MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Greek Tragedy]

Old School Rankings:  Week 1

1.)  Platteville 2-0:  Holding anyone to 23 points is impressive.
2.)  Whitewater 2-0:  Topped Eureka & smoked MSOE, which upset CCIW member North Park
3.)  Stevens Point 1-0:  Destroys fellow 2007 Sweet 16 team, Carroll, sans Drury and Colomy.
4.)  River Falls 2-0:  Peru State?  At least I know who Macalester is!
5.)  Stout 2-0:  When you almost lose to Finlandia...
6.)  La Crosse 1-0:  Nearly blows big lead in the cornfields of Lakeland.
7.)  Eau Claire 0-2:  Grinnell could repeat as MWC champ, Aurora is top dog in NathCon.
8.)  Oshkosh 0-0:  They haven't lost yet!
9.)  Superior 0-1:  St. Scholastica isn't that good.

[badgerwarhawk]

Greg, I thought you might be interested in my observations of North Park.  Unfortunately we didn't get to play each other but I did see both of their games.

#25 (Williams?) looks like a really good player.  He shot well and was the main thrust of NP's offense.  He posted up and played on the outside.  We were asked to select the all tournament team members before Saturday's game and he had stood out so much on Friday that we felt he was a lock.  Then he got in foul trouble and sat out most of the first half of Saturday's game so we were entertaining the idea of selecting one of two others.  However when he got back into the game he just took it over and was again our unanimous choice by the time it was over.

I liked #12, the point guard.  He was really quick and considering he's a freshman looks like he'll turn into a pretty good player himself. If 25 hadn't played like he did in Saturday's second half 12 would have made the all tournament team

#15 was a back up but I like him as well.  He had a nice touch shooting and I thought he was better defensively than most of the rest of the team.

#44 showed some flashes and was very athletic.  But then he would disappear for a while.  I'm not sure what class he is but he could turn out to be pretty decent.

Your inside, low post offense was weak particularly against MSOE who could matchup in size with anyone you could put underneath.   It was stronger against Eureak but they didn't have any size to speak of and, no offense intended to their fans, they just were not a good team.  Their coach was a hoot though.

They were a good outside shooting team and if they had more of a post presence I think they would have beaten MSOE.  Shots were falling in the first half of that game and things were going well but in the second half MSOE extended their defense, NP didn't shoot as well and lack of an inside game really hurt.

I was surprised how MSOE seemed to beat NP down the floor a lot and/or penetrate to the hoop.  I bet they missed half a dozen or more bunnies.   I think NP is going to have to play better defense in the CCIW or they could be in for a long season.

That's about it.  If you have anything specific you think I might be able to answer just let me know. 

Good luck this year. 

 

[Greek Tragedy]

Badger,

Tell me who you think will stick out for WW this year, a specific transfer?  A returning fringe player? (so I can draft him, just kidding).  Seriously though, a lot of new faces there.

[wcbsas]

Holy cow its Kastern- It was great to get a chance to see you play a couple years ago and I hope all is well.

Where are the PLatt guys to talk about their good weekend?

Sorry for the delay.  Wasn't anywhere near a computer all weekend, so had to wait til I got to work to post.

Very impressive weekend in Platteville.  On Friday night, UWP whooped a not so good team in Beloit, but UWP did force 28 turnovers (16 of them steals) and limit Beloit to 17% shooting.  The 23 points allowed set a Pioneer record.  Incredible defensive intensity.  These kids FLAT OUT GET AFTER IT on both sides of the ball, but especially on the defensive end.  Platteville will go 10-12 deep every game, and for the most part there isn't much drop off when the next guy comes in.   

Saturday night, much more of the same.  UWP had a great first half had a big lead, but came out a little flat in the second half and I believe turned the ball over 3 or4 times in their first 5 or 6 trips down the floor.  Again, very gritty effort and withstood a late run by Maryville when everything was falling, including a sideways running 3 pointer that banks in from the top of the key.

Biggest difference I see in this team you may ask from last year?  JOSH LANGENFELD.  He is the point guard presence they missed last year.

Good weekend and should be a good one for the guys next weekend as they play Webster and Wash U down in St. Louis.

Couple of questions for you:

How did Shaw look?  Curious why he isn't starting?
Thoughts on the freshmen ... Henny and Allen
How did Bo Ritcher play?

[janesvilleflash]

JanesvilleFlash - were you involved in any way in the cocaine bust?

That would be NO!!! Even in those days I was content to be a drunk, and didn't need anything else. My uncle may have been there in a law enforcement capacity though.

[Brian Carroll]

Eagles-V Hawks at Viterbo Tuesday night.

[Brian Carroll]

I thought you gentlemen might be intereted in the '07-08 Wisconsin Men's Basketball Yearbook's WIAC predictions. They forsee:                1. Point                          2. WW                             3. LC                             4. Osh                            5. Platt                          6. RF                             7. Stout                          8. EC                             9. Sup

[phoenix_rising]

Jeez. I hope you're wrong about Superior, by at least two places.

[Just Bill]

As long as we're tripping down memory lane, is there still a Big Moon Saloon in Stevens Point?

No, long gone, I'm afraid.  It may still exist but under another name.  Where was it located?

[John Gleich]

Point wins 77-52 over D-II Northern Michigan to avenge one of 3 losses last year.  Point led 17-1 until the 11:34 mark and Northern's first basket.  Point led by as much as 26 in the first half and 28 in the second half.  I'll be interested to see OS's (and other's?) take on the game as I know he was going to game tonight.

EDIT:  The box score isn't up yet, but here's a link to the live stats, which should be (mostly?) correct:  LIVE STATS

[badgerwarhawk]

Badger,

Tell me who you think will stick out for WW this year, a specific transfer?  A returning fringe player? (so I can draft him, just kidding).  Seriously though, a lot of new faces there.

Matt Goodwin, Rob Perry and I'd consider Myles McKay who hasn't quite gotten himself untracked yet but when he does look out.

[frodotwo]

Well OK since you insist PS.  Point came out fired up and their "D" was awesome baybeee. Seriously though, everything was clicking for the majority of the first half until NM switched to a zone and the 40-15 lead was down to 40-23 by the half.  Point's inability to score inside thereafter was telling as NM  whittled the lead down to 12 before the outside shots started to fall. El Amin penetrated and scored and then hit a couple of 3 pointers to salt away the "W".  Point will need to develop an inside game to go along with the outside shots. NM was fast and covered the outside well from their zone, so this was a great test. NM has the box score already here http://www.nmu.edu/wildcats/sports/mbasketball/statistics/2007_08/nm-uwsp.htm

[Greek Tragedy]

Game Story with Boxscore link

Just a quickie before I head off to bed.  Point came out hot and took it to Northern Michigan, which was a shell of what they had up in Michigan when Swampgoon and I went last year.  They only had nine players there...not nine suited, NINE total.  Interesting.

Anyway, when NM went zone, it really slowed us down and we started missing some shots and they cut it to an uncomfortable 17 at the break, after being up by 25.  NM, I think, played zone the rest of the game, so doing the math, we scored 40 points up to the 3 minute mark of the 1st half and then 37 points for the last 23 minutes.  I guess that doesn't sound too bad but NM also scored 37 points since they went to zone...I think!

Well, as said before, we played great defense to start, but then in the 2nd half we were basically just trading baskets.  It was funny because a friend of mine and I were talking and he said that right before Semling took a timeout, probably because Semling was seeing the same thing.  It must have gotten through, because Point stepped up their defense after that.

NM wasn't huge in the middle, but big enough where we had a hard time getting the ball in there against their zone.  As stated before, they were quick on the perimeter in their zone, so it's not like we were just missing open shots. 

Good gut check playing against the zone and trying to adjust. 

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, I thought you might be interested in my observations of North Park.  Unfortunately we didn't get to play each other but I did see both of their games.

Thanks, BW. Your observations about NPU, both in terms of individual players and team weaknesses, align perfectly with my own. Sorry that I couldn't make it up there this past weekend, but eventually we'll cross paths -- particularly if NPU and UWW resume their scrimmage series or set up a two-year regular-season contract.

4.)  River Falls 2-0:  Peru State?  At least I know who Macalester is!

It's not in South America, in case you were wondering. Peru State is a small NAIA school located in rural Nebraska.

[Pioneer Hoops Fan]

Couple of questions for you:

How did Shaw look?  Curious why he isn't starting?
Thoughts on the freshmen ... Henny and Allen
How did Bo Ritcher play?

1.) Mike Shaw played well this weekend, on both ends of the floor.  He played confident and consistent...which is always good.  He isn't starting because with the return of Langenfeld at the point, Hanson has stepped into the starting "2" because I feel he better defensively and as good of a shooter that Mike is, Curt is better.  This also give Coach Combs a quick hitter or lift off the bench much like the Pointer fans were saying with Drew "Tayshaun Prince" Jackson (although he was in the starting lineup last night)

2.) Impressed with both guys thus far.  Henney didn't play as much as Allen in the first two games, but played good defense and hit the backboards like he should.  I think he needs to get a little stronger up top, but he does have 4 years to do so.  Nick played very well, didn't force things on "O" and he is a very good defender.  Would like to see him a little less tenative in taking his shot, but again two games in and he will soon, I"m sure of it.

3.) Bo is one of the smartest players for the Pioneers.  Good weekend 7 assts to 2 TO, hit some shots that stopped runs.  He knows his role is to play defense, make good decisions, and if needed hit some shots.  Him and Shaw are the first two off the bench for the Pioneers, and they definitely bring energy into the game.


EDITED to correct quote formatting