MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

badgerwarhawk · February 02, 2015, 03:41:06 PM

It's three times this season (LaCrosse, Platteville and EauClaire). Four times if you include the win over Williams in last year's national championship game.

Just Bill · February 02, 2015, 03:42:39 PM

Might want to guard that guy. Or tackle him.

voice · February 02, 2015, 05:27:50 PM

Quote from: badgerwarhawk on February 02, 2015, 03:41:06 PM
For "Q", It's three times this season (LaCrosse, Platteville and EauClaire) that he's hit the game winner in the closing seconds. Four times if you include the win over Williams in last year's national championship game.

Here's "Q" Young's game winner La Crosse on Saturday night..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz_74sHbsNU&x-yt-cl=85114404&x-yt-ts=1422579428&feature=player_embedded

Just wondering... Is UWW's "Q" Young on the short list to be named "Player of the Year" in D3 this season. I know he's one of the top 3 point guards to ever lace 'em up for the Warhawks.

Greek Tragedy · February 02, 2015, 08:19:07 PM

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/preseason-2015

Young is on the HM preseason AA list. KJ Evans is actually on the 1st team AA.

I'm sure that will change as conference POTY is Young's to lose, IMO. With that, Im confident he's a candidate for 1st team AA.

You have to realize that there are a lot of other great players out there.

John Gleich · February 02, 2015, 10:30:23 PM

I'm wondering how much longer Whitewater can squeak by and keep winning. Back to back 1 point games that required late game heroics... They're not exactly instilling confidence that they're the #1 team in the country, let alone on any given night.

Mr. Ypsi · February 02, 2015, 11:38:40 PM

Quote from: John Gleich on February 02, 2015, 10:30:23 PM
I'm wondering how much longer Whitewater can squeak by and keep winning. Back to back 1 point games that required late game heroics... They're not exactly instilling confidence that they're the #1 team in the country, let alone on any given night.

Yeah, but the bottom line is that they DO keep winning. I seriously pondered dropping them a spot or two on my PP ballot, but finally decided that my top 3 (UWW, UST, Marietta) are etched in stone until one of them actually loses a game.

John Gleich · February 03, 2015, 11:03:48 AM

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on February 02, 2015, 11:38:40 PM
Quote from: John Gleich on February 02, 2015, 10:30:23 PM
I'm wondering how much longer Whitewater can squeak by and keep winning. Back to back 1 point games that required late game heroics... They're not exactly instilling confidence that they're the #1 team in the country, let alone on any given night.

Yeah, but the bottom line is that they DO keep winning. I seriously pondered dropping them a spot or two on my PP ballot, but finally decided that my top 3 (UWW, UST, Marietta) are etched in stone until one of them actually loses a game.

You're absolutely right... But they're walking a really thin line. The more a team flirts with a loss (snatching victory from defeat) the more chances they have of coming up short and losing.

badgerwarhawk · February 03, 2015, 11:42:26 AM

The law of averages suggests that sooner or later it's going to bite us in the ass and the culprit is likely going to be free throw shooting. Against LaCrosse we went 8-15 (53.3%). In the Platteville and EauClaire games our percentages were acceptable but we only shot 8 and 13 respectively. When we played River Falls we went 13-30 (43.3%). We could have easily beaten Cardinal Stritch but only made 23 of 42 free throws (54.8%). Against Hope we only made half as many (12-18) as they did (24-27). We're sixth in the league overall but eighth in conference only games. It's just something that we have to continue working at.

voice · February 03, 2015, 01:24:13 PM

Daily Jefferson County sports editor Jeff Seisser has an excellent feature on UWW point guard Quardell "Q" Young in today's paper

http://www.dailyunion.com/sports/article_55d140c2-abbc-11e4-976d-bbe1f0576dda.html#.VND1quQKCS0.twitter

havej · February 03, 2015, 03:09:55 PM

Voice - appreciate you attaching the video of Young's game winner last Saturday. For a school that prides itself on defense, LAX can't be happy about giving up a 3 dribble straight line drive to the best player on the court.

fredfalcon · February 03, 2015, 03:32:14 PM

Rick Bowen, retired RF coach, said one thing he'd do differently if he had a chance to start coaching all over again, would be to "waste" little time practicing free throws. It does little to no good, he says. I think he's right. On the other hand, if a player dedicates himself to practicing free throws and does so outside of organized team practices, he can improve.

About Rich Melzer and playing at a higher level: He was used strictly as a post man in RF, and unlike the Augsburg 6'9" player (name?) who was a good 3 shooter in college and eventually started for the Lakers, Melzer could not shoot from the perimeter effectively. He eventually got so he was comfortable/capable on the perimeter when he played in Australia, Europe, and Israel. But with that deficiency, he would have had a limited role on a Big Ten team.

Just Bill · February 03, 2015, 03:48:26 PM

Devean George

Greek Tragedy · February 03, 2015, 05:05:36 PM

I think what also helped George was that he grew a ton during college (if I remember correctly), helping him make the transition to pros a little easier.

Gregory Sager · February 03, 2015, 06:54:52 PM

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on February 03, 2015, 05:05:36 PM
I think what also helped George was that he grew a ton during college (if I remember correctly), helping him make the transition to pros a little easier.

Same thing with North Park's Michael Harper, who led the Vikings to their first three national championships. He showed up at North Park as a 6'4 freshman, and by the time he graduated he was 6'10. The main reason why he only lasted in the NBA for two seasons, though, was that he wasn't able to put on a corresponding amount of weight. He was a skinny 6'4 (or so I'm told) and a super-skinny 6'10.

(It wasn't for lack of trying, however. He practically lived in the dining hall, trying to stuff as much protein into his body as humanly possible.)

Greek Tragedy · February 04, 2015, 12:07:42 PM

Even if River Falls beats Point tonight, I still don't see anyone catching Whitewater (11-0) or Point (10-1) for the two byes in the WIAC tourney. Big logjam after that with Platteville (7-4) leading River Falls and Oshkosh (both 6-4). LaCrosse (3-8), Eau Claire (3-7) and Superior (2-9) fighting for that last tournament spot while Stout looking for that first win (0-11).

River Falls at Stevens Point
The Falcons gave the Pointers all they could handle, leading at the half before falling 58-51. River Falls has been alternating wins and losses the last 6 games including that Point loss, a 1-point loss and a 2-point loss. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Point has gone 3-1 since Pelkofer went out. They struggled against Oshkosh and Eau Claire, so getting him back for the stretch run is vital. The Falcons will throw 10 guys at you, so Point's 6-man rotation will need to stay out of foul trouble. Point by single-digits.

Platteville at Oshkosh
The Pioneers won a close one real early in the conference season and will look for the all - important sweep in Oshkosh. They've been playing pretty well, winning 4 of 5 with the one loss being against Whitewater by one. Oshkosh is probably the hottest WIAC team not named Whitewater or Point. They're 7-2 in their last 9 games (6-2 in conference) with the two losses coming to Point. This might be the biggest game tonight. Look for Oshkosh to win this barnburner.

La Crosse at Stout
Coach Koelbl played the young guns and they nearly pulled out a huge upset of Whitewater. It will be interesting to see if Coach sticks to his guns. Zuiker didn't start, Trent Schmidt is hurt and Skylar Cameron didn't play last game either. It's a major overhaul since the Eagles' pasting of Stout at the beginning of December. Though winless, Stout has played hard and has come close against Platteville (60-59) and at Eau Claire (69-64) recently. Ragland has continued to produce while Jalen Patterson has emerged as a threat to score. I don't think the Blue Devils have enough to pull out their 1st victory.

Eau Claire at Superior
Since winning two conference games in a row and then nearly upsetting Whitewater, the Blugolds have faltered. They are just 1-4 in their last five games with a home win over Stout under their belt. While Mau hasn't been a consistent scorer all year and Kalien falling off his early season pace, Jack Martinek has come on strong. Superior has two wins and one was at Eau Claire. But Johnquez Brooks has been out a few games now, so we'll see if he plays tonight. He's been an important sparkplug since moving to the bench. I think Superior should hang on for a close win.

I do think all four games could go either way. River Falls has shown they can play with both Point and Whitewater, and they won at Platteville. If Pelkofer doesn't play, they have a real chance, IMO. Oshkosh has been playing well but I think they have a letdown coming, whether or not its tonight or not, I don't know. I just think they'll lose a game they aren't supposed to. Platteville has a veteran team and they are tough enough to go on the road and pull out a victory. I also think La Crosse is vulnerable enough to lose in Menomonie. Stout obviously still wants that first win and they're more likely to get it at home than on the road. But if the hosts get the win, it'll probably be more of La Crosse losing it than Stout winning it. Lastly, neither Eau Claire nor Superior is very good, but Eau Claire has had the better results, even in losses. Superior did beat them at Zorn, so you never know.