MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Q, thanks for the links on the final IWU-ISU game.  Really brought back some great memories.  I was very glad to see that Tommie Gramkow and Sheldon Thompson were able to attend the 100th anniversary at the Shirk this past Saturday.  I wonder where Fred Evans is now? 

As to the atmosphere that week of the final IWU-ISU game, I can attest to its tantalizing character.  I was a part of the chicken-throwing group (a group of seniors mostly living in Adams Hall) and remember well the kind help of the IWU cheerleaders in getting the bird inside Horton.  I can still see that long and tall cardboard box in which the cheerleaders put there pompoms.  We lined the bottom of the box with that scared white chicken, then put the pompoms over the top.  The bird entered with no need for ticketing.  I believe it was a senior friend and crazy known as Colby Martin who did the deed and the rest of us were ready with the pre-incribed sign, "The Feal Redbird," parading around just as Colby launched the bird to the center circle just before tipoff.  It was a good antic that set the tone for what was a deliciously delightful evening and eventual outcome.  Ironically, I believe Colby is now an ordained minister and pastoral counsellor with his PhD. in counselling. 

More stories on dear Colby and on the theft of the ISU "victory bell" in coming submissions.  Needless to say, that poster with "Final Game, Final Shot" holds a very treasured place in my memories of IWU basketball lore as well.  Tommie Gramkow shall always be our hero and gladiator, representing one of the finer moments in the history of the Class of '70 at Wesleyan.  Our 40th class reunion comes this October, so I'm sure we will toast Tommie, along with other deeds of crime and punishment committed by classmates.  Yipsi, you better well be there. . .

[petemcb]

Spencer Shultze started in place of Jake Carwell, which was odd. Jake played and appeared fine. I wonder why the change?

The report I heard is that Carwell has a broken rib and is fighting through the pain in order to play. Schauer would obviously like to minimize his minutes, but the thinness of Wheaton's roster really makes that difficult.

One of the first things I noticed during the warmups prior to the Wheaton/NCC game was what looked to be a layer of padding under Carwell's shirt.  It almost looked like he was wearing a flak jacket.  Some of the wincing following standing his ground and taking a charge would also suggest something as serious as the rib injury for the normally pain-tolerant Carwell.  He's a warrior.

[CCIWFAN3]

Schultze won't stay in the starting lineup. Although he is becoming more offensive minded.  Carwell will need a backup anyway since he gets in foul trouble frequently. Schultze will be an offensive threat by next year.  He's really improving.  Wheaton just has no scorers other than Panner and McCrary.  McCary's post defense is fantastic. The first half he held N.C.'s leading scorer to 5 or 6 points. 2nd half Carwell defended him at times, so he ended up with 19.

[Gregory Sager]

Current Massey Ratings:

Illinois Wesleyan	19
Augustana	21
Carthage	30
Wheaton	36
North Central	99
Elmhurst	126
North Park	186
Millikin	199

[iwumichigander]

Every kid on IWU's roster is trying "to help build something up thats a little down, and to establish a new standard of excellence in so doing."

You know as well as I do that I was referring to what you, foremost among all posters, have long promoted as Wesleyan's long standing basketball tradition, not a couple of recent seasons.  
Also, how is Wesleyan currently "down" with an 11-2 current record and 2-0 in the conference?

And One - would you call the below, for a program like IWU's, -  up?

The Sexauer/Johnson/Rosenkranz class committed to IWU after a 4-10 CCIW season...Koschnitzky/Zimmer/Rudnicki/Connolly after 9-5(CCIW)...and Reed/Oswald after 5-9 (CCIW) .  No player on IWU's roster was recruited during a CCIW title season.

I understand the direction of your observations on a kid opting for a school other than IWU just to get playing time --- if playing time is what the kid is interested in.  On balance, our IWU players are interested in a quality education first; and, second an opportunity to be in Salem.  And, I really doubt CCIW coaches are interested in any player whom wants just playing time.

[iwumichigander]

A quote Bosko gave to Pantagraph reporter Randy Reinhardt (Randy didn't work it in, but he shared with me via e-mail...good stuff)...


"If you like our team, we've got a great player and a great freshman class. If you don't like our team, we've got a great player and we play too many freshmen. You can go either way on that."

I also found Bosko's quote in Reinhardt's post game story interesting:

"...said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, Steve's father. "This is a little more vintage Wesleyan in the fact they are really good offensively. They have a really nice balance of inside and outside game.."

Bosko's always been a good observer of IWU.  His comment indicates to me that Ron Rose might finally have IWU pointed in the right direction.

[Titan Q]

Congrats to IWU's Doug Sexauer on CCIW Player of the Week honors...

http://www.cciw.org/winter_bball_m/pow09_7.php


Sexauer went 21-23 from the field in two games combined, averaging 23.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg.  I wonder when the last time was in CCIW play that a player took 20+ shots in a week (2 games) and had a FG% of 90%+?  Has to be pretty rare.

[Titan Q]

In back-to-back games, photos have emerged of IWU's 6-7 junior center Doug Sexauer finishing with his right hand...

http://www.iwuhoops.com/dsright1.JPG

http://www.iwuhoops.com/dsright2.jpg


The last two seasons, this would be the equivalent of finding pictures of Bigfoot.

The way teams defend Doug (over-playing that right shoulder), the development of the right hand has been a game-changer this season.

[Titan Q]

In back-to-back games, photos have emerged of IWU's 6-7 junior center Doug Sexauer finishing with his right hand...

http://www.iwuhoops.com/dsright1.JPG

http://www.iwuhoops.com/dsright2.jpg


The last two seasons, this would be the equivalent of finding pictures of Bigfoot.

The way teams defend Doug (over-playing that right shoulder), the development of the right has been a game-changer this season.

PS What's the over/under on how long Raul Guzman sports the ponytail?  (Photo #2 above)

[Gregory Sager]

Looking at the CCIW record book, I wondered how Steve Djurickovic matched up in terms of the league's all-time scorers in CCIW play. Here's the leaderboard:

Player	School	Last Yr.	Points
Leon Gobczynski	Millikin	1975	1662
Dave Shaw	Carroll	1977	1478
Jesse Price	Millikin	1969	1343
Jack Sikma	Illinois Wesleyan	1977	1307
Blaise Bugajski	Illinois Wesleyan	1984	1220
John Laing	Augustana	1973	1209
Dave Rosenbalm	Carthage	1976	1202
John Butler	Carthage	1971	1168
Kent Raymond	Wheaton	2009	1152
Bill Simpson	Elmhurst	1975	1141
Bill Warden	North Central	1955	1136
Bart Barnes	Millikin	1988	1131
Greg Crawford	North Park	1970	1124
Justyne Monegain	North Park	1985	1123
Randy Pfund	Wheaton	1974	1119
Greg Yess	Illinois Wesleyan	1982	1107
Tom Dykstra	Wheaton	1970	1104
Gordy Zastrow	Carthage	1981	1104
Jason Wiertel	Carthage	2002	1074
Jack Lutz	Carthage	1969	1071
Mike Thomas	North Park	1981	1071
Barry Bennett	Carthage	1978	1047
Dan Parker	Millikin	1972	1047
Gary Dietelhoff	Millikin	1974	1032
Luke Moo	Wheaton	2001	1029
Bill Harbeck	Wheaton	1977	1028
Steve Hoeft	North Central	1973	1020
Sheldon Thompson	Illinois Wesleyan	1971	1012
Rob Willey	Wheaton	1988	1012

(A lot of all-time greats, such as North Park's Michael Harper, aren't on this list because it's as much about opportunity as it is about greatness. This list consists almost entirely of players who were starters from the moment that they set foot on campus.)

Djurickovic currently has 741 points in CCIW play. At his current CCIW-games-only scoring rate, he should end up either second or third all-time on the CCIW scoring list; I'd say that Leon "Gobbo" Gobczynski is probably out of reach.

Kent Raymond currently holds the CCIW record for career free throws made in league play with 325. Djurickovic, who currently has 213, should zoom right past that record.

Funny thing about the league's all-time leaders in FT accuracy: Three of the top seven were in last year's graduating class:

Player	School	Last Yr.	FTM-FTA	.Pct
Ryan Knuppel	Elmhurst	2001	185-198	.934
Tony Bollier	Wheaton	2006	96-106	.906
Ryan Burks	Elmhurst	2009	226-252	.897
Kent Raymond	Wheaton	2009	325-363	.895
Gary Jackson	Milllikin	1981	89-100	.890
Scott Hood	Carthage	2007	100-113	.885
Brett Wessels	Augustana	2009	113-128	.883

(The league rule is that a player must have attempted a minimum of 100 FTs in CCIW play to qualify.)

[Titan Q]

Greg, your list above is missing Luke Kasten (IWU '03).  Luke finished with 1045 CCIW points.

Fresh - 260
Soph - 253
Junior - 293
Senior - 239


I'm not sure if others are missing, but Luke's the one that jumped out to me, so I checked.  He started for 4 years and was a scorer from day one.

[Titan Q]

Millikin added a transfer around Christmas time that could have impact down the road...

http://www.herald-review.com/sports/article_f6c2875c-f37a-11de-92a0-001cc4c002e0.html

Colby Long is a 6-0 guard from Mount Zion who was heavily recruited by small colleges last year - he scored 19 points per game as a senior and made 55 3-pointers.  His twin brother, Caleb, is a freshman at Division I Southern Illinois...

http://siusalukis.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/long_caleb00.html

I have to believe Caleb is a walk-on at SIU.  If he ends up at MU eventually too, that would be big - these two formed quite a high school backcourt at Mt. Zion.

Long played 20 minutes vs Elmhurst and 13 @ North Park.  He is averaging 8.0 ppg through 2 conference games.  Longterm, Long should be a nice addition for the Big Blue.

(If this has already been reported here I apologize.  I just saw the name on the Millikin roster and started digging into, and didn't remember seeing here.)

[cardinalpride]

Looking at the CCIW record book, I wondered how Steve Djurickovic matched up in terms of the league's all-time scorers in CCIW play. Here's the leaderboard:

Djurickovic currently has 741 points in CCIW play. At his current CCIW-games-only scoring rate, he should end up either second or third all-time on the CCIW scoring list; I'd say that Leon "Gobbo" Gobczynski is probably out of reach.

Greg,

Would Djurickovic have had a chance at the all time record if he'd played a 16 game CCIW schedule rather than 14?  Will "Gobbo" need an asterick by his name when Steve D. is done?

[cardinalpride]

Looking at the CCIW record book, I wondered how Steve Djurickovic matched up in terms of the league's all-time scorers in CCIW play. Here's the leaderboard:

Djurickovic currently has 741 points in CCIW play. At his current CCIW-games-only scoring rate, he should end up either second or third all-time on the CCIW scoring list; I'd say that Leon "Gobbo" Gobczynski is probably out of reach.

Greg,

Would Djurickovic have had a chance at the all time record if he'd played a 16 game CCIW schedule rather than 14?  Will "Gobbo" need an asterick by his name when Steve D. is done?

Nevermind, I answered my own question ------NO!

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, your list above is missing Luke Kasten (IWU '03).  Luke finished with 1045 CCIW points.

Fresh - 260
Soph - 253
Junior - 293
Senior - 239


I'm not sure if others are missing, but Luke's the one that jumped out to me, so I checked.  He started for 4 years and was a scorer from day one.

It's not my list, Bob, it's the CCIW website's. I simply copied it. You should pass that info along to CCIW SID Mike Krizman.

Millikin added a transfer around Christmas time that could have impact down the road...

http://www.herald-review.com/sports/article_f6c2875c-f37a-11de-92a0-001cc4c002e0.html

Colby Long is a 6-0 guard from Mount Zion who was heavily recruited by small colleges last year - he scored 19 points per game as a senior and made 55 3-pointers.  His twin brother, Caleb, is a freshman at Division I Southern Illinois...

http://siusalukis.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/long_caleb00.html

I have to believe Caleb is a walk-on at SIU.  If he ends up at MU eventually too, that would be big - these two formed quite a high school backcourt at Mt. Zion.

Long played 20 minutes vs Elmhurst and 13 @ North Park.  He is averaging 8.0 ppg through 2 conference games.  Longterm, Long should be a nice addition for the Big Blue.

(If this has already been reported here I apologize.  I just saw the name on the Millikin roster and started digging into, and didn't remember seeing here.)

Long saw most of his action against NPU at the end of the game. It was clear that he was in the game as the trey specialist; Marc Smith alternated him offense/defense down the stretch with Justin Thompson, and Long attempted two treys (both misses) in the last two minutes of the game. However, as Viking Blue and I discussed, it wasn't as though Smith was actually trying to set something up for Long, which is something you might expect from a team that badly needs a reliable three-point shooter. Long was simply expected to get his shots within the flow of the game.

The bigger matter at the moment as far as the Big Blue's roster is concerned is that Robert Burton isn't with Millikin anymore. Actually, Burton hasn't been a member of the team since the middle of December. Burton, who averaged 10 ppg and 5 rpg last season as a starter, left the team at semester break for the most prosaic of reasons: He graduated.

Looking at the CCIW record book, I wondered how Steve Djurickovic matched up in terms of the league's all-time scorers in CCIW play. Here's the leaderboard:

Djurickovic currently has 741 points in CCIW play. At his current CCIW-games-only scoring rate, he should end up either second or third all-time on the CCIW scoring list; I'd say that Leon "Gobbo" Gobczynski is probably out of reach.

Greg,

Would Djurickovic have had a chance at the all time record if he'd played a 16 game CCIW schedule rather than 14?  Will "Gobbo" need an asterick by his name when Steve D. is done?

I thought about that. Bill Warden, who played in the smaller CCI back in the '50s; Tom Dykstra, who played for Wheaton in an era when the Crusaders were only in the league for his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons; and latter-day (i.e., post-Carroll) players such as Kent Raymond, Jason Wiertel, and Luke Moo, weren't able to play as many CCIW games as the other guys on the list for reasons beyond anybody's control. I don't think that that's asterisk-worthy, though; nobody can guarantee that a record would be broken if a player got to play more games.

Leon Gobczynski deserves to hold the CCIW scoring record forever, as far as I'm concerned. In an era that didn't have the three-point shot, he put up absolutely amazing numbers. Take a look at this list to see just how prolific he really was.