MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[imderekpoe]

Lets get to the business at hand Witt v Woo. In Vegas Witt is coming off at a 4.5 point favorite. What do you guys think

I think that 4.5 points is a good number.  The last couple games have been so great that I hope we're not going to be disappointed.  I really think that this could go either way.  If the Scots (namely Cooper) are hot, it might be tough for Witt to keep up.  But, the Scots will have a tough time containing Russ and Borchers.  If Vandervaart has any foul trouble it could spell real troubles for Wooster.

The unknowns are how well Port will come back from injury and the status of Evan Will, who didn't play much last night do to a sinus infection (at least I think that's what it was.)  The plusses for the Scots are how Bidwell and Will have stepped up since Port went down.  I think that Steve Moore will have a lot more confidence giving those guys some minutes in key situations on Saturday that he did back in December.

It should be another good one!  Go Scots!

[oldwittfan]

1.  While the refs could be criticized at last night's game with Earlham, I think Wittenberg has as much to complain about as Earlham, Dane Borchers in particular.  Fans always criticize refs?

2. Brandon Miller did commit the technical for number 3.  He still came out at the beginning of the second half contesting every shot at the basket.  That runs a high risk. Refs will sooner or later call one of those a foul. Why he did not sit after the fourth foul at least to kool down some is hard to understand.

3. Neither Miller nor James Cooper are likely to be POY. Miller is a very talented player but he just self destructs too often. James Cooper is a talented player and a great shooter, but as some of you Wooster fans noted a couple of weeks ago he has a way to go defensively. Steve Moore will probably change that in the next two years. Also, if he is not shooting well it effects the rest of his game. Apparently he has been shooting so well lately that that has not been a problem.

4. If Tom Port comes back at anything like his previous level, he or Dan Russ will probably be POY depending upon which team is most successful.

5. I hope Port is back for Saturday. Not only is the match between the outside game of Wooster and the inside game of Wittenberg great to watch, but the matchup of Port and Russ is classic. At Wooster Russ looked uncomfortable guarding Port out on the court, and Port had trouble stopping Russ inside.  It should be fun.

[ScotsFan]

One thing regarding Cooper.  I've heard that he has become a lot more comfortable with his role as a scorer since Port went down.  Before Port's injury he was more tentative at times because he didn't want it to look like he was taking too many shots.  Since Port's injury, Wooster has relied on Cooper's production in a larger capacity, making him feel more comfortable in his role as a scorer.  The thing with Cooper is he is so efficient.  I mean he was 9-12 last night!!!  Those are really good numbers from a post player, let alone a shooting guard.  I just hope that his comfort level continues after Port's return. 

Another thing on Cooper concerning last night's game.  He was pretty unstoppable again.  No matter who 'Gheny tried to put on him.  My favorite Cooper moment was at the end of the 1st half.  Cooper starts his drive, and I think Savage was on him for Allegheny.  He literally was on him as he grabbed Cooper not once, but twice and Cooper still drove by him into the lane and hit a floater at the buzzer!  The kid is fun to watch.  That's all I have to say about it.  And oldwittfan, right now, I feel like Cooper is definately in the conversation in a big way for POY. 

One other thing concerning Allegheny.  Wooster has had Matt Majzlik's number for at least the last 2 seasons.  In the 4 regular season games, Majzlik has averaged only 6.7 ppg against Wooster.  And this season, it's like he hasn't even made it into the game.  Last night he only played 8 minutes and only scored 4 points.  And in their 1st meeting, he only went for 6 points in 13 minutes.  I would've thought, given the problems the Scots have had at times defending the low post, that Majzlik would be posting some better numbers against the Scots, especially seeing how his is averaging nearly 16 ppg over the season.  Go figure I guess???

[woosterbooster]

Brandon Miller impressed me when Earlham played here.  He played hard on both ends, and scored from both inside and outside. What I didn't understand was the coaching decision that put him at the top of the key defensively. Sure, his wingspan made it tough for Wooster to throw up threes from that area, but they just put the ball inside and scored from there.  And with Miller so far from the hoop, Earlham's rebounding was nonexistant. 

Is he the POY? No. But (and this is just my opinion from watching one game) I feel that no other team would lose more if they lost one player than if Earlham lost Miller.  Wittenberg without Russ or Borchers would still be very good, maybe even a top ten team. I think the same can be said if Wooster were to lose Port (and we've been able to see this scenario), Cooper, or Vandervaart. But an Earlham without Miller, in my opinion, is suddenly battling the Hirams and Kenyons to get difficult wins.

I think the POY rests with Russ, Port, or Cooper. If Wittenberg comes out on top in the league, and Russ plays at his normal level throughout the tournament, I believe he'll get it.  If Wooster wins, it'll be either Port or Cooper.  Port, obviously, would need to come back and play as he has before.  A longshot is Tim Vandervaart, who has been playing extremely well lately.  Possibly Borchers is in the mix also, if Witt wins it all.

I'd thought that Vandervaart, not Port, was on Russ in the first Wittenberg-Wooster game, but I might be misremembering.

Cooper's defense, and his defensive effort, have improved steadily. I'd say that he's now about an average defensive guard, which is to say that he was somewhat below that at the season's beginning.  Offensively, he always wants the ball; doesn't seem to know what to do without it.  That bothered me for a while, until I saw that when he got the ball he was so good at putting it through the hoop.  He talks the talk (figuratively), but can walk the walk.

One of the most interesting things about this upcoming game is that Wooster now has two more quality players, those being Evan Will and Marty Bidwell.  Port's injury has had at least that one upside, giving those two extended minutes to show what they can do. 

Will has turned out to be a strong rebounder with very good hands, who can show you an occasionally brilliant offensive move. Bidwell has been even more surprising, which just shows how hard it is to stand out when playing only garbage time. Since getting quality time, he's shown the ability to get to the basket, play excellent defense, and to rebound. And, he can run like hell and even lead the break, seeing the court very well and intelligently.

[goscots]

Nice Post WB

I also think player of the year is between Port and Russ. There are (potentially) eight games left to swing my opinion between the two. I also agree with your point on Earlham losing more without Miller. But I believe that scenario decribes an MVP, not POY.

At the start of the first Woo-Witt game it was Vandervaart who was guarding Russ. Port had Borchers.

[smedindy]

I don't know. It wasn't his fault, but Port will have missed a lot of conference games. I can't endorse someone for POY who misses those games.

[woosterbooster]

That's a fair point.  Port might not just have to come back, but excel, even in the Wittenberg game, to get serious consideration. 

Some questions:

Is the POY chosen based on full-season stats or just NCAC game stats?  Do they also look at NCAC tournament games?  And what about NCAA tournament games?

[David Collinge]

Yeah, that's my thinking too.  But here's food for thought; suppose Wooster wins the regular season title.  If you don't give POY to Port, since he missed too many games, and you don't give it to Cooper (or Vandervaart), because Port was just too valuable, then you end up giving it to a player who was not on the championship team.  *Gasp!*  Maybe that opens the door for someone like Brandon Miller or Matt Formato.  Wouldn't that be something? 

[imderekpoe]

Every other year since '97 the POY was not from either Wooster or Witt.  Since Russ won last year, it must be Miller's turn!  Actually a Woo or Witt player has only won it 4 times in the past 11 years.   

Both the Scots and Tigers are usually deep and don't necessarily have a true dominant player - as is the case this year.  My guess is that Russ repeats, unless the Scots win out and Cooper continues to play the way he has the last few weeks.  Of course, much could change in the next couple of weeks.

[woosterbooster]

Kyle Witucky of Wooster has been chosen as one of 16 finalists for the Bob Cousy award, which is given to the best point guard in the nation.  The article from the COW website:

http://www.wooster.edu/athletics/

[waterboy]

So you're saying neither Coop nor Russ is dominant in this league? 

They can both do pretty much what they want, when the want, at least as far as I've seen.  It helps having some pretty good players around them like Borchers, Vandervaart, and Witucky, but they are pretty much the centers of attention for opposing defenses at this point in the season.  If they aren't "true" dominant players, then please enlighten everyone else on who is?

FYI, Witucky has the best winning percentage among the point guards up for the Bob Cousy Award.  The next closest is Dee Brown, who I would consider the early favorite for the award.  Nevertheless, congrats to both Witucky and Dauksas on representing DIII.

[David Collinge]

Every other year since '97 the POY was not from either Wooster or Witt.  Since Russ won last year, it must be Miller's turn!  Actually a Woo or Witt player has only won it 4 times in the past 11 years.   

As smeds might say, well raise my rent!  That's what I get for talking about individual awards, when I haven't paid any attention to individual awards in years upon years.  I should just go back to ignoring them. 

[Pat Coleman]

That's odd. I used to be on the Cousy committee. Wonder who they had from D-III this year.

[woosterbooster]

Waterboy -

Did you see the bottom of that article?  Beginning tomorrow, if you go to the following site, you can vote for the finalist of your choice.  We should start a campaign on D3hoops to elect Witucky, although Dauksas of IWU is also a finalist.

www.cousyaward.com

[MoneyBallSTL]

The campaign for Witucky is going quite well so far...as of 11:15 eastern (10:15 central) Witucky has 2282 votes!!! That's more than the entire Wooster campus!!! As for the "favorite" Dee Brown, he has only 63 votes...sounds like the nation isn't as impressed, haha. Kyle is 4th out of 16 as I head to bed tonight...hopefully he'll be at that point or higher in the morning!!! Sidenote, Adam Dauksas has a meager 58 votes as well, he never impressed me as a soph in that meeting with Wooster.