MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

JD - it appears our fellow posters were kind & used the kid gloves with you this time.     However, you would be well advised to have your facts & opinions about you in a logical fashion if you happen to pique the interest or ire of our neighbor from the east - Mr Sager.

I've been thinking of asking Greg if I could hire him on a retainer basis so he could defend my arguments when I wasn't up to the task, or when my arguments are weak.  (I know, I know, some might say my arguments are always weak.   )

By the way, I saw Isaac Rosefelt today & he still looks like he weighs as much as he did last year. He assured me though that he had been lifting & had gotten stronger.  And I hope Mike Keating is carrying 225 lbs well.  That seems like alot on his frame.  I guess we'll have to wait & see.  

Checked the Cobbers website & it "appears" they got spanked in their scrimmage/"exhibition game" with D2 Northern State & lost 70-98 the other night.  Eckhoff had a poor shooting night going 4-13 & (gulp), Mark (Brick mason) Dixon puts up 16 pts on 7-11 shooting?!?

It will be nice when the Cobbs finish their new website.  It was previously a great source for league stats & info.

[Russian Mig AK47]

Mark (Brick mason) Dixon puts up 16 pts on 7-11 shooting?!?

That is quite the harsh monicker for Mr. Dixon.  Dixon, although chemically imbalanced, has a rather silky J from 15'-19'.  His release is a little slow, but if you give him time to set he is a good bet to knock it down.  I will say that he plays a bit like he's bipolar, in that sometimes he has a rather goofy effeminate style of play and other times he is a rageful fire with the passion of a thousand suns and can get in your face.  Overall, he brings more to the table than he takes and is a solid player to have on your team.  Certainly not deserving of the title of brick mason.

[Drake Palmer]

AK47 - I appreciate the fact you have your former teammates' back, but you gotta admit, Dixon's noted more for his defensive abilities than his offensive prowess.  I 'm just surprised no one's laid that nickname on him before.  You know the whole  Brick-"Mason Dixon line" etc. 

Dixon's like a Sean Sweeney, you'd rather have him on your team than play against him.  A tough as nails competitor on the court, & I'm assuming a decent guy off the court.  At least in Sweeney's case that's how he is.

[Willy Wonka]

I agree. Brick Mason might not be the best descriptor, Drake. Loose Cannon, Hack and Jon Barry-esque would be my top choices

[Gregory Sager]

Carthage is a bit of a mystery at this point -- not in terms of who they have and who will play, but in terms of how well they'll perform. They have a ton of talent, but it was really inconsistent talent last season. At any rate, the GAC @ Carthage game was terrific last season (I saw it), and the rematch in St. Peter should be worth the price of admission as well.

Thanks for the kudos, Drake! 

[Willy Wonka]

Sager - You may be a D3 legend, but I've got to correct you here. When I said "I might make the trek over" I was serious

The Gusties travel there this season on Dec. 30. It will be the third time in the last five seasons the trek has been made, so your memory can be forgiven. Last year the Redmen defeated GAC in St. Peter by 1.

[Gregory Sager]

Sager - You may be a D3 legend, but I've got to correct you here. When I said "I might make the trek over" I was serious

The Gusties travel there this season on Dec. 30. It will be the third time in the last five seasons the trek has been made, so your memory can be forgiven. Last year the Redmen defeated GAC in St. Peter by 1.

You got me on that one, Brett. The years are obviously starting to run together for me.  Since the game's on a Friday night and I don't have a scheduling conflict, I'll be there as well. I'll probably spend the train ride up from Chicago to Kenosha wondering which Red Man will be the recipient of the infamous GAC "nerd" chant from the visiting fans.

[Drake Palmer]

I agree. Brick Mason might not be the best descriptor, Drake. Loose Cannon, Hack and Jon Barry-esque would be my top choices

Ok then, my last attempt at this variations on a name for Dixon.  What about "Mad Dog"?  Although my personal favorite will still be Brick Mason 

Speaking of names, Willy you seem to address Greg Sager in a rather cool tone:  "Sager this" & "Sager that", while on the other hand, Greg referred to you with the more familiar...

Sager - You may be a D3 legend, but I've got to correct you here. When I said "I might make the trek over" I was serious

The Gusties travel there this season on Dec. 30. It will be the third time in the last five seasons the trek has been made, so your memory can be forgiven. Last year the Redmen defeated GAC in St. Peter by 1.

You got me on that one, Brett. ...

You two know each other in real life?  If you don't, that would be fairly amazing recall there Greg!  Willy's alter identity isn't mentioned that frequently on the board for a regular poster to remember, let alone an occasional visitor from the CCIW.

[pacific rim]

Concordia's first game is versus Wartburg, it sounds as if St. thomas is playing wiac schools, and carthage is on carleton's line-up.  Who else is is playing a tough non-conference opponent in the early season.

is northern state very good, or do we think concordia will be very bad?

my nickname for mark dixon would be "the ultimate warrior." also, career 46% field goal shooting isn't the worst in the league.

[pacific rim]

by the way...how did keith eckhoff not get MIAC most improved player last year.  Just considering the drastic improvement in his assist/turnover ratio should have swung the vote.

according to concordia's stat department, his sophomore season saw eckhoff dish out 1 assist and fumble away 79 turnovers.  Looking to his junior year we see that he put in tons of work on his ballhandling and passing improving to 98 assist and 22 turnovers.  that's a jump from a .01/1 assist to turnover ratio to a whopping 4.5/1 assist to turnover ratio.  that's a 450% turnaround.

if this trend continues look for eckhoff to have a ratio hovering around the 20/1 mark this year.  Watch out U.S.A. for the best combo guard in the history of college basketball.

[SofaKing]

Eckhoff had a tremendous predecesor to watch his sophomore year that allowed him to have such an improved junior year. HAHAHAHA

[columbianmaffia]

   wow....got a lil out of control tonight....should make a nice lil rivalry

[funbballer]

Can't figure it out....why did Eckhoff not declare for the NBA after his junior year?

If this guy doesn't average 30/game, something is drastically wrong.

Or, p...rim, you're going to be eating a helluva lot of crow!

IMO, if Espo were still playing and guarding him straight up, he'd hand him his lunch. 

[shocker]

Regardless of if Concordia will be very bad, Northern State is very good. They typically do very well in the NSIC, and as I understand it, are a pretty strong D2 program (largely thanks to Coach Meyer). My current roommate played there for a year and a half before rupturing 3 discs in his lower back and having multiple surgeries to fix them. He still knows most of the guys on the team and pays attention to their games with webcasts and such. He was surprised to see the score close at halftime, then looked at the live boxscore and realized Coach Meyer wasn't playing his usual short rotation. I told him Eckhoff would be a non-factor in the 2nd half once adjustments were made since GAC always seemed to contain him just fine, and no offense to my alma mater, but I'm pretty sure NSU's defenders would match up at least as favorably against Concordia.

[UMSMN]

hows Olaf lookin this year?? dont here much about them and the rest of the bottom dwellers of the miac