MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Denny McKinney]

Well Hopefan, you were thinking of 4-9. Three wins last nite. Would you like to change expectations? Or, are you sticking with 4-9?

[hopefan]

   nope Denny... I'm 0-1... can't count seeing the end of Fontbonne as a win... Blackburn was the destination game and gotta go with the loss... remember... this 4-9 is just in the games I''m counting on seeing, and I generally pick the tougher opponents to see.  Going to see Eureka at Monmouth tomorrow... Monmouth is preseason no. 2 in the MWC, Eureka already got kicked by Rockford, who was preseason 9 in the Nathcon.   
I'm not real confident for Eureka..... 

but in retirement, you can do things like see all SLIAC teams prior to conference!!!

The one truly impressive outcome last night was Spalding.. I still can't get over the performance of Big Nick Trisko....Getting closer to home must be a major plus for him....

[Denny McKinney]

Ok. Now I see where the 4-9 comes from.

[Denny McKinney]

Quick thoughts from this weekend. Spalding an impressive win, Trisko making a statement. FU opens the season on a positive note.

Then the WTHeck performance of WU. Hopefan described it as getting Crushed by 30. That's our number 1 in the preseason poll. Central has been a team that Sliac opponents have been competitive with in the past. A 10 pt loss, early season jitters. A 30 pt loss, reasons for concern.

[y_jack_lok]

Quick thoughts from this weekend. Spalding an impressive win, Trisko making a statement. FU opens the season on a positive note.

Then the WTHeck performance of WU. Hopefan described it as getting Crushed by 30. That's our number 1 in the preseason poll. Central has been a team that Sliac opponents have been competitive with in the past. A 10 pt loss, early season jitters. A 30 pt loss, reasons for concern.

I think there were a lot of unknowns going into the start of the season. Now we know a bit more. Webster may have been picked #1 by the SLIAC coaches but it was by the slimmest of margins. Webster's 30 point loss is definitely a head-scratcher. Time will tell whether or not it is an aberration.

[Denny McKinney]

Yjak, I can't disagree with anything. I have just come to expect WU to be in every game. My Bad.

[WUPHF]

Webster had their share of 20-25 point losses last year just like the other two Division II schools on Big Bend, though your definition of in it may be different than mine.

[Denny McKinney]

WUH, I wasn't discussing DII. My comment was a compliment to WU. When I said I was used to WU being in the game, is because that's what I've come to expect. SMH

Do you not know what "My Bad" means? Ask Yjak or Bunchtime, I don't "Dis" Webster.

[hopefan]

Monmouth 51 Eureka 32 at half. EC was with them, up 27 - 26 with 7:30 left, but Monmouth blew them out after that. EC no inside game at all, only 2 2 point hoops in half. Monmouth too much inside game, several nice guards.

[formersliaccommish]

Here are some comments from 725 miles away, but from one still who cares about the SLIAC, about some recent posts:

1) JV teams are absolutely essential in developing players. The reason a lot of D1 schools do not have them now is because of the "one and done" rule, for financial reasons, and because today's spoiled high school players do not want to play "JV ball", even if they have full scholarships. Most D3 schools, like Washington University, have them and are successful from year to year. I played JV Ball as a sophomore and junior and started every game but two on a D1 team as a senior. It's also a good training ground for coaches who want to move up because they learn in a hurry that there is a difference between making a "suggestion" and making a "decision".

2) Blackburn had a terrific athletic program when Joe Ramsay was the AD/HBC. But he got sideways with the Provost over Football, the President had to choose between him and the Provost, and she chose the Provost. I pushed really hard from her to be on the NCAA President's Council but that was apparently a wasted effort as she did not learn what a good thing she had (Joe) at Blackburn.

3) I agree completely with Denny's post about his Dad. Like all of us, he had his faults, but he was a fine man and a fine coach.

[Gregory Sager]

Darn, Darn, Darn... Carthage edges Iowa Wesleyan 86-84 in OT.... Would have been so cool for this tiniest of SLIAC schools to open with a win vs the CCIW... SLIAC over CCIW doesn't happen often...

Wonder if this result speaks to IWC being stronger than expected, or Carthage being even more in trouble this year than expected....

Having watched most of that game, I'd say it was some of both. I liked what I saw of IWC's energy and perimeter shooting ability. Carthage? Well, as Q said on the CCIW page, the Red Men were picked last in the league in the preseason poll for a good reason. Of course, to be fair to them, they're currently missing their leading returning scorer, Ellis Matthews, and their leading returning rebounder, Kiston Lee, both out with injuries suffered in preseason practice.

1) JV teams are absolutely essential in developing players. The reason a lot of D1 schools do not have them now is because of the "one and done" rule, for financial reasons, and because today's spoiled high school players do not want to play "JV ball", even if they have full scholarships. Most D3 schools, like Washington University, have them and are successful from year to year. I played JV Ball as a sophomore and junior and started every game but two on a D1 team as a senior. It's also a good training ground for coaches who want to move up because they learn in a hurry that there is a difference between making a "suggestion" and making a "decision".

That last point is a really good one. Wish I'd thought of it myself, commish!

2) Blackburn had a terrific athletic program when Joe Ramsay was the AD/HBC. But he got sideways with the Provost over Football, the President had to choose between him and the Provost, and she chose the Provost. I pushed really hard from her to be on the NCAA President's Council but that was apparently a wasted effort as she did not learn what a good thing she had (Joe) at Blackburn.

Joe Ramsey is in the Illinois Coaches Hall of Fame, and for good reason. A standout player at SIU who was good enough to get drafted by an NBA team (the Baltimore Bullets, precursor to today's Washington Wizards), he was a graduate assistant coach for the Salukis team in 1967 that included Walt Frazier and won the NIT. He was the head coach of Oklahoma for two years in the '70s and actually recorded a winning record with the Sooners. He was Millikin's head coach for 21 years and was fairly successful; he was the last Big Blue mentor to win a CCIW title, back in '89.

I agree with you that Blackburn really messed up by not keeping him around.

[Denny McKinney]

My biggest win as a JV coach was over Wash U and Coach Edwards coaching against me. Commish, thanks for your words about Dad. I lost my temper. Trolls will troll.

Hope your golf game is hanging in their. My Mom is doing great.

[hopefan]

No matter how late I get back from a game, Annie (my faithful and loving yellow lab), still gets me up by 5:00 to take her out and feed her... so you faithful readers won't have to wait for a game report...

Eureka... I loved how they played hard, but this one, after the wonderful first 13 minutes, was a repeat performance of the BC Wash U game.... Eureka simply has no size. NONE. Frosh Alex Weigand and Austin Ahnafield are Generously listed as 6'3", but appear to be something less, and neither weighs more than 170... Jr Parker Gibson has some size, maybe 6'4", but seemingly would rather play on the perimeter than muscle it inside.... The 7 guys that played real minutes for Eureka are scrappy, and that MIGHT suffice within the SLIAC, but not against a team with size inside and shooters/penetrators like Monmouth.  Monmouth clearly could beat any SLIAC Team with their talent this year, though shot selection by a couple of their guys could hurt them in the MWC...Play of the game was by Eureka's Alex Wiegand off a steal, drives to the basket, goes up with left hand due to defensive pressure on his right, and SLAMS it.. impressive... new face Sam Feehan is a nice guard, can create shots and shoots with a good touch, but was just about a one man show and was forced into poorer shots as it became obvious he was IT... Greg Kent tried valiantly to get the ball to the hole, but was rejected at least 4 times... once the three pointers stopped falling for  EC, it was over...


Monmouth... BEAUTIFUL FACILITY... if recruits compare it to the facilities of any SLIAC school, no wonder they'd be inclined to go to Monmouth.... Now there is the set back of being small town and quite rural.. as defined by two license plates I saw on the lonely 170 miles of Rt 67 from Alton Il, to Monmouth...  I kid you not... "I FARM 2"   and   IC COWS"....    Gotta love it

oh, there was a JV game prior to the varsity Game... Carl Sandburg JC vs Monmouth JV.. a 40 point win for Carl Sandburg.. they had some real players....

AND did pass through Macomb, home of Western Illinois.. and there was a Ponderosa!!! (the chain seems to be coming defunct in St Louis)... yum, all the salad, veggies, and chicken a guy could want!!!

[hopefan]

So tonight's travels take me back up north, to see Greenville at IWU.... my first 3 targeted games, Fontbonne at SIUE (exhibition), Blackburn at Wash U, Eureka at Monmouth, have all resulted in blowouts.... not so sure that track record won't continue tonight... one hope is that Greenville's perimeter game can match well with IWU... but GC, unless new faces come to the rescue, is going to have a tough time defending and rebounding with IWU's big men... which could make it more of the same that I've been seeing....

[WUPHF]

I wasn't discussing DII. My comment was a compliment to WU. When I said I was used to WU being in the game, is because that's what I've come to expect. SMH

I am merely saying that you need to adjust your expectations.

Otherwise, thanks for pointing out my typo.