MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[wheaton.thunder]

I concur crusader, I hold the other three in the highest esteem, but experience and recruiting ability must prevail to take Wheaton to the next level.

[CCIWchamps]

I concur crusader, I hold the other three in the highest esteem, but experience and recruiting ability must prevail to take Wheaton to the next level.

Yes, but don't forget that Nate Frank has been party to the successful recruiting of the last several classes.  He's been a huge part of Wheaton's success since his playing days.

[wheaton.thunder]

you would have to look far and wide to find someone who holds Nate in higher regard than I, that said if the 4th candidate is who I think it is then the choice is obvious from a srictly professional point of view. you want to bring in the experience that can not only continue to coach your program to compete at its current level, but also have the skill set and knowledge to take the program to the next level. candidate # 4 qualifies. one would hope in that situation that they (new coach) would also recognize the impact that Nate has had in that program and ask him to continue to bring his passion and knowledge to the table in his present capacity. here's to wishful thinking and hoping that Pete Ittersagen goes ealry in the NFL draft!

[Dennis_Prikkel]

The interesting dilemma that Wheaton may face is whether to go with one of the candidates that has strong ties to the college and the program or to go with an outsider whose experience greatly eclipses all of the other candidates.

Wheaton is generally not know for promoting from within. There have been exceptions, but unless there is an obvious successor already in the program, Wheaton will most often hire from outside.

Without knowing much about what recruits are in the pipeline or may have already committed, given the current state of the program and knowing all of the candidates, my inclination would be to go with the outsider. There's something to be said for experience, especially when Wheaton has some significant rebuilding ahead of it. As much as my heart says I want one of the insiders to get the job, my head says that if Wheaton is committed to running a competitive program, building on what Bill Harris accomplished, you need to go to the next level.

I'm looking forward to an announcement, as this hire will speak volumes about where the program will be going in the years to come.

Bill Harris, not withstanding, I think Wheaton has usually promoted in athletics from inside and certainly from within their family.  Lee Pfund succeeded Ed Coray, Dick Helm succeeded Lee Pfund - Bill Harbeck was from outside, but a recent alum.  In football Jack Swartz succeeded Harve Chrouser, Doug Swider succeeded J.R. Bishop.

I think it far easier for a school with a winning tradition to pick from inside its own ranks.

dgp

[Gregory Sager]

The interesting dilemma that Wheaton may face is whether to go with one of the candidates that has strong ties to the college and the program or to go with an outsider whose experience greatly eclipses all of the other candidates.

Wheaton is generally not know for promoting from within. There have been exceptions, but unless there is an obvious successor already in the program, Wheaton will most often hire from outside.

Without knowing much about what recruits are in the pipeline or may have already committed, given the current state of the program and knowing all of the candidates, my inclination would be to go with the outsider. There's something to be said for experience, especially when Wheaton has some significant rebuilding ahead of it. As much as my heart says I want one of the insiders to get the job, my head says that if Wheaton is committed to running a competitive program, building on what Bill Harris accomplished, you need to go to the next level.

I'm looking forward to an announcement, as this hire will speak volumes about where the program will be going in the years to come.

You're not looking at the whole picture here in terms of experience, though. The type of experience that a coach has can often be as important, or more important, as how much experience he has. To be more specific, there's only one coach among the four who has head-coaching experience at the collegiate level, and that coach is not the outsider candidate whom you're touting. That outsider candidate's only head-coaching experience was at the high-school level, and that was a long time ago and not for very long, either.

Meanwhile, one of the three candidates with Wheaton ties (who wouldn't be a "promotion from within", since he's at a different school right now) has an extensive and successful head-coaching resume at the collegiate level.

[Above The Rim]

The interesting dilemma that Wheaton may face is whether to go with one of the candidates that has strong ties to the college and the program or to go with an outsider whose experience greatly eclipses all of the other candidates.

Wheaton is generally not know for promoting from within. There have been exceptions, but unless there is an obvious successor already in the program, Wheaton will most often hire from outside.

Without knowing much about what recruits are in the pipeline or may have already committed, given the current state of the program and knowing all of the candidates, my inclination would be to go with the outsider. There's something to be said for experience, especially when Wheaton has some significant rebuilding ahead of it. As much as my heart says I want one of the insiders to get the job, my head says that if Wheaton is committed to running a competitive program, building on what Bill Harris accomplished, you need to go to the next level.

I'm looking forward to an announcement, as this hire will speak volumes about where the program will be going in the years to come.

You're not looking at the whole picture here in terms of experience, though. The type of experience that a coach has can often be as important, or more important, as how much experience he has. To be more specific, there's only one coach among the four who has head-coaching experience at the collegiate level, and that coach is not the outsider candidate whom you're touting. That outsider candidate's only head-coaching experience was at the high-school level, and that was a long time ago and not for very long, either.

Meanwhile, one of the three candidates with Wheaton ties (who wouldn't be a "promotion from within", since he's at a different school right now) has an extensive and successful head-coaching resume at the collegiate level.

So Wheaton alum Michael Schauer, head coach at Gordon College the last 7 yrs is your man GS?

[crusader_nation]

You're not looking at the whole picture here in terms of experience, though. The type of experience that a coach has can often be as important, or more important, as how much experience he has. To be more specific, there's only one coach among the four who has head-coaching experience at the collegiate level, and that coach is not the outsider candidate whom you're touting. That outsider candidate's only head-coaching experience was at the high-school level, and that was a long time ago and not for very long, either.

Meanwhile, one of the three candidates with Wheaton ties (who wouldn't be a "promotion from within", since he's at a different school right now) has an extensive and successful head-coaching resume at the collegiate level.

Your point is well-taken. And the candidate to whom you refer, from what I'm hearing from sources inside the interview process, appears to have the inside track.

The point I was making was that Wheaton is going to say a lot to its alumni and constituents by the hire they make. The four candidates who have interviewed for the job all represent very different trajectories that the program could take. What I was saying was simply that, to me, going with the candidate with no ties to the college would make sense, given his resume.

I would certainly be happy if two of the other three candidates were hired. I think they are well-qualified and would help the program.

From what I've heard from several sources is that one candidate interviewed much better than expected and really bolstered his chances, but that he will not likely be hired. One candidate interviewed much worse than expected and will not likely be hired. The other two candidates interviewed as was expected, and of those two, one seems to be the front-runner, as I indicated above.

I hear an announcement is expected sometime this week, perhaps in the next day or two. They want to name someone before the players leave campus for the summer.

As to the point about Wheaton hiring from outside, Harris was an outisde hire. Swider was groomed to take over for Bishop, so that made sense. I don't consider the lineage of coaches to necessarily represent the current Wheaton hiring philosophy. While I know it's been the case in the past to "keep it in the family", the current trend seems to be to hire from elsewhere. Look at the men's soccer program. I know they had alums apply for the job, and it went to an outsider. I'm also talking about hiring beyond the athletic department, which has increasingly sought to hire outsiders rather than promote from within.

[usee]

There's something to be said for experience, especially when Wheaton has some significant rebuilding ahead of it.

Why do you say that? I think if Ben Panner comes back they will have McCrary, Panner, Carwell and Pflederer. That's 4 guys who will win a lot of games in the CCIW. I don't see "significant rebuilding" needed in the program. They need to take their recruiting to the next level, sure, but rebuilding?

[Above The Rim]

There's something to be said for experience, especially when Wheaton has some significant rebuilding ahead of it.

Why do you say that? I think if Ben Panner comes back they will have McCrary, Panner, Carwell and Pflederer. That's 4 guys who will win a lot of games in the CCIW. I don't see "significant rebuilding" needed in the program. They need to take their recruiting to the next level, sure, but rebuilding?

Aren't you forgetting a significant contributor, USee?
Isn't Andrew Jahns at least as important to the team as Pflederer?
As partial evidence I offer that fact that Jahns started 10 games to none for Pflederer.

[usee]

Thanks for the correction. I must have had brain lock on Jahns. i agree, he is more key than Pflederer. I was remembering players off the top of my head. can't believe I missed Jahns.

[luvdahoops]

From a reliable source at Gordon, the basketball players there aren't very happy right now.  Also, I wonder how the Millikin AD feels about his old coach coming into the CCIW.

[Titan Q]

Ron Rose and IWU have landed 6-7/220 forward Kevin Reed from Prospect High School.  Reed averaged 13.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on a team that finished 21-8 this year.  Prospect, coached by IWU alum John Camardella, won the Mid-Suburban Conference title for the first time in many years.

Kevin is a very nice addition to the IWU program.  I've only seen him play once (and it was his junior year), but I remember him being very long and athletic and thinking at the time that he'd make a very good D3 player.  I know he was recruited by several CCIW schools as well as UW-Stevens Point, UW-La Crosse, and other small colleges.

A Prospect H.S. "yearbook" that has more information on Kevin...

http://www.prospectbasketball.com/2008-2009_Yearbook.php

[Above The Rim]

Thanks for the correction. I must have had brain lock on Jahns. i agree, he is more key than Pflederer. I was remembering players off the top of my head. can't believe I missed Jahns.

No prob. Glad to help.

[Gregory Sager]

So Wheaton alum Michael Schauer, head coach at Gordon College the last 7 yrs is your man GS?

Well, I wouldn't put it exactly like that. I've been saying to anyone who would listen over the past several years that Schauer is the most logical heir apparent to Bill Harris, and when Harris finally announced his retirement I immediately expressed on CCIW Chat that I would be surprised if someone other than Schauer was hired.

That doesn't mean that I'm an advocate for Schauer (as if anyone at Wheaton is going to listen to me, anyway ), or that I particularly want to see him hired. I like Mike personally, but I like the other two Wheaton-connected finalists, too. On a personal level, I'd like to see all three of them succeed at their chosen profession, because they're all great role models for young men. But, as if anyone really needed to be reminded, Wheaton is the enemy as far as I'm concerned. Whichever one of the four finalists gets the job, I do not want to see him duplicate Harris's success. I can't stress that enough. I want to see Wheaton win in November and December, sure, but I want to see Wheaton fall flat on its face in January and February.

What can I say? I'm a Parker. That's how I roll. As much as I would hate to see Mike or the other two Wheaton-connected guys struggle on a professional level, a stumbling Wheaton basketball program would be an endless source of schadenfreude for me.

Ron Rose and IWU have landed 6-7/220 forward Kevin Reed from Prospect High School.

Carthage wanted Reed pretty badly. Bosko is not happy about this development, trust me.

[Titan Q]

IWU has also landed 5-11 PG Bradley Ghere of Ridgeview H.S. (in Central Illinois).  Ghere averaged 23.0 points and 5.2 assists per game this year for a 29-4 team that made the Class 1A Elite Eight.  He made 130 3-pointers in 33 games as a senior, and connected on 110 of 129 free throw attempts.  He made all of the various small school all-state teams.

Sounds like a solid PG who will help down the road.


http://pantagraph.com/articles/2009/04/01/scholastic/doc49ce911f32d4d923595807.txt

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2009/04/28/scholastic/doc496fcd635ba2f664919285.txt

http://www.ibsrecruiting.com/2009-boys-all-state.php

http://www.illinoishighschoolsports.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43156