MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

I know I'm preaching to the choir here by and large, but the fact that you know some folks won't do their homework on this is just baffling to me. It's not like prepping for something like this is some tedious affair. And when rookie 16 year old me still knew to do this for high school girls' basketball (and the bare minimum if nothing is provided is literally going to the visitor bench and asking somebody "Hey, can I go over names with you real quick?")... I just have no words.

Precisely.

I can understand the laziness angle, and the "I'm not getting paid enough to bother" excuse, but why, at the very least, would you want to make yourself look incompetent to a gym full of people? We've all been at games where the P.A. announcer has repeatedly botched a name, and the player's friends and family have yelled out in response from the stands, "It's 'Schmittlekoofer', not 'Schmuddlekuffer'!" Even worse, sometimes the players sitting on the bench or hunkered down in front of the scorer's table will correct the P.A. guy. Who wants to be publicly embarrassed like that?

Broadcasters at the D3 level typically aren't ridiculed for mispronouncing names, which may be unfortunate, because public reproach is a good motivator to improve yourself. The real problem is that I suspect most athletic departments are much more concerned with broadcasters getting the home team's names right than they are with the names of opposing players, because the parents of the home team's players: a) are much more likely to complain with an email or a phone call; and b) are the ones who pay the tuition bills.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

But you're not taking into account those people who don't pronounce their own name correctly, like residents of Missouri.

[kiko]

That state is pronounced 'Misery', right? 

[WUPHF]

Missouri and Missour-uh are both correct pronunciations.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Missouri and Missour-uh are both correct pronunciations.

Not to the rest of the world.

[Gregory Sager]

In my experience, Missourians are much more low-key about the way that their state's name is pronounced than are Oregonians. The fact that few people from outside of Oregon seem to know how to pronounce the name of the Beaver State the way that the residents prefer it drives said residents crazy. I can't honestly say that I blame them.

[WUPHF]

Missourian of the Missouri type may look down upon those who say Missour-uh, but we all recognize it just the same.  Both are correct in the same way that Black American Vernacular is correct and no non-Missourians can suggest otherwise.

[Next Man Up]

NCC RECRUIT

Rhett Laketa, a Class of 2020 6'5" SF from Hanover-Horton (MI) HS, has committed to North Central.
As a HS junior, he helped lead his team to a 23-2 record and the fourth round of the Michigan state tournament. In his senior year they were 20-1 when the Covid pandemic ended the season. Last season, he took a prep year at The Winchedon School in Massachusetts following which he was offered a Preferred Walk-On position at the University of Iowa.

Rhett is from a basketball family. Many will remember older brother Preston who began at Alma, MI College, and finished at CCIW Carthage.
Twin brother Luc will be a PWO at Iowa this fall. Dad, Parker, played at Kansas State and was an assistant coach at Notre Dame for seven years, and Grandpa Laketa played at Wichita State and coached at Chicago area Homewood-Flossmoor HS.

Rhett Laketa was also offered a walk-on at the University of Iowa but made the difficult decision to pursue another path with North Central College in Illinois.

"I think they have a good coach so that's what caught my attention first," Rhett said. "Then, they did a really good job of recruiting me, and the campus is nice. I think it's just the right fit for me and what I am hoping to accomplish as a basketball player and a student."

"I am really proud of Rhett for deciding to take his own path and play at North Central College," Parker Laketa said.
"Both of these guys went to North Central for a visit and I also took them to Carthage College to watch Preston play over the years. I've seen North Central play a few times over the years, and I admire how they play, and I admire their coach so I took them to North Central, and we spent a good long day there and got to know the program and the people there a little bit."

[markerickson]

It is the Misery Synod.

[Titan Q]

My conversation with Mike Rejniak, GM and Head Coach of We Are D3.  The team is 2 days from its round 1 game of The Tournament in the Wichita regional - 6pm CT Friday on ESPN.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVbztjqBUR0

IWU alum Brady Rose is 1 of the 10 team members.

[petemcb]

My conversation with Mike Rejniak, GM and Head Coach of We Are D3.  The team is 2 days from its round 1 game of The Tournament in the Wichita regional - 6pm CT Friday on ESPN.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVbztjqBUR0

IWU alum Brady Rose is 1 of the 10 team members.

Thanks for that, Bob! This was completely off my radar. Looks like my Friday evening is now planned. I'll go all the way in on it and try find a local Pizza Hut for my pregame meal! 😄

[Gregory Sager]

Our league has a new logo.

[Next Man Up]

Our league has a new logo.

https://twitter.com/MillikinHoops/status/1258206301928263680/photo/1

Rumor has it that a former Millikin employee was a member of the Skye Design Studios team for this project. 

[Gregory Sager]

Our league has a new logo.

https://twitter.com/MillikinHoops/status/1258206301928263680/photo/1

Rumor has it that a former Millikin employee was a member of the Skye Design Studios team for this project. 

If at first you don't succeed ...

[PauldingLightUP]

Carthage's conference schedule is at least up.

https://athletics.carthage.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2021-22