MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

RECRUITING NEWS-----------------

North Central has received confirmation of, and is announcing that Matt Rogers will transfer from Lakeland College in Sheboygan, WI to North Central where he will be a member of the 2007-2008 Cardinal basketball team.   

Rogers played his high school ball at Rochelle, IL HS. In his senior year, he was instrumental in helping Rochelle reach the Sectional finals and was later selected as an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-Star along with current Cardinal sophomore, Chris Drennan. 

Following the 2005-2006 season he was named the Freshman of the Year in the former Lake Michigan Conference. For 2006-07, he led Lakeland in scoring at 18.5 ppg on 53% shooting from the field. His 18.5 average within the conference placed him 3rd in scoring in conference only games in the Northern Athletic Conference which Lakeland is now a part of. Overall for the year, he averaged 19.7 ppg ranking him 2nd in scoring for the entire season. These scoring averages were achieved despite his only averaging 22.8 minutes a contest due to Lakeland's using several players in their rotation.

Besides shooting 53% from the field, Matt hit 36% of his 3 point attempts, and shot 145 of 199 or 73% from the line. He also contributed 5.5 RPG.

Matt will make an outstanding addition to the Cardinal program. 

[Gregory Sager]

I heard last week about Rogers transferring from Lakeland to NCC. I sat on the news because announcing a transfer from one D3 school to another is a little more delicate than simply announcing a high school recruit. It's best to hear it from someone close to the program such as AndOne.

Considering the staggering losses that North Central will suffer on the front line going into next year, a forward of Rogers' pedigree is just what the doctor ordered for the Cardinals.

[north central]

And one :any news on why the Rogers kid is transferring. Of course he would be coming back closer to home but it just seems weird that a kid who is averaging almost 19 points a game on a 16-11 team that was 12-6 in conference would be leaving. Especially when you consider they return there top three scorers and the coach is also returning. Does that not seem a bit unusual, or is it just me.

[Sakman 1111]

Here is only a guess about transferring from Lakeland......I have only been there for football games but it is in the middle of nowhere and the campus isn't much to talk about. Maybe he was going nuts there?.....

[AndOne]

I heard last week about Rogers transferring from Lakeland to NCC. I sat on the news because announcing a transfer from one D3 school to another is a little more delicate than simply announcing a high school recruit. It's best to hear it from someone close to the program such as AndOne.

Considering the staggering losses that North Central will suffer on the front line going into next year, a forward of Rogers' pedigree is just what the doctor ordered for the Cardinals.

The transfer had been in the works for awhile but, as I'm sure with most schools, NCC had to wait until the enrollment process was complete before making the announcement.

Also----"staggering losses" for sure. The fabulous trio of Walton, Simmons, & Krumtinger put up (or is it put down) a combined 3457 points over their Cardinal careers.

[AndOne]

And one :any news on why the Rogers kid is transferring. Of course he would be coming back closer to home but it just seems weird that a kid who is averaging almost 19 points a game on a 16-11 team that was 12-6 in conference would be leaving. Especially when you consider they return there top three scorers and the coach is also returning. Does that not seem a bit unusual, or is it just me.

Here is only a guess about transferring from Lakeland......I have only been there for football games but it is in the middle of nowhere and the campus isn't much to talk about. Maybe he was going nuts there?.....

The "closer to home" and "remoteness" factors likely were at least small factors in the equation. However, there are several other larger pieces of the pie that account for the majority of the reasoning behind Matt's transfer.

1. He was recruited to Lakeland by their former coach, Gary Grzesk, who left 
    Lakeland for St. Norbert after Matt's freshman season.

2. He was pretty heavily recruited by North Central (as well as most CCIW 
    schools) out of high school and, I believe, already had a favorable impression
    of the Cardinal staff as a result of that previous recruitment process.

3. He likes the idea of playing in the CCIW and looks forward to meeting the
    challenge doing so will present.

4. Matt wants to teach and wanted to get a jump start on being able to do his
    student teaching in the state of Illinois rather than Wisconsin----and I know
    from personal family experience that the teacher's retirement system in IL
    affords higher benefits than does Wisconsin's. 

[Jim Matson]

Anyone interested in the Bulls playoff game tomorrow afternoon?  Let me know.  I forgot it was Mother's Day...!!

[Gregory Sager]

I've heard that 5'9 guard Jimmy Saris from Crystal Lake South is headed to Elmhurst. Any confirmation?

[Titan Q]

I've heard that 5'9 guard Jimmy Saris from Crystal Lake South is headed to Elmhurst. Any confirmation?

This site has that (under "Top 50 Seniors - North/Northwest suburbs")...

http://www.joyofthegame.com/cfm/Rankings2.cfm

[ccbasketball]

Congratulations to Greg Ktistou former Carthage standout on being named the Head Coach at Downers Grove North High School.  I look forward to the day we can get him back in Kenosha, working with Bosko, and eventually taking over when he retires.  Go redmen!!!

[north central]

CC: Bosko will be there forever

And congrats to Greg for landing that position. It seems like a large number of former CCIW players from my era are getting head high school jobs. I can think of about 6 guys besides me that are head coaches. At least we know those programs are in good hands.Good to see another fellow CCIW person getting an opportunity.

This weekend also got a chance to meet coach Giovanni(hope the spelling is right) from Augie. He seems like a really great guy.

[knarocky22]

Uh oh.  Don't get this board riled up on Giovanine.  That topic is usually reserved for towards the end of the season when Augie is wrapping up the conference title.   

[Late nite]

Ouch!!  Good one

Uh oh.  Don't get this board riled up on Giovanine.  That topic is usually reserved for towards the end of the season when Augie is wrapping up the conference title.  

[diehardfan]

Uh oh.  Don't get this board riled up on Giovanine.  That topic is usually reserved for towards the end of the season when Augie is wrapping up the conference title.   

It's funny cause it's true....  Painfully so too since I'd much rather have us win the title, and Rock Island is too far from a major airport to make a CCIW tourney flight for me readily feasible.

But I decided that he was a good guy a while back cause of the cute picture of him with his family on the Augie website... He won't ever get teasing from me for his very enthusiastic methods of coaching. Besides, Wheaton BB has rolled over and played dead every time they've been to Rock Island in my personal memory (either getting destroyed or giving away very winable games) so he must be doing something right! I wish people wouldn't talk down on a coach unless they know what they are talking about, The facts all point to how much those close to the program love him.... end of story. 

[Gregory Sager]

Uh oh.  Don't get this board riled up on Giovanine.  That topic is usually reserved for towards the end of the season when Augie is wrapping up the conference title.   

It's funny cause it's true.... 

Uh, no, it isn't. People have griped about Giovanine whenever he's had a particularly egregious evening of craziness, not "towards the end of the season when Augie is wrapping up the conference title." In fact, at the end of the conference season is when the people who are critical of Giovanine's sideline demeanor (me included) compliment him on another job well done of putting together and running a championship team.

But I decided that he was a good guy a while back cause of the cute picture of him with his family on the Augie website... He won't ever get teasing from me for his very enthusiastic methods of coaching. Besides, Wheaton BB has rolled over and played dead every time they've been to Rock Island in my personal memory (either getting destroyed or giving away very winable games) so he must be doing something right! I wish people wouldn't talk down on a coach unless they know what they are talking about, The facts all point to how much those close to the program love him.... end of story. 

Come on, April. You're conflating all sorts of things into this discussion that don't belong. How does "the cute picture of him with his family" have anything at all to do with how he acts on the sidelines? And who on CCIW Chat has ever disputed the notion that Giovanine is "doing something right"? For crying out loud, the man's sterling record speaks for itself. He has been a resounding success as Augustana's head basketball coach, with a record at that institution that's matched only by Jim Borcherding in Augustana's illustrious basketball history.

And the whole bit about how much those close to the program love him is a complete red herring as well. It doesn't refute the fact that his sideline behavior is often cringe-inducing. How his players and ex-players feel about him isn't germane to the issue of his demeanor during games. As for his critics "not knowing what they are talking about," I've seen and heard his antics repeatedly over the past seven years. I know what I'm talking about through firsthand observation, and so do the other CCIW fans who have criticized his sideline behavior.

Please stop trying to make the criticism of Grey Giovanine be about things that it was never about in the first place. Introducing all sorts of irrelevant tidbits about him isn't going to fly. The man is a great basketball coach and a proven winner. He also has a tendency to act like a complete jackass on the sidelines. He's not the first example of a basketball coach who combines those qualities (Bobby Knight, anyone?), and I strongly suspect that he won't be the last.