MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[WXYZ]

I covered the Carleton - Bethel game this evening. Here is a link to my game story. Included is a big photo gallery and postgame audio with Coach Hayes from Carleton and Coach Perrel from Bethel. This is a free story.

www.minnesotapreps.com

[onearmedscot]

couple notes on the Tommie MAC game:

Losing Nicolai to foul trouble in the first half hurt them bad.

Joe Scott had the quietest 20 I've ever watched.

Conboy has the talent and ability inside to dominate this league.  Moberg is the only other one big enough to stop him inside.

Jerry Krause, from Bucharest, is a solid role player.  I like to say his defender got Bucharested when he scores! 

Back to back 72-70 scores in similar fashion, one time Abe hits it, the next he dishes.  Awesome start to our St. Kate's home season.

oAs.

[VOJ]

B34 - No idea what that might be referring too...but I'd suggest Reub-N-Stein or Hogan Bros when eating in Northfield. The Reub had all-you-can-eat wingies with a beverage purchase on Wednesdays when I went a few years back and the subs at Hogans are simply spectacular.

Drake - Your memory is correct. I don't believe Hanson got a single tech in my four years there but, in talking with numerous Gusties who were at Sowden swan song, the reffing that game apparently made the Asian Sensation look like an NBA caliber ref. I wasn't in attedance, so I can't speak to specifics.

cmob - I believe you're referring to the moveable object and the stoppable force

Funny you mention the Asian sensation...he was part of the crew that reffed the J's game last night with GAC...needless to say, he thinks people pay money to see him work.  He got into it with the J's bench almost 3 minutes into the game for a horrid call he made in the first minute...I know its early in the season but there were some missed calls by all three guys that everyone else in the building witnessed...I wish the MIAC would do us all a favor and not schedule him.

[abominable_snowman]

pick'em results are up, last night was a rough one.

[VOJ]

I was impressed with the Gusties intensity last night...and the play of Van Sickle, he was the reason they stayed in the game when the Johnnies hit them with the zone...he nailed 5 threes in the game and was the one guy the J's could not afford to leave open...Johnnies were down 3 late when they in-bounded after a time-out to Leiser who got double teamed and stripped of the ball, I am not sure if he got fouled or not, but a tough intentional call on a break away opportunity for the Gusties put this one away for GAC...it was the right call, but its not called enough

Doble was good inside, but he does not own the J's as another poster mused... Wittwer was ok, I was impressed with Paulson, he knows his role and executes it well, they are a true team where the sum is greater than the parts...

[Drake Palmer]

Of course I had to be at the Bethel – Carleton match up last night to witness the historic moment when Tommy Drake stepped on the court at the same time as Bethel's JJ Palmer.   

Nice win for the Royals as they finally get the proverbial 400 lb gorilla off their backs.  The win was especially nice when you consider that Cory Laugen was sitting out the game due to injury.  This game may be one of those defining moments when the Royals look back on their season & view this game as a critical turning point.  They may also want to thank the league scheduling powers that made them play the Gusties & Carleton in back to back games. Those are two clubs that will force you to play defense -- & Bethel did.

The combination of Shane Flannery & Mike Much added some much needed grittiness to what so far had been a "pretty boy" type defense this year.  I also think another unintended side benefit of losing Laugen for this game was that the Bethel coaches were forced to put complete players out there, & not just another person interested in scoring a basket.  For playing solid D, both Flannery & Much were rewarded with their moments in the spotlight.  I know Bet 34 was smiling all the way to the bank when he saw Flannery attack a gap in the heart of the Carleton D, drive in, jump stop & put up a sweet little jumper in the lane.  Also, in the closing seconds of regulation, Mike Much had a very nice defense to offense transition topped off by a clutch, athletic layup in traffic to even the game at 60-60.  This was the kid I remembered seeing in high school!

Tim Madson also had a sweet MVP type burst in the 2nd half.  When it appeared that Bethel was about to fade out into the night, Madson strapped the Royals on his back.  (Plus, it helped that the Royals got 3 consecutive defensive stops.  )  Down 47-43 with little over 8 minutes in the game, Madson scores a tough pull up jumper in the lane, next possession, he puts up & makes an NBA deep 3, & then he drives the lane drops off a tough assist to Moberg.  Carleton finally scores on a trey by Tommy Drake after a 2+ minute scoring drought, but Madson comes right back with a couple of FTs to show the Carlies the Royals weren't going away.

As TH4L pointed out, both Zach Johnson & Drake struggled scoring for the Knights due in part to the suddenly, reinvigorated Bethel defense.  Johnson in particular missed a couple of contested, but definitely makeable inside shots along with a couple of bunnies.  For a player of his caliber you just don't expect him to come up empty as often as he did last night.  The Knights offense was sputtering from the outside & they shoot a very cool 7-27 for 25.9% from the 3-point line   As a result, Bethel could double up on Johnson & cut him off after he beat the initial defender on his favorite little reverse, baseline spin move to the basket.

If the Royals can continue to play with this type of intensity night after night, they'll be right back in the playoff hunt, and the Carleton Knights will be in the thick of things as well.

[piperinsider]

I covered the Carleton - Bethel game this evening. Here is a link to my game story. Included is a big photo gallery and postgame audio with Coach Hayes from Carleton and Coach Perrel from Bethel. This is a free story.

www.minnesotapreps.com

Gotta love the love for former Piper assistants!

Lost-
Only watched the first 45 minutes of Hot Fuzz, and turned it off it was so slow. Loved Shaun of the Dead.

[MiacLostProphet]

A little insight on the Pipes-Birds Game.  A inside source down at SMU told me about the "T" incident.  Looks Like Nick Carr went Foster on the Birds.  From what i was told he attempted to make an over head pass and was hit in the head and ended up turning the ball over.  The coach pulled him and told him not to throw passes from his hip.  Carr told the coach he was hit on the head and the coach said leave, get out of here.  So Carr went and sat down.  Then an assistant coach came over to him and said no, get dressed, leave the gym.  Upon hearing this news Carr proceeded to flip a chair, take off his jersey, and storm out of the gym.  I don't think they had a great player coach relationship.  Carr is a talent and i don't blame him for being frustrated with his coach, personally i think he should have transferred to HAMLINE.  Where him and Zev dunKujolic could throw oops to each other from half court.

Also, B. Hayes has a near perfect game shoting....I am dissappointed though, a missed free throw away from shooting 100% for the game....You're better than that.  But still he was a great spark for this team.  He Struggled under the shackles of Wohler but now is playing very well for Nellie.

PI, fight through it, once you see the ending it alllllll makes sense and is hilarious.  I struggled through the first time and hated it, then my roommate at the time made me watch it again.  It rivaled Shaun of the Dead, but wasn't better.   

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Carr is the classic case of a talented head case. For those of you who just read box scores, there is no way show this but to see him in person...don't be surprised if you no longer have that chance. I only saw Foster pitch once on TV, but that sems like a good comparison...though Carr isn't nearly *that* talented.

*sigh*

New Cards, same results...

[miacwatchmen]

Is there something magical about a bus ride to winona?  or moorhead for that matter.  the only one that mattered to me was the long one coming home. 

There isn't anything special about a bus ride to Winona or Moorhead during a winter storm!! 40 mph on the interstate coming back from Moorhead gets old real fast!! 

[miacwatchmen]

couple notes on the Tommie MAC game:

Losing Nicolai to foul trouble in the first half hurt them bad.

Joe Scott had the quietest 20 I've ever watched.

Conboy has the talent and ability inside to dominate this league.  Moberg is the only other one big enough to stop him inside.

Jerry Krause, from Bucharest, is a solid role player.  I like to say his defender got Bucharested when he scores! 

Back to back 72-70 scores in similar fashion, one time Abe hits it, the next he dishes.  Awesome start to our St. Kate's home season.

oAs.

I would like to consider 6-9 265 lb post Jason Fogt "big enough" to stop him inside.  It may not be until after Christmas but when he does come back he will give the J's a HUGE boost inside. Burtzel has played very well this year but I feel he could help the J's better by backing Fogt up and coming off the bench.

[Drake Palmer]

Carr is the classic case of a talented head case. For those of you who just read box scores, there is no way show this but to see him in person...don't be surprised if you no longer have that chance. I only saw Foster pitch once on TV, but that sems like a good comparison...though Carr isn't nearly *that* talented.

*sigh*

New Cards, same results...

I don't know Nick Carr personally, but I've seen him play a handful of times during his high school, AAU days & limited exposure during his college career at SMU i.e. the other night against MAC.   The kid is definitely a talent.

Dread - what you're saying about Carr may very well be true, but some of the other players I've seen playing the small forward spot for the Birds?  Man, I just don't know.    I also realize that it's tough when you have losing program to get all of your players to buy-in. Heck, it's tough even when you have a winning program.  But I've heard grumbling for a couple of years from several individuals about the Bird program, & these are people I generally regard as being fairly level headed & able to detach from any personal biases.  If this is the end for him, I certainly wish Nick Carr well.  So far, he still has my vote for best dunk of the 07-08 season.
-------------------------------------------------------
I'm in the D3BO & TH4L camp regarding Steve Banick.  I've said it before & I'll say it again, the kid is a very solid D3 PG.  His primary role as a PG for the Oles is as a distributor, run the offense, score occasionally, & play good defense.  He does all of those things and he does them well.
------------------------------------
Watch - I've asked this question once before but it may have been overlooked:   

Is Chris Schwartz a lefty or a righty? And since I didn't get an answer the first time here's a bonus question - how's the form on his J?

[Drake Palmer]

Hey Local - I see you signed in on top of the board.  You're not supposed to stop posting simply because you decided to finally join the pickem contest this year.   We need to hear from another Piper booster! 

[localcoach]

Some comments at this early juncture as we get ready to go to the Christmas break.  

1) Who would have thought MAC would be atop the MIAC    The funny thing is they're doing it by playing basically 7 guys.  When is an opponent going to try and slow down Abe and Mr. Conboy and make somebody else beat them?

2) How about Hamline.  3-1 and I know a lot of you thought 0-4 or 1-3 was a guarantee.  Coach Whitmore sure has these guys in shape and running his system well.  How about Eric Clute again last night vs. SMU.  In 29 minutes he scored 28 points on 10-13 shooting.  I think it's either him or Tyler Nicolai from UST in the lead for top MIAC freshmen.  BTW - Mr. Clute and Carl Hipp sure like look a nice 1-2 punch for the future at Snelling and Hewitt.

3) Auggie is 0-6.  I feel for Coach Greiss.  4 of the 6 have been single digit defeats.  It looks like the big issue is perimeter shooting.  I mean 22.1% isn't going to win much of anything in any league.

4) POY front runners = Conboy, Madson, Brink, Z. Johnson (sounds familiar)  At this point it's hard to argue against Mr. Conboy.  He leads the league in scoring and is second in rebounding for the top team.

[miacwatchmen]

Watch - I've asked this question once before but it may have been overlooked:   

Is Chris Schwartz a lefty or a righty? And since I didn't get an answer the first time here's a bonus question - how's the form on his J?

Sorry Drake didn't mean to overlook your question. Schwartz is a righty and has decent form on his jumper. He has some decent springs too that allow him to elevate above his defender.