MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

For those of you who haven't seen it already, the CCIW website has a new look. It's a big improvement, IMHO.

[Titan Q]

IWU grad Jack Sikma ('77) was voted to the Oklahoma Thunder/Seattle Supersonics 5-man all-time team as part of ESPN's "Franchise Five" series...

http://espn.go.com/espn/greatestteam/nba/

Sikma is the center, with guards Gary Payton & Ray Allen, and forwards Kevin Durant and Shawn Kemp.

I believe the only other product of a current Division III school is Terry Porter (UW-Stevens Point), a member of the Trail Blazers all-time 5.

[Titan Q]

More importantly, Sikma made the "Best Hairstyles in Sports History" list recently compiled by Sports Illustrated...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1174019/1/index.htm

(#26)

[Titan Q]

Some analysis I've been doing on the national picture in anticipation of the D3hoops.com preseason Top 25 vote in a few weeks...

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4097.5640


I think it is pretty safe to say that Carthage and IWU will both make the preseason Top 10.  Augustana has a good case for making the preseason poll too.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park's schedule is finally posted. NPU has a two-game overnight road trip to face IIAC foes Coe and Loras the week before the Vikings participate in the Salem State tourney against Williams and Regis. I'm guessing that not too many small-college teams, D3 or otherwise, can say that they've followed up an overnight road trip to Iowa with an overnight road trip to Massachusetts a week later.

The NPU recruiting class profile is now posted as well. I talked about most of these recruits here in CCIW Chat last month, but this adds a few others and fleshes out the details a bit more.

Finally, here's the 2010-11 roster, listing the 28 players who are expected to be present when the Vikings begin practice in two weeks. I don't think it's an accident that Mike Henley ended up with Nick Williams's old #25.

[Titan Q]

From SI.com, on the topic of "to foul or not to foul" when up 3 and the other team has the ball in the final seconds...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/luke_winn/09/30/upthree.underseven/

"Bulldogs head coach Brad Stevens had already thought about it and given out strategic orders in the huddle that preceded Nored's trip to the foul line. Butler knew what it wanted to do.

In the sea of end zone seats behind Michigan State's basket was someone more adamant than Kellogg about what Butler should do. Bill Fenlon, the head coach of Division III DePauw..."
----------

"How long does it take, and how much pain is required, for a coach to consider changing his mind? For Fenlon, what transpired in the DePauw-Trinity game on the night of Feb. 12, 1999, was the breaking point, but his conversion was a seven-year process of overcoming stubbornness and denial.

In 1992, in his second game as head coach at DePauw, the Tigers turned the ball over with 10 seconds left and a three-point lead over Illinois Wesleyan. He had them hunker down and play defense ... and Wesleyan's point guard drilled a 28-foot 3-pointer to tie the score. DePauw lost in overtime. Fenlon excused the defeat as "tough luck."

In 1994, at home against Illinois Wesleyan, DePauw was again up three in the final 10 seconds. Again, Fenlon opted to hunker. The Tigers contested a difficult shot by Wesleyan's future D-III All-American, Bryan Crabtree. It rolled around the rim twice, hit the backboard, and fell through the net. DePauw lost in double overtime. Fenlon excused it by saying, "Great players sometimes make great plays."

[John Gleich]

From SI.com, on the topic of "to foul or not to foul" when up 3 and the other team has the ball in the final seconds...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/luke_winn/09/30/upthree.underseven/

"Bulldogs head coach Brad Stevens had already thought about it and given out strategic orders in the huddle that preceded Nored's trip to the foul line. Butler knew what it wanted to do.

In the sea of end zone seats behind Michigan State's basket was someone more adamant than Kellogg about what Butler should do. Bill Fenlon, the head coach of Division III DePauw..."
----------

"How long does it take, and how much pain is required, for a coach to consider changing his mind? For Fenlon, what transpired in the DePauw-Trinity game on the night of Feb. 12, 1999, was the breaking point, but his conversion was a seven-year process of overcoming stubbornness and denial.

In 1992, in his second game as head coach at DePauw, the Tigers turned the ball over with 10 seconds left and a three-point lead over Illinois Wesleyan. He had them hunker down and play defense ... and Wesleyan's point guard drilled a 28-foot 3-pointer to tie the score. DePauw lost in overtime. Fenlon excused the defeat as "tough luck."

In 1994, at home against Illinois Wesleyan, DePauw was again up three in the final 10 seconds. Again, Fenlon opted to hunker. The Tigers contested a difficult shot by Wesleyan's future D-III All-American, Bryan Crabtree. It rolled around the rim twice, hit the backboard, and fell through the net. DePauw lost in double overtime. Fenlon excused it by saying, "Great players sometimes make great plays."

Thanks, I enjoyed reading that. 

[Titan Q]

DIII News has IWU ranked #2 in the preseason and Carthage #4...

http://fwix.com/dallas/share/f94e320ba7/ut_dallas_mens_basketball_ranked_no_17_in_diii_news_preseason_top_25

http://www.cciw.org/news/2010/10/5/MBB_1005100032.aspx


1. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
2. Illinois Wesleyan
3. Eastern Mennonite
4. Carthage
5. Williams
6. Randolph-Macon
7. Franklin & Marshall
8. Wooster
9. St. Thomas
10. Washington (Mo.)
11. Rhode Island College
12. St. Mary's (Md.)
13. Guilford
14. Hope
15. Whitworth
16. St. Norbert
17. Texas-Dallas
18. MIT
19. SUNYIT
20. John Carroll
21. Plattsburgh State
22. Anderson
23. SUNY Purchase
24. Middlebury
25. Merchant Marine

Others to watch: Wis. Whitewater, Rch. Stockton, Brandeis, Albertus Magnus, St. John Fisher, Cabrini, Maryville, Birmingham Southern, Albright, Occidental, DePauw, Claremont, DeSales, Chapman, Medaille.





Steve Djurickovic is their preseason Player of the Year...

http://www.cciw.org/news/2010/10/5/MBB_1005104630.aspx

[Titan Q]

At first glance, the DIII News poll has a few very questionable rankings.  For example, Wash U (#10) may develop into a Top 25 team, but just does not belong in a 2010-11 preseason Top 25 after graduating 4 starters (including two All-Americans).  Same with Guilford (#13) - they lost an All-American center and 2 other very good players.  #15 Whitworth too...just lost too much to be a preseason Top 25 team.  How can you have these 3 teams ranked ahead of, say, St. Norbert (#16), which returns 5 starters from a tournament team?

This is how I broke things down on the Top 25 board recently...

I guess my preseason "top tier", just from the final Top 25 last year, would be...


* UW-Stevens Point
* Eastern Mennonite
* Randolph-Macon
* Wooster
* Carthage
* Illinois Wesleyan
* St. Norbert
* Franklin & Marshall
* John Carroll

These teams were all very good in 2009-10 and have very few significant questions to answer heading into 2010-11.

My next tier would include...

* Williams
* Middlebury
* Anderson
* Virginia Wesleyan
* St. Mary's

3rd Tier (not completely sure what to make of these two really)...

* UW-Whitewater
* St. Thomas

And finally, teams that were in the final 2009-10 Top 25 that don't seem to be preseason Top 25 candidates to me are...

* Guilford
* Wash U
* Whitworth
* Brandeis
* Texas-Dallas
* William Paterson
* Chapman
* DeSales
* Central

Several of these teams have good players ready to step in, and may end up in the Top 25 this year (like Wash U, for example - they have all kinds of young talent), but it seems they have lost too much to be in the preseason poll.


So who are the teams that were not ranked in the final 2009-10 poll that belong in the 2010-11 preseason poll?  I have 16 teams above that I think are pretty safe bets to be in...that leaves 9 open spots.

Running list of Top 25 candidates (of teams not in final poll of 2009-10)...

Amherst
Augustana
Buena Vista
Calvin
DePauw
Hope
Loras
Manchester
MIT
Ramapo
SUNY-Plattsburgh
UW-River Falls
WPI

[AndOne]

When are the various CCIW  teams beginning practice?
North Central will open practice on Sun 10/17.

At this time the preseason roster stands at 34, broken down as follows:

19 freshmen
  7 sophomores--3 returnees, 2 transfers, and 2 players who missed last year due to
                           injury.
  6 juniors--3 returnees and 3 transfers
  2 seniors--2 returnees

[Titan Q]

IWU's varsity schedule...

http://www.iwusports.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball


And JV schedule...

http://www.iwuhoops.com/jv11.doc

[Titan Q]

IWU's preseason dates...


*Oct. 15 - first practice

* Oct. 23 - scrimmage @ Olivet Nazarene (9:00am) - Varsity and JV play simultaneously on separate courts

* Oct. 30 - scrimmage vs St. Norbert @ Elgin Community College (1:00pm) - Varsity followed by JV

* Nov. 6 - Green/White scrimmage (time TBD)

[Gregory Sager]

North Park's preseason scrimmages:

Sat., Nov. 6: Lake Forest (@ LFC, 10 am)

Wed., Nov. 10: Dominican (@ NPU, 6 pm)

NPU has always set up scrimmages to facilitate both its varsity and junior varsity, and I can't imagine that this year would be any different. LFC and Dominican regularly have large enough rosters to accommodate both varsity and JV scrimmaging.

I'm not sure when NPU's first practice will be held, or if there is going to be a first-practice event for the public. I'm going to look into it.

[usee]

It appears former Wheaton head coach Bill Harris is not so retired...

http://indiabasketball.org/newsdetails.php?id=254

[John Gleich]

It appears former Wheaton head coach Bill Harris is not so retired...

http://indiabasketball.org/newsdetails.php?id=254

Many times I have come onto this site (and this board in particular) and seen links to things I couldn't have imagined.

This may have topped the list.


I had to read it two or three times to see if it wasn't, in fact, talking about the state to our East, not the most populous nation-state in the world!