MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Q, I take your points.  Of course, my apologies for incorrectly spelling Mssr. Coon's name.  And to think I was worried about spelling Mssr. Dauksas' name properly.  I like what Ypsi has to say about Laub and Evans for sure.  In putting together such a team, I'd also want to go to war with a power forward off the bench by the name of Sheldon Thompson.  What a match he would be for Jack and Bryan Crabtree.  I still feel Tommy Gramkow is right there with Dauksas and Coon in any all time list of IWU guards.  He was so quick, a good ball handler and a threat to hit a shot from almost anywhere on the floor, instantly.  Truly amazing ability to stop on a dime and hit a jump shot . . . as he did to beat ISU in the last seconds of the last game.  Would really love to see that rivalry restarted, especially if it could fill ISU's house for a good cause.  Perhaps Habitat for Humanity should get together with the two ADs and propose an annual fundraising game.  Of course there would be some ancillary fun and games as befitting any truly great rivalry.  That is a topic for another post . . . . .  I'm glad to say that the statute of limitations on certain things has long since run out.

[devildog29]

My apologies to Korey Coon.  I tried to misspell it again.  I think I still have a Christmas hangover.

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU70,

Do I take it that you are admitting to some hanky-panky!   And against our beloved rivals at ISU?  I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you! 

So, Mr. Trustee, what have you done to restart the rivalry (for charity, preferably, or just because it ought to be restarted!)?

[David Collinge]

Greg Sager....please come home!    I can't take much more of this!  Please come back before we start debating who among IWU 2-guards in the 1940's with a sneaker size of at least 13 and a diphthong in their last name was the better defender on Tuesday evenings with no more than 73 people in attendance! 

*remembers maxim about not complaining about current topic without offering alternate topic*

*desparately tries to come up with CCIW-appropriate topic*

Does anyone know who the fourth team in the Whittier College Purple & Gold Poet Classic is?  Wheaton is playing LaSierra and the host Poets, but neither of these school's websites provides the identity of their other opponent, and neither do the schedules loaded into D3hoops.com.  (In fact, Whittier has just uploaded "Poet Classic" on their schedule here for both days.) 

[Mr. Ypsi]

David,

I fully agree: Greg, please come back!

But don't blame us Titans - it's not our fault no one else is posting!

[Pat Coleman]

... yeah, which really pisses me off, by the way.  (the schedule posting, that is)

I know it is not Cal Baptist, Biola, The Master's, Cal State East Bay, Menlo, Bethany (Calif.), Notre Dame de Namur, Holy Names, Westmont, Life Pacific, Cal Maritime.

If I had to guess, I'd say West Coast Baptist.

[iwu70]

Ypsi, no comment.

[armywife]

Greg will be back, at least that's my prediction. Year after year of watching your team struggle can be demoralizing, as Chicago fans I think we can all understand that.  I miss reading your post Greg, don't stay away too long. Just because the rest of us aren't posting doesn't mean we aren't lurking. How else can we stay current with our teams?

Is anyone going to the tournament  in Wisconsin to watch Augie play? Keep us posted!!

[mr_b]

Day 10 of the Greg Sager watch continues...

Don't worry, he'll be back.  North Park plays its CCIW opener, a home game against Augie, on the 4th.  That contest will provide more grist for the mill that is CCIW Chat.

[joehakes]

Hey, Greg is a North Park fan and a Cubs fan.  Being down for a while is nothing to this man.  He's reading all of this, and he will come back tanned, rested and ready to pontificate once again!!!!

Well, rested and ready anyway.

[goodknight]

Some are born ready to pontificate.
Others wait for the telltale puff of smoke.

[correctingtitan]

IWU 70, Mr. Ypsi. et al--
   A few points concerning the recent discussion on point guards--
  There's a good reason Steve Laub's assist totals aren't to be found.  We didn't keep them then but he would have had plenty. We weren't calling anyone a point guard then, either.  Laub was the consummate team player.  In his senior season, 1966,  he was the only returning starter but led  IWU to the conference title and led the team in field goal percentage with .454.
   T he  arrival of Brad Gregurich in 1979 marked the first time  we referred to a point guard.   I believe Gregurich's assist totals would be considerably higher under current conditions.  We didn't dish them out as freely then as I believe they do now.  Like Laub he was an unselfish player.

[correctingtitan]

In my recent post I should have said Laub was the only returning  starter on the 1966-67 team that was the first IWU team to win four straight  CCIW titles. They shared  the 1963-64 title with Carthage.   

[Titan Q]

Here is a link to a huge article in today's USA Today on Titan Hammer's uncle, Harry Statham, the head coach at NAIA McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2005-12-26-statham-record_x.htm

Statham is the winningest coach in college basketball history with a record of 903-351.  (Dean Smith won 879 games and Adolph Rupp 876.)

Coach Statham didn't even recruit his own nephew out of Class AA powerhouse Lincoln H.S. before Titan Hammer accepted his full-ride to Tennessee Tech.  Obviously it takes a keen eye for talent to win 903 games. 

In all seriousness, this is a coach who has done things the right way for a long, long time...just like many of the great Division III coaches.

""The kids we recruit here have been alike," he says. "They are good kids academically, and they love basketball. Over the years we have done a good job getting those people. When we don't get them, we're not as good."
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"Harry never got DI-ized," Veach says about why Statham never moved to a larger school. "He found a level that fit him and stayed 40 years. You can see the genuine affection he had for his kids, and some are 60 years old now."

[augiefan]

Good to hear from ArmyWife after a long absence. Last I recall her husband was shipping out to Iraq. Hopefully, he has safely returned to his family at this point.

I will be in Northeast Wisconsin this weekend but too far from UWStout to make the detour. If Augie gets by Marian, the Vikings will face their biggest challenge of the year against a strong UWStout team on their home court. If Dain Swetalla is back and in good health, Augie has a chance to pull one out.