MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

UST remembered what good Defense looks like & stifled the upstart Oles 72-56.

After several false starts, I worked out my MIAC game schedule for the next week & ½ barely made it over for the opening tipoff of this game.

Random observations

NCA11 was right- For some inexplicable reason Alfred Jaryan got no clock last night.  In fact to make matters worse, the UST game announcer mistakenly announced Jaryan's name when they were doing player introductions.  I don't think it's grades, injury, doghouse? 

Jaryan's replacement-FY Sterling Nielsen is going to be a hooper.  Nice, nice ball player, sort of a funky, no spin type of jumper, but it goes in.  Good handles, deked Peter Leslie a few times.

Josh "TOWGA" (The One Who Got Away – from Hamline) Pratt looked more than solid. 7-8 points. Hit a trey, a nice wraparound assist, good D, unless Coach K goes bananas, Pratt should be a solid contributor this season.

Speaking of bananas, Coach K had a great rip off the blazer moment. He was bellowing at a ref, tore off his jacket, realized he couldn't afford to stomp on it, & handed it to one of the team trainers who neatly folded it over the back of a chair.  The best chuckle of the night!

If anyone recalls, I said the Oles needed someone other than Bobby Fong & Stu Neville to step up. Neville delivered all night, FY Nielsen delivered with 13 pts, but Fong & Connor Gunderson was completely neutralized by the Tommie D.

Stu Neville is the most polished, offensively talented big man in the league – bar none. He can score inside or outside, dribbles with either hand & can finish at the basket with either hand. There aren't too many peaks & valleys with Neville's game- very nice player.
***
However Neville's counterpart, UST's Tommy Hannon is the engine that makes the UST motor purr. (Ok, I'll stop with the hackneyed metaphors  ) His impact can be felt in so many ways other than just on offense. Hannon went to the bench with 2 early fouls in the first half & the Tommies nursing a 7-8pt lead. Without Hannon's defensive presence, the Oles quietly began to sneak back in the game on the inside & outside play of Neville & Nielsen & tied the game at halftime. 32-32.

The 2nd half began, Hannon is back on the floor, UST began to dig in on both ends of the floor & gradually pulled away with a decisive victory.  Hannon & his teammate, John Nance both played All-MIAC type of defense.  I would not be surprised to see both of them named to the All-Defense team at the end of the season. Nance hounded Bobby Fong all night

Speaking of defense, Noah Kaiser –unsung hero, did a masterful job muscling & shutting down Connor Gunderson.

FY Connor Nord – tats & hairband should also be a future All-MIAC FY player. Very excited about his potential. He got schooled a few times by Neville, but the kid has got good instincts. Has got a nice left hand & was able to make a couple of nice finishes – get up big fella. Made me jump out of my seat.

Guards & wings are solid. Apparently Will DeBerg & Zach Riedemann are the designated instant offense guys, they both come off the bench at the same time with twitchy trigger fingers.

Coach Tauer seems to be a bit more animated now that he's running the show.  The other good humor moment of the night was seeing former Tommie, Mike Keating in a coat & tie, rather than the customary ball cap pulled down low over the eyes & a 2 day growth of hair on his face.  I didn't hardly recognize him. 

[TommieHoops4Life]

I watched the first half of Olaf/UST last night then kind of lost track at my desk watching the Gopher game...

St. Thomas jumped out early, but the Oles did a nice job of slowing the game down a bit and staying in it. The Tommies appear to be at their best when using their press and making the game a little more helter-skelter than most teams prefer. MM you can answer this better than anyone, when did that change happen because it wasn't like that during my UST days. I want to say around 2006 or so is when it started.

At one point St. Olaf had a 1-point lead, then the next time I looked (probably 6 mins in basketball time) UST had an eight point lead in the second half before they picked it up and pulled away. Hannon looks like a nice player inside and I like the Leslie/Nance combination.

Fong needs to get away from the fade away jumper, he's much more effective going to the basket. All in all, good first MIAC effort for the Tommies.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

I watched the first half of Olaf/UST last night then kind of lost track at my desk watching the Gopher game...

St. Thomas jumped out early, but the Oles did a nice job of slowing the game down a bit and staying in it. The Tommies appear to be at their best when using their press and making the game a little more helter-skelter than most teams prefer. MM you can answer this better than anyone, when did that change happen because it wasn't like that during my UST days. I want to say around 2006 or so is when it started.

TH4L-I can simply answer that or I can tell you the story that is the Legend of Johnny The Younger. I opt for the story, as this board is kinda dead:

UP to and including the 2006-07 season, UST played boring basketball, similar to that of its MIAC brethren. Seven-man rotation, politely picking up defensive assignments at mid court and not utilizing their athleticism (see SJU basketball for a vivid example of how this archaic version of the game is played).

Over the summer of 2007, The Tall Old Power That Be (TOPTB) behind UST hoops began listening to his avid young assistant (Johnny The Younger, also known as JT), who was preaching a new, potent, high-powered version of the game-- one that wasn't gentlemanly but pressured opponents into a stream of mistakes and capitalized on those mistakes and that took full advantage of the athleticism that filled the bench. By fall, the TOPTB agreed to experiment with the young assistant's vision of a new brand of basketball, which was unlike anything the MIAC had seen. The Tommies began substituting like a hockey team, pressing, running and gunning. 

After winning two games in Ohio with this new brand, UST clipped defending D2 champ Winona St while playing this newfangled upbeat variation and TOPTB was sold on it. It produced a good season in its first year, then exploded to a 30-0 start in the 2nd season and has grown to the point that it catapulted UST into a national championship.

Pleased, TOPTB retired, handing the reins to the that avid young assistant who promised that this brand of plan would continue to be UST's calling card.

[papahoops]

Had a busy day yesterday and was unable to post any observations of UST/STO contest. After Drake's thorough game analysis, I don't have much to new to add in terms of game summary.

I will say I am even more enthusiatic than Drake regarding the potential of STO's FY point guard Sterling Nielson. I REALLY like his game and the poise he showed as a FY player playing point against a good pressure defense. Whatever the reason was for Jaryan not getting minutes in this game, Nielson's ability could be a bigger problem for Jaryan in terms of minutes played this year. Bobby Fong's inconsistency came to the forefront once again and after coming into the game averaging 20, he was a complete non-factor offensively. Stu Neville had a nice game, but cannot carry a team, so the lack of offensive help from Fong and Gunderson was the probably the key to the STO's loss.
On the UST side of the ledger, Tommy Hannon continues to demonstrate he is clearly the MVP of this year's UST squad. His steady play is key to UST's success. UST will need to keep on the floor this year, as there was a noticable drop off on team performance when he picked up a second early foul and had to sit the last 10 minutes of the first half. Regarding DP's expressed love of FY post Connor Nord's game, I was so distracted having to look at his hairstyle that I had trouble taking his game seriously. I know that is an unfair bias from an old school fan of the game, but let's leave it at that

A final note....Drake must have had a disguise on at the game, for I scanned the crowd on several occsions and could not pick him out. I'm sure he knew I would likely be sitting with MiacManiac, so I am wondering why he did not stop by to say hello ??

[Drake Palmer]

...A final note....Drake must have had a disguise on at the game, for I scanned the crowd on several occsions and could not pick him out. I'm sure he knew I would likely be sitting with MiacManiac, so I am wondering why he did not stop by to say hello ??

Sorry Pops – it was literally a game time decision.  In my quest to see the top 4 projected MIAC finishers in action before the holiday break, I thought I would be heading over to the pound to see the Dawgs take on the Jays. Instead, last minute work stuff came up so I ended up at the Big Guy's court.

And you know me; I need to maintain my MIAC school neutrality, at least until the playoffs begin.  So I can always be found in the Swiss – neutral zone of any basketball gym.  Sitting with Mose & his gawdawful purple shirt among the Tommie faithful would compromise my objectivity.  However, I did wander out to the concession stands at halftime looking for you & the motley crew. 

What's happened to Jquentin, I thought he was going to join the inaugural gathering of eagles?

Let's pick another game so we can do the Shamrock's pregame burger & beverage.  Or I might have to pay off my bet to Mose & buy him some of his beloved Kim's fried chicken. I can pick up his tab beforehand at Kims & meet you at Shamrock's.   

Not a fan of the hair band eh? I was prepared to hate the kid, but once I got past the look, I realized the kid can play.  UST will need for him to develop quickly when they face the teams with the bigger posts - Augsburg & Carleton.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the Knights next week.  Wait until you see Taylor Hanson in action.  You will like his game - when I saw him play 2 years ago - no tats. 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

...A final note....Drake must have had a disguise on at the game, for I scanned the crowd on several occsions and could not pick him out. I'm sure he knew I would likely be sitting with MiacManiac, so I am wondering why he did not stop by to say hello ??

Sorry Pops – it was literally a game time decision.  In my quest to see the top 4 projected MIAC finishers in action before the holiday break, I thought I would be heading over to the pound to see the Dawgs take on the Jays. Instead, last minute work stuff came up so I ended up at the Big Guy's court.

And you know me; I need to maintain my MIAC school neutrality, at least until the playoffs begin.  So I can always be found in the Swiss – neutral zone of any basketball gym.  Sitting with Mose & his gawdawful purple shirt among the Tommie faithful would compromise my objectivity.  However, I did wander out to the concession stands at halftime looking for you & the motley crew. 

What's happened to Jquentin, I thought he was going to join the inaugural gathering of eagles?

Let's pick another game so we can do the Shamrock's pregame burger & beverage.  Or I might have to pay off my bet to Mose & buy him some of his beloved Kim's fried chicken. I can pick up his tab beforehand at Kims & meet you at Shamrock's.   

Not a fan of the hair band eh? I was prepared to hate the kid, but once I got past the look, I realized the kid can play.  UST will need for him to develop quickly when they face the teams with the bigger posts - Augsburg & Carleton.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the Knights next week.  Wait until you see Taylor Hanson in action.  You will like his game - when I saw him play 2 years ago - no tats. 

I can collect my winnings at Shamrocks....is it OK for VOJ to be there?     (altho I believe by the end of the weekend it will be 2 bets you lost already this young season)

Godawful purple shirt?? wash your mouth out!!!
among the Tommie faithful?  hmm, was a great seat for you duing the NCAAs....now you're too good for the seat? I'll need to remember that come March 

[Drake Palmer]

Mose, Mose, Mose what did I say?

...A final note....Drake must have had a disguise on at the game, for I scanned the crowd on several occsions and could not pick him out. I'm sure he knew I would likely be sitting with MiacManiac, so I am wondering why he did not stop by to say hello ??

And you know me; I need to maintain my MIAC school neutrality, at least until the playoffs begin.  So I can always be found in the Swiss – neutral zone of any basketball gym.  Sitting with Mose & his gawdawful purple shirt among the Tommie faithful would compromise my objectivity.  However, I did wander out to the concession stands at halftime looking for you & the motley crew. 

What’s happened to Jquentin, I thought he was going to join the inaugural gathering of eagles?

Let’s pick another game so we can do the Shamrock’s pregame burger & beverage.  Or I might have to pay off my bet to Mose & buy him some of his beloved Kim's fried chicken. I can pick up his tab beforehand at Kims & meet you at Shamrock's.   

Neutrality until the playoffs/NCAAs start. Then I'll be glad to ride on whatever bandwagon travels the furthest. 

And besides, I think we're a cumulative 1-1 in the lunch/dinner wagering department.

[papahoops]

Have been checking out web checking out a few games on the web. Unfortunately see no improvement in Mac squad as Bethel handles them easily. In terms of legit playoff potential, the Scots do not appear to be contenders. I'm afraid my friend Mose was overly optimistic about their prospects this year.

On the positive side, Augsburg REALLY impressed me today. When I turned off the game with a couple of minutes left, Cory Polta and Andy G-G had combined for 46 points and Augburg was handling Concordia easily. This will be a very tough front court matchup for most teams in the league. Although I realize it was only only one game and a small sample size, I would move up Auggies on my chart from projected top 4 team to legit contenter for the top spot.

[Kilroy]

Olaf over SMU today in a hard-fought contest. Olaf started Nielsen, fong, gundersen, wieloch, and Neville. Nielsen certainly doesn't play like a freshman... He was putting up some gutsy shots. Neville is indeed very polished and could be the best big man in the league. Jaryan was in street clothes on the bench, rumored to be because of injury and/or other issues.

I came away impressed with the two freshmen guards that SMU started. Evan Pederson is only 5-8, but is worth the price of admission as he is very slippery and acts natural with the ball. Very fun to watch. Delasalle product lamonte hall showed a lot of positive energy and hustle, and has a good-looking jumper.

I can't recall the final score, but I think Olaf won by 12 or so. SMU played hard but struggled with rebounding... Olaf is still my pick to win the league. If they can get rolling, this team has so much talent.

[aero75]

Bethel and Augsburg both appear to be on the upswing and possibly for the same reason, points in the paint. Augsburg for sure and although I haven't seen Bethel yet, that is what Kyle Zimmerman did in HS.

[Drake Palmer]

Here's a portion of an offline email I sent to another MIAC fan...

I saw the Cobbs Dawgs game yesterday afternoon.
 
Cobbs actually aren't bad & the new PG, Dewon McKenzie gives them some athleticism & skills at the PG spot they typically don't have.  But their old bugaboo continues to rear its ugly head.  With the exception of the Josh Downey & Keith Eckhoff years, Concordia has lacked a legitimate outside shooting threat to keep opposing defenses honest. Then it became a primordial battle between man mountain Jason Huus 6-10 265 lbs vs. the baby bull from Spring Lake Park 6-5 260lbs Cory Polta.  Polta is huge.  I swear his vertical must be all of 6 inches, but he's strong as a bull & has got decent post footwork.  He gets his defender on his back, bodies him, take the defender's  legs out & score over him.

Andy Grzesiak-Grimm is more of the small forward type.  He doesn't particularly like mix it up on the block or is creating space for Polta . He has a streaky outside J to about 15, but if he can make one or two of them, he loves to fake the shot & drive in for the dunk.  He had 3 nasty dunks in the 2nd half, one off a sweet alley oop pass from Parker Hines, but the other were set up by a short jumper he had hit earlier & an explosive first step for a big. He's a better rebounder than Polta but can get bullied around in the post. The match up between the Dawgs & Carleton could be spectacular with POlta-AGG going up against Hanson & Rosenow.  (Circle the Augsburg Carleton game on the calendar - January 16th at Si Melby.  Plus the games against Tommies & Oles.)

I would love to see those guys - Polta & AGG run a little hi-lo action with each other.  IMO, when they stick AGG out on the wing, negates some of the pressure they could put on other teams' defenses such as UST & STO who really only play 1 post player. If the Tommies'  Connor Nord develops to the point they can have him & Hannon out on the floor at the same time should help when they play the like of Augsburg & Carleton. At this point I don't see the Oles' Connor Gunderson hanging with AGG. '

Dawg guards & wings are decent to solid.  They have enough shooters to keep opposing teams honest which helps the strength of their team - Polta & AGG.

Carleton is going to be extremely dangerous  - plus they're long & reasonably athletic. Sawtzake - 6-0, Tyler Goetz  6-4, Scott Theisen 6-6, Taylor Hanson 6-5, & Caleb Rosenow 6-7.  Plus I think this kid FY 6-3 Shane McSparron could be a poor man's Jeremy Sutherland, & another FY, 6-6 Paxton Harvieux.  A younger, but extremely dangerous team. They could be susceptible to full court pressure defense & turnovers, but will kill you in the half court.

You will love the most hyped Palmer new guy since Brady Ervin - Carleton's Taylor Hanson. :-)  He'll knock a few heads around before his career is done. 

P.s. Polta could do a better job of passing out of the post for the open marksman & then re-posting.  Unlike UST's Tommy Hannon, once the ball goes inside to Polta,the ball tends to stay inside.  Hannon is a tremendous passer for a post.

It will be fun to see if UST, Carleton others can bring a wing down to dig at the ball when Polta goes into his move. I remember a few years ago when Gustavus's Sam Paulson would begin to make his post move & the Tommies would drop down Tyler Nicolai, Lonnie Robinson etal dig at the ball & strip it for a TO. Ol' Sam would go apoplectic with frustration. I would think other teams will need to employ a similar type of defense against the Augsburg bigs to be successful.

[miacsuperfan]

Olaf over SMU today in a hard-fought contest. Olaf started Nielsen, fong, gundersen, wieloch, and Neville. Nielsen certainly doesn't play like a freshman... He was putting up some gutsy shots. Neville is indeed very polished and could be the best big man in the league. Jaryan was in street clothes on the bench, rumored to be because of injury and/or other issues.

I came away impressed with the two freshmen guards that SMU started. Evan Pederson is only 5-8, but is worth the price of admission as he is very slippery and acts natural with the ball. Very fun to watch. Delasalle product lamonte hall showed a lot of positive energy and hustle, and has a good-looking jumper.

I can't recall the final score, but I think Olaf won by 12 or so. SMU played hard but struggled with rebounding... Olaf is still my pick to win the league. If they can get rolling, this team has so much talent.

kilroy, you gotta be kidding.  talent or no talent, sto will not win the league with the big K at the helm.  koz appears to be a great guy off the court. . . second to nobody. . . but between the lines this guy has messed up more talent than any miac coach in recent memory.  i certainly hope for your sake that no money has been wagered on your 'call.'

as for macalaster's renaissance?     whatever. 

tommies?  hello.  looks like they aren't going to mess around. . . even for a month.  they don't rebuild, they re-load.  the system works, and they are not going to change it now.      if they lose three games, i will be surprised.

royals?    maybe a sign of some life, after two years in the dungeon.  it would be nice to see them back where they had become accustomed to being near the top of the heap.  it appears that zimmerman is a keeper, a much needed presence in the middle.  how did the johnnies let him escape?   i like the little bit i've seen of him on video.   

knights?   with the best coach in the league, these guys will be around all year.  i would be willing to bet if koz and kalland were to switch benches in northfield, the two teams fortunes would switch right with them. 

voj, how about the johnnies?   you gotta come through for us and shed some light.  i refuse to believe that offensively they can't generate some more heat.  other than their upset win over uw-sp, they have dropped some stink bombs to date.     you KNOW they will win some games out in the woods, however.

dawgs?   like em.  they got some skills, and some good veterans.  g-grim and polta are a nice one-two punch.  they also benefit  from some pretty solid bench jockeying as well.  their next two games will say a lot regarding how serious of a contender that they can be.

golden gusties?  you gotta like 'em because they know how to defend, but seth anderson will need a little more help from his mates or they could become pretty easy to stop.  (note: does anyone know who officiated gac game at ust on saturday?  looks like the best way to stop anderson is to get him in foul trouble.)

vipes?  carl hipp where are you?   what a huge loss for the pipes.  hard to imagine how they will win games this year without him.  too early to tell yet, but these guys could find a rotation that works which might cause a few miac coaches some preparation concerns.   

cobs?   hard to take them seriously without fraase and olhmscheid.  they (like the vipes) appear not to have a go-to guy, but are a bunch of hard working blue-collar ball players.  as always, they will win some games at home. . . but I will be surprised to see this group do much damage on the road this year.

smu?  i was happy to see them recover from their near-decapitation by the knights and show some fight in their competitive loss to the oles.  but, it is hard to imagine how they can actually win any games other than their twice annual dog-fights with the scots.     and their recent defector in chris palmer's non-performance for river falls makes me wonder if this kid has lost his interest in playing!!  what a shocker that he is not a major cog in uw-rf's game plan.   

[Gregory Sager]

knights?   with the best coach in the league, these guys will be around all year.  i would be willing to bet if koz and kalland were to switch benches in northfield, the two teams fortunes would switch right with them. 

Bum Phillips on Don Shula: "He can take his'n and beat your'n, and he can take your'n and beat his'n."

[Kilroy]

Olaf over SMU today in a hard-fought contest. Olaf started Nielsen, fong, gundersen, wieloch, and Neville. Nielsen certainly doesn't play like a freshman... He was putting up some gutsy shots. Neville is indeed very polished and could be the best big man in the league. Jaryan was in street clothes on the bench, rumored to be because of injury and/or other issues.

I came away impressed with the two freshmen guards that SMU started. Evan Pederson is only 5-8, but is worth the price of admission as he is very slippery and acts natural with the ball. Very fun to watch. Delasalle product lamonte hall showed a lot of positive energy and hustle, and has a good-looking jumper.

I can't recall the final score, but I think Olaf won by 12 or so. SMU played hard but struggled with rebounding... Olaf is still my pick to win the league. If they can get rolling, this team has so much talent.

kilroy, you gotta be kidding.  talent or no talent, sto will not win the league with the big K at the helm.  koz appears to be a great guy off the court. . . second to nobody. . . but between the lines this guy has messed up more talent than any miac coach in recent memory.  i certainly hope for your sake that no money has been wagered on your 'call.'

Hey, I have to stay true to my improbable projection... I just want someone other than UST/Carleton to win the ship. I might have to start banking on Auggie...

[Kilroy]

...their recent defector in chris palmer's non-performance for river falls makes me wonder if this kid has lost his interest in playing!!  what a shocker that he is not a major cog in uw-rf's game plan.   

au contraire... read this from the WIAC board:

RF 68, Pville 57. Chris Palmer, in his first starting role, had a double/double w/12 pts., 12 rbds. Manor led the Falcons in scoring w/13 UNLESS my memory fails me--which is a strong possibility.