MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

As far as rankings and records, wondering if anyone can think of a tougher 3-game stretch than Millikin is in the middle of...

1/11 - vs (#5) Illinois Wesleyan 12-1
1/14 - vs (#12) North Central 12-0
1/18 - @ (#10) Augustana 13-1

Aw, heck, piece of cake - didn't you notice that two of the three were at home!

[augiedad]

augiefan, for what it is worth I spoke to one of the Augustana parents at the Wheaton game and Titan Q's info on Rorer's offensive goaltend is right on.  I can't remember exactly how he described it, but it sounded like a real strange play that was very obvious as a goaltend.  The Vikings caught a big break and then Harris got T'd.

[augie22]

Is it true that Augie only has two that can score it...being Harrigan and McAdams-Thorton?  I would think they have somone inside that can put up a few right?

Just curious...haven't caught any games this year.

[Brick]

Augie22
   One would assume with both of the Swetella brothers that Augie could get some points out of the paint, and I for one do think that Dane should be able to put up some points.  The problem that I see is that everyone on the floor with the exception of Rick and Jay is scared to shoot.  From the games that I have seen this year when one player makes even the smallest mistake coach G pulls them, thus leaving players scared to miss shots for fear of getting yanked from the game....Drew Wessles is a great example of this every time he makes a mistake you can bet your life on it that coach G is going to have Kolze coming in off the bench.  Just my two cents

[augiefan]

Dain Swetalla is still not quite back to full strength after his injury, but he has the potential to be Augie's 3rd option. Drew Wessels is not a very good shooter and probably should only be taking limited shots. Kolze is a freshman, but he certainly has the skills to be a scorer.

The near total dependency on two players is a problem.  Coach G is often to volatile for the team's own good, and that probably doesn't inspire risk taking by players other than the big two.

[mr_b]

As far as rankings and records, wondering if anyone can think of a tougher 3-game stretch than Millikin is in the middle of...

1/11 - vs (#5) Illinois Wesleyan 12-1
1/14 - vs (#12) North Central 12-0
1/18 - @ (#10) Augustana 13-1

Why stop at 3 games when you can add the 1/9 game vs. North Park? 

[diehardfan]

augiefan, for what it is worth I spoke to one of the Augustana parents at the Wheaton game and Titan Q's info on Rorer's offensive goaltend is right on. I can't remember exactly how he described it, but it sounded like a real strange play that was very obvious as a goaltend. The Vikings caught a big break and then Harris got T'd.

Talked to someone who talked to someone (still with me?) at the Augie/Wheaton game last night in Rock Island.  This observer said that Rorer's basket to make it 38-32 with 13:09 to play was a blatant offensive goaltend...a no-brainer.  It was not called - the Augie basket counted.  Bill Harris immediately called timeout, most likely to "start a little dialogue" with the officials.  Harris was T'd up immediately by Eric Anderson, who was on the other side of the floor.  Harrigan made both FT's, pushing the Augie lead up to 8.  Kind of a 4 point swing in the game, as Rorer's basket should not have counted and then Augie got the 2 FT's.

Four points... does anyone else remember how much Wheaton lost by? 

Honestly, I think that the most impressive thing about this game, which we basically should have won, aside from the A-T0 ratio of Augie (9-19! Or... 0.47! and Wheaton with 10 steals!) is the fact that this was Wheaton's fourth game is eight days, and one of those games was against a system team.  I know they are a Harris team, and are therefore have to be in great shape, but they theoretically should have been exhausted. And to top that off, they were still without Johnnie Standard as well.

After watching years of games at Augie that just made me want to crawl up into a ball and die, I sure was impressed to see the heart that Wheaton obviously showed in this game.

I will be curious to know what you guys think of some of our less experienced players as the season progresses. For example, I grew to like Andy Wiele a great deal while Wheaton was out here, and he was one of our leading scorers in last night's game, which shows a lot of poise for someone who is only a freshman. If anyone was at the augie game, or would like to comment on where they see our younger players fitting into the CCIW later on, I would certainly appreciate it.  I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how this team matures as the season progresses. Gooo Wheaton! 

[Gregory Sager]

I will be curious to know what you guys think of some of our less experienced players as the season progresses. For example, I grew to like Andy Wiele a great deal while Wheaton was out here, and he was one of our leading scorers in last night's game, which shows a lot of poise for someone who is only a freshman. If anyone was at the augie game, or would like to comment on where they see our younger players fitting into the CCIW later on, I would certainly appreciate it.

The Andy Wiele of the two early-season Wheaton games I saw was a kid who was way in over his head. He didn't get to the right spots on the floor fast enough, he had trouble containing his man on defense, and he was all butterfingers when the ball was passed to him. It was pretty clear to me that he'd be playing JV if this was a normal season for Wheaton. But it's not, of course, and to compound Wheaton's player shortage, it's also a season in which the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance is distinctly undersized. Thus, a 6'8" kid is going to be heavily used whether he's ready for varsity college ball or not. To his credit, his numbers indicate that he's starting to catch on. But I don't think Wheaton people are expecting the sun, moon, and stars from Andy Wiele this season; they just want him to mess up as little as possible. He's like an elongated Kyle Orton.

Jeff McKay and Dave Noell weren't getting anything but cameos earlier in the year when I saw Wheaton, so I really can't comment directly upon them in terms of personal observation. Likewise, junior Dave McAlpine was not in the lineup at that point.

[dansand]

Is it true that Augie only has two that can score it...being Harrigan and McAdams-Thorton?  I would think they have somone inside that can put up a few right?

Just curious...haven't caught any games this year.

Augie22
  One would assume with both of the Swetella brothers that Augie could get some points out of the paint, and I for one do think that Dane should be able to put up some points.  The problem that I see is that everyone on the floor with the exception of Rick and Jay is scared to shoot.  From the games that I have seen this year when one player makes even the smallest mistake coach G pulls them, thus leaving players scared to miss shots for fear of getting yanked from the game....Drew Wessles is a great example of this every time he makes a mistake you can bet your life on it that coach G is going to have Kolze coming in off the bench.  Just my two cents

Dain Swetalla is still not quite back to full strength after his injury, but he has the potential to be Augie's 3rd option. Drew Wessels is not a very good shooter and probably should only be taking limited shots. Kolze is a freshman, but he certainly has the skills to be a scorer.

The near total dependency on two players is a problem.  Coach G is often to volatile for the team's own good, and that probably doesn't inspire risk taking by players other than the big two.

I'd have to agree with the gist of AUGIE2000's post. There is no lack of offensive talent on this team. Dain Swetalla averaged 11 points and 8 boards in the three games before he got hurt. But, for whatever reason, he's been totally non-existent on offense since returning. Nate is definitely more comfortable on the perimeter, but has a nice soft touch. He was second in the University of Iowa's Prime Time League this summer, hitting 65% of his three-pointers. Admittedly, there's very little defense played in the PTL, but that's still a pretty eye-catching number and an indication that he's an excellent shooter. Kolze was a big time scorer in high school. Pat Brusveen is an excellent shooter, although he got off to a slow start this year. There seems to be reluctance on the part of many of these guys to really establish themselves as threats offensively. I think, also, in regards to their post players (D. Swetalla, Oliver Rorer, Shaun Rose and even McAdams-Thornton), sometimes their offense doesn't seem to create good spacing for them to operate. They get the ball to them on the block and then here comes a cutter dragging his defender into the area creating a double-team. Maybe they're all just deferring to the seniors McAdams-Thornton and Harrigan, who's having a truly remarkable year. But even when they're out of the game, the others just don't seem comfortable taking on the scorer's role. Just my opinion.

[Stat]

Quoting Coach Bosko Djurickovic on the Jan. 7 Illinois Wesleyan Loss  "You don't want to say that it was a game for the ages, because we're 4-8, but it was a game that reminded you of our ages.  We competed tremendously,  We were so good, and this is a huge step in the right direction."

This is the last Bosko quote.

As long as I can remember he has been quoted after every game.

Where is the Elmhurst recap?

[Titan Q]

A great game on tap tomorrow evening at Elmhurst as the Bluejays and Titans hook up.  There is a pretty good chance this game features a matchup of the two best small forwards in NCAA Division III...

Chris Martin, Elmhurst (6-6/210, Sr)
21.3 ppg
7.4 rpg
98-180 (.544) FG
22-52 (.423) 3-pt

Keelan Amelianovich, Illinois Wesleyan (6-6/210, Sr)
18.8 ppg
5.2 rpg
88-183 (.540) FG
44-89 (.494) 3-pt


Two totally different players.  Amelianovich a pure shooter with amazing touch from just about anywhere on the floor...Martin an extremely aggressive, hard-nosed player who gets the ball and finds a way to get to the rim over and over again. 

That matchup alone is worth the price of admission.

[Stat]

Let's see, Martin vs. Amel in the post.  No contest. M
Shooting an open 3?  Amel advantage.
Defense?  even, neither plays defense.
Rebounding,  M
Assists?  even,  neither saw a shot they did not like.
Better surrounding players?  IWU, so M wins that on better performance with less.

Martin one on one MVP!

[bluejaybacker1]

I'll agree with Q it should be a pretty good game tomorrow at Faganel. There should be a pretty good crowd, our student section may or may not be filled because EC is still in Jay Term with a lot of students at home. I know IWU fans will fill the rest of the gym. The question is what Bluejay team will show up? I know IWU is going to come to play. The Bluejays cannot afford to lose this game and slip to 1-3 this early in conference play. 

[Gregory Sager]

Assists?  even,  neither saw a shot they did not like.

Huh? Chris Martin ranked ninth in the CCIW with 2.93 apg two years ago (CCIW games only), and third in the league last season with 4.21 apg. The only two players who had more assists per game in CCIW play were the league's two All-CCIW point guards, Adam Dauksas and Jon Nielson. He's currently fifth in the league in assists this season with 4.00 apg, trailing four PGs. Why the heck do you think people keep talking about the possibility of Martin recording a triple-double, Jack? It's because Martin is an excellent passer and a distinctly unselfish player. He may take a ton of shots, but he's perfectly happy to set up a teammate instead.

The CCIW has announced that Penn Atlantic will be offering two upcoming games with full audio and video, free of charge, via the conference website at www.cciw.org. The first is a women's basketball contest, Wheaton @ Millikin, on Tuesday, January 24. The second is a men's basketball game, Augustana @ Illinois Wesleyan, on Wednesday, January 25. Our own Bob Quillman (Titan Q) will be doing the play-by-play for that second game.

http://www.cciw.org/winter_bball_men/Penn_Atlantic.php

[True Basketball Fan]

Defense?  even, neither plays defense.

Martin has 47 steals in 14 games this season.  I guess the other team is just giving the ball to him, and he's not doing anything.

Amel has 16 steals in 14 games.  Yes, I do agree they both don't play very hard all the time on defense, but Martin is the only guy in the league that can literally take the ball away from ANYBODY.  Amel is the equivalent of a designated hitter in baseball, he plays NO defense.