MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[cardinalpride]

Other transfers I can think of in recent years that were much more than "selfish misfits"...

Kevin Menard (Marquette), Carthage
Greg Ktistou (Eastern Illinois), Carthage
Michael Collins (Bradley), Wheaton


Menard, Ktistou ("thees-two" - a refresher since we haven't had to deal with Greg's name in years), and Collins played key support roles on CCIW title teams

Another transfer who played a key role on a recent CCIW title team, although not a D1 transfer, was Justin Carley, the All-CCIW point guard on the 2001 Elmhurst conference championship team. Carley played his first two seasons at a junior college.

Plus, Carthage had a former juco player who started alongside Ktistou, Wiertel, Garnes, and McDaniel on the 2000 CCIW title team, center Bill Garner.

Greg, I remember Chuck Murphy transferring to North Park from Depaul.  Was that a good fit for the Park at the time?  I believe it was the 91-92 team.

[veterancciwfan]

Greg: My post about recruiting was to confirm Augiedad's Reply #788 regarding Bosko's greatest success at Carthage by recruiting great HS seniors rather than to revert to the strategy he used so much in his final years at NPC. And I realize that Greg Ktistou was a key part of those great teams with McDaniel, Garnes, and Wiertel.
I would imagine Bosko and most Carthage fans would prefer to see a return to successfully recruiting outstanding HS seniors, a strategy used by IWU forever. That's all I was trying to imply.

[markerickson]

I believe Chuck Murphy improved the NP squad.  However, he missed a ton of layups over the season, none more important than the last shot in the last game.  Had he made it, I believe NP would have qualified for the playoffs.  Instead, NP's season ended.  I may be wrong about the last shot, but that is what I remember.  It's been nearly 15 years now.

[cardinalpride]

I believe Chuck Murphy improved the NP squad.  However, he missed a ton of layups over the season, none more important than the last shot in the last game.  Had he made it, I believe NP would have qualified for the playoffs.  Instead, NP's season ended.  I may be wrong about the last shot, but that is what I remember.  It's been nearly 15 years now.

Thanks for the feedback Mark!!

[Gotberg]

I believe Chuck Murphy improved the NP squad.  However, he missed a ton of layups over the season, none more important than the last shot in the last game.  Had he made it, I believe NP would have qualified for the playoffs.  Instead, NP's season ended.  I may be wrong about the last shot, but that is what I remember.  It's been nearly 15 years now.

Mark, I think that was Alex Dimitrijevic (sp?) during his freshman year.  It was the last game of the season against Augie and his knee sort of buckled when he went up for a dunk/layup.  I wasn't at the game, but this is what I remembered being told.  But as you said, it was 15ish years ago.

[Gregory Sager]

Mark, I think that was Alex Dimitrijevic (sp?) during his freshman year.  It was the last game of the season against Augie and his knee sort of buckled when he went up for a dunk/layup.  I wasn't at the game, but this is what I remembered being told.  But as you said, it was 15ish years ago.

No, Mark remembered that game correctly. The Park lost that final game of the 1991-92 season at home to Augustana, 65-64. With ten seconds left and North Park in the lead by one, Augie's Chris Snyder missed a midrange jumper. About eight different hands went up for the rebound, none of which snared it. The ball went to the floor in the lane, and Augie center Josh Thompson was the first one who got down to get it, just a split second ahead of his North Park counterpart, Chris Nicholson. Thompson came up and released the ball all in one motion, putting it in to give Augie the lead with five seconds left. After a North Park timeout, Chuckie Murphy took the inbounds pass and made a mad dash that covered most of the length of the floor, putting up a layup at a dead sprint as the buzzer went off that was too high off the backboard and bounced off the front end of the rim.

Mark's judgment is a little harsh, though. Not many players could've taken the ball from fairly deep in his own backcourt through traffic in five seconds to get off a layup attempt. Chuckie Murphy had both the speed and the handles to do it. Yeah, he missed a few layups, but just getting into position to attempt that particular one was above and beyond the ability of all but a very few D3 guards that I've ever seen.

Bosko actually went away from using the D1-transfer quick fix during his last couple seasons at the Park. Neither the 1992-93 nor the 1993-94 Vikings featured a D1 transfer whom Bosko had brought in to play basketball. The '93-'94 team did have a D1 transfer, reserve off-guard Greg Siwek, but Siwek had transferred in from Stanford as a football player (he became one of the CCIW's best wide receivers, in spite of the fact that he played for North Park). In terms of basketball he was one of those rare cases of an unrecruited player who walked in the door of the gym and impressed Bosko enough to make the team. That almost never happened. Siwek was also the exact opposite of a "selfish misfit" -- he was well-liked by everyone, and I think he graduated magna cum laude and went on to med school.

The seasons in question were the three before that: 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1991-92. In each of those three seasons Bosko brought in a senior transfer who had been a D1 guard: Danny James (Alabama-Birmingham) the first season, Carlos Harris (Northeastern Illinois) the second, and Chuckie Murphy (DePaul) the third. They were the only D1 transfers he ever brought in during his ten years at the helm at North Park. He brought in three D2 transfers, the aforementioned Hubbard (SIU-Edwardsville), sharpshooting small forward Dan Hill (Morningside), who played three years for the Park from 1988-89 thru 1990-91, and reserve forward Greg Modzelewski (Plymouth State, which is now D3) during that same early-nineties timespan.

Of these seven -- Hubbard, Hill, James, Harris, Modzelewski, Murphy, and Siwek -- most were well-regarded by their teammates, and several of them were among the most popular players on the team. The only one who even remotely fits Lanny's draconian "selfish misfit" characterization was Harris, who was a ballhogging chucker on the court and not exactly a prince of a guy off of it.

[smedindy]

Hey, IWU fans - just so you know Wabash plays host to Albion in the D-3 football playoffs on Saturday.

What does this mean:

1. You probably will have Chadwick Court to yourself for the most part on Saturday, until the football game is over. Treat it nicely.

2. Parking may be a challenge. Our fans will probably start tailgating around 9 or 10 in the morning.

Just a heads up.

[petemcb]

Staying with football for a minute,  word has it that the NPU football head coach has turned in his resignation, following yet another winless conference season.  True?

[markerickson]

Tracy, umm, Nicholson?, also transferred to NP from a higher divisional level.  He could sky and dominate, but then would inexplicably disappear.

Well, Cooper's son is a senior at NP, acting as a backup QB.  I wonder if Coach Cooper got free tuition as part of the package that "lured" him to NP.  NP football will not win a conference game next year.  With several key players graduating, NP probably won't win a game.  Isn't John Cooper out of the coaching ranks?

[Titan Q]

Smedindy, isn't the timing of the games just about perfect Saturday if Wabash is in the championship game of the Little Giant Classic?  The football playoff game vs Albion starts at noon local time...the basketball title game starts at 3:00pm.  I assume a lot of fans from the football game will spill into Chadwick somewhere right around tip?

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan Athletic Director Dennie Bridges was just on WJBC, discussing the 8-game suspension of an IWU basketball player for violating NCAA rules.  The situation as explained by Bridges... 

Senior Matt Arnold took a trip to Las Vegas last spring with a university employee (who no longer works for IWU) he had become good friends with.  IWU learned of the trip, investigated the circumstances, determined there was a violation of NCAA rules governing student-athletes, and self-reported it to the NCAA.  IWU fully cooperated with an NCAA investigation and the NCAA handed down the decision of 8 games.

This is obviously a very unfortunate situation for all involved, especially Matt Arnold.   As Bridges said, "Matt made a mistake, but it is not a fatal one - he still gets to play in the California games (Westmont College tournament) and play the entire conference season."

On a personal note, I'd like to add that I can't think of many IWU basketball players over the years I think more highly of than Matt Arnold.  He is a first-class young man.  I'd ask the D3hoops.com posting community to consider what Matt has probably been going through during this entire investigation process, the fact he will miss 1/3 of the final basketball season of his life, and the fact that his name is now being dragged through this before you post comments on the topic.  Matt did not do anything illegal, unethical, or immoral and he definitely did not set out to break an NCAA rule.  I'd appreciate everyones' discretion.

[Titan Q]

From a basketball standpoint, I don't think this will have a huge impact on Illinios Wesleyan.  Jason Fisher, who started vs Illinois, was already going to start at the 2 and the very capable Mike McGraw is now the first backup at that spot.  It will mostly impact the point-guard depth situation, as Matt was Dauksas' replacement for the 4 or 5 minutes per game Adam rests.  Mike McGraw may take those point-guard minutes, but freshmen Andrew Gilmore and Teddy Toliver – pure point-guards – will be  options too. 

[augie_superfan]

Sorry to hear that about Matt Arnold, that is truly an unfortunate situation.  If you care to comment Q, what was the NCAA rule he broke?  I would assume it had to deal with getting his trip paid for by the school but maybe that isn't the case.  But as you have already said, horrible for Matt himself but shouldn't affect the team to a great deal since they have the depth to cover for him.

[smedindy]

Smedindy, isn't the timing of the games just about perfect Saturday if Wabash is in the championship game of the Little Giant Classic?  The football playoff game vs Albion starts at noon local time...the basketball title game starts at 3:00pm.  I assume a lot of fans from the football game will spill into Chadwick somewhere right around tip?

Perhaps, our football game would get over around 2:45 or so, but many of our fans linger on the field to talk to players after the game.

They may delay tip a bit, perhaps, who knows. It's a shame that Texas - Dallas had rigid flight arrangements. In 2002, we just pushed the games back to 6 and 8.

I do know this, our SID had some connections and hired some of the Pacers stats crew for Saturday, because all of us will be working up in the football press box, and the PA announcer is the second string j-back. I semi-retired from the basketball crew and I'm going to be running the computer on the first game Friday. So be gentle with me!

[john_teague]

so sorry to hear about matt arnold.  I would like to know the infraction committed as well.  8 games sounds kind of harsh considering it is d3.  Anyway, i disagree in regards to the impact it will have on the titans.  Matt Arnold was a star last year and I was very surprised when fisher took his spot.  My guess is is that trost was preparing for the suspension and moved matt to the second team.  The titans will miss matt arnold.