MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[npu#32]

Good to hear that the Vikings looked good, and that they have a credible person that put up some big numbers (for NPU) in the mix.  I'm going to make it to as many games as possible.

[Gregory Sager]

Looking forward to seeing you in the gym again, JC. Yeah, I expect Mathisen to have a big senior year. He and Jason Gordon should be the offensive standouts, but I really like what I've seen of Eric Allen thus far in my admittedly limited exposure to the team. And sophomore Jay Alexander should be playing with more confidence this season; he's a legitimate inside-outside force at the offensive end of the floor.

I just hope that they're all playing as a team, rather than the five-guys-all-playing-one-on-one syndrome that we've seen much too often at the Park in recent seasons.

[True Basketball Fan]

Well, for once (in a long time), the North Park team is comprised mostly of team-like players.  The one on one mentality doesn't seem to be and probably will not be as problematic as it has been in the past.  That is good to see, especially for parity in the CCIW, which is fairly decent anyway, but could be better.  North Park and also North Central will continue to rise with their potential, as I feel the coaching staffs are much improved.  Unfortunately, the recruiting headaches will still be there, but on a positive note, in an entirely different region of the brain. 

[Gregory Sager]

Well, for once (in a long time), the North Park team is comprised mostly of team-like players.  The one on one mentality doesn't seem to be and probably will not be as problematic as it has been in the past. 

That remains to be seen, TBF. I'm very hopeful that the new edition of the Vikings will be more cohesive, synergistic, and disciplined than the Vikings teams of the past few seasons, but my wishing it doesn't make it so. They're going to have to go out and prove on the court that they're not just a bunch of one-on-one players who can't run a good halfcourt offense. Anything said about them before November 18 is mere speculation about an unproven commodity.

Unfortunately, the recruiting headaches will still be there, but on a positive note, in an entirely different region of the brain.

I agree, but in spite of the tiny and antiquated gym and the fact that suburban kids are often reluctant to attend a city school, NPU is in the sort of situation where a savvy coaching staff can turn their lemons into lemonade. As dismal as the crackerbox appears to a visiting prospect, if he experiences a game there when there's a packed house and the student section is going full-tilt he witnesses the kind of atmosphere that suddenly becomes very attractive in terms of wanting to play there. The crackerbox was no more attractive from an aesthetic point of view during the glory years than it is today; the difference is that its transformation into a frenzied hothouse on game nights back in the late seventies, the eighties, and the early nineties made it a much more salable commodity in terms of recruiting.

The trick, of course, is to put the cart before the horse. In order to get that recruiting-friendly atmosphere back the Vikings are going to have to make the NPU student body fall in love with the basketball program again and get the alumni back in the gym. And the team is most likely going to have to be competitive in the CCIW for that to happen. In other words, in order to beget success (via improving recruiting) they're going to have to have a measure of success first. Like I said, it's a cart-before-the-horse dilemma.

[True Basketball Fan]

Point well made, Sager guy.

However, the facilities at NPU are sub-standard, and THAT's where a huge problem lies.  Back in the day, when it was full and rockin', I'm sure it was great, and compared to everyone else in the league, as far as facilities were concerned, it was normal.  Many other schools have upgraded since then and NOW the gym is more of a relic (with a great history I might add) and unfortunately I don't think winning is going to make kids get excited about the facilities they are choosing over other schools in the league.  Just stating facts......

[Gregory Sager]

No, it's been substandard all along. Other now-defunct facilities (Centennial Gym, Fred Young Fieldhouse) may have been just as old, but at least they held a lot of people. You could barely squeeze 1,200 people into the crackerbox even back when the older and bigger wooden bleachers were in place. As a friend of mine who served on the NPU Board of Trustees once admitted to me, North Park's gym was obsolete even when it was brand-new back in 1958.

And winning did have a positive effect upon recruiting back in the day, and it still can again. I can name a lot of top North Park recruits who chose the school in spite of the unimpressive old gym by dint of the fact that, when it's full and the joint is rocking, it's a very fun place to call home. Winning trumps aesthetic appeal -- and it was no accident that the Park once won 62 straight home games.

Long term, something has to be done about the gym. There's no doubt about that. But the gym itself is not a deal-breaker in terms of building a winning program. In fact, if the team is winning and the fan support is there, the close and sweaty confines of the crackerbox make it an asset, both in terms of the team itself and in terms of recruiting. Again, though, the problem is that you have to have that raucous fan support in place to begin with -- and it'll take winning to bring that kind of fan support back. Like I said, it's a cart-before-the-horse dilemma.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Dennis, you get applause for that just beacue its an awesome story.  You could have made that up and I would still buy it, because I want to buy it.

Although, I guess having your named removed from an ugly, ineffective building is really only a moral victory, since your large cash donation has already been spent.

[titanfan]

Well, it's official.  IWU is preseason number 1.  Congrats to Elmhurst for making the top 15 as well.

[omaha]

It is ironic that A Harold Anderson would not permit the school to put his name on the building because it was his firm (J Emil Anderson & Son) that designed and built the gym.

[Gregory Sager]

I was thinking the exact same thing about JEA & Son, Omaha. Still, as Hoops Fan said, it's an awesome story. Kudos to Dennis for unearthing this little-known but telling anecdote.

Serves A. Harold right for giving so much money to the enemy. I have to grit my teeth and steel myself to block out unchristian thoughts every time that I'm on the Wheaton campus and I walk past Anderson Commons. It's like finding out that McConnell-Douglas or Lockheed spent the Cold War secretly building MiGs for the Soviet Union.

From now on, just to make the old man whirl around in his grave a few times, I shall refer to the North Park gym as "the A. Harold crackerbox".

[emeritusprof]

That would be better than dribbling in the A Harold chapel.

[Titan Q]

Based on the preseason polls of D3hoops.com, NAIA DI, and NAIA D2, here are the non-conference games between CCIW teams and ranked teams...

("RV" = receiving votes)


Nov. 19 - (#15) Elmhurst @ (RV) Hope

Nov. 22 - (NAIA I RV) Olivet Nazarene @ (#1) IWU

Nov. 23 - Carthage vs (NAIA I #12) Concordia (Ca.) in Hawaii

Nov. 26 - North Central @ (#22) Aurora

Nov. 28 - (NAIA I #16) St. Xavier @ (#1) IWU

Nov. 30 - (NAIA II #15) St. Ambrose @ (RV) Augustana

Nov. 30 - (#15) Elmhurst @ (#20) UW-Platteville

Dec. 1 - (#22) Aurora @ Millikin

Dec. 2 - Carthage vs (#24) Calvin

Dec. 2 - Wheaton @ (RV) Hope

Dec. 3 - Wheaton vs (#24) Calvin

Dec. 3 - Carthage @ (RV) Hope

Dec. 3 - (#9) Hanover @ (#15) Elmhurst

Dec. 11 - (RV) Lawrence @ Carthage

Dec. 20 - (#9) Hanover @ (#1) IWU

Dec. 29 (#1) IWU vs (#4) Puget Sound [@ Westmont]

Dec. 30 - (#19) Gustavus Adolphus @ Carthage


http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/

http://naia.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102605aab.html

http://naia.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl-div2/spec-rel/102605aab.html

[augiedad]

"How many will NPU win in CCIW men's basketball play?  the answer is 1, which is more than the number of playoff series the White Sox will win."

- True Basketball Fan, 9/27/05



"Water seeks its own level over the course of a 162-game season. The White Sox played way over their heads for four months, and now they're regressing to the mean in terms of the actual talent on that team (which is very good but well short of great)."

- Gregory Sager, 9/28/05



It appears the "over" came in, TBF.

And Gregory, even this lifelong Cub fan has to admit the talent level on the 2005 White Sox was "great." That might be the best MLB pitching staff I've seen in my lifetime, and every hitter in that lineup was solid.  To roll through the playoffs with just 1 loss says it all I guess.

Hard to say, but congrats to south siders!

[Mr. Ypsi]

augiedad,

Nice pick-up on the quotes!  But unless you are a LOT younger than a dad ought to be, I doubt the Sox pitching staff is greater than some of the Atlanta staffs of recent vintage!  Are you really sure you want to say these guys are better than Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, etc. - I'll give you a pass on 'temporary insanity due to euphoria' if you want to cop a plea!

Q,

Thanks for the run-down - I had meant to do such a compilation, but hadn't gotten to it yet.  Thanks for saving me the trouble!

[Gotberg]

For what it's worth, 2 of Ozzie Guillen's children attend NPU.  Not sure if this has already been mentioned.

http://northpark.edu/news/story.cfm?ID=1214