MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Darryl Nester]

Only from the minds of actuaries does this stuff come from.  I like "Numbers" but I don't think even Charlie would bother with this. 

How did you know I spent three summers as an actuarial intern?

[titanfan]

Only from the minds of actuaries does this stuff come from.  I like "Numbers" but I don't think even Charlie would bother with this. 

How did you know I spent three summers as an actuarial intern?

And I am actually an actuary!   

[dansand]

I'm not...

...But, in keeping with the "more fun with numbers" theme, here are the CCIW offensive and defensive efficiencies (points scored and allowed per 100 possessions):

Overall   Offense   Defense
---------------------------
Team       P/100P    P/100P
Augie...... 108.7      93.0
Carthage... 109.7     106.2
Elmhurst... 113.3     103.9
IWU........ 109.3     104.0
Millikin...  98.2      97.7
NCC........ 109.3      99.5
NPU........ 103.8     114.1
Wheaton.... 114.2      93.5
                  
CCIW      Offense   Defense
---------------------------
Team       P/100P    P/100P
Augie...... 104.0      94.1
Carthage... 109.4     109.2
Elmhurst... 112.0     105.1
IWU........ 111.5     112.3
Millikin...  97.3     106.4
NCC........ 108.5     103.9
NPU........  99.5     120.4
Wheaton.... 108.3      97.9
---------------------------
CCIW Avg... 106.3     106.3

[Titan Q]

Thanks again for doing that, Dan.

IWU has the second most efficient offense in league play (just behind Elmhurst) despite turning the ball over 14 times per game.  If this group can learn to limit turnovers as they get older, they will be an elite offensive team.  The Titans are shooting .508 from the field and .397 from 3 through 11 CCIW games - absolutely outstanding.

It will all come down to defense for this IWU nucleus though.  Only North Park is worse per those numbers.  These guys won't win a CCIW title until they learn to play defense.

[AndOne]

Kudos to Carthage----

Last night when we were eating prior to the game, North Central Head Coach Todd Raridon related a recent conversation he had with Carthage Coach Bosko D., wherein Bosko indicated he believed that with the recent make-over of the Carthage gym, that they (Carthage) now had the finest athletic facility/basketball court in the conference, if not in a much larger geographical area.
After seeing the new Tarble Center last night, I'd have to agree. What a fabulous job they did. Great new floor/court and seating, especially on the side when the benches are with the chair seats. Great sight lines and the place really looks fresh. Better than the Shirk Center for sure. For you Wesleyan fans who have yet to see it, I believe you'll be impressed as I and all the other NCC fans I talked to last night were.   
Makes the vast majority of facilities pale in comparison. Additionally, I sense beyond staging the actual athletic events that will take place there, Carthage now has a very
strong recruiting tool should a recruit's choice come down to a choice between Carthage and school with much older, antiquated facilities. I can only hope NCC gets the new Residence Hall/Recreation Center that is currently under construction completed on target, and then gets quickly busy turning Merner Fieldhouse from the "hanger" into the Camden Yards of collegiate basketball facilities. 

[Titan Q]

Kudos to Carthage----

Last night when we were eating prior to the game, North Central Head Coach Todd Raridon related a recent conversation he had with Carthage Coach Bosko D., wherein Bosko indicated he believed that with the recent make-over of the Carthage gym, that they (Carthage) now had the finest athletic facility/basketball court in the conference, if not in a much larger geographical area.
After seeing the new Tarble Center last night, I'd have to agree. What a fabulous job they did. Great new floor/court and seating, especially on the side when the benches are with the chair seats. Great sight lines and the place really looks fresh. Better than the Shirk Center for sure. For you Wesleyan fans who have yet to see it, I believe you'll be impressed as I and all the other NCC fans I talked to last night were.   
Makes the vast majority of facilities pale in comparison. Additionally, I sense beyond staging the actual athletic events that will take place there, Carthage now has a very
strong recruiting tool should a recruit's choice come down to a choice between Carthage and school with much older, antiquated facilities. I can only hope NCC gets the new Residence Hall/Recreation Center that is currently under construction completed on target, and then gets quickly busy turning Merner Fieldhouse from the "hanger" into the Camden Yards of collegiate basketball facilities. 

I would expect it to be, AndOne...it's brand new.  And I've heard it is fantastic.  IWU's Shirk Center, which is a great facility, is now in its 15th season (wow, that is hard to believe, by the way).

My take on the CCIW basketball facilities ranking:

(based on quality of gym/arena, practice facilities, and supporting facilities - weight room, for example)

1. Carthage
2. Illinois Wesleyan
3. Wheaton
4. Augustana
5. Millikin
6. Elmhurst
7. North Park*
8. North Central

* Helwig Center (weight room, etc) puts it above NCC?

[dansand]

I definitely agree with AndOne on Tarble. It's a beautiful arena. I was never in it before the renovation, so I can't compare in that regard, but it is really nice. I'd also agree with Q's list spot-for-spot, except I'd flip-flop King and Carver. I like the arena-type setting at Carver over the gymnasium feel at King. My opinions are based just on the arena/gym itself, not weight room facilities, etc. I haven't seen enough to form an opinion.

[usee]

I definitely agree with AndOne on Tarble. It's a beautiful arena. I was never in it before the renovation, so I can't compare in that regard, but it is really nice. I'd also agree with Q's list spot-for-spot, except I'd flip-flop King and Carver. I like the arena-type setting at Carver over the gymnasium feel at King. My opinions are based just on the arena/gym itself, not weight room facilities, etc. I haven't seen enough to form an opinion.

DanSand,

You must have come with the team throught the side entrance at King because if you have ever gone in the normal way you walk right throught the SRC, past the weightroom with glass windows in order to get to King arena. I haven't seen the redone Carver but overall Wheaton's facility is pretty good comparatively. I agree with Q's rankings.

[Gregory Sager]

Regardless of what caliper player you have or what it looks like, "down the road" it comes down to 4 basic principals in winning--

INTENSITY
DESIRE
HEART
WORK ETHIC

You may win a conference but to win an NCAA DIII Championship, a team needs these basic principals - winning it ALL is the measurement of greatness

A team can have all 4 of those things and still go 4-10 in the league.

But what if all four are not only BOLD but also ITALICIZED and in CAPITAL LETTERS?

My take on the CCIW basketball facilities ranking:

(based on quality of gym/arena, practice facilities, and supporting facilities - weight room, for example)

1. Carthage
2. Illinois Wesleyan
3. Wheaton
4. Augustana
5. Millikin
6. Elmhurst
7. North Park*
8. North Central

* Helwig Center (weight room, etc) puts it above NCC?

If you're including practice and support facilities, NPU definitely ranks above Elmhurst. I'm not familiar enough with Millikin's practice gym (does it have one?) and weight-training facilities, but NPU might be above Millikin as well.

The crackerbox is by far the least-impressive performance gym in the conference, but the two full-length courts in Helwig (the Dan McCarrell Court and the Bosko Djurickovic Court) allow the men's team and the women's team to practice simultaneously on either side of the river. And Helwig's weight room is the caliber (as opposed to caliper ) of a smaller D1 school's weight room.

Speaking of Dan McCarrell, rumor has it that he's going to be in Kenosha for Saturday's Millikin @ Carthage game in order to inspect his protege's new digs. Will someone who's going to that game please be sure to say "hi" to the Chief for me?

[robertgoulet]

Kudos to Carthage----

Last night when we were eating prior to the game, North Central Head Coach Todd Raridon related a recent conversation he had with Carthage Coach Bosko D., wherein Bosko indicated he believed that with the recent make-over of the Carthage gym, that they (Carthage) now had the finest athletic facility/basketball court in the conference, if not in a much larger geographical area.
After seeing the new Tarble Center last night, I'd have to agree. What a fabulous job they did. Great new floor/court and seating, especially on the side when the benches are with the chair seats. Great sight lines and the place really looks fresh. Better than the Shirk Center for sure. For you Wesleyan fans who have yet to see it, I believe you'll be impressed as I and all the other NCC fans I talked to last night were.   
Makes the vast majority of facilities pale in comparison. Additionally, I sense beyond staging the actual athletic events that will take place there, Carthage now has a very
strong recruiting tool should a recruit's choice come down to a choice between Carthage and school with much older, antiquated facilities. I can only hope NCC gets the new Residence Hall/Recreation Center that is currently under construction completed on target, and then gets quickly busy turning Merner Fieldhouse from the "hanger" into the Camden Yards of collegiate basketball facilities. 

AO - I've only seen drawings/pictures of what the outside of the new NCC res. hall/field house looks like (and one of the track)...are there any pictures or drawings floating around in regards to the Merner revonation? I'm very interested/excited to see what they do to update Gregory Arena.

[shepherd]

Only from the minds of actuaries does this stuff come from.  I like "Numbers" but I don't think even Charlie would bother with this. 

How did you know I spent three summers as an actuarial intern?

And I am actually an actuary!   

Why be confined by statistics and graphs.  How boring.  We use imaginary numbers in electronics.  Called the i or j operator.
Hey mathboy (Mugsy - just joking) look at me I'm taking the square root of negative numbers.  sq root of -1 = j
So much for listing to your math teacher in HS.

[Gregory Sager]

So much for listing to your math teacher in HS.

... or your spelling teacher in ES.

(Sorry, but that hanging curve was right in the ol' wheelhouse. )

[thunderbox]

Go Thunder probably went to college at Naperville Central. 

[AndOne]

Kudos to Carthage----

Last night when we were eating prior to the game, North Central Head Coach Todd Raridon related a recent conversation he had with Carthage Coach Bosko D., wherein Bosko indicated he believed that with the recent make-over of the Carthage gym, that they (Carthage) now had the finest athletic facility/basketball court in the conference, if not in a much larger geographical area.
After seeing the new Tarble Center last night, I'd have to agree. What a fabulous job they did. Great new floor/court and seating, especially on the side when the benches are with the chair seats. Great sight lines and the place really looks fresh. Better than the Shirk Center for sure. For you Wesleyan fans who have yet to see it, I believe you'll be impressed as I and all the other NCC fans I talked to last night were.   
Makes the vast majority of facilities pale in comparison. Additionally, I sense beyond staging the actual athletic events that will take place there, Carthage now has a very
strong recruiting tool should a recruit's choice come down to a choice between Carthage and school with much older, antiquated facilities. I can only hope NCC gets the new Residence Hall/Recreation Center that is currently under construction completed on target, and then gets quickly busy turning Merner Fieldhouse from the "hanger" into the Camden Yards of collegiate basketball facilities. 

AO - I've only seen drawings/pictures of what the outside of the new NCC res. hall/field house looks like (and one of the track)...are there any pictures or drawings floating around in regards to the Merner revonation? I'm very interested/excited to see what they do to update Gregory Arena.

None that I have seen Rob. I'm not sure they actually know exactly what they want to do as far as remodeling yet. The Residence Hall/Recreation Center currently under construction next door to Merner is supposed to be done on 9/1/09. Only after this project is completed would they begin any work on Merner/Gregory Arena. To date, I've only heard talk about renovating the "hanger." No firm plans. I expect the extent of what will eventually be done depends on how much the alums who will be providing the biggest chunk of the necessary funds want to contribute. If the same gentlemen who have already contributed very large sums to the NCC athletic program are involved, thats anybody's guess as they have already given a ton of $ for other projects. Realizing dreams of this magnitude are more often realized later rather than sooner, I think any plans for Merner are still in the development process. It would be great if things could get rolling soon after the completion of the ongoing project next door, but I think this is a case of believing it when you see the construction equipment arrive. I have also heard the NCC President is somewhat torn between two options with regard to the next big chunk of $ available because while he is a strong supporter of the athletic program, he realizes athletics are secondary to the academic vision of the College which would be further enhanced by the construction of a new science hall. In summary then, renovation of Merner has definitely been a topic of discussion. Its too early to accurately project when that vision might come to fruition. Rest assured that if I hear any more developments on this subject, I'll let everyone know.

[petemcb]

Kudos to Carthage----

Last night when we were eating prior to the game, North Central Head Coach Todd Raridon related a recent conversation he had with Carthage Coach Bosko D., wherein Bosko indicated he believed that with the recent make-over of the Carthage gym, that they (Carthage) now had the finest athletic facility/basketball court in the conference, if not in a much larger geographical area.
After seeing the new Tarble Center last night, I'd have to agree. What a fabulous job they did. Great new floor/court and seating, especially on the side when the benches are with the chair seats. Great sight lines and the place really looks fresh. Better than the Shirk Center for sure. For you Wesleyan fans who have yet to see it, I believe you'll be impressed as I and all the other NCC fans I talked to last night were.   
Makes the vast majority of facilities pale in comparison. Additionally, I sense beyond staging the actual athletic events that will take place there, Carthage now has a very
strong recruiting tool should a recruit's choice come down to a choice between Carthage and school with much older, antiquated facilities. I can only hope NCC gets the new Residence Hall/Recreation Center that is currently under construction completed on target, and then gets quickly busy turning Merner Fieldhouse from the "hanger" into the Camden Yards of collegiate basketball facilities. 

AO - I've only seen drawings/pictures of what the outside of the new NCC res. hall/field house looks like (and one of the track)...are there any pictures or drawings floating around in regards to the Merner revonation? I'm very interested/excited to see what they do to update Gregory Arena.

None that I have seen Rob. I'm not sure they actually know exactly what they want to do as far as remodeling yet. The Residence Hall/Recreation Center currently under construction next door to Merner is supposed to be done on 9/1/09. Only after this project is completed would they begin any work on Merner/Gregory Arena. To date, I've only heard talk about renovating the "hanger." No firm plans. I expect the extent of what will eventually be done depends on how much the alums who will be providing the biggest chunk of the necessary funds want to contribute. If the same gentlemen who have already contributed very large sums to the NCC athletic program are involved, thats anybody's guess as they have already given a ton of $ for other projects. Realizing dreams of this magnitude are more often realized later rather than sooner, I think any plans for Merner are still in the development process. It would be great if things could get rolling soon after the completion of the ongoing project next door, but I think this is a case of believing it when you see the construction equipment arrive. I have also heard the NCC President is somewhat torn between two options with regard to the next big chunk of $ available because while he is a strong supporter of the athletic program, he realizes athletics are secondary to the academic vision of the College which would be further enhanced by the construction of a new science hall. In summary then, renovation of Merner has definitely been a topic of discussion. Its too early to accurately project when that vision might come to fruition. Rest assured that if I hear any more developments on this subject, I'll let everyone know.

And here's a +k to keep you around long enough to break the news to us.