MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

And then there was one.

Hamline's roster is posted. 5 FY and EDIT: two transfer.   No additional size to speak of to help out Carl Hipp. Looks like a bunch of athletic 6-3, 6-4 wings.  I hope someone can shoot from the outside to keep the defenses honest.  Hoops - after reviewing the roster, what are there - 1 or 2 FY who might be able to make a contribution this season? Josh Pratt, or maybe the Oregon kid, Tyler Pannell?   

So this brings us to Bethel, the last team to post their roster or game scores.  I realize that I've given Bethel a "bit" of flak  in the past for their non-conference schedule, but this year they've done a pretty good job of making some improvements.  They scheduled an away game at UW-Stout on 11/16 for their season opener. This is a pretty gutsy move.  Stout was picked to finish 5th in the 9 team WIAC this season.  

Several days later in the annual Bethel tournament they even upgraded the annual tourney lollypop.  Bethel replaced Nebraska Christian from last season (everyone remembers Bethel 93- NC 21 right?) with Trinity International.  At least Trinity typically fields a competitive, but losing team which is more than could be said for Nebraska Christian.  In addition to Trinity, Bethel added Wisconsin Lutheran & UW-LaCrosse.  LAX was picked to finish 3rd in the WIAC.

If you want to see a dangerous shooter you owe it to yourself to check out LAX's Tony Mane.  The kid has no conscience & seemingly unlimited range. With Bethel's style of defense, Mane could easily rack up 50+ points.  

[miacsuperfan]

If you want to see a dangerous shooter you owe it to yourself to check out LAX’s Tony Mane.  The kid has no conscience & seemingly unlimited range. With Bethel’s style of defense, Mane could easily rack up 50+ points. 

I saw this kid the other night on ESPN.  He torched the Badgers for nearly 30 in an exhibition game in Mad-town.  He was unconscious for much of the game, and then forced up a few stinkers at the end.   You are right on DP, he would be worth a trip to the Robertson Center to see.   Oh, and I like the look of BU's tougher schedule.  Do they have the horses to pull it off?   

[huhoops]

If you want to see a dangerous shooter you owe it to yourself to check out LAX's Tony Mane.  The kid has no conscience & seemingly unlimited range. With Bethel's style of defense, Mane could easily rack up 50+ points.  

I saw this kid the other night on ESPN.  He torched the Badgers for nearly 30 in an exhibition game in Mad-town.  He was unconscious for much of the game, and then forced up a few stinkers at the end.   You are right on DP, he would be worth a trip to the Robertson Center to see.   Oh, and I like the look of BU's tougher schedule.  Do they have the horses to pull it off?  

Supe, I saw the same game on BTN and the kid was single-handedly breaking down Badger defenders off the bounce and on the catch. This kid goes for 30 easy against BU.  That 6'7 lefty FY (Hanson) was deadly from 3 in that match up connecting on 5-9 three point attempts. I too will be checking out UW-LAX when they come to town.

+k huhoops.  nice post.   i agree with dp regarding olhmscheid as well.  i have always liked his game, and would not be surprised at all to see him really come into his own this year.

Good shout out Supe!  Lost in the commotion of the latest episode of a "Rolling Brett Childress Gathers no Moss" yesterday afternoon, I forgot to welcome HuHoops back for another season.  

Glad to see you're back & that graduation didn't completely decimate the ranks of the few, the proud, the HU posting faithful. Nice post as usual.   I've got another obligation Tuesday night so I'll expect a detailed game summary of the HU-CSTP match up tomorrow night.  +K & to Supe as well.

DP, I only stayed for the first half of the HU exhibition. Needless to say, I had a much better taste in my mouth leaving Gangelhoff than I did when I saw the final score. A couple of notes before I scurry off to work:

- I stand corrected about the Olafeso twins. They got to the lane at will and HU had no answer for either of their strength or athleticism. I thought Campbell would be a nice match up for at least one of them, but even he had loads of problems containing their attacks.

- Not sure why Carl only played 20 minutes. He only played 12 in the first half and had 0 fouls. His least productive game is excessively better than the next option for HU. 5 steals, 4 blocks, 9 boards, 10 points, in 20 minutes. 

- Campbell was a pleasant surprise. He is a perfect player for HU's dribble drive as he is strong and has a great first step. He even knocked down an inside/out three from Hipp. Although that shot doesn't look real comfortable, he was 1/2 when I was watching  

- The question remains, who is going to score the basketball for the Pipers. The next highest scorer after Hipp (10) and Campbell (14) is a couple guys with 4-6 points. Although Carl is a beast inside and Campbell shows promise, It's just too easy to stop so few scoring options. If last year's team is any indication, when it gets down to nut cutting time, the Pipers are going to struggle to find that 3rd, 4th, and 5th scoring option.

- Josh Pratt was abysmal. It's so early, and the first "real game" he played was against a D2 opponent, but I had hoped to see a little more productivity out of our prized FY recruit. Especially when it is the first "gem" we have gotten from Minnesota since the Whitmore campaign stepped in.

- CSP is taking steps backwards IMO. Without Ricks, Cunningham, Heiman, they are barely recognizable. I'll replace that egg on my face by saying that those two twins are STEALS for CSP. Without those guys...yikes.

That's all for now, I'm sure some other thoughts will come to me throughout the day.

[Drake Palmer]

Hoops – I had to run off to a meeting & didn't have a chance to respond before the HU-CSTP game last night.  I knew the Olafeso twins were going to be a handful. I saw them play a few days earlier when CSTP played UW-River Falls.

You also shouldn't be so hard on your Pipers, they'll come around.  I'm not sure about a league playoff berth, but they should be at least in the hunt.  Noah Aguirre & Jordan Schmidt might be 3rd & 4th scoring options that you're looking for.  Plus wasn't Aguirre coming off an ankle injury?  Josh Pratt should be ok too.  You've also got the west coast riders, Wenrich & Rieg to plug in too.

However, if I'm a Hamline fan, my big concern is who's going to back up Carl Hipp?  Andy Voigt, Charlie Choiniere?  They'll have to develop quickly if the Pipes are going to make any kind of run this season.

[Drake Palmer]

I just caught this headline -  Hugh Hefner goes Willy Wonka 

[Drake Palmer]

Unbeknownst to most everyone, myself included, UST quietly went down to Winona & got thumped by Winona State in an exhibition game last night.  Depending upon which game summary you can find, the final score was 89-69, 85-65, or 82-62.  One thing everyone seemed to agree upon - Winona won by 20 points. I looked all over but couldn't find a box score.

http://www.tommiesports.com/mbb/news/Winona_11-10.html
http://www.winonadailynews.com/sports/college/article_23e86d5e-ed54-11df-8da5-001cc4c002e0.html

In other news, 10 of the 11 MIAC teams have their rosters posted. Two of the schools- Hamline & SMU even have their season previews posted. On the other end of the spectrum, a person has to go through the Bethel hockey link to get to the Bethel basketball page. And they still don't have their roster posted.

[John Gleich]

Does UST have any pics of the new gym online?  I poked around their athletic site and the basketball page and didn't see anything.

EDIT: Found THIS but that's it.

[Drake Palmer]

And then there were none...Bethel's roster is posted

Ut oh, based on the new roster this could be a lean year to be a Bethel Royal.  6-7 Taylor Hall & 6-6 JD Robinson are it in terms of length & size in the front court.  A projected starting top 5 of Hall, Robinson, 6-4 Greg Meyer, 6-0 Daniel Baah, & 5-11 Elliot Risbrudt is an ok D3 lineup, but they have absolutely no size after that.  The Royals added 3 FY and none of them are taller than 6-3.  The Royals are basically the same size as SMU.

I might have to revise my preseason prediction & move Augsburg back into the 7th spot.

[Drake Palmer]

MIAC Basketball Season 2010-2011...

In what appears to be a down year for the league, I believe this might be the season when the "Have Nots" close the gap on the "Haves."


My projected league finish:

1) St. Thomas
2) Carleton

3) SJU
4) Concordia

5) Gustavus
6) St. Marys
****

7) Augsburg
8) St. Olaf

9) Hamline
10) Bethel

11)  Macalester*


I agree with Hoops, at minimum, the Scots will win at least one conference game this year.

[miacsuperfan]

MIAC Basketball Season 2010-2011...

In what appears to be a down year for the league, I believe this might be the season when the "Have Nots" close the gap on the "Haves."


My projected league finish:

1) St. Thomas
2) Carleton

3) SJU
4) Concordia

5) Gustavus
6) St. Marys
****

7) Augsburg
8) St. Olaf

9) Hamline
10) Bethel

11)  Macalester*


I agree with Hoops, at minimum, the Scots will win at least one conference game this year.

drake, it is strange looking at your 'picks' which do not include augsburg, bethel, or hamline in the playoff mix.  though looking at all three rosters, it is difficult to imagine how any of those three COULD make the dance.  does anybody know what became of the 'energizer bunny' ben flavin?  somebody mentioned earlier that he was not playing, but i didn't read WHY.  his absence (along with olson and cassens) would appear to have surgically removed the 'dawgs' heart.  as for bethel's 'projected' starting lineup---it doesn't look too bad---provided one of those guys can become a clutch, go-to kind of finisher.  nobody in that group has really established any evidence of being able to do that---YET. 
on the other side of the list, smu in the playoffs?!?!  wow.  does anybody know the last time that happened?  with all due respect to wright, holland, and palmer, i will believe it when i see it.    barring a major breakdown, will wright should surpass the 1800 pt. career milestone this year, and holland could surpass 1500.  that is a pile of points for two guys on a team that has won a total of 18 games (lost 57) in three years.   

[Buddo]

on the other side of the list, smu in the playoffs?!?!  wow.  does anybody know the last time that happened?  with all due respect to wright, holland, and palmer, i will believe it when i see it.    barring a major breakdown, will wright should surpass the 1800 pt. career milestone this year, and holland could surpass 1500.  that is a pile of points for two guys on a team that has won a total of 18 games (lost 57) in three years.   

Well, there's no denying that the "three-headed monster" knows how to put up points... WW, LH and CP are very, very good. SMU's success will be determined by the supporting cast, however. If they can settle on a decent 8/9 man rotation they could be a big shaker.

I'm heading down to Winona today to see WSU/SMU and see some old friends... I'll give a report later.

[Drake Palmer]

drake, it is strange looking at your 'picks' which do not include augsburg, bethel, or hamline in the playoff mix.  though looking at all three rosters, it is difficult to imagine how any of those three COULD make the dance....

Supe – as I indicated in my previous post, I'm expecting a topsy turvy league this season.  I would not be at all surprised if the league winner has 4-5 conference losses.

Out of the "have nots", non–projected playoff teams - I think Augsburg, St. Olaf, (yes St. Olaf) & maybe Hamline might have enough pieces to contend for a playoff spot. Things have to break just right for them to contend.

I see the Redbirds just barely sliding into the 6th playoff spot, but I could just as easily see Augsburg & or St. Olaf knocking them off. Without Augsburg's Ben Flavin & Marcus Brumm, I see it as a toss-up between the Dawgs & the Oles to nip at the heels of the league leaders. The Oles have got some real nice talent in their top 5, & if FY Connor Gunderson is the real deal, they might have a legitimate chance to vie for a playoff spot. When's the last time the Oles had a dangerous scorer & or outside scoring threat?

Hamline will need to find another post player & someone who can consistently hit from the outside.

Bethel has no margin for error with their short bench (literally & figuratively), & they'll need a grinder to do the dirty work in the paint.  Aside from Soph wing Greg Meyer, I don't think they have anyone.

It'll be interesting to see how Macalester looks this year.

First real night of winter, I've finished shoveling, my to-do list is done, Pizza Luce pizza scheduled for delivery, & according to the Winona State website, they have live video tonight of the WSU & SMU game. 
Nice!WSU video feed

[Buddo]

SMU loses to WSU by around 30, but I really think that any MIAC team would fare about the same. WSU is just too talented, I see them making another championship run either this year or the next. They can go 12+ deep in their lineup and not skip a beat, there is so much damn talent. Looking forward to see what SMU offers this year... several guys stepping up this year and showing improvement.

[Drake Palmer]

Conspiracy theory, or technical glitch?  Posters you make the call.

As the staff of researchers began the arduous task     of compiling the candidates list for the prestigious Palmer All-MIAC Freshmen Name Team, it was noticed that as of 12:00PM this afternoon, Bethel and St. Johns had pulled down their rosters.   More lineup changes in the rosters over the weekend?  Both teams have games coming up in the next couple of days.  

The Jays are the gracious hosts to St. Cloud State - a top 10 ranked team in several D2 preseason polls, with 4-5 starters returning from a final four team in 2010.  Yikes, like lambs to the slaughter?



baah?

Meanwhile, the Royals go on the road tomorrow night to play at UW-Stout. Stout was selected to finish 3rd in the WIAC this season.

In other opening round action the next couple of days:

11/15/10

St. Olaf @ Bethany Lutheran
St. Marys @ Crown
Buena Vista @ Gustavus

11/16/10

Carleton @ Wartburg
Bethany Lutheran @ Macalester
Hamline @ Northwestern
St. Thomas @ Concordia –STP

[columbianmaffia]

i am excited for basketball...i want to give high fives