MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[y_jack_lok]

I see Mac lost to Wesmin, They must be the real deal.  What else happened in SLIAC action? 

I believe Westminster is surprising everyone this year. Are they surprising themselves?It seems to be an unpredictable conference so far this season. I know these comparative scores don't usually amount to much, but here is evidence of the unpredictability -- Mac wins at Webster by 14, Webster loses at Westminster by 3, Westminster wins at Mac by22. Does that make sense? Would the outcome of the WC at Mac game have been expected based on the results of the other games cited?

[Gville_Panther]

Great game yesterday by the Greenville Panthers!!!!! And they moved up in the standings right behind Westminister. LaPhonso Ellis had a big game and put up 20. And Greenville rotated into the lineup two transfers, AJ Brooks and Coleman Chambly, for their first varsity game. Brooks had a big opening performance teaming up with Ellis to score his first 8 varsity points in 4 minutes in the first half to help pick up the momentum and lead the panthers into the locker room up after the 1st half. The 2nd half was back and forth. Even when Fontbonne was up they just couldn't seem to stay constant and hold the lead. Despite a scare in the last couple of minutes with 2 turn overs and a wierd foul called on a 3pt shot Greenville pulled out with the win!!!
This game was back and forth and kept the crowd on their toes, a great beginning for the Panthers in 2009!!! So, all I can say is congrats to my Panthers, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the season will bring. Is it to early to look forward to a Conference Championship!!!! 

[hopefan]

Many observations after the first SLIAC League day of the season that I have been able to take part in......

I was at the Maryville game and sent out scores  -unfortunately never heard back from FC, hope he's ok...  Yjak couldn't reply because of poor reception at Blackburn, but got me at home later to let me know all about Webster's game..

I had a lengthy conversation with Maryville AD Tony Duckworth regarding the program's move to D2 - I will say, he believes in the move, and had some interesting angles to try to convince me....  However, he will not ever be able to argue against my point, that I love the SLIAC because of it's competitiveness school vs school in basketball, and taking Maryville out of the mix diminishes that pretty picture to me.  Do I want to support the Maryviile program using relatively local kids playing exciting close games virtually every night - YOU BET  -   Do I want to pay admission fees next year, seeing a bunch of out of staters  that I will have a difficult time identifying with,  likely losing games by 30, 40 points for the next several years  NO  ...     Will the level of the hoops be better - yes   - but will the quality of the atmosphere rise....  I'm not convinced.     Tony, it's EXACTLY  why I turn down Bilikin tickets to see virtually any SLIAC matchup.  And let me say this, ALL the respect in the world for Tony Duckworth - a super guy who will discuss any point regarding the program with a simple fan like me because he knows I care.

Let me put another idea that was out there to rest.    I saw no new face on the Maryville squad that looked like he was a Division2 level player as compared to a Division 3 level player.  Kyle Winters shot the ball extremely well in the first half, but like all shooters eventually came back to earth, missing several in the 2nd half - nice player though - a wise decision by him to continue his playing career at a D3 school.
Jason Simmons started in the middle - big lumbering lefty, pretty strong - did not see the ball nearly enough, scored when he did....

All in all, Maryville was the same Maryville we've seen - good pressure defense, too many turnovers, too many three point shots for my liking - I wish Aaron Steinke was stronger and used his athletisism to play around the rim - but he will forever shoot it from the shoulder and play soft - he's a good enough athlete to make it work in the SLIAC - with Gruenewald and Winters, Saxton and McCoy really don't have to worry about their own shooting - they need to concentrate on valuing the ball and being better point guards.

BULLETIN, WEBSTER  -  there is a pretty decent 6'9" kid still at Maryville who did not fit into Coach Roger's plans and was basicly CUT- remember, he beat you in the conference tourney last year?  Might be worth while doing some undercover work.  In preseason writeups, I described him as having the potential to be unstoppable in the SLIAC, and some people value my opinions.

No posts from FC, no box scores on SLIAC.Org or the Fontbonne - Greenville sites yet...  DOES FONTBONNE HAVE AN SID?
The limited box made the paper - I noticed Fontbonne had only 5 scorers - the strong bench that FC raves on about contributed 0 points - are they that bad? or is a coaching decision leading to breakdowns at the end of games because MOST players CAN'T go 35 minutes at their best - I don't know how many minutes the bench got vs Greenville not being at the game and with no box score, but I see Greenville's bench contributed big, and certainly bench play was huge for both Maryville and Eureka.

Will be interesting to see Font - Grinnell - will Font come out determined to get back on track, or will we be told this is a meaningless non conference game if they get beat by 30....

Webster wins at Blackburn in the last 5 minutes - a win is a win, but the attitude I got from people who were at the game is that the level of play is still disappointing.  Perhap, just perhaps, the Gorlocks are peaking for the big showdown on Wednesday vs the Griffs.  In a way, this is virtually an early season must win for both teams - a numbers game for Webster, a question of mental stability and confidence for Fontbonne.

Westminster contiues on, I fear we were scammed by the preseason Hype from Mac Murray fans...  what ever happened to Sean Knox.

And another thought - Eureka, though winless, is pretty good- they will win some games this year - main problem is no big man - they got beat up on the boards by Maryville... but I like their guards and Bench, and Dr Z should make first team all conference - he came close to being a one man show for portions of the Maryville game.

[hopefan]

Just to add another source of info - The Fontbonne Grinnell game, which was originally on schedules at 7:30, has been rescheduled for 5:00  -  I only found out about this on Saturday - hope everyone that is counting on seeing the game tonight recognizes the change in schedule.

[Fontbonne Alum 03]

Thanks for the update Hopefan, I am actually heading to the game tonight.

I am hoping Fontbonne can bounce back from a few tough losses in a row and pull out a win tonight.

[pantherpride06]

Well, due to the lack luster efforts of the SID staffs at Greenville and Fontbonne has left us all hanging to see what the stats say. 

However, I do have a link to the Greenville site with the stats...

http://www.greenville.edu/athletics/mbasketball/seasonstats/2008-09/09gm0103.htm

Why the game score isn't posted is bazaar but not unusual.  Its more the norm... (Boy, I hate to smash on the Greenville folk, but I have to in this case.)

That will answer your questions hopefan regarding Saturday's game.  Great points on the Maryville to NCAA II.  Well stated.

[Fontbonne Alum 03]

Well, I just got home from the Fontbonne vs Grinnell shootout.

Fontbonne lost 165-143. I will be curious to see the box score on this game. Grinnell game out hitting their first 5 threes.

Grinnell led at half 88-76, Fontbonne pulled it to 6 in the second half, but Grinnell was too hot from downtown.

[hopefan]

Un Blankin' believable - I'm a full Grinnell fan fan now  -  I've never been so entertained by a game -  for basketball purists no, will they beat top level teams no - but wow, more fun to watch than anything I've ever seen.  And Long, Grotburg, Arsenault are GOOD PLAYERS.    To those not in attendance.. they could have had 180 - they used the clock the last 5 minutes!!!!   I am so glad to have finally been able to see the show!!!
Incidently - Coach Arsenault - very nice guy.. spent 5 minutes pregame chatting with me regarding the system and the background we shared out east.

Some stats   Grinnell shoots 69 threes, make 35 for 51%, force 35 turnovers, they also shoot over 50% from 2 pt attempts, Long, Arsenault, Grotburg 23 for 47 between the 3 from 3 point land.

Not to diparage Fontbonne - they stayed with Grinnell for most of the game - this could be a confidence builder with four starters scoring a lot of points. 

Such big games on Wednesday  Maryville at Greenville determines the conference co leader, tells us which of the two is for real, but I can't pass up Font at Webster - I don't expect that one to be very close......

[Razor Back]

"I fear we were scammed by the preseason Hype from Mac Murray fans.."

From my seat, Mac looked like they had the potential to make a run at the post season in 2008-2009. But Greene and Crowder are no longer with the team, and Knox suffered an injury that could sideline him for the rest of the season. These were three of Mac's first eight players, including two starters, and maybe three. Can't speak for the other SLIAC teams, but Mac just didn't have the depth to overcome the loss of three of their best players. Maybe Fontbonne, Maryville, or some of the SLIAC teams could reload, but Mac couldn't. I think Coach Creal is doing all he can to compensate for the loss of these three players, but it will be extremely difficult for the Highlanders to reach the level of success they were hoping for in the preseason.

[hopefan]

Razor - please take my 'scammed' comment as somewhat tongue in cheek - a number of the SLIAC teams would meet the same fate with the loss of three crucials (though Maryville's depth at one point was significant)   -   a little of what brought that attitude from me is that we were fed the hype pretty strongly, but things got quiet very quickly, with virtually no answers to our questions regarding Mac - no one told us what happened to any of the 3 guys you mentioned, even though we specificly asked about Knox and Greene.  Believe me, I like seeing the conference with as many teams in contention as possible.

[hotshot_8617]

This is my first posting - however, I read the board alot.  I just want to put my 2 cents in concerning the FU trip.  TEAM is not only on the court but it is also something that needs to be "grown"  OFF the court.  yes, Hawaii is long way to go, however, if the young men really wanted to go it would happen - yes the fund raiser really does help and it is a matter of CHOICE those players did not go. 

I have witnessed first hand how FU benefits from a "group" trip...you know the saying  "what happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii"   I especially think the trips are great for the freshmen.  I think that too much of the discussion is on that the players have to pay - this is DIII!  But there is nothing like getting to know your team mate when you and 2 other players share a hotel room!  BLA - honestly do you think that those games are not on their minds?  Perhaps your concentration was not soley on b-ball when you were playing...I know FU's is!


Looks like Denny has another new screen name!

Get off FU and the trip - whatever they are doing seems to be working - they are producing some fine young people out of the university. 

Ok off my soap box.  I hope I have not offended anyone and wish everyone a Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing all the GREAT young men and women play some b-ball.  And of course I am counting on  - back to back to back!   

[hotshot_8617]

This is my first posting - however, I read the board alot.  I just want to put my 2 cents in concerning the FU trip.  TEAM is not only on the court but it is also something that needs to be "grown"  OFF the court.  yes, Hawaii is long way to go, however, if the young men really wanted to go it would happen - yes the fund raiser really does help and it is a matter of CHOICE those players did not go. 

I have witnessed first hand how FU benefits from a "group" trip...you know the saying  "what happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii"   I especially think the trips are great for the freshmen.  I think that too much of the discussion is on that the players have to pay - this is DIII!  But there is nothing like getting to know your team mate when you and 2 other players share a hotel room!  BLA - honestly do you think that those games are not on their minds?  Perhaps your concentration was not soley on b-ball when you were playing...I know FU's is!

Get off FU and the trip - whatever they are doing seems to be working - they are producing some fine young people out of the university. 

Ok off my soap box.  I hope I have not offended anyone and wish everyone a Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing all the GREAT young men and women play some b-ball.  And of course I am counting on  - back to back to back!   

[hopefan]

intriguing post hotshot!!!

[HCACBBALL]

Greene and Crowder are not in school at MacMurray any longer.  That is far as I will go with that.  There was some hope that Knox was going to be able to play soon but have not heard of his fate lately.  He has had a injury filled career.

[juniormint]

WC seems to be playing very well at the moment.  They have won 9 straight including a 20+ pt win at Mac, which isn't easy to do.  I do understand Mac has lost some of its core group this year but any road win is a good one in the SLIAC.  The matchup Saturday looks to be a good one with Greenville headed to the newly remodeled nest. 

WC also looks to have a favorable schedule with 3 of their next 4 conference games at home and then finishing with 3 out of 4 at home as well, before traveling to Fontbonne for the final regular season game, which could be a key game in the tournament seedings.  WC's key stretch will be @ Eureka, @ Webster, Blackburn, @ Maryville, @ Greenville.  If they can win a few of those and play well at home they should be happy with where they're at in the tournament. 

Hopefan you piqued my interest as to what you and Coach Arsenault talked about in the system he runs.  Care to elaborate, if not I understand.  I too am anxious to see it run.  I've seen some high school games where the team has based themselves directly off his system but I want to see it live from Grinnell.  I wish I could have made it to STL for the FC game. 

I understand it is not for the "basketball purist" but what about for the kids?  Do they enjoy running it?  Do you think it makes them better players?  What do you think about high school teams who run it and then have kids go to college somewhere where it's not run that way, do they benifit from the speed at which its played or are they behind because it doesn't necessarily teach sound defensive principles...?  Im not attacking the system...just looking for some educated insight/opinions anyone might have on the Grinnell system.