MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Carroll's Paradisio Dante potted the rock at a .611 rate in 2021-22.

Sounds like he was en fuego... 

Unfortunately, his team was in purgatorio.

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU and Wheaton both inch up in the latest poll - IWU from 6 to 5, Wheaton from 11 to 10.  Elmhurst falls from 15 to 19.

[Next Man Up]

If the information I have is correct, there will be at least one glaring omission when the CCIW Men's Basketball All-Conference Basketball Team is revealed. 

[GoPerry]

Using the very unscientific method ( ) of adding up the positions within each category with, as in golf, the lowest score being best, the 2022 MOP among these 3 candidates, is...............

MATT HELWIG  41 Points
Matt Leritz          47 Points
Nyameye Adom   72 Points

I would be shocked if it were anyone other than Leritz. If Wheaton had won at the Shirk, I think Adom would be the guy.  I am guessing Helwig is going to have to settle for 1st team all conference.

I agree that it will be Leritz and probably overwhelmingly so which is not to say Adom and Helwig are not deserving.

I am more curious to see how Cruickshank and Alioth end up.  I think both legitimately deserve 1st team but it is probably asking too much to get three first teamers from one squad, and the 2nd place finisher at that.  I suspect Alioth will be 2nd team like last season.   

[lmitzel]

And the teams are out.

Looking forward to recognizing Matt and Blaise (and Calvin Fisher too, I guess) before the game tonight.

[USee]

2022 Fred Young Most Outstanding Student-Athlete
Matt Leritz - Illinois Wesleyan

2022 CCIW First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year
Aaron Wafford - Carroll

2022 CCIW Coach of the Year
Ron Rose - Illinois Wesleyan

FIRST TEAM
Name    School    Pos.    Yr.     Hometown/H.S.
Dan Carr    Augustana    C    Jr.    Highlands Ranch, Colo./Regis Jesuit
Jake Rhode*    Elmhurst    G    Sr.    Chicago Heights, Ill./Mt. Carmel
Peter Lambesis    Illinois Wesleyan    G     Sr.    Mt. Prospect, Ill./St. Viator
Matthew Leritz*    Illinois Wesleyan    F    Sr.    St. Louis, Mo./University
Calvin Fisher*    Millikin    G    Sr.    Monticello, Ill./H.S.
Matthew Helwig*    North Central    G     Sr.    Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley
Nyameye Adom*    Wheaton     G    Sr.    Orlando, Fla./University
Tyson Cruickshank    Wheaton    G    Sr.    Highlands Ranch, Colo./Thunderridge
SECOND TEAM
Name    School    Pos.     Yr.    Hometown/H.S.
Filip Bulatovic    Carthage    G/F    Jr.    Harwood Heights, Ill./Maine South
Wesley Hooker    Elmhurst    G    Jr.    Downers Grove, Ill./South
Lavon Thomas    Elmhurst    F/C    Sr.    Bellwood, Ill./Wheaton North
Cory Noe    Illinois Wesleyan    G      Sr.    Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour
Luke Yoder    Illinois Wesleyan    G    Jr.    Normal, Ill./Central Catholic
Blaise Meredith      North Central    G    Sr.    Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley
Jalen Boyd    North Park    F    Sr.    Bellwood, Ill./St. Joseph
Cade Alioth    Wheaton    F    Sr.    Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg Area 
*Unanimous Selections

RESPECT Award
Nate Ortiz - Augustana
Gio Carrillo - Carroll
Kyle Czerak - Carthage
Jay Militello - Elmhurst
Lucas Heflen - Illinois Wesleyan
DeMarcus Bond - Millikin
Shea Cupples - North Central
Izaiah Sanders - North Park
Blake Foley - Wheaton

I like the recognition of the unanimous picks since they elect more than just 5, this helps with who the coaches think are the best of the best. I also like the respect recognition. Congrats to all this is a deserving list.

[Pat Coleman]

Having the unanimous picks denoted has always helped us from an All-Region standpoint as well.

[iwu70]

Congratulations to all the All-CCIW awardees. . . some great players, great performances this regular season.

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

I like the recognition of the unanimous picks since they elect more than just 5, this helps with who the coaches think are the best of the best.

I've always liked the idea. In this particular case, I don't like the execution. Tyson Cruickshank certainly played well enough to be on every CCIW coach's first ballot, although I can understand how his status could've been damaged by having a worthy teammate in Cade Alioth possibly replacing him on a first ballot or two. But Dan Carr? Which CCIW head coach thought that the best rebounder that the CCIW has had in two whole generations was unworthy of being on that coach's first ballot? Somebody stuck it to Carr -- or, perhaps more precisely, to Tom Jessee or to Augustana -- but good. I think it stinks to high heaven.

I'm also unhappy that the coaches have again chosen to stay with their ridiculous the-championship-coach-or-coaches-is/are-automatically-the-COY methodology, and in so doing have shafted Kramer Soderberg. I can't think of a CCIW head coach in recent memory who has deserved that recognition more than Soderberg has this season. Oh, well. The CCIW coaches are either prisoners of their own internal politics, or else they are simply a group of men who are constitutionally unable to think outside the box.

[USee]

I am on record as agreeing with you. I'm a fan of Soderberg and the job he has done. To play devil's advocate: Ron Rose went 14-2 in a league that may have 3 NCAA participants. And he did it with no 5th year seniors. Soderberg did his accomplishment with 3 freshmen, which is impressive as well. But this isn't a 10-4 CCIW champ. 14-2 is also pretty worthy.

[Gregory Sager]

I am on record as agreeing with you. I'm a fan of Soderberg and the job he has done. To play devil's advocate: Ron Rose went 14-2 in a league that may have 3 NCAA participants.

It may, or it may not. The only sure things at this point, in the view of the numbers-crunchers, are Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton. (Drew Pasteur has Wheaton's Pool C chances at 94%, and that's assuming a semifinals loss for your alma mater next Friday at Shirk.) Either way, three teams in the D3 tourney is nothing out of the ordinary for the CCIW. The league's had three teams go dancing seven times out of the last nine tourneys.

And he did it with no 5th year seniors. Soderberg did his accomplishment with 3 freshmen, which is impressive as well. But this isn't a 10-4 CCIW champ. 14-2 is also pretty worthy.

I think that I ought to make it clear at this point that my advocacy for Soderberg is no slight of Ron Rose. Anytime that a team finishes 14-2 in the CCIW it's a tremendous achievement, regardless of circumstances. But Rose's team has essentially done what it was expected it to do. Soderberg -- in his first year, mind you -- brought about nothing less than a resurrection of Millikin men's basketball that was, if you will forgive the impious analogy, the hoops equivalent of Jesus raising Lazarus of Bethany from the dead.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I hope everyone is healthy and enjoying 2-22-22!  It is certainly a nice coincidence that this all twos-day is on a Tuesday!

[Next Man Up]

If the information I have is correct, there will be at least one glaring omission when the CCIW Men's Basketball All-Conference Basketball Team is revealed. 

10th in conference scoring,  15th in rebounding, 19th in field goal percentage, 9th in three point percentage, 8th in FT percentage, 3rd in three point percentage, 2nd in assists, and 5th in Assist/TO ratio.

No doubt that ETHAN HELWIG's name should have been included on the All Conference list.   

[Next Man Up]

If the information I have is correct, there will be at least one glaring omission when the CCIW Men's Basketball All-Conference Basketball Team is revealed. 

10th in conference scoring,  15th in rebounding, 19th in field goal percentage, 9th in three point percentage, 8th in FT percentage, 3rd in three point percentage, 2nd in assists, and 5th in Assist/TO ratio.

No doubt that ETHAN HELWIG's name should have been included on the All Conference list.   

Amazing how easy it is to piss off some small-minded people.    
I didn't even have to go into any comparisons. 

[kiko]

I alluded to this earlier, but suffice it to say I concur with Gregory's POV on automatically naming the first place team's coach as COY.

Ron Rose did a great job this year and I think is an outstanding coach.  He also did what he was supposed to do based on how his team was assessed at the beginning of the year.

How many people expected Kramer Soderberg to turn Millikin into a regionally ranked team?

Region 8           
1   Ill. Wesleyan   21-4   21-4
2   Wheaton (IL)   20-5   20-5
3   WashU   16-7   16-7
4   Elmhurst   19-6   19-6
5   Hanover   20-4   20-4
6   Rose-Hulman   15-9   15-9
7   North Central (IL)   15-9   15-9
8   Transylvania   15-8   16-8
9   Millikin   14-11   14-11

If that holds, it will be a nice unexpected boost to the resumes of all CCIW teams come selection and bracketing time.