WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[gacbacker]

I saw that! We even got a blurb on the front page for our 10th consecutive win!

Thanks Pat.

[Willy Wonka]

It's about credibility, Pat. Me, I don't want or need it on these boards; it's not my job so I can make a fool of myself without a second thought. The old SJU and the current Carleton SID hurt theirs with their actions. One was not caught/corrected and we got a mistake winner in your awards. Whose credibility do you think that hurt?

Picking Noreen, which may have seemed defensible in the preseason, just makes you look silly now. Nevermind the credibility issue. Well, unless you wish to continue to defend selecting a player who is averaging 9.7 points a game and may not be one of the best 5 guards in the MIAC (or the best on her team) as one of the best in the nation. Clearly, I'd be more than happy to pursue this if you'd like 

I'd further press the ranking issue, but the Cobbers make me nervous and it could be a moot point come the next poll. They've beaten the Gusties the last 5 meetings.

BTW, Ryan shot a photo gallery of Gustavus' women's game today.
http://www.pictureprints.net/albums.php?gallery=1554

Also shot one earlier in the season.

Must...not...respond...the prez...will...not...be...happy...with...me...

[Touchdown Tommy]

Yes Wonka, save the "dirt" for football season.   8)

[blazerball]

gacbacker - sure, beating CSB is a quality win as CSB has been, and continues to be, at the top of the MIAC for almost two decades...but my point is that there was no talk about disrespect or national rankings before GAC beat CSB last Saturday...so all the Gackers out there must think that beating CSB somehow makes GAC a top team nationally...it definitely is not due to the other victories in their recent run as beating Mac, Auggie, Bethel, St. Olaf, and SMU would not necessarily qualify them for top rankings.  The fact remains that there are not a lot of quality teams in the MIAC...and that is not something GAC (or CSB) can control.  The conference, like many other conferences this season, has many bad teams and then parity at the top.  Therfore, I think it is interesting that the GACkers are now playing the disrespect card and screaming for rankings after a nice win against CSB last Saturday.  Should GAC be ranked?  Sure, the argument can certainly be made...being 17-2 can put them in the conversation...but does it really matter in the grand scheme of things in early February?     

[Collegeville Magic]

Not much to say about the Blazer game yesterday.  CSB tallied 14 3's, the second most in team history.  Poor Darby Noreen, clearly not a good player, made all 8 shots she took and totaled 15 points.  

Mindy Schmidt is the most dangerous player not starting for a MIAC team.  20 points in 18 minutes yesterday.

The only minor disappointment for Blazer fans was seeing Olaf total 60 points.  The Oles hit all but one free throw on the afternoon and converted a lot of three-point plays from the stripe, so they get the credit they're due.

Big game again on Monday for the Gusties, I'll freely admit that I'm temporarily a Cobber fan.

[Ghost of MIAC Past]

Just wanted to chime in about Durbin's coach of the year nomination, since this is his FINEST year coaching ever.  I think CM put it best with his last post.  Mindy Schmidt, the best player not starting in the MIAC.  Come to think of it, aren't CSB's 6-10 players the best second five in the league?  Aren't most of them capable of starting on 75 % of the MIAC teams in this league?  Isn't almost every player on CSB a first team all conference, and many of them All-State players?  So when one stud goes down, they just replace them with another stud.  Yep, that sounds like some serious great coaching there.  I'm pretty sure if you put most coaches in Durbin's situation, and had the same two guards go out, most coaches would be able to keep winning with that team.  Durbin is a great recruiter, and I think he is a good coach, but hard to say he's doing some of the finest coaching ever.

[LA RAMS]

Was able to catch the Concordia-Hamline game yesterday as the Cobbers avenged an earlier upset loss to the Pipers.  While Keeley and Hageman are the main 1-2 punch for this squad, I came away particularly impressed with Cobber newcomer Anna Matetich.  FWIW, I should have had her on my mid-season FY team.  Looks like Concordia has the real deal here.  With that in mind, it should be a great game in St. Peter on Monday night.  Although I think the Gusties will find a way to win, it wouldn't surprise me if these two teams met up again in St. Peter on 2/24.

Definitely an intriguing/wild/bizarre day in the MIAC yesterday as GAC defeathers the Birds, the Knights declaw the Kitties, CSB bludgeons the Oles, Mac extinguishes the Auggies last gasp hope of notching victory #2 (in double OT no less) and the Tommies fend off the Christians in an extra session as well.  What's with all the OT games this year anyway?

[Pat Coleman]

It's about credibility, Pat. Me, I don't want or need it on these boards; it's not my job so I can make a fool of myself without a second thought. The old SJU and the current Carleton SID hurt theirs with their actions. One was not caught/corrected and we got a mistake winner in your awards. Whose credibility do you think that hurt?

So what I did to GAC was .... well, nothing. You're just being a crank.

If you can only gripe with a couple of awards over 10 years, a mis-hit letter in a dropdown menu on a form and ... whatever the other one was about, I am not going to lose any sleep over it. You're really just complaining to complain, then.

I'm not perfect in my day job. I'm not perfect here. I'm sure you're not perfect at your newspaper either. But life goes on.

[LA RAMS]

Just out of curiousity I checked out the UST website to find that the Tommies were actually down 29-9 (!) at the half and fittingly shooting an ice-cold 15% from the field to match the Siberian-like weather outdoors before the flipped on the switch after the half.  I guess the knee-jerk question I have is:  How the hell do you blow a 29-9 lead like that?  No matter how that answer comes out, another heartbreaker to put in the "L" column for the Christians. 

(Message edited by Georgia Frontiere and John Shaw)

[Collegeville Magic]

ECMF- There are plenty of rosters of the top 4-6 MIAC squads full of former all-conference and all-state players.  However, being a good recruiter doesn't make Durbin less of a coach.  Regardless of the depth of the roster (which you can't assume has nothing to do with the quality of coaching), name another first place team that graduated an All-American, then had an All-Conference PG lost for the year, then an All-Defensive team guard out for weeks and now back at far less than full strength.

If Concordia lost Keely for the year, they'd drop games left and right.  If GAC lost Vadnais, they'd be in 4th place.  And no, Kempe wasn't a scorer like those two, but she ran the offense with hardly a turnover and got plenty of tough baskets and free throws when the team needed it most.   

Look at the UST roster as an anti-example.  There's an awful lot of talent there too, but also a 5-year tradition of that talent underperforming and unhappy under 2 different coaches.  They can recruit, but recruiting isn't everything!

Haller's doing a great job this year also, but she has the top two scorers (and apparently 2 best players in the conference, if you're WW or gacbacker) in the league and now apparently the best point guard too. 

[Willy Wonka]

CM - Any coach needs talent to win. Does CSB have the most talent in the league 1-15? You'd be hard-pressed to find someone to disgree. Heck, I predicted they'de be a better team next year last winter - and that was before adding Schmidt, who may be their most explosive player, to the mix.

Am I the only one willing to take a stand on an issue and suffer some criticism? Pat, share some thoughts on your pick of Noreen now that it's not the preseason, as you've pointed to as an excuse about a dozen times now. CM, who do you feel prevents the Gusties from claiming the top two players in the league? Who's your MVP (FYI, Durbin can't win that award). It's easy to criticize if you never share any thoughts yourself.

Pat - Aye, mistakes happen. Especially during that busy time after the basketball season ends when it's all but impossible to check your facts. I mean, d3baseball.com has been a huge hit, right?

[Pat Coleman]

Not every preseason projection pans out. That's all they are -- projections. I think I've actually said that in the course of this very discussion, but if not, I've said it before and here I am saying it again.

I don't pick conference MVPs. I leave that to the people in the conference who see the players in the conference on a regular basis. It's been a couple years since I've seen an MIAC team play so it wouldn't make any sense for me to try to do better than the coaches in that regard.

D3baseball.com hasn't opened yet. I tend to give new projects a year before I really pass judgment on them. The person who runs Division III Baseball Online is bringing his site into the fold and it will open this month.

Again. Facts. Fail. You.

[Pat Coleman]

You may be the only one on this board willing to take a stand without using actual facts, if that makes you feel better. You're going to criticize a site that's not open. You're going to blame me for the SIDs' vote on the All-Region teams. What's next? Did I call the foul on Tim Brown in the closing seconds of the '03 title game? Did I cause the tornado in the late 90s that decimated campus? What?

[Korn Lover]

Collegeville- Thanks for the brief support. However, I detect a bit of selfishness here

Should be a great game, these two have gone to the wire in the last few games. Youngsters really kicking it in gear for the Cobbers (Sorbo, Matitch).

[Ghost of MIAC Past]

CM, you answer my arguements yourself with your own comments.  Yes, if Keely or Vadnais went down, then those teams would falter immensely.  At CSB, they don't because the person on the bench is just barely weaker than the starter.  O'Neal is probably a better all around player that Dahled, and Carter has proven to be fairly effective.

Also, Carter, O'Neal, Falvey, and Schmidt would all start on any team in the MIAC most likely below the top four.  So having starters as back ups doesn't mean you need to really coach.  If GAC or Concordia kept up their play after those sorts of injuries, then they'd be coaching their butts off.  And CSB doesn't have to work hard to recruit.  Kids are willing to sit on the JV just to be part of the team.  Same as UST and GAC.  They want to be with the name.  I'd say half of the kids those three schools get they barely now anything about before they get there.  That's reputation, not coaching.