MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

reminder, round 3 for non-conference pickem is up.  games are tuesday so get the picks in.

drake i was calling you out on the schwartz deal because I know you're an afficionado for nomenclature and I was trying to be a little cutesy with a space balls reference.

Ok - that's cool 'squatch. 

 

[Drake Palmer]

I'll let everyone know how Concordia looks after the game with UM-Morris tonight.

So umm Buckeye, what can you tell us about the James Baldwin departure from the Cobbs? In the season preview it sounded like the coaches were anxiously wringing their hands at the thought of getting in foul trouble in the interior. A player of Baldwin's caliber certainly would have helped.

"...The two biggest question marks for the Cobbers in 2008-09 will be depth and physical presence underneath the basket. Concordia has a quality core of 7-8 players but after that time will tell if some of the other CC reserves can step up and play on a consistent basis. The area of concern about depth especially applies to the inside game. Glas can not afford to have one of his four forwards on the roster get hurt or run into foul trouble throughout the season."  

[CobberFvr]

Things have been kept pretty quiet about his departure. I see him on campus from time to time, so I know he didn't just up and leave, but I have no clue as to why he left the team.

[TearDrop]

I know that Winona St. beat the Cardinals pretty bad on the scoreboard but I have not talked with anyone that saw the game. How did the Birds look under a new coach and new system? Looking at the box score it looks like the dynamic duo of Wright and Holland are about all they have. Also noticed that Sweeney barely saw the floor. I know he has gotten quite a bit of playing time his first three years and has been a solid role player but are the new coaching staff going to give all the playing time to the young boys?

[CobberFvr]

Got some more info on Baldwin from an ex-coach. Apparently he just felt overwhelmed with school and the time commitment associated with basketball. This school will do that to you if you let it.

[piperinsider]

I know that Winona St. beat the Cardinals pretty bad on the scoreboard but I have not talked with anyone that saw the game. How did the Birds look under a new coach and new system? Looking at the box score it looks like the dynamic duo of Wright and Holland are about all they have. Also noticed that Sweeney barely saw the floor. I know he has gotten quite a bit of playing time his first three years and has been a solid role player but are the new coaching staff going to give all the playing time to the young boys?

Ahh, no one else follows the Birds. You're our guy. If you don't have the answers, we don't have the information. I think they need to play Eric Burroughs. He used to be our bat boy for our summer traveling team. He used to pick up Joe Mauer's bat after he ripped a single between the first and second basemen.

[Drake Palmer]

I know that Winona St. beat the Cardinals pretty bad on the scoreboard but I have not talked with anyone that saw the game. How did the Birds look under a new coach and new system? Looking at the box score it looks like the dynamic duo of Wright and Holland are about all they have. Also noticed that Sweeney barely saw the floor. I know he has gotten quite a bit of playing time his first three years and has been a solid role player but are the new coaching staff going to give all the playing time to the young boys?

Ahh, no one else follows the Birds. You're our guy. If you don't have the answers, we don't have the information. I think they need to play Eric Burroughs. He used to be our bat boy for our summer traveling team. He used to pick up Joe Mauer's bat after he ripped a single between the first and second basemen.

Eric's a good kid.  I give him props for sticking it out for 4 years.  Not many kids would do that & play the limited number of minutes that he has. 

[Drake Palmer]

At long last, here's the highly anticipated, long awaited DP's 2008-2009 MIAC Freshmen ALL-Name team. 

But before we get to the main event, here's a breakdown of newcomers, freshmen & or transfers/newcomers by team.

Carleton –   9 FY
St. Johns-    8 FY+ 1 soph transfer
St. Olaf -      6 FY + newcomer (not sure if Soph Luke Peterson transferred in or not)
Macalester – 5 FY + 3 newcomers to the team
Concordia –  5 FY
St. Mary's –  5 FY

Hamline –     3 FY+ 2 transfers
Augsburg -   4 FY
Bethel –        2 FY + 2 transfers (?) & 1 newcomer returnee (Mark Mann)
St. Thomas – 3 +1 transfer
Gustavus –   3FY

MIAC Freshmen All-Name Team

Musical Honorable Mention

The new lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers –
Blaise Davis 6-1/Wing Carleton

When Motown's sixties act, the Four Tops embark on their revival tour, their new lead singer will be Levi "Stubbs" Wenrich
Levi Wenrich – 5-10/PG  Hamline

Sixth Man

It was real tough competition for the 6th man spot. Originally, I thought this player would be a shoo-in for the all name team.  The 20th century American contemporary artist – Jackson "Pollack" Wright
Jackson Wright – 6-3/Wing Macalester

All-Name Team

"I'm no relation to Macalester's Colin Keeley." Kellan "Braveheart Returns" McLemore.  Just imagine as his last name echoes over the P.A. system at West gym, & other gyms around the league –"McLemore scores!"
Kellan McLemore - 6-3/wing  Carleton

Uncle Ben's Chock full of flava, aka "the flava of love" Flavin
Ben Flavin - 6-0/Wing – Augsburg

Bobby Flay's-Filleted-Fong (the naming combinations are almost endless  )
Bobby Fong 6-3/wing forward  St. Olaf

Little Lord Alfred, "What's it all about Alfie" Jaryan
Alfred Jaryan – 5-9/PG St. Olaf

And this year's honorary captain (we'll hold a spot for him at the awards table until he arrives in January)

I can just imagine him checking in the scorers' table at UST for the first time & the crotchety old timekeeper (Mose?  ) looks up at him and says:

"Son you look familiar, have you played here before?"

And the young lad replies in a clipped British accent.  "Yes sir, yes I have.  My high school team, Holy Angels played at the Catholic Spirit tournament several years ago."

Old timekeeper:  "What did you say your name was again?"

Young lad: "Barnhill, sir.  Stoddard Barnhill."

Stoddard Barnhill – 6-1/PG   Hamline

[piperinsider]

I always love that one.

[CobberFvr]

Concordia wins over Morris, 71-65.

The Cobbers looked surprisingly good down low without the "big" men. They have 2 guys, Fraase and Hagemeyer, that look pretty good down under the basket. The 3-point shot is there again with Dyshaw, and the new freshman Molina.

Overall, not bad for the first game of the season. They play cross town rival MSU-Moorhead on the 25th at Concordia.

[BBRyan]

Looks like Hamline is alone on top of the conference standings as they took care of St. Olaf tonight.

Also, GAC falls to Bethany Lutheran 77-67 as Saffert and Wills combine for 38 points while playing a total of 74 minutes. Gustavus played a total of 13 guys in the game, which seems surprising for them.

[gacbacker]

I have no idea what kind of team GAC is going to be this year, but after St. Olaf beat Bethany Lutheran by 18, I would have thought the Gusties would be able to handle them.

As BBRyan stated, it looks like Hanson did some experiementing with line-ups. It also looks like Paulson was limited with foul trouble as he only played 17 minutes and had 4 fouls. Free throw shooting was also brutal (15-24).

[piperinsider]

Looks like Hamline is alone on top of the conference standings as they took care of St. Olaf tonight.

Also, GAC falls to Bethany Lutheran 77-67 as Saffert and Wills combine for 38 points while playing a total of 74 minutes. Gustavus played a total of 13 guys in the game, which seems surprising for them.

Carl Hipp led the Piper scoring with 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds (five offensive, eight defensive), while senior Tony Thrasher (Hustisford, Wis.) also recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds (three offensive, 10 defensive). Max Van Ordstrand totaled 14 points (on four three-pointers), while Eric Clute added 13.

St. Olaf was led by Bobby Fong's (Fy., Bloomington, Minn.) 22 points, while Mitch Haugen (Sr., Rockford, Minn.) had 13 and Nate Krisschell (So., Edina, Minn.) had 12.

Looking at the box score, St. Olaf played 14 guys - many are who's. Bobby Morrow played 27 minutes and had one rebound, but eight points. Hamline website says the game was back-and-forth and Olaf trailed by one in the final minute.

We're comin!

[AO]

I have no idea what kind of team GAC is going to be this year, but after St. Olaf beat Bethany Lutheran by 18, I would have thought the Gusties would be able to handle them.

As BBRyan stated, it looks like Hanson did some experiementing with line-ups. It also looks like Paulson was limited with foul trouble as he only played 17 minutes and had 4 fouls. Free throw shooting was also brutal (15-24).

For what it's worth, Bethany was picked to win the UMAC this year.  They also won the last time Gustavus came to Mankato in 06.  The St. Olaf-Bethany score seems to be more of an aberration from a distance as it was the first game. 

[Willy Wonka]

I'm not sure I'd put too much stock in comparing scores right now, especially with a Gustavus team searching for leaders and an identity. Bethany Lutheran knows who its studs are and had already played a game.

A few random thoughts from afar...

I've only seen McPartland and Olmstead play a few times, but I don't think it's a stretch to say they both would have been career JV guys from 1996-2005 (I might even go earlier, but I haven't played against those guys). And maybe not even starters on those JV teams. While it's only one game, it certainly seems possible that the playoff streak could be over fairly early this season. Yes, the box score is that ugly.

Hanson decided to start with a bigger lineup, opening with Paulson, Olmstead and McPartland up front. Considering they combined for 7 boards in 61 minutes, I'm guessing that experiment won't last too long. Heck, the distribution of minutes makes me think we could see two brand new starters around the core of DLo, Van Sickle and Paulson.

Ky Battern would seem to be the first option off the bench. He's not flashy, but my buddy coached him in high school and thought he fit the GAC system well. With 13 and 9 off the bench in the opener, he may have earned himself a shot in in the starting lineup. Dan Schmidtknecht could be another winner in rotation roulette after pulling down 7 boards from a guard position. I've always liked his game.

I figured scoring would be GAC's biggest problem this season given who graduated (Kane and Wittwer)...but giving up 45 points in a half is disgusting. Things got better after (some yelling at?) halftime, but there are clearly a lot of holes in the Gustie armor right now. I can only hope some answers present themselves or the game against Winona State may get wiped off my calendar...