MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

hopefan · March 05, 2013, 09:10:39 AM

May be going over to Maryville University to see the local Eureka (Mo) High School team in the state sectionals on Wednesday night... first time I've been there since Maryville moved out of the SLIAC and D3 and down to D2... good memories of the 4 or 5 years I followed Maryville, but also a good switch for me when they left, allowing me to become a true SLIAC fan and root for nothing but close games, rarely for one team or the other.... Maryville has made the adjustment to D2 very nicely going 22-8 this year and being the No 4 seed in the GLVC conference tourney this weekend in Indianapolis... I still haven't seen a D2 game.... The competition between Maryville and the other two SLIAC schools in St Louis, Webster and Fontbonne, was so much fun.. I really miss it....

y_jack_lok · March 06, 2013, 06:44:41 PM

Quote from: hopefan on March 05, 2013, 09:10:39 AM
Maryville has made the adjustment to D2 very nicely going 22-8 this year and being the No 4 seed in the GLVC conference tourney this weekend in Indianapolis... I still haven't seen a D2 game.... The competition between Maryville and the other two SLIAC schools in St Louis, Webster and Fontbonne, was so much fun.. I really miss it....

The competition was fun, but I don't miss it at all. When the move was announced I read on their website that it was part of a broader institutional strategic plan. Given the amount of land Maryville has compared to Webster and Fontbonne, Maryville's potential for growth in facilities, enrollment, etc. is much greater. Certainly there are plenty of D3 institutions with more land than Maryville and more enrollment, but I'd guess there are any number of other D2 schools that are smaller than quite a few D3 schools. It's all about how an institution wants to position itself.

hopefan · March 07, 2013, 07:17:14 AM

Reasons for Maryville's move to D2 aside, what I miss as a SLIAC fan is that with Maryville in the mix, it presented more games to see in St Louis without traveling to the outer geographical limits of the conference, and more opportunity to have the conference tourney in St Louis.. and of course, an additional 4 'rivalry' games.... Coach Rodgers kept things pretty heated up.....

y_jack_lok · March 07, 2013, 08:12:33 AM

Quote from: hopefan on March 07, 2013, 07:17:14 AM
Not sure what Maryville's justification for moving to D2 has to do with missing the competition ? My attitude as a SLIAC fan is that with Maryville in the mix, it presented more games to see in St Louis without traveling to the outer geographical limits of the conference, and more opportunity to have the tourney in St Louis.. and of course, an additional 4 'rivalry' games.... Coach Rodgers kept things pretty heated up.....

I guess there isn't a connection between the reason for moving to D2 and missing the competition. Maybe it would have helped if I'd made those separate paragraphs -- or not. Since I primarily follow one team while you follow nine, the loss of Maryville doesn't affect me the way it does you. But it was the loss of Maryville that turned you into a generic SLIAC fan. If they were still in the conference would you still be mainly a Maryville fan, and perhaps not traveling so much to see the best game available?

hopefan · March 07, 2013, 08:17:28 AM

Another sad reality of a school moving to D2... at the hs game at Maryville last night, I noticed a Maryville student helping out with game management... getting basketballs to teams for warmups, working at the scorers table etc... this student athlete was one of Coach Rodger's first recruits (and last) with Maryville being D2, and I did see them play once that year.. I thought this kid looked pretty good... he was evidently passed by far better recruits, got cut or quit, but is finishing up his degree and helping out.. the sad thing... he would have been a very good D3 player and a likely 3 or 4 year starter at any SLIAC school.... a shame.... also heard that despite Maryville's D2 rise to success, they are getting minimal attendance.."about what we used to get"...

WUPHF · March 07, 2013, 08:39:33 AM

Off-topic: Did you guys see that Missouri Baptist is adding football?

hopefan · March 07, 2013, 09:24:37 AM

Hadn't noticed that... I became a bit familiar with Mo Bap when My daughter played Softball for William Jewell in the same conference... Mo Bap had good softball those years, and I still remember Maryville's win over Mo Bap in basketball as one of the biggest non conference wins for a SLIAC team in the 10 or so years I've been watching SLIAC... Wonder if they can get enough good kids to go there to be successful in football... (at the NAIA D2 level, which is pretty much the same level as NCAA D3)

hopefan · March 10, 2013, 04:50:03 PM

So, with SLIAC champ eliminated, and Wash U going down to Illinois Weslyan in a thriller last night, I'm sure you are all wondering who hopefan might be rooting for the rest of the way... what with my history of playing and coaching in the 70's , my support of Hope in the 80's, Wash U in the 90's and the SLIAC since 2000, it's amazing how many schools I can say I've had some kind of remote contact with....

In the upper left quadrant Calvin plays St Thomas and Va Wesleyan goes against Williams.. of course Calvin is Hope's big rival, but I never got too caught up with that.. I was just thrilled to watch the passion that West Michigan addressed the rivalry with... when Hope is not in, I can always root for Calvin.. I saw St. Thomas play in a sectional at Wheaton several years ago..good fans, good team...and I played against and coached against Williams every year I was at RPI, and in fact had a huge game against them my Junior year when we had a very good team (pre D3 days however)... gotta root for a Calvin and Williams matchup in Salem

In the lower left quadrant Mary Hardin Baylor takes on Whitworth and Morrisville St plays St Mary's... no contact here, though I know I've driven through Morrisville in the past in my upstate NY basketball travels... who to root for.. gotta go with Mary Hardin Baylor out of respect for long time D3hoops contributor Ralph Turner.. and a SLIAC fan has to go with an underdog.. and that would be Morrisville, a member of the NEAC, the East Region's equivalent of the SLIAC

In the upper right quadrant Amherst plays Randolph Macon and Wooster plays Cabrini... Surprisingly all my time out east RPI never played Amherst and I can't ever remember scouting an opponent there.. But it's a no contest anyway..their opponent Randolph Macon is fellow SLIAC poster's YJack's alma matre, and I hear about the 'jackets all the time.. I'm more than willing to continue to support Yjack's loyalty (heck, I may have to take him to Salem if thet beat Amherst)... Wooster - Cabrini, I'm much more connected to the Great Lakes Region.. been to Wooster a couple of times.... Woooo

In the lower right quadrant, Illinois Wesleyan and North Central play.... I've seen North Central several times in the last couple years, But besides SLIAC and Wash U, IWU is almost my home team.. Love the campus, the fans are hard to take, but they are loyal.. let's go green guys.... Finally Ithaca and Middlebury, two schools that I saw often when I played and coached... I made a half court shot at Middlebury, before the 3 point shot... we only lost by 3 instead of 5!!!! Middlebury, I remember the BEAUTIFUL Campus... on the other hand, Ithaca was the sight of some huge conference wins when I was coaching, and they are certainly the underdog next week... let's root for the underdog!!

y_jack_lok · March 11, 2013, 06:43:42 PM

Quote from: hopefan on March 10, 2013, 04:50:03 PM

In the upper right quadrant Amherst plays Randolph Macon and Wooster plays Cabrini... Surprisingly all my time out east RPI never played Amherst and I can't ever remember scouting an opponent there.. But it's a no contest anyway..their opponent Randolph Macon is fellow SLIAC poster's YJack's alma matre, and I hear about the 'jackets all the time.. I'm more than willing to continue to support Yjack's loyalty (heck, I may have to take him to Salem if thet beat Amherst)... Wooster - Cabrini, I'm much more connected to the Great Lakes Region.. been to Wooster a couple of times.... Wooo

I'm not doing that again unless you are footing 100% of the cost.

P.S. Not because of the expense but because of the exhausting travel, having done it once before. It's a mini Amazing Race.

hopefan · March 13, 2013, 10:22:00 AM

Congrats to Mark Lessen of Eureka for making D3hoops 2nd team All Midwest Region... a well deserved honor.

I was a little disappointed that the SLIAC, likely for the first time ever, didn't have a second player named, in Spalding's Dewhon McAfee, whom I hope was at least considered for the South Region.... he had some incredible games, though unfortunately got hit first by a bad shooting slump, then the devastating knee injury. Still though, perhaps the most skilled guard the SLIAC has had in the last 10 years. (Spalding is listed in the South Region, though the remaining SLIAC schools are in the Midwest region).

y_jack_lok · March 13, 2013, 11:03:13 AM

^ Agreed. On the women's side, though, Spalding appears to be in the Central region with the rest of the SLIAC as Kelly Harrod was 2nd team all central region and Caty Eeten (Eureka) 3rd team.

hopefan · March 13, 2013, 11:36:51 AM

Quote from: y_jack_lok on March 13, 2013, 11:03:13 AM
^ Agreed. On the women's side, though, Spalding appears to be in the Central region with the rest of the SLIAC as Kelly Harrod was 2nd team all central region and Caty Eeten (Eureka) 3rd team.

Yes, but with the women, Spalding is listed in the Regional listings as in the Central, whereas the Spalding men are listed in the south Region.

I had seen the women's award winners.. i guess I really missed (or didn't appreciate) some of Kelly Harrod's better games.. I considered her a hard worker and good player, but not at the level of the awards she has won... the old hopefan missed on this one....

Pat Coleman · March 13, 2013, 11:41:48 AM

I called an audible and we consolidated Spalding in with the rest of its conference in MBB. No sense in considering them in with so many schools that they didn't play or didn't play them.

hopefan · March 19, 2013, 01:15:11 PM

Over the next period of time, I will review the 2012-13 rosters of each of the SLIAC teams, showing the contributions of underclassmen vs seniors (with real statements of evaluations)... foretelling a starting point for each of the programs in the 2013-14 season... anybody interested? When I get 5 positive responses, I'll begin... If I can't get 5, it's difficult to justify the time and effort....

y_jack_lok · March 19, 2013, 04:48:43 PM

Quote from: hopefan on March 19, 2013, 01:15:11 PM
Over the next period of time, I will review the 2012-13 rosters of each of the SLIAC teams, showing the contributions of underclassmen vs seniors (with real statements of evaluations)... foretelling a starting point for each of the programs in the 2013-14 season... anybody interested? When I get 5 positive responses, I'll begin... If I can't get 5, it's difficult to justify the time and effort....

I'm interested.