MBB: Midwest Conference

[gbpuckfan]

Oh, and can you explain what was convoluted about the regions rankings? What seemed out of sorts?

Benedictine hanging onto its spot above North Central and remaining high despite loss after loss, and St. Norbert being buried with at least one more at-large team in between. It just spoke to me of a misordering that could affect teams on Sunday night.

As it turned out in our mock, even with misordering, there was enough room to get all of those teams in.

Ah, makes sense. And I'm certainly glad there was room! Thanks.

[gbpuckfan]

0-2

[gbpuckfan]

Grinnell cancels spring sports

All athletics events, including practices and competitions, are cancelled for the remainder of the semester.

https://www.grinnell.edu/news/important-covid-19-planning-updates

[Greek Tragedy]

Grinnell cancels spring sports

All athletics events, including practices and competitions, are cancelled for the remainder of the semester.

https://www.grinnell.edu/news/important-covid-19-planning-updates

Wow.

[Titan Q]

On Will Carius...

https://qctimes.com/sports/basketball/patient-carius-looks-for-the-right-situation/article_27d1ad9e-005a-5398-b209-57101087990e.html

[Smitty Oom]

On Will Carius...

https://qctimes.com/sports/basketball/patient-carius-looks-for-the-right-situation/article_27d1ad9e-005a-5398-b209-57101087990e.html

Thanks for sharing. Looks like he is exploring the very rare, DII - DIII All American - DII Grad Transfer route. Wishing him the best.

[Titan Q]

Will Carius committed to D1 Western Illinois.

[gbpuckfan]

Uwgb fired its coach. Start the "Gary should move across town" thread.

[WW]

Uwgb fired its coach. Start the "Gary should move across town" thread.

That chatter is well under way. The idea's got some merit, unlike most hot stove rumors.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Yep - it is alive and well ... I think this one falls in his lap and whether he thinks it is a decision that is right for him and family. I have grown to learn that there is a lot more involved in these kinds of decisions than just what it seems.

Time will tell.

[gbpuckfan]

He may have to decide if he wants "a" D1 job, or a "good" D1 job.

Even though it's his alma mater, UWGB has issues, in my view.

1) They've lost the community support. Back in the Dick Bennet heyday, it wasn't a caravan of 20 busses of students filling the Brown County Arena. It was community members. Average attendance last year was 1,890. The Kress is a nice place to watch a game, but - as stupid as it is - to some campus is "way out there" and too inconvenient to visit.

2) They've never really much had campus support. Moving some games last year from the Resch Center to the on-campus Kress did not help much. I've seen more SNC students at an SNC game than UWGB students at a UWGB game. And the optics of having to admit the Resch is too big for them are just not good.

2a) While on attendance, SNC had a game against Ripon last year that outdrew two UWGB home games. That's just 1,400, folks. Yes, Ripon is a close rival. But when UWGB can't muster that much for a conference game (Oakland), that says something.

3) The athletic department has money woes, and recently cut two sports. If it has to pay Darner $1 million for the rest of his contract - which is an unknown publicly - that won't help any. When the school's statement about furloughs has to make a point that the school will remain D1, it's a tacit acknowledgement that, well, some people think D2 is a better idea.

4) Does he want to play second fiddle on his own court? The UWGB women averaged more than 2,000 per game last year. Yes, SNC has a high-profile hockey team that garners attention there, but that's hardly the same thing as vying for the attention of basketball fans on campus.

5) While I would hope the UWGB candidates get an explanation for Darner's firing. it hasn't happened publicly yet. Who knows how that might hamper the school's ability to attract someone. The AD's answer may make a candidate walk away.

6) Mid-major scheduling remains an issue. When Bennett was at UW, it agreed to a 4/1 home game split. That's gone, so UWGB always plays at Wisconsin. They haven't played Marquette at all since 2012.

7) Separately from UWGB-centric issues, he's been rejected by them at least once before. How much of a factor is that? There are other candidates with UWGB and state ties who have more D1 experience.

And, finally, I have no inside knowledge. These are just my observations. If he wants the job, I hope he gets it and is successful. But I doubt it's as simple as the job is his if he wants it, and he'll automatically take it. And maybe the idea and challenge of taking the job is too good to pass up, even with those issues.

[Gregory Sager]

Those are all really good points. And to them I'd add the matter of job security. At UWGB, like any other D1 job, he'd be expected to win or he'd find himself the recipient of a pink slip and a date with the local unemployment office. At St. Norbert, his record is unparalleled in school history. He took a program that was up-and-down under Paul DeNoble and made it a perennial regional power, reaching the D3 tourney seven times in his 14-season tenure, including one of only three trips to the Sweet Sixteen that the MWC has made in the 64-team-bracket era. He's won nine MWC titles, never finished lower than third after his initial season, is the winningest coach in SNC men's basketball history, and this coming season he'll undoubtedly break Romie Kosnar's record for the most wins of any head coach the program's ever had. All of which is to say that, as long as his players are graduating at a consistent rate and they aren't wreaking havoc with the law on his watch, his SNC job has to be about as secure as is anybody's in D3 men's basketball. I doubt that anybody would bat an eye even if his teams slide upon entering their new league.

Of course, the obvious points on the flip side are that the UWGB job offers the salary, prestige, and program resources that SNC can't match.

[Greek Tragedy]

I think we can all assume Grzesk is interested in the UWGB job. This will be his 3rd time? However, how many times can you ask the same girl to prom and be denied?

[Gregory Sager]

I think we can all assume Grzesk is interested in the UWGB job.

We can?

I'm not being snarky. I'm seriously curious as to whether or not this is a safe assumption.

[gbpuckfan]

Of course, the obvious points on the flip side are that the UWGB job offers the salary, prestige, and program resources that SNC can't match.

I'm sure the salary is more... but it might not be eye-poppingly more ...