MBB: Midwest Conference

[Fort Knox]

With two Knox teams in NCAA Tournaments this week, I was sort of expecting Armageddon to follow  , but since that hasn't happened I thought I would post some Siwash recruiting news as I know we are not well represented in these parts

http://www.galesburg.com/sports/x125185791

http://www.galesburg.com/sports/x883019324

http://www.galesburg.com/sports/x1632309184

[The Roop]

Or it could be that armageddon really isn't that big of deal. Keep posting and finally Knox will have some representation.

[Pat Coleman]

With two Knox teams in NCAA Tournaments this week, I was sort of expecting Armageddon to follow  , but since that hasn't happened I thought I would post some Siwash recruiting news as I know we are not well represented in these parts

Welcome to the board!

[Fort Knox]

Long time listener first time caller Roop. I will provide as much perspective as possible. Thanks for the warm reception as well Pat

My preseason rankings for next year

Carroll - They go as there guards go and they have two damn good guards. Lost big guys, so they may struggle early if they face usually WIAC teams, but will round into shape. If Thompson, Zimmerman and Melvin are the other starters, they will be small, but will run people to death

Lawrence - Returners will play more minutes and have no problem filling Hurley;s points, but filling rebounds may be more difficult. I only saw them once last year, but I think DeMatthew can replace Ronseblatt, although he is more of a distributor than a scorer. Cullitan could work his way into the rotation as a guy who thinks rebound/defense first. Good body for a DIII guy and can play bigger than 6'4"

Grinnell - Chamberlain was a stud, but our career paths crossed and he didn't do much as a freshman on a really bad team (anyone have stats?) I wouldn't be surprised if McDonald ends up being just as good or if Grinnell finishes first, dare I say 16-0?

Illinois College - Two senior all conference guards and bunch of other experienced guys...might be time for Worrell to hang it up if this group finishes in the bottom 5

tie for 5/6. Lake Forest and St. Norbert are probably the top two teams for 2009-10, but both will go through some adjustment times and close losses having lost their best big players (arguably best players overall)

Ripon - we know Gillespie can play, but they will be really young...another team that could finish higher and is probably a contender in 2009-10

tie 8-10 – Knox, Beloit, Monmouth – all 3 will depend on young players...Beloit may have best player in the league, Knox the most experience and Monmouth generally has a lot of big athletes. The talent in MWC has improved steadily over last few years and impact freshmen are hard to come by minus Gillespie and the Grinnell trio a few years back, thus all these teams may be better than bottom 3, but I don't see any big leaps

[The Roop]

Yippee, another Carroll-Lawrence Championship game. As long as LU hosts I won't have that far to drive however. Still hoping to run into the brown corduroys I sat next to in the undefeated season and this time the ex won't be with me as she re-married. Why is it that when you take a friend along it's always a babe-fest and you can't do anything about it ??

Probably should throw Beloit into the mix for 09-10 as this years recruiting class will have a years experience by then. Could be a little rocky this year as freshman are always freshman.

[larry_u]

Unfortunately for Derek he was nicked up a bit his senior year and his season was rather uneventful; at least not what it could have been.

Unfortunate for him, but probably fortunate for Beloit. It's not uncommon for a D3 school to end up with a student-athlete who had D1 potential but missed out on a scholarship opportunity due to a senior-year injury.

Also not uncommon for  a guy to be one and done in transferring to a D1 school if he shows he has recovered from injury, see Schmidt, Owen from UWRF to West Virginia

[Pat Coleman]

Also not uncommon for  a guy to be one and done in transferring to a D1 school if he shows he has recovered from injury, see Schmidt, Owen from UWRF to West Virginia

Actually, that is fairly uncommon. It's not completely unheard of, but it's uncommon. I can only think of two other guys who have transfered to D-I and gotten any PT there.

[Gregory Sager]

Also not uncommon for  a guy to be one and done in transferring to a D1 school if he shows he has recovered from injury, see Schmidt, Owen from UWRF to West Virginia

Actually, that is fairly uncommon. It's not completely unheard of, but it's uncommon. I can only think of two other guys who have transfered to D-I and gotten any PT there.

I agree with Pat. I've followed D3 basketball for close to three decades now, and I can tell you that D3 players who transfer to D1 and make the team, much less see any playing time at that level, are few and far between.

[The Roop]

Also not uncommon for  a guy to be one and done in transferring to a D1 school if he shows he has recovered from injury, see Schmidt, Owen from UWRF to West Virginia

I'm going to run in a little different direction with this one. I will agree that yes, it does happen on occasion; but. Since you've got to sit a year now when you move up it probably won't happen again any time soon. <if that was repealed I missed it>

Sounds like the player in question is pretty content with his decision to attend Beloit so I doubt transferring is an option. He wants to play football and basketball and he will be able to do that there. Hopefully he's healthy when hoops season rolls around and he gets up to speed with the offense despite what will be limited practice time.

[The Roop]

Now that some of the schedules are out it leads to a question. Coe and Cornell open the season at Lawrence where they will play Lawrence and Ripon. Sounds like a MWC vs. IIAC Challenge. Which is fine but what I don't understand is why does the Coe-Ripon game on Saturday move to Ripon ??

I suppose Ripon is on the way back home for them but it's not like they are saving a great deal of travel time by not playing @LU both days. Could it be a MWCTV thing, as that game in Ripon is  webcast but none of the games at LU are. Just curious ?? Or could it be a "Coe-spiracy".

[Pat Coleman]

Are you saying Lawrence is playing at home the second day, and are you 100% sure the schedule you're reading is accurate?

[Greek Tragedy]

There is no way that any team in the MWC is going 16-0 next season.  I guarantee it won't happen.  Mark it. 

[AndOne]

There is no way that any team in the MWC is going 16-0 next season.  I guarantee it won't happen.  Mark it. 

Lawrence lost a conference game this season. Are they or any other MWC team going to be better than this season's LU squad? Doubtful. I think Old School's guarantee is a pretty solid one.

[AndOne]

Greetings MWC fans from a (primarily) CCIW poster.

RECRUITING NEWS-----(Hopefully not previously reported)

Lake Forest---Has picked up 6'1" 2 guard Dave Pilalis from Wheaton North. Pilalis was recruited by a few CCIW teams as well as many MWC teams. He was the second leading scorer for WN, averaging 11.3 ppg. He made 59 3 pointers. His 3 main problems are 1) that he is not real quick, 2) he has a scorer's mentality which sometimes causes a rather lackadaisical attitude toward defense, and 3) he never met a shot he didn't like and will continue to throw up bricks even if he is having a horrendous shooting night. When he is on he can be a prolific scorer who can score in bunches. However, when he is off, he has not yet learned to concentrate on defense, passing, etc, and to defer to his teammates for a better scoring opportunity on those evenings.

[Gregory Sager]

That makes two Chicagoland recruits for whom Chris Conger and his assistants have competed with CCIW coaching staffs and come out the winner: Evanston's Travis Clark and Wheaton North's Dave Pilalis. That's a very good sign for the Foresters.