MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[fredfalcon]

Falcons04--you were very close:  RF made 31/52 vs UST, 31/53 vs Point, worth a little more than a percentage point, 59.+%

[badgerwarhawk]

WW: 66
LaCrosse: 55

The WARHAWKS got off to a quick start scoring the game's first eight points before the Eagles got on the board.  Despite shooting just 24% for the half the Eagles kept the game close with a 7-2 advantage from the free throw line and early fouls which kept Chris Davis on the bench.  The WARHAWKS never trailed in the game but never led by more than eight points and only six points, 26-20, separated the two teams at the half.  You knew the Eagles weren't likely to continue shooting so poorly and sure enough they came out of the locker room scoring the first six points of the half and tying the game three times before taking their first lead 32-30 after four and half minutes.  The two teams would exchange the lead back and forth until the seven minute mark when a pair of free throws by Alex Merg gave the WARHAWKS a lead they would hold the rest of the way.  After the WARHAWKS built the lead to nine over the next couple of minutes the Eagles would whittle it away to get within two with two minutes to play.  The Eagles struggled in the final minutes missing four shots and turning the ball over twice.  The WARHAWKS put the game away going 8-10 from the charity stripe and adding another basket from Davis.

The WARHAWKS dominated play in the lane outscoring the Eagles 30-14 and had a 15-7 advantage off the bench.  Out rebounding the Eagles 37-29

With Davis playing just 24 minutes due to foul problems Luke Knoble and Alex Edmunds really responded to carry the team.  Knoble finished with a game high 19 points and added 3 steals.  Edmunds finished with 11 points  and pulled down 6 rebounds.  Despite his limited minutes Davis still finished with a double-double 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Eric Bryson finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, a game tying high of 4 assists and a steal.

Al Chery and Cory Dregner paced LaCrosse with 14 apiece.  Dregner had a game high 4 steals while Logan Ellman had 4 assists.


I'm curious just what adjustments Semling could have made and why it makes sense to make radical changes to your game plan this late in the season and with so little time to implement them.  Things worked ok against a solid Superior team.  It seems to me that Point just ran into a River Falls team that shot the ball exceptionally well and with whom they had match up problems in every meeting this season.   

[tomt4525]

Not much to say about the Point game, we didn't have the size to beat RF tonight.  Their gameplan was to pound it inside and RF hit shots.  I will say that Semling better make it a priority in the offseason to develop the bigs he recruited this past year or recruit instant impact bigs this year, or he might as well hang it up.  Forsythe really impressed me on defense against White, he was the only guy last night that made it difficult for Ollie to get position.  If he adds weight and strength, he can be a defensive stopper.  Ritchay and Richard battled all night long too.  Now, on the downside, I think Hass has regressed since the beginning of the season.  He's basically become scared to shoot.  Once again, Dan Tillema forced a bunch of terrible shots...but to his credit nobody else was doing anything on offense to get open.  There's my rant, this season isn't over but I'm already looking forward to next year.

[frodotwo]

Although I might not feel this way if I were a Point fan, I'd not be so quick to condemn your coaching. How quick we forget the successes when things turn south.

They are running the same offense they have been for years and while they had the personnel to make it work in prior years, they don't have them this year. This offense has worked well against most teams, but against taller, athletic front courts it has failed. In that case the coaching staff has to make adjustments and that did not happen.

The biggest failure this year is defense. They do not have anyone that can keep players out of the lane. It's tough for them to beat teams that line up legitimate sized forwards/centers (D3 size anyway) giving up 2-3 inches and 20-30 lbs. Forsythe did well against White because he has that kind of size (6'6" 210 vs 6"7" 210) and wingspan. Problem is he had 14 minutes of action in the first 26 games of the season so he had nothing to offer on the offensive side.

I voiced my opinion very early in the season that the coach was not developing players he may need later in the season. Unfortunately that has come to pass due to the injury to TT. Forsythe may become a defender in the mold of Nick Krull in the future, who knows. Nick saw basically no action his FR year, but he had 4-5 players in front of him (Rortvedt, Beamish, Hurd, Hoelzel and Jackson). No such logjam of forwards existed this year, but the six people with forward type size averaged a combined total average of only 11 of the 200 minutes per game.

[hoops2]

I'll take coach Semling over any other coach in the league.  Personnel makes a difference and Point lost a lot from last year plus the unexpected loss of Harris, Jackson and Johnston really hurt.  When SP had all the bigs other teams used that against them in recruiting so many possible bigs went elsewhere instead of sitting on the bench here.  That with the fact that many of the bigger guys are getting D-II offers has hurt recently.  I believe Point will recruit well this year and with the players they have will be ready to go again next season.  Might be a tough NCAA if Tyler can't come back which looks doubtful.  Hopefully not the end but if so, great careers for Dan Tillema and Jordan Brezinski. 

[emerging1]

How important were the two former assistant coaches to the past success of UWSP?  Did they perhaps take more of the "Xs and Os" of the games?

[frodotwo]

WW: 66
LaCrosse: 55

The WARHAWKS got off to a quick start scoring the game's first eight points before the Eagles got on the board.  Despite shooting just 24% for the half the Eagles kept the game close with a 7-2 advantage from the free throw line and early fouls which kept Chris Davis on the bench.  The WARHAWKS never trailed in the game but never led by more than eight points and only six points, 26-20, separated the two teams at the half.  You knew the Eagles weren't likely to continue shooting so poorly and sure enough they came out of the locker room scoring the first six points of the half and tying the game three times before taking their first lead 32-30 after four and half minutes.  The two teams would exchange the lead back and forth until the seven minute mark when a pair of free throws by Alex Merg gave the WARHAWKS a lead they would hold the rest of the way.  After the WARHAWKS built the lead to nine over the next couple of minutes the Eagles would whittle it away to get within two with two minutes to play.  The Eagles struggled in the final minutes missing four shots and turning the ball over twice.  The WARHAWKS put the game away going 8-10 from the charity stripe and adding another basket from Davis.

The WARHAWKS dominated play in the lane outscoring the Eagles 30-14 and had a 15-7 advantage off the bench.  Out rebounding the Eagles 37-29

With Davis playing just 24 minutes due to foul problems Luke Knoble and Alex Edmunds really responded to carry the team.  Knoble finished with a game high 19 points and added 3 steals.  Edmunds finished with 11 points  and pulled down 6 rebounds.  Despite his limited minutes Davis still finished with a double-double 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Eric Bryson finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, a game tying high of 4 assists and a steal.

Al Chery and Cory Dregner paced LaCrosse with 14 apiece.  Dregner had a game high 4 steals while Logan Ellman had 4 assists.


I'm curious just what adjustments Semling could have made and why it makes sense to make radical changes to your game plan this late in the season and with so little time to implement them.  Things worked ok against a solid Superior team.  It seems to me that Point just ran into a River Falls team that shot the ball exceptionally well and with whom they had match up problems in every meeting this season.

So you had a month and 8 games to address a deficiency against a team you were likely to meet again, a team that had outscored you 82-52 in the paint and out rebounded you 26-11 on the offensive boards in two losses with your best all-around player on the court. Then without that best player you play exactly the same game, changing nothing and get outscored 44-20 (24-4 in the first half) on the inside. Point knew going in to the season they had no experienced bigs behind JB so they solved that not by developing their big men, but by playing 5 littles with that one big for as many minutes as possible. I think Point is just plain worn down now and if you look at the season scoring that may bear out. They are +183 pts in the 1st half of games and only +1 in 2nd/OT of games.

[emerging1]

My thoughts exactly.  I have, with others here, long been predicting that a lack of bench play would catch up to us.  It now has.  Imagine if Tyler Forsythe and the other bigs had been better developed.  I fear we have not only disheartened some of the freshmen but maybe delayed their development.  There is nothing that can take the place of game time experience.  In addition, we still need someone to make a game time adjustment.  Maybe Coach D will take a more prominent role in that area.  I've sat behind the bench at home and heard, "Be solid.  Play harder!  Be smart!"  That's not coaching, that's cheerleading.  I'm sure some of our frustrations will be addressed in Points next practice.  If not, the focus will be on the next season soon enough.  Go Point!

[fredfalcon]

frodotwo and emerging 1--From my perspective, Point was severely deficient in personnel last night. It's all well and god to talk about "adjustments" and "failure to develop" as if coaching were the stir stick which could produce amazing results. Did Coach Semling win a national championship? Have his skills deteriorated to the point where he is now responsible for the collapse in credibility of the Pointer program? That's laughable. It's apparent that the questions about assistants and what they contributed in x's and o's is an attempt to detract from the head coach's input. It's also apparent that emerging 1 is not close to the program, does not attend practice.

It's very easy to snipe from afar at a coach. It also shows lack of real knowledge of what's going on inside a program. I'm guessing, emerging 1, that you've never coached. Coaching, like quarterbacking in football, is over-rated. Nobody wins without talent, and the loss of Harris, last year's best point guard in the conference, was very devastating. When I saw that, let alone the loss of the other guys whom I do not remember, I figured Point was down. That they did as well as they did is remarkable.

[uww4ever]

Hey DR, you gonna make it on a Sunday?  Pretty wierd to be playing the championship on a sunday and while the badgers are playing. 

[fredfalcon]

Won't be there--too far for a less than 50-50 shot the Falcons will win, and a game that will not determine who gets into the NCAA tourney. I think RF will get in regardless of outcome.

[Greek Tragedy]

Won't be there--too far for a less than 50-50 shot the Falcons will win, and a game that will not determine who gets into the NCAA tourney. I think RF will get in regardless of outcome.

Less than 50%, uh?

[02 Warhawk]

So, will three WIAC teams get into the tournament? or will it come down to either Whitewater or Point?

[tomt4525]

So, will three WIAC teams get into the tournament? or will it come down to either Whitewater or Point?

All 3 will get in...With a win, Whitewater had a great chance to host...that took a hit today.

[Falcons04]

Congrats to the Falcons for going down to WW and overcoming an 8 point half time margin to take their first ever automatic bid to the NCAA's.  RF shot lights out in the second half and was able to make their comeback largely without leading scorer Shane Manor.  It sounded like Wade Guerin was a difference maker for RF.......haven't seen box score but I think he was close to 20 points, 10 rbs. 

Any shot both RF and WW would host?  Are there enough teams in the Illinois/Michigan area that could travel to WW and RF could take the teams from the far West?  I'm hopeful the loss at Karges last weekend didn't cost them a shot to host the first round.