MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Drake-
Actually, both Shimek & Keating have been playing solid "D" all season...Shimek shut Cnboy down for 23+ minutes at Mac. But yes, they both brought their "A" game to GAC.

[big_shocker]

Shimek is usually left out when the talk about UST comes up. He does Ike's dirty work, which is what he was made to do. He's not a huge scorer, but that isn't what he's built for. He's an integral part of the UST machine.

[big_shocker]

Just took a look at the MIAC standings. Who thought BET would be the last winless team to start the year? Or that STO has a winning record (besides 1-0)?

Strange things are going down this year...

[Freebird]

Thanks to freebird for giving me the opportunity to make a fool of my 3-point bankshots!  Seriously, it was good to sit with you freebird-- I look forward to the hockey series!

SJU played well tonight, and things really went their way.  Bethel's defense seemed to struggle and it never really felt like the Royals got into their game until Cook was fouled intentionally-- and then only for about 2 minutes.  There's some talent with Bethel, but it really feels like it hasn't gelled at all.

Chase Lenz alley oop to Casey Jones with 2 seconds left was extremely cool.  Whoa.

I wouldn't be so hard on yourself.  Bank or no bank your team beat BETHEL34's  team and considering his college career I would be pretty happy with that 

I will be looking forward to the Hockey game and another good conversation.

It sounds like we watched the same game, I agree with the comments about the Bethel team.

Is it football season yet?

[Drake Palmer]

Nice post Local. Karma
Props to the senior statesman – Mmaniac.  Ditto what he said.  Althogh age wise I'd better check who I'm calling sr. statesman.  

One of my personal goals for the year is to see every MIAC team play which I failed to do last year.  The Johnnies was one of the teams I missed last year, so, I ventured over to the beautiful Bethel campus in Arden Hills & watched a very ugly game between the Johnnies & the Royals.

There's definitely talent on both squads, with the talent edge going to SJU.  The most noticeable difference to me was the "mental edge" that St. Johns' seems to possess & the lack of an edge from the Royals.  I'll leave the personal attacks for other posters, but I think the Royals still haven't found the senior leadership & "edge" that Jones & Gilbert provided for 4 years. The first 5 minutes of the game was "flame city" by the Royals, & then when that didn't work, they started looking to go inside.  They got some real good looks, but just couldn't convert on the scoring opportunities. Why?  Three words - Motivation, ability, confidence.

On the other hand, the Johnnies exude a certain confidence - must be an extension of the football team.     Matt Ohme looks like a choir boy, but plays with the guts of a safecracker!  Lieser's a nice, feisty & talented PG, Heinrichs can hoop, soph Brady Brink seems to be holding down the fort until Westman returns; & Schaefer is a combination of tattoo, gangly, awkward looking, but effective post.  Someone needs to tell him he can put a little "sky" in his baby hook - his shot is flatter than unleavened bread, or day old lefse.  Ike & company will knock that shot back to Stearns County!

I'd be willing to bet the Hamline & SJU game would be highly entertaining!  Sidenote -when the Johnnies come to your campus check out #50.  Let me just say, that I don't hold view him in the same light as "MIACwatchmen".

MAC/Oles – Coaching issues or questions aside, do not sleep on the Oles!  They have got some definite talent.  Butala, Banick, Hunter & Norberg - they can all play.

Mac needs the guards to come back sooner rather than later.  It also looks like Kietzer needs to pull the reins back in a little on Bosman & Conboy.  They put up half of the trey attempts by the Scots last night.  Without any reports from Northfield last night, I can only guess by reading the box score.  One of the most compelling stats was Tommy C's 9 TOs. I'm wondering if out of desperation, they had him playing out on the wing.  Sheesh, hurry up & get well Liddell!  I know a good chiropractor just a couple of blocks away from campus on Grand!  

[Willy Wonka]

Drake - You mention the Oles and fail to call upon Nerd Bain? How dare you?

I'm still trying to pretend last night didn't happen.

[Drake Palmer]

Drake - You mention the Oles and fail to call upon Nerd Bain? How dare you?

I'm still trying to pretend last night didn't happen.

Man - I'm older than most of y'all, but those Daisy Dukes he wears, they've gotta go!  That's why I could only get myself to watch one of their games last year! 

I was just wondering when you would resurface?  Which brings up an age old question: When you know you'll play a team twice in one season, is it better to lose in an excruciating one point OT loss, or just get blown out? 

I waffle back & forth on this all the time.   If it's the first game, a blow out sucks but at least you know you'll play again.  A blow out in a season ending loss- that's major rough.  The tough one point loss hurts like hell for a day for some, & malingers on for days like a sickness for others (I would be in this category).  But then as time goes on, I think back & go - "Man that was bada$$ game we just competed in.  I wished we would have won but the game experience was incredible!  For me it takes about a month before I can get to this karmic level.  Guess I need to take a class from the Gusties tennis coach - Steve Wilkinson. 

So, for today if I have to lose, give me the one point wrist slasher!

[localcoach]

Drake - I truly enjoy reading your commentary. 

You talk about mental edge and I think that's a very important part of being a great player in any sport.  Too many players "talk the talk," but when faced with adversity can't "walk the walk."  I'll be interested to see St. John's play, maybe even this weekend up in St. Cloud.

I agree with your comments about the Oles.  Coach Koz and his team have started this season much differently then they ended the previous one.  They are getting balanced scoring from guys like Bain, Butala, Banick, and Hunter.  That and Coach's comments about wanting to be one of the best rebounding teams in the MIAC has reigned true.  What ever happened to Tucker Weisman?  I thought with his outside shooting touch he might be more of a contributor this year?  My question is, will St. Olaf challenge for a playoff spot when push comes to shove?

Having seen Hamline play twice this season, I think that both DeRock and Thrasher will be great four-year players in the MIAC.  Thrasher seems to have a better feel for the game right now, while DeRock is just so darn speedy and athletic.  His jumper isn't bad either. 

strange things are happeneing big_shocker....strange indeed.

[Willy Wonka]

Drake - Resurface? I posted last night before bed too. I'll have some game comments later today.

For now I'll just say that I feel like I was put through the ringer by MM, TH4L and PI at halftime. MM even had all the stats printed out to wave them in my face as I futilely tried to explain the first half to OAS on the phone. The second half did nothing to change my empty feeling.

More later.

[piperinsider]

While I admit to not posting it, since the Northwestern game, I've felt that Thrasher is ahead of DeRock right now. Consistency is a big part of basketball and DeRock is on and off. How did I know that wouldn't slip by you Drake.

To answer someone's question on TeBrake, he really never got going because Keating was in his face the whole night. He really shut him down and I think Adam is bestw hen he gets going early. Keating shut him down and he looked frustrated because of it. No confidence in his shot after the first 5 minutes.

[pacific rim]

something interesting to notice:through three conference games for the cobbers, two players (Keith Eckhoff and Mark Dixon) have made more free throws than any other player from the top six teams has attempted (with the exception of Wittwer from GAC).

eckhoff has made 21, dixon 20...wittwer has attempted 23.  the next closest was schnettler with 18 attempts in one more game than wittwer, eckhoff, or dixon.

do refs love that maroon and gold or what?

[Russian Mig AK47]

Good game by UST, nothing too unexpected except the disparity in the score.  I thought GAC would have kept it a little closer, but what can you do.  TeBrake had a little more lacking of luster game than I anticipated but it was clear he is no match for Weaver and Keating.  I should apologize to Wippler, it is hard to say he was a complete non-factor when he was more of a factor than AT.  It would also appear that GAC did not find religion because there was no divine intervention to stop Schnettler.  Having guarded Finn, Anderson, and Schnettler in practice I can attest that Schnettler moves the best off the ball and has far and away the quickest release.  If he is on, there is not a player in the league that can stop him.  Ike had a great game and has to be the front runner for Miac MVP.  It is kind of unfair considering his size and athletic ability, comprable to the Matrix Shawn Marion playing in the MIAC, nonetheless he is living up to the hype.

Despite losing to GAC, CON has to be the favorite to finish runner up to the Tommies.  The brilliant play and senior leadership of Eckhoff and Dixon, combined with the obvious homecourt advantage puts them in a very advantageous position, and I would go so far as to say that they provide the only legitimate threat to beating UST.  Eckhoff, a lot like Schnettler, can only be stopped by himself.  There is no danger of Eckhoff putting up AT numbers vs. the Tommies. And, if Dixon continues attacking the basket and snatching boards he is going to wind up All Miac.

[Willy Wonka]

Why do I feel like this board is the calm before the storm right now with its inactivity? Well, here's my best George Clooney impersonation

If the Tommies play that well the rest of the season, there is not a team in this league that can beat them -- GAC and Cobbs included. There is no team that can match-up with them in terms of size, talent and experience. They played out of their minds. Thankfully, they are more the Shaq/Kobe-led Lakers than the MJ-led Bulls, so I expect them to drop a game or two along the way.

As the game got out of hand, I found myself saying "If they can stay within 10..." to "If they can cut it to 15 by half..." to "If they can cut it to 25..." to "If we can cut it to 15 in the second half, we can claim a moral victory." Obviously, none of those happened in just a terrible display of basketball by the Gusties last night. If Boschee was still the D-coordinator, the lockerroom would have been in shambles if they gave up 46 in the first 20 minutes.

As has been said, Sowden was the only one ready to play - though Whip did give some nice energy off the bench. This was the first time they've really missed Espo's creativity this season. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back, though they've been faced with similar situations the last three seasons and obviously bounced back to make the tourney every season. I fully expect them to still finish second, if not challenge UST for the title if the Tommies drop a game they shouldn't.

Ike and Sweeney controlled the game. Sweeney put pressure on Olson on the perimeter and he was unable to drive to create for others or himself. Ike's post D is awful (RE: Sowden's 12 first half points) but his weakside help is where he thrives. He's also developed a handful of moves to go with his fadeaway, though talk of his added bulk was much over-hyped.

Schnettler is, hands down, the best shooter in the MIAC. He hardly even touches the rim.

In a shameless attempt to find a silver lining for GAC from last night...

I was told differently at the game by about half a dozen people, but, in my two games of watching him play thus far, Keating is a joke. He's a glorified role player who's scored 8 points on 2-10 shooting and grabbed 7 boards in the last two games. Just in case you're curious, that's less production than Nerd Bain gets in one game. He also played 30 minutes in the blowout, rendering the "he didn't play" argument moot.

Keating's best moves last night consisted of doing an underhand raise the roof at every timeout (very consistent form, though the facial expression couldn't have been more bland) and letting AT spin by him to let Ike spike it (one was a clear goaltending, another was darn close).

AT looked very passive after those plays. He passed on shots that he was taking and making in previous games. I'd credit the score and flow of the game more than Keating for "shutting down" AT. He needs to step up, but GAC needs all five to play well to compete in a game like that.

While they showed no signs of it last night, I expect a much closer game in the next game. Pride and coaching won't let that happen again.

OAS - Feel free to submit this to the Pioneer Press 

[TommieHoops4Life]

WW,

I agree with your assesment of Keating. I really expected him to make more of an impact than he has so far early in the season. I expected him to be double digits in points every game and be a force inside. So far, he's been less than aggressive to say the least. He hardly ever looks to drive the lane, and I know he's athletic enough to do it. I thought coming into the season that he could score 20+ a game in the UST offense, but clearly it doesn't depend on his ability. I expected him to be more of a leader on the team coming from a D-II school. Maybe Fritz told him this is what his role would be, and if it is, he's definitely made the adjustment. As long as Ike, Schnettler and Sweeney can dominate like they have been, I'm not going to complain about it since the Tommies are winning. We have yet to see Ike and Shimek get in foul trouble, so if and when they do, maybe that's when he'll step up. Gustavus has always struck me as a program with a lot of pride, but they certainly didn't play with any last night. As disappointed as I am with Keating, I'm as much impressed with the play of Peterson and Weaver last night. It was nice to see Weaver with enough confidence in himself to take the open shot when it was there. He got some good minutes last night and I thought, for the most part, played well.

[columbianmaffia]

there have been wispers on the street...my ear has been listening closely...i will let you all know when i have an update....THE BLOCK IS HOT