MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

Anybody know if Brandy Brink is still in Germany?

• Gustavus has had a strong showing from its freshmen class so far. Edina's Bobby J has looked good enough to start and there's a SG (can't recall name or hometown) who may also play significant minutes. A pair from Mlps North could also see time off the bench.

This has to be Tyler Grey from Montevideo. I've seen him a few times and man, can he shoot the basketball.

Any word coming out of Walker Fieldhouse (?) on Hewitt & Snelling?

[localcoach]

The board is starting to get busy again.  That must mean another season is right around the corner 

Drake - We will see about the Carlies' baby knights soon enough.

I can offer the following tidbits from the corner of Hewitt & Snelling.  Apparently the Pipers have looked very good in the early goings.  The twin towers of Mr. Hipp and Mr. Gusaas (who is supposedly in the best shape of his young life) could be a formidable pair to go along with a quicker Eric Clute and a aforementioned Division II transfer.  I've also heard that the Piper coaching staff brought in some intriguing out of state players from the west coast.  The times may be a changin' again in Piperland

[Drake Palmer]

The board is starting to get busy again.  That must mean another season is right around the corner 

I can offer the following tidbits from the corner of Hewitt & Snelling.  Apparently the Pipers have looked very good in the early goings.  The twin towers of Mr. Hipp and Mr. Gusaas (who is supposedly in the best shape of his young life) could be a formidable pair to go along with a quicker Eric Clute and a aforementioned Division II transfer.  I've also heard that the Piper coaching staff brought in some intriguing out of state players from the west coast.  The times may be a changin' again in Piperland

Interesting report LC.  The admittedly, very sketchy & perhaps even biased info I got was that Hipp looked long, lean, lanky & tough, & Gusaas looked very s-l-o-w.  Brandon Hayes should be the starting PG, & the Cali players definitely had a bit of swagger about their games.  The jury is still out whether or not that swagger translates into talent.  8)

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

I think I found a clip of Drake from his playing days:

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3521492

[Drake Palmer]

I think I found a clip of Drake from his playing days:

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3521492

Gasp, sputter, snarl! And this post is coming from the team basketball manager? 

Do you realize you're dogging a member of the two time Intramural school basketball champions & winner of the All-MIAC Intramural basketball championship back in.... 8)

There that might lure a few posters out of hibernation. 

[TearDrop]

Because I don't have anything else newsworthy to report...bear with me 

Now for the juicy stuff...

• The Rich Glas Era has not started well, according to my people. He's already had a handful of players quit, including some that were expected to contribute this winter. I don't know if they are vets or returners, but that can't be the start he was looking for.

C'mon Will, you can do better than this.  It's not surprising to have player turnover when a new coaching staff takes over the reins at a school.  But if it was one of the potential big contributors like a Darrin Olmscheid, Erik Lien, Jame Baldwin or Karl Olson, now we're talking something big. 

I have heard that it is the Baldwin kid that decided to hang it up.

[VOJ]

I think I found a clip of Drake from his playing days:

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3521492

Gasp, sputter, snarl! And this post is coming from the team basketball manager? 

Do you realize you're dogging a member of the two time Intramural school basketball champions & winner of the All-MIAC Intramural basketball championship back in.... 8)

There that might lure a few posters out of hibernation. 

Wow there is a detail that I have been waiting for...so you actually attended a MIAC school huh?  Would like to know which one for sure but I would not want you to turn a shade or purple if you were embarrased to admit it...not maroon, maroon with silver highlights or black and gold, or orange and blue, blue and gold perhaps?

[Drake Palmer]

Because I don't have anything else newsworthy to report...bear with me 

Now for the juicy stuff...

• The Rich Glas Era has not started well, according to my people. He's already had a handful of players quit, including some that were expected to contribute this winter. I don't know if they are vets or returners, but that can't be the start he was looking for.

C'mon Will, you can do better than this.  It's not surprising to have player turnover when a new coaching staff takes over the reins at a school.  But if it was one of the potential big contributors like a Darrin Olmscheid, Erik Lien, Jame Baldwin or Karl Olson, now we're talking something big. 

I have heard that it is the Baldwin kid that decided to hang it up.

Nice scoop there Freddy "I'll be There before the Next Teardrop Falls" Fender.   If you don't mind, in the future I'll refer to you as Freddy, or Fred for short. 

With the bumper crop of freshmen forwards the Cobbers brought in last year that earned significant playing time - Darrin Olmscheid, John Fraase, Erik Lien & Ryan Hagemeyer, I'm not surprised that one of the forwards decided to hang them up.  But I am surprised it's junior James Baldwin.  He started for most of his 2 years on varsity or was the 6th man.  Last year he was the 2nd leading rebounder on the team and averaged 20 minutes per game.  And, with the graduation of MIAC POY Luke Linz, there still would have been plenty of minutes to go around for all of the biggs.

However, in the games I saw the Cobbers play last year, it was apparent even then that when the ball didn't go to Linz, the offensive focus was going to be either Darrin Olmscheid & or Erik Lien.  Baldwin was mostly left to pick up loose garbage points & the occasional post feed from one of the wings. So unless someone steps up and volunteers the info  - ahem Concordia of the North, I guess we're only left to speculate if it was Baldwin's lack of involvement in the offensive end of the game, the new coaching staff, or he decided to focus on his studies.  That's too bad he decided to hang them up - he had a great name for basketball. 

[Drake Palmer]

I think I found a clip of Drake from his playing days:

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3521492

Gasp, sputter, snarl! And this post is coming from the team basketball manager? 

Do you realize you're dogging a member of the two time Intramural school basketball champions & winner of the All-MIAC Intramural basketball championship back in.... 8)

There that might lure a few posters out of hibernation. 

Wow there is a detail that I have been waiting for...so you actually attended a MIAC school huh?  Would like to know which one for sure but I would not want you to turn a shade or purple if you were embarrased to admit it...not maroon, maroon with silver highlights or black and gold, or orange and blue, blue and gold perhaps?

VOJ – after the season the Jays are having on the gridiron I'm surprised to see you posting on the basketball board so soon.  Glad to see my post was able to lure you out of your self imposed sabbatical.  How are the Johnnies hoopers looking? 

And by the way, I was just slinging a little brick & mortar.  The "brick" represents the truth & the "mortar" (cow dung) is the glue holding the story together.    Your job should you decide to take it (& based on your past investigations it seems like you have) is to discern what's brick & what's mortar. 

[localcoach]

One other "juicy" tidbit from Piperland.     According to more then one person over at Hewitt & Snelling, with whom I spoke today, a key transfer will join the Pipers at Christmas break.  Stoddard Barnhill, a point guard from Holy Angels will apparently be leaving Division II SW Minnesota State and coming back to the cities.  If true, that's a HUGE pick-up Coach Whitmore's Pipers!

[Drake Palmer]

One other "juicy" tidbit from Piperland.     According to more then one person over at Hewitt & Snelling, with whom I spoke today, a key transfer will join the Pipers at Christmas break.  Stoddard Barnhill, a point guard from Holy Angels will apparently be leaving Division II SW Minnesota State and coming back to the cities.  If true, that's a HUGE pick-up Coach Whitmore's Pipers!

Nice Scoop, Jackson! I checked another source & they're indicating the same thing.  Any idea why he's transferring and, why's he waiting until the Holiday break? I checked the SW State website & Barnhill's bio is still listed.  Since he's transferring up/down to D3 Hamline, I would think he would be eligible to play immediately. I wonder if Hamline & SW State have some type of reciprocity deal worked out between the two schools. JonDeRock to SW State in exchange for Stoddard Barnhill to Hamline.   

Quite obviously, he would be a member of the Palmer All-FY All MIAC-Name Team with a name like Stoddard Barnhill! Interestingly, the players who've made the All-Name team are also pretty good ballers. He could be a very key contributor for the Pipes.

In other less exciting news, I noticed a couple of coaches with MN connections have been hired at UW-Stout.   Stout BlueDevils recruits MN players & Coaches

[piperinsider]

One other "juicy" tidbit from Piperland.     According to more then one person over at Hewitt & Snelling, with whom I spoke today, a key transfer will join the Pipers at Christmas break.  Stoddard Barnhill, a point guard from Holy Angels will apparently be leaving Division II SW Minnesota State and coming back to the cities.  If true, that's a HUGE pick-up Coach Whitmore's Pipers!

Drake...there is a thing called school. Pretty hard to enroll in classes right now. I'm sure he will be transferring after first semester.

I've seen Barnhill play twice covering Holy Angels/Hutch. Very nice player with a good shot, but I think his playmaking abilities are his best attributes. Either way, a nice pickup for the Pipes.

[Drake Palmer]

Drake...there is a thing called school. Pretty hard to enroll in classes right now. I'm sure he will be transferring after first semester.

I've seen Barnhill play twice covering Holy Angels/Hutch. Very nice player with a good shot, but I think his playmaking abilities are his best attributes. Either way, a nice pickup for the Pipes.

I understand the school angle, so let me rephrase my question.  "Does anyone know when Barnhill changed his mind?"

Did he have "buyer's remorse" when he stepped foot on the Southwest State campus back in late August, or was this something that developed over the last couple of weeks?  If he changed his mind almost immediately, there still would have been time for him to enroll at Hamline, since the school year at Hamline  didn't begin until after Labor Day. There, is that better?

Also, based on your description, it seems like Barnhill is more of a traditional PG, while Tyler Grey of Montevideo, now at Gustavus is more of a 2G?  In your opinion, who do you like better? In the new, Hamline pressing style of play, I get the sense you can never have too many good PGs, but at Gustavus they've already got a nice young shooter in Jr. Jesse Van Sickle. Or could the Gusties go "small-er" ball & play 6-0 Mike DesLauriers at PG, with 6-2 Van Sickle & 6-1 Grey at the wings?

Inquiring minds need to know.

[Willy Wonka]

Also, based on your description, it seems like Barnhill is more of a traditional PG, while Tyler Grey of Montevideo, now at Gustavus is more of a 2G?  In your opinion, who do you like better? In the new, Hamline pressing style of play, I get the sense you can never have too many good PGs, but at Gustavus they've already got a nice young shooter in Jr. Jesse Van Sickle. Or could the Gusties go "small-er" ball & play 6-0 Mike DesLauriers at PG, with 6-2 Van Sickle & 6-1 Grey at the wings?

Inquiring minds need to know.

While my insight will remain rather limited until I actually get to see the Gusties play, it's my understanding that the 3 spot remains a wild card right now. Those three would certainly be options to start, I'd assume, along with Schmidtknecht. Obviously, that's a much shorter team than most coaches would prefer.

That's also where the Mlps North players become interesting. I don't know names, but North's leading scorer from a year ago is apparently about 6-3 with good length and hops. He's been a sponge in picking up the offense and could be a sleeper, though it remains something of a longshot given how difficult it is to slide right into the motion offense.

[columbianmaffia]

Buellerrrr

Buellerrrrrrrr

Buellerrrrrrrrrrr