MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Woody]

PI....after visiting with a number of folks, it's my understanding the BIG PROBLEM at Hamline is the female president and not O'Brien....would you concur with that?

[piperinsider]

The one thing I know about O'Brien is that he is committed to winning. He is also very visible at many of the sporting events. I can't really comment on the new president since she was not there when I was in school, but I can tell you that athletics is not looked at is highly as it is at others schools such as SJU, UST or GAC. It's just not a priority of the adminstration. Then again, academics should come before athletics.

Didn't get to the party until 10 last night, so I missed DOB, but I have a feeling that Wohler leaving is positive.

[Willy Wonka]

Seems a Carlie in a position of authority must have agreed with my rant against the homer CC SID this winter.

http://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/?story_id=313145

Also, one more Star of the North story I forgot to mention before.

Former Augsburg post Grant Hemmingsen — of police pat-down fame during pregame introductions — had a team in the "B" portion of the tournament. When he wasn't playing, he carried around a little boombox with him. When he was playing, his team employed the curious gameplan of grouping in the backcourt and then rushing the opponent in the Flying V ala the Mighty Ducks.

Needless to say, neither ploy went over very well.

[Pat Coleman]

Seems a Carlie in a position of authority must have agreed with my rant against the homer CC SID this winter.

Doubt it. SIDs almost never get fired unless there's a public relations nightmare that gets mishandled.

I am sure Eric was burnt out just a bit. He asked to be taken off one of our Top 25 panels before last season started.

[Gregory Sager]

Seems a Carlie in a position of authority must have agreed with my rant against the homer CC SID this winter.

http://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/?story_id=313145

Seems like a funny way to "agree with [your] rant", since Carleton gave that SID a promotion rather than firing him.

Then again, as the school's new director of media and public relations (i.e., the school's in-house shill), his homer tendencies can be put to even better professional use.

[Pat Coleman]

Yeah -- I just got down to the bottom of the release to read that.

"Pape replaces Sieger, who was promoted after serving as Carleton's sports information director since September 2000."

[ustbumkneez]

Wohlers coaching style befits a high school program, so Id say hes making a move in the right direction. Encouraging undisciplined and hectic play, as Wohler did, doesnt work in college. In high school, gimmicks like that can work at a surprisingly high rate. Plus, he never showed an ability to handle his team. I saw (and heard) far too many embarrassing moments, between technicals, tantrums, and on the bench arguments, to believe Piper faithful were happy with the state of the program. So I dont really understand why this is shocking to anyone considering the lackluster results Wohler posted during his tenure. Especially so when you take into account the turnover for coaches at Hamline in all their sports. Add to that his inability to keep players in the program, and Im not sure what it was that gained him so many supporters.

Cole Aldrich is listed, albeit barely, on Chad Fords Top 100 for 08 NBA Draft prospects at #89. His name is spelled wrong, so Id say its a safe bet he will be at Kansas for AT LEAST two years. Thats a slight sign the scouts havent seen him too much 
http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?playerId=19156&draftyear=2008

[PTPer35]

I met Brady Larson at a wedding and I thought he was pretty laid back...although I'm sure it would be different if I was playing for him.

As far as his reputation of being too tough, I would think it would be difficult to be buddy-buddy with the kind of discipline issues they've had. This is just an assumption though.

Sorry for the sporadic posts. I didn't have consistent internet access for the last 3 weeks. I'll have more to say in season. 

[columbianmaffia]

man i have been working to much on the week days and partying too much on the weekends...i havent been on here for about 3.284 years now...but im making a strong comeback in my moon boots...lets all eat pizza

[Willy Wonka]

bum - Finally, a voice agreeing with reason. Seems Loco and Drake fell in love with Wohler hook, line and sinker. I'd suggest switching to the Griess bandwagon, but I'd hate to jinx him, too.

Apologies with the misinformation about CC. Surprisingly, I missed the text that was tagged on to the quote at the very end of the release. Any bets on who wrote it? 

[Pat Coleman]

The person whose job it is to do so? What's the conspiracy theory here?

[concordia of the north]

Pat Coleman:  Can I ask, when you ask questions in that way are you angry at or frustrated with posters?  MY conspiracy theory is that you are capable of drawing a hapless poster into a debate he can't win and then trouncing him off the site.  Does that happen ever?

second, as people on this board have said previously, i don't think d3 coaches are fired very often because of their winning percentages or other measures of on-court success.  I think at the d3 level it is more about fitting into the campus and college as a whole and helping to foster a collegial relationship between athletics and the greater community.  SO, those posters who express amazement at the blindness of us who didn't see Wohler's departure coming are misconstruing things a little.

I am much more inclined to think that Wohler left because he was not meeting his own standards of excellence or for some other reason in his own mind (for example dissatisfaction with the department in general).  It seems less likely that a d3 school pressured a coach out after a poor season, even if the program lost players, etc,  especially since most people on this board seem to think that another of Hamline's major flaws is its general apathy towards its athletic program. 

[Woody]

I am much more inclined to think that Wohler left because he was not meeting his own standards of excellence or for some other reason in his own mind (for example dissatisfaction with the department in general).  It seems less likely that a d3 school pressured a coach out after a poor season, even if the program lost players, etc,  especially since most people on this board seem to think that another of Hamline's major flaws is its general apathy towards its athletic program. 

I think you correct in your assessment of Wohler. What then might be the reasoning for Paul Miller's departure (as it relates to "no pressure on winning")  two years ago? He was head coach for two years and was terminated.....for not winning? I don't believe he left on his own accord, but I might be wrong about that.

I just don't think Hamline's SENIOR administration is very committed to the excellence in athletics. O'Brien apparently is, but he doesn't seem to be getting much support. I would look for him to depart in the future if this is the philosophy being taken by the university president.

And, I thought there was some "pride" at Hamline. Guess not.

[Drake Palmer]

Face it FCCSID (Willy) --  what would we be posting about right now if Wohler hadn't resigned?  And, show me where I posted & turned this into a Wohler love fest?  Throughout the past season when Hamline played ridiculously bad, I made note of it on the board & conversely, when they played well, I commented on that also.

What I am saying is that the Wohler resignation is big news & a big story for our league.  We're talking about a coach who took a team that was 3-17 in conference play the previous season, to 8-12 in Wohler's first season.  In Wohler's 2nd year Hamline improved to 10-10 in conference play & made the playoffs for the first time since 1994.

So when this same team returns 4 of 5 starters from the 05-06 season, I can assure you I wasn't the only one who held high expectations for the Pipers.  In fact, here's last season's

Coaches Preseason Poll
MIAC Men's Basketball
2005-06 MIAC co-champion St. Thomas earned the top spot in the preseason poll this year. The Tommies received eight first place votes and beat out Saint John's, and Carleton for first place in the poll. Men's Basketball non-conference action begins Friday, November 17 with MIAC conference games beginning Wednesday, November 29. First place votes shown in parentheses.

1. St. Thomas (8 )
2. Saint John's (1)
3. Carleton (2)
4. Gustavus
5. Hamline
6. Bethel
7. Concordia
8. St. Olaf
9. Saint Mary's
10. Macalester
11. Augsburg

So when this talented team implodes with defections, transfers, player dismissals, & finishes in 10th place leaves you scratching your head & wondering what the hell happened?  If you toss in the fact  the coach resigns mid-summer when it's much more difficult to find a quality replacement, heightens the drama.  And, if this story would have happened anywhere else in the league, maybe it wouldn't be as big.  But this happened at Hamline which apparently is becoming the antithesis of Masillion, OH which was once referred to as the "Cradle of Coaches."  Hamline University - the Purgatory of Coaches.

[sumander]

Now for the real question of the day......Who is going to be the next coach at Hamline? Local, any thoughts?