MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

Thank goodness for Jason Gordon tonight - he was the only starter who played with any intensity.  Jon Chimino and Chris Brown off the bench also played well.  The other starters looked dazed, glassly-eyed and asleep and allowed North Central to dictate the slowdown tempo of the game.  The Vikings had nearly no interior defensive answers for Drennen and Rogers, and looked like they had never played low post defense.

North Central hurt itself by its inability to involve all five players in the game in its offense - wide open shots were passed up - that more confident shooters might have taken and taken some of the sag pressure off the Cards low post players.

This was NOT a pretty game - but a win is a win.  Isn't it?

DoS

Gordon did play a good game (other than hs 3 pt shooting). He brought energy to the floor. He attacked the basket---something he probably should have done even more of considering his 1 of 5 shooting on threes. 

I think NC was so intent upon going inside that they lost sight of the concept of the ENTIRE team. However, given the Vikings lack of a strong interior defense, as several NPU fans have confirmed, they can't really be faulted for trying to exploit the weakness.

Another point that played a significant factor in the Vikings win, and I'm not sure if this has been commented on specifically, and if not I'm surprised considering the number of NPU posters in attendance this evening, is the contribution made by the NPU BENCH---16 points and 7 boards vs 0 and 2 by the Cards.

[AndOne]

And finally, great job tonight by the Carlson Crazies.  Would like to see a stronger turnout in terms of sheer numbers, but the "energy" was certainly there...

As a fan of the opposition, I must say I was impressed with the NPU cheering section. They were organized, energized, and together. I noticed only one time where they acted in what might be called a derogatory manner, when one of the group specifically addressed an off color remark toward Matt Rogers.

In total, I give the group high marks compared to what I witnessed a week ago at Wesleyan. The student section there was populated by a rather large contingent dressed in fatigues. They were unorganized and lacked imagination. Their "cheers" consisted mainly of calling the Cards names I won't repeat here. They were "led" by 3 or 4 particularly obnoxious idiots who all had a larger belly and a bigger mouth than I do (hard to believe I know) who even directed some of their off-color remarks toward the player's parents and other adult Cardinal fans. So kudos to the crazy college kids from NPU.   

More tomorrow.................

[Gregory Sager]

Another point that played a significant factor in the Vikings win, and I'm not sure if this has been commented on specifically, and if not I'm surprised considering the number of NPU posters in attendance this evening, is the contribution made by the NPU BENCH---16 points and 7 boards vs 0 and 2 by the Cards.

No, none of us NPU fans had commented upon the disparity in bench production. Good point, AO.

[REDMENFAN]

Here's the article from the Kenosha News today. Some good quotes from reserve point guard Joe Higgins about Steve. Should be a great atmosphere Saturday night at Carthage.

http://kenoshanews.com/article_comments/view_comments.php?articleNum=2391875

[Gregory Sager]

Here's the article from the Kenosha News today. Some good quotes from reserve point guard Joe Higgins about Steve. Should be a great atmosphere Saturday night at Carthage.

http://kenoshanews.com/article_comments/view_comments.php?articleNum=2391875

I've never seen a game between Augustana and Carthage, and this one would be fun to watch. There's certainly no love lost between the head coaches of the CCIW's two Lutheran schools, and judging from some of the comments in this room that animosity is beginning to spill over into the respective fanbases.

Of course, I won't be at that game in Kenosha, because I'll be soaking in my alma mater's own version of good, clean, wholesome Christian animosity as the Vikings travel to that orange-colored school in DuPage County.

[Titan Q]

FYI for anyone planning to attend the IWU @ Elmhurst game Saturday, the gametime is a non-traditional 8:30pm.  I guess EC has some kind of wrestling match that day.

[Titan Q]

IWU has some talented young players, and I totally loved Coach Rose to death, but is just not your run of the mill strong CCIW team that you can really use to make any comparisons with cross regionally, and they are painfully lacking in the height department.

IWU is definitely undersized at the 4/5, but a lot of opposing coaches make comments after playing the Titans about how physical and effective they are down low.  Like Marc Smith's quote in the Pantagraph, "they were physical with us and we couldn't finish."  Millikin starts 6-8 Robert Rexroade and 6-7 Zach Ott, with 6-7 Joscar Demby coming off the bench.

Or what Bosko said in the Carthage press release Saturday: "Illinois Wesleyan's Darius Gant has become a really good player.  He wore us out in the first half.  He doesn't do it with height.  He overwhelms you with strength and quickness and the ability to make plays."  

Or Hanover's Mike Beitzel to the Pantagraph: "They killed us inside...I felt we would have trouble coming in because 23 (Gant) and 40 (Chamernik) were so physical."  Hanover has 6-7/235 Robby Brown.

Darius Gant, the starting power forward, is a half inch shorter than me.  I am 6-3 1/2.  Brett Chamernik is 6-5.....maybe.  Both guys are incredibly strong though and have been very effective.  These two combined are averaging 23 points and 20 rebounds per game in CCIW play and are 28-49 (. 571) from the field.  Not the flashiest, but it has to be one of the most productive starting 4/5 combos in the CCIW.

[REDMENFAN]

Sager, I forget the exact year, but is the coach at Augie still the same guy from a few years back when their coach and Bosko got face to face at Carthage and a little shove was exchanged? I was at that game (a junior or senior at the time) and it was just absolutely nuts. A certain someone a few people over from the upper level home side I can remember threw his half empty 20 oz. bottle of mountain dew onto the court hoping to hit their coach after the little incident, and there was a few minute delay while the refs tried to restore some type of order.  Hopefully it doesn't get that out of hand Saturday night, but I'd expect the Carthage community to come out and support their team, especially after the poor crowd on Monday night.

[Titan Q]

A story from the Decatur Herald & Review...

Rosenkranz makes his point

Interesting quote for Marc Smith to make:

"He's fast, and he runs their show well...we need a point guard like him.''


I'm guessing Mark Patrick isn't going to like that.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Thanks to all who posted about last night's games - you made it very fun and interesting to read the chat this morning.

DoS

[Dennis_Prikkel]

This Saturday's game at Wheaton, will be a real litmus test for just how far the North Park basketball program has progessed under the present coaching regime.

The vikings have been smoked by the thunder in recent years in crusaderland - displaying the same lack of intensity which they displayed at the start of both halves against North Central.

A repeat of that lack of effort against a good Wheaton team on Saturday could leave North Park looking at a scoring-hole that no amount of "turning it on" could get them out of.

We shall see.

DoS

[Viking Blue]

That's a very good point on the North Park bench, And One.  Specifically, I think John Chimino's minutes proved to be key.  He played a big role in the first half, especially with the fouls troubling Alexander and Williams.  Nice to see a newer face make a difference.  The more depth, the better off NP is down the road.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

There was a "near-ugly" scene at the end of the IWU at Carthage game last Saturday, with a confrontation between a couple of Red Men fans and two IWU players after the game.  Cooler heads intervened the fans went off to continue their revelry wherever Carthage fans go to enjoy that sort of thing.

Having witnessed 43 seasons of CCIW basketball - I wonder what is in the water at Carthage that makes these confrontations all too often to occur on the shores Lake Michigan.

As stated here many times before, the Augustana coach often invites negative fan reaction with his sensitive handling of opposing team free throw attempts (however he was library quiet while his team was losing at North Park - almost subdued).

It should be a fun one in Kenosha land.

DoS

[Sakman 1111]

After three years of watching Bluejay basketball I have a few . Why do we continue to play man to man defense when we aren't able to defend the ball handler, what is with the substitute pattern and why is Ruchs out of the game for extended periods, do we ever run any offense but high/low or double post, why doesn't Strzemp get more minutes. It seems to me teams are going to continue to spread the floor on the Bluejays until we change something up. It's great to play 11 or 12 players but we really need to identify who the best players are and give them a major share of minutes to get back on course.....need to find ways to penetrate and get the ball inside to Ruchs. Just my opinion but the Bluejays are losing with some very good talent to teams they could be beating....

[Late nite]

Elmhurst missed a TON of wide open jump shots last night---The more they missed, the deeper the zone sagged---The strategy worked last night, but I don't know if the Redmen can make a living counting on teams missing that many GREAT looks---Bosko admitted that everything worked perfectly for them---He' right---Once they got a lead, they completely controlled tempo---They have 2 point guards that know who to play---They played fast and small and EC looked a step slow---Any team that tries to defend Shemerdiak with a 4 is asking for trouble---He's a match-up problem---With the 4 out and 1 in offense that Carthage plays, it's also giving Neb some great 1 on 1 opportunities and he is capitalizing by getting some excellent positioning---Fun team to watch---They have 3 scorers that can go off on any night---I don't know if any other team in the conference can say that---Saturday should be interesting---We'll see of Augie adjusts