MBB: Midwest Conference

[systemfan86]

SF86-
So, yer sayin' I should call off Guido and Lefty before the tourney?

Lefty, yes. Guido, no. 

Hey, it would be a shame if something were to accidentally fall into a bear trap that was accidentally left outside a certain team's locker room door. Odd things like that happen in Wezconzin. Ya-no-wada-mean?  8)

[Sam Johnson]

The year SNC went undefeated they played GC Friday night, then Ripon beat them Saturday night.  SNC had a real bad shooting night against Ripon then, and seemed pretty tired.  Norberts didn't really have a hard time against Grinnell, I think.  It still is a very uptempo game that involves a lot of running.  It could wear a team down.  

Thanks Early, I go to lunch and when I get back you've already made what was going to be my intelligent post for the day.  

I don't know if anyone else has listened to Tharp's Hoopsville interview, but I recommend it solely for the Hoopsville Jinx section: "I'll send him on a mission like you've never seen!" (you'll get the quote if you listen.  Its probably way funnier to LU fans, but the whole Jinx/Superstition sections was just such classic Tharp  )

[Sam Johnson]

Microsoft Paint may or may not be used for the Campbell's ad campaign set to run on MWC Hoops in the near future...watch out! 

[scottie]

SF86-
So, yer sayin' I should call off Guido and Lefty before the tourney?

Lefty, yes. Guido, no. 

Hey, it would be a shame if something were to accidentally fall into a bear trap that was accidentally left outside a certain team's locker room door. Odd things like that happen in Wezconzin. Ya-no-wada-mean?  8)

Don't tell me we're going to have a third Jeff on this site...  First JeffP & Jeffdc....and now Jeff Gillooly???   

[viking68]

I don't know if anyone else has listened to Tharp's Hoopsville interview, but I recommend it solely for the Hoopsville Jinx section: "I'll send him on a mission like you've never seen!" (you'll get the quote if you listen.  Its probably way funnier to LU fans, but the whole Jinx/Superstition sections was just such classic Tharp  )

Yeah, that was a really funny part of the interview... And, believe me, Big John could inflict some damage! I still remember when I was in school and he was a campus safety officer - he was usually pretty nice to me, but that may have been because I tried to stay on his good side  !!

I still remember when he played on our IM basketball team (all of the football offensive linemen and Big John - I'm about 5'10", 250 and I was the point guard if that gives you an idea of the team!) and the one cold, January day when he gave me a ride to the bar on his security vehicle! Ahh, memories  ...

[mnelson]

Just my two cents from an LU fan on whether or not I'd like to play Grinnell in the 1st round:

First and foremost, Tharp knows how to coach against the system, so in that respect I am confident our players will KNOW what they have to do. The thing I always worry about Grinnell, and this goes for any underdog team, but especially for Grinnell, is you can play great against them, but if they are hitting shots there is not a whole lot you can do. This was apparent in the Grinnell at LU game earlier this year. Lawrence was up 45-27 with a little over 8 minutes to go in the first half, and was totally dominating Grinnell. I thought it was going to be a blow-out by 30-40 points. Then, Grinnell gets hot, we turn it over a few times, and it's a 59-59 tie at half. A 32-14 run...

Secondly, of course you worry about being tired the next day, but I have to believe Tharp has worked the guys in practice enough for them to be able to play Grinnell then play another tough team the next day. I think it would be more important to play someone else in the first round just because, if you win, you get to play Grinnell, who should probably be exhausted if they beat Carroll or Lawrence in the first round, or the tired winner of that game. It must be fun to know the other team is just a little bit more tired than you are.

The one thing I think people are missing so far in this discussion is what a win against Grinnell does to your confidence. Because they are always pressuring, always swarming and always slapping, if you beat Grinnell you must have done a good job of not turning the ball over. I loved watching LU play LFC the day after our home game against Grinnell -- LFC was down and the coach wanted to switch things up so he switched to a full court press. After Grinnell, Lawrence broke it no problem, getting some easy buckets on the other end. In fact, we had 25 assists to 9 turnovers in that game.

So I don't think I would necessarily want to play Grinnell because they are always a scary team, but IF you beat Grinnell, you are going to be able to handle any sort of pressure thrown at you the next day. And you'll probably be ready to make your lay-ups.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Very, very well said mnelson.

[Maverick]

Agree with Hoops Fan.  Very good analysis there mnelson.

[systemfan86]

Yup. Very solid.

At this point, all the coaches in the league have been around long enough that GC doesn't surprise anyone. They've all coached against it, and unless they have a team full of freshmen, they have players who know what to expect.

I can't say this with any authority, but I'm guessing the teams that play GC particularly well have found a way to incorporate their plan for GC into their regular game plan. If you think about it, the same can be said for other teams as well. The coaches know what RC or BC are going to try to do and incorporate that into their normal gameplan as well.

I doubt that LU plays a significantly different game against GC than they do against other teams - see mnelson's comments about breaking LFC press - they just use certain portions of their gameplan more in the GC game than they do in other games.    

You have to be concerned about any opponent getting a hot shooting night; the fact that GC takes more shots makes a hot (or cold) shooting night that much more of a factor.

[JUSTINTYEM]

What did happen to Norland anyways.I never heard or saw what the injury was.Can someone fill me in.

[systemfan86]

Popped his ACL, if I remember correctly.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

ACL in practice; freak injury and one that stinks because it doesn't hurt after it happens.  You can walk and even jog fine, but there would be no support if you tried to do anything strenuous.

[hjmphelp]

just for the record, Paul Nordy IS done for the season and will have surgery over spring break to repair his meniscus and ACL.

Very well put, Mr Nelson!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

OK, Roop, I give.  What is that post supposed to be?

[Sam Johnson]

I still remember when he played on our IM basketball team (all of the football offensive linemen and Big John - I'm about 5'10", 250 and I was the point guard if that gives you an idea of the team!) and the one cold, January day when he gave me a ride to the bar on his security vehicle! Ahh, memories

For all his bluster, Giant is a genuinely nice guy.  Though, I must say I'm still waiting for retribution from the night he was guarding me during post drills and I almost broke his nose with an elbow.

Don't fear the Giant
His bark is worse than his bite
Just don't break his nose