MBB: American Southwest Conference

[golden_dome]

Dave,
   Thanks for posting. I enjoyed doing the broadcast for the first game which turned out to be arguably one of the best college basketball games ever played. I owe you one for the invite.

I was dumbfounded at our performance, especially considering that the first 15 minutes were pretty much a draw and then the wheels fell off. Down just nine at the half, I certainly thought MC could come back but I never would have imagined the second half going as it did.

I thought the very physical nature of the game broke MC down at the end of the first half and start of the second which decided the game. With just five free throws in the first half, you could tell early the officials were going to let the players play. I didn't think they were favoring anyone, just letting a lot of things go.

Regarding MC's bigger guards posting up. You might disagree with this, but down on the court taking pictures the play in the post was extremely physical with the VWC guards doing a good job of simply muscling the MC players off the post. I can remember several occasions in which Broomfield would be near the block and end up closer to the wing player trying to throwe the entry pass.

There is not as much of that in the ASC. Officials are quicker with the whistle as you can see with the high free throw totals in our tournament, more than 50 per game.

Hopefully we can reload this offseason and give it another shot next year. Thanks again for letting me help you out.

[Ralph Turner]

Dave, thanks for coming to our message board and explaining your position.  Your opinion is highly valued because of your national perspective on D3.  You have explained yourself very well.

We ASC fans placed all of our eggs in the "Clinton basket", and we did not do well at all.  UMHB was one and done to a very beatable Maryville, and then the #3 team in the country fell in the next round.

That being said... I was disappointed for two reasons... they had a chance to make a statement and did the exact opposite. I was also disappointed for a conference I know is dying for some more respect and recognition. This was a great chance that slipped away.

The geographic isolation hurts.  The failed opportunities, as rarely as we get them, hurt.  The two teams that had earned the most national acclaim (Miss Coll vs JHU and Westmont and UMHB vs VWC) did not produce when we needed them to, and to build on the reputation that they had started.

The questions about the inability to adapt in the game are even more perplexing.

Well, we need to go back to the drawing boards.  Coaches need to schedule quality D3 games on the national level and we need to re-double our efforts.

Have fun in Salem!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Chris - the email has not been sent yet - but I will publically thank you as well for your assistance. First off, it was Pat's idea and I am glad he suggested contacting you. It was a pleasure to have you beside me for honestly the best game I have seen (though Pat did remind me of the Williams/Stevens Point National Championship game a few years back).

I don't think I would have gotten through that game without someone to talk with about it ! I am just sorry you couldn't be there for the next day!

By the way, for everyone out there... I have been on this board a lot... I just tend to read and not post. Something I am slowly changing everywhere (thus the low post count ).

I would agree physicallity had a LOT to do with VWC's win... but MC also just looked flat late in the first half and into the second half. VWC just had more fire... and it showed everywhere.

Also, I am sorry MC didn't get a chance to watch Guilford vs. Virginia Wesleyan. While the Quakers were exhausted from the night before... I don't think one person left that gym Saturday night saying Guilford didn't give 110%. I think everyone would have enjoyed the game as well.

Ralph - I couldn't agree with you more. I think the ASC needs to just take a look at itself and its teams and say... ok... we keep hitting the same wall. What do we need to do to bust through this. I hope it happens. If not.. the conference will only go backwards (it has happened to others).

I plan to enjoy Salem... and only wish some of you would make the trip - even if your team(s) isn't there!

[scottiedoug]

OK all this talk about the physical play in the MissCollege and VWU game and the ASC's difficulties with that style prompts a question.  I was not at the Golden Dome and only heard the Maryville-Mississippi game on the radio (announcers very pro-Maryville) so here is the question:  Maryville had (some) trouble against MHBU with the touchy officiating (I am choosing to ignore all the assumptions that Maryville's beating MHBU was some kind of mistake) and then got pushed around a good bit the next night by Mississippi, with the officials seeming to let it go.

Anybody see the games able to comment on officiating styles and the physical nature of the two games?

I am not offering an excuse for Maryville's getting beat by the Choctaws, but I am curious if the MissColl-Maryville game was atypical or the MHBU-Maryville one.  Or something else.

[golden_dome]

OK all this talk about the physical play in the MissCollege and VWU game and the ASC's difficulties with that style prompts a question.  I was not at the Golden Dome and only heard the Maryville-Mississippi game on the radio (announcers very pro-Maryville) so here is the question:  Maryville had (some) trouble against MHBU with the touchy officiating (I am choosing to ignore all the assumptions that Maryville's beating MHBU was some kind of mistake) and then got pushed around a good bit the next night by Mississippi, with the officials seeming to let it go.

Anybody see the games able to comment on officiating styles and the physical nature of the two games?

I am not offering an excuse for Maryville's getting beat by the Choctaws, but I am curious if the MissColl-Maryville game was atypical or the MHBU-Maryville one.  Or something else.

Scottie,
   I do remember a lot of fouls in your first game, there were nearly 50 if I remember correctly. Maryville played well in that game. I thought UMHB had a solid team going into that game. Kevin Guyden is the best in the ASC at drawing fouls. I am pretty sure he led the league and has a way of getting you out of position and forcing the contact.

   In the Mississippi College game, there were still 40 fouls called. I just thought Maryville was a bit outmatched this year. Honestly, Bradley Blair played an unbelievable game to keep you guys in it. No one else really did much but he was outstanding. I don't remember the free throws being that out of the ordinary until the last ten minutes or so when Maryville was trying to force turnovers all over the court.

   

[Ralph Turner]

ASC Statistical Leaders:

FREE THROW PCT (Min. 2.5 made per game)
## Player-Team               Cl  G   FTM   FTA   Pct
----------------------------------------------------
1.Kevin Guyden-UMHB........ SR 28   164   182  .901
2.D.J. Jones-MC............ SR 30   120   140  .857
3.Travis Carruthers-UTD.... SR 26    89   104  .856
4.Zach Pickelman-HSU....... SR 28   124   146  .849
5.Nate Walton-TLU.......... SO 24    82    99  .828
6.Joel McDonald-CUA........ SO 26   118   145  .814
7.Michael Dinkins-HSU...... FR 27    79    98  .806
8.Art Gonzalez-SRSU........ JR 23    70    87  .805
9.J.C. Herebia-TLU......... FR 24    76    95  .800
10.Alvin Stevens-MCM........ JR 27    84   111  .757

[golden_dome]

Chris - the email has not been sent yet - but I will publically thank you as well for your assistance. First off, it was Pat's idea and I am glad he suggested contacting you. It was a pleasure to have you beside me for honestly the best game I have seen (though Pat did remind me of the Williams/Stevens Point National Championship game a few years back).

Thanks a lot, I enjoyed it. Tell Pat I appreciate it and hope he does not think I was trying to single him out on the boards this weekend. It's been a frustrating weekend which just exaggerated frustration already there regarding our having to travel to another sectional. With all of the talk about MC not getting past the sweet sixteen, I just did not want the accomplishments of this year's seniors to be overlooked after they have gone 56-5 the last two years.

[Ralph Turner]

I strongly encouarge all ASC fans to read Gregory Sager's insight into the physical play/officiating debate we are having.  He brings a perspective from the CCIW and Chicagoland teams that he sees.

Click here and please scroll to the very bottom of the page.

[frank_ezelle]

It's obvious that finishing in the top 16 in the country is quite an accomplishment but it is starting to be view as somewhat of an unsuccessful season at MC.  I'm curious to know what others think it will take for MC to reach the final 4 or the championship game.

I only saw MC once this year and it was a preseason scrimmage against Millsaps so my impression is extremely limited.  My thought then was that the strongest element of the team was their depth.  Certainly the first 8-10 were strong enough to beat most teams in the country in a conventional game of basketball, but the the elite teams could match the talent level of MC.  I'm not sure how many teams could match the depth of the MC bench.

Assuming that MC will reload with about 10 juco players and a couple of freshmen, I wonder if they need to go all out to that "40 minutes of Hell" style that Nolan Richardson used during his heyday at Arkansas.  It would utilize the MC depth and it would be a style that would be hard to prepare for by NCAA opponents.  Not having seen MC play any regular season games this year, I will have to assume that they are already playing an up-tempo style but maybe they need to bump it up to a hyper-tempo style of play.

Any thoughts from Chris or Ralph or those who know far more than me about basketball in general and MC in specific?

[Bearkat00]

Wow - been an interesting week with all the posts.  The one thing I do say about the ASC posting section is that is more civil than most other boards, which makes it enjoyable.

With that being said, isn't funny how NCAA D1 schools have the same beef that NCAA D3 schools are having?  Take Texas A&M, arguably one of the best teams in the country looking at taking on Louisville in the 2nd round in Lexington.  Tell me that's fair.  Why not put UK vs. TAMU in the first round to congratulate them on a fine season.  My point is, the NCAA hasn't figured this out and it's obvious.  Every year we are going to have these issues.

I don't think VWC is 25 points better than MC.  If anyone thinks that, they're a fool.  VWC had a huge advantage being at home - an advantaged that they used well.  MC got screwed.  However, there has to be a point where you buckle up, accept the fact that you got screwed, and go out on the court and prove your ranking.  MC played horribly, and give credit where credit is due, VWC was the better team that night, but they are not 25 points better than MC.  Any athlete knows that it's tough to play on the road, especially to one of the best teams in the nation.  

I don't think that there can ever be a true rankings of who the best conferences are until conferences start mixing it up and playing one another.  And I don't see that happening any time soon.  Anyways, congrats to Mississippi College for a great season.  While some may considered them to have "choked", we still shouldn't take away from their accomplishments this year.  

[Pat Coleman]

Chris - the email has not been sent yet - but I will publically thank you as well for your assistance. First off, it was Pat's idea and I am glad he suggested contacting you. It was a pleasure to have you beside me for honestly the best game I have seen (though Pat did remind me of the Williams/Stevens Point National Championship game a few years back).

Thanks a lot, I enjoyed it. Tell Pat I appreciate it and hope he does not think I was trying to single him out on the boards this weekend. It's been a frustrating weekend which just exaggerated frustration already there regarding our having to travel to another sectional. With all of the talk about MC not getting past the sweet sixteen, I just did not want the accomplishments of this year's seniors to be overlooked after they have gone 56-5 the last two years.

I'm not offended.

[Ralph Turner]

Bearkat, you have to be one of the ASC's "all-Newcomer Posters" this season.  You provided timely information, hyperlinks and great insight to the games that you saw.

Thanks, and +1! 

And I took editorial license to "spellcheck" your previous post concerning Virginia Wesleyan College! 

[scottiedoug]

Chris:  Thanks for the insights.  The sense I got from the radio version of the MC-MC game was that the Scots were getting pushed and hacked in ways that the night before were called fouls.

Coach Lambert refused to make much of it, saying that in a game like that, his team needed ALL the calls, which of course they were not going to get!

Bradley Blair was Maryville's best player for the last third of the year, in my opinion.  Too bad he did not have four years of coaching at MC (he transferred in as a Soph).

[golden_dome]

Chris:  Thanks for the insights.  The sense I got from the radio version of the MC-MC game was that the Scots were getting pushed and hacked in ways that the night before were called fouls.

Coach Lambert refused to make much of it, saying that in a game like that, his team needed ALL the calls, which of course they were not going to get!

Bradley Blair was Maryville's best player for the last third of the year, in my opinion.  Too bad he did not have four years of coaching at MC (he transferred in as a Soph).

Scottie,
   At the time I did not think the officiating was bad either way, except for the call at the end of the first half that got Coach Lambert so upset. If history is an indicator, we might get a chance to match up again next year for the fourth year in a row.

[chocsrock34]

Okay I see my Karma has dropped a little bit sfter my last posts. I just have to say that I was a little angery after the game. I watched every home game that didn't interfere with my schedule, and I know the basketball that they can play. They did not play it against VWC. However, props to the way VWC played. The physical game that was played, the distance from home, and the fans favoring the other side was enough to make most teams crack down.

I was at the game and saw the looks of the players. DJ and Broomfield did not look mentally ready to play this game for whatever reason.