MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[tomt4525]

Saw on Wissports.net that Mark Miller reported some recruiting news on Oshkosh and Whitewater on 5/6 and Point on 5/7. I don't get the subscription though. Is this information that has recently been posted?

Yes, it's news that has already been reported...Oshkosh is putting together a really good class to add to a solid nucleus coming back, that article you mentioned had them picking up 6'4" wing Brett Wittchow from Laconia.  Whitewater's pickup was Mitch Pfeiffer from Kettle Moraine.  He's an athletic 6'3" wing who should be a very good WIAC player.  The Point news was already shared in Bangor's Canon O'Heron, a 6'6ish" post that can step back and hit from long range as well.  Turned down atleast 1 Divison 2 scholarship to attend Point.  Point's class coming in has a little bit of everything but I'm hoping they can add a wing with some size to finish it off.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Therefore, I'll wait for URockets to post it on CCIW Chat, where it belongs, before I lay into yet another sportswriter who doesn't understand that in D3 there's no such thing as signing a letter of intent.

He wanted to sign his National Letter of Intent before the preseason started.

Well... technically there is now a letter of intent in Division III... it's just non-binding: http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/diii-football-proposal-sparks-debate-ultimately-defeated (halfway or so down).

[cubs]

Oshkosh is putting together a really good class to add to a solid nucleus coming back, that article you mentioned had them picking up 6'4" wing Brett Wittchow from Laconia.

Wait...  I thought a family friend told you Wittchow was head to Point?



Sorry, I couldn't resist....   

[tomt4525]

Oshkosh is putting together a really good class to add to a solid nucleus coming back, that article you mentioned had them picking up 6'4" wing Brett Wittchow from Laconia.

Wait...  I thought a family friend told you Wittchow was head to Point?



Sorry, I couldn't resist....   

That's fine, I'll keep information to myself from now on....I flat out said I wasn't taking the information to heart until I saw confirmation.  I was skeptical to say the least with his family connections to Oshkosh.  I guess I'll just have to settle for this National Championship my alma mater just won.

[Just Bill]

Therefore, I'll wait for URockets to post it on CCIW Chat, where it belongs, before I lay into yet another sportswriter who doesn't understand that in D3 there's no such thing as signing a letter of intent.

He wanted to sign his National Letter of Intent before the preseason started.

Well... technically there is now a letter of intent in Division III... it's just non-binding: http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/diii-football-proposal-sparks-debate-ultimately-defeated (halfway or so down).

Yes, but it's not from the National Letter of Intent organization. They are the only people who can issue an NLI. The D-III version is officially called a Celebratory Signing Document. So you can now correctly say a D-III athlete "signed" with a school, but you can't correctly say they "signed a letter of intent". I'm nit-picking, I know.

[cubs]

Oshkosh is putting together a really good class to add to a solid nucleus coming back, that article you mentioned had them picking up 6'4" wing Brett Wittchow from Laconia.

Wait...  I thought a family friend told you Wittchow was head to Point?



Sorry, I couldn't resist....   

That's fine, I'll keep information to myself from now on....I flat out said I wasn't taking the information to heart until I saw confirmation.  I was skeptical to say the least with his family connections to Oshkosh.  I guess I'll just have to settle for this National Championship my alma mater just won.

Lighten up Lucy....  I thought the smily face would give away the fact I was joking around!!!

[AndOne]

Saw on Wissports.net that Mark Miller reported some recruiting news on Oshkosh and Whitewater on 5/6 and Point on 5/7. I don't get the subscription though. Is this information that has recently been posted?

Yes, it's news that has already been reported...Oshkosh is putting together a really good class to add to a solid nucleus coming back, that article you mentioned had them picking up 6'4" wing Brett Wittchow from Laconia.  Whitewater's pickup was Mitch Pfeiffer from Kettle Moraine.  He's an athletic 6'3" wing who should be a very good WIAC player.  The Point news was already shared in Bangor's Canon O'Heron, a 6'6ish" post that can step back and hit from long range as well.  Turned down atleast 1 Divison 2 scholarship to attend Point.  Point's class coming in has a little bit of everything but I'm hoping they can add a wing with some size to finish it off.

For any interested parties, I can report some Oshkosh news from down south of the cheese curtain here in Illinois. This may have been reported before, but if not, here you go;

For about a month now, Oshkosh has had a committment from Sam Johnson. Sam is a 6'7" PF from Riverside-Brookfield HS here in IL. I have never seen any of the Oskosh recruits play, and know nothing about them. Still, I would be willing to bet that Johnson will be UWO's top recruit. He averaged about 17 PPG and 8 RPG, and was Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 3A/4A 3rd team All-State. He shoots threes better than a lot of 2 guards. He was recruited by several CCIW, IIAC, and Midwest conference teams as well as at least one other WIAC team who wears purple.

[Greek Tragedy]

Well, I know that team in purple probably wasn't Point because we don't recruit anyone over 6'6"!!!

[Gregory Sager]

Therefore, I'll wait for URockets to post it on CCIW Chat, where it belongs, before I lay into yet another sportswriter who doesn't understand that in D3 there's no such thing as signing a letter of intent.

He wanted to sign his National Letter of Intent before the preseason started.

Well... technically there is now a letter of intent in Division III... it's just non-binding: http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/diii-football-proposal-sparks-debate-ultimately-defeated (halfway or so down).

Yes, but it's not from the National Letter of Intent organization. They are the only people who can issue an NLI. The D-III version is officially called a Celebratory Signing Document. So you can now correctly say a D-III athlete "signed" with a school, but you can't correctly say they "signed a letter of intent". I'm nit-picking, I know.

I don't think it's nitpicking at all, Bill. The words "letter of intent" convey a very clear meaning to anybody who follows D1 sports, which is a huge chunk of the American public. Those words imply an athletic scholarship; the "intent" is that the signer will accept one next year from the school in question.

This "celebratory signing document" (the actual title of this paper placebo, according to the ncaa.org article to which D-Mac linked, is an even more cumbersome snippet of bureaucratese, "athletics non-binding standardized celebratory form") has a completely different name than the D1/D2 signing document for just that reason. It's: a) non-binding; and b) does not involve an athletic scholarship. This was a very deliberate choice of nomenclature for the NCAA, because the organization's fully aware of what the words "letter of intent" imply to American sports fandom.

This is exactly why I said that "in D3 there's no such thing as signing a letter of intent," as opposed to merely saying that "in D3 there's no such thing as signing."

And, getting back to my original point, the sportswriter from the Champaign News-Gazette clearly doesn't understand this. And he should, because it's his job to understand it and get it right in his article.

[tomt4525]

Saw on Wissports.net that Mark Miller reported some recruiting news on Oshkosh and Whitewater on 5/6 and Point on 5/7. I don't get the subscription though. Is this information that has recently been posted?

Yes, it's news that has already been reported...Oshkosh is putting together a really good class to add to a solid nucleus coming back, that article you mentioned had them picking up 6'4" wing Brett Wittchow from Laconia.  Whitewater's pickup was Mitch Pfeiffer from Kettle Moraine.  He's an athletic 6'3" wing who should be a very good WIAC player.  The Point news was already shared in Bangor's Canon O'Heron, a 6'6ish" post that can step back and hit from long range as well.  Turned down atleast 1 Divison 2 scholarship to attend Point.  Point's class coming in has a little bit of everything but I'm hoping they can add a wing with some size to finish it off.

For any interested parties, I can report some Oshkosh news from down south of the cheese curtain here in Illinois. This may have been reported before, but if not, here you go;

For about a month now, Oshkosh has had a committment from Sam Johnson. Sam is a 6'7" PF from Riverside-Brookfield HS here in IL. I have never seen any of the Oskosh recruits play, and know nothing about them. Still, I would be willing to bet that Johnson will be UWO's top recruit. He averaged about 17 PPG and 8 RPG, and was Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 3A/4A 3rd team All-State. He shoots threes better than a lot of 2 guards. He was recruited by several CCIW, IIAC, and Midwest conference teams as well as at least one other WIAC team who wears purple.

You admit to not knowing the Wisconsin area recruits for Oshkosh, and I'll admit to not knowing anything about Illinois area recruits...other than the 1 recruit, Robby Nardini, going to Point...who I'm excited about.....but I'm willing to bet Oshkosh's top recruit is Ben Boots, from Kimberly WI.

[Just Bill]

Greg,

I sure do miss Prof. Pedantic and Dr. Grumblepants...

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4059.msg1152674#msg1152674

I believe Prof. Pedantic joined a six-month research trip to Antarctica where he was promptly murdered by the fellow members of the expedition team 10 days after arrival. No charges were filed. I don't know what happened to Dr. Grumblepants though.

[AndOne]

And a sportswriter for even a small paper should realize there are major differences both in organizational structure and philosophy between DI and D3. Furthermore, he should understand a major, if not THE major difference is that there are no athletic scholarships in D3, and thus, no "letters of intent."

Sometimes stories about such "signings" and " intent" are the result of ignorance, and sometimes they are just an innocent attempt to pump up a high school kid who is naturally on a high over the prospect of moving to a higher level. Sometimes they are probably a combination of both.

D3 also needs to pull it's head out of it's butt and come up with a name other than "athletics non- binding standardized celebratory form." Kind of takes the fun out of the occasion. Of course, that is often par for the course with the NCAA. 

[AndOne]

Saw on Wissports.net that Mark Miller reported some recruiting news on Oshkosh and Whitewater on 5/6 and Point on 5/7. I don't get the subscription though. Is this information that has recently been posted?

Yes, it's news that has already been reported...Oshkosh is putting together a really good class to add to a solid nucleus coming back, that article you mentioned had them picking up 6'4" wing Brett Wittchow from Laconia.  Whitewater's pickup was Mitch Pfeiffer from Kettle Moraine.  He's an athletic 6'3" wing who should be a very good WIAC player.  The Point news was already shared in Bangor's Canon O'Heron, a 6'6ish" post that can step back and hit from long range as well.  Turned down atleast 1 Divison 2 scholarship to attend Point.  Point's class coming in has a little bit of everything but I'm hoping they can add a wing with some size to finish it off.

For any interested parties, I can report some Oshkosh news from down south of the cheese curtain here in Illinois. This may have been reported before, but if not, here you go;

For about a month now, Oshkosh has had a committment from Sam Johnson. Sam is a 6'7" PF from Riverside-Brookfield HS here in IL. I have never seen any of the Oskosh recruits play, and know nothing about them. Still, I would be willing to bet that Johnson will be UWO's top recruit. He averaged about 17 PPG and 8 RPG, and was Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 3A/4A 3rd team All-State. He shoots threes better than a lot of 2 guards. He was recruited by several CCIW, IIAC, and Midwest conference teams as well as at least one other WIAC team who wears purple.

You admit to not knowing the Wisconsin area recruits for Oshkosh, and I'll admit to not knowing anything about Illinois area recruits...other than the 1 recruit, Robby Nardini, going to Point...who I'm excited about.....but I'm willing to bet Oshkosh's top recruit is Ben Boots, from Kimberly WI.

Well, time will tell, Tom.
Keep in mind, Ben is a guard and Sam a forward so we're talking apples and oranges.
Not sure about Boots, but Johnson played against top level suburban Chicago talent in a huge percentage of his games. Was Boots competition up to that level?
One certainty is that it appears UWO is getting at least 2 top level recruits.
I will bet that Ben Boots does have the coolest name. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

And a sportswriter for even a small paper should realize there are major differences both in organizational structure and philosophy between DI and D3. Furthermore, he should understand a major, if not THE major difference is that there are no athletic scholarships in D3, and thus, no "letters of intent."

Sometimes stories about such "signings" and " intent" are the result of ignorance, and sometimes they are just an innocent attempt to pump up a high school kid who is naturally on a high over the prospect of moving to a higher level. Sometimes they are probably a combination of both.

D3 also needs to pull it's head out of it's butt and come up with a name other than "athletics non- binding standardized celebratory form." Kind of takes the fun out of the occasion. Of course, that is often par for the course with the NCAA. 

One thing that irks me is in your last sentence... that the NCAA is the target of taking the fun out of it or however you want to phrase it. The entire idea behind the non-binding letter was from Division III schools... it passed the necessary boards like the Division III Management Council and Division III Presidents Council before it was voted on by all Division III schools and conferences at the convention this past January. They are the ones who came up with the idea, decided on the wording, passed it through the legislative process, and then voted on it like Congress votes on things (or should vote on things). This isn't the "NCAA" per se as much as the entire division. Take it up with your favorite school on choosing a better name for the letter... they have the pull.

[Gregory Sager]

Greg,

I sure do miss Prof. Pedantic and Dr. Grumblepants...

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4059.msg1152674#msg1152674

I believe Prof. Pedantic joined a six-month research trip to Antarctica where he was promptly murdered by the fellow members of the expedition team 10 days after arrival. No charges were filed. I don't know what happened to Dr. Grumblepants though.

He was on the same research trip to Antarctica. His colleagues ate him.

(Thanks, Bill, for the fun trip down memory lane. That was a proud moment for me; it was one of the few times anyone on d3boards.com ever managed to let the air out of the tires of OxyBob's turbo-powered Snarkmobile.)

D3 also needs to pull it's head out of it's butt and come up with a name other than "athletics non- binding standardized celebratory form." Kind of takes the fun out of the occasion. Of course, that is often par for the course with the NCAA. 

Take it up with your favorite school on choosing a better name for the letter... they have the pull.

If sportswriters and SIDs don't screw it up and cause mass confusion by using the term "letter of intent" (I'm not holding my breath on this, BTW), I'll bet all the corn in Manito that the initialism ANBSCF will start to be used to describe D3's new signing document.

And, since this initialism looks like somebody accidentally put his or her elbow down on the computer keyboard, I further predict that it'll become a true acronym, in the same way that the WIAC is "the why-ack", the MIAC is "the my-ack", the ODAC is "the oh-dack", and the SLIAC is "the slee-ack" -- the latter being an acronym that always makes me recall nightmares from my 1970s Saturday-morning-kid's-show-watching childhood:



(and nightmares of Bill Laimbeer and the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons, but that's another story)

At any rate, my guess is that the Athletics Non-Binding Standardized Celebratory Form will soon become known as "the an-buh-scoff". And, just in case people start spelling it the way it's pronounced, I'm gonna get right out in front of the bandwagon and trademark it: anbuhscoff^TM