MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[GC Panther 01]

Anderson played JUCO at Clark College in Washington.  Reportedly a very good shoter, which works well in the GC system as there is usually not a shortage of available 3's.    Clark also sent Austin Potts to GC this year as a transfer as well as a womens hoop player.  No idea who has the connection out west, but for the present it seems to be a good find.

[Pat Coleman]

Not everyone has the luxury of defining success as getting to the NCAA Tournament, Q. As much as I don't like when Grinnell subverts the System for the sole purpose of setting records, I don't agree that the System has been unsuccessful.

Before David Arseneault came to campus, Grinnell hadn't even won 10 games in a season since 1964, a span of 25 seasons. Under him they've done that 18 times in 23 seasons. That is a heck of a lot more successful than Grinnell was before.

[Titan Q]

Not everyone has the luxury of defining success as getting to the NCAA Tournament, Q. As much as I don't like when Grinnell subverts the System for the sole purpose of setting records, I don't agree that the System has been unsuccessful.

Before David Arseneault came to campus, Grinnell hadn't even won 10 games in a season since 1964, a span of 25 seasons. Under him they've done that 18 times in 23 seasons. That is a heck of a lot more successful than Grinnell was before.

I agree, Pat. 

[Pat Coleman]

Alright. I wasn't sure.

[y_jack_lok]

You didn't see them versus Fontbonne 3 years ago!!??....  it was CLASSIC Grinnell.....  they tore up Fogerty, McKoy, Branch etal going for 160+  and that night, they shot lights out against a very good Fontbonne team.  Contrary to muuch of what has been written lately, THAT NIGHT I came away dumdfounded impressed, because the system beat a better team that simply could not keep up....

I do not believe that Fontbonne was a better team.  Grinnell loses plenty of games playing the system, and most of the teams they lose to would beat that Fontbonne team.

That kind of surprises me.. my opinion is that if that Grinnell team had come out and played a normal scheme, Fontbonne would have beat them with a tough inside game the same way they beat other teams.. Grinnell had little size and no bulk... there was no way they could play that offensive game though, plus Fontbonne was only 6-7 deep, and ill prepared to deal with the system...

My comparison wasn't of FU/Grinnell, it was of FU and teams that beat Grinnell, which are teams that play a "normal scheme". A team like FU had that year would likely lose to Grinnell every time because they simply didn't have enough quality players to put on the floor for enough minutes to keep up. One or two more good players might have made a difference. Having said that, Fontbonne only lost that game by 18 points out of a total of 308 points scored, so I'd say all in all it wasn't a bad showing.

[hopefan]

Back from Webster tonite... a real debacle.. a decent first half, relatively even until the last couple of minutes when Webster pulled ahead by 8.... in the second half, Roman Robinson and Ahmad Smith just took off, BC said no mas, and the romp was on....  BC has alot of problems, including temper tantrums on the bench... this program is hurtin' right now.... there is some talent, but not much TEAM... Coach Baribeau has his hands full

up north Mac gets a huge win at Eureka 74-67   Big game for Dylan Guthrie 8 for 11, 21 points; Clayton Whitlock 7 for 8, 20 points.... Mark Lessen doesn't Play for Eureka, what happened?  Dustin Fritcsh subpar night, Jordan Kindred gets 16 but it's not enough.  Mac has another huge game at Westmin on Saturday....

[ecreddevils]

up north Mac gets a huge win at Eureka 74-67   Big game for Dylan Guthrie 8 for 11, 21 points; Clayton Whitlock 7 for 8, 20 points.... Mark Lessen doesn't Play for Eureka, what happened?  Dustin Fritcsh subpar night, Jordan Kindred gets 16 but it's not enough.  Mac has another huge game at Westmin on Saturday....

Lessen watched the game in a partial leg cast.  News that I heard is not good.  Major blow to our chances.  Fritsch was clearly hobbled by injuries and left the game for a good stretch just one minute into the first half.  Misuraca went down hard in the second half and did not return to the game.  Our guys fought hard and DT Thornton gave some good minutes down low, but we just didn't have the post depth to match their bigs.

[hopefan]

up north Mac gets a huge win at Eureka 74-67   Big game for Dylan Guthrie 8 for 11, 21 points; Clayton Whitlock 7 for 8, 20 points.... Mark Lessen doesn't Play for Eureka, what happened?  Dustin Fritcsh subpar night, Jordan Kindred gets 16 but it's not enough.  Mac has another huge game at Westmin on Saturday....

Lessen watched the game in a partial leg cast.  News that I heard is not good.  Major blow to our chances.  Fritsch was clearly hobbled by injuries and left the game for a good stretch just one minute into the first half.  Misuraca went down hard in the second half and did not return to the game.  Our guys fought hard and DT Thornton gave some good minutes down low, but we just didn't have the post depth to match their bigs.

That is just a real shame..... I feel Eureka's pain... hopefully there can be enough healing over the Christmas holiday that he can come back in the second semester.....

[ecreddevils]

up north Mac gets a huge win at Eureka 74-67   Big game for Dylan Guthrie 8 for 11, 21 points; Clayton Whitlock 7 for 8, 20 points.... Mark Lessen doesn't Play for Eureka, what happened?  Dustin Fritcsh subpar night, Jordan Kindred gets 16 but it's not enough.  Mac has another huge game at Westmin on Saturday....

Lessen watched the game in a partial leg cast.  News that I heard is not good.  Major blow to our chances.  Fritsch was clearly hobbled by injuries and left the game for a good stretch just one minute into the first half.  Misuraca went down hard in the second half and did not return to the game.  Our guys fought hard and DT Thornton gave some good minutes down low, but we just didn't have the post depth to match their bigs.

That is just a real shame..... I feel Eureka's pain... hopefully there can be enough healing over the Christmas holiday that he can come back in the second semester.....

Yes, it's a real shame. We actually out-rebounded Mac by sheer determination, but our lack of height hurt in terms of getting high percentage put backs and shots inside the 3-point arc.  Mac had 5 blocks and altered many more shots.  This means a more heavy reliance on the 3 (6 for 26 won't get it done) and really no offensive post option for EC.  Even with all this, we were in this game until the last three minutes.

As far as Mac, they look good.  Whitlock looks a bit stronger to me this year and his mid-range game is as good as it gets in this conference.  Whitlock and Slagle are a good defensive combo in the paint. Guthrie also had a strong game.   They're a really solid, efficient team with a good variety of weapons.

[Bombers798891]

Not everyone has the luxury of defining success as getting to the NCAA Tournament, Q. As much as I don't like when Grinnell subverts the System for the sole purpose of setting records, I don't agree that the System has been unsuccessful.

Before David Arseneault came to campus, Grinnell hadn't even won 10 games in a season since 1964, a span of 25 seasons. Under him they've done that 18 times in 23 seasons. That is a heck of a lot more successful than Grinnell was before.

I think this is an interesting angle. It's raised the floor considerably for Grinnell because many teams just won't be able to handle the system. However, the ceiling would also appear to be limited, just because it seems like there's really only one way for the team to play/win a game. In a lot of ways, it's like a team running the triple option in football. Deadly when it's on, but eventually, teams find that they get up against a team that can shut down what they do well.

But, honestly, there are worse fates than churning out 16-18 wins each season like you're on an assembly line. With a few hundred teams in DIII, I think it's important to have realistic expectations of what you can achieve given your location, administrative support, facilities, etc.

And I do think they're an entertaining team to watch, and at the D III level, honestly, I think that matters, when it comes to support. It's not like there's going to be a ton of built in support for lots of athletic programs. According to the last NCAA numbers, the average attendance for D-III men's games in 2012 was like 400 fans*. If you can drum up a little excitement with your success, why not?

(*Having worked in an Sports Info office at a D-III school, I know sometimes attendance figures are guessed or ignored, both of which make sense)

Like Pat, I'm not a fan of the games where Grinnell changes their own system for record-breaking purposes and has a starter in there chucking up three-pointers with a 70-point lead after he's already scored 120 or so points against a opponent scheduled for that sole purpose.

I suppose the only plus side is that Taylor moved the bar so high that it's unlikely to be touched, which might put an end to these type of one-game stunts. I don't think you would be able to create a scenario that would allow for a player to approach that total.

[Former Devil 40]

Sorry for my delayed response. My phone died at the game so I was unable to provide updates.

Initial report on Lessen is a fractured bone in his foot. Landed on someone's foot in practice Tuesday. He had a meeting with a specialist today. I'm guessing the time frame for his return would be January depending on the severity of the break.

1st Half: eureka came out with a little full court pressure which seem to bother the highlanders a little bit.  Early in the game Fritsch landed on his ankle weird and had to go to the locker room. DT came in and gave Eureka some big minutes. Lead was exchanged back and forth multiple times before Mac took a slim lead into the break.

2nd half: much of the same back and forth early on. Misuraca landed on his tailbone and elbow which caused him to miss the rest of the game. Eureka took many quick shots late in the 2nd half which I thought were wasted possessions. Mac kept about a 6-8 point lead for the remainder of the game with solid play.

Here's what I take away from this game. I think Misuraca goes out of control to the hoop too much. He does a good job getting there ( almost reminds me of Kameron Bell) however he rarely finishes (something Bell did well). I think he should look to kick the ball out to open shooters once he draws multiple defenders. Fritsch struggled with his injury and did a good job to tough it out. Nailor had a tough game got to the hoop but seemed like there was a lid on it. Kindred was his usual self. Took a couple of quick shots but played very well on defense. I already mentioned DT gave some big minutes. He will have to continue to do so with Lessen out.

Mac looked pretty solid. Talked with coach Creal before the game which was nice. I have a lot of respect for him and I think his team will only get better. As someone mentioned Whitlock had both his inside an outside game working.

I'd like to see more Conner Lincoln for Eureka. I like his game athletic swing man that can shoot it. Dunlap hit 3 3's last night but that's basically all he does. Not much attacking the basket. Also Eureka really struggled to inbound the ball under Macs basket. I think they turned it over 4 times. Idk what that's about but they better get things figured out before Saturday.

[hopefan]

Eureka.... wow extremely tough challenge for Saturday without the big man in the middle to go to on offense as well as to keep Spalding from penetrating...  I don't know how they can do it, all the more questionable if Fritsch is hurting...  Well, 0-2 obviously isn't a death warrent if that's what happens... but that home loss will eventually have to be made up with a win or two on the road against contending teams....  if they get beat down at Spalding I don't think of it as a problem....

[MObball41]

Westminster finds itself on the wrong side of a buzzer beater tonight, as Missouri S&T hits a three at the horn to win 77-74. WC still has to feel pretty good about the strong showing against a D2 team. The Blue Jays get MacMurray on Saturday at home.

[hopefan]

Went to see Greenville at Prin....   Greenville not quite as good as I hoped, Prin not as bad as I would have thought... Prin will win games this year, maybe even in conference..... Several of the new Greenville additions are real players.. very nice depth to use.....  Just appreciate a conference where you can spend time talking to coaches...Coach Barber, Creal are great guys....

[hopefan]

GULP    Spalding   95     Eureka 51

Did the conference just turn into a battle for 2nd place based on the results of one game?
Is Eureka's loss of Mark Lessen worth 40 points?

And my goodness.. first team all conference Jametrius Brasheer played 6 minutes and has 2 points for Spalding... what's with that?

Dustin Fritsch must be sore... only 14 minutes...  Coach Wilde must have tried everything he could... lots of bench minutes..

And Spalding... the names we've been seeing the last couple of years are all still there.. that's why the coaches voted them as favorites.. Brasheer, Blakemore, McAfee, Sangster, Hardin, St. Julian, Robinson.  Anxious to see them, but I'm afraid it won't be until January...

Westminster- Mac was one sided for awhile, but Mac staged a furious rally that fell just short...  I'm caught up with Mac.. like their scrappiness and Coach Creal's passion... but wow, would I have done one or two things differently yesterday, at least against Westmin....   AND newcomer Jordan Jones for Westmin, who had a weak showing the first time I saw the Jays, was very good yesterday...  and Joe Prophet shows more mobility and courage on moves to the basket... Watch Out!  If Westmin only had that one big guy in the middle...(nothing against Taylor Allen, whose work ethic is 100%)...  Charlie, come back!  Incidentally.. ever seen Fulton Mo during the Christmas holiday.. Beautiful!!!!!  Darn near ran into a horse on main street!!

As I said Greenville not as good as early stats indicated, Webster hammers them in second half...  Once again, there is no diminishing the positives of coming in with experience playing together... Webster has that over Greenville... Also.. not sure that Greenville has a confident go to guy... Those 3 pointers aren't going to drop every night....

Good to see Fontbonne get win number one, especially on the road.... Blake Welch breaks out for a huge game, hopefully gives him the confidence to fit in a little better with the youth brigade.  Coach Schaeffer still searching for best mix of Frosh and vets....

Prin loses relatively close to Millikin.. Kenny Sydness gets 21... he's back....I'm telling you, barring injury, Prin has enough to get some wins.....

So, the two dates of conference games are complete... and 7 coaches will be on the phone with Coach Wilde for the next month trying to figure out how to prepare for matchups with Spalding in January!!