MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

DC – I thought we would have gotten more a breakdown from you re: the 2006-07 schedule.

I am rendered speechless by this. 

[WoosterFAN]

DC - I am just following in your footstep my Crescent City Brother...Also enrolled in Grad School and still doing the Navy thing.

But when I saw you had not broken down the schedule, I figured you were too busy with lawyer business or the left coast had infected you.  So I rose to the task!

We'd love to hear you thoughts and observations!!

[woosterbooster]

DC -

Thinking that a man of your stature shouldn't be stuck on 100 karma points for so long, I decided to smite you then immediately applaud you to shake things up.  Strangely, one of three possibilities seemed to have happened as after dropping to 99 you zoomed up to 101 (instead of returning to 100) after my applause.

1. I've found a bug in the karma system.
2. Someone else applauded you at precisely the same time that I did.
3. The karma Gods are fiddling with my mind.

[seinfeld]

I guess there are two ways you can look at Wooster's schedule. This is clearly the toughest non-conference schedule they have played in a long time. This is probably a good thing, as if recent history is any indication, the NCAC schedule is fairly soft in comparison to what other nationally-ranked teams face during the season. This can only help toughen up the Scots for a possible post-season run.

On the other hand, most of these games are against teams either out of the region or out of Div. III altogether, which means they do nothing for their SOS index. This number has really hurt the Scots the last couple of years. Instead of playing Albion and Transylvania at home (which maybe one more win against an above .500 region team would have given Wooster), they played those games on the road, and lost. Wooster seems to be a different team in the postseason at home versus on the road.

I would imagine the coaching staff would have like to have gotten a couple of solid in-region Div. III games in place of the NAIA teams. This makes the Mose Hole Tournament even more important. Wooster needs to beat ONU, and it would also be helpful to play Calvin and beat them in the title game.

Wittenberg has been fortunate to get some yearly contests against solid in-region teams like Capital, Otterbein, Ohio Northern and Transylvania. Wooster could use games like this (Baldwin-Wallace and JCU come to mind as nearby possibilities).

[woosterbooster]

From Sunday's Wooster Daily Record:

Moore brings in a 'big' class

A few thoughts from the week in sports ...

While fall sports are now in full swing, The College of Wooster men's basketball team is eagerly awaiting its first official practice next month.

The Scots are in the process of getting one of their biggest recruiting classes, both literally and figuratively, in recent memory acclimated with the campus and team.

"We really concentrated on getting some size into the program and we accomplished that," said veteran coach Steve Moore, who graduated just one player from last season's 26-4 squad. "First of all, two of our tallest players are seniors now, Tom Port and Tim Vandervaart. Secondly, neither one of those guys are a true center.

"They both came to our programs as wings, so we really emphasized getting some size."

Adding players who are both tall and skilled at the Div. III level, where athletic scholarships can't be awarded, is sometimes a lot easier said than done. That even goes for a nationally respected program like Wooster's.

However, the Scots certainly came through on the recruiting trail by bringing in six players who stand 6-5 or taller.

The following is a look at the Scots' freshmen big men:

Robert Melick, 6-8, 240, Mount Vernon High School - Averaged 15 points per game, five rebounds; second-team all district.

Dex Battista, 6-8, 210, Utica H.S. (Mich.) - Averaged 18 ppg., 11 rpg. as senior; ranked among top 30 seniors in Michigan; was All-State and All-Detroit area.

Craig Elam, 6-6, 245, Dayton Carroll H.S. - Averaged 19.5 ppg., 11 rpg. as senior; bounced back from knee trouble to have stellar final prep season that saw him earn first-team all-league honors and second-team all-Dayton area.

Nick Hershberger, 6-5, 260, Tuscarawas Central Catholic H.S. - Averaged 22 ppg., 11 rpg. to top 1,000 points for career; played for former Dalton coach Dave Potopsky; Nicknamed "Big Country," Hershberger was first-team All-Ohio and also a football star at TCC.

Jake Johnson, 6-5, Loudon Valley H.S. (Round Hill, Va.) - Averaged 19.4 ppg., 6.3 rpg. as senior and finished with 970 career points; named all-state in Virginia; had a summer job where former NBA player Gheorghe Muresan, a 7-7 center, was his boss.

Rob Tenenini, 6-5, 195, Fox Chapel H.S. (Pittsburgh) - Averaged 18 ppg., 11 rpg. as senior; named his high school's top male athlete for senior class; named to all-section team.

There are also several guards who will vie for spots on the team, including local product Dustin Geitgey from Northwestern. The 6-1 Geitgey averaged 18 ppg., six rpg. and set a single-season Huskies' record with 68 3-pointers as a senior.

With starters Port, Vandervaart, James Cooper and Andy Van Horn returning, along with talented subs Brandon Johnson, Evan Will, Devin Fulk and Marty Bidwell, the freshmen will need to show some patience before making names for themselves in the program.

However, it could go down as one of the deepest recruiting classes ever for Moore.

A couple players from the group could contribute right away, but Moore said he would not discuss specific players until practices have started.

According to a person close to the program, the 6-8 Battista is considered the top player among the recruits. Although recruited heavily by Hope College in his home state, Battista opted to become a part of the COW tradition to the Scots' delight.

SCOTS' SCHEDULE LOADED - The Scots are also excited about their 2006-07 schedule.

In fact, Moore said the schedule is "probably the best we've had."

There are four NAIA teams on the slate - at Walsh (Nov. 25), Georgetown, Ky., (Nov. 28), Cedarville (Dec. 16) and at California Baptist (Dec. 20).

The season will start Nov. 17-18 with the Al Van Wie/Rotary classic when Emory & Henry, Mount Union and Cabrini visit Wooster.

Calvin, Wisconsin-La Crosse and Ohio Northern will visit for the Mose Hole/Kiwanis Tournament Dec. 29-30.

[WoosterFAN]

Remember the Steve Moore Golden era, when Wooster produced stud post players?  Trimmer(Coach Moore's first year), Aukamp, Cline, Gorman, Ellenwood, and Nelson.

Now I love "Darth" Vandvaart but he is a wing admirably playing out of postion.  It would be great if a couple of these first year players could continue the Wooster tradition of great post players especially considering the great wings and guards we currently have on the roster.

I am concerned about the width of Battista.  Only 210 lbs?  Tom Port wieghs more than that!!  Although that is the size of Witt's Borchers and the departed Dan Russ.

Any word on whether Bradley will return to the program this year?

[jscwittfan]

Not sure how many people have been following Dan Russ, but it seems as though the big man is having a solid first season as a pro.

Most recently, Russ scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a victory for his Woon!Aris team.

Their team website is http://www.woonaris.nl/ but unless you know Dutch or have a good translator, it's a bit hard to follow.

[David Collinge]

I heard that the Wooster players were rooting for ZZ Leiden in that game...   

[ScotsFan]

Pat,

In regards to the story on the front page about the Collegiate Basketball Invitational, I was wondering if you knew if this would be open to the public?

I wonder how Wadswoth, OH ended up as the destination of such an event?  Seems like quite the odd choice if you ask me.  Not that I'm complaining, because if it is open to the public it will be a good opportunity to see some quality hoops on display.

[woosterbooster]

Wow, somehow when I read that article the first time I missed the WADSWORTH, OHIO.  Thought it was being held in Florida.  This is GREAT!!  Heck, it's got to be open to the public, for a price.  It'll be interesting to see if any NCAC players, such as Borchers and/or Port, will be invited.  Certainly neither one of them are NBA caliber players, but they're among the better DIII players and also local.

[sac]

Maybe Wadworth, Ohio is the geographical center of D2, D3 and NAIA.

[diehardfan]

Maybe Wadworth, Ohio is the geographical center of D2, D3 and NAIA.

Hmm... it might be, on average... maybe...

It's also just fun to say! 

[Ralph Turner]

SCOTS' SCHEDULE LOADED - The Scots are also excited about their 2006-07 schedule.
...

In fact, Moore said the schedule is "probably the best we've had."

There are four NAIA teams on the slate - at Walsh (Nov. 25), Georgetown, Ky., (Nov. 28), Cedarville (Dec. 16) and at California Baptist (Dec. 20).  Doesn't he understand the criteria for the NCAA playoffs??

The season will start Nov. 17-18 with the Al Van Wie/Rotary classic when Emory & Henry* [*new in-(administrative  region #3)-region opponent], Mount Union and Cabrini visit Wooster.

Calvin*, Wisconsin-La Crosse and Ohio Northern* will visit for the Mose Hole/Kiwanis Tournament Dec. 29-30.

* = in-region opponents

Sorry, Wooster booster, I just had to comment!

[pufin]

I do think that Steve Moore does understand NCAA selection criteria. Chances are that Wooster is going to be first or second in the NCAC with a pretty impressive record. It has happened year after year after year lately. Playing a more challenging schedule, while throwing away potential SOSI (or whatever it is called now) points will prepare Wooster for the tournament better than playing the Oberlins and Hirams of the midwest. With the expanded field, I don't think Wooster has to worry too much about making the tournament unless something disasterous happens.

On the other hand, with the expanded definitions of "regions," I think that the Scots may be able to find some quality competition in the region in the coming years.

[seinfeld]

Wooster is more than well aware of the SOSI index and regional games, since they feel it cost them home games in each of the past two postseasons.

The problem is teams don't want to play Wooster. That is an unfortunate bi-product of becoming an elite team. You have a hard time finding Div. III region teams to play you. That's why they need to try and find yearly matchups with solid OAC teams like Wittenberg has been able to do. John Carroll and B-W are obvious fits because of their geographic location to Wooster.