MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

......but if he's 6', Bill O'Reilly is president of the Nancy Pelosi Fan Club.

LOL!

It's always fun to walk around a gym during warmups the first time that you see a team, getting a close-up idea of how big or small players really are -- as opposed to their listed sizes on the game program. I have to walk around the sidelines and do it, because I don't have Dennis Prikkel's gift for doing it while sitting at a table in a banquet hall. 

There seems to be a philosophical difference in this room regarding exactly what will be required of North Central's guards in order for the Cards to have a successful season, Pete, but I agree with you that a weapon like Barringer could be a very important ingredient if they are to be successful.

[petemcb]

......but if he's 6', Bill O'Reilly is president of the Nancy Pelosi Fan Club.

LOL!

It's always fun to walk around a gym during warmups the first time that you see a team, getting a close-up idea of how big or small players really are -- as opposed to their listed sizes on the game program. I have to walk around the sidelines and do it, because I don't have Dennis Prikkel's gift for doing it while sitting at a table in a banquet hall. 

There seems to be a philosophical difference in this room regarding exactly what will be required of North Central's guards in order for the Cards to have a successful season, Pete, but I agree with you that a weapon like Barringer could be a very important ingredient if they are to be successful.

Aw, now you had to go there, didn't ya...........That one had finally settled down, and now, somewhere off in the distance, I'm hearing a fee, a fie, a fo, and a fum.  Here we go again..........

[cardinalpride]

Pete, #22 is senior guard Raymond Lawrence.  However, that's dissappointing news to hear the freshmen guards didn't play very well.  I'm also shocked to hear Walton didn't play well.  I'd heard he scored close to 30pts during the 1st two 20 min. halves.  IYO, How did U of C look during the scrimmage? 

CP, one thing that Pete didn't mention is that Chicago is a guard-based team. The two returning starters in the backcourt for the Maroons, seniors Brandon Woodhead and Jesse Meyer, were both All-UAA players in 2005-06. Woodhead's been a starter since the beginning of his freshman season. Meyer has been in the rotation since the start of his sophomore season. They're very solid guards with a lot more experience than anybody North Central has to offer at this stage. Heck, I'll bet that Meyer, the less experienced of the two, has logged more playing time than all the guards on the North Central roster put together. Keeping that in mind, it's no surprise that the backcourt players for the Cardinals performed so poorly on Friday night against the Maroons.

Thanks Greg.   From talking to other alum and coaches (who kept unofficial stats), NCC 74 - U of C 72.  U of C won the 1st 20min 33-27 and NCC won the 2nd 20min. 47-39.  Highlights for NCC:  they were up by 18-20pts. during the second 20min. before U of C cut it to single digits.  Dan Walton scored 31pts and Adam Krumtinger scored 14pts.  Lowlights:  U of C won the rebounding battle during the 1st 20min. and they made 8-10 3 pointers throughout the 1st 40min.  Where's the perimeter D?  Which leads to this point.  The coaching staff believes Barringer can help the team this year, but he needs to improve defensively.  So, we'll probably continue to see the two seniors while the freshmen continue to make strides in that area.  Cardinal fans hope the seniors can make open shots when called upon.  They combined for a whopping 10pts during the scrimmage.

[Gregory Sager]

Aw, now you had to go there, didn't ya...........That one had finally settled down, and now, somewhere off in the distance, I'm hearing a fee, a fie, a fo, and a fum.  Here we go again..........

Yeah, I know, I thrust a stick into the hornet's nest with that one. I just couldn't help myself, though ... it was too big a temptation for me to resist. I'm a weak, weak man. 

Lowlights:  U of C won the rebounding battle during the 1st 20min. and they made 8-10 3 pointers throughout the 1st 40min.  Where's the perimeter D?  Which leads to this point.  The coaching staff believes Barringer can help the team this year, but he needs to improve defensively. 

That sounds very plausible. When you're talking about a shooting guard who scored 25 ppg as a high school senior, it seems as though more often than not the guy shows up on campus either unable, or unwilling, to perform up to snuff at the defensive end. Heck, often players who were thought of as fairly good high school defenders will show up on a college campus and find out that they have a lot to learn about playing defense at this level.

[AndOne]

I can assure everyone that the NCC "gunner" guard everyone is referring to is indeed Reid Barringer. He IS 6'0" , and a pretty good ball handler in addition to his scoring touch. He needs work defensively as do most players, especially freshmen.
Reid is just one of several options should the combination of PG Lawrence and 2 guard Valker not cut it for whatever reason(s). While not quite the shooter Barringer is, NC has 3 other freshman who have the skills to be significant contributors this season and stars in the future. They are Brandon Smith, David Twyman, and Pat Morris. Smith  plays the point while Twyman and Morris can handle the 2 and a wing position  effectively. All 3 posess tremendous athletic ability with a huge upside. They are all explosive players with the ability to blow by their defenders. Twyman and Morris can both jump out of the gym and Smith is no slouch either. All 3 are also far above average shooters although, as mentioned, not quite up to Barringer's level. Additionally, soph Dean Prince, while not the shooter the others are, is the best defensive guard on the roster, and runs the offense smoothly, distributing the ball well and making few mistakes.

As far as who will see the most minutes at guard this season for NCC, thats a fairly easy question. It will be the 2 who work best with Simmons, Walton, Krumtinger, and super sub soph forward Chris Drennan to form the most cohesive unit. More than scoring, I sense a low turnover to assist ratio and good defense will equal a good deal of PT at the guard positions this year. Raridon will no doubt use the early  part of the schedule to search for the best combination. Rather than 2 guiards playing 95% of the minutes as last yr with Teising & Vicario perhaps an effective 3 or 4 guard combination will emerge so substitution will not result in a huge dropoff and fresh troops will always be available. I believe if this option was available last yr NCC would have been even more successful that the banner year they enjoyed.

[AndOne]

petemcb,

Then that makes me feel better about the hour and a half I spent in traffic on 355/53/88 to get from Arlington Heights to North Central for their game!

2)  Speaking of that vaunted front line, I wondered this before, and I still find myself wondering whether they are significantly better than Elmhurst's front line.  Krumtinger is a nice complementary player,  Simmons is the great all-round player we know him to be, and I've liked Walton for his entire career, but, at least last night, he seemed to have incorporated an unnecessary fadeaway that rimmed out a lot more often than in, as opposed to how I remember him going hard to the basket with a nice assortment of down-low moves.

Whoa------- Pete

Did you spend that hour and a half in traffic and wind up at the wrong scrimmage?

Walton scored 31 points and he played poorly with an "unnecessary fadeaway that rimmed out A LOT MORE OFTEN than in."  ?????????
I'd love to play that poorly!!!!
He must have taken a hell of a lot of shots if 31 points worth went IN!!!!!!!!

Simmons indeed is usually a great player. However, I didn't see anything said about anything good he did. Perhaps the real question was where was he?
Did he drop more doggie doo than points that evening????????

[Gregory Sager]

Pete did say that Chicago's big man (whom I'm assuming was Tim Reynolds) did a very good job of "occupying Simmons with pretty physical play."

[titan2000]

This board reminds me of a series of recent UBS commercials.

[und63]

......but if he's 6', Bill O'Reilly is president of the Nancy Pelosi Fan Club.

I thought Rush Limbaugh was the president if her fan club!

Nancy has a plastic surgeon for president of her fan club, at her side all the time in case something sags.  Does she ever blink?

[petemcb]

petemcb,

2)  Speaking of that vaunted front line, I wondered this before, and I still find myself wondering whether they are significantly better than Elmhurst's front line.  Krumtinger is a nice complementary player,  Simmons is the great all-round player we know him to be, and I've liked Walton for his entire career, but, at least last night, he seemed to have incorporated an unnecessary fadeaway that rimmed out a lot more often than in, as opposed to how I remember him going hard to the basket with a nice assortment of down-low moves.

Whoa------- Pete

Did you spend that hour and a half in traffic and wind up at the wrong scrimmage?

Walton scored 31 points and he played poorly with an "unnecessary fadeaway that rimmed out A LOT MORE OFTEN than in." 
I'd love to play that poorly!!!!
He must have taken a hell of a lot of shots if 31 points worth went IN!!!!!!!!

Help me out, AndOne.  Where did I say Walton played poorly?  Reread the quote above, take a deep breath, and realize nobody's ripping on Walton.  In fact, I mentioned having liked Walton for his entire career.  The fact is that on Friday night, He fired up several fadeaways that rimmed out off the front of the rim most of the time.  That doesn't deny his 31 points.  Maybe if he had gone to the bucket with those possessions instead (the lane was open), he might have had more.  His best moves seem to be down low anyway, and those were what was working best for him on Friday night.

[BeastMaster]

NCC has the best frontcourt in the conference and possibly the midwest, without a doubt.  I have seen them play numerous times in the past 3 years and they should be outstanding this year.  Elmhurst's is very good as well as Augie's.
I think this conference continues to get better as I look at every team. 

The Big Blue defeated Wabash this past weekend.  Leading the way was MU PG Drew Gensler who no longer looks as though he is 14 years old (as indicated by most teams fans last season).  Drew has probably put on 15-20 pounds of mostly muscle and in my mind be the best guard in the conference.  The rest of the MU attack looked good as well, Mike Gavic returned from ACL surgery and his upper body has grown significantly.  MU is definitely young in the frontcourt outside of senior Korte Long who averaged just under a double double last season.  Final tune-up against Greenville on Friday! 

[AndOne]

petemcb,

2)  Speaking of that vaunted front line, I wondered this before, and I still find myself wondering whether they are significantly better than Elmhurst's front line.  Krumtinger is a nice complementary player,  Simmons is the great all-round player we know him to be, and I've liked Walton for his entire career, but, at least last night, he seemed to have incorporated an unnecessary fadeaway that rimmed out a lot more often than in, as opposed to how I remember him going hard to the basket with a nice assortment of down-low moves.

Whoa------- Pete

Did you spend that hour and a half in traffic and wind up at the wrong scrimmage?

Walton scored 31 points and he played poorly with an "unnecessary fadeaway that rimmed out A LOT MORE OFTEN than in." 
I'd love to play that poorly!!!!
He must have taken a hell of a lot of shots if 31 points worth went IN!!!!!!!!

Help me out, AndOne.  Where did I say Walton played poorly?  Reread the quote above, take a deep breath, and realize nobody's ripping on Walton.  In fact, I mentioned having liked Walton for his entire career.  The fact is that on Friday night, He fired up several fadeaways that rimmed out off the front of the rim most of the time.  That doesn't deny his 31 points.  Maybe if he had gone to the bucket with those possessions instead (the lane was open), he might have had more.  His best moves seem to be down low anyway, and those were what was working best for him on Friday night.

Pete----Thanks for your reply.
Perhaps I over reacted a bit, but it seems to me that when you call part of a player's game "unnecessary" you are equating at least that portion of his game with poor play.
The fact is Walton is a complete player who combines down low play, fadeaways, and longer range shooting. That may, in part, account for your normally liking his play. Could he have been working on his fadeaway as part of the overall enhancement of his game? 

[first_timer]

IWU defeated NAIA St. Francis (Joliet) this evening 94-68, totalling the two 20-minute varsity periods played.  I was not there, but it sounds like the Titans played well.  Andrew Freeman had 16 points in the first half (not sure what he finished with)...Andrew Gilmore was 5-5 from beyond the arc...Darius Gant played well...and Zach Freeman finished with about 20 pts/10 rebounds. 


Titan Q:  Did you talk to anyone who went to the scrimmage against St Francis.  They have 3 D1 transfers and a majority of the team are seniors.  Didn't seem like IWU was too impressed!!!  Just looking for a lttle more info on St. Francis...Thnx

[AndOne]

NCC has the best frontcourt in the conference and possibly the midwest, without a doubt.  I have seen them play numerous times in the past 3 years and they should be outstanding this year.  Elmhurst's is very good as well as Augie's.
I think this conference continues to get better as I look at every team. 

The Big Blue defeated Wabash this past weekend.  Leading the way was MU PG Drew Gensler who no longer looks as though he is 14 years old (as indicated by most teams fans last season).  Drew has probably put on 15-20 pounds of mostly muscle and in my mind be the best guard in the conference.  The rest of the MU attack looked good as well, Mike Gavic returned from ACL surgery and his upper body has grown significantly.  MU is definitely young in the frontcourt outside of senior Korte Long who averaged just under a double double last season.  Final tune-up against Greenville on Friday! 

gobigblue-----

I agree with your analysis of NCC's frontcourt. Also about Augie's. I think Elmhurst's is pretty good as well, but not quite up to the level of the other two. I am a fan of Brent Ruch. I think he is very good and will be a force. Nick Michael is good too, but, in my opinion, plays a bit soft. He is also a whiner when calls go against him.

Also, you are right on about Gensler. Quite possibly the best guard in the conference. I think the only possible challenger to that title would be Kent Raymond  from Wheaton IF he returns to the form he showed 2 yrs ago.

You also referred to Korte Long of the Big Blue. I have watched him the last 2 yrs and have been impressed with his OVERALL play. He is an awesome rebounder & defender and his offensive game has improved. I would expect him to make the all conference team this season.

Lastly, Millikin got several BIG freshmen this year. How did they play?

[True Basketball Fan]

You also referred to Korte Long of the Big Blue. I have watched him the last 2 yrs and have been impressed with his OVERALL play. He is an awesome rebounder & defender and his offensive game has improved. I would expect him to make the all conference team this season.

Lastly, Millikin got several BIG freshmen this year. How did they play?

Korte Long is a very intriguing player indeed.  However, he has a tendency to disappear/coast/float in games.  Hopefully for Millikin's sake, that is a thing of the past.  For Millikin to make a dent in the CCIW this season, he has to be the one to lead them (not Gensler).  Korte Long is the most athletic player in the league right now, nobody can realy contain him (defensively and offensively) if he stays focused.