Top 25 talk

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Yeah ... I was trying to couch my comments. Some people like to read what I write here and take it out of context or blow it out of proportion. SMH

[Greek Tragedy]

Yeah ... I was trying to couch my comments. Some people like to read what I write here and take it out of context or blow it out of proportion. SMH

That actually happens? Shocking.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Yeah ... I was trying to couch my comments. Some people like to read what I write here and take it out of context or blow it out of proportion. SMH

That actually happens? Shocking.

I know ... right?!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

It has been a few years since Division III found itself at a place where so many important decisions needed to be made along with other events needing time and attention. However, never in NCAA history have we found ourselves with winter championships cut short, no spring sports at all, and more questions than answers for what might happen with fall sports and beyond.

COVID-19 has certainly made it's mark.

However, the coronavirus isn't the only important item in front of Division III that requires attention and decisions. Expanding and realigning regions in all sports is nearing the end of a multi-year process. The NCAA's effort to revamp it's student-athlete rules with "Names, Images, Likeness" (NIL) is at critical juncture, especially in DIII. And with the shutdown of 'March Madness' brought with it a sudden budget deficit.

That's just what Division III is dealing with overall. Individual schools are fighting just to keep the doors open. That could result in cutting sports, teams, or other challenges. That could cause conferences to tackle sudden changes in membership or sports sponsorships.

And of course, student-athletes and their well-being is even more important.

Plenty to be thinking about in Division III even athletes and teams are not competing right now.

On this special Hoopsville Podcast, NCAA Vice President for Division III Dan Dutcher joins Dave McHugh for an extensive, in-depth, and detailed conversation on the "State of DIII." Dutcher talks about how the decisions to shut down winter and spring championships came to be. Plus, how COVID-19 continues to impact the division, NCAA, schools, and conferences around the country. Dutcher explains how this year's DIII budget was impacted and if there will be any impact down the road. And Dutcher discusses how NIL is taking form in DIII along with the latest on Regional Realignment and Expansion.

You can listen to the podcast here: https://bit.ly/3apilyF

Hoopsville broadcasts from the WBCA/NABC Studio. All guests are featured on the BlueFrame Technology Hoopsville Hotline. The offseason plan is to do a podcast each month. The shows will be audio-only leading up to the start of the 2020-21 when we will restart the video shows.

If you have questions, ideas, or want to interact with the show, feel free to send them to hoopsville@d3sports.com or use any of the social media options to the right.

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[centconfwatcher]

A look at those 12 "Tier 1" teams...

(All players who scored 4.0 ppg+ in 2019-20.  Roster year listed is from 2019-20.)


Albion (21-5, 12-2 MIAA)
F - Caden Ebeling, 6-7 Jr. 17.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg 1st Team All-MIAA
G - Jamezell Davis, Jr., 5-9 Jr. 16.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 apg 1st Team All-MIAA
F - Quinton Armstrong, 6-5 Jr. 12.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg
G - Cortez Garland, 6-0 So. 10.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.5 apg MIAA Defensive Player of the Year
G - MJ Barnes, 6-0 So. 7.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg
G - Juwan Perry, 6-2 Jr. 4.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Elmhurst (25-5, 11-5 CCIW)
G - Jake Rhode, 5-11 Jr. 20.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.1 apg 1st Team All-CCIW
F - Derek Dotlich, 6-3 Sr. 15.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg 2nd Team All-CCIW
C - Lavon Thomas, 6-5 Jr. 13.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.0 apg 2nd Team All-CCIW
F - Jay Militello, 6-4 Jr. 8.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg
G - Dominic Genco, 6-3 Jr. 7.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg
G - Wesley Hooker, 6-2 Fr. 5.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg
G - Nick Perry, 5-11 Jr. 4.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.5 apg
C - Ebrahim Jobe, 6-9 Jr. 4.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg

Emory (22-5, 11-3 UAA)
G - Romin Williams, 5-9 Jr. 16.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.1 apg 2nd Team All-UAA
G - Matthew Schner, 6-4 Jr. 15.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.9 apg 1st Team All-UAA, Co-UAA POY
F - Matt Davet, 6-7 Jr 14.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg
F - Lawrence Rowley, 6-5 Jr. 13.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg 2nd Team All-UAA, UAA Defensive POY
G - Nick Stuck, 6-2 Jr. 9.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.3 apg 2nd Team All-UAA
F - Mason Johnson, 6-7 So. 7.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg
G - Luke Morrison, 6-4 Jr. 4.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg

Illinois Wesleyan (19-9, 11-5 CCIW)
G - Grant Wolfe, 5-11 Jr.  18.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.6 apg (only played 7 games due to injury)
G - Peter Lambesis, 6-4 So.  12.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.5 apg 2nd Team All-CCIW
G - Keondre Schumacher, 5-11 So.  12.0 ppg, 1.9 apg
F - Doug Wallen, 6-5 Jr.  11.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg
F - Matt Leritz, 6-7 So.  10.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg  1st Team All-CCIW
G - Luke Yoder, 6-0 Fr.  10.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg  CCIW Freshman of the Year
F - Charlie Bair, 6-7 Jr.  9.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg
G - Cory Noe, 6-2 So.  8.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg

Johns Hopkins (24-4, 16-2 Centennial)
G - Conner Delaney, 6-0 Jr. 17.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.9 apg 1st Team All-CC, CC POY
F - Tom Quarry, 6-6 So. 13.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg 2nd Team All-CC
G - Joey Kern, 6-1 Jr. 8.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.1 apg
G - Braeden Johnson, 6-6 So. 8.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg
F - Harry O'Neill, 6-6 Sr. 8.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg
G - Ethan Bartlett, 6-3 So. 8.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg
F - Chid Nnake, 6-6 So. 4.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg
G - Carson James, 6-2 Fr. 4.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg

Middlebury (21-6, 6-4 NESCAC)
G - Jack Farrell, 6-1 Jr. 16.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.4 apg 2nd Team All-NESCAC
G - Max Bosco, 6-0 Jr. 14.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg
G - Tommy Eastman, 6-4 Jr. 13.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg 2nd Team All-NESCAC
F - Matt Folger, 6-8 Sr. 11.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.0 apg
G - Griffin Kornaker, 6-1 Jr. 9.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.5 apg
F - Ryan Cahill, 6-7 Jr. 6.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg
G - Perry DeLorenzo, 6-4 Sr. 5.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg

Randolph-Macon (28-2, 15-1 ODAC)
G - Buzz Anthony, 5-11 Jr. 16.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 6.2 apg 1st Team All-ODAC, ODAC POY
F - Miles Mallory, 6-5 Fr. 12.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg ODAC Rookie of the Year
G - Josh Talbert, 6-2 Fr. 10.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.1 apg
F - Ian Robertson, 6-7 So. 8.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg
G - Corey Bays, 6-3 Sr. 7.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg
G - Terry Woods, 5-11 Jr. 7.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.6 apg
F - David Funderburg, 6-7 Jr. 5.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg
G - Korey Turner, 6-0 Sr. 4.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.7 apg

St. Joseph CT (26-3, 11-0 GNAC)
G - Delshawn Jackson Jr., 5-10 So. 21.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.7 apg 1st Team All-GNAC
F - Jordan Powell, 6-6 Jr. 15.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg 2nd Team All-GNAC
G - Jaecee Martin, 5-10 So. 14.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 7.5 apg 1st Team All-GNAC, Defensive POY
G - Taelon Martin, 6-5 Fr. 10.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg GNAC Rookie of the Year
G - Ryan O'Neill, 6-5 So. 10.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg
F - Tyree Mitchell, 6-4 So. 5.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg
F - Jake Sullivan, 6-5 So. 4.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg

St. Thomas (26-3, 19-1 MIAA)
G - Anders Nelson, 6-0 So. 15.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.4 apg 1st Team All-MIAC
F - Elijah Hannah, 6-3 Sr. 11.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg 3rd Team All-MIAC, Sixth Man of the Year
F - Tommy Anderson, 6-4 Sr. 10.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg 3rd Team All-MIAC
G - Riley Miller, 6-2 So. 8.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.7 apg 2nd Team All-MIAC
G - Burt Hedstrom, 6-4 Jr. 8.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg
G - Ryan Lindberg, 6-3 Jr. 6.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg HM All-MIAC, All Defensive Team
G - Zach Theisen, 6-0 So. 5.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg
G - Will Engels, 6-5 Fr. 4.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg
G - Kevin Cunningham, 6-0 So. 4.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg

Tufts (23-6, 8-2 NESCAC)
C - Luke Rogers, 6-8 Jr. 16.6 ppg, 11.9 rpg 1st Team All-NESCAC, NESCAC POY
G - Eric Savage, 6-3 Sr. 15.8 ppg, 6.9 ppg, 3.4 apg 2nd Team All-NESCAC
G - Brennan Morris, 6-6 Jr. 12.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg
G - Tyler Aronson, 6-2 So. 10.6 ppg, 3.0 ppg, 2.1 apg
G - Dylan Thoerner, 6-6 Fr. 7.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.1 apg
G - Carson Cohen, 6-3 So. 7.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.5 apg
G - Will Brady, 6-1 Jr. 4.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg

UW-Platteville (23-5, 12-2 WIAC)
G - Carter Voelker, 6-3 Sr. 15.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.8 apg All-WIAC, Co-WIAC POY
G - Quentin Shields, 5-9 Jr. 14.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.8 apg All-WIAC, All Defensive Team
F - Kyle Tuma, 6-5 So. 10.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg HM All-WIAC
F - Justin Stovall, 6-7 Jr. 10.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg HM All-WIAC, All Defensive Team
G - Blake McCann, 6-3 So. 8.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg
G - Drew Gunnink, 6-0 Jr. 7.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
F - Justin Fox, 6-4 Jr. 5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg

Yeshiva (29-1, 16-0 Skyline)
G - Ryan Turell, 6-7 So. 23.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.4 apg 1st Team All-Skyline, Skyline POY
G - Simcha Halpert, 6-3 Sr. 16.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.1 apg 2nd Team All-Skyline
F - Gabriel Leifer, 6-5 Sr. 16.0 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 6.6 apg 1st Team All-Skyline
G - Ofek Reef, 6-1 Fr. 10.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg Skyline Rookie of the Year
G - Eitan Halpert, 5-11 Jr. 6.2 ppg, 2.0 apg
G - Bar Alluf, 6-4 Sr. 5.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg
F - Caleb Milobsky, 6-6 Jr. 5.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg
F - Daniel Katz, 6-4 Sr. 4.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.2 apg

I don't know if I'm as sold on Illinois Wesleyan as you are Titan Q, which is understandable, lol! But a 9 loss team being a sure fire top 10 team after playing some games last year (both Wheaton losses, getting blown out by Concordia Texas, two of those at full strength if I'm not mistaken) but we will see in the year to come, teams definitely get better and Freshmen can be a huge part of a team's success/identity.

I am very convinced that Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins are sure fire top 10 teams, if not top 5. The Centennial Conference championship game was the best D3 game I've watched all year and it seems like that could've been the game between the two best teams. Swarthmore loses Odell and Shafer but they play a style of basketball where their production is replaceable by guys waiting in the wings (Caprise, Tucker, among others) who in fact dominated when they got their chance against other centennial conference opponents. You add that to Harkins, Visconti, and how good Vinny Deangelo played down the stretch, that's a top ten team.

Also, Johns Hopkins was right on that Swarthmore level when they won the CC championship. Delaney is going to be a NPOY candidate in his senior year, maybe even the favorite and they only lose a single player from that year's team who's one of the best in school history. Chid Nnake, probably the 6th man of the year in the Centennial replaces that graduation senior center Harry O'Neil and this team is no doubt a top 5 team in the country.

Also, Muhlenberg, who was one shot away from the Centennial Conference Championship, loses one senior as well, Matt Gnias. They return all of their other scoring and sophomore sensation first-team all league Dan Gaines is without a doubt the second best point guard in the league.

Centennial should have 3 teams ranked and will most likely get three teams into the tournament.

[Titan Q]

I don't know if I'm as sold on Illinois Wesleyan as you are Titan Q, which is understandable, lol! But a 9 loss team being a sure fire top 10 team after playing some games last year (both Wheaton losses, getting blown out by Concordia Texas, two of those at full strength if I'm not mistaken) but we will see in the year to come, teams definitely get better and Freshmen can be a huge part of a team's success/identity.

This is the purpose of the exercise - to get as many opinions in the conversation as possible.

Regarding IWU, to be exact, I have them in the top 12 (not 10).  There are 12 teams in that "Tier 1."

The Titans certainly lost a couple bad ones. (You mentioned the Concordia loss in TX.  IWU lost its starting PG and leading scorer, Grant Wolfe, the day before that game during a practice in TX.) On the flip side, they won 19 vs what Massey says was the 2nd strongest schedule in the country.  IWU finished in a CCIW tie with Elmhurst, and had good wins vs North Central (Sweet 16), Elmhurst (Sweet 16), and 2 vs Augustana (per Massey, #19 and the 2nd best team not in the NCAA tourney field).

With IWU returning its top 8 scorers from a team that finished 3rd in the CCIW and played in the conference championship game, I guess the question is which 12 teams would you rank ahead of them?  To come up with those 12 you'll have to dip into some teams that lose a bunch. 

Based on what I am seeing in terms of who returns what, it seems to me both IWU and Elmhurst are pretty safe top 12 teams going in.

[centconfwatcher]

I don't know if I'm as sold on Illinois Wesleyan as you are Titan Q, which is understandable, lol! But a 9 loss team being a sure fire top 10 team after playing some games last year (both Wheaton losses, getting blown out by Concordia Texas, two of those at full strength if I'm not mistaken) but we will see in the year to come, teams definitely get better and Freshmen can be a huge part of a team's success/identity.

This is the purpose of the exercise - to get as many opinions in the conversation as possible.

Regarding IWU, to be exact, I have them in the top 12 (not 10).  There are 12 teams in that "Tier 1."

The Titans certainly lost a couple bad ones. (You mentioned the Concordia loss in TX.  IWU lost its starting PG and leading scorer, Grant Wolfe, the day before that game during a practice in TX.) On the flip side, they won 19 vs what Massey says was the 2nd strongest schedule in the country.  IWU finished in a CCIW tie with Elmhurst, and had good wins vs North Central (Sweet 16), Elmhurst (Sweet 16), and 2 vs Augustana (per Massey, #19 and the 2nd best team not in the NCAA tourney field).

With IWU returning its top 8 scorers from a team that finished 3rd in the CCIW and played in the conference championship game, I guess the question is which 12 teams would you rank ahead of them?  To come up with those 12 you'll have to dip into some teams that lose a bunch. 

Based on what I am seeing in terms of who returns what, it seems to me both IWU and Elmhurst are pretty safe top 12 teams going in.

I think IWU benefits from the CCIW being much deeper and having better teams in the middle and at the bottom of the pack than some leagues on the east coast. If you put a team like Christopher Newport say into the CCIW, I'm not sure that they don't win as many games or more than the league's top, but they lose out on a good strength of schedule number because of the conference games they have to play. My top 25 right now:

1. RMC
2. Emory
3. Johns Hopkins
4. Yeshiva
5. Swarthmore
6. Elmhurst
7. St. Thomas
8. Platteville
9. St. John's
10. NWU

[WUPHF]

But what is your Top 12?

[Titan Q]

1. RMC
2. Emory
3. Johns Hopkins
4. Yeshiva
5. Swarthmore
6. Elmhurst
7. St. Thomas
8. Platteville
9. St. John's
10. NWU

I'm curious why the separation between Elmhurst and IWU? Both 11-5 over the same CCIW schedule; regular season split; IWU lost a close game in the conference tournament title without Wolfe, Yoder, and Bair.  IWU returns its top 8; Elmhurst loses 2nd leading scorer, 2nd Team All-CCIW Dotlich.

Nebraska Wesleyan #10 in the preseason after losing all 5 starters?
* Schimonitz (25.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.6 apg)
* Reimers (14.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg)
* Hiller (14.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
* Bahe (10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.7 apg)
* Dirks (9.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg)

* Swarthmore #5 after losing O'Dell (10.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.3 apg) and Shafer (10.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.1)?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

IWU was very young and very injured; both of those things portend improvement in the year to come. They are very likely to be the best team in the CCIW. I can't easily recall a year that didn't mean Top 10 or near abouts, nationally.

[jmcozenlaw]

IWU was very young and very injured; both of those things portend improvement in the year to come. They are very likely to be the best team in the CCIW. I can't easily recall a year that didn't mean Top 10 or near abouts, nationally.

Ryan, off topic question here but in your opinion, if football is moved to the Spring (something more and more folks are discussing at the D-1 level), in your opinion what would/could that mean for hoops and the mid-October start to practice and first week of November games?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

They won't move football to the Spring.  I could see some conferences decide to do it, but there won't be any NCAA play in the Spring.  There are just too many schools unequipped to do it.

They might do it for D1, but they almost can't do it for D3 - Dutcher basically said as much on Dave's podcast.

Again, I could see some big conferences doing it to keep things moving and give the kids a chance, but I still believe they'll have fall sports operate as usual, just without spectators.  I guess this assumes we'll have decent testing capacity by then, but I'm optimistic on that front, too.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

IWU was very young and very injured; both of those things portend improvement in the year to come. They are very likely to be the best team in the CCIW. I can't easily recall a year that didn't mean Top 10 or near abouts, nationally.

Ryan, off topic question here but in your opinion, if football is moved to the Spring (something more and more folks are discussing at the D-1 level), in your opinion what would/could that mean for hoops and the mid-October start to practice and first week of November games?

I'll jump in because this was kind of the topic of a wild card question with Dan Dutcher (everyone should listen to the podcast; long, but full of good info).

I don't think this is a topic worth discussing now because we are a ways a way from this, however I do get the sense from Dan and others I've talked to that in DIII this could be impossible. Fields, trainers, personnel, support staff, practice facilities, game availability, locker rooms, the list is LONG on things most DIII institutions are NOT going to have enough of for support even just football being added to the mix in the spring. Furthermore, DI FBS (specifically) is NOT technically an NCAA sport. Yes, the regular season is overseen by the NCAA and the bowls are "certified," but the NCAA has nothing to do with the bowl season and doesn't get a single penny from ANY football from the start until the end. So, FBS could do their own thing while the rest (FCS and down) do something else - or don't have it (just to point the extreme).

As for how it might impact basketball, the season isn't being shifted. Basketball would still start on time when we expect it. March Madness and that schedule will dictate that. I don't see any fall sports moving (though unlikely) to impact winter sports.

[y_jack_lok]

I posted this elsewhere a couple of weeks ago, but it seems to fit here as well and definitely supports Dave's point about all the personnel involved beyond players and coaches.

"Sports Illustrated article on why sports are unlikely to return soon. Granted this is focused on pro sports, but most of the issues apply to sports at any level."

https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/04/10/sports-arent-coming-back-soon?fbclid=IwAR0_XGbPRbR1lVF-4vFGvzOWwGvSLGi8leT7VBQesBWiRA6beJwGQTLH8HI

[jmcozenlaw]

They won't move football to the Spring.  I could see some conferences decide to do it, but there won't be any NCAA play in the Spring.  There are just too many schools unequipped to do it.

They might do it for D1, but they almost can't do it for D3 - Dutcher basically said as much on Dave's podcast.

Again, I could see some big conferences doing it to keep things moving and give the kids a chance, but I still believe they'll have fall sports operate as usual, just without spectators.  I guess this assumes we'll have decent testing capacity by then, but I'm optimistic on that front, too.

From your lips to God's ears!!