MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[watchdog]

All-Tournament Team:
Ky Millard, Westminster (MVP)
Stanley Crawford, Westminster
Kameron Bell, Eureka
Michael Zasada, Eureka
CJ McClellan, MacMurray
Drew Moore, Webster

[hopefan]

watchdog... could you offer up the All Conference Teams???

[watchdog]

2009-10 SLIAC Men's
Basketball All-Conference Team

Player of the Year: Michael Zasada, Eureka College
Newcomer of the Year: Brady Slagle, MacMurray College
Co-Coach of the Year:
   Todd Creal, MacMurray College
   Matt Mitchell, Westminster College

First Team (alphabetical by school)
Michael Zasada, Eureka College
LaPhonso Ellis, Greenville College
DeWhon McAfee, Spalding University
Drew Moore, Webster University
Jake Vislay, Westminster College

Second Team (alphabetical by school)
Rod Sykes, Blackburn College
Kameron Bell, Eureka College
Chris Forrest, Fontbonne University
CJ McClellan, MacMurray College
Stanley Crawford, Westminster College

Honorable Mention (alphabetical by school)
Marc Randle, MacMurray College
Ryan Sichting, MacMurray College
Todd Zimmerman, Principia College
Nick Jones, Webster University
Kurt Kovach, Westminster College

All-Defensive Team (alphabetical by school)
Obinna Agomo, Greenville College
Marc Randle, MacMurray College
Drew Moore, Webster University
Stanley Crawford, Westminster College
Ky Millard, Westminster College

Sportsmanship Award: Greenville College

[hopefan]

Thanks Watchdog... for the All conference teams......

Congrats to Westmin...   a great season.... playing its best when it counted!!!!  Congrats also to Eureka, a great semifinal game and what sounded like a great effort in the championship game; to Mac for rising from the bottoms of the SLIAC to being the 2nd best team in the conference during the season; to Webster for putting aside losses to graduation, the loss of your point guard at semester, Nick Jones the last 3 weeks of the season, yet winning enough to be in the tourney; and to Greenville, slow to adapt to the preseason loss of two potential all conf starters, but bouncing back in the last 3 weeks of the season to make things interesting....


Interesting Preliminary projection of brackets by Pat Coleman and D3hoops
Note.. Westmin at Wash U.....   joined by...(gasp).... Hope....   Sac and all my Hope buddies...we're gonna get you down to St. Louis yet!!!!

[ac slater]

Westminster plays Wash U at Wash U.

[hopefan]

Wash U - Westmin....And alas, Hope once again does not come down to St Louis... the other game is Ill Wes and Central

FYI   Westmin scrimmaged Wash  U preseason....   without going back to my comments, I remember that Wash U blew Westmin out in the 1st 20 minutes, but the 2nd 20 minutes was very close....  all regular players....  younger kids had a scrimmage in 2nd gym....   I've seen both teams play several times.. will be fun to put together expected matchups......

Will also be fun to have Illinois Wesleyan down to Wash U... great fans, travel well, if Westmin supports their team, we could have a very good crowd.  I've been to Central long ago and they had great basketball support, but not sure how they travel considering the distance.

[WUPHF]

Iowa fans always travel well, it seems, regardless of the institution.  Buena Vista had loads of fans here a few years ago.  I expect a lot of fans all around, and plan to get there early.

The first and second round information is now online: http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/2010NCAARegional.html

[LustyLarryintheToilet]

hopefan, remember, Syracuse lost to Lemoyne in a scrimmage so you cant really take much from that type of game.  havent seen either team play, but seems to me like the athletic advantage belongs to Westminster.  obviously wash u is the experienced host team but i imagine their opponent will come in confident, coach has got an SEC background and i see them pulling the upset

[hopefan]

Larry, An upset is ALWAYS a possibility, and my point in mentioning the scrimmage was more to emphasize that Westminster did a much better job in the 2nd half of that scrimmage.....  having actually been on the court with Wash U, even in a November scrimmage, is a confidence booster to Westmin.... the intimidation factor is gone.......

[WUPHF]

I have to think that Washington University will prepare long and hard for Westminster and here is what I submit as proof, a Coach Edwards quote about the game they played in the first round last year against Lawrence University:

"The closest game we had last year was the first game, so really, [placement] is immaterial." head coach Mark Edwards said. "Every team that is in the tournament is deserving of being in the tournament, and every team that is in the tournament is coming to win it."

Westminster will play like they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  In the end, I think it will be a close game, but I would not predict an upset.

[WUPHF]

One more quote from superstar Aaron Thompson:

"Westminster is a good team," Thompson said. "We've really just got to be ready to go and on top of our game and get things clicking early."

[Into_the_Blue]

Great win for the Blue Jays Saturday.  Westminster is very athletic and will be ready to go.  They have had a great amount of success the last few years.  Three appearances in the conference championship game in five years.  Back to back 20 win seasons.  2 SLIAC regular season conference championships.  40-14 in two years.  A great run by Coach Mitchell and his Blue Jays.  

Has a SLIAC team recently had back to back 20 win seasons?  Seems like a great accomplishment.  

I think the experience of the Bears could be trouble for WC.  Larry pointed out that WC probably has the athletic advantage over WashU.  Hopefully WC can ufind a way to use that against the fundamentally sound Bears.

Larry, An upset is ALWAYS a possibility, and my point in mentioning the scrimmage was more to emphasize that Westminster did a much better job in the 2nd half of that scrimmage.....  having actually been on the court with Wash U, even in a November scrimmage, is a confidence booster to Westmin.... the intimidation factor is gone.......

I agree WC has a great chance to go in and beat WashU.  The bears might be upset they didnt get a bye, they might look past WC (even though theyre saying they arent), or WC might be so pumped they come in and get some things to go their way and knock off the number one team.  

But I dont know if I agree that there wont be any intimidation just because they played in the preseason.  Walking into the number one teams home arena added on to the fact that these guys have never played in the NCAA tournament could be a little awe-inspiring.  

Hopefully they find a way to channel their inner Hickory High (Milan) and beat up the powerhouse South Bend (Muncie).

[Into_the_Blue]

Congratulations to all of these players.  A great season for the SLIAC all around.

Millard showed in the conference tournament he can do it all.  If he didnt play such great defense the coaches would have had to find a spot on the first or second team. 

2009-10 SLIAC Men's
Basketball All-Conference Team

Player of the Year: Michael Zasada, Eureka College
Newcomer of the Year: Brady Slagle, MacMurray College
Co-Coach of the Year:
   Todd Creal, MacMurray College
   Matt Mitchell, Westminster College

First Team (alphabetical by school)
Michael Zasada, Eureka College
LaPhonso Ellis, Greenville College
DeWhon McAfee, Spalding University
Drew Moore, Webster University
Jake Vislay, Westminster College

Second Team (alphabetical by school)
Rod Sykes, Blackburn College
Kameron Bell, Eureka College
Chris Forrest, Fontbonne University
CJ McClellan, MacMurray College
Stanley Crawford, Westminster College

Honorable Mention (alphabetical by school)
Marc Randle, MacMurray College
Ryan Sichting, MacMurray College
Todd Zimmerman, Principia College
Nick Jones, Webster University
Kurt Kovach, Westminster College

All-Defensive Team (alphabetical by school)
Obinna Agomo, Greenville College
Marc Randle, MacMurray College
Drew Moore, Webster University
Stanley Crawford, Westminster College
Ky Millard, Westminster College

Sportsmanship Award: Greenville College

[WUPHF]

WC probably has the athletic advantage over WashU.  Hopefully WC can find a way to use that against the fundamentally sound Bears.

I agree WC has a great chance to go in and beat WashU.  The bears might be upset they didnt get a bye, they might look past WC (even though theyre saying they arent), or WC might be so pumped they come in and get some things to go their way and knock off the number one team.  

Washington University has never had a first round bye.  And, the Bears have never had so much talent that they could look past teams.  And, the Lawrence University example is proof.  

There are many reasons why they managed the Bracket of Death, beating St. Thomas and Wheaton on their court last year and won the national title for the second straight year even though they were not favored: maturity, team chemistry, poise, leadership, and of course, talent.

I do think that the Bears are one of the more athletic teams I have seen this year.  They can run all night long (no motion offense will wear them down) and they play relatively big for their size.  In what way is Westminster more athletic?

[hopefan]

One thing for sure that Westmin needs to be ready for is the rowdy portion of the Wash U fan base...  the boys in the corner in their fatigues are loud, entertaining to most, but most decidedly unfriendly to opposition and officials.  It is something that Westmin has not experienced previously!!!!

I'll do a comparison of the two teams in another day or too if WUH and BLUE promise not to get down on me for whatever I come up with  -  remember, I'm neutral in this situation!!!!  I'm a SLIAC fan, and a Wash U fan!!!....   I don't lose in this one!!!!