MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[badgerwarhawk]

That was the case when we played them. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Wonder if any former WIACers will go to Wisconsin Lutheran College tomorrow & tryout for the Milwaukee Blast, a new ABA franchise.  9-11:30 am!

[John Gleich]

Wonder if any former WIACers will go to Wisconsin Lutheran College tomorrow & tryout for the Milwaukee Blast, a new ABA franchise.  9-11:30 am!

Darn, I'm busy.

And horribly out of shape.

And old.

Oh well.

[JacketPride]

UWS releases their 2011-2012 recruiting class:

Joe Carpenter: 6-4, Guard, Albertville, Minn.
Carpenter, a graduate of St. Michael-Albertville High School, averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game last season.  He has a career scoring high of 43 points and a rebounding high of 19.  Carpenter is a two-time all-conference selection and was all-state honorable mention.  He played AAU basketball with the Minnesota Magic.

Adam Hjelter: 6-0, Guard, Hutchinson, Minn.
Hjelter is a graduate of Hutchinson High School and averaged 17.6 points, 3.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds as a senior last year.  He was a first team all-conference selection and played AAU basketball with 43 Hoops as well as the Minnesota Comets.

Josh Kimmes: 6-6, Center, Superior, Wis.
A local product, Kimmes just moves down the street from Superior High School, where he averaged 14 points and 12 rebounds a game last year for the Spartans.  Kimmes was second team all-conference as a junior and first team as a senior when he helped the Spartans win the Lake Superior Conference.

Eric Effertz: 5-11, Guard, Ladysmith, Wis.
A graduate of Coach Siverling's alma mater, Effertz averaged 15 points, 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game as a senior and was a two-time all-conference selection.  Effertz was chosen to play in the Wisconsin Basketball coaches Association (WBCA) All-Star Game as a senior, a year where he helped his team to a conference championship.

Cody Overton: 6-5, Forward, Mora, Minn.
Overton is a graduate of Mora High School.  As a senior with the Mustangs, Overton averaged 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Walter Charlton: 6-5, Forward, Nassau, Bahamas
A junior college transfer, has two years of eligibility remaining after spending time at Iowa Lakes Community College and Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa.  Last season Charlton appeared in 19 games at Waldorf where he averaged 1.2 points and 1.8 rebounds.

In addition to the recruiting class, the Yellowjackets will welcome Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn.) back into the fold.  A big body in the post (6-11, 250 pounds), Byrne didn't play last season after appearing in eight games during his freshman season of 2009-10.  Byrne averaged 2.3 points per game as a freshman.

[emerging1]

I nice line up and recruitment class but they look small.

[emerging1]

Small except for the 6' 11' guy!  I missed that the first time.

[frodotwo]

Any news on the hunt for a new assistant coach?

Nothing final yet, but I heard there were close to 100 applications for the job.

[emerging1]

That would make some sense.  The UWSP men's program is well-known and it would be a step up for a coach to be associated with such a great program.  It is likely all the paperwork involved with the interview process is the hold up.  I hope he is named soon to give the head coach a break.

[frodotwo]

Found this at the end of the Virginia Wesleyan home page article celebrating their preseason #1 ranking by The Sporting News.

The Sporting News Division III preseason Top 10:
1. VIRGINIA WESLEYAN
2. Marietta (Ohio)
3. Augustana (Ill.)
4. Williams (Mass.)
5. St. Mary's (Md.)
6. Rochester (N.Y.)
7. Franklin & Marshall (Pa.)
8. Oswego State (N.Y.)
9. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
10. Cabrini (Pa.)

I can't believe that TSN  really looked in-depth at the UWSP roster for the coming year. They have lost 4 starters and 3 others who combined for 59% of minutes played, 58% of their points, 59% reb, 58% reb and 58% assists. They have some nice players returning, but top 10?

[John Gleich]

Found this at the end of the Virginia Wesleyan home page article celebrating their preseason #1 ranking by The Sporting News.

The Sporting News Division III preseason Top 10:
1. VIRGINIA WESLEYAN
2. Marietta (Ohio)
3. Augustana (Ill.)
4. Williams (Mass.)
5. St. Mary's (Md.)
6. Rochester (N.Y.)
7. Franklin & Marshall (Pa.)
8. Oswego State (N.Y.)
9. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
10. Cabrini (Pa.)

I can't believe that TSN  really looked in-depth at the UWSP roster for the coming year. They have lost 4 starters and 3 others who combined for 59% of minutes played, 58% of their points, 59% reb, 58% reb and 58% assists. They have some nice players returning, but top 10?

Hey, give them some credit... at least all of these teams are D-III teams...

[ShineTime]

Point should not be in the top 25 Whitewater will finish in top 3 in nation.  They will go unbeaten in the conference this year mark it down.

[chmarx]

I don't think general sports publications know much about small college sports.  They probably looked primarily at what happened last year.

[tomt4525]

Point should not be in the top 25 Whitewater will finish in top 3 in nation.  They will go unbeaten in the conference this year mark it down.

No they won't...the WIAC is too competitive to go through unscathed.

[emerging1]

I would agree with both points.  It is likely national publications are working with last year's results and do not detail their opinions as they do with D1 and D2 programs.  Also, there are a lot of unknowns with all the teams in the WIAC.  We don't know about all the transfers or those returning from injury on WIAC teams.  What about a team that is going to change its offensive or defensive schemes?  I agree that Whitewater will be very strong but undefeated might be a stretch.

[John Gleich]

Point should not be in the top 25 Whitewater will finish in top 3 in nation.  They will go unbeaten in the conference this year mark it down.

1. Just because Point probably won't be in the top 5 in the country next year doesn't mean that they automatically shouldn't be in the top 25...

We've been used to Point being one of the best of the best in the land.  Yes, they lost a lot, but that doesn't automatically project to a subpar team. 

It may... but it just doesn't automatically, and I don't think we know enough about the team and the league in general to make a statement such as that.

All of that said, they probably are not a preseason top 10 team.



2. Whitewater will not go undefeated in conference.  Mark it down.


How will they not go undefeated?  Let me count the ways...


They were 5-6 on the road last year, including being 4-4 on the road in the league.

I don't care how much talent you have... that's mediocre at best.

Whitewater outscored their opponents by an average of 3.1 points per game last year.  That implies FAR too many close games... the ball isn't going to bounce your way every single time.  They had 12 games decided by 10 or fewer points and they went 7-5 in those games.  Plain and simple, if you let the opponent stick around, then you're giving them a chance to make a play and beat you.  This league has far too many good players for a highly successful team to let them stick around.

And what will Whitewater's M.O. be?  Whitewater will rely on scoring to win games.  They aren't known as a lock-down defensive team.  This is all great and swell... until somebody catches fire.  They let up 80+ points in 8 of their 28 games last year, and they were 3-5 in those games (and if you take away OT games, they were 1-4).

This doesn't project to great quality. 


They could surprise everyone (but, apparently, you...) and do it, but the teams that typically go undefeated in conference are top teams from top-heavy conferences... they basically have a bunch of games where they show up and are spotted 30 points off the bus.