MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[VOJ]

Two days til conference play resumes...how about some matchup chatter?

SJU @ Bethel
* The real Bethel please stand up. I think if the Royals have any chance at a title this is a must-win, especially being at home against a team ahead of them. The Johnnies had a nice win over Whitewater, but a tough loss at Norbert's, which team will show up.

Macalester @ Concordia
* Will Siverson's announcement do anything to motivate his players? Or, will Abe, Conboy and Co. roll one of the two worst teams in the conference?

Augsburg @ Hamline
* A sneaky game for the 3-1 Pipers - we've seemed to struggle against the Dawgs lately in large part of their athleticism. Hamline may be better suited to play them this year, plus it's at home, which has been kind to the Pipes this year.

Carleton @ UST
* Yes Mafia II, this is the game to watch. 1. We'll find out how the Carls play against one of the bigs. 2. UST has been off for a bit, let's see how they respond (Dec. 8 to Jan. 5). 3. UST is undefeated at home (only 1 game so far - win over Hamline) - eight road games so far.

St. Mary's @ St. Olaf
* Time for NHL 94 on SNES. Somebody else find something interesting for this game.

PI>>>nice insights...+K

I think the J's will show up and play well at the Robertson Center...are the Bethel students back yet?  Could make a bit of a difference, kudos to the parents, alumni and friends who got out and supported the J's at Green Bay. 

As for the SMU-STO matchup, which team gets the win which keeps them in the race?  Both need this game badly...

The Tomies-Carleton matchup is very intriguing...I think Carleton has played the best of the 4 teams I have seen in conference play...hey Drake if you make it over to the Bethel game...say hi...also when did you see the J's this year, its our first trip into the metro where I thought you never ventured from

[PTPer35]

Happy to see the MIAC prevail over the UMAC....what is the record now?

I'll be at The Shoe this Saturday for UST and CAR. I'm expecting a close game if CAR comes to play...it has been a long break for them as well so the rust better come off fast. Both teams play tough D so I'm predicting a low scoring affair somewhere in the 50s or low 60s.

[abominable_snowman]

Two days til conference play resumes...how about some matchup chatter?

SJU @ Bethel
* The real Bethel please stand up. I think if the Royals have any chance at a title this is a must-win, especially being at home against a team ahead of them. The Johnnies had a nice win over Whitewater, but a tough loss at Norbert's, which team will show up.

Macalester @ Concordia
* Will Siverson's announcement do anything to motivate his players? Or, will Abe, Conboy and Co. roll one of the two worst teams in the conference?

Augsburg @ Hamline
* A sneaky game for the 3-1 Pipers - we've seemed to struggle against the Dawgs lately in large part of their athleticism. Hamline may be better suited to play them this year, plus it's at home, which has been kind to the Pipes this year.

Carleton @ UST
* Yes Mafia II, this is the game to watch. 1. We'll find out how the Carls play against one of the bigs. 2. UST has been off for a bit, let's see how they respond (Dec. 8 to Jan. 5). 3. UST is undefeated at home (only 1 game so far - win over Hamline) - eight road games so far.

St. Mary's @ St. Olaf
* Time for NHL 94 on SNES. Somebody else find something interesting for this game.

I'll accept your offer for some banter.

Right now SJU is showing more GRIT than Bethel.  Or to put it another way, the Johnnie wagon is purring nicely, and the Bethel wagon is in serious Jeapordy of getting into an inescapable rut.  I'm loking forward to seeing which inside presence establishes dominance.  The RETURN of Fogt or EMERGENCE (finally?) of Moberg.

Conboy is legit. Without being in anyone's shadow, the numbers don't lie.  he is the premier big man in conference.  Abe has yet to be stopped.  And though a long trip may gas them a bit, there is plenty left in the tank to handle the Cobbers.

Augsburg seems to just keep falling short.  And Whitmore is out to prove himself as a force to be reckoned with.  Maybe 100+ in this one?

Carlies at UST. Carelton has given UST plenty of trouble in the past.  These games seems to always end up in the 50s.  UST may not have a clear answer for Johnson, but the young saplings may just outplay the knights.

SMU and St Olaf...whoever loses this one will most likely end up last at the end of the season.

[sumander]

Fargo Fool-Em beat writer Heath Hotzler speculates on a list of candidates for the successor to Duane Siverson.

[VOJ]

Good list of candidates with ties to the Cobbs...no wonder they picked up two of those Buffalo kids from the title team...

[sumander]

Another interesting Concordia note, I was perusing box scores this morning and ran across the name of Brian Lebsock. If memory serves me correctly, Mr. Lebsock, from Frenchtown, MT was annointed as the answer to CORDS point guard woes last year. Looks like he ended up tansferring to Dickinson State.

[d3bballfollower]

all this talk about people with ties to the Cobbs is great, but that happened with Hamline too, and they went with someone who had no association whatsoever....not saying that Concordia would make a Whitemore-type hire, but it might be good to go after someone who has had success outside of Minnesota and maybe even the midwest...seems to be working out for the Pipes so far...although if I had to choose one of the guys on that list I would definitely go with Craig Irwin...he's a great coach and an even better recruiter

[sumander]

although if I had to choose one of the guys on that list I would definitely go with Craig Irwin...he's a great coach and an even better recruiter

D3, I agree with your assessment of Mr. Irwin. Just wondering how he would fit in with the "buttoned down" image of Concordia?

[piperinsider]

The big difference between CM and HAM is Moorhead and St. Paul. You have a chance to do some things recruiting wise in the Cities. Pretty limited up north in my mind. Tough sell to bring a coach to Moorhead who doesn't have some ties.

[d3bballfollower]

Sum, I think he would fit in just fine...Concordia is a far cry from NDSCS, but i have known Irwin for a couple years and know that he really tried to instill discipline and character with his guys at NDSCS...at Cord he will be able to most likely forget about dealing with off-the-floor issues and will be able to focus on just basketball...he has tons of experience at many levels and his ability to deal with different types of players and kids will help him more than other coaches...

[d3bballfollower]

PI- totally agree, but back in the late 90's when Northern State was looking for a new coach people said that it would be really tough to attract a top-notch coach to Aberdeen, SD...and they ended up getting Don Meyer, who, by the time he is done coaching, will have over 900 victories and maybe even 1,000 ...it would be tough for Cord to get a Whitemore or Meyer, but not impossible...

[Drake Palmer]

Sum -Thanks for the link.  It seems every year aournd this time the board does a mini-blowup on the Cobbs.  We just need Nites & CON to chime in next.    (And by the way, TH4L, I'm a poster not journalist, I've gots to use my smiley faces. Mebbe just not as many. I'll leave the dour expressions for others.  ) 

Here's my take on the latest:

Coach Siverson was & is nice guy, & decent coach, but he's had far better success as a women's coach than as the men's coach.  The Cobbs always mention his overall coaching record which looks respectable.  But if someone took the time to add up the wins on the men's side I think you'd see he has a sub-500 coaching record.  In spite of this, I believe he's the winning-est coach in Concordia history.  Edit: if I added right he's 171-225.

Unfortunately for the Cobbs, basketball has always been the red-headed stepchild to football, and to a lesser extent, baseball & hockey. In the past, the general attitude seems to have been -- as long as the players graduate, don't get into any or too much trouble, & every 4-5 years or so the make a playoff push – cool.

If I had to guess, I'd say the Cobbs would pick someone who's young (read cheap to hire) and has some connection to the school.  Concordia is almost cult-like in keeping the coaching staff all in the family.  Nick Guida would certainly fit in that model, plus they'll say he knows the metro area - Buffalo as well as outstate MN.

I will say that seems to be a nice prospect list the Forum put together.  A couple of comments on the couple of coaches I know on the list:

Chuck Gulsvig's a Cobber who's had a solid run as the Moorhead HS coach.  His dad was the colorful, if less than successful, long term basketball coach at Concordia.  Mark Boschee is a solid basketball technician/strategist,  but he seems to be a tad dry like his mentor Mark Hanson at Gustavus.  However Boschee is from Valley City ND & knows the area well.  I was also favorably impressed with Dean Haugo's teams when they used to make their annual foray to the cities in the spring for a couple of AAU tourneys. 

The key for the Cobbs will be recruiting & how much windshield time the staff will put in, & how willing the administration will be to financially support it.  But, if this oil boom pans out in western ND, there could be a population explosion in North Dakota & NW MN, so the coaches won't have to travel any further than what they're currently doing.

[Nites]

Sum -Thanks for the link.  It seems every year aournd this time the board does a mini-blowup on the Cobbs.  We just need Nites & CON to chime in next.   

Why thank you for the lead in Drake!   

Irwin would be an interesting choice.  He certainly has done well in Wahpeton.

Irwin makes history
Released: 12/17/2007


With a win Saturday against the University of Manitoba, NDSCS men's basketball head coach Craig Irwin broke Earl "Skip" Bute's record for the most career wins as NDSCS head men's basketball coach. Bute coached for 24 years (1924-1948) and had a career record of 197 wins and 188 losses. In his eighth season at NDSCS, Coach Irwin has a record of 198 wins and 44 losses – an 82% winning percentage also first in NDSCS men's basketball history. 

Of course, bear in mind that several of his predecessors were playing as a 2 year junior college (along with Bismarck JC) in a conference with 4 year schools (Jamestown, Valley City, Minot State, Dickinson State, et al.) so they had a wee bit tougher competition.  Nevertheless, he has been quite successful, in part, because of his ability to recruit. 


PI does make a good point though.  FM is tough to recruit to so Irwin might have trouble recruiting.  It's tough to matchup with what he has now.  Maybe its just aggressive marketing, but consider what the NDSCS website says his current location has to offer:   

"NDSCS is located in Wahpeton, a city of 8,586 in the southeast corner of North Dakota. The seat of Richland County, Wahpeton is located at the headwaters of the Red River of the North. It has paved and well-lighted streets, a public library, excellent medical facilities and an exceptional park system. Across the river lies its sister city, Breckenridge, Minnesota, with a population of 3,559. More than 100,000 people live within a 50-mile radius of Wahpeton. 

For recreational purposes, the sister cities boast a movie theater, numerous restaurants, parks, a zoo, an indoor swimming pool, outdoor swimming pools, a water slide, a restored antique carousel, ice skating rinks, a bowling alley, an 18-hole golf course and country club, a trap-shooting range and other facilities."  

It's tough for even the Twin Cities to compete with all of that....

[sumander]

Welcome back Nites!, +k to you for the New Year! After all of the interesting "stuff" you presented about Wap-Breck I have begun my job search there!

If I had to guess, I’d say the Cobbs would pick someone who’s young (read cheap to hire) and has some connection to the school.  Concordia is almost cult-like in keeping the coaching staff all in the family.  Nick Guida would certainly fit in that model, plus they'll say he knows the metro area - Buffalo as well as outstate MN.

You hit the nail on the head there Drake! That fellowship of the ring thing! The football staff has 5 out of the 8 varsity coaches listed as Concordia grads!

I think I remember seeing a story on Chuck Gulsvig recently. I think he has been at Moorhead High 27 years, the last 22 or 23 has head coach. Chuck is about 52-53 years old. Wonder how interested he would be in jumping into the recruiting game.

[Drake Palmer]

Sum - check this out, I think someone told me once, Bucky Burgau, the longtime baseball coach at Cord, is married into the Gulsvig family.