MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[izzy stradlin]

It will be interesting to see if the Coaches' poll parallels the D3Hoops pol,l and results in the coaches voting:
1. Augie
2. Wheaton
3. IWU
4. NCC

There seems little doubt that these teams will be the choices for the top 4 spots in whatever order.

The CCIW head coaches will put a lot more weight on North Central's co-CCIW championship than the D3hoops.com Top 25 voters did.  I don't think there is much doubt at all that Augustana will be picked #1 and North Central #2.

I'm sure NCC was a difficult team for the Top 25 voters to assess.  On one hand the Cardinals finished 11-3 (and earned the #1-seed) in one of the nation's best leagues.  On the other, they went 4-7 in the non-conference and finished with 11 total losses (including the conference tournament loss).  Whereas those who follow the CCIW closely are apt to acknowledge all of the young players NCC was working into the rotation during the non-conference, and basically write off that 4-7 part of 2010-11, I'm sure 11 losses scared off most of the D3hoops pollsters.  The CCIW head coaches will only remember what happened last January and February.

My guess is that we will see the following from the coaches on Thursday:

1. Augustana
2. North Central
3. Wheaton
4. Illinois Wesleyan
5. North Park
6. Carthage
7. Elmhurst
8. Millikin

I think Bob nailed it here. I agree with everything he said, except that I suspect that the CCIW coaches might put Carthage ahead of NPU in the preseason poll.

Speaking of which, the poll will be released on Thursday following the third annual live chat on www.cciw.org with the league's eight head coaches at 10 am that morning.

2011 CCIW Men's Basketball Preseason Poll: 1. Augustana - 47 (5 first place votes); 2. North Central - 42 (2 first place votes); 3. Wheaton - 39 (1 first place vote); 4. Illinois Wesleyan - 28; 5. Carthage - 27; 6. North Park - 18; 7. Elmhurst - 16; 8. Millikin - 7.

So:
-Carthage almost caught Wesleyan for 4th.
-2 Coaches are not picking Augie to win the title.

[devildog29]

So:
-Carthage almost caught Wesleyan for 4th.
-2 Coaches are not picking Augie to win the title.

I will bet you the small sum of $1million that one of those coaches is from Augie, as a coach cannot vote for his own team.  Still leaves one more coach, however, picking NCC. 

[Gregory Sager]

So:
-Carthage almost caught Wesleyan for 4th.
-2 Coaches are not picking Augie to win the title.

I will bet you the small sum of $1million that one of those coaches is from Augie, as a coach cannot vote for his own team.  Still leaves one more coach, however, picking NCC.

No, Izzy's math is correct. Three head coaches did not pick Augie to win the title, as NCC received two first-place votes and Wheaton received one. Grey Giovanine is obviously one of those three. That leaves two more coaches who picked a team other than the Doggies to rule the roost this year, not one more coach.

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, I'm hearing similar things regarding the coaching change and the effect it's had on team energy, morale, and discipline.  That and a key player addition add up to cause for excitement at Foster and Kedzie this season.  Any word on start times for those two scrimmages?

NPU's scrimmage against Dominican is scheduled for 5 pm on Saturday at DU's Igini Sports Forum in River Forest. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it, as I'll be in the press box at Holmgren Athletic Complex all day working the football / women's soccer / men's soccer triple-header. Looks like I'm going to have to depend upon you to watch the scrimmage and then come over to NPU to give me your impressions.

I don't know the time for the Rockford @ North Park scrimmage on November 8 -- come to think of it, I'm not even sure if it'll be held in the crackerbox or in Helwig Rec Center -- but I'll pass that along as soon as I know. Given Rockford's distance from NPU, and the fact that it's on a Wednesday, I'm guessing that it'll be an evening scrimmage ... but don't take that to the bank.

[iwu70]

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[devildog29]

So:
-Carthage almost caught Wesleyan for 4th.
-2 Coaches are not picking Augie to win the title.

I will bet you the small sum of $1million that one of those coaches is from Augie, as a coach cannot vote for his own team.  Still leaves one more coach, however, picking NCC.

No, Izzy's math is correct. Three head coaches did not pick Augie to win the title, as NCC received two first-place votes and Wheaton received one. Grey Giovanine is obviously one of those three. That leaves two more coaches who picked a team other than the Doggies to rule the roost this year, not one more coach.

Ahh, I totally blew by that Wheaton had a 1st place vote in there.  I saw NCC with 2 votes and assumed Augie got all the rest.  Hmm, ok, maybe I'll just bet $10 bucks?

[Gregory Sager]

So:
-Carthage almost caught Wesleyan for 4th.
-2 Coaches are not picking Augie to win the title.

I will bet you the small sum of $1million that one of those coaches is from Augie, as a coach cannot vote for his own team.  Still leaves one more coach, however, picking NCC.

No, Izzy's math is correct. Three head coaches did not pick Augie to win the title, as NCC received two first-place votes and Wheaton received one. Grey Giovanine is obviously one of those three. That leaves two more coaches who picked a team other than the Doggies to rule the roost this year, not one more coach.

Ahh, I totally blew by that Wheaton had a 1st place vote in there.  I saw NCC with 2 votes and assumed Augie got all the rest.  Hmm, ok, maybe I'll just bet $10 bucks?

... or how about just a laurel and hearty handshake?

(That one's for Chuck.)

[Mr. Ypsi]

So:
-Carthage almost caught Wesleyan for 4th.
-2 Coaches are not picking Augie to win the title.

I will bet you the small sum of $1million that one of those coaches is from Augie, as a coach cannot vote for his own team.  Still leaves one more coach, however, picking NCC.

No, Izzy's math is correct. Three head coaches did not pick Augie to win the title, as NCC received two first-place votes and Wheaton received one. Grey Giovanine is obviously one of those three. That leaves two more coaches who picked a team other than the Doggies to rule the roost this year, not one more coach.

Ahh, I totally blew by that Wheaton had a 1st place vote in there.  I saw NCC with 2 votes and assumed Augie got all the rest.  Hmm, ok, maybe I'll just bet $10 bucks?

... or how about just a laurel and hearty handshake?

(That one's for Chuck.)

No one ever goes wrong with a Blazing Saddles quotation!

[izzy stradlin]

After reading Mike Schauer's comments today, it looks like these are going to be the guys in his rotation:

Perimeter players (at the 1-3):   
-Jeremy Pflederer (Jr/Sr.- returning starter)
-Jon DeMoss (So/Jr.- returning starter)
-Tyler Peters (So.)
-Aaron Garriott (Jr/Sr.)
-Michael Kvam (Fr/So.)
-Caleb DeMoss (Fr.)
-Peter Smith (Fr.)

Post guys (4-5):
-Tim McCrary (Sr.-returning starter)
-Spencer Schultze (Sr.-returning starter)
-Nathan Haynes (So.)

Schauer mentioned that Garriott and Kvam, if healthy, are rare talents who will make an impact.  Smith and the younger DeMoss were mentioned as freshmen who could see time.  I really don't know how the minutes are going to be divided up amongst that first group, but with the talent there that is a good problem to have. 

While Wheaton will get plenty of points down low as long as Tim McCrary suites up, the concern will be post defense against the likes of Landon Gamble, the rotating bigs from Augie and maybe even Luke Johnson. 

[Titan Q]

Just read the coaches chat from today.  One player addition caught my attention - 6-9 Brock Von Nordeck (Millikin).  I remember this name on the HS scene a couple years ago...seems like he was a highly recruited player.  Maybe a very nice addition for the Big Blue.

http://www.herald-review.com/sports/basketball/high-school-and-prep/article_a65ec168-3d21-5385-90be-4c007b1c282e.html

http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/vonnordeck.html

http://www.herald-review.com/sports/basketball/high-school-and-prep/article_b4f2568d-1eeb-5592-a66f-977a2830cd8b.html

[Titan Q]

A little more on Brock Von Nordeck (starts at 17:35 mark)...

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/16852534

[cardinalpride]

Just read the coaches chat from today.  One player addition caught my attention - 6-9 Brock Von Nordeck (Millikin).  I remember this name on the HS scene a couple years ago...seems like he was a highly recruited player.  Maybe a very nice addition for the Big Blue.

http://www.herald-review.com/sports/basketball/high-school-and-prep/article_a65ec168-3d21-5385-90be-4c007b1c282e.html

http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/vonnordeck.html

http://www.herald-review.com/sports/basketball/high-school-and-prep/article_b4f2568d-1eeb-5592-a66f-977a2830cd8b.html

Seems like the Millikin coach has landed a nice talent with an aggressive attitude...I hope it works out for them!

IMHO, with the young talent in the league, the CCIW will be more competitive than a year ago from top to bottom.
One huge reason for the improvement will be teams 5-8, whomever and however they finish, collectively will be more improved than last year.

NCC, Augie, Wheaton, IWU, and Carthage will be capable of beating any other conference school more than once. North Park and Elmhurst should be much improved...how much? Time will tell..Finally, Millikin, truth is can't get any worse.  We may be back to 2006 and 2007 in no time...

[Titan Q]

Mike Schauer was interviewed at halftime of the Wheaton/Augustana football game yesterday.  While I did not hear the interview, a Wheaton fan did send me the following recap of Schauer's comments (I'm just copying/pasting from that e-mail)...


Says the top 6 minute guys from last year will be the same. Only Garriot has broken into the mix amongst those returners.

Said Garriot has practiced a lot and looks very good.

Says this is the most talented Wheaton team he has had since he's been here.

Michael Kvam and FR Peter Smith are not figuring in the rotation yet. Kvam hasn't fully recovered from his knee injury.

Said he spoke to Nadelhofer and Millikin is more talented than Nadelhofer thought they would be. Nadelhofer told Schauer that Millikin has more talent right now than several teams from the league he came from. Schauer thought that was an indication of how good the league is.

Said he heard North Park is going to play a full court pressure defensive style for 40 minutes a night

Feels like Carthage is going to be much better than anyone thinks without Steve D.

Said the tourney at Trinity, Tx is going to be very tough.

[Titan Q]

So based strictly on the above (top 6 returners in minutes plus Garriott), it would seem Wheaton's current rotation is as follows, with a lot of reserve roles to sort out...

PG - Jeremy Pflederer, 6-0 SR (Aaron Garriott, 6-4 JR)
SG - Jon DeMoss, 6-3 SO
SF - Tyler Peters, 6-4 SO
PF - Tim McCrary, 6-6 SR (Nathan Haynes, 6-6 SO)
C - Spencer Schultze, 6-6 SR

As I posted recently, I continue to think that post depth is Wheaton's biggest question mark. 

This Wheaton team has a lot of talent, and good balance (good perimeter and 1st Team All-American 4).

[Titan Q]

IWU's recently-taken 2011-12 team picture...

http://www.iwusports.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball&


I see a lot of off-season weight room work there.  Victor Davis (#32) looks like a beast, and John Koschnitzky (#34), Eric Dortch (#30), Nick Anderson (#55), Kevin Reed (#50), Jordan Zimmer (#25), Mike Mayberger (#45), and Andrew Ziemnik (#35) look quite a bit stronger as well.

That should help the Titans.