MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwumichigander]

Maybe, while you were doing research (as the insurance commercial goes ), you should have researched "numerous"

[izzy stradlin]

I don't see why it's so shocking. I don't recall Wheaton coaches in other sports ever participating in the postgame prayer circle. (Perhaps Mike Swider does, but he's a maverick by Wheaton standards in every sense of the word. ) I think that the understanding at Wheaton is that it's a players' thing, just like the introduction line and all of the little rituals involved with it.

I think this is exactly right - the overall sense is that the players initiate it (it's a player that prays) although coaches/asst coaches can participate also and once in a while even a student or two.  I don't at all watch for it, but the only head coach that I believe ever recall seeing joining in was Grey Giovanine.  Others probably have but I simply haven't noticed.

I'm 99% sure that all 4 of the NCC coaches took part Sat. night. I know for sure that NCC HC Todd Raridon was one of the participants. I guess thats why I found it odd that his counterpart was not in the circle with his team.

Todd Raridon was the first opposing coach that I noticed participating years ago and many times since.   

[iwu70]

As far as I know, there aren't any religious tests in the CCIW, right?

Let's let Wheaton be Wheaton.  Others will surely do their own thing as they see fit, as tradition and custom guides.

IWU70

[iwu70]

Looks to me like NPU gets to 8-6 easier than the Titans, who likely finish 7-7.  This is sadly what I predicted some weeks back.  IWU hosting NPU soon will, of course, be a big one.  As several have mentioned, hard for NPU or IWU to beat andy of the big three, get any kind of edge on each other.  Making the 4th spot likely gets the unenviable task anyway of playing Augie at home in the CCIW tournament semis.  Not a happy or easy prospect.  Still looks to me like AC vs. EC for the CCIW tournament crown.  Maybe this is the year that Augie goes all the way, wins a national title. 

IWU'70

[GoPerry]

North Park travels to Wheaton tonight.  Might there be a let-down from the Vikes after their devastating OT loss to Augie on Saturday?  Can the Thunder build confidence from a very solid performance at NCC on Saturday and bring the intensity for 40 mins?  Can they contain either Henry or Robinson(we'll take 1 out of 2) and not forget Lake, Cobbs and the others?  Can Berg and the team keep Robinson from dominating the boards? And finally- will there be a prayer circle?

Very tough decision tonight - I'm tempted to head to Gregory for practically a guaranteed Augie/NCC barn burner but will probably opt for King Arena.

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan (11-9, 5-4) vs Millikin (6-14, 0-9), 7:00pm...

Illinois Wesleyan (10-9, 4-4)
G - Mark Falotico, 6-1/185 Fr. (3.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.7 apg)
G - Joel Pennington, 6-0/180 Sr.  (9.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G - Colin Bonnett, 6-3/195 Fr. (5.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.3 apg)
F - Ryan Coyle, 6-6/210 Sr.  (8.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
F - Trevor Seibring, 6-8/235 Jr.  (15.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

Millikin (6-14, 0-9)
G - TJ Griffin, 6-0/168 Sr.  (12.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.0 apg)
G - Jack Simpson, 6-0/182 Fr.  (6.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.1 apg)
F - Tommy Pilackas, 6-4/210 Sr.  (12.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.3 apg)
F - Elijah Kinmon, 6-5/195 Sr.  (5.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
F - Bryn Agnew, 6-8/200 Jr.  (4.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg)


Pantagraph - http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/success-comes-at-seibring-s-pace-for-titans/article_1e134090-dff0-5e67-aa26-564f8ef4dd81.html

Live Video/Stats - http://portal.stretchinternet.com/iwu/

WJBC Radio - http://portal.stretchinternet.com/wjbc/

[Naperick]

North Park travels to Wheaton tonight.  Might there be a let-down from the Vikes after their devastating OT loss to Augie on Saturday?  Can the Thunder build confidence from a very solid performance at NCC on Saturday and bring the intensity for 40 mins?  Can they contain either Henry or Robinson(we'll take 1 out of 2) and not forget Lake, Cobbs and the others?  Can Berg and the team keep Robinson from dominating the boards? And finally- will there be a prayer circle?

Very tough decision tonight - I'm tempted to head to Gregory for practically a guaranteed Augie/NCC barn burner but will probably opt for King Arena.

I usually choose Elmhurst first but I will probably head to Gregory Arena tonight.  Should be as good as the Augie-Elmhurst game in Elmhurst on January 6th.  Could be another overtime game.  So much riding on this one.  Can't wait!

[Gregory Sager]

Current Massey (SoS in parentheses):

    2. Augustana (5)
    6. Elmhurst (6)
    8. North Central (1)
  21. North Park (4)
  48. Illinois Wesleyan (7)
161. Carthage (29)
206. Wheaton (9)
226. Millikin (28)

Massey sez:

@ Elmhurst 84, Carthage 66 (EC 95% favorite)
@ Illinois Wesleyan 78, Millikin 65 (IWU 89% favorite)
North Park 81, @ Wheaton 75 (NPU 72% favorite)
Augustana 70, @ North Central 67(AC 58% favorite)

[Gregory Sager]

Congrats to Juwan Henry upon being named CCIW Player of the Week for the fourth time this season.
Winning four PotW awards would seem to indicate that the coaches are leaning towards naming Juwan to the first team for the second year in a row, and that's he's got a solid shot at MOP, but I'm not taking anything for granted on either front.

Juwan's 11th in D3 in scoring at 24.4 ppg, fourth in total points, and is ranked in nine of the CCIW's 13 categories in overall stats. In terms of CCIW-only stats, he's having an even more impressive time of it, ranking in 10 of the 13 categories (including second in trey %, by the way) and practically lapping the field in terms of scoring, as his 26.6 ppg is seven points higher than his nearest competitor (who happens to be his teammate, Jordan Robinson). I mean, for crying out loud, he's among the league leaders (both overall and in CCIW play) in blocked shots, and he's freaking 5'10!

I know that I'm being Captain Obvious in saying this, but Juwan Henry is, simply put, a phenomenal all-around basketball player at this level. It's a privilege and a pleasure to see him play in a North Park uni.

Although he was named to the 1st team last year, his election was, surprisingly, not unanimous. In fact, I believe the reason the 1st team had 6 players last year was because Henry tied for the 5th most first team votes. What that means is that more than one coach did not vote for Juwan for some unexplainable reason(s).

So, Gregory, in light of last year's voting results, it appears you really can't campaign too much. Although you label yourself as obvious with regard to your level of support, what should be obvious to all, isn't always the case. Accordingly, you need to be "obvious" in certain cases. Given your level of correctness, this appears to be one of those cases. 

You and I are both well aware that Juwan was not included on the first-team ballots of two CCIW coaches last season, Mark, although I realize that you're reiterating it here for public consumption. Nevertheless, I'm under no illusion that my opinion holds any weight with the coaches, whether I make the facts that support my opinion obvious or not. The coaches are a headstrong bunch; they're gonna vote for whomever they want, and to hell with what anybody thinks of their choices. I'm sure that the next CCIW head coach who tosses and turns at night because he's worried about what people will think of the All-CCIW team selections will be the first.

* OK, I did some research. Over the past 15 seasons, there have been 4 in which a team failed to land even one player on the CCIW all-conference team. Is that "numerous"? 

Sure. That's more than a quarter of the All-CCIW teams over that span, or, looking at it another way, it's an average of more than once per matriculation cycle. That certainly qualifies as "numerous" in my book.

* I obviously agree about TJ Griffin. He is current 12th in scoring, T8th in FG%, and 10th in assists. This without much help as he and TJ Sims basically are Millikin with some Tommy Pilackas thrown in. However, I'm not putting a player who has been suspended for part of the season on my team, even if it wasn't much, or any, of the conference portion of the season.

Are you talking about Sims or Griffin? If it's the former, I think you're right about Sims being a no-go because of his suspension this season. Griffin's suspension was two seasons ago, though. I doubt that any of the other coaches would hold a senior's sophomore-season suspension against him.

* Based on historical voting patterns which almost always see players named to the AC team based in great part on where their team finishes, I concede EC's Kyle Wuest will likely make the team. However, I feel it would be a travesty should he supplant any of the players I've mentioned for 1st team-and probably a couple I didn't. 2nd team, most likely, but why??
Yes, Wuest is currently 8th in conference scoring at 14.2 PPG. However, closer examination shows that he has scored 102 points on field goals, but that to score those 102 points, he has needed 105 FG attempts. Thats MORE shots than points--hardly what you would call efficient. Furthermore, being successful on only 41 of the 105 attempts, his 39% FG average is nowhere near the league's top 15. And while he does other things pretty well, his reputation, and what has garnered him the most attention so far. is primarily one of a shooter. But this year, he's not doing that so well. And defensively, he doesn't appear to have much interest. In his recent performance against North Central, the Cardinals could have played Mrs. Butterworth and Mr. Wuest would have had difficulty staying between her and the basket. I have been a supporter of Mr. Wuest in the past and continue to realize he is a good player. I think he was a little better last year than what he has showed so far this season, and that he was placed in accordance with how he played last year. This year I don't feel there is anyway in h-e-double hockey sticks that he should be 1st team. Second team-maybe. 3rd team-a definite yes. But, based on EC's likely high placement, i do believe we'll see him included with the 2nd unit.

I don't disagree with anything that you've said here, Mark, but Wuest is the key guy for Elmhurst, and you know the voting tendencies of the coaches just as well as I do. I can definitely foresee a scenario in which Wuest gets named to the first team, and you and I end up protesting it -- you because of what you've just said, and me because either Juwan Henry or Jordan Robinson pays the price for it.

* As far as "Chuck's overestimating the season that Bryce Dolan has had," I agree. he has some nice offensive stats. But he has never been known for his defense. The other thing that gives me pause is that while he has played considerable minutes in the last couple of games, senior Dolan has not started. Instead, he has been replaced in the starting lineup by a freshman who, over his last 5 games has shot 3 for 15, and who has committed 18 fouls. In fact, Dolan's replacement is a human fouling machine, having committed a foul every five minutes he has been on the floor this year. Shouldn't an all-conference player be getting those minutes?? It may be a moot point however because if Wesleyan finishes in 5th place in the conference, it is entirely possible that they will land only one player on the all-conference team. Thats IWU's best player and true all-conference performer, Trevor Seibring,

I agree with you about this, too. A fifth-place Wesleyan team might get Seibring on second team, and nobody else.

* No, I'm not really looking for a Carthage player for an all-conference pick. I don't think one is warranted, at least to this point of the season. I mentioned Kedrowski due to the frequent inclusion of at least one player from each team making AC. I think, taking the season so far as a whole, that he has been CC's best player, the last few games notwithstanding.

My point was that, if Carthage gets a player named to the All-CCIW team, the identity of that player will probably be decided by how the final five games shake out. That's particularly true in light of the fact that the Red Men still have games remaining against Wheaton and Millikin that will sort out how the bottom of the league finishes. Kedrowski's not an obvious pick as the team's best player right now, even if you look at it over the balance of the entire season. He's merely one candidate among several.

* Someone previously asked why I have Connor Raridon on the 2nd team and Ben Ryan on 1st. Again, the primary reasons are players often being named in relation to where their team finishes. If Augie, as widely presumed, finishes 1st, that will boost Ryan's chances. And Ryan presents the fine credentials of being T6th in scoring, 1st in rebounding, 7th in FG%, 14th in FT%, T15th in blocks, T1st in O rebounds, and 3rd in D rebounds. While I think Connor ranks highly in even more categories, I think the coaches are going to give the nod to a senior over a freshman in a close vote. However, if Connor should make 1st team AC, it would be richly deserved, and a choice of which there would be little room for disagreement.

I totally agree. Never discount the senior factor as well as the standings factor. Plus, Ryan's got a lot going in his favor in his own right, apart from the facts that he's a senior and plays for the most likely CCIW champion.

[Gregory Sager]

Angie visits The Hangar and NCC tomorrow evening where the Cardinals will try to avenge the 76-49 shellacking they took in Rock Island on Jan 13th.

How exciting! Which Angie? This one:



... or this one?



Whichever one it is, I hope that she gets to toss up the ceremonial jump ball.

As several have mentioned, hard for NPU or IWU to beat andy of the big three, get any kind of edge on each other.

Who is Andy of the big three? Why is he so good at basketball that he can beat entire teams all by his lonesome? And the question we're all dying to ask: Will Andy of the big three be escorting Angie to the game at the airplane hangar tonight?

[Gregory Sager]

North Park travels to Wheaton tonight.  Might there be a let-down from the Vikes after their devastating OT loss to Augie on Saturday?

Not likely. The Park suffered a nearly identical overtime loss at Elmhurst a couple of weeks ago, and in their next game the Vikings thumped Illinois Wesleyan like a melon.

They fully realize that every night is a different test, and that you have to toss the previous game down the memory hole. That's especially true when you're playing meaningful games, which of course NPU is.

Having said that, an upset tonight at King is certainly not an inconceivable outcome. I said at the beginning of the season that NPU needs to bring it and bring it hard every game or else it will lose, and that has not changed. A team that is as small and as dependent upon a quickness advantage as the Vikings cannot afford to be outhustled. If they have any sort of a letdown in energy, and if Wheaton does what Carthage did in the second half of last Wednesday night's game at the crackerbox in terms of maxing out its own effort, then the Vikes could be in trouble.

I'm not putting this one in the bank yet, and I'm 100% sure that Tom Slyder and his assistants aren't, either.

[cardinalpride]

Regarding the Demetrius Randle call with 2.2 seconds left: I think Randle is one of the better CCIW refs. If Straughter was in fact "run over," he made the courageous and correct call. A similar play occurred at Shirk on Mar. 7, 2014 in a 1st round D3 tourney game vs. Webster. IWU was up one after 2 FTs with 8 seconds left. Webster inbounded and their star dribbled down the court. His teammate set a hard pick on Brady Zimmer with 4 seconds left. Zimmer fell (flopped maybe) to the floor and the ref made the call and IWU escaped and made it to the Final 4. There were a lot of chat posts on that very controversial call. Grey is such a good coach and I'm sure he designed the play in order to have a chance for the call.

With all due respect, that's not a similar call at all. That's a live ball foul, this was on an inbounds play dead-ball sitch. Every coach in the world tries to get this call, most time they set a pick on the inbound defender (if the inbound passer can run the baseline) and try to get him to run him over, it's usually so obvious a ploy that the refs don't call it. It's very unusual to get them to blow the whistle with two seconds left on an inbounds play. VERY unusual...like I said, oh well....

Obviously I didn't see the foul but I wanted to clarify one thing regarding live ball/dead ball status.  On a throw-in the ball becomes live when it is at the disposal of the thrower-in even though the clock is not running.  There are a couple of situations in basketball (at least college and high school) in which the ball is live but the clock is not running.  In addition to the throw-in it's also a live ball when the ball is placed at the disposal of the shooter during a free throw.  This is rule six (Live Ball/Dead Ball) in the NCAA rule book.  Again I didn't see the foul but based on his description both occurred during a live ball by rule even though the clock was running in one case and stopped in the other.

You're technically correct regarding the "live ball" vs. "dead ball" language, bw. But Rob's right that the Webster @ IWU scenario and the NPU @ AC scenario were two distinctly different situations, and that: a) what Grey Giovanine tried to set up (and succeeded at) is something that every coach tries in that situation; and b) it's extremely rare that a foul gets called off of it.

Yes, I agree with you and Rob as far as that goes.  My only intent was to clarify the rule.  I guess it's the official in me. 

Now that I've watched the final minutes of regulation. I will conclude on the inconclusive evidence that North Park was robbed! I think. :-)

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

For the third consecutive year, Hoopsville will air for 12 hours as the regular season enters the final four weeks. Dave McHugh will chat with coaches, administrators, student-athletes, and others involved in Division III basketball from around the country. Other guests will include those who have Division III roots or appreciate the division and the game along with the student-athletes who play the sport.

Hoopsville will air from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (and maybe later) on Thursday, February 4 live from the WBCA/NABC Studio. You can see what guests are scheduled, get more information, and watch the show here: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2015-16/feb4

You can also read the press release about the show: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/hoopsville-marathon-2016

Here is the guest list as we speak. All times are Eastern and subject to change. Additional guests to be added if and when necessary:


   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Time	Guest	School
10:15am	Connie Tilley	St. Norbert (WBB) - WBCA Center Court
10:40am	Jamie Purdy	Peidmont (WBB)
11:00am	Keri Carollo	UW-Whitewater (WBB) - Nat'l Committee Chair
11:20am	Brent Pollari	Saint Mary's (Minn.) (WBB)
11:40am	Kent Madsen	No. 21 Wheaton (Ill.) (WBB)
12:00pm	Russell Loyd	Rose-Hulman (MBB)
12:20pm	Kevin Broderick	Nazareth (MBB)
12:40pm	Justin Scott	Arcadia (MBB)
1:00pm	Sam Hargraves	No. 12 Alma (MBB)
1:20pm	Lenny Reich	Mount Union (SID)
1:40pm	Maureen Webster	Clarkson (WBB)
2:00pm	Betsy Witman	York (Pa.) (WBB)
2:20pm	Sara Lee	Denison (WBB)
2:40pm	Klay Kneuppel	Wisconsin Lutheran (MBB)
3:00pm	Brian Van Haaften	Buena Vista (MBB) - Nat'l Committee Chair
3:30pm	Sydney Moss	No. 1 Thomas More (WBB)
3:45pm	Aaron Rousell	Bucknell (WBB) - former Chicago coach
4:00pm	Tim Shanahan	Staten Island (WBB)
4:20	Pat Cunningham	Trinity (Texas) (MBB) - NABC Coach's Corner
4:50pm	Bubba Smith	Sewanee (MBB)
5:15pm	Ben Strong	Former Guilford All-American
5:30pm	Kevin Connors	ESPN SportsCenter Anchor - Ithaca alumnus
6:00pm	Kristen Dowling	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (WBB)
6:20pm	Allison Coleman	Sage (WBB)
6:40pm	Landry Kosmalski	Swarthmore (MBB)
7:00pm	Dave Niland	No. 23 Penn State-Behrend (MBB)
7:20pm	Aaron Galletta	Lasell (MBB)
7:40pm	John Baron	Gwynedd-Mercy (MBB)
8:00pm
8:20pm
8:40pm	Melissa Hodgdon	Wheaton (Mass.) (WBB)
9:00pm	G.P. Gromacki	No. 2 Amherst (WBB)
9:20pm	James Wagner
9:40pm	HAPPY HOUR	Free-for-all of calls, tweets, and fun!

We hope to get at least the full show on a podcast, or several podcast, during the on Friday. You can find it here:
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hoopsville/id1059517087

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville

And a reminder the Hoopsville Fundraising Project has begun yet again. Please consider helping us cover Division III basketball the way it deserves to be covered. If you can not donate, please don't worry about - we understand. At least share the campaign with anyone you think might be interested: http://igg.me/at/hoopsville-fundraiser/x/6029509

Also, if you know any advertisers interested in promoting their company or products on the show, send them our way: hoopsville@d3hoops.com

Thanks!

[markerickson]

I remember that I had to include a statement of faith when I applied to NPC.  However, I don't today consider that a "test."  We do know that Wheaton has a religious test for employees because it has been in the news lately.  I think NPU does as well.  That is, you can't be of the Jewish faith and teach at NPU.

[AppletonRocks]

Does D3Hoops have a division of church and state policy?  Wow, does anyone here work?  3 pages a day is typical.