MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[bbfan44]

Should be an interesting game in Naperville on the 12th....#2 Oshkosh vs #3 North Central.  The guy at center for UWO is a load.

[USee]

Any thoughts on potential impact newcomers this season?  Here are a few guys I have heard good things about...

* NCC has 6-6 F Brian Johnson (Glenbrook North HS).

* Augie has: 5-11 PG Jack McDonald (Geneva HS); 6-8 C Daniel Carr (Regis Jesuit HS CO); 6-6 F Justin Bottorff (John Wood CC/Quincy Notre Dame HS); 6-3 F Luther Taylor (Whitfield HS MO).

* IWU has: 5-11 G Keondre Schumacher (D1 Winthrop U/Normal U High); 6-0 PG Luke Yoder (Bloomington Central Catholic HS); 6-7 F Cody Mitchell (St. Charles East HS).

No mention Of NCC's Shea Cupples? Thought this was your #1 team Q?

I don't know who that is, but USee will be able to do some things with that name come tourney time.

certainly some good material. I'll be ready.

[AndOne]

Should be an interesting game in Naperville on the 12th....#2 Oshkosh vs #3 North Central.  The guy at center for UWO is a load.

A major obstacle that UWO presents is that they don't just have 6'8" C Jack Flynn who averaged 15.5 PPG, but also 6'8" Adam Fravert who added 14.8 PPG.
They have TWIN Towers, not just one! 😄

[Titan Q]

IWU scrimmages #14 Wabash Friday in Bloomington at 6:00pm.  Possible starters...

IWU (18-9)
G - Grant Wolfe, 5-11/185 Jr.   6.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.8 apg
G - Keondre Schumacher, 5-11/175 So.
G - Pete Lambesis, 6-4/195 So.  3.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg
F - Doug Wallen, 6-5/210 Jr.  7.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg
C - Charlie Bair, 6-7/220 Jr. 6.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg

#14-Wabash (21-6)
G - Jack Davidson, 6-1/170 Jr.    25.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 apg
G - Tyler Watson, 6-2/185 So.    9.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg
F - Kellen Schreiber, 6-5/210 So.   8.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg
F - Alex Eberhard, 6-6/190 Sr.   6.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
C - Harry Hallstrom, 6-8/220 Sr.   12.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg


I assume this will be the typical scrimmage structure -- 2 separate 20-minute varsity periods (scoreboard resets after each), 1 20-minute JV period.

[Titan Q]

Article on the Titans after media day earlier this week...

https://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/illinois-wesleyan-men-s-basketball-team-ready-to-run/article_6ec60dcc-6e85-53ab-a2c8-47071ac14f31.html

There is a lot of talent on this IWU team at every position, and 2 deep (if not more).  But also so many questions heading in.  This is a completely new nucleus from that Rose/Bonnett/Gregoire perimeter group that has led the way the last few seasons.  This team will really look completely different.

* How D1 transfer SG Keondre Schumacher fits in is one of the big themes of the early part of the season.  I've heard him described as "lightning fast" by everyone who has seen him play.  When word of his transfer came out last year, I remember Ron Rose telling me, "There won't be a faster player in Division III." He can also shoot it and score in a variety of ways.

* I think scoring in general is a question for me.  Who is the leading scorer going to be? Is there a go-to guy?  There are plenty of talented offensive players on this team, but at this point there is not a real clear top scorer, ala Brady Rose.  I see a team where a bunch of guys average between 9 and 13 points maybe.  Does Schumacher emerge? Doug Wallen? Other?

* Matt Leritz's health is a big factor.  Hopefully IWU gets him back in December.  I think the 6-7 soph has all-CCIW potential.

* Alex O'Neill is a real X factor.  The 6-9 D2 transfer played so well at the end of his SO year...and so inconsistently last year.  To me, he is just a complete wildcard.

Many other questions too.

I'm excited PG Grant Wolfe gets his chance to run the team.  He is not flashy, and not gonna score 20 ppg, but he is a such a good PG in every regard.  I think he's going to have a big season for the Titans.  Behind him, it sounds like freshman PG Luke Yoder is ready to play at the varsity level.

To me, it seems like IWU has a realistic CCIW finishing range of like 2 to 5 at this stage of the preseason, which is a huge gap.  I'm looking forward to seeing some games.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

* Alex O'Neill is a real X factor.  The 6-9 D2 transfer played so well at the end of his SO year...and so inconsistently last year.  To me, he is just a complete wildcard.

I've been thinking of this a lot this week as we wade through the preseason All-Americans.  I was so impressed with O'Neill two years ago, I wanted to find a way to get him on the list last year.  Ultimately, as we usually do, we went with proven results over potential and the inconsistent year showed that to be a good choice.  I still think he's got the makings of one of the best big men in D3, but you gotta prove it on the floor.

[iwu70]

Thanks for your assessment of the Titans at this stage, Q.  Surely a different look in the post-Brady Rose era.   I'll be attending the Wabash scrimmage later today. 

Here we go, another CCIW season!   

Good luck to all the teams, all the coaching staffs.  Wishing everyone safe travels and an injury free season!

IWU'70

[Titan Q]

* Alex O'Neill is a real X factor.  The 6-9 D2 transfer played so well at the end of his SO year...and so inconsistently last year.  To me, he is just a complete wildcard.

I've been thinking of this a lot this week as we wade through the preseason All-Americans.  I was so impressed with O'Neill two years ago, I wanted to find a way to get him on the list last year.  Ultimately, as we usually do, we went with proven results over potential and the inconsistent year showed that to be a good choice.  I still think he's got the makings of one of the best big men in D3, but you gotta prove it on the floor.

Agree.  Watching the end of his SO season, I thought there was a great chance he'd be in the All-American conversation as a JR.  He has unique size and athletic ability at the D3 level.  But he had a really rough season last year for some reason.

He's really an important part of IWU's 2019-20 team, whether as a starter or the 6th man.  If O'Neill has a good season, it would really make IWU a dangerous team.

[Titan Q]

1st Period:

Illinois Wesleyan 39
#14-Wabash 34

* Pete Lambesis 12
* Doug Wallen 8
* Cody Mitchell 5
* Keondre Schumacher 4

[Titan Q]

2nd Period:

#14-Wabash 56
Illinois Wesleyan 50

Combined:

#14-Wabash 90
Illinois Wesleyan 89

* Pete Lambesis: 17
* Grant Wolfe: 16
* Doug Wallen: 15
* Charlie Bair: 11

[Mr. Ypsi]

Two questions:

1.  Would a one-point loss to the #14 ranked team in the country raise or lower your opinion of IWU?  (And I realize this was just a scrimmage, and there are actual games before the next vote.)

2.  Did Alex O'Neill play?  If so, how did he do?

[Titan Q]

Two questions:

1.  Would a one-point loss to the #14 ranked team in the country raise or lower your opinion of IWU?  (And I realize this was just a scrimmage, and there are actual games before the next vote.)

2.  Did Alex O'Neill play?  If so, how did he do?

I would never use a scrimmage as a factor in my Top 25 voting.  If it was a real game, a 1-point loss to #14 would raise the opinion a lot.

O'Neill was the 6th man.  I did not get a report back on him...I just got a list of the top four scorers from a fan who was there.

[Gregory Sager]

According to Wabash poster CollegeGolf18 over in the NCAC room, Little Giants star Jack Davidson -- the reigning NCAC POY, who averaged over 25 ppg last season -- only played 12 minutes in the scrimmage against IWU before leaving with an injury.

[TheOsprey]

According to Wabash poster CollegeGolf18 over in the NCAC room, Little Giants star Jack Davidson -- the reigning NCAC POY, who averaged over 25 ppg last season -- only played 12 minutes in the scrimmage against IWU before leaving with an injury.

Thanks.  That's good info for one of the Fantasy studs.   Shame for him and the Wally's.

[Titan Q]

According to Wabash poster CollegeGolf18 over in the NCAC room, Little Giants star Jack Davidson -- the reigning NCAC POY, who averaged over 25 ppg last season -- only played 12 minutes in the scrimmage against IWU before leaving with an injury.

IWU led 17-14 at the 13:19 mark of the 1st, so looks like the Titans are better than Wabash w/ Jack Davidson, but worse than Wabash without him.

Hope the injury isn't serious.