WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Willy Wonka]

rams - Ummm, a little thing called guys basketball having to play afterwards maybe? Their parents are already getting home after midnight and are not happy about it.

[LA RAMS]

Well, if 6:30 is too late then how about, say, 10 in the A.M. for weekday games so NOBODY can attend?  Let's make it fair for everybody here.

[Collegeville Magic]

Why aren't coaches complaining about St. Kate's playing at 7:30?  Is it an issue with CSB because the team is better than CSC?   

Shouldn't coaches be happy that, twice per year, their players don't have to miss EVEN MORE class time to make it to a game?  Why isn't that the point here?

If teams have to leave almost two hours earlier to arrive for the 5:45-7:30 doubles, then all the student-athletes miss out on what they're paying for, their classes.

Recruits typically miss all or part of a school day to attend a weekday game as it is, so this argument is pointless.

[Collegeville Magic]

Predictions for tonight?

Carls @ Ugs -- Knights by 20 (71-51)
SMU @ CCM (longest drive in the conference, horrible scheduling for a weekday game) -- CCM by 20 (62-42)
UST @ GAC -- UST by 5 (61-56)
Mac @ Dubuque -- Dubuque by 300 (310-10)
Bethel @ CSB -- Blazers by 8 (79-71)
Kate's @ Ham -- Pipers by 11 (66-55)

[blazerball]

The other things that we need to remind gachacker is that the conference COACHES voted on this proposal and it passed.  So, the ONLY people that should be upset about it or concerned about it are those coaches who voted AGAINST 5:45 starts and have to do it ---- obviously most coaches voted for the switch so they have nobody to complain to other than themselves. 

If the coaches in the MIAC voted it in and made the decision then you'll just have to deal with it - go talk to the coaches in the conference that voted for it and complain to them --- don't sit there and make an asinine comment that CSB is cheating when you have NO CLUE as to how the switch and schedule change was made.

Get a clue and enjoy your 5:45 start...

[Carls_Jr]

hey y'all - long-time reader, first time poster. Just couldn't resist the urge to get in on the fun myself this year. Enjoyed reading the posts. The occasional personal attacks can be a bit much, but generally speaking, the rivalries & half-truths are the whole point!

Didn't intend to begin by rehashing old topics, but do have one where I can add some context, that being Isler's point at the CSB bench. I was at the Carleton/Macalester scrimmage to tip off the year and watched her make a similar move after blocking the shot of some poor Mac sub late in the 2nd half. And this was against MAC, mind you......From what I understand, Isler can even be like that in practice at times. So after watching that Mac play and hearing she's equally fiery in practice, one is led to think it's a product of her on-court demeanor, and probably not much more. It was a nice, surprising win for a young team. Besides, what non-Bennie hasn't wanted to do that anyway?! Some schools, like CSB, UST, & (admittedly) Carleton are just a lot more fun to hate!

Just back from the Carl/Aug tilt in the cities tonight. Knights jumped out 24-6 early and controlled throughout, as the Auggies had no answer for Vig or H.O-B inside. Also, looks like Christianson was held out as a precautionary measure because she dressed for warm-ups but DNP. Hope she'll be well because the Knights will need her presence going forward.

[miacanatic]

new to the scene.but i too was at the carl/mac game and carl jr doesnt have their facts straight at all.the block wasnt on a "poor mac sub" it was on a starter that went to hs with isler.they are friends.if people are going to attack character and class KNOW what youre talking about.watch the game.its a privilege.

[peachbasket]

An interesting night in the league.
Carleton handles Augsburg, as do the Tommies with GAC.  Ben's looked to be in a bit of a dog fight with Bethel, and Hamline lays an egg vs. the Katies, after dropping the Tommies in the previous game.  Most importantly, (in my mind,) was the Cobbers  winning, albeit ugly, but winning.  If we can continue to find ways to win, Coach Rahman will be able to instill some confidence in the team, and hopefully by the middle to end of the season, our rollercoaster ride will be lessen and we will be competing for in the playoffs!!
St. Olaf @ Concordia - Cobbers by 7, and probably an ugly 7
Carleton @ Gustavus - should be interesting at GAC, but Carleton by 3

[Collegeville Magic]

You're right, Miacanatic (whatever that is)   

Watching these great kids play basketball is a privelege.  Typically, it also means that there's good sportsmanship and respectful rivalries.  Being "fiery" is no excuse for taunting.  Get excited, yell a couple of times if you're happy, jump around and hug your teammates after a big win.

Don't point at other teams' benches, don't humiliate former teammates in scrimmages (MAC's squad would mostly be benchers for other teams), and respect your teammates enough to make the game about your team and your school, not about you personally.  I thought T.O. was suspended from the Eagles, not dressing for Carleton.

I don't know Isler, so I can't comment on anything other than her on-court demeanor, but she needs to control herself if behavior like that's a pattern in both practice and games.

Go Blazers!!

[Carls_Jr]

Sorry Miacanatic, certainly no intent to attack Isler's character. I was really trying to defend "the point" as something that would only come out on the court, since I've heard only positive things about her off it.

I am, however, shocked to find myself agreeing with a Bennie, because I think CM is right in the sense that while its great fun to watch these kids play with emotion - controlled emotion can take a person even farther. It'll be fun to watch the Knights grow as a team this year, especially with the way their young talent has performed so far!

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

All the carping about the start times is moot...as was poited out, the coaches (both men's and women's) approved the idea, both sets of coaches agreed on the start times. I agree 5:45 is a ridiculous start time, less so for players than for their parents. if your daughter is playing at GAC and you live in the Metro, you need to leave MSP by 4 to be there for tip off. On the guys side, as was pointed out, its often well past 12 before people are getting home.

Since the coaches voted on it, people like us need to lobby them to undo the damage of it and go back to the way it was in the past.

No one should be accusing CSB, SJU or CSC of "cheating" by showing sanity and starting their home games at 7:30.

[LA RAMS]

Glad to hear the Knights pick up a relatively easy win last night against Augsburg as was pretty much expected.  Too bad the silly-ass 5:45 starting time kept me from seeing it.    Oken-Berg is quickly becoming a factor for the Knights and definitely gives Vig a big helping hand.  Sounds like some of the new kids on the block are starting to contribute as well.  As for GAC getting rolled in their own crib last night by UST all I can say is - OUCH!  Guess Opdahl decided to finally go off and redeem herself from the other night over at Hamline which is what I was afraid what would happen.  Needless to say, the frying pan is safely in the cupboard and I have a bad feeling that it's likely going to stay there.   

I was able to catch St. Kate's wild 75-72 win over Hamline last night.  It looked like all Hamline at the beginning as they got off to a fast start but some belated hot 3-point shooting, particularly by Rachel Berglund brough the Wildkitties back.  Just from reading the paper, it looked as if the game between Bethel and CSB was pretty tough; especially in the first half.  Anybody have any details?

[Maroon&Gold]

Thoughts on the Cobbers win last night in Moorhead over SMU:

-Fruedenberg is going to be a nice point guard for the Cobbs down the road. But she needs to play at a faster pace right now. This team can get up and down the court very well, but they are not doing it. Also both point guards seem to miss a good share of cutters through the offense, but that seems like a theme with the whole team, they are not as aggressive as I think they should be. Having said that, I understand that it is going to take some time to feel each other out, especially when we are so young.  An I am not trying to come down on the freshman PG, I am probably expecting too much after being treated to 4 years of amazement and awe with Mandy.

-Hageman is an absolute force inside.  It is fun to watch her play, but like I said above, she needs to get more touches.  She is open many times in the block and they just did not get her the ball.

-It was nice to see Keeley snap our of her mini slump a little bit. She shot the ball very well.  I also think that she can be more of a scorer than she is right now, but I dont know exactly what the coach is asking her to do, so ...

-Overall feelings about this Cobber team.  I think that this will be a fun team to watch once everyone gets a grasp of what they are capable of. They are very athletic and fairly deep. I would say the playoffs should be expected, and I think that we will be much improved when we meet up with the Blazers again down the road.  That butt kicking they put on us hopefully lit a fire under these girls. Season is in full swing now, Go Cobbs!!

-wow that was long.

[Collegeville Magic]

The Blazer - Royal matchup last night was a very good game.  Bethel is a legitimate contender in this conference.

Of course, about 2/3 of the Bethel possessions should never have lasted more than 10 seconds, because at least half of their players either carry the ball (Ahlberg's Iverson imitation dribbling) or start their moves by traveling (double pivots and sliding feet by ALL of the posts).  The fact that MIAC refs are calling games more and more like the NBA means that Bethel will be very dangerous on offense most nights.

Ahlberg and Thielke are still lights-out shooters when they have space, and their size in the post will force defenses to pick their poison. 

The Blazers, however, showed themselves to be the deeper team, and wore down Bethel in the second half.  Helpside D in the post created a number of steals on Bethel entry passes, and Heikenen (31 points) and Tauer (FY post/wing) cleaned the offensive glass for a ton of second chance points.  If CSB had finished more of the layups missed in the first half, it could have been a 15-20 point game.

[blazerball]

The Bethel-CSB game was a very fun game to watch.  Bethel is, by far, the best team CSB has played this year.  That right, even better than Carleton.  Bethel should easily beat Carleton by 10-20 points.  Of course, CSB should have beaten Carleton by that same amount and could not get the job done so we shall see what happens.

Bethel has very good guards in Ahlberg, Thielke, and Uzpen.  They are big and deep in the post ---- they will give teams fits.  CM is right in saying teams will have to pick their poison. 

CSB won this game for two reasons: 
1) Anna Heikenen - she is CLEARLY the best player in the league night in and night out.  She goes to work and gets it done - she scored 31 points and people were surprised when they looked and saw her stat line.

2) The bench - CSB played three first-years off the bench for significant stretches and they were all tremendouos.  Ariel Tauer will be all-MIAC and a legit MVP candidate in a few years if she continues to improve as she has from the start of the season.  Kari Schroeder showed some great moves in the post and did a nice job banging with the Bethel posts.  But, the play of Nikki Carter was SPECTACULAR.  You won't see any points in her stat line but she was rock-solid controlling the point off the bench - she was never fazed and did not make any mistakes.  The Bethel guards and pressure did nothing to her and that made a huge difference. 

One more game for CSB before the break - a road trip to Morris next week.  Then, a nice break before the battles begin again.  The good news for CSB is that they will be getting Ellie Boone back in the post when she returns from studying abroad.  It might take her a few weeks to get back into the swing of things and into basketball shape but CSB will be deeper in the post with her presence and passing abilities.