MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

Now onto to more serious business, the Freshmen All Name Team.   But before the announcement, let me just say that the Jays must be having some serious competition at their practices because they are absolutely loaded with talent.  The coaches must have been instructed to only recruit talented players who have great names, because they've got some dandies on the JV and varsity rosters. 

2016-2017 Palmer Freshman MIAC All Name Team:

Second Team

Levon Keller-Chavez - Macalester
Rafi Kubersky – Macalester
Henry Mulligan – Augsburg
Steffan Musoke – St. Thomas
Vannis Smith - Gustavus

First Team

"Jumping" Jubie Alade – St. John's
Eli "Nick" Cave "and the Bad Seeds" – St. Mary's
Justice "For/Quattro" Newman - St. John's

Co-All Name FY of the Year

Mo Bullock "Blues" - Bethel
"Red" Granger Kirkland – Bethel

[GoldandBlueBU]

...I completely forgot about Kevin Grow as well.  He impressed me, given the fact that it looked like a stiff breeze would present danger in him being blown from the court.

I'm interested to see if he's physically changed much between years, as that is the largest barrier to his progression.  If he adds some beef and strength to that frame, he could be a very good player.

I dunno, I always thought of Kevin Grow as a wiry, strong post guy.  Olmscheid is the lankier one of the two and not quite as physical, although both are very good players. I see Grow as more of a complete player, while Olmscheid's job is to score.

Finally, tip off is right around the corner, and the Gusties finally posted their closely guarded roster.  Hmmpht.   

https://gustavus.edu/athletics/mbb/roster/

Wiry is fine, but he's not even that built out.  I've only seen a very limited sample (games vs. BU) as I don't care to tune in for random Carleton games, but from what I've seen, he is too easily bodied out of position by a stronger post.

[Drake Palmer]

...I completely forgot about Kevin Grow as well.  He impressed me, given the fact that it looked like a stiff breeze would present danger in him being blown from the court.

I'm interested to see if he's physically changed much between years, as that is the largest barrier to his progression.  If he adds some beef and strength to that frame, he could be a very good player.

I dunno, I always thought of Kevin Grow as a wiry, strong post guy.  Olmscheid is the lankier one of the two and not quite as physical, although both are very good players. I see Grow as more of a complete player, while Olmscheid's job is to score.

Finally, tip off is right around the corner, and the Gusties finally posted their closely guarded roster.  Hmmpht.   

https://gustavus.edu/athletics/mbb/roster/

Wiry is fine, but he's not even that built out.  I've only seen a very limited sample (games vs. BU) as I don't care to tune in for random Carleton games, but from what I've seen, he is too easily bodied out of position by a stronger post.

Seriously?? The kid AVERAGED a double-double per game last year 14.0ppg & 10.0 rpg, plus he led the league in blocked shots and averaged 2.3 blocks per game.  On the other hand, Derek Magnuson only averaged 6.5 rebs per game.
   

[GoldandBlueBU]

Seriously?? The kid AVERAGED a double-double per game last year 14.0ppg & 10.0 rpg, plus he led the league in blocked shots and averaged 2.3 blocks per game.  On the other hand, the Magnuson only averaged 6.5 rebs per game.

Umm, yes. I don't want to argue with the MIAC's Switzerland poster!

I'm not trying to say he's not already a good player  (never said that!)   only that his physical build is the difference from him being what he already is - a good post that any coach would love to have -  and being a serious POY contender.

BTW - did Chen transfer?  He reminded me of BU's Luke Buttenhoff - not super athletic in the classic basketball manner, but both just flat out worked hard and got things done.  I've always appreciated the blue collar players that found success by doing the dirty / hard work, as that's the category that I fell into.

[Drake Palmer]

Good health and good luck to all teams this year!

[GoldandBlueBU]

I see that the Johnnies opened with a win against UWS last night and had a sophomore put up 31 points.  Could very well just be a flash in the pan against a sub-par opponent, but if that proves to be something sustainable I think you could bump SJU right back up into that top 3 conversation that they were previously left out of due to how much talent they graduated.

Interested to see what Weiss  (I think had 22 last night?) can do now with a couple of years of experience under his belt, and having more of the scoring load on him, rather than deferring to the senior laden class they had last year.

BU opens with a tournament down at Wheaton this weekend.  I think this will serve them much better than they Perkins Tipoff Tournament they typically start the season by hosting, playing someone like Bethany Lutheran or Crown College and then a lower tier WIAC like UWRF as the "championship" game.

[bball1122]

Stokman isn't a flash in the pan - he may well be their best player (and I think Weiss is a stud).  Superior made it a game though. 

Is UWRF really a "lower tier" WIAC school?  Didn't they just beat UST?  And lest you say "that's convenient timing", here is their WIAC finish the last few years:  4th, 3rd, 9th, 8th, 2nd, 2nd.  A couple lean years for sure, but they have been pretty damn good for most of the recent past.

Interesting that none of the stud frosh got in for UST - injuries? Not ready?  I have to imagine at least one of them cracks the rotation before the new year.

Hamline with a nice W on the road at perennially tough Northwestern.  Zach Smith is one of the most talented players in the league - will be fun to see what he can do this year.

Olaf with a solid win over Point, SMU takes care of Martin Luther, Cord loses on the road at Morris (35 3's attempted? 15 for Nelson?), MAC turns it on in the second half to beat North Central, and Carleton beats Bethany, despite committing 31 fouls, which is I think about their usual season total. 

All in all, it's great to have the MIAC back!

[GoldandBlueBU]

Is UWRF really a "lower tier" WIAC school?  Didn't they just beat UST?  And lest you say "that's convenient timing", here is their WIAC finish the last few years:  4th, 3rd, 9th, 8th, 2nd, 2nd.  A couple lean years for sure, but they have been pretty damn good for most of the recent past.

Fair enough on UWRF - I admit to knowing very little about WIAC hoops and was basing my statement on the fact that I had recalled not especially talented BU teams knocking them off the past two seasons.

Olaf perhaps looking to prove something after being unimpressed with their 6th place pre-season ranking?

Indeed, it is great to have basketball back.  I love football, but the MIAC leaves a bit to be desired outside of a few marquee matchups per year.

[Smitty Oom]

BTW - did Chen transfer?  He reminded me of BU's Luke Buttenhoff - not super athletic in the classic basketball manner, but both just flat out worked hard and got things done.  I've always appreciated the blue collar players that found success by doing the dirty / hard work, as that's the category that I fell into.

Chen went to continue his education in electrical engineering at Columbia University. It is a 3-2 program so 3 years at Carleton and then 2 years at Columbia. Tough loss for the Knights, would have really helped them in the post. He was an very under rated athletically actually, great second jump and strong as an ox underneath. Chen was a great player and quite the well rounded person. This is one of my favorite videos....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKyGTmQx6uA

[Drake Palmer]

BTW - did Chen transfer?  He reminded me of BU's Luke Buttenhoff - not super athletic in the classic basketball manner, but both just flat out worked hard and got things done.  I've always appreciated the blue collar players that found success by doing the dirty / hard work, as that's the category that I fell into.

Chen went to continue his education in electrical engineering at Columbia University. It is a 3-2 program so 3 years at Carleton and then 2 years at Columbia. Tough loss for the Knights, would have really helped them in the post. He was an very under rated athletically actually, great second jump and strong as an ox underneath. Chen was a great player and quite the well rounded person. This is one of my favorite videos....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKyGTmQx6uA

After a disappointing last 7 days or so,  this was an absolute joy to see!  Encouraging to know that we have young, bright, and inquisitive minds matriculating from our colleges. Post of the Week!

Great find Smitty! Plus K!

 

[Smitty Oom]

Stokman isn't a flash in the pan - he may well be their best player (and I think Weiss is a stud).  Superior made it a game though. 

Stokman has the same skill set and build as Schmidt, it was evident last year he will step into the same type of roll for this years Johnnie team after Alex Schmidt graduated. Didn't think he would go 31 and 8 in the first game of the year but he will be solid all year long. Weiss and Stokman are one of the best inside and out duos in the league.

Hamline with a nice W on the road at perennially tough Northwestern.  Zach Smith is one of the most talented players in the league - will be fun to see what he can do this year.

Totally agree, Zach Smith is very quick with a great pull-up jumper. Overall good scorer. I agree on one of the most talented players.

I personally think that the biggest win of the night for the MIAC has to go to the Oles. Beating a perennially tough Point squad (although down recently if I'm not mistaken?) after losing their own big 3 is very impressive. As expected Majeske and Troboxen led the way. I just don't know if those two will be consistent enough all year long to grab one of the playoff spots. This will be an interesting team to watch.

As for the Cobbers, tough loss to a pesky morris team. Morris started 5 guards and didn't have the size to matchup with the Cord posts , thus Morris sat in a 2-3 zone all game and Cobbs shooting a ton of 3's. Dylan Alderman is a player to watch this year, he was in a little foul trouble and didn't get into a great rhythm last night with the zone but he will be tough with Austin Nelson and I think this team will fight for a playoff spot as well.

Lastly, MAC gets a big win! This is my call of the year as MAC will get into the playoffs. Gutz, Kilgour, Kareem, Ferm and Black-Matthrews is honestly one of the best starting lineups in the MIAC this year. Good scorers all the way around. Depth probably drops off real quick after that but they can definitely cause some trouble this year! Excited to watch this team come together.

So excited for bball to be back, nothing better than MIAC hoops! I see a lot of parity this year with the "bottom-dwellers" in MAC, Hamline and Mary's all improving and the usual playoff teams of late (UST, SJU, STO, Cobbs) all graduating a lot. Should be a great race to the playoffs!

[Drake Palmer]

And while I'm at it,  nice to see bball1122 back on the board.  We've had a dwindling supply of posters over the last 2-3 years so it's nice to see you back. Plus K

I'm checking out last night's boxscores during the lunch hour and will see if I uncover anything to add onto to what the other posters have already said.


   

[Smitty Oom]

After a disappointing last 7 days or so,  this was an absolute joy to see!  Encouraging to know that we have young, bright, and inquisitive minds matriculating from our colleges. Post of the Week!

Great find Smitty! Plus K!

Thanks!! It is a great video. Chen has been one of my favorite players in the MIAC, great player and this video only helps his cause!

[fredfalcon]

RF has been "lower tier" some of the time recently, but beat Whitewater and Point twice each a year ago, a first in my memory (and that's going back a LONG way!) There were 7 points total separation between Oshkosh and RF in 3 games a year ago, including a playoff game. RF should finish in the top 3 this year.

UST did not look like the team to win the MIAC last night, altho they were more themselves in the second half. Grant Erickson did a great job on Schaefer, who seemed not to be able to create a shot when closely guarded. His unselfishness is unquestionable, however, as his 12 assists show.

[Drake Palmer]

I made the trek went over to the Shoe last night for a little hoops therapy to watch UST battle UWRF in the season opener for both teams and nearly left at halftime.  The Tommies who started 6-6 Ryan Boll, 6-6 Jordan Burich, 6-4 Ryan Johnson, and the 6-0 guards in Grant Sheaffer and John Veil were out-hustled, out-quicked, and out shot in the first half and were down 45- 23 at halftime.

Fortunately for the Tommies, they made some halftime defensive adjustments, and did a better job of defending the perimeter, and the quick UWRF guards. UWRF's Devin Buckley scorched the Tommies for 21 first half points on 7-10 FGA, and was an astonishing 6-7 on 3FGA.  He cooled off in the 2nd half and was 1-3 FGA, 0-1 3FGA, 6-6 from the FT line.  Buckley still ended up with 31 pts.

6th man 6-2 Michael Hannon caught on fire for the Tommies in the 2nd half and scored 18 pts, followed by Jordan Burich 14pts 6 rebs, Ryan Boll 10 pts, 7 rebs, 3 steals. Grant Shaeffer had a miserable shooting night as he was 2-11FGA for 8 pts, but offset his shooting with 12 assists, & 4 rebs.  John Veil had 8 pts, Connor Bair was a wild man on offense, but offered some solid defensive presence in the paint & grabbed 7 rebs.

Tommies did close the gap to make the final score a respectable 75-64 defeat. Over the next day or so, I bet Coach Tauer and staff are talking a lot about the Tommie D and forcing players to drive with their weak hand and defensive help rotation.  Yuck.

It will be interesting to watch this edition of the UST team develop.  For the past 8-9 years, they've either had a big 2 guard, 6-4 Joe Scott, or a small forward like 6-4 Zach Riedemann or Taylor Montero. Players who could post up, or step out and hit the open jumper, and defend guards and post players alike.  Based on last night's performance, I don't know if they have a player ready to step into that role ...yet.  This was the first time in a long time I could remember another team being quicker than the Tomcats.  Bigger, yes, stronger yes, but not quicker.

***

However, looking around the league results last night, things look promising. The Jays went on the road and blew up UW Superior, but keep in mind Superior was picked to finish at or near the bottom of the UMAC this year. As mentioned, David Stokman had an outstanding game, as did Tyler Weiss.  Out of all the freshmen names tossed about, the first to emerge and make a significant splash was Jubie Alade who was the third leading scorer for the Jays last night as he finished with 10 pts, 4 rebs, in 21 minutes of play.  We'll be able to draw some comparisons on Saturday afternoon when SJU hosts MN-Morris who just escaped with a 1 pt win over the Cobbs last night 71-70.

Another FY making a name for himself is 6-5 wing Jacob Pazdernik for the Cobbs.  26 minutes, 6 pts, 4 rebs, for what appears to be a depth challenged Cobber team. Morris was picked to finish 3rd in the UMAC.

Great win by Hamline over the UMAC preseason favorite – Northwestern.  And another great win by the Oles over UW Steven Point last night.  A name I believe we'll start hearing more about this year is SO PG Ben Scheffley. I believe he was injured a portion of last year, but he's going to be a great distributor. 9 assists last night.  FY Nate Albers with 7 pts and 2 rebs. Outside shooting might be their Achilles heel this year.  But beating Stevens Point no matter how down they appear to be is akin to beating the Tommies – sweet.  I'd be willing to beat by season's end both Point & UST will be vying for their respective league playoffs. 

Mac is going to be tough and if the UST guard play doesn't pick up, Gutierrez and Kilgour could be swarming all over the courts like pesky, summer gnats, while Ismail and Ferm go to work in the interior and step out.  Carleton with a nice physical win.

Bethel is on the road this week and opens on Friday down in Chicago, while Augsburg and Gustavus both begin their season in Iowa.  It's a bit too quiet out of the urban (Dawgs) & exurban (Gusties) Lutherans.  Something tells me I think they might be up to something.