MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[WUPHF]

By the way, I am trying to remember the history of the Webster-Rust series.  You went to Rust College to see the first meeting a few years ago, right?

[hopefan]

By the way, I am trying to remember the history of the Webster-Rust series.  You went to Rust College to see the first meeting a few years ago, right?

That was 2nd meeting... Rust had come here in 2008-09, Webster went down there 2010-11... it was a very good game down at Rust, I had a blast... ate lunch with Webster team and coaches in quaint restaurant in Holly, Mississippi...one of 4 Webster fans at the game with Alex Kuhl's dad, golf coach Andrew Belsky and someone that was with him....That was the Willie Trimble year.. Webster lost that game from the line, where they went 6-15, compared to 20-29 for Rust... 2 things remembered... the friendliness, hospitality of the Rust fans and students, particularly at half time, where I was obviously a visitor (Rust is a historically Black Institution, but MANY of the kids had friendly words or smiles to me... and the fact that there was a Beautiful historic campus right across the street from Rust, totally boarded up.  I found this out then..

"In November 1999 the Mississippi Industrial College Alumni Association, Inc. (MICAAI) was organized in order to preserve the campus and buildings. The University of Mississippi said "the campus now lies in disrepair."[5] In 2008 Rust College acquired the defunct institution's campus.[6]

[WUPHF]

Thanks for sharing that story.  Very interesting.

I hope Webster and Rust continue to find ways to play each other.

Every HBCU has an interesting history and it is a shame when one closes.  I wish the federal government would do more, but that is for another forum.

[Denny McKinney]

Greenlee is suffering from a multitude of injuries. A continuos back problem and now he's injured a already bad ankle. Not to mention he's already had injuries to both shoulders. Gentry may have the quickness and ball handling skills. But, his shooting leaves a lot to be desired. His poor free throw shooting makes it tough in tight games and he doesn't play a lick of defense.

There is not a bigger fan of Ettinger than me. But, after a great first game, he has had a hard time getting his shot off against the likes of RHIT and Augustana. The perimeter game has suffered from the loss of Blake Welch's 40+% from the threes and the loss of Orkan Bakis to injury. Dorhaur is the spark plug of this team and he can't throw it in the ocean so far. I don't understand Hopefan's disgust at the guard rotation. This is the time of year to see what you have and what the best combinations are.

We are beginning to see the real Ben Kissing. Let's not forget the kid was out of basketball for a year before coming to FU last year.

I have no idea why Hopefan has a problem with FU's freshmen big man Brice Zimmerman. He's only shooting 73.% from the field and has got in a banged with some older big men. Saturday he altered a lot of shots and played the back of the press well. JUCO transfer Jeff Smith Missed the entire pre season coming off knee surgery.  Hopefan you can make fun of those kids all you want. You never about another Big Man that played down the street.

Why would anyone be pis•ed at you?!?

[hopefan]

Denny not sure where you are coming from.. Smith and Zimmerman ARE real big, and I give them credit twice in my writeup for being offensive threats, (saying all the scoring is coming from the 4-5 slots... they are 5's..... and then I say they both can score if they get the ball)...  and yes, at their size and bulk, I do question their defensive quicks and up and down the court stamina.... I wasn't making fun of anyone in my writeup....
Gentry is shooting better from the field this year, and he does things to get to the foul line, plus he's averaging more assists per game and fewer turnovers per game than Dorhauer, Williams, or Watkins.  I was a tough critic of Gentry in the past, but I really think he's become a better player...This year I'm seeing him as a real spark, only to get pulled...

The Wednesday game is critical for Fontbonne... they have to show that they can beat the three lower teams... maybe even dominate them... I'm VERY curious as to how that game will turn out...

And I appreciate your continued interest in the SLIAC and your comments... it's fun to have some discussion over the things I write here....

[Denny McKinney]

Hopefan, you failed to address Gentry's lack of desire at the other end of the floor. I guess you can ask the coach about his decisions. I've watched all but one game. I can see what their searching for.

The Concordia game was a case of both teams full court pressing for 40 minutes. It got a little sloppy, but the fouls are what separated the two teams. Believe me when I say they could of called a lot more of them. Concordia shot a ton of threes. And, I'm not sure why.

[hopefan]

So we get started in a couple of hours... Prin at Eureka.... if Patterson is back, Prin should win by double digits... if not, this one could be close...Eureka intensity and the fact that both teams have extremely short benches could keep Eureka in this one quite awhile, but Prin's size should be too much to overcome....

[hopefan]

wow..PG Larry Patterson not playing for Prin, so as expected game is close.... 50-50 at half, 64-64 currently... wish I was there...

Prin in foul trouble too... may lead to upset.. 83-75 EC now, 6 mins left.

[hopefan]

Eureka, at 1-5, stuns Prin at 3-1, 91-85...shows how tough it's going to be for Prin going with the big 4, without Patterson, and little help off the bench... Sam Feehan goes for 31, 5 in double figures for Eureka... Each of Prin's big 4 are in double figures, led by Jeff Ross with 23... Eureka wins it at the line, 16-26 vs Prin 9-17... Eureka 13-22 frpm 3, but Prin made that up from the field with 2 pointers....

[hopefan]

So, one conference game into the season, and we already have an unexpected nailbiter, and an upset winner... as usual, non conference time for the SLIAC is dismal, but once we get to league, GREAT FUN!!

Unfortunately, with the normal conference routine, the 6:00 ladies/8:00 men pushes things late enough that I'm going to have to bypass the game I want to see, Mac at IWC.... I just can't drive home to 2 AM comfortably... will opt for the shorter trip over to Greenville and see how Webster handles the system (vs who? full Greenville, or still missing starters?)

So Mac at IWC... tough to call, I've seen IWC at their best with the win at Maryville, and Mac looking very ordinary against Luther..I really think that Mac's bigs should dominate (pray they stay out of foul trouble), but can the guard trio of Keltner, Frazer,  Cameron contain Fowler and Butler?  I'll give Mac a tight win...

BC at Fontbonne.... If Fontbonne controls the pace, they should win this one, BC will have a rough time stopping Kissing and the 2 posts, Smith and Zimmerman... Can't let it get to run and gun, that's a style better suited to BC athletes Davis, Hicks etc...Font will give it away if they spend their time out on the three point line.. 

Webster at Greenville.... SLIAC first attempt vs the system... who knows.. toss a coin... either team could win by 20....

Westmin at Spalding...  I'd say Spalding is vulnerable after getting beat badly several times in a row, but I just don't know how Westmin can generate enough offense to do it, especially after the long ride to Louisville...VERY interested to see if Spalding gets things turned around with an easy win, or if Westmin gives them trouble....

[ecreddevils]

Eureka, at 1-5, stuns Prin at 3-1, 91-85...shows how tough it's going to be for Prin going with the big 4, without Patterson, and little help off the bench... Sam Feehan goes for 31, 5 in double figures for Eureka... Each of Prin's big 4 are in double figures, led by Jeff Ross with 23... Eureka wins it at the line, 16-26 vs Prin 9-17... Eureka 13-22 frpm 3, but Prin made that up from the field with 2 pointers....

Excellent up-tempo, high energy contest with few lulls, especially considering both teams are basically running 6 man rotations.  EC shoots 59% from 3, 10 of 15 in the first half.  Greg Kent played like a warrior and made numerous hustle plays down the stretch.  Consider his line:  16 pts, 11 reb, 9 assists, 6 steals. 

I'm fairly impressed with Prin, Ross is a nice efficient player with deceptive athleticism, Davidson and Anum can both flat play.  Ball could be a monster in this league, but did spend a bit too much time at the top of the key for 6' 8" 250. 

[Denny McKinney]

BC 89 FU 83 Fontbonne lost it at the free throw line. 25-43 just won't cut it. BC is very athletic. This loss will sting.

[hopefan]

Hopefan's bottom 3 after seeing everyone but Spalding play:

Westminster
Eureka
Blackburn

Record after first night:

Westminster  1-0
Eureka  1-0
Blackburn  1-0

Hmmm Next year I better see everyone TWICE before conference starts!!! 

I love this conference!!!

Details tomorrow..

[allamericanredhead]

Hopefan's bottom 3 after seeing everyone but Spalding play:

Westminster
Eureka
Blackburn

Record after first night:

Westminster  1-0
Eureka  1-0
Blackburn  1-0

Hmmm Next year I better see everyone TWICE before conference starts!!! 

I love this conference!!!

Details tomorrow..

I love this board and will look forward to Hope's write up on the FC game. It is good to see the FC finally gave Lee's long time assistant the job. Was it on merit or were they once again just trying to save $$? Have heard good things on the new Prez at FC. Better be good cause this old gal thinks they are in big trouble the next few years if they don't get more pro active with enrollment. And I don't like the way they treated Lee at the end. Notice how much more defending of the FC's coaching Dennis has been this year? You can take the homer out of the home but you can't take the home out of the homer. Dennis, you got to love him!!! Hey Dennis, I was pushing you for the FC job at one time so don't go getting those panties bunched. Hope fan, keep those reports coming! You do the SLIAC a great service.

[hopefan]

Let's try to look at what happened last night... I was at Greenville to see the system vs Webster... for the other games, I can only analyze the box scores..

Webster was ahead virtually the whole game vs the system at Greenville, winning 134-115... as much fun as it is to watch, My attitude is changing as to its effectiveness for Greenville because they are using players who just aren't ready YET, for this level of hoops.. in other words, guys who normally would be playing JV ball prepping for varsity next year... Greenville looks far more exhausted than their opponents as the second half progresses, leading to turnovers and poorer shooting... Greenville's situation with manpower has been hurt as I found that Senior Brian Ehresman will be out the rest of the season with a torn ACL (he's deciding regarding the possibility of coming back next year)... Ken Greene, who had missed several games with a wrist injury, returned last night, but clearly needs time to get back into system shape.. he was gassed quickly... Webster put on a real show as the game went on.. numerous dunks up and down the roster, the most spectacular of which came from Damian Joseph who got some hang time on a fast break... Hunter Ward and Tevin Evans threw several down apeice, and it was clear that Jonathon Odjoe and CJ Moore were enjoying the open court running game.... All was accomplished without Xavier Dortch, not dressed with a foot injury... Greenville 'second liner' Shane Smith continues to impress, athletic, aggressive, though hurts himself with poor free throw form (FLAT)... Tim Daniel continues to shoot well, it's a disappointment when he misses, 25 points... and Jamal Daniels has really found his spot in the post, getting 16....

So what do the box scores tell me..

Well as I said, Fontbonne didn't want to get into a running game with a quicker, more athletic Blackburn team.. it appears they did losing to BC 89-83... GREAT win for BC, horrible loss for Fontbonne.. Ben Kissing certainly did his part with 24 points (though only 4 rebounds), but the big man duo of Zimmerman and Smith contributed only 6 points in 24 minutes... I imagined much more from them if Fontbonne was to win a slower paced game.  I also again notice the minutes and contributions of the guard rotation, but like I said , I don't see practice... sooner or late, game contributions have to lead to minutes earned... Blackburn was led by Chris Davis, 22 points, getting to the line often... makes sense to me that BC gets a win when Davis finds his level of play...double digits from 3 other starters, and great contribution from the bench with 27 points, 19 rebounds.   BUT, as Denny pointed out, Fontbonne lost it at the line...well over double the attempts that Blackburn had, but they go 25-43... If Fontbonne shoots a little over 70% from the line, that's 6 more points, and we're playing OT...

At Iowa Wesleyan, Chris Fowler puts on another show as IWC nips Mac... 84-80... Right now, I consider these two the TOP two teams in the conference... Fowler nearly hits a triple double with 24 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds...wide body Marquis Jones adds 15....Mac shooting.. 3 starting guards go 6-18 from 3's, Brent Long and Deavis johnson get only 20 shot attempts between them, making 12.. seems that shot distribution needs to change.. Mac kills IWC on boards, Long and Johnson shoot over 50% with over 30 minutes each.. they should win... Mac, minimal contribution from bench, I expect more out of Bott and Buhlig... seems no real big man replacement ...

Westminster wins at Spalding... the most amazing result of the night...I'll put it all on Coach Mitchell, fantastic job... long trip, questionable talent level, and comes out with a win... I'm stunned... and what does this say about Spalding... what's wrong with things that Brandon Going is getting 8 points...Big Nick Trisko has another big game, 21 points, 17 rebounds, but it's not enough...old heads getting less minutes, new names more minutes for Spalding, is coach Gray going to turn this into a rebuilding project?  Tanner Cochrane makes 4 fts in last 10 seconds to nail down the win for Westmin.. but Westmin boxscore pretty ugly, shot poorly, out rebounded, but a sweet final score.

The system is so much fun to watch, hoping GC can turn it into wins....

So, there is actually a chance that everyone in the conference could start out 1-1 after Saturday... All 10 teams...Can't imagine that has happened very often in D3 history..
it will in the SLIAC IF:
IF Spalding beats Eureka   could happen
IF Mac beats Blackburn    could happen
IF Greenville beats Westmin   could happen
IF Prin beats Webster    could happen
If Fontbonne beats Iowa Wesleyan   would consider a minor upset