2012 Division III NCAA Tournament

[magicman]

Stevens Point defeats Williams 78-73.

[deiscanton]

Great championship game-- well played by both teams.   Congratulations to the Pointers of UW-Stevens Point on winning the 2009-2010 DIII Men's Basketball national championship. 

[Ralph Turner]

Great game!  I enjoyed Pat and Dave.  Thanks for the audio cast.

[magicman]

Blake Schultz led the way for the Ephs with 20 pts. Troy Whittington with a huge game had 19 pts, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks. James Wang had 17 pts and Alex Rubin finished with 11.

Matt Moses led the Pointers and was the game's high scorer with 22 pts and 7 rebounds. Jared Jenkins had 17 pts, Dan Tillema scored 15 pts and Louis Hurd added 10 pts.

Williams can hold their head high as they completed a great season and all D3 fans were treated to a super championship game with 2 outstanding teams fighting it out to the end. Congratulations to both teams for their efforts. 

[FanJacket]

Hello Greg Sager,
Check out the line of Lawrence from RMC...you may want to re-think your drink.

The "reward" concept seems pretty feeble to me, inasmuch as their "reward" is to look and feel thoroughly outclassed by their teammates and opponents in the senior All-Star game. Nevertheless, I accept the true rationale that I suspect is behind this, which is to cut down on costs by using four players who are already on the premises as of Friday night.

[Pat Coleman]

That's been established, about the cost. By the way, those two did not make fools of themselves on  the court.

[Gregory Sager]

"Re-think your drink?"

Good for Lawrence. I root for the underdog, so I was pleased to see him do well. Doesn't change the essential fact, though, which is that players of his ilk -- seniors who see little or no court time -- don't really deserve to be in the senior All-Star game on merit. They're there as a cost-saving measure.

[Pat Coleman]

There definitely was some talk about that this past weekend about how they can lessen their reliance on the teams that lose in the semifinals. It's not as simple as the committee just choosing another player on each side because as those of us who have observed NABC All-American teams have seen, they are committed to representing each region equally, regardless of their quality or their size.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

And let's not forget... the two seniors from RMC did play well and got plenty of playing time. Heck, Tim Lawrence had 11 points and his game-winning attempt at the end of regulation practically went in before hitting the rim for the second or third time and bouncing out.

I understand there is an opinion that those type of seniors don't deserve to be in the game, however the NABC can't afford to just fly in a couple of extra guys and have them sit their in case they were needed. Secondly, as one coach put it to me, those seniors were part of a unit that got to the Final Four and they deserve to be honored for that accomplishment as well.

Let's not belittle those seniors. Is there a better option? Maybe. I know it is being discussed and I know plenty of ideas have been bounced around, but honestly none of those options are as ideal, in my opinion.

Remember, this is the first year of this game... and it exceeded expectations. There will probably be some tweaks and there has always been ideas bounced off the walls... and the toughest is how to reward a few extra players but not pay a ton of money at the last minute to get a couple of extra players to the game's site because of how the Final Four shaped up and how the championship game might shape up.

[ziggy]

Remember, this is the first year of this game... and it exceeded expectations. There will probably be some tweaks and there has always been ideas bounced off the walls... and the toughest is how to reward a few extra players but not pay a ton of money at the last minute to get a couple of extra players to the game's site because of how the Final Four shaped up and how the championship game might shape up.

While the scenario that played out this year may not have resulted in the best possible all-star team I think the format is the best for the fans in attendance. The Guilford and Randolph-Macon fans got to see a couple of their players hit the court one more time rather than the weekend ending up a complete one and done. As someone that traveled to a previous Final Four and ultimately saw my team lose in the first semi-final I can support adding a couple guys from the losing team to the all-star game whether they would have been selected to such a team or not. This all-star format may be more entertaining and fulfilling for all invovled than a third place game.

[Pat Coleman]

Agreed -- I think one from each is an appropriate number, even if there isn't necessarily a senior who is a key contributor.

[Gregory Sager]

Let's not belittle those seniors. Is there a better option? Maybe. I know it is being discussed and I know plenty of ideas have been bounced around, but honestly none of those options are as ideal, in my opinion.

I'm not belittling anyone. I have the utmost respect for senior benchwarmers, always have. They are the epitome of what D3 is all about, in my opinion; if D3 student-athletes play for the love of the game, how much more zeal and devotion is there in the guys who don't get much playing time, yet are still participating in their fourth and final year and doing their bit by practicing hard in order to sharpen the starters on a daily basis?

But let's not kid ourselves and equate them with national All-Stars. They're in the senior All-Star game so that the NABC can save money, a compromise that I fully understand and with which at the end of the day I have no complaints. Better three-quarters of a loaf than no loaf at all.

While the scenario that played out this year may not have resulted in the best possible all-star team I think the format is the best for the fans in attendance. The Guilford and Randolph-Macon fans got to see a couple of their players hit the court one more time rather than the weekend ending up a complete one and done. As someone that traveled to a previous Final Four and ultimately saw my team lose in the first semi-final I can support adding a couple guys from the losing team to the all-star game whether they would have been selected to such a team or not. This all-star format may be more entertaining and fulfilling for all invovled than a third place game.

This is a good point, but I suspect that it's hard to quantify. How many fans are willing to stay an extra day in Salem after their team is defeated in the semis so that they can watch a beloved senior or two participate in the All-Star game? If there are such fans -- does anyone know if any Guilford and/or RMC fans hang around in order to watch their players participate in the Saturday prelim? -- then that means more people filling the stands on Saturday, which we can all agree is a good thing.

[Just Bill]

Guilford and RMC might not be the best examples since their fans can easily drive home after their team loses.  Fans that have come from schools further away may have already committed to two or three nights of hotel, so I would think it's more realistic that some of their fans would come out to the All-Star game.

[ziggy]

Guilford and RMC might not be the best examples since their fans can easily drive home after their team loses.  Fans that have come from schools further away may have already committed to two or three nights of hotel, so I would think it's more realistic that some of their fans would come out to the All-Star game.

Good point about the distance this year compared to other years.

I would hope that it isn't too much to assume that someone willing to make a trek to Salem would have some level of interest in the Championship game even if their team lost on Friday. I think the current format for the all-star game works in the absence of a third place game.

[nescac1]

I posted before on another thread, although skeptical before-hand, I wholeheartedly endorse the inclusion of the seniors from the losing teams.  Many of the really fun moments in the all star game involved those guys, and their fans / teammates cheering them on vociferously.  If they are great players, great, and if not, you have the whole underdog thing with a chance for their teammates to support (or in some cases, good-naturedly jeer) them.  In some ways, it highlighted what is good about D-3 vs. D-1.  D-1 would never do something like that, but it was fun to recognize those guys and a great catharsis for their teammates and fans after a dicouraging Friday night, and really, made the all-star game more fun to watch from a disinterested fan's standpoint as well.