MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

http://athletics.carthage.edu/news/2011/2/5/Mens_Basketball_0205111757.aspx


"It was a good effort by our guys," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, "and we showed a lot of resiliency. We executed the game plan almost to perfection, and we had some wonderful efforts from some surprising people. David Mariani was just outstanding—he played with a passion that we have not always had this year. White it's exciting, let's not make too much of it. We're 5-5 in the CCIW, even if we might be one of the best 5-5 teams around. All we've done tonight is to give ourselves a chance to get something done in a four-game stretch. We used the zone all game to control Augustana's inside-passing game. They are so big and so physical, we just don't match up with them. The zone also gives an opponent opportunities on the perimeter, and Troy Rorer, who is not a particularly good outside shooter, made three three-pointers. We also did a great job with turning the ball over just five times. Augustana is a good team, they're going to win the league and go on to the national tournament. We want to finish as best we can and see what happens with the conference tournament."

[Titan Q]

Spots 1-4 outlook...

Augustana (9-1)
@ Wheaton
@ Millikin
@ North Central
@ Illinois Wesleyan

North Central (7-2)
vs North Park
vs Carthage
vs Illinois Wesleyan
@ Elmhurst
vs Augustana

Illinois Wesleyan (6-3)
vs Millikin
@ Wheaton
@ North Central
vs North Park
vs Augustana

Wheaton (6-4)
vs Augustana
vs Illinois Wesleyan
@ Millikin
vs Elmhurst

Carthage (5-5)
vs Elmhurst
@ North Central
@ North Park
vs Millikin

[sac]

Ok there must be a NP hacker (or an overworked sid)who subbed the north park soccer win over wheaton for tonights basketball box score.
It was for the november 6 overtime win 3-2 for the vikings.  Clicked on the boxscore for on Wheaton's site and that's what came up.  

That is awesome

[markerickson]

Coeball must be drinking the same codeine as Ja'Marcus Russell because Bosko would not be phoning in his coaching responsibilities during his son's senior year.  I said before the season that Carthage would not enjoy nearly the success attained last year, and I am right.  Bosko masters AT the in-game strategies.  Why hasn't better talent gone to Kenosha?  

[dansand]

http://athletics.carthage.edu/news/2011/2/5/Mens_Basketball_0205111757.aspx


"It was a good effort by our guys," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, "and we showed a lot of resiliency. We executed the game plan almost to perfection, and we had some wonderful efforts from some surprising people. David Mariani was just outstanding—he played with a passion that we have not always had this year. White it's exciting, let's not make too much of it. We're 5-5 in the CCIW, even if we might be one of the best 5-5 teams around. All we've done tonight is to give ourselves a chance to get something done in a four-game stretch. We used the zone all game to control Augustana's inside-passing game. They are so big and so physical, we just don't match up with them. The zone also gives an opponent opportunities on the perimeter, and Troy Rorer, who is not a particularly good outside shooter, made three three-pointers. We also did a great job with turning the ball over just five times. Augustana is a good team, they're going to win the league and go on to the national tournament. We want to finish as best we can and see what happens with the conference tournament."

I think Coach Djurickovic summed it up pretty well. Great job by Carthage tonight. I said after the Illinois Wesleyan game, that Augie would be getting everyone's best shot and that sure looked like the case tonight. Augie didn't attack the Red Men zone nearly as effectively as they did North Park's on Wednesday night. I think that was the difference. I thought Augie played reasonably well (but not great) defensively, but just didn't have any flow on offense, especially in the second half. Would have been easy for Carthage to pack it in down 15-2, but I thought they played with a lot more energy than Augie did from that point on. Coach G's teams have traditionally been pretty good at putting games (both wins and losses) behind them. Hopefully that's the case as they head into four straight on the road (where they're undefeated this year )

[John Gleich]

[

Final from the Toolshed:

Wheaton 80
Carthage 60

McCrary with 26-12-6, Djurickovic with 27 points, and -- get this -- zero assists.

This one was never close. Wheaton played inspired, Carthage exhibited no interior defense whatsoever.

Wow!  This is one that I'm glad to see in double digits as well!  Whatever Coach Schauer said/did to them since Saturday must have worked.  I hope it will continue to work, too.  

How was Wheaton's interior defense compared to the game against NCC?

I'd say better, but not great. Wheaton did a great job of holding down Pierce (four pts), but he only took three shots and spent a lot of time out on the perimeter distributing the ball in Carthage's triangle offense. And Bauch (five points on five shots) was a non-factor. But Thompson did score 13 points, all of them coming around the basket.

Having Pierce anywhere other than down near the basket is nuts. Stupid actually. Against NCC, he was virtually unstoppable receiving the ball right in front of the basket and flipping up a baby hook or posting low on the block and bulling his way to the hoop.
Having the Round Mound doing anything out on the perimeter effectively negates his chief value to Carthage. I hope he has developed a real fondness for his new position.

I tend to agree with you. If you're Tyler Pierce, going outside to set a screen for Steve Djurickovic is one thing; going out there and handling the ball is quite another. It had me scratching my head as well. Then again, I don't own five national championship rings, so I recognize my limitations with regard to how much I'm willing to second-guess the guy who runs Carthage basketball.

I haven't watched much of Carthage this year (or ever, really), but I did catch the UWSP/Carthage scrimmage in the preseason.  One thing that stepping the big guy out does is to vacate the post for a back-cutting Steve D, either as a straight cut or off a back screen.  There obviously was no scout for the scrimmage... but something that Carthage got 2-3 times was a pass from Pierce or Guzman to Steve D cutting towards the hoop.  They got an alley-oop (layup) once or twice and a lob for a score another time in the second stanza that Carthage won by 11 points.  Steve D has a good 5 inches on Jerrel Harris, Stevens Point's point guard.  Harris can match (or even overmatch) Steve D on quickness... but giving up 5 inches of size is something that Jerrel can't do a whole lot about.  Jerrel can jump (he's got at least one dunk already this year), but so can Steve.... but, anyway, that's not so much my point as is the stepping out of a big man vacates the post and puts a primary scorer in an advantageous position against a smaller defender.

That said, it doesn't work more than a few times per game... the timing has to be right and the other side of the defense has to be caught unawares for it to work... or Steve D is going to be in the crosshairs of a 6'7" shot blocker.

Guzman and Pierce seemed to handle the ball in a better-than-average manner for big guys... but, again, they were playing a team that hadn't scouted them or really knew them... so there wasn't much scheming to negate certain sets, which CCIW teams certainly would have.  But, the aforementioned conditioning issues with both of these players would negate any ball-handling ability against good team defense that will be ready to deal with them attempting to take the ball off the dribble.

[John Gleich]

Then again, I don't own five national championship rings, so I recognize my limitations with regard to how much I'm willing to second-guess the guy who runs Carthage basketball.

Good point!

I've got two... so I'm not to Bosko's level... but....  the above is my two cents!

[spencer1988]

Arm chair coaches???  Unless you attend all of the practices, it is hard to imagine any of you have a better idea of substitution patterns or game strategies than the actual coaches. 

Raridon may be the most efficient offensive coach

Rose may be the best recruiter

Bosko has the most success at the tournament level.

Grey may be the best defensive coach.


Nobody is outstanding at all facets, but I can't imagine any of the people on this list really have the basketball knowledge to criticize any of those coaches but I know it will happen.

Congrats to Carthage.  Big win.

[CCIWchamps]

Carthage wins 65-58 in Rock Island.

Wow!  That's a way to bounce back from a 20 point loss.

[CCIWchamps]

Arm chair coaches???  Unless you attend all of the practices, it is hard to imagine any of you have a better idea of substitution patterns or game strategies than the actual coaches.  

... but I can't imagine any of the people on this list really have the basketball knowledge to criticize any of those coaches but I know it will happen.

I think that's why message boards and most of the internet were invented.

[thunder38]

Well tonight certainly clarifies and yet also muddies the CCIW tournament picture.  The easy thing to realize is that it's pretty much a given that we now have five teams vying for the top spots as I just can't see North Park making up that much ground and then having to actually pass the Thunder into the four spot as well.  Especially not with the schedule the Thunder have the last week of the regular season.

The muddying was done thanks to Bosko's crew who deserve their congratulations for showing a pulse tonight, which was questionable at times on Thursday night, and knocking off Augie.  With road games left at Wheaton, NCC, and IWU,  as well as North Central having to play Wesleyan again the loss tonight opens up possibilities for any of the top four to still have an outside chance of hosting.

I'll be interested to see how Augie comes back on Wednesday night.

[thunder38]

Quick side note: Tune in to WETN at halftime of Tuesday night's Wheaton-Augie women's match-up to catch a three-point shootout between Wheaton College President Dr. Philip Ryken and Wheaton men's head coach Mike Schauer who is one of the career leaders in three-point shooting in Wheaton history.  Tip-off of that game is at 7:30 so halftime should roll around close to 8-8:15.

[petemcb]

Well tonight certainly clarifies and yet also muddies the CCIW tournament picture.  The easy thing to realize is that it's pretty much a given that we now have five teams vying for the top spots as I just can't see North Park making up that much ground and then having to actually pass the Thunder into the four spot as well.  Especially not with the schedule the Thunder have the last week of the regular season.

The muddying was done thanks to Bosko's crew who deserve their congratulations for showing a pulse tonight, which was questionable at times on Thursday night, and knocking off Augie.  With road games left at Wheaton, NCC, and IWU,  as well as North Central having to play Wesleyan again the loss tonight opens up possibilities for any of the top four to still have an outside chance of hosting.

Interesting you bring that up.  Each year I hope for a school in the Chicagland area to end up hosting the CCIW tournament because I have a hard time getting away to the Quad Cities or Bloomington for a weekend.  With last night's Augie loss comes the possibility of NCC hosting the tournament in the hangar with their limited on-the-floor seating and their substantial built-ins that feel about a mile and a half from the game.  Is there any possibility of them rolling in some additional bleachers behind the two team benches?  There always looks to be more than enough space back there for what would likely be a good-sized crowd.  AndOne?

[Titan Q]

Coeball must be drinking the same codeine as Ja'Marcus Russell because Bosko would not be phoning in his coaching responsibilities during his son's senior year.  

The statement that Bosko Djurickovic has "lost the necessary passion to be successful" is so silly, and so inaccurate, that I chose not to comment on it when originally made by coebball70.  But the more I think about, the more I feel the need to at least say a few things.

Coebball70's evaluation period of CCIW head coaches obviously extends back about 3 months or so.  He started his post by saying, "I believe it is time for a discussion as to what this year's CCIW results reflect on the quality of the coaching in our favorite basketball conference."  And that is certainly the approach he took, because:

1) He fails to acknowledge that Bosko won the CCIW just LAST YEAR, and took his team to the Sweet 16, and

2) He fails to acknowledge that Ron Rose took his team to the Elite 8 LAST YEAR (one win from Salem).


So while some of my comments below take a longer term into account,  I do acknowledge that coebball70 is telling us that he's made these coaching evaluations based on just the last few months (which is nuts...but that is another discussion).    

To say that Bosko Djurickovic has "lost the necessary passion to be successful" is so unfair that it almost seems to be the comment of someone that basically just does not like Djurickovic and wants to take a cheap shot.  Because how the heck would coebball70 know anything about what level of passion Bosko currently has towards Carthage basketball?  Does he attend practice?  Does he speak with Bosko regularly?  Does he go to every Carthage game?  Basically, Carthage - again, after WINNING LEAGUE LAST YEAR - has had a tough season, so someone with absolutely no clue of what's going on inside the program concludes that the head coach just doesn't have the passion.  That is amazing to me.  And just completely unfair.  Is there no possibility that Carthage's struggles have to do with their all-conference post player hammering Ding Dong's all summer, and others just not playing very well at times?  

I got to know Bosko pretty well over those 7 years I was broadcasting IWU games on WJBC.  He is my favorite "character" across the league, in a league full of "characters."  Ironically, the reason I've come to like him so much is due to the level of passion he has always displayed towards the CCIW and Division III.  No one currently associated with the CCIW loves and appreciates the league, and what it stands for, more than Bosko.  (I can guarantee that at some point last night he said, "And for the 38th consecutive season the CCIW will not have an undefeated team", before anyone else thought of that.)

As far as outward "passion" goes, I watched him coach in the CCIW conference tournament last year, and then in the NCAA Sweet 16.  There was no question to anyone at those games how much passion he had.  To suggest that 11 months later, with his son in his senior year, he has just somehow "lost the necessary passion to be successful"...well, it just seems bizarre to me, and like an uninformed cheap shot.  I don't think it takes anyone real close to Bosko or Carthage basketball to confirm just how much the 2010-11 season meant for him coming in, and how tough the way it has played out has been.  

For Carthage's sake, at least Bosko flipped the passion switch on last night I guess.  

[TitansIWU]

"all-conference post player hammering Ding Dong's all summer"


I vote for that as my favorite thing ever uttered in the years I have been reading this board.


I would also point out that I sat with a buddy of mine at the IWU/Carthage game in Kenosha this year. In a game where Carthage clearly dominated, Bosko never sat down and my buddy was amazed that he seemed to even argue calls that went Carthage's way.

I also doubt that he has lost any passion.

I do however stand up for the right to comment on coaching strategies and decisions, just maybe not on the coach personally.

If I disagree with Ron Rose's substitutions, it is my right to do that, as long as I don't get violent, be an outright a-- about it or denounce him personally.

"Armchair coaching" is one of the reasons that sports in general have a following at all. Fans like to consider themselves in the position to make the calls, and ponder what they might do.

I never suggest that I could do better, I suggest that the way it was done or is being done is not working.