MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Gregory Sager]

Go for it, hopefan!

[hopefan]

That's one!!!!!

whoa  TWO!!!!!!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Color me interested.

[hopefan]

THREE  (from the east side of my favorite state)  !!!!!

[augie77]

Mid Michigan (Lansing/Holt) chimes in with a fourth...

Having said that, I recognize this is a major effort on your part and you have no obligation to put out for the casual interest of the CCIW contingent.  Is there any interest out there in the SLIAC community?

[magicman]

I always read what hopefan has to say, even though I'm half a country away from you. As Greg said go for it!! And I believe I make #5.

[hopefan]

ahhh heck... I'd would have done it anyway... it's just good to hear from you guys!!!!  Will get started as time allows.....Wonder who i'll offend this year??

[RFMichigan]

Would like to see.

[ecreddevils]

I'd be interested.

[y_jack_lok]

ahhh heck... I'd would have done it anyway... it's just good to hear from you guys!!!!  Will get started as time allows.....Wonder who i'll offend this year??

Movie critics, book reviewers, etc. don't care who they offend, so why should you? Having said that, many critics are often proven wrong. 

[y_jack_lok]

Iowa Wesleyan, coming into the conference next season, is seeking a head coach: http://www.d3jobs.com/browse/listing/5130e7af.html.

[hopefan]

Let's start with a brief overview of the conference as a whole...  This was a premium year for SLIAC hoops... It was clear from the get go that 5 teams would be fighting it out for the top 4 spots (Eureka, Spalding, Webster, Westmin, and Mac), that Greenville was experimenting with a huge number of transfers, that Fontbonne had a very good frosh class, and that BC and Prin needed more help than one year would bring....   Well the top 5 certainly did play for the four spots, with Mac getting edged out... Greenville's experiment, though showing some initial promise, failed miserably... Fontbonne played very well in several games, but the frosh couldn't quite figure out how to win (YET).... and BC and Prin, were way down yonder...  AND, SLIAC teams were very competitive with outside competition.  If you throw out Blackburn and Principia records (winless), SLIAC schools were 20-20 against non conference D3 competition, but some of those 20 losses were against top notch competition such as Transy, Wash U, Augie, Wheaton, Rose Hulman, Thomas More, and Dickinson.

The strength of the conference was mainly its seniors.. Each of the four conference tournament teams were driven primarily by seniors, and the loss of Senior Cody Best by Mac due to injury may have cost them a tourney spot.    The conference All Star team was primarily Seniors.. 4 on the first team, 2 on the 2nd team, 3 on the third team, and 4 on the All Defensive team...

With no knowlege of what new faces will be coming in next year, what the senior laden top four this year means is that the top four teams may very well come back to the pack next year, and that at least two of teams in this year's 5-9 slots are STRONG contenders for a tourney spot next year.  To me, it looks like SLIAC teams will not be as strong against outside competition as we were this year, but the conference race could be even more interesting with 5, 6 or 7 teams being in the hunt.

I will try to do in depth analysis on each team, one per day, over the next two weeks... and don't forget... Iowa Wesleyan joins the SLIAC next year and will play a complete SLIAC schedule (Though they will not be eligible for the Conference Tourney and NCAA consideration for 4 years)... meaning 10 teams, 18 conference games, and more conference  bus trip miles than just about any D3 conference in the country other than the ASC (Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana)

[hopefan]

Think I'll do team No 1 today... picking the easiest to write about.... Eureka.  Why easy?  Because they lose virtually EVERYONE....  I would think they lose more of their program than any team in D3...

In 2009-2010, Eureka had a solid team led by seniors Mike Dr Z Zasada and Kameron Bell... both 20 ppg scorers... losing those two was expected to drop Eureka in the conference standing in the 2010-11 season, but when starter Andy Leppart left early in the season and Jordan Kindred went down with a leg injury, Eureka suffered a free fall to a 4-21 record... Coach Wilde had to do something drastic to recover and he did, plucking 3 transfers from local Sauk Valley JC, as well as one from Carl Sandurg and one from Missouri Valley... and Eureka with the 5 tranfers, Kindred and Mark Lessen made the conference tourney the next two years and had overall records of 15-11 and 18-9.  But ALL those guys graduate this year.

Gone will be
Jordan Kindred 9.9 ppg and a go to kind of player despite coming off the bench most of the season
Mark Lessen  19.7 ppg 9.9 rpg  the SLIAC MOP, 2nd team all region D3hoops
Rian Nailor  7.3 ppg  2.6 APG
Niko Rivera  6.7 ppg  2.3 apg 5.3 rpg
Dustin Fritsch 13.5 ppg  8.6 rpg
Chuck Misuaca  4.4 ppg  3.8apg   started at point and had a huge game in the regular season win over Spalding
DT Thornton  6.9 ppg  3.9 RPG as 7th man
Jordan Fehr   3.2 ppg.... played in 21 games

That's 64.3 ppg of the team's 72 ppg!!!!

The only returning player that has any stats worth mentioning is Conner Lincoln, a 6'3 g/f ... my only impression of him is he must be a leaper because twice when he came into a game I saw, they looped him around for an ally-oop pass (neither of which he converted).. Lincoln did play in 26 of 27 games, but not very many minutes in the tight games.  The rest of the guys on the bench saw 'limited' action.

Eureka will either have to go the JC route again, totally, or face a year like Fontbonne did this year with virtually nothing but freshmen... and Coach Wilde is evidently 0 for 3 years recruiting the high schools.....
Can EC stay out of the SLIAC basement next year?   If I was a high school player looking to play right away at the D3 level, this would be the best place in the world to go next year!!!!  The campus is quaint, they have a renovated facility, they get great support from the community (as compared to most SLIAC schools), and the coach is a good guy and proven winner.... and they have 12 openings on the varsity!

[Denny McKinney]

Good Job Hopefan. This could be a tough year to figure. I know 3 schools who have players not coming back. And, after having a long chat with Griffin of WU after their game vs FU, he'll be back.

Great Kid. Moved up from down south. Need to work harder on the books. I'll bet a cup of coffee he's in a Gorlok uniform!

Saw a lot of SLIAC schools at HS games this winter.

Go! FGCU

[y_jack_lok]

Agreed that the Eureka analysis is thorough and on target -- and that it is the easiest. I might have been able to do that one. 

Save these and repost them in September.