MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

This evening's Blue/Gold scrimmage at NPU was certainly a lot of fun to watch. The basketball was extremely rusty, of course, and most of the players have a ways to go in terms of conditioning, but it was great to finally trot out the team in public and have the players do something other than practice drills.

[AndOne]

North Central will have an early preseason scrimmage against Concordia tomorrow (Tues) night at 6:00 in River Forest.

I look for the Cardinals to start a lineup of:

1. Knapczyk---6'1" Sr
2. Barringer ---6'0" Sr
3. Twyman----6'3" Sr
4. Raridon-----6'6" Fr
5. Meyerhoff--6'8" Fr

[Titan Q]

IWU will participate in its first scrimmage of the season tomorrow (Tuesday), hosting NAIA D1 Olivet Nazarene at 7:00pm.  Probable starters for the Titans are:

G Travis Rosenkranz, 6-0 (Jr)
G Sean Johnson, 6-1 (Jr)
F John Koschnitzky, 6-6 (So)
F Doug Sexauer, 6-7 (Jr)
C Edmond O'Callaghan, 6-7 (Jr)


IWU's other scrimmages will be:

* November 5: Green/White scrimmage (7:00pm @ Shirk Center)
* November 10: @ Aurora (time TBD)

[CCIWFAN3]

bet me TitanQ....not gonna be Edmond!  A Zimmer will be in the lineup.

[Titan Q]

bet me TitanQ....not gonna be Edmond!  A Zimmer will be in the lineup.

I'm simply reporting what I'm pretty sure will be the starting lineup in the scrimmage tonight.  (Not that the starting lineup in the first scrimmage means much of anything.)

I'm on record as being a huge Jordan Zimmer fan.  As a freshman he was 53-104 (.510) from 3 - that's very impressive.  At 6-5, he has great size for a D3 perimeter player, and as he becomes a more complete player (like he was in high school), I think his ceiling will be high in the CCIW.  I have mentioned here several times that I believe the competition at the starting 2 spot between Sean Johnson and Zimmer is tight.  Johnson is a good player too and he's held that starting job for 2 full seasons now.  If Zimmer is going to beat him out, he'll have to earn it.

I think you've posted that you think Zimmer will start at the 3, with Koschnitzky at the 4, and Sexauer at the 5.  That may end up happening - it wouldn't be a big surprise to me at all.  But for now, O'Callaghan and Connolly are going to get a real good look at the 5 (I'd add Eric McCullough too, but he's still in the recovery phase of surgery on both hips last year).  

I think either way it works out, IWU should have a very solid starting 5 and nice depth.

[Titan Q]

bet me TitanQ....not gonna be Edmond!  A Zimmer will be in the lineup.

PS  "A Zimmer"?  Has Brady decided to forego his final year of eligibility at Delavan H.s. and enroll at IWU??

Will be interesting to watch Brady Zimmer's senior year to see if any D1's come calling.  He would be a really good CCIW player.

[CCIWFAN3]

J Zimmer.  No Brady is NOT DI.  Jordan didn't get any DI offers either.  Brady is not as good as Jordan.  Calls, Letters of Interest are not the same as an official offer.

[CCIWFAN3]

DI coaches are a lttle different than DIII when it comes to recruiting.  They have an A, B, C, D pool of potential recruits.  They will keep B, C and D recruits hanging with letters, calls, visits.  "We really like your game and are keeping a close watch on you, etc."  They all do this.  And most people think that if a DI coach visits or calls that it's an offer....when most of the time...it is NOT.  Sometimes a player has to actually ask..."Are you offering me a scholarship"?  If you are in their A Pool they will say YES, if you are in their B, C, D Pool, they will tell you that they are not in a position right now to make an offer but they will continue to follow you:)  DIII coaches don't work that way....they are straight forward and tell you how it is.  DI recruiting is almost like a game of Poker.

[BlueJay21]

From someone who knows the Zimmer family, and the Delavan program very well I believe that Brady Zimmer will get some serious looks from smaller Division 1 programs. Jordan had a few D1 programs keeping a close watch on them and some even made the trip to Delavan to watch him practice and play in games. It is hard to compare the 2 Zimmer brothers, because they are 2 completely different players. In high school Jordan was a catch and shoot kind of guy with unlimited range. While Brady can shoot it pretty good, he is more of a slasher and gets a lot of his points that way. I'm with Bob though in saying that Brady would be an excellent CCIW player. We will see how the season plays out, but I'm sure he is the top of the IWU recruiting list as long as the other CCIW programs.

[CCIWFAN3]

SLUs assistant did make the trip to Jordans practice...but there was not an official offer. Looks and offers are way far apart. Don't get me wrong... I love the Zimmer family and they are great players.  In fact, I think Jordan might be the best 3 guard in the CCIW.  But a lot of people get caught up in the "looks".  Not too many Illinois Class 1A Division I players around. In fact...that sounds like a look up for someone:)  Are there any Class 1A players in a Division I program?

[BlueJay21]

I can think of 3 without even having to think hard about it:
Carlton Fay-SIU
Billy Molinari-WIU
Mike Tisdale-Illinois

Many kids choose to go to a CCIW school instead of going Division 1 and walking on or possibly sitting the bench or being a role player.

[CCIWFAN3]

OK I will give you 2 out of the 3...6'8", and 7'0"...but not Billy.....he's just playing for Daddy.

Billy's not DI either...no other offers.

[Titan Q]

I can think of 3 without even having to think hard about it:
Carlton Fay-SIU
Billy Molinari-WIU
Mike Tisdale-Illinois

Many kids choose to go to a CCIW school instead of going Division 1 and walking on or possibly sitting the bench or being a role player.

Robert Kreps, Maroa-Forsyth

http://www.uicflames.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kreps_robo00.html

Is M-F 1A or 2A?

[Titan Q]

SLUs assistant did make the trip to Jordans practice...but there was not an official offer. Looks and offers are way far apart. Don't get me wrong... I love the Zimmer family and they are great players.  In fact, I think Jordan might be the best 3 guard in the CCIW.  But a lot of people get caught up in the "looks".  Not too many Illinois Class 1A Division I players around. In fact...that sounds like a look up for someone:)  Are there any Class 1A players in a Division I program?

I'm not sure if SLU offered Jordan Zimmer or not.  It's clear there was a lot of conversation...

http://www2.pjstar.com/index.php/allstars/article/decision_was_academic1/


Year-in and year-out there are all kinds of kids on D1 rosters across the country who aren't as good as the best CCIW/D3 players.

[CCIWFAN3]

I also know a lot of kids that sit the bench all 4 years who would dominate the CCIW.

Brandon Holtz...ISU. All American in DIII.  But he got 4 years paid for and played at a higher level of competition.

My point is there is a big difference. And looks are not offers.