MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[piperinsider]

wow...for the first time ever i was watching an interview with a vikings player and had no idea who he was and they didnt flash his name up so for all i know it could have been the facilities manager they were interviewing


well atleast i can look forward to the next miac season...and hopefully some gopher football too

If you listen to Bob Sanserve (sp) from the PP, he said both Morty (I have a good vibe with him) and Weber have had problems getting the ball to the receivers early on.

[columbianmaffia]

PI

not too worried about that...mason only threw the fade the fly and the TE pop pass...so they are prolly a little rusty in the other patterns...its a new offense and they will also have clint brewster battling for PT starting this summer...im sure one of them will figure it out...and if they dont...LETS GO DEFENSE!!

[Drake Palmer]

Bosses must just know its "March Madness" & decide to heap piles of work on your desk.   

(File this post under the – "trying to keep the waning fires of hoops fever alive as our thoughts turn to the Final Four, the Masters & other rituals of spring."  )

I'm a little late, but nice recruiting report from the state tourney Local.  If CON is correct & Max Hintz from Woodbury ends up at Southwest State, SW could have a nice squad next year, along with a possible Hamline transfer – Jon DeRock.  Now, I'm beginning to wonder if any of the MIAC schools will land a high profile recruit or transfer to shore up their programs next year.

It's my belief, that to contend at a D3 national level, the MIAC schools really need to push the envelope and recruit, or develop those borderline D1/2 type players who want the D3 academic, social & athletic experience.  In recent years the St. Thomases, GACs & Macalesters have had their share of big time talent that chose to play D3.  Players such as Tim Brown, Doug Espenson, Isaac Rosefelt, Mike Keating, Bryan Schnettler, Ben Van Thorre, Andy Gilbert etc. that pushed their teams to league prominence, if not a bit of national recognition and respect. 

I'm sure Wonka will disagree with me, but skills wise, I think the league is stocked with solid D3 players.  However, what I think separates us from the powerhouse conferences are the number of highly skilled, superstar type D2/D1 players that play in the other D3 conferences.  Am I right, wrong?

[sumander]

Drake, I think you bring up a very good point. In my limited sample, the last two years, of watching the MIAC. The teams that have had Dl or Dll talent transfer in have had success.

UST
Schnettler, Ike, Keating -

SJU
Westman, Lieser, Fogt - Two years ago the J's were a preason 5th place pick. with the transfers they end up 3rd and contend for the title this year.

Bethel
Moberg -  Preseason 6th place pick ends up in third. The addition of Moberg plays a huge part in this. They are clearly the favorite going in to next year.

Having seen the likes of Stevens Point and watching a limited amount of Dll action I think that is the key for MIAC teams to be able to compete on a "regional" level.

[Drake Palmer]

Drake, I think you bring up a very good point. In my limited sample, the last two years, of watching the MIAC. The teams that have had Dl or Dll talent transfer in have had success. ...

Good job Sum.  If we're lucky, we might get Mr. Sager or someone of his ilk to stop by & pay us a visit to discuss the relative merits of conferences, players, & required number of "hosses" to compete at a regional, if not national level.  Or we might even get our own local curmudgeon, Mr. Wonka, to chime in on what it takes to succeed. 

[sumander]

Drake, Any new recruiting scuttlebutt those of us in the hinterlands should know about?

If every thing goes as predicted I believe the J's will be alble to field two full JV teams next year! 

[Drake Palmer]

Drake, Any new recruiting scuttlebutt those of us in the hinterlands should know about?

If every thing goes as predicted I believe the J's will be alble to field two full JV teams next year! 

No, sorry not.  Other than VOJ doesn't know his head from a ... Just playing Voj.     I thought of him since I'd read on the preps sports board, MNPreps, that Josh Ortman of Buffalo is supposedly considering the Cobbs as well as the Js & whomever else.

So Sum, what you're telling me is  - the Js are stockpiling quantity, as opposed to quality recruits next season?  We need some STARZ! 

[sumander]

Sure seems like quantity is not an issue with any of the SJU programs! The quality portion remains to be seen.

If an incoming Frosh is comparing schools such as SJU and CORD, one would think that playing time would be an overriding factor in the decision. Has to be tough for a recruit looking at SJU and see where his minutes are going to come from. Given CORDS struggles this year, minutes might be easier to find in Moorhead.

Any Thoughts??

[Drake Palmer]

Sure seems like quantity is not an issue with any of the SJU programs! The quality portion remains to be seen.

If an incoming Frosh is comparing schools such as SJU and CORD, one would think that playing time would be an overriding factor in the decision. Has to be tough for a recruit looking at SJU and see where his minutes are going to come from. Given CORDS struggles this year, minutes might be easier to find in Moorhead.

Any Thoughts??

Playing time is certainly a key concern along with coaches, school, outside interests etc.  This goes back to a conversation we had earlier in the year about the merits of Concordia & the angles a coach woud have to pitch to entice a payer to go to the "tundra." 

Anecdotally, it seem most players from the twin cities that go to Cord seem to be from the northern suburbs- Anoka, Osseo, Brooklyn Park, which I find interesting.  But now that I type that, I think of the Ohme brothers from Bloomington who both went up north to school - SJU & Cord.  If CON stops by, maybe he can talk about his decision to attend the school he did.

[sumander]

Drake, Did you see Pequot Lakes play in the State tournament?

[Drake Palmer]

Back to recruiting - I discovered this awhile back when the Toms were playing at  Occidental College to kick off the season.  The OXY coach had an FAQ section for prospective players & I think his answers sum up what a D3 coach might be looking for in a player:

Q: What characteristics do you look for in a potential recruit?

A: *Talent
*Work Ethic
*Positive Attitude
*Team Orientation
*Coachability

Specifically, we are looking for borderline scholarship players who are receiving letters and calls from DI, DII and NAIA scholarship schools, BUT who are not doing "home visits" nor getting "scholarship offers."

Q: What advice would you give high school student-athletes who want to continue their playing careers in college?

A: First, I want to point out that most high school student-athletes do not understand how truly difficult it is to procure a college athletic scholarship. Every high school basketball player wants to play Division I basketball, but most players fail to realize exactly how selective Division I coaches are. Our players have learned firsthand the quality of Division I athletes, having played against Northern Arizona University, University of San Diego, University of Portland, and Loyola Marymount University over the past few years. Even non-Division I scholarship athletes play at a very high level. I strongly encourage high school players to go see an NAIA scholarship school or an NCAA Division II scholarship school play in person so that they can see first-hand the physical size and skill levels of the players in these games. I feel that our program provides very good players who just missed out on getting a basketball scholarship an excellent opportunity to continue their playing careers beyond high school. Nothing bothers me more than seeing a great Division III prospect waste an opportunity to have a great college career while
receiving a phenomenal education because he is waiting for a Division I scholarship or is willing to take a chance of being a
walk-on at a D-I school.

http://departments.oxy.edu/athletics/basketball-men/faqs.htm

[Drake Palmer]

Drake, Did you see Pequot Lakes play in the State tournament?

Yeah, I did, but I feel in love with the Van der Stoop kid's game from Ellsworth, so I was blinded to all the other guards, Sheeley included.   

[columbianmaffia]

Drake, I think you bring up a very good point. In my limited sample, the last two years, of watching the MIAC. The teams that have had Dl or Dll talent transfer in have had success.

SJU
Westman, Lieser, Fogt - Two years ago the J's were a preason 5th place pick. with the transfers they end up 3rd and contend for the title this year.

lieser actually played college baseball first and then transferred down to the d3 level so he could play hoops....he wanted to play for st. cloud st. but they shot him down unfortunatly....he got his revenge though when the johnnies took em down and he had a nice game

[sumander]

Great piece from the OXY coach! I will do some research, I remember seeing the statistics with regard to the % of kids in various high school sports that end up getting college scholarships for athletics. They were pretty sobering.

[VOJ]

Drake...that was a low blow...here I am just trying to help and I get blind-sided...sheesh

Anyway...after talking to J's coaches...there are spots up for grabs no doubt about that...they need some more talent because the JV's who move up might not be able to run with the big dogs in the MIAC...