MBB: American Southwest Conference

[millie]

you know nice kid i guess we have all beaten this horse to death...there is nothing we can do about MC not hosting....i just hope that they can go north and make the south proud(we will be proud no matter what happens)....lets look at it this way ... in the true tradition of the ASC...if they lose we will have an excuse....

go choctaws....

[knightmoves]

I love it - already saying "if we lose we have an excuse"
Not confident about the Choctaws being good enough to win on the road?
If you win the sectional & make it to the Final Four, that is the time to tell the committee you deserve consideration next year
Best philosophy is just to play your best, win games, become a name the committee sees every year at the top & you will get your chance to host eventually

[Ralph Turner]

This issue was why I started the "Greater Inequity" Poll on the multi-region board.

The fans in the power conferences don't like having to play one another so early in the tourney, like Auburn having to play Georgia in the first round of a mythical football playoff.

knightmoves, respectfully, the dollars involved in these transactions cannot be mitigated by reputation.

In Fall 2003, Trinity men were the #1 soccer seed and eventually national Champions.   They hosted one game inthe first round and were sent on the road from there.

In 2004, UMHB was Stagg Bowl runner-up.  The next year, Trinity was South Football Region #1 seed, UMHB was #3 seed and they faced one another in the first round, instead of #8 and #6 being flown from the east coast to Texas.

[millie]

knight....only members of the ASC can understand the sarcasim in my last post...i have never said that i did not have confidence in the choctaws ...MY choctaws...to win...i, unlike a lot of people don't get on here and tell you a bunch of garbage...because i don't know who will win...ya'll just keep underestimating us and we will see...BUT if we do win i expect to see your "happy" little booty back on this board eating crow...
we are playing for the 2006 championship...not next year, or the next year ... this year!!!!!!!!!!

[Ralph Turner]

I love it - already saying "if we lose we have an excuse"
Not confident about the Choctaws being good enough to win on the road?
...

Knight I missed one other aspect of Millie's remark.  The ASC is probably the toughest road conference in the country.

With the inter-divisional format, MissColl hosted 4 of the West teams this season, the ASC West #1, #T2, #T4 and #T4.  Their only loss was to UMHB (#T2 in the West) 520 miles into an 1100 mile bus trip.  This year was probably an easier year on the road because of whom they hosted.

Next year, MC will have the flip schedule for inter-divisional play.

Actually getting the luxury of a flight from Jackson to central Ohio is a real bonus

[knightmoves]

Millie,

If you win the sectional, you can stuff all the crow down my throat you want. I will deserve it. All I know is that Calvin used to get dominated in the tournament because we weren't used to the physical style of play by the Ohio, Illinois, and East Coast schools. Since then, we have been to 4 final 4s & won 2 national championships. The main reason except for talent is because we learned to play physical & are a solid hard nosed defensive team every year. If you look at most successful DIII programs they are not "uptempo" up & down the court teams. Ralph Turner has said you are improved defensively & physically in the middle over last year. The Choctaw team I saw Calvin beat quite easily last year cannot beat Hope or Wittenburg with the style of play I saw. Have they changed enough since last year to compete with the Great Lakes teams? We'll know in a couple of days.
At the same token, if I'm right, and you get your butts kicked tomorrow or Saturday, I expect you to go on the Wittenburg Sectional bracket under the Great Lakes board & eat crow yourself.
Fair enough?

[Ralph Turner]

... All I know is that Calvin used to get dominated in the tournament because we weren't used to the physical style of play by the Ohio, Illinois, and East Coast schools. Since then, we have been to 4 final 4s & won 2 national championships. The main reason except for talent is because we learned to play physical & are a solid hard nosed defensive team every year. If you look at most successful DIII programs they are not "uptempo" up & down the court teams.  Ralph Turner has said you are improved defensively & physically in the middle over last year. The Choctaw team I saw Calvin beat quite easily last year cannot beat Hope or Wittenburg with the style of play I saw. Have they changed enough since last year to compete with the Great Lakes teams? We'll know in a couple of days.
...

knight, I agree with your assessment of what the Chocs need to do to win the national title.  If you have followed my postings, I have contended that the Chocs need to concentrate on defeating the inside game against the "guys with the big thighs and barrel chests".

I don't doubt the conditioning of the Chocs in a slow down game.  However, I will pick on Tyler Winford again, and state my prediction that he must get 28 minutes in that type of game.  He will be needed to handle the big guys and the more physical play.  If the Chocs can take a "big guy-tough physical play" team out of its game, then the Chocs can win.  That may mean that Coach Lofton may change minutes among players to meet the special challenge of the opponent.

Nevertheless, I can see that this Miss Coll team has the talent necessary to play that type of game.  If they can execute, then I believe they will be in the Final Four.

And as I look as the styles of play that may emerge to the Final Four, we are going to see quite an array of styles.  Amherst? Miss College? Lincoln? IWU? Wow!

[millie]

knight ...i have no intentions to eat crow on this board or anywhere else...that is the reason that i have never said that MC WILL win...i really do know...ya'll keep talking so much about last year and other years...my experience with D3 is that the whole make up of a team can change from year to year, granted you have the same coaches but the turn over of players (their size and ability) can be dramatic...one year you may be very strong and athletic and next year you may be run and gun..shoot the lights out...

hey ralph..it sounds to me you have made the ASC road trips also...last year and the year before my husband and i did not miss a game..yes..MC to abiline (3 times last year), brownwood, alpine, seguin, kerrville, dallas, arkansas, louisiana and all points in between....we had a blast...touring every little town on every little pig trail...i have stopped at every antique store between alpine and brownwood...would not trade those 2 years for any thing...a lot of the games (far away) we would be the only MC girls fans there...

[Ralph Turner]

Mille, my ancesters settled in west Texas in the late 19th century.  I love that country.  I love the big sky, and the horizons 40 miles away.

I love driving I-20 west of Weatherford.   Altho' both sides of my folks have been in Texas since the 1850's, my daughters went to Auburn  WAREAGLE!.   I have gained a greater appreciation of the Deep South, and I-20 to Cuba, AL then to Union, and Demopolis, and Selma, and Montgomery, and Tuskegee, and Auburn, then Opelika...

Travel safely, Choc fans and all fans!

[millie]

ralph... i have found the best way to travel the US is to have a child that lives somewhere else OR plays college bball...before we were D3...we were D2 and learned anything you wanted to know about arkansas...there are a lot of great states out there just calling my name.

good luck to all..but best of luck to Mississippi College

[chocfan0506]

Obviously u dont actually watch many of MC's games...seems to me like most of ur critiques are based upon the stats. 

Y did u delete ur username? Afraid people would find out who u r?

I only deleted the username because I didn't expect anyone to respond to the assertions I presented.  I only intended to clarify the contention that MC is dependent upon Winford for success (if that was the case, they would have won last year...he had a much better season last year). I was simply requesting that the whole team be given their rightful recognition for the team's success.  Reading the postings, I noticed that some players receive credit for the entire team's performance.  I was only making the clarification that the team is not depended upon certain players like many other teams.  I do, however, appreciate the grammatical critiques provided by NCCHOCTAW.  The response was written in shorthand.  On a side note, no one knows yet who will win this weekend, but I do think that many of these postings underestimate the Choctaws.  Go Choctaws!

[NCChoctaw]

My corrections were not a personal jab, but more of an opportunity to poke fun.  No harm intended.  On the same note, call it what you want, but "hussle" for "hustle" does not look any shorter.   

Moving on, I finally saw what I needed to see.  Someone actually mentioned MC and a national championship in the same sentence.  Kudos, Ralph.  I understand that it is not a prediction, but an acknowledgement of the possibility is nice to see.

[knightmoves]

Ralph,

I agree with your assessment of what the Chocs need to do, but take exception at the "big thighs & barrel chests" remark. You won't see that on Hope's or Witt's team. They both have some big boys, but with the exception of Voison on Hope, are very athletic.Hope actually loves to run when given the opportunity, but also very good at the half court set. They also play tenacious defense. Watch out for their full court trap just when you least expect it. Even the teams that play them all the time get caught off guard because you never know when it's coming.
Well, good luck tonight. Actually I wouldn't mind in the future if MC hosts. I have been through Mississippi but never spent any time there. I know it's much warmer this time of year than Michigan & your "Golden Dome" looks pretty cool on MC's website.

[scott_leo]

LIVE COVERAGE OF WITTENBERG SECTIONAL
(Friday and Saturday)

http://www4.wittenberg.edu/news/athletics/news/2006releases/03_09.html

Live Video (with audio) via Teamline:
http://www.teamline.cc/sportpages.html?teamcode=1098&eventcode=0021

Live Audio only:
http://www4.wittenberg.edu/news/athletics/broadcast/

All games also broadcast in Springfield on 89.1 FM

Friday coverage begins with Pre-Game Show at 5:30pm
(including interviews with coaches)

[NCChoctaw]

oh well.