MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[REDMENFAN]

Here's the article in the paper today about the Redmen:

http://ksn.kenoshanews.com/view_article.php?articleNum=2113390

[kenoshamark]

Michael, 

Point well taken.   Also encouraging is how many times Steve has gotten to the free throw line - 26 in two games.  He is hitting them at an 80% clip so far and when the game gets to crunch time, he will have the ball in his hands.  With Fendley out due to injury, Higgins has been starting so it will be interesting to see if Bosko alters the lineup when he is back.  Not sure in these first two games if Joe was the primary ball handler or not.  They both can be a primary ball handler if needed and this should help keep Steve fresh during the game without losing a ball handler. 

Steve has the ability to be an interesting matchup for most guards in that he handles the ball well, makes good decisions, has the size to drive to the basket or to pull up and hit jumpers.  You won't see many point guards that are 6'3", especially at this level, so as he matures he should be a force to deal with.

[Titan Q]

A few individual performances that stood out to me in looking at opening weekend boxscores...


* Carthage freshman Steve Djurickovic averaged 23.5 points and 5.0 rebounds and went 21-26 from the FT line in wins over Eastern (Pa) and and Bluffton at the Eastern tournament.

* North Central junior transfer Matt Rogers scored 34 points off the bench yesterday on 11-19 FG and 12-19 FT vs Lindenwood.  Rogers averaged 27.0 pts and 5.5 rebounds in the two NCC wins (World Harvest Bible and Lindenwood).

* Elmhurst wing Ryan Burks scored 27 points and pulled down 8 rebounds in EC's win over Simpson.

* North Park's Nick Williams averaged 19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds at the UW-Whitewater tournament.  He went 5-8 from 3-point range and 14-16 from the FT line.

* 6-8 Andy Wiele averaged 18.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in Wheaton's blowout wins over Kalamazoo and Benedictine.

* Kent Raymond averaged 27 points for Wheaton at the Pfund tournament, going 14-14 from the FT line.

* Trey Bowens averaged 20 points in the two Carthage wins.

* Pre-season All-American Brent Ruch had 19 & 9 for the Bluejays vs Simpson.

* North Park freshman Bruce Durham went 5-5 from the field, including 3-3 from beyond the arc, finishing with 14 points and 4 assists yesterday as NPU defeated Eureka.

* North Central junior post player Chris Drennan averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the two wins.

* IWU junior Jordan Morris averaged 16.0 pts and 5.0 rebounds for the Titans at Albion.  Morris was 6-12 from 3-pt range.

[Gregory Sager]

By the looks of it, NPU played some more ugly ball last night. Eureka, which I suspect isn't nearly as good as it was last season (when the Red Devils were only one bad overtime away from representing the SLIAC in the tourney), actually led by as many as nine midway through the first half. It took a Bruce Durham trey with seven seconds left to put the Park in front at the intermission, 36-34.

Equally troubling was NPU's inability to put the Red Devils away. Although the Vikings led for the entire second half, they didn't put the lead into double digits until almost ten minutes had gone by, and they never got the lead up beyond 16. Coupled with the fact that MSOE lost to UWW by a whopping 31 points, this failure to bury a markedly inferior team makes the first weekend of the season a troubling one for NPU. This is not the way to begin a season that seemed to hold a lot of promise. Fortunately, it's only the first weekend. There's an entire season ahead for the Park to work hard and figure it all out.

Nick Williams scored 20 points in only 21 minutes of action last night. Bruce Durham added 14 points, Jay Alexander chipped in 11, and Antonio Stevens had a 10 and 8 night. Jorge Gonzalez hauled in 13 rebounds, including 8 at the offensive end. Man, I can't remember the last time a North Park player had 8 offensive boards. Jason Gordon was once again conspicuous in his relative lack of both minutes and production.

I certainly hope that North Park puts on a better performance against Eureka when the Red Devils appear at the crackerbox on Tuesday evening.

[Gregory Sager]

Opening weekend, or as I like to call it, "Get Reacquainted With Metra Weekend", continued for me yesterday as I caught both the Simpson @ Elmhurst game and the Wheaton doubleheader.

Elmhurst was the Ruch and Burks Show yesterday afternoon, and I suspect that this won't be the last time I type those words. They had 46 points and 17 rebounds between them in Elmhurst's 85-71 win, and Simpson didn't have anyone who could match up with either one. The Storm graduated almost their entire team from last season (a team that beat Elmhurst in last season's opener in Iowa, coincidentally), and apart from their press they looked way in over their heads.

Ah, but that press. Elmhurst turned the ball over a whopping 29 times, almost completely due to that press. If it hadn't been for the press, the 'jays would've won by 30. Elmhurst, at least right now, misses Pat Bacon pretty badly. Neither Elmhurst point guard (Chris Childs and Mitchell Blair) proved capable of breaking the press individually, and by forcing the ball out of the hands of the PGs Simpson was able to get people like power forward Mark Aloisio bringing the ball up the floor -- a recipe for disaster for the 'jays. My guess is that every team Elmhurst faces this season will throw 40 minutes of full-court press at them, if they have the manpower to do so.

Press aside, Elmhurst basically has a lot of interchangeable parts in the backcourt. Aside from Ryan Burks, none of them are particularly impressive interchangeable parts. Matt Ryder can shoot some, but he doesn't look for his shot enough. Marco Macias, whom I've suspected was going to play a prominent role as a freshman for Elmhurst ever since I found out that Mark Scherer had snagged him last spring, didn't even get into the game.

The frontcourt was another matter. The PF tandem of Aloisio and Rob Strzemp was workmanlike and effective in doing all of the grunt work inside. Jared Hintzsche would start for most D3 teams at center; as it is, he's a superb backup for Brent Ruch, a guy who will be able to do almost anything he wants in most games.

But he will have some trouble with Wheaton, I predict. The big news from last night's game at Wheaton was the emergence of Andy Wiele. That 20 pounds of muscle he put on in the off-season was put to good use last night. He seriously overmatched every Benedictine center that Keith Bunkenburg could throw at him. Wiele also appears to have added a more aggressive attitude this season. He could turn out to be a real force, and a great interior complement to Kent Raymond.

Benedictine hung with Wheaton for a half (it was 41-37 when the two teams headed into the locker room), but it soon became clear that the Bennies had shot their bolt in that first half. It took them forever just to score ten points in the second half, as Wheaton's D clamped down on them in a big way. Jarod Bailey had basically done whatever he wanted in the first half for BU, but when Bill Harris put Raymond on him in the second half Bailey disappeared. That's really one of the most impressive things about Raymond; he's such an effective defensive stopper, and he doesn't lose energy at the offensive end while doing so. By comparison, BU had one of its best offensive players, Tim Swanson, clutching and grabbing guarding Raymond all night, and he only ended up with two points because he was too wiped out to contribute at the offensive end.

BU brought some entertaining student fans who hung posters on the endline railings that said things such as, "Carwell is a BU reject" (Wheaton forward Jacob Carwell transferred in this fall from Benedictine) and "Everybody hates Raymond". They were very vocal at first, but they spent the entire second half in silence. Very disappointing, as I was looking forward to some fireworks.

[AndOne]

I too saw the EC-Simpson game, and concur with the above analysis by GS.

Elmhurst neither gains nor looses much by playing any combination of Bainter, Ryder, Childs, Blair, Acosta, or Lacy at the guard positions. Childs and Ryder started yesterday. As GS mentioned, Ryder looks to be a capable shooter, but seems to defer and look to Burks and Ruch to do the scoring. When he does shoot, his shot must come off the pass as he looks neither creative nor quick enough to create many opportunities off the dribble. Childs, who came to EC as a 2 guard is evidently in the process of being converted to a PG. So far, the transition appears rocky at best. One of the most perverse effects that I've seen before in attempts to turn a SG into a PG is that the pressure of learning the intricacies of the PG position often results in the new point guard's shooting percentage dropping drastically from what it was as a SG. It appears there is some evidence this  situation is happening with Mr. Childs. A good shooter last year, he missed all 5 of his shot attempts yesterday, including 4 three point attempts. Additionally, he turned the ball over a  team high 5 times.  Not the kind of production you want from your PG.

Other than Simpson being one of the worst shooting teams, especially on FTs,  I'll  see all season, the most remarkable negative to this game was Elmhurst's exceptional difficulty in bringing the ball up against the press. As GS pointed out, they not only had trouble bringing the ball up against the press, but also had a terrible time just getting the ball inbounds several times after a made Simpson basket. This difficulty is not indicitive of a team ranked #18 nationally.

Something must be up with Marco Macias. Sought after by several teams, and offered a DII 3/4th scholarship, he languished on the bench. Quite possibly the best PG I saw last season didn't even get a minute of PT in a blowout victory despite the difficulty the guards that did play had in moving and taking care of the ball. Has his game not developed since his enrollment at EC? Is he in the doghouse due to either uninspired play or some academic or team rule infraction? Being familiar with his play, these are questions that naturally come to mind when he sits on the bench while the EC guards on the floor can barely get the ball inbounds in the face of a press and, collectively, commit  17 turnovers.   

[AndOne]

A few individual performances that stood out to me in looking at opening weekend boxscores...


* North Central junior transfer Matt Rogers scored 34 points off the bench yesterday on 11-19 FG and 12-19 FT vs Lindenwood.  Rogers averaged 27.0 pts and 5.5 rebounds in the two NCC wins (World Harvest Bible and Lindenwood).

The most remarkable point is that Rogers' 34 points were tallied in only 27 minutes of action. Additionally, the vast majority of his points were scored on slashing and powerful drives to the basket during which he went up, over, under, around, and through a lineup that featured a combination of height, bulk, and quickness equal to what any CCIW team can bring to the floor. He is certainly not going to average 27 in the CCIW, but he will get his share of points.

[AndOne]

A few individual performances that stood out to me in looking at opening weekend boxscores...


* North Central junior post player Chris Drennan averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the two wins.

Chris worked hard all summer to develop both his strength and his game. This development has enabled him to bring a much more aggressive style of play to the floor. Rather than being tentative as we witnessed at times last season, he is attacking the basket, looking to finish strong, and expecting to score.

[AndOne]

In addition to the fact that "not much longer will you be mine" I've heard the following through the grapevine:

1. For teams with Aurora on their schedule---AU guard Dusty Magee has suffered a blown out knee. If true, it would almost certainly end his season.

2. Carthage's Sean Fendley has a broken foot and is out indefinitely.

3. Wheaton's Mohan, originally thought to be returning for the 2nd semester (CCIW portion of the schedule), will NOT be returning this season.

If any fans of these teams or others with knowledge of the situation can confirm, please do so. Thanks.

[MilkMan25]

I too saw the EC-Simpson game, and concur with the above analysis by GS.

Elmhurst neither gains nor looses much by playing any combination of Bainter, Ryder, Childs, Blair, Acosta, or Lacy at the guard positions. Childs and Ryder started yesterday. As GS mentioned, Ryder looks to be a capable shooter, but seems to defer and look to Burks and Ruch to do the scoring. When he does shoot, his shot must come off the pass as he looks neither creative nor quick enough to create many opportunities off the dribble. Childs, who came to EC as a 2 guard is evidently in the process of being converted to a PG. So far, the transition appears rocky at best. One of the most perverse effects that I've seen before in attempts to turn a SG into a PG is that the pressure of learning the intricacies of the PG position often results in the new point guard's shooting percentage dropping drastically from what it was as a SG. It appears there is some evidence this  situation is happening with Mr. Childs. A good shooter last year, he missed all 5 of his shot attempts yesterday, including 4 three point attempts. Additionally, he turned the ball over a  team high 5 times.  Not the kind of production you want from your PG.

Other than Simpson being one of the worst shooting teams, especially on FTs,  I'll  see all season, the most remarkable negative to this game was Elmhurst's exceptional difficulty in bringing the ball up against the press. As GS pointed out, they not only had trouble bringing the ball up against the press, but also had a terrible time just getting the ball inbounds several times after a made Simpson basket. This difficulty is not indicitive of a team ranked #18 nationally.

Something must be up with Marco Macias. Sought after by several teams, and offered a DII 3/4th scholarship, he languished on the bench. Quite possibly the best PG I saw last season didn't even get a minute of PT in a blowout victory despite the difficulty the guards that did play had in moving and taking care of the ball. Has his game not developed since his enrollment at EC? Is he in the doghouse due to either uninspired play or some academic or team rule infraction? Being familiar with his play, these are questions that naturally come to mind when he sits on the bench while the EC guards on the floor can barely get the ball inbounds in the face of a press and, collectively, commit  17 turnovers.   

With the loss of Brian Lee, finding a PG to handle the pressure and get the ball up the floor against aggressive defense and/or a press is what Elmhurst needs to do, but they have the tools to get it done, they just need one of them to step up and be confident in themselves.  Childs is being converted because he sees the floor very well and is an exceptional passer.  Due to the fact that he got the most time behind Brian Lee last year, it looks as if he is the first option at the PG spot this year.  

I will say that Ryder is a bit tenative, but he has a great shot and is quick, and actually has a nice pull up off the dribble from mid-range.  He needs to be a little more selfish and shoot the ball.  It will only help Elmhurst out as it will be another weapon from outside that will free up Ruch and Hintzsche down low.

I would be willing to bet that Marco isnt playing due to the fact that its not easy making that transition from HS to college.  Programs are much more structured and it takes a while to get the hang of everything.  Im sure with a couple JV games under his belt and some more work in practice he will begin to get some time.

[AndOne]

A few individual performances that stood out to me in looking at opening weekend boxscores...


* Elmhurst wing Ryan Burks scored 27 points and pulled down 8 rebounds in EC's win over Simpson.

If I'm an opposing coach or player, I'm just as leery of Burks as I am of Raymond. 

[Titan Q]

A few individual performances that stood out to me in looking at opening weekend boxscores...


* Elmhurst wing Ryan Burks scored 27 points and pulled down 8 rebounds in EC's win over Simpson.

If I'm an opposing coach or player, I'm just as leery of Burks as I am of Raymond. 

I think Burks is probably the most underrated player in the league...he doesn't seem to get discussed here all that much.  Burks isn't quite as well-rounded as Raymond (he doesn't handle the ball as well), but he is awfully good.

[AndOne]

A few individual performances that stood out to me in looking at opening weekend boxscores...


* IWU junior Jordan Morris averaged 16.0 pts and 5.0 rebounds for the Titans at Albion.  Morris was 6-12 from 3-pt range.

I, for one, am not surprised. Morris was very solid in the Titans preseason scrimmage against St. Francis. I think he learned a lot last season. Additionally, find me a player who looks like he grained any more strength over the summer and fall than did Morris.

[Titan Q]

A few individual performances that stood out to me in looking at opening weekend boxscores...


* IWU junior Jordan Morris averaged 16.0 pts and 5.0 rebounds for the Titans at Albion.  Morris was 6-12 from 3-pt range.

I, for one, am not surprised. Morris was very solid in the Titans preseason scrimmage against St. Francis. I think he learned a lot last season. Additionally, find me a player who looks like he grained any more strength over the summer and fall than did Morris.

Jordan Morris is just one of those guys who works his tail off all of the time.  He certainly doesn't have as much pure talent as some of the other top CCIW perimeter players, but I don't think anyone is going to out-work him. 

Morris is a very good spot-up 3-point shooter when his feet are set.  He gets himself in a little trouble when he starts trying to do too much (dribbling into traffic, for example), but I think he is starting to figure out what he can and cannot do at this level.  If he "stays within himself" (such a cliche that I hate to say it, but it does apply) he should be poised for a good junior year for the Titans.

[AndOne]

A few individual performances that stood out to me in looking at opening weekend boxscores...


* North Park's Nick Williams averaged 19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds at the UW-Whitewater tournament.  He went 5-8 from 3-point range and 14-16 from the FT line.

One of the rising stars of the league. Nick combines abundant athleticism and talent.
I'll be  if he doesn't make at least 2nd team all-conference this season.