MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

Someone please tell E. Crosby that when he gets the ball in the paint, there is a move where you do not dribble, but instead turn on the pivot foot.  Also, use the glass more often.  Even Pierce did the ole move for two.

Stevie D was in fine form tonight.  He passed crisply, but missed several assists because the teammate didn't execute.  He hit from inside and outside, drew the fouls, and actually missed two from the charity stripe.  Just like last year, Steve is the most chronic whiner in the league.  For example, after the technical, which happened under the basket while Steve was at the top of the key, he continued to jaw with the ref through both free throws.

Cayhill is a pure scorer.  He can create a shot from 15' and beyond.  He tried two layups where he switched to his left hand, but missed both.  I thought Robinson did an ok job guarding Steve.  Greer...mmmm...not as good.  Gabriel led the surge to cut the game to six.  Not only did the game get close, but the Vikings got into the double-bonus...perhaps after 12 minutes elapsed in the second half.
The taller, stronger Vikings should have won this game.  

The taller, stronger Vikings should have swept Elmhurst.  I think NP should have defeated NCC in Chicago.  Having said that, I believe NCC is the weakest CCIW second-place finisher in at least 20 years.

On behalf of the entire Cardinal organization I'd like to say we appreciate your support.   

                             

[devildog29]

It's a little different with IWU this season, because last year's team did prove something with its March run to the Elite Eight; plus, it was the most experienced team in the league coming into this season, and having a rotation filled with battle-tested seniors usually counts for a lot. What's going on with the Titans this season is a different issue than the whole recruiting-hype thing. Rather than focus upon the question of whether or not Ron Rose is getting the proper results out of the talent that he's recruited, perhaps the question should be whether the run to the Elite Eight last March was a true snapshot of what his current team really is or if it was just a hot streak by a team playing above its normal capabilities. (I'm not answering that question, by the way; I'm simply saying that it's a more relevant question than the is-Rose-a-better-recruiter-than-teacher/game-planner/game-manager question.)

As we've all come to expect in CCIW chat, the Sagerian prose perfectly sums up in one easy paragraph the overarching themes of my two extended posts.  I guess in my mind that run to the Elite Eight cemented, for me, the fact that the talent is there with this Titan team.  Which then leads to my questioning whether the team is getting out-coached on an all-too-often basis.  You raise an excellent question, though, as to whether I'm putting the cart before the horse in said deduction. 

[cardinalpride]

Someone please tell E. Crosby that when he gets the ball in the paint, there is a move where you do not dribble, but instead turn on the pivot foot.  Also, use the glass more often.  Even Pierce did the ole move for two.

Stevie D was in fine form tonight.  He passed crisply, but missed several assists because the teammate didn't execute.  He hit from inside and outside, drew the fouls, and actually missed two from the charity stripe.  Just like last year, Steve is the most chronic whiner in the league.  For example, after the technical, which happened under the basket while Steve was at the top of the key, he continued to jaw with the ref through both free throws.

Cayhill is a pure scorer.  He can create a shot from 15' and beyond.  He tried two layups where he switched to his left hand, but missed both.  I thought Robinson did an ok job guarding Steve.  Greer...mmmm...not as good.  Gabriel led the surge to cut the game to six.  Not only did the game get close, but the Vikings got into the double-bonus...perhaps after 12 minutes elapsed in the second half.
The taller, stronger Vikings should have won this game.  

The taller, stronger Vikings should have swept Elmhurst.  I think NP should have defeated NCC in Chicago.  Having said that, I believe NCC is the weakest CCIW second-place finisher in at least 20 years.

Mark,
Your last sentence is a bit premature!...However ill raise it by saying NP is the strongest 6TH PLACE FINISHER in at least 20years!

[Naperick]

Just as I thought might happen, North Central had a devil of a time pulling out a 68-64 win over Elmhurst at Faganel tonight. The Bluejays actually had a chance to tie in the final minute, but James Robertson couldn't connect on a trey; that makes twice in the past couple of weeks that Elmhurst has missed a trey that would've either tied the game or put them in the lead in the final minute (the loss to IWU being the other). Landon Gamble and Derek Raridon worked the same sort of two-man magic for NCC that Djurickovic and Thompson worked for Carthage in the crackerbox, as they scored 54 of NCC's 68 points. Gamble had a 30 and 7 night, while Raridon scored 24.

I'll tell you what; Landon Gamble is making a serious bid for first-team All-CCIW. He's the second-leading scorer in the league behind Djurickovic, and he's taken over the FG shooting percentage lead from Emanuel Crosby. His numbers are better than Kyle Nelson's, and they're substantially better than Doug Sexauer's.

Just one more weird element to a weird season in the CCIW.

Getting back to the NCC @ EC game ... if I was Mike Schauer, I would move heaven and earth to make sure that my team takes Elmhurst very, very seriously on Saturday night. If Wheaton gives anything less than a sincere, hard effort, Elmhurst will win the upset that they've been threatening to pull off against somebody over the last few weeks.

As a NCC fan, I must say I thought Elmhurst played a helluva game tonight. Every time the Cardinals landed a blow, the Bluejays struck back. Cardinals fans were nervous the entire night. I think EC's main problem was letting both Gamble AND Raridon get theirs. If they could have shut just one off a little, the victory would have fallen to the hosts.

Derek and Landon worked an almost magical 2 man game game tonight. Kevin Gillespie handled out 6 nice assists, feeding both Derek outside and Landon inside.
However, the fans choice for unsung hero of the evening was Aaron Tiknis who hit both of his FG attempts and a FT, pulled down 3 rebounds (one a put back), had 2 beautiful assists, and intercepted 2 passes down low.  

Elmhurst did play well.  They had no answer for Gamble and Raridon.

Does anyone know what the 2nd technical foul was about?  I believe Bruce Hill, the P.A. guy at Elmhurst, said it was on the NCC bench.  The 1st one seemed like it was for coach Raridon being after the officials too much.

Overall, a fun game to watch.  Elmhurst missed too many free throws but hit enough threes to stick around.

[A Lover of the Game]

A Lover of the Game,

I value everything you have written, except...

I would urge you to become a Bulls fan instead!

GO TITANS!

GO BULLS!

With the way my beloved Lakers have been playing here lately, I just may have to consider becoming a Bulls fan again.  My parents were diehard Bulls fans.  I switched after the Jordan/Pippen era. 

Thanks for the welcoming, iwumichigander.

Are you all getting geared up for March madness?

[mwunder]

North Park may be the happiest school in the CCIW to see Steve Djurickovic graduate this May. If Steve D. had played 25 games a year against NPU rather than only two, he'd probably have passed Pete Maravich's 3,667 points record by now.

Steve Djurickovic scoring average against CCIW teams:

IWU  26.4ppg
Milikin  25.6ppg (with one game to play)
NP   25.5ppg
NC   25.4ppg
Wheaton  24.5ppg
Augie  23.3ppg
Elmhurst  20.5ppg

40+ once against Wheaton
30+ Aug (1x), NP, NC, IWU (2x), Mil (3x)
25+ 18 times in his career (plus games listed above)

[mwunder]

Since no one else has mentioned it yet, the sun came up again on Monday, and Steve Djurickovic won CCIW player of the week honors for the 4th time this season and 14th time in his career.  

If Carthage doesn't make the conference tournament, is there any way he doesn't get the MOP?

Well since nobody mentioned it either, Tim McCrary won CCIW player of the week honors for the 2nd time this season LAST week:
http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2011/2/7/MBB_0207111707.aspx?path=mbball

I guess we just focus on the team accomplishments when it comes to the Thunder....


(post #1)

I'll bite.  2 championships since 1999..shouldn't be a lot of posts from Wheaton fans in this forum as far as team accomplishments go if the above is indeed a true statement.

Touche!  But to be fair (to myself), the comparison was between an individual MOP award and conference tournament team participation, which would provide Wheaton with a higher number than 2.  That, and I was just stirring the pot.

I know...just messin with ya!  It's all in good fun

[AndOne]

Just as I thought might happen, North Central had a devil of a time pulling out a 68-64 win over Elmhurst at Faganel tonight. The Bluejays actually had a chance to tie in the final minute, but James Robertson couldn't connect on a trey; that makes twice in the past couple of weeks that Elmhurst has missed a trey that would've either tied the game or put them in the lead in the final minute (the loss to IWU being the other). Landon Gamble and Derek Raridon worked the same sort of two-man magic for NCC that Djurickovic and Thompson worked for Carthage in the crackerbox, as they scored 54 of NCC's 68 points. Gamble had a 30 and 7 night, while Raridon scored 24.

I'll tell you what; Landon Gamble is making a serious bid for first-team All-CCIW. He's the second-leading scorer in the league behind Djurickovic, and he's taken over the FG shooting percentage lead from Emanuel Crosby. His numbers are better than Kyle Nelson's, and they're substantially better than Doug Sexauer's.

Just one more weird element to a weird season in the CCIW.

Getting back to the NCC @ EC game ... if I was Mike Schauer, I would move heaven and earth to make sure that my team takes Elmhurst very, very seriously on Saturday night. If Wheaton gives anything less than a sincere, hard effort, Elmhurst will win the upset that they've been threatening to pull off against somebody over the last few weeks.

As a NCC fan, I must say I thought Elmhurst played a helluva game tonight. Every time the Cardinals landed a blow, the Bluejays struck back. Cardinals fans were nervous the entire night. I think EC's main problem was letting both Gamble AND Raridon get theirs. If they could have shut just one off a little, the victory would have fallen to the hosts.

Derek and Landon worked an almost magical 2 man game game tonight. Kevin Gillespie handled out 6 nice assists, feeding both Derek outside and Landon inside.
However, the fans choice for unsung hero of the evening was Aaron Tiknis who hit both of his FG attempts and a FT, pulled down 3 rebounds (one a put back), had 2 beautiful assists, and intercepted 2 passes down low.  

Elmhurst did play well.  They had no answer for Gamble and Raridon.

Does anyone know what the 2nd technical foul was about?  I believe Bruce Hill, the P.A. guy at Elmhurst, said it was on the NCC bench.  The 1st one seemed like it was for coach Raridon being after the officials too much.

Overall, a fun game to watch.  Elmhurst missed too many free throws but hit enough threes to stick around.

Naper---

The 2nd tech was on one of the NCC ass't coaches.
On the play involved, NCC attempted an entry pass down low, and the bounce pass sailed out of bounds. The reason for that was the intended receiver couldn't move a step or two forward to meet the lead pass because he was being held by a defender, so it was Elmhurst ball out. As the teams headed back down toward the EC basket, the NCC ass't yelled "#30 was holding him." which he was. For that, he/NCC was hit with their 2nd T of the game. The problem was the T was whistled not by the ref closest to the NCC bench, nor. I believe, even the ref who the comment was directed at. It was called by the ref stationed on the other side of the court from the benches, and in the far corner across from the EC bench.
I think this was the same ref who had earlier called the T on the NCC head coach. He had the whistle and the authority, and by gosh, he was going to assert it. Thin guy with a shaved head.

In total the two 2 Ts, plus the ensuing ball out afforded Elmhurst the opportunity for EC to score 4 FTs, plus 4-6 more points on the possessions after the Ts in what proved to be a 4 point NCC win.

This is to take nothing away from EC. As I said last night, they played a strong game and the issue was in doubt until the final seconds.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

While we're on the subject of officiating, IMHO, I feel the officiating I've seen in the CCIW this season has been, lets say, below average. Those of you reading this can probably think of several different instances this year where you saw the refs blow calls that your mom could have seen from heaven. Its gotten so bad, that on Monday night after NCC beat Wesleyan in Naperville, several Wesleyan fans with whom I was discussing the game afterwards said "I thought the refs were supposed to favor the home team. Those refs tonight didn't do you guys any favors." Now, thats the other team's fans telling an opposing fan that the refs blew several calls that favored their team. You know its pretty bad when that happens because I think most of us would admit its hard to admit the refs blown call actually favored your team.
I see high school games almost every Tues and Fri night. I've seen several HS refs that I'd bet lots of money could do a better job than several of the CCIW refs I've seen not just this year, but over an extended time.
Sure, there are several good CCIW refs but I, for one, think it would be nice to see some new blood in the form of some new refs come into the league. I know the college game is both quicker and rougher than that played on the HS level, but there are good refs out there that I'm sure could competently handle the different level of play. Thoughts?
 

[markerickson]

Regarding the refs, they miss calls all the time in every game.  Sometimes I don't know what they are looking at/for.  Steve D got called early in last night's game for palming.  Bosko yelled something to the effect that that call had never been previously made.  Palming should be called a lot more often, for sure.  Then Malcolm Kelly scored a layup w/o a single dribble from beyond the FT line by expanding the Michael Jordan bunny hop.  The best though....Tyler Pierce with the ball at the top of the key with no one guarding him and not dribbling...so you have a large red object in front of you, refs....and he moves both feet when he stepped backward.  No whistle.

[AndOne]

Very good examples, Mark. And not surprising.
The one I like most is when a guy is the recipient of a great football block--head in front and shoulder to the ribs, and gets knocked to the floor, but no foul.

[TitansIWU]

As a fan of a team who has two enormous games coming up in Bloomington, I would just like to say:

All CCIW referees, especially those who will be chosen to officiate the  two remaining IWU games, are excellent.

[AndOne]

OK fans, Not to stir up controversy which I have recently been accused of doing,     but I'm wondering about members ideas regarding the all conference team(s).
Here is mine:

!st team

Djurickovic--Carthage
McCrary--Wheaton
Gamble--NCC
Nelson--Augie
Jahns--Wheaton

2nd team

Sexauer--Wesleyan
Raridon--NCC
Evans--NCC
Boyd--Elmhurst
Voiles--Augie

3rd team

Kelly--Carthage
K. Taylor--Millikin
Crosby--North Park
DeSimone--Augie
Johnson--Wesleyan

[AndOne]

As a fan of a team who has two enormous games coming up in Bloomington, I would just like to say:

All CCIW referees, especially those who will be chosen to officiate the  two remaining IWU games, are excellent.

Excellent yourself, Titans 
+K

[CCIWFAN6]

On the topic of refs missing calls, here is a video to lighten the mood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN_ljDfevB0

[John Gleich]

Thin guy with a shaved head.

It always seems to me like it's the guys with the shaved heads or the bald guys who call the majority of T's. 

If he's got hair on his head, then you're pretty safe (unless you do something that multiple refs T you up for, like tossing a chair, etc).