MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Hoops Junkie]

I was at the Point Badger game and was impressed with Point as a whole.  Brezinski held his own inside against Bergerren and made a couple of nice post moves.  The tillema brothers both played pretty well in the first half but really struggled in the second half.

To me the real telling thing was depth and the physical strength and conditioning of the badger players versus the pointers. 

Jordan Taylor never tried to take over because he didnt have too.  It was great to see Ryan Evans play well as he is gonna be very important.  Also Brust making some plays was good to see.

[bballBG]

I was impressed with Brezinski against the badgers.  Played well against guys who were bigger, stronger and faster than him.  I agree that Point doesn't have the depth.  If D. Tillema gets injured they will be in a hurt of trouble.

Giordana was a complete non factor.  I am kind of surprised he is starting.  To me he is a situational player.  He has trouble creating his own shot and is a liability on defense. 

Would have loved to see J. Harris play and see how he would have matched up.

[John Gleich]

If you look at the STATS, Jordan Brezinski played for 37 minutes versus just 22 for Berggren!

That's a pretty huge disparity and it meant that Jared Berggren was much more fresh, more of the time.

That lack of depth is really going to be a strain on Point, especially early before the young guys get experience and can provide meaningful minutes.

I think it Point can shorten the game, it will be to their advantage... have as many possessions as possible where the defense has to defend for much of the 35 second clock and let one of the playmakers make a play.

It's tough for those guys to be patient though... because they want to make plays!

It will be interesting to see how Giordanna responds.  He was 3rd or 4th in the conference in 3 point percentage last year... but it was in 15 minutes per game, off the bench.

He's going to have to step up and have a more pivotal role this year.

[chmarx]

I think this kind of exhibition can be overanalyzed.  Wisconsin can play almost anyone in the country.  I doubt if the best team in the history of the WIAC could keep up with them.

Too little information to predict Point's performance with mostly this mismatch as evidence.

[tomt4525]

http://www.uwplatt.edu/athletics/basketball/mens/1112/roster.html

Platteville's roster is posted, now I believe the only one in the conference not updated is River Falls.

Anybody know why Nick Romanowski isn't on Platteville's bball roster??  Did he change his mind on what school he is attending??

[frodotwo]

If you look at the STATS, Jordan Brezinski played for 37 minutes versus just 22 for Berggren!

That's a pretty huge disparity and it meant that Jared Berggren was much more fresh, more of the time.

That lack of depth is really going to be a strain on Point, especially early before the young guys get experience and can provide meaningful minutes.

I think it Point can shorten the game, it will be to their advantage... have as many possessions as possible where the defense has to defend for much of the 35 second clock and let one of the playmakers make a play.

It's tough for those guys to be patient though... because they want to make plays!

It will be interesting to see how Giordanna responds.  He was 3rd or 4th in the conference in 3 point percentage last year... but it was in 15 minutes per game, off the bench.

He's going to have to step up and have a more pivotal role this year.

I like JB, but to me he is maddeningly inconsistent. At times he appears a step slow on D and his footwork is questionable, and other times he comes through with great post moves and scores down low. At times he reminds me of Jerome Wotachek, a guy that showed lots of promise initially, but never quite got over the hump. JB is a much better player I think, but needs to develop consistency.

I don't think it will be too long before Austin Ryf plays more minutes than Gio, he looks to be a better play-maker (ball handling-wise) than Gio is. Although in Point's offensive scheme, they don't really need to have a guy designated in the pure "point guard" sense. 

[tomt4525]

If you look at the STATS, Jordan Brezinski played for 37 minutes versus just 22 for Berggren!

That's a pretty huge disparity and it meant that Jared Berggren was much more fresh, more of the time.

That lack of depth is really going to be a strain on Point, especially early before the young guys get experience and can provide meaningful minutes.

I think it Point can shorten the game, it will be to their advantage... have as many possessions as possible where the defense has to defend for much of the 35 second clock and let one of the playmakers make a play.

It's tough for those guys to be patient though... because they want to make plays!

It will be interesting to see how Giordanna responds.  He was 3rd or 4th in the conference in 3 point percentage last year... but it was in 15 minutes per game, off the bench.

He's going to have to step up and have a more pivotal role this year.

I like JB, but to me he is maddeningly inconsistent. At times he appears a step slow on D and his footwork is questionable, and other times he comes through with great post moves and scores down low. At times he reminds me of Jerome Wotachek, a guy that showed lots of promise initially, but never quite got over the hump. JB is a much better player I think, but needs to develop consistency.

I don't think it will be too long before Austin Ryf plays more minutes than Gio, he looks to be a better play-maker (ball handling-wise) than Gio is. Although in Point's offensive scheme, they don't really need to have a guy designated in the pure "point guard" sense.

I haven't seen Ryf play yet but he sure has me intrigued after what I've read about him and seeing what he's getting as far as minutes as a freshman.  I can't comment on whether I think Ryf should start over Gio for the obvious reason I just mentioned, but from what someone said earlier...Gio is a situational player, I completely agree.  For the most part, Gio only played the past 2 years when defenses were playing zone against Point.  He's the zonebuster, he stretches the defenders out because they have to respect his shot.  Every team needs a couple of these players and I'm happy Gio is at Point.  The fact that he was strictly used against zone defenses may make it a little bit of a learning curve early this season for him to adapt to going against a man to man defense.

From an earlier post calling Gio a defensive liability, I'll have to disagree.  Watching him in multiple games I have always thought he moved pretty well, was quick enough to stay in front of guards.  As long as he isn't guarding someone who has 4 inches on him and is going to post him up repeatedly, he'll be fine.

[John Gleich]

I think this kind of exhibition can be overanalyzed.  Wisconsin can play almost anyone in the country.  I doubt if the best team in the history of the WIAC could keep up with them.

Too little information to predict Point's performance with mostly this mismatch as evidence.

I agree... but I think that certain performances can show what might happen in the future.

Point was certainly overmatched... as any of the WIAC teams would have been.  I would have liked to see some other Point teams from the past play Badger teams... Point teams that had more weapons on them, and were more veteran squads but this was the chance that Point got... and they won't get another one for 8 more years.

I think your point about being over matched and not getting as clear a picture is valid though... I'm just surmising here, but I wonder if that's why SP hasn't played any other exhibitions since before Coach Semling was at the helm?

In a scrimmage, not only do you get an opportunity to see more players (3 20 minute halves), it's a more controlled environment.  I've seen coaches take what amount to mini timeouts during scrimmages before to talk though a point.

I think that there are definitely good things that can be taken from this game, though.  Despite shooting just 3/19 from deep, Point shot 46% for the game against a top 15 D-I opponent that is known for their defense.  That bodes well for the upcoming year... especially against teams that will have defensive liabilities in spots.  Shots will be even easier to come by in the future.

I think that games like this can do a couple of things... they can highlight problems (such as Point's turnovers... there were some glaring mistakes that you won't get away with in any basketball game... the Badgers just made 'em look bad more often) and positives (the Pointers have at least 3 guys in the Tillemas and Brezinski who can create their own shot and score).

Beyond that, thought, it's a bit of a crapshoot... it's hard to really posit much from the other guys' games.

That was the case in the Marquette exhibition too, though.  BOX SCORE  Only 4 guys scored in that game!  Everyone else was a combined 0 for 9.  But what that game showed is that you were going to have two super stars with a smattering of role players around them... and you were going to have a really good defensive team.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with the Badgers this year, especially against low-level D-I teams.  The transitive property really doesn't work out like some suggest... but based on last year's results, this Pointer team played UW better than Prairie View A&M, North Dakota, NC State, Copin State, Northwestern and Michigan State.  http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/schedule/_/id/275/year/2011/wisconsin-badgers

... Of course, that statement is even sillier than it looks initially... but meh, we're in the preseason... what else do we have to talk about?!

[upnorth]

We know a little bit more about Point, but what about the rest of the conference?  Have any scrimmages helped answer the following questions?

• How will the new player(s) fit in at RF and WW?
• Who will take Mane's shots at LaX?
  Will UWEC play like Marquette did under Crean with Green in charge?  (lots of plays)
  Is Cross at UW-P ready to take the next step to becoming a dominate big man?

Lots of questions--don't know if I can wait until the 15th for answers!

[John Gleich]

We know a little bit more about Point, but what about the rest of the conference?  Have any scrimmages helped answer the following questions?

• How will the new player(s) fit in at RF and WW?
• Who will take Mane's shots at LaX?
  Will UWEC play like Marquette did under Crean with Green in charge?  (lots of plays)
  Is Cross at UW-P ready to take the next step to becoming a dominate big man?

Lots of questions--don't know if I can wait until the 15th for answers!

Those are tough questions at this point...!

I think that, as with last year, it's RF's conference to lose.  They managed to do so last year and I think, by the end of the year, teams like Point will really be playing well... but it really does draw into question the integration of Chris Palmer.  One would think that having additional skilled players on a team would be a positive thing, but there's always the chance of him not meshing well with the current team...

I really don't forsee that happening, though.  Why would you go to a school, for your senior year, if you didn't get along with the guys who were already there?

It should turn out to be an interesting year (like always!)

[Drake Palmer]

St. Marys' transfer Chris Palmer should be at UWRF & the WIAC for another couple of years. He's only a junior.
 

[John Gleich]

St. Marys' transfer Chris Palmer should be at UWRF & the WIAC for another couple of years. He's only a junior.

Hey, I tried, right?  Even more reason to "love the ones you're with."

River Falls hasn't graced us with a roster yet, and I didn't feel like traveling to Minnesota (even via the internet) 'cause I hear there's snow a-fallin' there...

[cubs]

http://www.uwplatt.edu/athletics/basketball/mens/1112/roster.html

Platteville's roster is posted, now I believe the only one in the conference not updated is River Falls.

Haven't seen an Oshkosh roster either....  Any wager as to who posts first between Oshkosh and St. Norbert? 

[John Gleich]

http://www.uwplatt.edu/athletics/basketball/mens/1112/roster.html

Platteville's roster is posted, now I believe the only one in the conference not updated is River Falls.

Haven't seen an Oshkosh roster either....  Any wager as to who posts first between Oshkosh and St. Norbert? 

Both will probably post on the 15th...

[fredfalcon]

One factor in the Chris Palmer transfer was a girl friend. I'm not sure she's now a student at RF, but I think she has attended RF. I don't think he had "friends" at RF. But, these are just opinions I've gathered from discussions with Coach B. Unfortunately, my memory is faulty.

And, yes, he does have two years of eligibility left.

One interesting report I got from one of the managers at RF is that CP, until he got to RF, had not had to lift weights as part of a training regimen. He is now required to do so. Will that make him better? Probably.

There is no roster for RF up--I just checked. From what I've seen at practice, and heard from those who have seen the scrimmages, there is no "meshing problem" on the team.

One of the factors in the "collapse" at the end of last year is the loss of a 5th/6th man who was lost to the team for academic reasons. His departure coincided with the first loss after the 15 game winning streak, to WW. He did not play again, and the team was not very deep prior to the loss. Lack of depth does not appear to be a problem this season. I count 10 players who can contribute.