MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

I'm not orthopaedist, but I'd guess that for a non-shooting hand, all you need was the injury beginning to heal, plus a cast that can keep it stable without being a weapon.  He might not be able to do too much with his left (so no two-handed dunks, probably on balance a good thing ),  so how effective he'll be is a question.  But if there's any way he can get into the Witt game on 2/4, rest assured he'll do it.

[hoopsfan1111]

WooScotsFan-

I agree with you that Wooster will take a huge hit without Port, I never said I disagreed with that.  I don't think I ever disagreed with the fact that you can't replace him. I disagree with the fact that you think the Scots' season is practically over if he can't play...

Each and every year Wooster losses a player to graduation who was the MVP of the team...Trimmer, Cline, Paris, Fernandez, Gorman, Ellenwood, Nelson, the list goes on and on...all I was stating earlier was that the Scots are good because they are able to adapt to these losses and come back just as strong as ever.  I think with the talent Wooster has they are capable of doing just the same mid season.  I stand by my statement that Wooster would be able to hold their own without Tom.

Listen, we are supporters of the same team, and I am sure we are both quite anxious to see how the team will do without him.  Let's just have some faith and wait and see how the team pulls together before we say that they have no chance of going anywhere without him.  

Hopefully, Tom's fracture is small, won't take long to heal and he will be back before we know it.  I like to be optimistic...and...

Believe me, I DO read the stats,

But lets not count our Fighting Scots out just yet...

[wooscotsfan]

hoopsfan1111 - "you think that the Scots' season is practically over if he can't play"

I didn't say that.  Those are your words, not mine!

I said that Wooster will not go deep into the NCAA tourney IF Port can't play.  That's a very reasonable statement and I notice that ScotsFan has the same perspective (his post about Woo's chances to reach Salem, VA).  I also said that it will take an incredible effort from the rest of the team to win the NCAC title/tourney if Port misses the rest of this season's games.  Let's wait and see if the rest of the team can rise to that challenge! 

...and let's hope that the prognosis outlined by Wooster Booster with Port perhaps able to play in 2-3 weeks is correct.  If Port is back in ~3 weeks, then Wooster may be able to win the conference title/tourney and then make a run in the NCAA's. 

Good luck to Tom for a speedy recovery!

GO SCOTS!!

[David Collinge]

The last -- and only -- time that Wooster has made it to Salem, their best player was playing on a severely sprained ankle.  He was mighty good, too, better than Tom Port, I think most would agree.  A fellah called Bryan Nelson.

Losing a player as good and valuable as Port is a handicap for any team, of course.  But Wooster has a deep and talented bench, a great coach, and a solid gameplan.  The parts aren't entirely interchangeable, but they're closer than the vast majority of D3 teams.  Even if Port won't be playing at anything like full speed for weeks, I have confidence that Coach Moore and the Scots will find a way around the problem and continue to play at the highest levels.

The only thing that worries me is that this makes a height problem that much worse.  Dan Russ could be looking at 40+ on Feb. 4.  I just hope the gunners (including Fulk, who'll see a lot more time, and Van Horn, who'll get a lot more looks) are up to the challenge.

[jscwittfan]

as for you quoting and assuming witt fans are silent, that could be for a good reason. you guys were bashing anyone who was assuming things about the foul and game that wasnt in attendance at the game or didnt know the "context" of the quotes in the newspaper. unfortunately things like this do happen, like russ spraining an ankle every once in a while. good teams adapt and hopefully wooster will adapt-it does make our matchup a little more tipped in our favor.

as for witt fán's participation. i resent that because i do keep up to date heavily, but i will agree. the games at the HPERC minus wooster are almost silent half the time with hardly any student participation. i guess they're all worried about their gay halo or something. when the games matter though the fans come out so i dont know.

hopefully witt doenst let up this weekend against allegheny- a dangerous place for our team because we hate playing there. bad vibes.

If your comment on fan participation was based on what I said, believe me - I know that there are many people who do come out and support Witt heavily and on a consistent basis.  And if you are one of those people, you should be commended.  However, I don't think calling students' other interests 'gay' is going to encourage any additional students to come out to a game.

However, I completely agree with you about the silence on this board.  I've responded to a few of the Witt-related posts in the past few days, but I'm not going to get involved in things that I have only a slight idea about, or restate things that others have already said numerous times.

If Witt plays like they did Wednesday night against OWU, the Gators should not be a problem.  But, let us not forget that this IS their first road game as the number one team, and that's something that cannot be overlooked as well.  It should make for an interesting game.

[imderekpoe]

I'm not so quick to write off the Scots against Witt (or anyone else.)  There's no doubt that Port is an excellent player and will be sorely missed, but I think they'll adjust pretty well.  And I won't argue that without Tom, their odds of winning the NCAC or going to Salem decrease somewhat. 

What this does do is to give Marty Bidwell a chance to step up and show what he can contribute to this team.  My guess is that Bidwell's minutes will increase significantly, and that we'll see more of Van Horn and Fulk in the game together, or maybe even Cooper, Witucky, and Johnson all in at once.  I would hate to be the team trying to guard those 3 at the same time!

[imderekpoe]

Here's the link to this morning's article in the Daily Record:
http://www.the-daily-record.com/article.php?pathToFile=/articles//sports/&file=friportupdate.txt&article=1&tD=

Looks like we'll find out more over the next couple of days and some more tests are run, but the article reports that he'll be out "at least two-to-three weeks."  It would be great if he could be back for the Witt game, but it sounds unlikely.  I would be more optomistic that he could return for maybe the last game or two of the regular season, then be available for the NCAC and NCAA tournaments. 

It sounds like Evan Will will start, which I find interesting as he has been the one that's been in when Vandervaart's resting.  I guess that means that Jeff Stevens will also need to significantly pick up his game - and I do mean significantly!

[smedindy]

Ypsi -

Old fogeyism is a phrase I use in baseball discussions all the time when people lapse into the "the players today only are in it for the money...they don't have the loyalty...blah, blah, blah" rant.

I've done readings where players in the past have said that about players that succeeded them in the game, oh, in the 1890s and before.

I think the first creeping old fogeyism was a letter I saw to a "base ball" journal in the 1860's about how the players in Wisconsin have gone soft and are playing the game differently than the rugged sport he played.

[smedindy]

you guys were bashing anyone who was assuming things about the foul and game that wasnt in attendance at the game or didnt know the "context" of the quotes in the newspaper.

This I don't understand. I asked for a little temperance until we had eyewitness accounts. At the time, all we had were radio reports from the Wooster station, which will always be slanted towards Wooster no matter how professional the broadcaster is (it's human nature).

The newspaper quotes could be taken out of context but I thought we did a reasonable job of discussing it all even if people disagreed. Anyway, there has been no lynch mob set upon Hiram.

And I do think Wooster can survive, if not thrive, without Port, based on seeing their team against Wabash when Port was a non-factor during their huge run.

[DenisonFan]

For all you guys who think Port can be replaced are full of #@*$.  He gets my vote for player of the year.  He is the glue that holds that team together. 

You don't replace him, you just hope you can get the other starters to step up.  Obviuosly Cooper is the real deal.  But know they have to dig deep.  It is just a shame but injuries are part of all sports.  It is just magnified when it is a top player.

I said earlier that they run their offense like a Rolex watch.  That watch now needs repair.

Here is to a speedy recovery.

Advantage Witt.

[AndersDY]

I said that Wooster will not go deep into the NCAA tourney IF Port can't play. 

Sadly this year looks like another one where the Great Lakes region is going to have Salem level opposition throughout the bracket starting from the first weekend so saying Wooster has a tough chance of "making it to Salem" or a tough chance of "winning any tournament games" are not too far removed from each other. Fortunately there is more than a month for Port to recover and the field has been expanded so that Wooster can probably assume a tourney berth barring a complete meltdown from this point. A couple non-Witt losses might mean fewer chances to play the tourney games in Timken or at least close to home, but then of course that might give me a chance to catch them in the tourney again this year. 

[woosterbooster]

From this morning's Wooster Daily Record:

"Replays showed the ball was all the way through the hoop by the time Pfouts collided with Port and knocked him to the floor."

Fine work, Pfouts.  Brace yourself when you come to Timken.

The following is a listing of the minutes per game for Wooster's significant players thus far this season:


James Cooper     27.1
Tom Port         29.9
Tim Vandervaart  24.2
Kyle Witucky     28.3
Devin Fulk       18.9
Brandon Johnson  19.7
Evan Will        15.5
Andy Van Horn    21.7
Marty Bidwell    10.9
Jamie Yoder       5.6


Nearly 30 minutes need to be given to the remaining players to make up for Port's absence.  I see Coach Moore as being between Iraq and a hard place in the allocation.  Playing Evan Will more, which he certainly will do to some extent, will help to maintain the post defense and rebounding levels but almost certainly hurt the offense, especially the running game.  The offense would probably operate with a double post, Will playing around the foul line.  He has a nice touch, and can step outside if needed.

When only Vandervaart or Will are on the floor, but not both, as has been the usual situation so far this season, I foresee Brandon Johnson gaining the most minutes in the reallocation.  The interior defense will suffer with this four guard lineup, but, if they can board, the offense may be able to continue to put up points.

Estimate of new player minutes, without Port:


James Cooper     30
Tim Vandervaart  26
Kyle Witucky     30
Devin Fulk       20
Brandon Johnson  28
Evan Will        25
Andy Van Horn    22
Marty Bidwell    15
Jamie Yoder       5.8

[imderekpoe]

Wooster Booster:  Just curious as to how you estimate an additional 12 seconds per game for Jamie Yoder??   

[ScotsFan]

I think smeds makes a good point about Wooster without Port.  He basically didn't factor at all in the 2nd half of the Wabash game because of foul trouble.  The rest of the Scots picked it up big time and balooned a 6 point lead when Port picked up his 4th foul to over 30 by the time Port re-entered the game, only to shortly thereafter pick up his 5th foul.

There is, however, a big difference in the other players mindsets when a player is on the bench with foul trouble as opposed to a player on the bench with an injury.  James Cooper said the following in that article that Wooster Booster had mentioned in the Daily Record:

"I think it got us down a little," said Scots guard James Cooper, who leads the NCAC in scoring at 19.4 ppg. "Of course, everyone wants Tom to be here and we were down a little emotionally, but we should've played better than that."

I think there was a bit of an emotional letdown during the  Hiram game after Port's injury which allowed the Terriers to get back into the game.  Now that the players for Wooster know the extent of Port's injuries, they can move on and know that they are going to have to get it done without Port.  Maybe Port's getting into foul trouble against a quality opponent like Wabash was a blessing in disguise, because it showed the rest of the Scots that they CAN still be productive without Port in the lineup.  This team is still loaded with talent.  What it all boils down to is that some of the Scots are now going to be challenged to step up in a big way until Port gets back.  Guys like Evan Will and Marty Bidwell and maybe even Jeff Stevens.  The good thing is, I'm pretty sure that they will do just that with the coaches they have behind them!

On a side note concerning Port, does anyone think this injury might sway Tom into coming back for his 4th year of eligibilty even more?  Depending on how serious the fracture is, and how long he is out, I think it could sway him into coming back, if he was still on the fence about his decision.

[woosterbooster]

Wooster Booster:  Just curious as to how you estimate an additional 12 seconds per game for Jamie Yoder??   

Heh.  I thought it would be obvious that to optimize the team's results that Yoder should get an additional 12 seconds; no more, no less.

After making that earlier post it came to me that some of the marginal players's minutes (those beyond Yoder on the bench) might actually go down because the games might be closer hence less garbage time available.  That would mean the regulars would go up, probably another 1-3 minutes.