MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[tomt4525]

Downers Grove South (IL) PG, Sam Ebersold, will continue his basketball career at UW-Oshkosh.

[tomt4525]

Former Madison Memorial and Kishwaukee JC 6'1" G, Koko Songolo, will continue his basketball career with the Pointers. 

http://kishkougars.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20170516itedmp

[AndOne]

Downers Grove South (IL) PG, Sam Ebersold, will continue his basketball career at UW-Oshkosh.

Tweet, tweet............🐣 🐤 😊

Ebersold is a fairly interesting case. First of all, he graduated from DGS, a school of about 3,200 students which plays in the tough West Suburban Conference, not this year, but in 2016. He is 6'0" PG who had some very nice games in HS. In his senior year he averaged 12.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG to go along with 94 assists and 47 steals. He played with 2 future D1 players. He was an all-conference performer, but did not make the Daily Herald All-Area team, and certainly didn't receive any All-State consideration/recognition. However, as we've seen in several cases involving players with similar stats and physical characteristics/makeup, he basically considered himself as too good for D3. And, while Sam certainly seemed to project this belief, his father often appeared the most fervent advocate of this position. Eventually, although the idea was hard to comprehend, word came down that he was going to attend major D1 Alabama, and likely attempt to walk-on to the U of AL team. Short of making the team, it was mentioned that the much more likely possibility existed that he might be able to become the AL team manager. Evidently, this came about as a result of his attending a U of AL basketball camp the previous summer. I believe he did attend Alabama this past school year, but obviously did not become either a member of the basketball team or team manager. Thus, he might be attending UWO after having been away from basketball competition for a year. In seeing Oshkosh play once in person, and a couple of times on the Internet last year, it looked like the guard position was the Titans strength and they needed much more of a presence and talent on the baseline, particularly in the middle. Accordingly, UWO appears somewhat of a curious choice. However, if he can duplicate some of his better HS performances at the next level, the possibility exists that he might become a useful contributor.

And speaking of UNO, does anyone have any idea of what became of Sam Johnson who was heavily recruited by several schools 2 years ago, and then who seemed to suddenly disappear midway through last season to the point of no longer appearing on the UWO roster?

[Greek Tragedy]

Stout's nonconference 2017-2018 schedule

The Blue Devils started out 9-2 last year before finishing with a 4-10 conference schedule.

at Wisconsin (scrimmage)
Vs Crown 8-17
Vs Marian 8-17
Vs Superior 9-16 or vs Colorado College 11-15
Vs St. Scholastica 17-10 (at Superior)
At Superior 9-16
Vs Bethany Lutheran 15-10
Vs Northwestern 20-8
At Silver Lake
Vs Finlandia 7-18
At Whitworth 23-5
At Puget Sound 12-13

Opponent's winning % is just over 50% at 130-129.

I used Colorado College's record as opposed to Superior's twice and I didn't include Silver Lake's since they are non-D3

Eau Claire's schedule is out. Only 24 games and an exhibition vs Winona State. Maybe they'll add another game.

at St. Norbert
at St. Olaf
at Marian
vs Minn-Morris
vs Superior
at St. Scholastica
at Wartburg
at Viterbo
vs Northwestern (MN)
vs Northland

[Greek Tragedy]

Oshkosh's schedule

vs Benedictine
at St. Norbert
vs Edgewood
at North Park
vs Augustana
vs Finlandia
at Calvin
at George Fox
at Willamette
vs St. Mary's at Wisconsin. Dells
vs Ripon at Wisconsin Dells

[Just Bill]

Blog entry from Pat Coleman...

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2017/07/15/for-now-the-banners-still-hang-at-uwsp/

[tomt4525]

Blog entry from Pat Coleman...

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2017/07/15/for-now-the-banners-still-hang-at-uwsp/

Odd timing for that blog if you ask me.  First time Semling speaks saying a coach suspension and playoff ban should suffice and anything more is excessive.  Next day, Pat posts this. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Here's the full interview article

http://www.waow.com/story/35880832/2017/07/13/exclusive-uwsp-mens-basketball-coach-speaks-out-for-first-time-since-suspension

[Gregory Sager]

Blog entry from Pat Coleman...

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2017/07/15/for-now-the-banners-still-hang-at-uwsp/

Odd timing for that blog if you ask me.  First time Semling speaks saying a coach suspension and playoff ban should suffice and anything more is excessive.  Next day, Pat posts this.

Why is that "odd timing"? Semling's giving his first media interview since the suspension, combined with the content of said interview, makes for a newsworthy story. Standard journalistic practice is to react in a timely manner (i.e., within a 24-hour window) to a newsworthy story. Additionally, sometimes the lack of news is a pertinent topic for media speculation. As Pat explained, this is true in the case of the ongoing NCAA investigation of UWSP. Blog format or not, Pat is a journalist, and d3hoops.com is part of the media. The upshot is that d3hoops.com simply performed its proper function by responding quickly to an important story, which Pat nicely dovetailed into an examination of the broader topic of the NCAA investigation.

It would've been odd timing if Pat had waited a week or two, or a month, to respond to Semling's interview.

[tomt4525]

Blog entry from Pat Coleman...

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2017/07/15/for-now-the-banners-still-hang-at-uwsp/

Odd timing for that blog if you ask me.  First time Semling speaks saying a coach suspension and playoff ban should suffice and anything more is excessive.  Next day, Pat posts this.

Why is that "odd timing"? Semling's giving his first media interview since the suspension, combined with the content of said interview, makes for a newsworthy story. Standard journalistic practice is to react in a timely manner (i.e., within a 24-hour window) to a newsworthy story. Additionally, sometimes the lack of news is a pertinent topic for media speculation. As Pat explained, this is true in the case of the ongoing NCAA investigation of UWSP. Blog format or not, Pat is a journalist, and d3hoops.com is part of the media. The upshot is that d3hoops.com simply performed its proper function by responding quickly to an important story, which Pat nicely dovetailed into an examination of the broader topic of the NCAA investigation.

It would've been odd timing if Pat had waited a week or two, or a month, to respond to Semling's interview.

Odd because the blog and Semling's interview are completely contradictory.  Obviously Semling has wishful thinking of not being punished anymore but d3hoops' view is whatever gets the most clicks on their site.  They sure seem to want UWSP to get the hammer thrown down.  You'd think that if they are just getting the info out they would talk about both sides, Semling and the NCAA.

[badgerwarhawk]

"He also added that he believes the severity of the infractions has been overblown..." 

This comment makes me wonder if he gets it yet.  He isn't calling it akin to jaywalkding but there are multiple violations.  Maybe he doesn't consider them significant but the NCAA has labeled them major.  It would seem the sooner Point publically acknowledges that fact the better off they would be. 

[WUPHF]

Odd because the blog and Semling's interview are completely contradictory.  Obviously Semling has wishful thinking of not being punished anymore but d3hoops' view is whatever gets the most clicks on their site.  They sure seem to want UWSP to get the hammer thrown down.  You'd think that if they are just getting the info out they would talk about both sides, Semling and the NCAA.

I think it is safe to assume that Pat Coleman is more editor and columnist than reporter.  There is an important distinction.  And, you will see this when the D3Hoops reporters ultimately write again on the matter.  The blog reads like a column.  That is generally the norm with news blogs.

[Gregory Sager]

Blog entry from Pat Coleman...

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2017/07/15/for-now-the-banners-still-hang-at-uwsp/

Odd timing for that blog if you ask me.  First time Semling speaks saying a coach suspension and playoff ban should suffice and anything more is excessive.  Next day, Pat posts this.

Why is that "odd timing"? Semling's giving his first media interview since the suspension, combined with the content of said interview, makes for a newsworthy story. Standard journalistic practice is to react in a timely manner (i.e., within a 24-hour window) to a newsworthy story. Additionally, sometimes the lack of news is a pertinent topic for media speculation. As Pat explained, this is true in the case of the ongoing NCAA investigation of UWSP. Blog format or not, Pat is a journalist, and d3hoops.com is part of the media. The upshot is that d3hoops.com simply performed its proper function by responding quickly to an important story, which Pat nicely dovetailed into an examination of the broader topic of the NCAA investigation.

It would've been odd timing if Pat had waited a week or two, or a month, to respond to Semling's interview.

Odd because the blog and Semling's interview are completely contradictory.

Even if one grants your point of view for the sake of argument, what does this have to do with timing? You said that Pat's blog post constituted odd timing, not an odd conclusion.

What's more, your three subsequent sentences don't indicate that you really think that Pat's blog post is odd at all. In fact, you think it's oppositional, and you surmise that d3hoops.com is taking this anti-UWSP stance as click bait. Such a motive isn't the least bit odd. It's perfectly rational, since advertising revenue on this site is tied to page views. Since you yourself have postulated a rational motive as lying behind Pat's blog post, why in the world would you deem it "odd"?

Obviously Semling has wishful thinking of not being punished anymore but d3hoops' view is whatever gets the most clicks on their site.  They sure seem to want UWSP to get the hammer thrown down.  You'd think that if they are just getting the info out they would talk about both sides, Semling and the NCAA.

Just because what you're suggesting is something that could be construed as a perfectly rational motive for Pat's post doesn't mean that your interpretation is necessarily correct. I, for one, don't agree with it. I don't believe that d3hoops.com has taken an antagonistic stance towards UWSP for reasons of ad revenue. I think that Pat and his d3hoops.com cohorts have more journalistic integrity than you're willing to give them credit for. Furthermore, contrary to your assertion, Pat did "talk about both sides" in his post. He did that by linking to the interview, which allowed Semling to speak for himself without Pat acting as an editorial filter, and with his summary of Semling's statement:

Semling maintains that for the type of violation that has been described, suspending the coach is about as far as one would go.

... which is a totally accurate paraphrase of what Semling said regarding a "Bylaw 17 violation" in the final minute of the WAOW interview.

I find Pat's thesis:

The investigation into the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball program has dragged on much longer than anticipated, longer than we were told to expect.

This is almost certainly a bad sign — not just for the obvious reasons, either.

... to be sound, based upon my knowledge of how NCAA investigations work and the natural inference that if an investigation has dragged on two or three months beyond a publicly-announced timetable (however vague that timetable may have been) , then it's either a where-there's-smoke-there's-fire situation or there is some lengthy bargaining going on between the investigating body and the institution under investigation. And those are the two possibilities for the delay to which Pat has pointed.

Pat's summary of the situation:

And if suspending the coach is sufficient, it's hard to understand what is holding this process up.

... is likewise sound.

Odd because the blog and Semling's interview are completely contradictory.  Obviously Semling has wishful thinking of not being punished anymore but d3hoops' view is whatever gets the most clicks on their site.  They sure seem to want UWSP to get the hammer thrown down.  You'd think that if they are just getting the info out they would talk about both sides, Semling and the NCAA.

I think it is safe to assume that Pat Coleman is more editor and columnist than reporter.  There is an important distinction.  And, you will see this when the D3Hoops reporters ultimately write again on the matter.  The blog reads like a column.  That is generally the norm with news blogs.

I'd say that Pat was wearing all three hats in his blog post, since d3hoops.com did not post a front-page news article about the end of Semling's media silence. Instead, Pat's blog post announced it on the site's behalf, and it also provided d3hoops.com's link to the full WAOW interview and the TV station's print article.

[Just Bill]

The only thing Pat missed is WAOW is based in Wausau, not Stevens Point!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Something people should also notice... items in the "blog" are op-eds usually (i.e. my Top 25 ballot posts) and items with the D3hoops.com framework are news or show related (i.e. Hoopsville). By posting in the blog, Pat is presenting an op-ed.

And Pat's points are exactly what I have going on in my head. I hate to say it as I know Bob Semling pretty well, but I have gotten the sense he doesn't truly realize how serious this investigation has become and what is at stake. Here is hoping he is more right than wrong, but the long this goes the less sure I am.