MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Pat Coleman]

So, if IWU loses Friday, they will be victimized by the silly in-region rule

You don't know that.

[titanhammer]

Come to think of it, I'd like to open up this question to the ex-players who post here, guys like Rob Berki, Mike Thomas, Jim Oboikowich, Ryan Knuppel, Jason Wiertel, Theo Powell, etc. Any and every ex-player from this league who cares to chime in. Heck, I wanna hear from Todd Kelly if he's still around.  I think that this is an interesting question that could really benefit from the insight of former CCIW players. What scheduling style was better for you as a player and as a team? What serves the best interests of a CCIW team: Playing tough non-conference games, playing easy non-conference games, or a mixture of both?

Greg, I appreciate your asking.  However, I don't know if I have ever played a weak non-conference schedule.  In high school, we played the likes of Chicago King, Peoria Manual, East St. Louis Lincoln, etc.  In 1987, East St. Louis Lincoln was the state champion at 31 - 1, with their only loss to us in the Collinsville Christmas Tournament.  I remember a clipping from our conference season (Big 12) my senior year:  "Lincoln goes on 53 - 3 run for win".  That was against a better than .500 AA team (Decatur McArthur).

In the 1990 - 91 CCIW season, we were 15 - 1 in the CCIW.  Our overall record was 18 - 9.  I'll let you do the math.  I think at least four of those games were against D1 and D2 teams.

I wouldn't have had it any other way.  I want the other teams to exploit any weaknesses we might have, so we can improve and become a better team.  There's no way you can really tell if it made a difference, but my opinion would be in favor of the more difficult schedule.

[mightyIWUmolly]

*disclaimer*
I've never posted on this board before, but I've been watching it more and more frequently as the season progresses.  I'm a senior English major at IWU right now, and my boyfriend and I go to all of the games, even the away ones.  He is the "superfan" always all dressed up in green with the green sweatband and glasses, usually front and center court.  I'm definitely not as dedicated an attendant as he is -- he actually has a program from every game they've played since he was a freshman (I hunted people down -- and got pegged by some little kids playing basketball with the abandoned frame of an old hoop -- begging for a sold-out copy of the program from the Augie/IWU game on Wednesday, just so he could complete his collection)-- but, unlike him, I am not ashamed to post something heartfelt about the Titans.

I don't know nearly enough about the CCIW or how the NCAA tournament works.  However, I do know that my team has trouble playing a 40-minute game.  But I also know how much emotion was in the crowd at the last home game on Saturday night, watching 8 awesome seniors play their hearts out.

And I have to say that in my gut I know IWU is going to have more games this postseason.  These kids deserve it... they've worked so hard, learning to play as a team together for four years... they are role models for younger kids in the community... and I have to say, if not for them I probably wouldn't care nearly as much about basketball as I do now.  I used to love watching the game, before the NBA ruined it for me... but the charisma of the IWU team and the always-loyal Titan fans has inspired me to no end.  I was so down all day Sunday, worrying that it was the last game those Titans would have in Shirk, and one of the last they'd have together in front of so many fans... not just because I'm graduating at the end of April, but because they are, and I've seen how much Shirk and their fans and playing together mean to them.

I can't come to the tournament this weekend because IWU is holding its annual creative writing conference for undergrads, of which I am co-chair.  But you can bet I will be calling my superfan boyfriend every free moment I have to get an update.  And thanks for offering the streaming broadcast for people like me that have unavoidable conflicts this weekend.  It is killing me not to go to these games, but I am glad I have access to them in some respect.

That said... I believe in my team.  We can run the different pool scenarios on this board as much as we want, but the bottom line is, the best thing we can hope for is just for our teams to win.

I know IWU's got it in 'em.  It's kind of the Titan spirit to give your all, most of all, when you REALLY need it.

I think anyone who saw Dauksas' "birthday 3-pointer" at the February IWU/Elmhurst game at Shirk can attest to that.

Just win your games, Titans.  That's all I can root for.

*steps off soapbox, admittedly a bit embarrassed for the overshow of wordy emotion... but glad to have done it*

[iwu70]

IWUMolly, love your expressed feelings.  I share the same about this group of seniors and their many achievements on and off the floor for IWU.  I hope they do well this weekend and surely hope they have a shot at a good, long run in March -- all the way to Salem. 

[Gregory Sager]

BTW Greg, your snide remarks about the state of DIII basketball in the Northeast have not gone unnoticed.  Remember that we ARE the Hub of the Universe here.  And while I am on the subject, Gordon is 23-3 with 18 straight wins and the 13th QOWI in DIII.  I just thought that I would throw that in.

Joe, my philosophy is this: Why aim small? Sure, Dennis can offend a poster or a bunch of posters or even an entire school ... but why should I settle for matching him tit-for-tat when I can offend an entire region?

Seriously, though, you and Schauer should both know that I'm rooting for the Scots big-time this March. I want to see Gordon College give those NESCAC schools the comeuppance in the big dance that they so richly deserve.

[Gregory Sager]

If the Northeast is the "Hub of the Universe," is Sager's Chicagoland then the "Wheel"? Kindly advise ....

The "Wheel of the Universe" is a title more appropriate for Detroit than Chicago, WT ... although one might refer to Wisconsin as the "Wheel of Cheese of the Universe."

[Gregory Sager]

It looks like the Charles Dickens of "postingupland" were out in full force on the CCIW board last night...  

It was the best of nights, it was the worst of nights.

[Gregory Sager]

Sager if your looking for a quick victory for your vikes, take a tip from the Serb... Taylor Fort Wayne, Dominican, and Marycrest are great examples....

That is of course if you can get them on the schedule before they disband their athletic programs

Alas, J Dub, as Dan Sand pointed out Marycrest has closed its doors. And NPU scrimmages Dominican every year, so it's not likely that the Vikings will play the Stars in a regular-season game as long as that relationship continues.

(At the moment I'm not sure I'd want NPU to play the Stars in anything but a scrimmage, either ... the past two years Dominican's gotten the better of NPU in those scrimmages, which has been a sure early sign that things are not right in the Vikings camp. To be fair to Dominican, though, Mark White is doing good things with that program.)

[Gregory Sager]

In Trumbull, CT for a meeting in the morning...where did all of the snow go???

I read the Tribune article at Midway this morning - that's the best Division III feature in a major newspaper I've ever seen.  I think you actually have to see the newspaper version (as opposed to just reading online) to appreciate how much space one of the nation's largest papers spent on D3 basketball today.  I liked the map with the locations of all CCIW, MWC, and NIIC schools.  Great piece.

The only problem with the piece, as I said in the MIAA room, is that Lew Freedman (the journalist who wrote it) should sit in on an Astronomy 101 class on some local D3 campus. Those of us who were educated at D3 schools are well aware that the Earth and Pluto are practically next door to each other in astronomical terms, and aren't even close to being a light-year apart.

The piece's other mistake is on the accompanying map that Q mentioned. As he said, every CCIW, MWC, and NIIC school is identified on the map ... but the most famous D3 school of all in this part of the country, the University of Chicago, is nowhere to be found. Given the fact that it's the only D3 school that regularly gets mentioned in the Tribune for any reason whatsoever, I thought that this omission was pretty funny. I'm betting that Mike McGrath didn't find it funny, though. Thing is, he picks up the phone and calls up this U of C alumnus or that, and heads will undoubtedly roll over in the Tribune Tower. 

[Gregory Sager]

Nobody mentioned it, but the regular season screeched to an anticlimactic halt last night as Wheaton won the battle for fifth place over Carthage at King Arena, 90-66. Wheaton was paced by Andy Wiele's 20 points, John Mohan's 16 points and 5 assists, Johnnie Standard's 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, Tony Bollier's 11 points, Jordan Kemper's 10 points and 14 boards, and Michael Fiddler's 10 points. Carthage was led by Kyle Jeffery, who had 19 points, Mark Morrison's 14 and 7, and Trey Bowens chipped in 12 points and 4 assists as well.

Bollier will end the year as D3's free-throw percentage leader, going 101-108 for a .935 clip. No player whose team is still active is in a position to catch him. Bollier ends the year having set Wheaton's single-season FT pct. record and all-time FT pct. record (195-216, .903).

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I want to see Gordon College give those NESCAC schools the comeuppance in the big dance that they so richly deserve.

They have to win tonight or its going to be Colby-Sawyer giving the NESCAC schools their comeuppance.  Either way the CCC is coming for them.

[Hoosier Titan]

The only problem with the piece, as I said in the MIAA room, is that Lew Freedman (the journalist who wrote it) should sit in on an Astronomy 101 class on some local D3 campus. Those of us who were educated at D3 schools are well aware that the Earth and Pluto are practically next door to each other in astronomical terms, and aren't even close to being a light-year apart.

Wow.  Greg, thanks for pointing out something I missed because I looked at that article before drinking my coffee.  As an astronomy professor who has taught more than half of IWU's senior players, I have a new "What's Wrong With this Statement" test question.  And yes, they will know what's wrong.

Regarding U. of Chicago, evidently Lew Freedman's regional geography is as spotty as his knowledge of astronomy!  It was nice to see a D3 article, but I thought he overplayed the "D3 as poverty case" angle a bit.  I'm sure Chris Martin gets new sneakers when he needs them.

Linda French
IWU Physics Department

[Jim Matson]

Greg, I completely forgot to post up about the Wheaton victory last night.  I am ashamed that a North Park grad beat me to it!  Hopefully I'll be seeing you at Wheaton tomorrow.

Now that the season has ended, we can look forward to something new int he tourney.  I know there will be plenty of discussion around the results and the tourney itself - there certainly was a ton after the initial CCIW soccer tourney (something that perhaps we'll be able to discuss more in-depth this fall...).  I am looking forward to the discussion on Sunday.

[Elmhurst_Mom]

...well sure he gets new sneakers when he needs them....but the $90.00 comes out of his parents pocket not the schools.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

...well sure he gets new sneakers when he needs them....but the $90.00 comes out of his parents pocket not the schools.

The school provides game shoes though, right?