MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Thanks Drake for the correction on the tennis reference.  I guess usually when I am watching a tennis match I am too mesmerized by the short skirts, bouncing objects (this doesn't include tennis balls), and excessive grunts and moans.  However, you never know when that question will come up in trivial pursuit, so I am glad that you made it a point to correct me. 

[Nites]

...on that dirt court (or maybe it is clay-Wimbledon ancestor???)

BTW - you got your Grand Slams mixed up. 
Clay court (terra firma) = Roland Garros stadium - the French Open
Grass court = Wimbledon

Tennis anyone??    How about D-II hoops as in Winona State, now 29-0 on the season after winning their conference tourney and on a 52 game winning streak to tie the all-time D-II record.  http://www.winona.edu/athletics/mbasketball/index.htm

Drake, where's that link to Big John Smith throwing it down?

[Jimmy Chitwood]

I did happen to read that article about Winona State in todays user-friendly edition of the Star Tribune.  It sounds like they are unstoppable.  Afterall, a 52 game winning streak is unheard of.  I am not to familiar with the team, but from the way the paper made them sound, it seems like they spread the touches on offense, with four guys averaging in double digits.  Sounds familiar, huh?? (Carroll also had four guys with such averages).  Well hopefully Winona will be able to keep the streak alive and do Minnesota proud. 

[diehardfan]

It is no surprise that Schnettler had jello for legs at the end of the game. 
Poor Schnettler looked like he had just ran a marathon as he never stopped running.

No offense intended toward Schnettler... whom I was really looking forward to seeing again this weekend and watching him light it up from behind the arc (caught the Oxy-UST season opener where he went 6-11 )... But, IMHO, all the players on a team should be so well conditioned, that they can play any pace of basketball for 40 minutes and not be tired.... even if it's against Grinnell. I think it's both the players and the coach's responsibility to make sure they don't ever lose a game cause they ran out of gas. The Carroll players had just played a game 2 days earler, and gotten on a bus and made a long exhausting drive... and there were several guys who played almost 40 minutes. St. Thomas is not the team that should have been looking tired here.

At one point, he ripped off his suit coat and stood their on the court starring at the referees. 

Loved the story... K+ for you. Am looking forward to seeing their coach in action this weekend!

[Nites]

I did happen to read that article about Winona State in todays user-friendly edition of the Star Tribune.  It sounds like they are unstoppable.  Afterall, a 52 game winning streak is unheard of.  I am not to familiar with the team, but from the way the paper made them sound, it seems like they spread the touches on offense, with four guys averaging in double digits.  Sounds familiar, huh?? (Carroll also had four guys with such averages).  Well hopefully Winona will be able to keep the streak alive and do Minnesota proud. 

Okay, I found Drake's post for him.     JC, check out Big John Smith on this one.  It's nasty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUKb3k1IhDM

[Jimmy Chitwood]

That is just frickin nasty.  I had to watch it a few times to fully comprehend how sick that was.  Thanks for the re-post Nites and the original post Drake.  That dunk rivals anything Ike ever threw down.

[Nites]

That is just frickin nasty.  I had to watch it a few times to fully comprehend how sick that was.  Thanks for the re-post Nites and the original post Drake.  That dunk rivals anything Ike ever threw down.

I particularly like the glare before he turns and heads up court.

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Yeah, that dunk is ridiculous.  Completely posterized that defender.  I wonder how UST would stack up against that squad.

[ustbumkneez]

I wonder how UST would stack up against that squad.

We played Winona State (3 of their starters were the same: Flowers, Malvik and Smith, plus Ingvalson came off the bench that year), and lost 101-91 to them in Winona early in the 2004-2005 season. They are better than they were at that point, obviously, but that team featured a couple big time players who graduated after the 06 season (including Conference MVP, and All Region Player David Zellman).

http://www.stthomas.edu/tommies/shared/shownews.cfm?ArticleID=3169

[columbianmaffia]

one day you think you have the world in your hands...then the next day its as if you cant even get a handful of dirt

take what you can get when you can get it and make the best of it cuz ya dont know when your gonna get crapped on

[ustbumkneez]

DP, you are certainly correct that the high pick & roll was the bread and butter play of last years squad (and, it was used pretty routinely in this years campaign as well), but the reason it wasnt as "lights out" as it was last year? The PG. With Sweeney at the point, you had a legitimate shooter who the defending guard had to honor. So, to limit Sweeneys ability to pull from deep, that defender had to fight over the top of the screen, which in turn forced the big to step over and hedge the screen, pulling him away from Rosefelt, giving Ike the angle to the basket on a post/cut. Dwyer, a heady PG who distributed the ball very well this year, is not a shooter. Without that element to worry about, defenders simply slid under the high screen, and allowed the big to not have to worry about helping, thereby nullifying the whole "pick your poison" component of the play.

[Willy Wonka]

Yes, WW, I stand by my comments that this is one of the better UST teams I've seen. To change that belief based solely on one game—even the final game of the season – would be wrong. While the final loss may tarnish the memory to a degree, it doesn't diminish the talent and ability.

Who's changing anything? You grouped them with the best UST teams of all time. Myself, Drake and others have argued all year that they were better last season. The results would seem to support us better than you, but you can be stubborn if you want

To knock UST's team for losing Sat would be like saying your senior year team wasn't one of GAC's finest... after all, they too lost at home to a team they were favored to beat.

For those who haven't the memory or time to check this comparison, I've got you covered.

GAC lost to a Steven's Point team that many/most argue plays in the toughest league in the nation. The Pointers, who came looking for revenge in 2004, finished that season 29-5 and in possession of the Walnut and Bronze. UWSP was ranked all year, though I can't recall their ranking when the tourney began. This was essentially a toss-up game, despite the homecourt advantage.

UST just lost to an 18-8 team that plays in a "weak" conference and was not ranked (not sure if they entered the polls this season). This was a true upset.

Anything beyond a glance shows these as different circumstances...though if Carroll carries its momentum to the title game, then MM has an argument 

[ustbumkneez]

VOJ, that is the beauty of editing and re-takes.

Actually, JC, if you listen to the commentary, that was all done in one take. Heres the info from imdb.com:The scene with Jimmy and Coach Dale talking while Jimmy shot baskets was filmed in one take. Maris Valainis said that he "wasn't even listening to him." "I was just concentrating on making them and I made one and they kept going in."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091217/trivia

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Kneez-

While I wasn't necessarily talking about that sequence when referring to editing and re-takes, I knew I could count on you to inject with some opinion on this matter.  I meant editing and re-takes during the game footage and entirety of the film.  I just used that sequence with Coach Norman Dale and Jimmy as a refute to VOJ's claim that he never missed a shot.  Bumkneez, you truly are an analyst at heart, that or someone that uses friendly banter as a means to make others feel inferior to your extensive knowledge on everything.  I am going to start calling you Jeeves. 

[ustbumkneez]

Even the climatic final shot was done in one take:
Maris Valainis was told that whether he made the last shot or not, people were going to rush the floor because of the need for a wide shot of the court. Luckily, he made it as shown in the movie.