sowden.

And you Gustie backers would be thrilled if Bobby Johnson enjoyed anywhere near the same career success as Trevor Wittwer did.  Again, just my opinion, but Wittwer has got the decided edge.  Let's pick this debate up when the current Gusties finish their careers.  I've admitted I've been wrong in the past & have been known to eat a humble pie or two. 

[piperinsider]

- Don't ask me what's going on over at Hamline, because I have absolutely no clue.  The Pipes have lost 11 of their last 12 and I believe 9 in a row.  Scanning the box score, a few notables - Carl Hipp, 0pts and 5 fouls in 20mins; Eric Clute for the 2nd game in a row plays single digit minutes.  PI or anyone else with insight

O'Brien is at the U and former SID Mallat is like Mr. Mommy now, so my connections have run dry. We just had a five-year reunion (I did not attend) already.

WHY HOLLAND! WHY? I just wanted to come on here and be like, what do you think of me now? Almost got that MAC over SMU guarantee correct.

Saturday is the big day. Hamline hosts MAC. If the Scots win, I'm leaving town (from D3Hoops) as they say. Maybe someday I'll come back as a "UnproudtobeaPiper." Hopefully the Pipers can find win No. 3.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Sum-- valid point about Healy & Nicolai needing trips to the weightroom with Ervin, but I'd rather have them skinny and quick than bulked and slowed. Hopefully, there is a happy medium in this 

DP--- nice point about the Ervin/Archer twist

For the life of me, I can't figure Hamline out. Cute goes from frosh superstar to barely an asterisk, Hayes plays 20+ mins a few games and scores/dishes, etc ..then 3-4 minutes. Gusaas hasnt played in so long he might regain 2 years of eligibilty! When they played Bethel and Hipp got in foul trouble, the LOGICAL thing would be to bring in the other tall guy off the bench, right? But he only got off his seat for timeouts, warmups and postgame handshake (altho I've heard he is nursing an injury)

PI--- I doubt you'll need to leave after Saturday...but Mac has been playing better, and Hamline has been sooooooooo inconsistent its scary

[sumander]

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Sum - be careful heaping too much praise on UST's Alex McCoy, you might be accused by one our GAC friends as having a "man-crush" on the kid. 
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DP, no man crush here just respect. I am sure Al has had his "moments" they just haven't happened the handful of times I have seen him play.

From the couple of times I’ve seen him play this season it looks like he might have lost half a step because of the increased bulk, but he’s every bit as nasty.  From a team perspective I think the emergence of Brady Ervin helps the Tommie coaching staff dealing with Teddy Archer.  Teddy knows if he doesn’t rein in his antics a bit they‘ve got a more than capable replacement for him in the lineup.
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Another good point Drake. Teddy put in a solid 9 minutes last night with very little histrionics. He started yapping a little bit after one of his fouls and Fritz tugged him and had a little visit.

[oldjammer]

Just a quick summary of the GAC/Car match last night.

As I anticipated it was a back and forth game for 39 minutes.  The lead was exchanged numerous times with no one getting more than 5-6 away from the other.

Of course the really quick summary is 'if you don't take away the baseline from Car---it is pretty tough to beat them'.  Johnson and Rosett had virtually all their points from close in.  I think the team was 3 for 19 on 3's.

The officiating was decent with the exception of McPartland screening and getting run over by Johnson with a minute left--McP hit the floor hard and was called for the block.  I'm biased but it seemed like a bad call--would like to see it again.

GAC offense was dominated by the posts with McP, Paulson and Bobby J getting 17, 15 and 13 points--hardly any production from the guard position.  Bobby J continues to show why he will, in my opinion, start next year.

As always you have to be impressed with Zorro--and Rosett is quite a player also.

[Willy Wonka]

b]Willy[/b] – I'm not walking into this trap & spending the next 2-3 days praising the virtues of the Gusties.    With the exception of a Wittwer & Johnson stats comparison, statistically, the 05 Gusties had the edge. A slight edge in one of the rebounding categories belongs to McPartland, but the overall edge goes to the 05 Gusties.

IMO & I'm sure of other posters' opinions as well, the 05 Gusties had a MUCH bigger advantage than the present day Gusties on the court.  Van Sickle is probably the best pure shooter, but he would never beat you off the bounce like TeBrake could.  TeBrake is more of the explosive scorer you mentioned the Gusties are lacking.  He's bigger, faster, stronger than van Sickle, has better handles & in my opinion TeBrake was a better defender.

Of the 3 players I'd say McPartland & Sowden might be a wash, but let's check back at year's end.  I'd still go with Sowden.

And you Gustie backers would be thrilled if Bobby Johnson enjoyed anywhere near the same career success as Trevor Wittwer did.  Again, just my opinion, but Wittwer has got the decided edge.  Let's pick this debate up when the current Gusties finish their careers.  I've admitted I've been wrong in the past & have been known to eat a humble pie or two. 

I think you missed the point of my initial comparison. I said they have similar parts to the '05 GAC team, minus an Espo-type player.

Try thinking big picture. How many points was the defensive attention Espo drew worth to AT and everyone else on the floor? How much better were the looks from the perimeter when he drove and/or posted up? Heck, Espo even brought the ball up the floor most times, allowing the guards to save their legs for shooting.

Van Sickle is deadly if he's open, but he's struggled to find good looks against the other team's best defensive player this season. In fact, his numbers are down across the board (minutes, pts, reb, ast) as he adjusts to being the lead dog. McPartland and Paulson are sturdy, but would be much better as the 3rd and 4th options.

Could this current GAC crew challenge UST for conference supremacy with the addition of one dynamic player? I'm not entirely convinced...but they did last year with Wittwer and they did the same to UST's Big 3 in '05 with Espo, so it's certainly possible.

[Willy Wonka]

Did The Goose really do pushups in front of the Gustie bench instead of accepting Hanson's help to his feet last night? Really?...

MM - It's also come to my attention that GAC was preseason #1 in the 1998-99 season, according to one national publication (Street and Smith, I think). This was after GAC lost in the Elite 8 to Bo Ryan's Platteville team...and Ryan told all the media who listen that he would vote them #1 next year.

Granted, Gustavus started 0-2 that season, too. Something about being ranked that high doesn't sit well with the Gusties, apparently.

[papahoops]

It has been a long time since I posted, so I figured it was time to join the fun. I never thought it was appropriate to post during the season when my son was playing, but now that his MIAC career is over, I can now be a "neutral" MIAC fan.

In response to the GAC 05 squad comparison to this year's squad, I believe the 05 team was clearly superior. I don't think any of the top level players on this year's team measures up to the Tebrake/Sowden/Witwer comparison.

I am happy to see many are jumping on the big AL McCoy bandwagon, as he has been a favorite of mine for some time. Given their relatively small size, one would think UST would be vulnerable to strong post play, but Big Al does an excellent defensive job against much taller players.

I have seen several games involving most of the teams either live or on web cam and continue to be amazed by the lack of post offense in the league this year. Bethel never uses their post players well, so I guess that is not a surprise, but overall, most of the bigs aren't doing much offensively in the paint. I keep thinking with their smaller size mentioned earlier in this post that UST could be vulnerable to a strong post offense, but it does not appear they are not going to see that in the MIAC this year. It looks like we will have to wait for the NCAA playoffs to give UST a real test in this area.

[Drake Palmer]

I think you missed the point of my initial comparison. I said they have similar parts to the '05 GAC team, minus an Espo-type player.

Try thinking big picture. How many points was the defensive attention Espo drew worth to AT and everyone else on the floor? How much better were the looks from the perimeter when he drove and/or posted up? Heck, Espo even brought the ball up the floor most times, allowing the guards to save their legs for shooting.

No, I followed you alright.  Espo was a definite stud no ifs, ands or buts about  it.  And yes, he certainly helped elevate the level of his teammates as well as any other MVP player in recent years. It's just my opinion the other 3 players we're discussing were stronger than the current crop of Gusties.  We're talking about a 3 time All MIAC player in  Phil Sowden; 2 time All conference selection in Adam TeBrake; & 6th man of the year award, & 2 time AC selection in Trevor Wittwer. 

Now stop this foolishness before people think I've a closet GAC backer.