MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

Dap - I started hearing that on PTI, which means it probably was hip about a year ago. It means props...

[seinfeld]

So I guess it has been established that a couple of Wabash posters are allowed to call out ridiculous posts. I will accept that as soon as they start calling out some of the ridiculous posts that are made by Wabash football fans on a weekly basis. Granted, they have been fairly modest as the season has gone on, and I give them credit for that, but we saw posts earlier in the year and in the past, and I don't remember them being called out for lack of creditibility.

Have those that are saying Russ doesn't deserve to be on the team actually seen him play? Have you seen Crawford play? If not, how can you give an opinion on this discussion?

And David Collinge, didn't you say last March after watching Crawford play that he was like Fred Astaire (however it is spelled) because of all the traveling he was doing? That doesn't mean he can't be better than Russ because of this, but it seems odd that you make that statement about Crawford then come out now and say it is clear he is better than Russ.

[David Collinge]

I don't know exactly what I said about Crawford after the Woo/Albion game, but I did not say "it is clear he is better than Russ."  What I said was

I've seen him play, and I've seen Dan Russ, and as much as I respect Russ, I think Crawford belongs ahead of him.

Yes, Crawford got away with a lot in the playoff game, but so what?  I think he's a very talented player, and if the folks who know more than I do about D3 hoops (that is, Pat and his A-A voters) think he's better than Russ, I'm prepared to accept that verdict.

This molehill has officially become a mountain in my opinion.  Russ is a good player, so is Crawford.  May they meet up in the postseason and settle it mano-a-mano.

As far as I am concerned, anyone is allowed to call out ridiculous posts, and I thank them for doing so.  We have far too many of them as it is, on both boards. 

[David Collinge]

I've been looking at some of the early season games, which has not been easy due to the limited cooperation of some schools (OWU, Denison) in posting their schedules on this site.  Here's some early games that strike me as good games to watch:

11/19:  Wooster vs. either St. Thomas or UW-Stout; possibly IWU at Wabash; possibly Wittenberg at Rochester
11/21:  Capital at Witt; Wabash at Hanover
11/26:  Wooster vs. Methodist at EHC
11/27:  Witt at Transylvania; possibly OWU at Hanover
11/30:  Capital at OWU; Wooster at Denison
12/3:  Denison at Witt
12/7: Denison at Akron
12/10:  Witt at Wooster

[smedindy]

Oh, Sein, there you go again...sigh...

I guess you don't read MY posts over in the football boards where I take people to task. Just ignore them because they don't fit your preconceived notions and idioms?? Hmmmm???

(Can you tell I get edgy about this - I got into arguments with about three or four Wabash posters over there this year, but all of the Wooster crowd conveniently forgets that we're not all sheep chugging down the Kool Aid. Put up the broad brush, Sein...)

[blindwatchmaker]

DC- here are Denison and OWU's schedules. 


http://www.denison.edu/athletics/mbsched.html

http://bishops.owu.edu/winske.html#FA1

OWU could potentially play Hanover

[seinfeld]

My apologies SmedIndy, you are right again. Thanks for your contributions to this discussion.

Oh, I guess I forgot about the broad strokes you were brushing last March when you jumped on the Wooster fans whining about calls bandwagon after the Albion game. Maybe you were there?

[smedindy]

Well, considering how many calls Wabash gets in the NCAC tourney (none, zero, zip, nada) I don't think any Woo fans has a right to complain about calls. In fact, complaining about the officials 'costing someone the game' is my #2 pet peeve, besides the broad brush painting.

It just seemed the foot was on the other hand...

We can complain about the NCAC officials all we want, it's just that in my 30+ years of serious basketball viewing, I don't think you can say an official 'cost' someone the game, when there was always another play that could have been made to win the game.

[seinfeld]

Contrary to reports from last year, Cody Drake does not seem to figure into Wooster's frontline plans this year. He looks like he is the last person on the varsity bench this year.

Any other NCAC reports? I'm especially interested in what the Quake and OWU are up to.

[waterboy]

I can give a small report on the Gators, albeit nothing specific as of yet.  They actually have some big men, three of which are listed at 6'8".  I saw them during an open gym and they appeared to be fairly fluid and lithe, particularly Boni, whom I have actually played with in the past.  The only question mark is whether or not they can stay on the team, since Allegheny big men from the past five years have all seemed to disappear over time.

As far as the stars, since Majzlik and McCloskey are still on the team one can safely assume they will be taking 70 percent of the shots.  If Majzlik can stay healthy (which has yet to happen in his career) he should be a consistent 15-point scorer, while McCloskey will likely be the iron man in the point guard spot.  I also learned awhile back that Gator QB Jimmy Savage was going to play this year and from what I've heard, he's got game.  Should be a nice fill for Justin Schmitt who led the NCAC in steals per game last year and promptly transferred back to Penn State.

My plan is to attend the National City Holiday Classic on Nov. 26.  Albion, Baldwin-Wallace, and Juniata will all be in attendance, with Albion and Juniata squaring off at 6, and the Gators and Yellow Jackets at 8.  Should be a great tournament with some excellent players in the mix, including the aforementioned Brandon Crawford and Torii Davis.

[smedindy]

I'll get a report on the LGs next Friday. Even though it's my birthday (and a BIG one at that), I agreed to help out and work with the stat crew at the tip off Friday.

Saturday, though, it'll be a ghost town at Chadwick except for the Illinois Wesleyan fans. We couldn't move the game times because of Texas - Dallas' flights, so if we host in the football playoffs that will start at noon, with the tourney tips at 1 and 3.

oh, and parking ought to be a lot of fun!

[ScotsFan]

Sorry for the "deflector shields", it's just that I don't like to be criticized for showing a little optimism towards Wooster, just the same as you all do with Wabash football, that's all.

waterboy, thanks for the info.  Do you think your bigs could see immediate PT.  From what I remember, 'Gheny had a pretty young team last year and you didn't lose too much.  I should've gone further down the other day when I posted about the depth of the conference going 6 deep.  I should've included the Gators, as they definately have the talent to knock off some of the teams ranked ahead of them in the NCAC coaches and media polls.  Also, that is a pretty impressive bunch coming in for that Holiday Classic.  Those are some pretty good teams and it should make for some entertaining games. 

[smedindy]

Not critcizing the optimism, just getting 'em in a bunch over pre-season All-Americans.

I get rankled with Wabash posters at the football site, if you recall, that show irrational exuberance. Please remember that, and also during hoops some people feel this is the Wooster 24/7/365 board, and it ain't supposed to be that way.

[billy_pilgrim]

Well Jerry, since you asked:

I know Earlham scrimmaged at Transylvania last week and played pretty well...with the exception of a 9 minute stretch during one of the halves where they did not score.

I've heard Brandon Miller is healthy again. He missed the second half of his freshman year following knee surgery and played through last season with trouble in that knee. He had surgery on it again during the summer.

Markous Jewett is back...I guess he won't qualify as newcomer of the year...but it's nice to have a guy who averaged 15 per game back in the fold. LaRon Henry also missed some time with injuries last year. He'll fly under the radar, but he should provide the third big gun on offense.

Center Nick Welsh and guards Tyler Stewart and Terrel Brown are also back in the rotation. There's a freshman named Tristian Gregory who I know zero about, but I know the coaches were really excited about landing him. He was an Indiana Top 40 player.

Crumby's gone...I know not why. F Evan Ogburn and C Mike Bradley were rotation regulars who graduated.

Earlham opens next weekend in Philly with two very winnable games. The Quakers were bad outside of the NCAC last year, including a handful of really lopsided losses (Mt. St. Joe, Frankling, Rose-Hulman). They need to be better and beat some people early.

This team finished 5th, but swept #3 Wabash and handled #4 Denison two of three (including a 20-point win in the tourney opener) and they're deeper this season, so I think they'll challenge for a spot hosting. However, I'm sure all fans of teams 3-7 are realistically thinking the same thing. I really think it's a much improved league from the last two seasons especially.

[Pat Coleman]

Dan Russ being excluded from any AA lists is a joke.  How does one go from being a 3rd team selection after last season to an exclusion the following preseason? 

He was not a third-team selection by D3hoops.com, so your comparison is pretty much apples and oranges.