MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Greek Tragedy]

Somebody thinks Oshkosh should be #4 and two others in the Top 9. 

[John Gleich]

Somebody thinks Oshkosh should be #4 and two others in the Top 9. 

Perhaps on the basis of being the last team to beat UWSP?

I guess the nation is pretty high on Stephen Pelkofer and Sean McGann?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I can't speak to the rest of the voters... but when UWSP wins a national title after seemingly losing everyone the year before (I had them out of my Top 25 for 2/3s of the season because of it), you quickly learn that bringing back a starter and a six-man is equivalent to bringing back everyone. LOL

I've learned my lesson

[Greek Tragedy]

Well, to be fair, which admittedly, I wasn't, they were stacked going into last year compared to this year. As you said, they return one starter and a sixth man this season. Last year, after losing two All-Americans and another 1st team all-conference player, Point did return two starters, Ritchay and Ryf, a sixth man (Pelkofer) that averaged 20 minutes a game and three others that averaged double digits (Lutz, Richard and McGann).

At one time, Point was 7-3 with losses to St. Olaf, North Central (at home) and St. Thomas. They also got blown out in Whitewater. That put them at 13-4 with one quality win, at Hope. I don't blame you for not ranking them 2/3 of the season!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Yeah... for awhile I was comfortable with them not in my Top 25... but trust me, Coach Semling was quick to remind me of where I had them ranked at the Championship Dinner Q&A... probably one of the best moments in the two years I have MCed the event... along with Coach Giovanine reminding me I commented about how Augie couldn't get out of Rock Island. Good ribbing by all.

[tomt4525]

Pointers scrimmaged Northern Michigan today, heard very little but did get a starting lineup.  Pelkofer, McGann, Unteidt, Freeborn and Gjertson were the starters...Zuiker and Goedeke were first players off the bench.

[tomt4525]

http://www.uwrfsports.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball

UWRF's roster is up

[fredfalcon]

Just tweeted BadgerMBB. Said they should let Falcons win Nov. 4 so a great story could rock Wisconsin sports. Badgers would get more publicity, Falcons too. It's a win-win!

[badgerwarhawk]

Considering how badly the BADGERS offense performed in the red-white game and taking into account some of our posters feelings about the Falcons maybe the game would be competitive.

[Greek Tragedy]

It's time to man up! Let's do a preseason poster's poll

I'm looking to get at least 10 ballots with all 8 teams listed in order of finish. I will post results later this week.

I'm guessing the WIAC's poll will be out this week, let's beat them to the punch!

Mine will be up later today or tomorrow.

[tomt4525]

I went to the Pointer scrimmage against Duluth yesterday.  The Pointers lost all 3 halves...25-22, 36-27, 40-35.

Roster is as follows:

#2 McGann, #12 Pelkofer, #20 Freeborn, #22 Unteidt, #51 Gjertson, #14 Retzlaff, #15 Zuiker, #25 Goedeke, #5 Fredrickson, #4 Bublitz, #32 Canon O'Heron, #44 Brett Tauber, #21 Mark Nelson, #10 Chaz Mootz...Bill Patterson was injured, I assume he has #24

I don't think the scores are indicative of anything.  I could tell at this point of the season, their defense is much farther along then their offense.  Pointers didn't shoot well and I think their movement on offense was stagnant at times.  That, and Duluth shot much better than the Pointers, and you get your disparity in score.  McGann was a huge bright spot as far as combining offense and defense to me.  It wouldn't shock me if he's the leading scorer on the team, he just seems to be in the right place at the right time.  Pelkofer was off with his shot during the scrimmage, I still expect him to be the offensive leader...but both McGann and Pelkofer are capable of leading this team in scoring.  Zuiker also had some very good moments offensively, he has improved greatly since last season.  He still has work to do defensively but should get better there with his length.  As for the bigs, you can tell that Gjertson and Geodeke have improved with their post moves but they didn't get a whole lot to fall.  Really, I think they just need to become more consistent.  They make some good plays but they always follow it with a head scratcher play.  Freeborn didn't get a ton of chances yesterday but I like what he brings to the table.  He literally can guard anybody, a point guard to a post.  He will be an asset every night on that end of the floor. 

The first two halves were what looked to be Semling's top rotation guys and the 3rd half was mostly just freshman.  Players in the rotation as of now were McGann, Pelkofer, Freeborn, Unteidt, Gjertson, Zuiker, Geodeke, Bublitz and Tauber. 

I mostly went to the scrimmage to see the new freshman class.  I was very impressed.  If they stick together, they have a very bright future.  Bublitz was fantastic on the defensive end.  He is extremely quick.  He belongs on this level right now.  When his shot develops, the sky is the limit.  Tauber was very good on the defensive end as well.  He didn't score much but did show some good post moves.  O'Heron was the 2nd leading scorer in the 3rd half, I believe he hit 3 3's along with showing some good post moves as well.  Having 2 big guys like Tauber and O'Heron for 4 years is exciting to see how they develop.  Fredrickson was pretty quiet but you could tell he is comfortable with the ball.  He actually rolled his ankle late in the last half so I hope he has a speedy recovery and is back getting better soon.  Mootz is definitely a hustler.  He is going to do the little things to help a team win but probably not get a whole lot of credit for it.  Lastly, Nelson is advanced on the offensive end for sure.  He hit some 3's but excelled at getting to the hoop.  I'll say this though, he was kind of bordering on being a ball hog in that last half.  I think he needs to tone it down a little bit and pick his spots and he will excel in a Pointer uniform.  He also made some good defensive plays so all the skills are there.

Duluth played a log of 1-3-1 zone against Point so they got to work against man and zone.  It was a worthwhile scrimmage that will show Semling exactly what they need to work on.  If anybody has any specific questions, feel free to ask. 

[tomt4525]

It's time to man up! Let's do a preseason poster's poll

I'm looking to get at least 10 ballots with all 8 teams listed in order of finish. I will post results later this week.

I'm guessing the WIAC's poll will be out this week, let's beat them to the punch!

Mine will be up later today or tomorrow.

I'll join in

[tomt4525]

There hasn't been much info on Whitewater at all in the preseason, thought I would share their roster since I got the Basketball Yearbook yesterday.

Brandon Thompson 6'2' Senior Galesburg IL
Haki Stampley 6'3" Senior Milwaukee Hamilton
Trinson White 6'5" Senior Milwaukee Riverside
Isaac Quinn 6'8" Senior Kenosha Tremper
Drew Bryson 6'3" Junior Elkhorn
Cole Van Schyndel 6'5" Junior Wrightstown
Ethan Guske 6'0" Junior Sheboygan North
Shaquille Francis 6'3" Junior Sheboygan North
Deiondre Cunningham 6'1" Junior Wisconsin Lutheran
Tyler Edmondson 6'7" Junior Waubonsie Valley, IL
Clay Stevens 6'3" Sophomore Racine Lutheran
Jerry Ngobi 6'0" Sophomore Janesville Craig
Shane Waldon 6'6" Sophomore Sun Prairie
Nate Hensel 6'3" Sophomore Wilmot
Andre Brown 6'0" Freshman Kenosha Indian Trail
Mitch Pfeifer 6'3" Freshman Kettle Moraine
Marquis Turner 6'3" Freshman Milwaukee King
Andre Carroll 6'1" Freshman Wauwatosa West
Pat Hamilton 6'4" Freshman Glenbrook North, IL

[Greek Tragedy]

Thanks for your recent posts, tomt4525. Though I live in Sheboygan,  I'm not a big North fan.  It will be interesting for Whitewater this year.

[Greek Tragedy]

It's time to man up! Let's do a preseason poster's poll

I'm looking to get at least 10 ballots with all 8 teams listed in order of finish. I will post results later this week.

I'm guessing the WIAC's poll will be out this week, let's beat them to the punch!

Mine will be up later today or tomorrow.

1. Stevens  Point
2. River Falls 
3. Oshkosh
4. Whitewater
5. Eau Claire
6. Platteville
7. La Crosse
8. Stout