MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[petemcb]

Thanks HF and Q.  That was what I thought I recalled, but hoped against.  Does anybody else have any knowledge of the specific interpretation of "participation" as mentioned above?

[joehakes]

If they practice or play past the first date of competition (usually a scrimmage) they have used a year of eligibility.  The word "participation" has to do with being in an official practice with an intercollegiate squad.  Whether it is for JV or varsity really doesn't matter.

[diehardfan]

That was what I thought I recalled, but hoped against. 

Hoped? Interesting. Does anyone else want to know why besides me? 

[petemcb]

Hmmmmm.  Enquiring minds want to know, do they?  Suddenly I feel like I'm in the grocery checkout line.

[emeritusprof]

And it's an 'express' line, but everyone has more items than permitted.

[Mr. Ypsi]

That was what I thought I recalled, but hoped against.

Hoped? Interesting. Does anyone else want to know why besides me? 

Pete's initial query seemed fairly evident - a young man sees the writing on the wall at his current school (perhaps those ahead of him are no older/perhaps a highly-touted recruit plays his position), and had considerred transferring within the conference where the line-up at his position looked less ominous. 

Without giving a name (which would be unfair to the player), is that about it?

[petemcb]

yup.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

You people gotta get back in the habit of scrolling up first; I know its the off-season and all, but still.

[Gotberg]

NPU seems to be doing a better job of working the far northwest suburbs, an area where the Park hasn't really been productive since landing Brett Mathisen from Lake Zurich four years ago. In addition to Crystal Lake Central's Joe Capalbo, www.chicagohoops.com is reporting that NPU just beat out Loras and landed 5'11" point guard Dan Oziminski from Johnsburg. I don't know much about him, as he wasn't one of the prospects that I was aware NPU was pursuing. But everything I've read about him online has been very positive. Perhaps those of you more familiar with the area up there can chime in with a word or two about him. He wasn't the main guy for Johnsburg (6'5" swingman Chad Hetterman, who got a D2 ride from Augustana SD, was their biggest weapon), but from what I've read it sounds like Oziminski has very solid skills and good quickness.

Loras may have lost out on Oziminski, but it looks like they got a good player from up that way in 6'4" forward Travis Guy, who was a teammate of Illinois Wesleyan recruit Elias Washington at Grayslake.

This now makes three spring declarees for North Park from the suburbs. I like both trends: 1) landing players earlier than the Park has tended to do in the past; and 2) getting more outer suburban players. Not that I'm totally down on NPU recruiting city kids (go with your strengths; an urban school like NPU is a hard sell for kids from the outer 'burbs and their parents, but the location is a selling point if you're from the city or the inner-ring 'burbs), but a good mixture of the two is a plus.

My understanding is he's an all-conference soccer player too.  Any idea if he plans to be a multi-sport athlete at NPU?  I'm wondering if he chose NPU as much for the soccer program as the b-ball program.

[Gregory Sager]

Good question, 'berg. I also noticed as I was researching Oziminski online that he seemed to have almost as many citations in soccer stories as he did in basketball stories.

Oziminski was not only a basketball and soccer star at Johnsburg, he's also a famous poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Oziminski was not only a basketball and soccer star at Johnsburg, he's also a famous poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. 

Now that is why I keep reading this board.

[joehakes]

Don't flatter Greg, it will just encourage him. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Oziminski was not only a basketball and soccer star at Johnsburg, he's also a famous poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. 

Now that is why I keep reading this board.

To get esoteric puns, or disinformation?  (The poem is actually Oxymandias.)

Update: oops!  I hate it when I make a silly correction, then my finger slips from z to x (and goes unnoticed by me)!  It is, of course, Ozymandias.

[diehardfan]

Don't flatter Greg, it will just encourage him. 

That's exactly why we should do it.    8) 

Without giving a name (which would be unfair to the player), is that about it?

Well, no kidding, but that doesn't mean I don't still want to know who.

[diehardfan]

My favorite post about Greg ever, from the SCIAC board:

The sky is blue.

Your post reeks of misinformation.  In the interest of accuracy, I should point out that the sky itself is not blue.  In actuality, light moving through the atmosphere combines with molecules in the air to scatter blue light back to your eyes.  Keep in mind that this same Blue Light program has traditionally performed very poorly in the NESCAC, only once winning the conference (the vaunted 1973 team led by Johnny Jumpshooter, a native of Ventura, CA by the way...a talent SCIACGuru no doubt remembers  ).  This year, the early consensus is that Blue Light is again performing poorly.  Nobody denies their talent, but the evidence provided in snowbird games played below the 37th parallel, on odd numbered Wednesdays, with AM start times, during Republican presidencies, indicates they have not been as impressive as you SCIAC posters may otherwise assume.  Perhaps your own lack of success in the tournament (may I remind you that the SCIAC is the D3 equivalent of the Big West conference at the D1 level...we scoff at your putrid existence) has clouded your ability to objectively look at the facts.  Such flippant statements as "the sky is blue" do not accurately tell the full story and diminish the hours of hard work Pat and myself have spent to operate this website.  I'm glad I can bombard every nether region of this board with longwinded posts to shine light on the historical and statistical framework that you may have overlooked.