MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[y_jack_lok]

...I've watched a lot of basketball -- a lot of officiating and a lot of coaches' complaints, and they do not always match up with an impartial observation.

Above quote from Pat Coleman. I agree with Pat. I was at the Wash U - Case Western women's game this afternoon. In the first half of the game, right in front of the Case Western coach, one of her players, in trying to deflect or intercept a pass from one Wash U player to another, garbbed the arm of the Wash U player for whom the pass was intended. It was clearly a foul and the ref called it. The Case Western coach complained and I watched the ref in his amusement as he demonstrated to the coach 2 or 3 time exactly what her player had done right in front of her. If the same act had been committed against one of her players, the Case Western coach would certainly have considered it a foul.

[fcnews]

Pat I don't have a son or daughter. But, if an agenda effects the level playing field it hurts all the kids. And, it is just not this conference. It's in a lot of conferences. The same people have been calling games for the same schools way to long. Some of these fellows are disrespectful and erogent and niether one are good traits for their proffessions. I'm not saying all ref's, not even a lot. It's that just a few that keep appearing over and over again.

I was just trying to pass onto those who complained about adult fans at MacMurray, the fact that it was a little more then just what happened yesterday. Most people who have seen an FU game this year knows that this is not the norm. Every team has that one or two fans, but in general FU fans are very well behaved.

[fcnews]

Here's how Fontbonne hosts. 

1) Mac loses to Blackburn
2)Fontbonne wins last three
3)Westminster wins last three to get the four seed
4) Eureka loses to Greenville
Fu 13-5
Wu 13-5
Mac 13-5
West 12-6
Fontbonne wins tie breakers going down to fourth team which is West who they swept.

[sully309]

It appeared Eureka ran out of gas in the 2nd half vs. Westminster. Almost fighting all the way back from 19 points against Webster clearly took a lot out of the Red Devils.  Maybe if they come back to beat Webster, they get past Westminster too off of momentum and adreneline. Meanwhile, WC had an easier time the previous night at LCC. Same thing happened the 1st time EC played Westminster as EC had a tough battle with Webster and WC cruised to a 20 pt win over LCC.

Having said that, I would not be surprised to see WC do some damage if they get into the tourney. With Buxton back, they have more firepower on offense and they have played good defense pretty much all season. Having seen Fontbonne and Westminster now, I have no idea how FU could handle them twice, but credit them for doing so.

Looks like Panther Pride and I will have a big game on our hands next Saturday. Greenville has recently played Mac and Webster better than Eureka, but based off the 1st meeting, individual match ups seem to favor EC. Obviously, home court advantage may have somethng to do with the outcome as well. I think it's good for both teams to play each other for this reason: the winner will have some momentum going into the tourney. The loser probably won't be playing well enough to doing anything in the tourney anyway, so it would make no difference if they were in or not.

Nice call by the Godfather, by the way, picking EC to take the o-fer this past week. I definitely didn't see it coming and wish I hadn't witnessed it.

Let's hope each team ends the regular season on a good note with some well played games. I would personally like to wish Webster, Blackburn and Maryville the best of luck  .

[hopefan]

While I could somewhat smirk at FC's scenario, beginning with No1, Mac losing to Blackburn, at least that point may not be so farfetched.  Mac's success the last two weeks can at least partially be attributed to one change in their game - they started to put the ball back inside rather than relying so heavily on perimeter 3 point shooting  - last Saturday in winning at Westmister it was Brady Greene who had a big game. this Saturday vs Fontbonne it was Robertson  -  in both cases they badly outquicked the other teams big men.   BUT, if Robertson has reinjured that hip, they lose a major piece of that puzzle.  It would be a shame if Robertson is hurting, because Mac has really hit their stride with great blance from all 5 starters.


Anyway  FC, while your scenario is real, the stars will really have to align properly for it to play out and for fontbonne to host..... and it's supposed to be pretty cloudy the next several days......

I've seen each of the contenders the last two weeks - some several times  How's the market for the conference players?
Blue Chip  -  Hoggatt, White, Fogarty, Whalum
Price is rising  -  Kuhn, Coleman, Robertson
Held steady - Conquest, Davis, Kurz, Spinner
Volatile swings in value - Branch, Dygert
Market crash - Eureka
Buy low several weeks ago, make a profit - Greene, Hredlicka, Simmons
Nasdaq - Hammond
Just hit the market, penny stocks -  MU's McCoy, GC's Ellis, Whitcomb

[pantherpride06]

Unique, to say the least by hopefan.  Our thousands of fans will enjoy that trinked of info from hopefan.  As we spoke about Saturday, it's funny we are stars on here and not many people know who we are.   Great stuff!

I also forgot to mention our get-togeather at Mac on Saturday.  FC, Hope, and I (Sliac Commish & MacAttack also in attendance).  Nice seeing everyone.

[Gregory Sager]

Looking at IC's conference, it looks like they travel alot.  Why not get IC in the SLIAC to fill what will be a vacant spot the Lincoln Christian will leave us with.  How interesting would the IC/MC match-ups be?  How intersting would it be of IC/MC were playing in Jacksonville for a SLIAC title?  Just a thought.  Seems logical for IC??  i dunno. 

Logical for travel purposes for Illinois College, but otherwise not logical at all. The Midwest Conference is a long-established and prestigious league in terms of academics, with such high-powered and selective schools within its ranks as Lawrence, Grinnell, Lake Forest, and Knox. I have no doubt that IC's administrators, faculty, and alumni like keeping that kind of company, and are willing to put up with having their student-athletes suffer the long busrides in order to maintain that MWC connection. No offense to the SLIAC, which has fine schools within their particular niche of the collegiate spectrum, but its member institutions just aren't in the same category as the MWC schools in terms of academics.

What I don't get is why MacMurray and Illinois College no longer play each other in either football or men's basketball, the two sports most likely to draw interest both within their respective student bodies and within the community in general. When you're talking about two D3 schools that coexist within the same modestly-sized rural village, it should be a no-brainer that they play each other every year in football and men's basketball in spite of the fact that they're in different conferences. The campus and community interest alone should dictate it.

It's not as though there's some sort of bad blood that has sundered the athletic relationship between the two schools, because they play each other in lots of other sports (golf, wrestling, soccer, etc.).

[Mac Attack]

The unofficial rumor is Illinois College wouldn't schedule MacMurray College because they "didn't have an available date." They played each other in regularly in basketball until two years ago. Mac played in the IC tournament last year but didn't play IC. This year IC wouldn't even do that, and Mac wound up traveling to Georgia for two games. I asked both the IC basketball coach and athletic director why they wouldn't play MacMurray - no reply from either one. Hiding in the tall weeds. MacMurray should be playing Illinois College every year, and drop Grinnell like a hot potatoe. There are more than a few Highlander supporters who believe Illinois College couldn't stand the thought of losing to MacMurray in either football or basketball - and the easiest way to avoid that is to have a "scheduling conflict." What a shame and what a disservice to both schools, their fans, and the Jacksonville community.

[hopefan]

Mac  -  keep us appraised regarding Robertson's hip....

[Mac Attack]

Robertson will be ready to go Wednesday night. One tough kid.

I noticed the Fontbonne-MacMurray game stats were up on the Highlander website within a couple of hours of the completion of the game. Looks like positive steps are being taken in this area, and I knew they would be. There's been quite an overhaul within the MacMurray athletic department - all for the better. Just takes time to get the pieces in place.

Don't know if anyone's checked out the weather forecast for the St. Louis area and central Illinois the next 3-4 days, but it doesn't look very good at all. Hope we can get these games in without bad roads and risky driving conditions.....

After the last couple of weeks, I'm ready to revise my earlier all conference and honorbale mention picks. Thoughts on this later in the day...

[hopefan]

Mac  just FYI  - the all conference team is announced in conjunction with the conference tourney  - tourney games not included-  I agree, my impressions of certain players have changed over the course of the conference season.  It seems like this year many of the players have run hot and cold thru the season.  Just with Mac alone I've seen Coleman, Robertson and Greene have great games, but be darned near invisible in others.  Hopefully those that select an all conference team will be looking for consistancy rather than be snowed by a couple of big games.

Also wish all conference would include a point guard, a true big man, and 3 tweeners, in order to recognize a true "1st 5"

at this stage, candidates would be:
point guard : Whalen, Spinner, FC's McCoy, Simmons, McComb, Allen

Big men : Richard, Hoggat, Robertson, Davis

Tweeners :  Coleman, Greene, Kuhn, White, Fogerty, Branch, Tarpley, Hammond, Conquest

[hopefan]

just to show how difficult it can be, check the comparison of the point guard
candidates conference stats:
                  ppg       apg    TO      Ast to To    steals    FT%

Spinner        12.7      5.3     40         2.0            19       78.7

McComb        12.2      3.3     52          .9             23        76.6

Simmons       13.6      4.9     48         1.5            27        72.5

Whalen         14.9      3.0      32         1.3            39       76.8

FC McCoy      10.5       4.8     52         1.2            23        90.6

Allen             10.4       4.4     19          3.2           21         78.3

Who has the best conference stats here?

 

[Mac Attack]

Based on overall conference stats, and a preference for defense as well as offense, I'd have to see my All Conference teams would like this:

First team
Point - Whalum (MC)
#2 Guard - Allen (BC)
Wing - Tarpley (EC)
#4 - Foggerty (FU)
Post - Hoggatt (WU)

Second Team
Point - Spinner (WU)
#2 Guard - Coleman (MC)
Wing - White (FU)
#4 - Robertson (MC)
Post - Davis (WC)

Hon. Mention
Hammond (BC)
Kuhn (WU)
Everett (LCC)
Thompson (PC)
Simmons (GC)
Greene (MC)
McCoy (FU)
Holland (MU)
McComb (EC)
Conquest (GC)

Lots of deserving players and I'm certain I've left more than a few out that could be listed.

Player of the Year (Best Player on Best Team?)
If Mac wins the regular season, it would be either Whalum or Robertson. Take your pick. If Webster wins it, it's Hoggatt. If Fontbonne wins it, it's Foggarty. Or you could have Co-Players of the Year. Not sure if they do that.

Newcomer of the Year
I really like White from FU. Same for Coleman from Mac. Both are terrific first year SLIAC players. One is a true freshmen, the other a juco transfer (as was Allen last year I assume). One is a player who can play inside and out with equal strength. The other is a slasher, shooter, and passer. I'd give it to both of them.

Coach of the Year (goes to the regular season champ?)
Maybe I'm wrong, but considering the circumstances and the fact his team was picked to finish 7th in the coaches pre-season poll, no one has exceeded expectations like Steve Hettinga has from MacMurray. If the honor goes to the coach of the regular season champ, we don't know yet who that will be.

[hopefan]

The one eye catcher on your list is Allen 1st team   -  What's your justification of him over Coleman, White, Hammond, Conquest, Kuhn, Green?   I know I certainly expected more than what I saw from the returning conference player of the year.

[Mac Attack]

I just think Allen is a very, very good all around player. Does of lot of little things well. Real leader, scores, plays hard on defense, and can hurt you anywhere at anytime. You're right - for the returning Conference Player of the Year, bigger numbers were expected. But with a new coach, new offense, and a different supporting cast, I'm guessing it hasn't been easy for the young man. I still like him a lot. You could switch him with any of the players you mentioned and probably not miss a beat. hard to pick the "best" five, isn't it...