MBB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Buzz]

Ok, here is my ballot for HCAC Freshman of the Year. In no order.

Logan Wolfrum (6-4 / Guard / 22 gp, 8 gs)
---10.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.1 spg, .55 bpg
---43.4 fg%, 42.2 3pt% (2.0 makes p/g), 85.7 ft%
---Numbers slightly lower in HCAC action, scoring double digits in 7 of last 8
---Top reserve on third-place DC and 2x-HCAC POW

Ryan Nowicki (6-0 / Guard / 21 gp, 19 gs)
---11.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.2 bpg
---44.1 fg%, 43.5 3pt% (1.9 makes p/g), 88.3 ft%
---Scoring 12.5 ppg during HCAC play
---Starter on 2nd place Hanover squad

Erwin Gunner (6-5 / Forward / 20 gp, 16 gs)
---10.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.7 spg, 1.1 bpg
---51.4 fg%, 49.0 3pt% (1.2 makes p/g), 63.9 ft%
---Slight uptick in numbers in HCAC play
---Starter on 6th place Franklin squad

That's a tough one and I have seen far more of Wolfrum than the other two, but very strong cases could be made for all three.

Going back to the All-Frosh Team, how's this for a starting lineup. This unit could win some games and actually has more size than I initially thought.

G - Logan Wolfrum (6-4 / Defiance)
G - Ryan Nowicki (6-0 / Hanover)
G - Barrett Meyer (6-2 / Transylvania)
F - Erwin Gunner (6-5 / Franklin)
F - Jon Gerken (6-6 / Rose-Hulman)

[Buzz]

Time to make my Wednesday picks...

Rose-Hulman (6-15, 2-10) at Anderson (19-2, 11-1)
This is AU's second game in three days, which could be trouble for the short Raven bench. But they got plenty of rest in the blowout of Franklin Monday and should have plenty in the tank to handle RH at home. Saturday could be a different story though...

Transylvania (12-10, 8-5) at Mt. St. Joseph (8-12, 3-9)
Pioneers are 3-9 on the road but the Mount looks like a team that has packed it in, losing 9 of last 10, including a 29-point shallacking to TU. Transy won't slip up here.

Manchester (13-8, 7-5) at Bluffton (2-20, 2-11)
The Spartans won the first go-around by nine, even with 23 turnovers and 11 trifectas from Bluffton. So gotta go MC here right? Wrong, UPSET SPECIAL, as Beavers relish the spoilar role in Founders.

Franklin (8-13, 6-6) at Hanover (12-9, 9-4)
FC's last win vs a team with a winning record came against Hanover (74-70), when Conoley shined while Meyer spent most of the night on the bench in heavy foul trouble. Doubt that matchup is so one-sided this time around, and HC is 6-0 in HCAC action at home, Panthers get revenge here.

[Jackets Backer]

Anderson
TU
Bluffton
Hanover

[zander]

Yup and we could have a great discussion about all of the impact sophomores around the HCAC as well. The HCAC really has a youthful look to it and it is exciting to see this new wave of talent, which I think will elevate the league's rep around the nation.

I'm going off the top of my head - which is usually very bad - but I am wanting to say that Anderson, Hanover, Franklin and Manchester are all returning ALL starters next year. That's four of the top six teams in the conference, set to only get stronger in 2010-2011!

Hanover will be losing Senior Point Guard Jake Inman ( a very tough, hard-working player who can really bring some offense) The rest of the starters should be returning which will make for another exciting year.

[dc_has_been]

Ok, here is my ballot for HCAC Freshman of the Year. In no order.

Logan Wolfrum (6-4 / Guard / 22 gp, 8 gs)
---10.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.1 spg, .55 bpg
---43.4 fg%, 42.2 3pt% (2.0 makes p/g), 85.7 ft%
---Numbers slightly lower in HCAC action, scoring double digits in 7 of last 8
---Top reserve on third-place DC and 2x-HCAC POW

Ryan Nowicki (6-0 / Guard / 21 gp, 19 gs)
---11.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.2 bpg
---44.1 fg%, 43.5 3pt% (1.9 makes p/g), 88.3 ft%
---Scoring 12.5 ppg during HCAC play
---Starter on 2nd place Hanover squad

Erwin Gunner (6-5 / Forward / 20 gp, 16 gs)
---10.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.7 spg, 1.1 bpg
---51.4 fg%, 49.0 3pt% (1.2 makes p/g), 63.9 ft%
---Slight uptick in numbers in HCAC play
---Starter on 6th place Franklin squad

That's a tough one and I have seen far more of Wolfrum than the other two, but very strong cases could be made for all three.

Going back to the All-Frosh Team, how's this for a starting lineup. This unit could win some games and actually has more size than I initially thought.

G - Logan Wolfrum (6-4 / Defiance)
G - Ryan Nowicki (6-0 / Hanover)
G - Barrett Meyer (6-2 / Transylvania)
F - Erwin Gunner (6-5 / Franklin)
F - Jon Gerken (6-6 / Rose-Hulman)

Being a DC alum, I still would go with the kid from Hanover.  Especially because his stats are better during HCAC play versus dropping like Wolfrum's.  Wolfrum hit a slump that looks like he is out of now, but still Nowicki has been more consistent and is starting on a squad that is playing very well in the second half of the season.

[zander]

I also like the kid from Hanover for Freshman of the Year


Picks for Wed:
Anderson
Transy
Hanover
Manchester

[dc_star]

Anderson
Transylvania
Manchester
Hanover

[Buzz]

Looks like the favored teams all held serve Wednesday with Anderson, Hanover, Transylvania and Manchester all picking up victories. Manchester has now locked itself into the HCAC Tourney 100%, while Franklin moves another game closer thanks to MSJ's loss. Big winner is Transy, who moves back into the No. 3 position by .5 game over the idle Defiance squad. More random notes...

-HC's Nowicki had another statement game, leading Hanover with 16 points
-TU's Meyer drained four more trifectas for 14 points
-BU shot 3-17 from deep in its loss to Manchester

Pickem Update...

Zander and DC Star went 4-for-4, while Buzz and Backer missed with the Bluffton upset special and settled for a 3-1 night. Standings...

Buzz 32-8
Zander 16-4
Backer 30-10
Star 12-0
WC 8-5
HasBeen 3-2
Indy 5-4

[Darryl Nester]

After last night's results, the field is nearly set, as one more win by AU clinches the #1 seed, and one more win for Franklin locks MSJ out of the top 6.

Team	Overall	Home	Away	Remaining Games
Anderson	12-1	6-0	6-1	vs. TU, vs. MC, @ HC
Hanover	10-4	7-0	3-4	@ RHIT, vs. AU
Transylvania	9-5	6-1	3-4	@ AU, vs. MC
Manchester	8-5	5-2	3-3	vs. FC, @ AU, @ TU
Defiance	8-5	5-1	3-4	vs. MSJ, vs. BU, @ FC
Franklin	6-7	3-3	3-4	@ MC, vs. MSJ, vs. DC
Mount St. Joseph	3-10	2-5	1-5	@ DC, @ FC, vs. RHIT
Rose-Hulman	2-11	2-5	0-6	@ BU, vs. HC, @ MSJ
Bluffton	2-12	2-5	0-7	vs. RHIT, @ DC

Team	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	#6	#7	#8	#9
Anderson	93.95%	6.05%	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
Hanover	6.05%	67.58%	22.27%	3.71%	0.39%	--	--	--	--
Transylvania	--	14.06%	29.69%	25.59%	30.66%	--	--	--	--
Defiance	--	2.54%	28.71%	44.14%	22.27%	2.34%	--	--	--
Manchester	--	9.77%	19.34%	25.78%	38.67%	6.45%	--	--	--
Franklin	--	--	--	0.78%	8.01%	90.14%	1.07%	--	--
Mount St. Joseph	--	--	--	--	--	1.07%	65.73%	24.94%	8.25%
Rose-Hulman	--	--	--	--	--	--	26.88%	45.89%	27.23%
Bluffton	--	--	--	--	--	--	6.31%	29.17%	64.51%

[dc_has_been]

Thanks again Darryl for the updates!

[zander]

CONGRATS go out to Hanover's Mitchell Meyer who scored his 1,000 career point against Franklin on Wed. night. Meyer is the 33rd player to accomplish this goal. I don't know how many of those 33 players were juniors, but that even makes the accomplishment more impressive--

Finish strong Panthers!

[Buzz]

Saturday's picks...

Bluffton over Rose-Hulman
Defiance over MSJ
Anderson over Transylvania
Manchester over Franklin

Pretty safe picks...taking the higher seeds on their home courts, except for No. 9 Bluffton at home against No. 8 R-H

[dc_star]

Saturday's picks:

DC over Mt. St. Joseph
Anderson over Transylvania
Rose-Hulman over Bluffton
Manchester over Franklin

Should be exciting down the stretch as the teams fight for positioning in the conference tournament.

[zander]

black and gold_ Beitzel retired 2 years ago. Jon miller is at the helm. One of his ex-players

[zander]

oops. 2nd stringer mistake. i was commenting on the last post on the first page... way back in 2005...... my bad!!!!