MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

If there's a laptop issue, or something, then the stats can get all higgdly-piggdly. When I was still in Indiana, I was helping SID at a Wabash - Wooster game where the laptop fried and we had to do the first half stats by hand.

And as for the Wooster stats, it looks like there are two different #10s, so that could be the genesis for the errors. Opposing team SIDs may or may not catch who is in #10 on that particular night. Well, the good ones will...right SID?

[woosterbooster]

And as for the Wooster stats, it looks like there are two different #10s, so that could be the genesis for the errors. Opposing team SIDs may or may not catch who is in #10 on that particular night. Well, the good ones will...right SID?

Nice catch!  And there are also two #50s!  That's where the problem lies.

[WAlum]

The W's dominate talk on this board but how about the continual struggles at Oberlin?  It appears as if the Yeo could lose 24 in a row to end the season after starting off 10-11 with a win.  Will there be a change or are they too busy to care about basketball?

[wally_wabash]

The W's dominate talk on this board but how about the continual struggles at Oberlin?  It appears as if the Yeo could lose 24 in a row to end the season after starting off 10-11 with a win.  Will there be a change or are they too busy to care about basketball?

It's not just the losing streak either, it's the margins that are disappointing.  I do think, as long as they keep competing, that Oberlin will get a win or two in league play.  As far as a long term solution...no idea.  I guess we'll see if Oberlin's approach to men's basketball changes when they pick a new AD. 

[GoRed]

The W's dominate talk on this board but how about the continual struggles at Oberlin?  It appears as if the Yeo could lose 24 in a row to end the season after starting off 10-11 with a win.  Will there be a change or are they too busy to care about basketball?

It would be nice to see a more competitive Oberlin program - just not before this Saturday  .  I think Cavaco is a good coach and has made a lot of progress with the program that the record doesn't seem to reflect this year (the margins in the losses are puzzling, though).  He has recruited a few nice players, but depth is certainly a chronic issue.  Now that he has a roster that is his own, I would give him a little more time to see what he can do.   

Wally is right, though.  The AD sets the pace for any athletic program.  Only if they pick someone that is serious about changing the overall approach will you see real progress.           

[wally_wabash]

Wally is right, though.  The AD sets the pace for any athletic program.  Only if they pick someone that is serious about changing the overall approach will you see real progress.       

In fairness to the outgoing AD at Oberlin, the OC's athletics program has made positive steps in recent years as evidenced by Oberlin's increasing point totals in the all-sports standings.  That progress hasn't manifested itself so much with men's basketball, but progress is there. 

[WAlum]

The W's dominate talk on this board but how about the continual struggles at Oberlin?  It appears as if the Yeo could lose 24 in a row to end the season after starting off 10-11 with a win.  Will there be a change or are they too busy to care about basketball?

It would be nice to see a more competitive Oberlin program - just not before this Saturday  .  I think Cavaco is a good coach and has made a lot of progress with the program that the record doesn't seem to reflect this year (the margins in the losses are puzzling, though).  He has recruited a few nice players, but depth is certainly a chronic issue.  Now that he has a roster that is his own, I would give him a little more time to see what he can do.   

Wally is right, though.  The AD sets the pace for any athletic program.  Only if they pick someone that is serious about changing the overall approach will you see real progress.           

It would be nice to see some improvement from Oberlin, especially in the non-league portion of the schedule, to help the rest of the league in strength of schedule, etc.  When is the new AD coming aboard? 

[wally_wabash]

It would be nice to see some improvement from Oberlin, especially in the non-league portion of the schedule, to help the rest of the league in strength of schedule, etc.  When is the new AD coming aboard? 

I think the current AD finishes up sometime in February...there will be an interim AD as Oberlin conducts their search for a replacement.  I'm not familiar enough with AD searches to know how long they generally last, so I can't say when we should expect a hire.  I would think that sometime before the start of the next academic year is a conservative enough estimate. 

I understand where you're coming from regarding Oberlin's non-league schedule, but I don't think Oberlin should worry about playing for potential bubblers in the league.  Oberlin needs to play for Oberlin.  Any bubble teams from our league that get left out of the tournament shouldn't point fingers at Oberlin for negatively influencing the SOS math.  Win more games and whatever Oberlin does won't matter. 

[WAlum]

It would be nice to see some improvement from Oberlin, especially in the non-league portion of the schedule, to help the rest of the league in strength of schedule, etc.  When is the new AD coming aboard? 

I think the current AD finishes up sometime in February...there will be an interim AD as Oberlin conducts their search for a replacement.  I'm not familiar enough with AD searches to know how long they generally last, so I can't say when we should expect a hire.  I would think that sometime before the start of the next academic year is a conservative enough estimate. 

I understand where you're coming from regarding Oberlin's non-league schedule, but I don't think Oberlin should worry about playing for potential bubblers in the league.  Oberlin needs to play for Oberlin.  Any bubble teams from our league that get left out of the tournament shouldn't point fingers at Oberlin for negatively influencing the SOS math.  Win more games and whatever Oberlin does won't matter. 

I agree about Oberlin playing for Oberlin.  On a league-wide scale though, the better the teams in the league, the better off ALL the teams are.

[woosterbooster]

While I believe that Oberlin can certainly do better, I also believe there are limits.  We're talking about what is probably the elite academic school in Ohio.  Getting in isn't easy.

Oberlin's volleyball program was horrible.  Prior to the 2005 season they hired Carey Cavanaugh as head coach.  Carey, as a player, led Stow high school to the Ohio D1 state championship.  She played a year at Ohio State, transferred due to an injury, and resurfaced at East Tennessee State where she was an all-league setter three years in a row and the league's player of the year in her senior year.

I've worked with Carey in volleyball camps and she's an amazing coach.  She brings the whole package: knowledge of the game, dedication, personality, competitiveness, you name it.

I can't find the numbers, but I believe in the season prior to her hiring Oberlin had won but a single match.  Slowly and painfully, Carey worked against the stagnant inertia of the program, bringing the team home with a 15-16 record in 2009.  This tied the school record for wins in a season. But she couldn't maintain it, the Yeochicks dropping back to 6-24 in 2010.

This isn't because of any lacking in ability on her part, nor, and I assure you of this with her coaching, is it due to a lack of effort on the part of the players.  It's just that, due to its academic standards, Oberlin's recruiting pool is that much smaller than almost all other schools, even those in the academic-oriented NCAC.  I don't know that her team can realistically hope to go much beyond where they now sit.  That's too bad, but I believe that's the reality of it.

[wally_wabash]

I think it's got a lot more to do with the culture of a campus than it does admissions standards.  Smart kids play sports, too, and those kids can be actively recruited to play at a place like Oberlin.  I've never had the pleasure to visit Oberlin, but after 10+ years of following the NCAC I get the sense that athletics aren't a real big part of the Oberlin experience. 

[BashDad]

While I believe that Oberlin can certainly do better, I also believe there are limits.  We're talking about what is probably the elite academic school in Ohio.  Getting in isn't easy.

Oberlin's volleyball program was horrible.  Prior to the 2005 season they hired Carey Cavanaugh as head coach.  Carey, as a player, led Stow high school to the Ohio D1 state championship.  She played a year at Ohio State, transferred due to an injury, and resurfaced at East Tennessee State where she was an all-league setter three years in a row and the league's player of the year in her senior year.

I've worked with Carey in volleyball camps and she's an amazing coach.  She brings the whole package: knowledge of the game, dedication, personality, competitiveness, you name it.

I can't find the numbers, but I believe in the season prior to her hiring Oberlin had won but a single match.  Slowly and painfully, Carey worked against the stagnant inertia of the program, bringing the team home with a 15-16 record in 2009.  This tied the school record for wins in a season. But she couldn't maintain it, the Yeochicks dropping back to 6-24 in 2010.

This isn't because of any lacking in ability on her part, nor, and I assure you of this with her coaching, is it due to a lack of effort on the part of the players.  It's just that, due to its academic standards, Oberlin's recruiting pool is that much smaller than almost all other schools, even those in the academic-oriented NCAC.  I don't know that her team can realistically hope to go much beyond where they now sit.  That's too bad, but I believe that's the reality of it.

Meanwhile, Stanford plays in the Orange Bowl tonight at 8:30....

[pennstghs]

You ever watch games where you have no idea how one team won the game,

Wittenberg 79 Pitt-Bradford 77

Wittenberg got outrebounded, outshot and outhustled and somehow came from 15 down with about 10 minutes to go for the win.

Chris Sullivan had a terrible game overall even though he finished with 22 points, as he shot 4-16 from 3 point land and as a team shot 8-27.

Great effort by Pitt-Bradford as they came in and outhustled and outworked Witt but overall good win for Witt.

Hate to say this but maybe a 1-10 Oberlin is what Witt needs to get on track

[GoRed]

Ditto, pennstghs.  Unfortunately, we have to go to Crawfordsville first.  Without Larry, I don't forsee an upset this time.  Wabash is playing very well right now.  I still don't see them beating Wooster, though, on either team's court. 

Back to Oberlin.  It is a great school, in a quaint little town, with a very liberal approach to academics and the world in general.  It has a distinct tilt toward the arts.  I view Kenyon and Denison similarly, but with the exception that both have certain athletic programs with traditions and a reputation for excellence that will attract the athlete just based on that tradition (e.g. Kenyon & Denison swimming).  That is where Wooster and Witt are with basketball.  The W's seem to be the places for the best Ohio DIII players to go if they are very focused on hoops and the academic choices suit them.  Oberlin, Kenyon and Denison then have to either take then next best Ohio recruits or go out-of-state with their recruiting and hope that they can attract based on academics or other criteria.   

[David Collinge]

Non-cons are now at 42-36 (.538) with Wittenberg's narrow victory.  There's just two non-con games left:
ONU at Wittenberg (1/15)
Capital at Denison (1/19)
So far, the season series against the OAC stands at 8-8.  Wooster and Hiram have done most of the work, combining for a 6-1 record.  Wittenberg and Denison, our last hopes for a winning season against our (mostly) in-state rivals, are an inauspicious 0-3 so far.