MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

A tweet from Randy Reinhardt...

Randy Reinhardt‏@Pg_Reinhardt2h
Illinois Wesleyan coach Ron Rose plans to start Overstreet, Sodemann, Ziemnik, Davis and Anderson in Saturday's exhibition at Winona State.


I think the rotation will be pretty close to what I guessed the other day:

Pretty safe bet that IWU's starting lineup is set for the Winona State game Saturday...the reserves are just my best guess.

G - Dylan Overstreet, 6-3 Jr (Bryce Dolan, 6-0 So)
G - Pat Sodemann, 6-3 Jr (Alex Rossi, 6-5 Jr)
F - Andrew Ziemnik, 6-5 Sr (Mike Mayberger, 6-6 Sr)
F - Victor Davis, 6-5 Sr (Eric Dortch, 6-4 Sr)
C - Nick Anderson, 6-10 Sr (Trevor Seibring, 6-8 Fr)

6-6 sophomore Ryan Coyle is knocking on the door too and could see some time.

The Titans will need newcomer Alex Rossi to play a big role offensively in this one.

[Titan Q]

Winona Daily News article on the game...

http://www.winonadailynews.com/sports/college/wsu/article_c6240f06-42ab-11e3-a9c8-001a4bcf887a.html

[iwu70]

Pretty much what we've all be expecting.  Yup, hope Rossi comes out firing . . . and the others all have solid, pre-season outings.  Gotta get in rhythm and sync, shoot the ball well, continue the tough Titan D, improve each day, and shoot FTs better. 

GO Titans!  Get a win for D3.

IWU70

[AndOne]

Pretty safe bet that IWU's starting lineup is set for the Winona State game Saturday...the reserves are just my best guess.

G - Dylan Overstreet, 6-3 Jr (Bryce Dolan, 6-0 So)
G - Pat Sodemann, 6-3 Jr (Alex Rossi, 6-5 Jr)
F - Andrew Ziemnik, 6-5 Sr (Mike Mayberger, 6-6 Sr)
F - Victor Davis, 6-5 Sr (Eric Dortch, 6-4 Sr)
C - Nick Anderson, 6-10 Sr (Trevor Seibring, 6-8 Fr)

6-6 sophomore Ryan Coyle is knocking on the door too and could see some time.

It seems Dolan has a chance to make a bid for more PT while Nelson recovers from his injury. It will also be interesting to see if Sodemann can hold on to his starting job once D I transfer Rossi gets some game time under his belt and grows more accustomed to the offense. And if Zimmer can overcome his physical problems might Sodemann eventually find himself as the 3rd string 2G? Coyle might be knocking on the door, but if he has 4 other forwards in front of him, how far will the door open-at least this year? With the 4 seniors listed above all gone next year, Coyle will likely be the leader of the forward corps.

[iwu70]

Yup, Dolan and Nelms are getting more of a chance with Zimmer and Nelson out.  I personally think it will be pretty hard to dislodge Sodemann -- he's playing well, is more durable.  Zimmer and Nelson have to get heallthy, then prove themselves to be truly game ready, game fit.  Rossi may bulk up a bit in future and play the 3.   At the forwards, next year, I think Coyle, Heyen and Mahlke get their chance -- and, at the 5, IMHO, it will be Trevor Seibring and Marietti (if healthy, recovered from knee op).   Different views on who is stronger, better.  I'm voting for a bright future for Seibring.  Of course, at 4 or 5 you could also have Musselman return.  Again, speculation, just IMHO.

Will be interesting to see how well the Titans stay with Winona State tomorrow -- a  noon tip-off.  Links -- video and audio -- now listed on the IWU sports website, under the Men's basketball page. 

IWU70

[AndOne]

Q, of course, I'll leave the personnel decisions to Ron Rose.  But, I see what I see and I haven't seen much from Mssr. Marietti, last year or this.  Of course, it could be because of the bad knees, very limited game-time PT.  He's no doubt a big body.  Nick Anderson or Vic Davis at the 5 is the best way to go, and Trevor Seibring is coming on fast.  For the next 8-10 weeks, I'm sure we'll see these three at the 5, as Marietti recovers, rehabs.  Perhaps he'll make a contribution, have his day by mid-January when back in playing shape following the surgery.  Seibring is pretty good around the basket -- similar to Kevin Reed in that regard, soft hands, good court vision, and knows how to set a very solid, accurate and proper screen in the lane area.  Good fundamentals and foot work.  Runs the floor pretty well for a big kid.  Very comfortable playing at Shirk from his high school days and career.

Time will tell.

IWU70

Q, I'm not sold on Marietti at all, surely not as a starter at the 5. 

Whether Nick Anderson or Mike Marietti is the better starting 5-man, I should say that I'm glad you are not making our personnel decisions.

If Mike Marietti was ready to challenge for the starting 5 or even significant playing time, he must have had a helluva summer. As you will remember the last game last season when he entered the game with 47 seconds left in the 1st half, and was on the court just long enough to be quickly beaten to the basket, be forcefully dunked over on the play, and to commit a rather cheap foul in the process. He did not appear in the 2nd half.

[AndOne]

Last night North Central hosted the inappropriately named Concordia University-Chicago Cougars of River Forest in a scrimmage, the result of which was a fairly lopsided 30+ point victory (1st 2 halves) which was a rather easily arrived at forgone conclusion. The Cardinals were paced by a 28 point performance by sophomore Kevin "Hondo" Honn whose point total was achieved by a nice combination of 3 pointers, drives to the basket, and mid range jumpers. Vince "Bomber" Kmiec had 17 including 2 or 3 treys from well beyond NBA distance. "Big" Jack Burchette scored 15, ""Little" Jack Merrithey 12, and soph Tyler "T-Sut" Sutton 8.

Of equal interest to the scrimmage action was the referees interpretation and application of this season's new set of rules which leave little doubt that they were designed with their primary intent being to severely limit physical play. Should they be universally enforced, you may as well substitute the Rules Of Golf Handbook for the Basketball Rules Handbook as "gentlemanly" play will be the (new) name of the game. A large degree of grinding and bumping will now be outlawed. In a historically tough, physical conference such as the CCIW, the new rules are going to cause a sharp contrast between what fans have gotten used to seeing and the new reality.
Between the 2nd and 3rd halves last night, a couple of other fans and I engaged one of the refs in a discussion and demonstration of what is and isn't allowed under the new directives. In summary, it seems like a player stands a very good chance of having an infraction called against him should he do little more than breathe to heavily on his man.
It won't be a surprise seeing a big man or an aggressive perimeter defender occasionally foul out before halftime. And, if you plan on attending a game, be prepared to spend an average of 10-20 minutes more in the gym each time than you have become accustomed to over past years.

I'm interested how these new rules are enforced, but I think the real test comes once the post-season games begin.  Will they maintain their point of emphasis or will they regress to previous levels of physical play?

I don't think it'll even take that long. I've seen plenty of these "point of emphasis" dealios come and go in recent years, and they always seem to take hold for about three or four weeks and then slowly vanish, as refs revert back to calling games the way that they always have.

I appreciate the fact that Mike Krizman made sure that both sessions of coaches were asked about this point of emphasis. The answers that the coaches gave were pretty revealing, and well thought-out. Grey Giovanine made a great statement that the point of emphasis has mostly affected perimeter hand-checking at the D1 level, with all of the banging inside being largely unaffected. John Baines seems to agree with me that there's some uncertainty as to whether the point of emphasis will be enforced with continuity into January and February, and he also made a trenchant reference to "our strong core of officials" -- the CCIW is reffed by a veteran bunch, by and large, many of whom have been calling games in this league for decades. Will this be a case of "you can't teach an old dog new tricks"? I guess we'll soon find out.

Bosko answered very candidly, saying that a more tightly-called game will benefit his squad, as he foresees coaching a finesse-oriented Red Men squad (which seems to fit the lack of big men currently in the program). I also agree with him -- and I'm guessing that Mark's gonna disagree with me on this -- that the college game has gotten too physical and that all of the excessive contact needs to be dialed back in order to bring creativity and flow back into the game. Mike Schauer's on board with that as well, and he agrees with Grey in terms of the likelihood of a perimeter-vs.-interior discrepancy in terms of how the point of emphasis is, uh, emphasized. Tom Slyder raises an interesting point about D1 trickle-down vis-a-vis the point of emphasis; several of our CCIW refs also call D1 games, and it will be interesting to see how that affects the way that those particular refs call our games.

It will be something to watch for, that's for certain.

There is no doubt Bosko is a very accomplished coach and has probably forgotten more about basketball than I'll ever know. However, I think he's blowing a little smoke in this instance. Maybe he has taken to inhaling. 
I'm just not sure the new rules will benefit Carthage that much. Here is my perspective. Bosko certainly will have a finesse-oriented squad as opposed to one possessing a great deal of physicality. Based on what I saw this summer, Carthage will also be a very quick team---quick feet, quick hands. However, I think quick, finesse-oriented teams usually play defense with their feet and hands as opposed to doing so with their bodies as is the usual modus operandi for a power team. Given this I go back to the little demonstration the ref gave us at the NCC scrimmage Tues night. Based on what I witnessed, many of the new rules concern themselves with use of the hands which quick, finesse teams usually have moving, reaching, and grabbing. And, under the new rules this could be cause for concern as any attempt to impede ther offensive players progress is very likely to result in an infraction. Use even a slight arm bar to slow a driver down--foul. Put a hand on the ball handler? Quickly take it off and you should be OK. But, leave it on a forearm, chest, shoulder more than a couple seconds-foul. Rough physical play with excessive bumping, holding, etc, will usually be a foul. But, under the new points of emphasis, a lot of defensive actions typically employed by quick, finesse teams will be whistled. Thats why I'm not too sure finesse teams will have much of an advantage, if any, under the new rules.

Yes, Greg, I'm gonna have to disagree with you--at least to a point. I do agree that the college game on the D3 level has gotten a little physical. As a fan, its not enjoyable to see a football game break out during action on the hardwood. However, basketball IS a rough, contact sport. I love a creative game with good passing, lots of assists, and a nice flow. However, I would hate to see it reduced to a something on the order of a square dancing exhibition. Just as I think some degree of fighting is part of the fabric of a good hockey game, I believe some bumping and grinding is part of a good basketball game. Maybe my fondness for a game with a bit of an edge to it stems from my association with the North Central team I follow. The last 2-3 years they have been a very physical team that plays tough in your face defense. With their personnel, this has been a style which has served them well, and, from a fan's standpoint, has been very enjoyable. What is wrong is when a player practically gets tackled and no foul is called. We've all seen this repeatedly over the last several years. However, its even worse when about all you have to do to be whistled for a foul is to breathe too heavily on your man. At that point, you might as well just head to the ballet.    

[Titan Q]

Elmhurst preview...

http://www.elmhurstbluejays.com/news/2013/11/1/MBB_1101131200.aspx?path=mbball

[Titan Q]

If Mike Marietti was ready to challenge for the starting 5 or even significant playing time, he must have had a helluva summer. As you will remember the last game last season when he entered the game with 47 seconds left in the 1st half, and was on the court just long enough to be quickly beaten to the basket, be forcefully dunked over on the play, and to commit a rather cheap foul in the process. He did not appear in the 2nd half.

We're really going to evaluate a kid based on what happened on one possession within 47 seconds of PT?

[petemcb]

Maybe I missed it but, other than the two upcoming NPU exhibitions, are there any other CCIW-related exhibitions in the next week or so?  Gettin' kinda itchy here.

[iwu70]

I wish John Baines all the best in his first year as a head coach in the CCIW.  Strong IWU connection, from his family to his basketball playing days here in Bloomington.

Several good "re-building" stories in the CCIW -- at Elmhurst and at MU.  Hope they have success and make CCIW stronger, better as a men's basketball league.

IWU70

[AndOne]

If Mike Marietti was ready to challenge for the starting 5 or even significant playing time, he must have had a helluva summer. As you will remember the last game last season when he entered the game with 47 seconds left in the 1st half, and was on the court just long enough to be quickly beaten to the basket, be forcefully dunked over on the play, and to commit a rather cheap foul in the process. He did not appear in the 2nd half.

We're really going to evaluate a kid based on what happened on one possession within 47 seconds of PT?

Well, as he only played 39 minutes all season, we really don't have much to work with.
All I'm saying is that when he was inserted in a critical situation in a win or go home game he didn't look like he was really very ready or very capable of contributing much, and wasn't used at all in the second half as a result.

Actually, if before his surgery he was in position to possibly be the starting center on a team thats going to be as good as IWU will be this year, its a credit to his development since the end of last season. Thats why I said he must have had a helluva summer. 

[AndOne]

Maybe I missed it but, other than the two upcoming NPU exhibitions, are there any other CCIW-related exhibitions in the next week or so?  Gettin' kinda itchy here.

Don't think you can do much better than today's IWU matchup exhibition against D2 Winona (MN) State, which I believe is on video.

[iwu70]

IWU holding it's own well vs. Winona State -- it's 33-32 Winona State with about 3 minutes to go in the first half.

I'm out -- for football.

IWU70

[Iwufan]

IWU 44-37 at half over Winona. Lots of touch fouls called.  Different game this year if this is the normal calls. Z 12 Pts. Mayberger 11.  Lots of subs for both teams.  Dolan playing well at pg with Dylan getting 2 quick fouls. 

Guards are going to get more drives to the basket this year since they are calling any contact.   But still a lot of contact under basket no called