MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

What has happened to 6-7 post Phil Schniedermeier and 6-7 wing Christian Alsing?  I see they are both still on the roster...are they hurt?

Schniedermeier had to hang it up because his surgically repaired knee just won't cooperate. Last season the pain and swelling made him totally ineffective on the court, and it hadn't gotten any better this year. That's a real shame, because Phil's a hard-working guy who was simply hounded by bad luck in terms of injuries throughout his career; a broken wrist forced him to miss most of his sophomore season, and then the torn ACL pretty much finished him off.

Alsing simply quit. Lotta upperclassmen quitting CCIW teams in mid-season for non-injury-related reasons this year: Alsing, Pace Bennett, Mike McCurdy, Luke Scarlata all come to mind.

[iwu70]

Thanks to all for the comments/reports on the first day of CCIW play.  Needless to say, we Titan fans had a very enjoyable doubleheader at The Shirk last eve with an excellent start for both the men and women.  Entirely enjoyable.  A few reflections:

*  The IWU depth is for real.  Ziemnik and Rudnicki had especially effective games and you could see Ron Rose just toying with who to go with, who was playing well, who was hot at various points throughout the game.  He leaned more toward Ziemnik, away from Victor Davis last night, as Victor did not have one of his better games.  All the second wave rotational guys play very well.  (Sure wish Brady was healthy so we could have a Zimmer replacing a Zimmer at the 2).  Molinari still out.  I spoke with him before the game and he mentioned he had not yet been cleared from concussive status as yet.  Perhaps a few more games.  My favorite Titan, Eliud, had just an outstanding game on defense, stirring the offensive pot, scoring, and playing his heart out, 'til leg cramps bent him to the floor late in the game and also in OT.  Rudnicki was outstanding down the stretch, hitting a key trey and many FTs., protecting the ball. 

*  I was so very impressed with the WC men (unlike the women this time!).  They reminded me alot of Wash U with a very disciplined style, crisp offensive sets and alot of heart and defensive intensity.  A truly outstanding team, but with questions about depth.  McCrary is indeed outstanding with quite amazing footwork and patience around the post.  But, to be clear, he did not take his team on his back and did not have a truly "All-American" game, with some time spent on the bench with 4 fouls.  He did make some amazing defensive plays, blocks, even with the four fouls down the stretch.  He had 18, but one can't say he dominated the IWU bigs.  In fact, the IWU bigs did a pretty good job -- Davis, Reed, Anderson, Dortch, and Ziemnik -- all made key defensive, rebounding, and weak-side help contributions.  Great to see this strong interior defense coming through and also adequate scoring to compliment the strong scoring last night from the perimeter players -- from Zimmer, Gonzales and Rudnicki.  I was also very impressed with Schultze . . . as he hurt the Titans, took it to them pretty well in the paint in the first half.

*  Mssr. Garriott is the real deal.  I think he is the one who makes the Thunder go.  He had a great game, played with great passion and speed, has one of the quickest first steps I've seen, and finishes well.  Great FT shooting.  He was the key in getting the Thunder to OT vs. the Titans.  Loved watching him play, though did not enjoy the results of his play.  If he can stay healthy all season, he's pretty close to 1st Team CCIW, IMHO.

* Titans made their luck last night, with defensive intensity, getting to some loose balls, tipping rebounds to teammates, hitting some amazing off-balance shots and some truly NBA-depth Zimmer treys.  The guy has a competitive spirit and a range on his trey shooting that is unique in DIII hoops.  I often joke that Jordan starts shooting them as he steps off the bus, or at least when he's in the lobby of the Shirk.  If he can keep this up, truly feast on some zone defenses, he's also got a good shot at 1st team CCIW.  He really got the big crowd jumping, right off the bat, and then with his shooting, steals and fierce determination in the OT.  His teammates really feed off of all that as well, as Coach Rose commented in the post game or the Pgraph report.

*  FT shooting still a concern.  Still need more offensive output from the 3, from Kman.  Dortch played very well, and made some good contributions to the score sheet last eve.  Ziemnik is tough around the hoop and did a very good job of putting his big body on McCrary and others in the post.  Anderson's length and activity is also making a very good defensive contribution in paint, influencing shooters and deflecting balls/shots.  He is going to get better and better and also have a big offensive breakout game very soon.  Stay tuned. 

*  Great pleasure to meet Nick Anderson's Dad.  Very nice guy.  I so admire the players and all the families and friends who support them, knowing how much time, energy and skill it takes to balance a strong academic program with the demands of DIII varsity sports.  My hat is off to Coach Rose, his staff, and all the Titans so far, for an excellent season, coming together very nicely.  And, thanks to all the family and friends for all the support and encouragement to IWU athletics.  I hope to meet more of the parents over the course of the season. 

*  As Q and others have said, a key home-court start, protecting what is needed to be in contention later on.  Women the same vs. WC.  Very exciting, high-quality and entertaining games, both of them.  Let's keep it rolling Titans.  Long way to go, but a very encouraging start.

********

Nice to see a big 2000+ crowd back in the Shirk, and the return of students and especially the IWU Pep Band, the best in the country, IMHO.  Makes such a difference when they are playing, bringing up the fight song at all the key moments of the game.  Kudos to them, for sure. 

Looks like NCC is starting to play better, putting it together as many on this board expected.  We'll see.  As you all know, I'm a skeptic on that one. 

On to NPU this weekend . . .  I wouldn't be at all surprised to see WC beat Augie in coming weeks.

IWU 70

[AndOne]

Not uncommon to see a player who is not getting a lot of PT leave, but I sense its a relatively rare occurrence for a player who is starting, especially an upperclassman, to leave midseason.

Speaking specifically of Luke Scarlata, I heard last night that while he was a starter, and PT was, accordingly, not an issue, he left the Augie squad primarily due to a personality clash with Grey "Stomper" Giovanine. Seems he simply had enough of a steady stream of beratement from the excitable Giovanine.
Perhaps Dan Sand or another of our Augie posters can provide some additional information/clarification.   

[augie_superfan]

Hey, I indicated I appreciate augie_superfan's initiative, creativity, and effort, which I do.

Of course NO system is perfect, and thats not what I expect.

And, I only suggested a "tweak," not a major tuneup. As a fan, I'd just like to see NCC given a little credit for their nice effort last night. Understandable?

NCC actually rose 30 places in the rankings while Carthage fell 40 places.  NCC is now #134 in my system with Carthage sitting at #145.

[bopol]

RE: Carthage - NC

Offensive flow is a big problem for Carthage.  Shut down Kelly and they are cooked right now.  It seems like Bosko is trying to get Logan into the point where Kelly doesn't carry the load, but they seem to lack the set plays to get them out of the slumps and flowing again. 

I'd like to see Carthage mix up three bigs - two smalls and two bigs - three smalls to exploit the matchups.  They have enough good bigs to pull it off.  I also would like to see more Pierce in the offensive flow because he is a plus passer, which is probably Kelly's weakest skill.  Right now, it just feels like Bosko can't figure out the winning combinations, but there are enough horses there to be dangerous.

We'll see how things go.  I was starting to get hopeful until the Washington loss, now I'm more concerned. 

[sac]

I meant to post this yesterday but got busy, these includes last nights games.

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY

1.  Illinois Wesleyan      113.05
2.  Augustana              111.87
3.  Wheaton                110.00
4.  Elmhurst                 106.91
5.  North Central          106.63
6.  Carthage                 97.74
7.  North Park               95.18
8.  Millikin                     76.48

IWU, Augie, Wheaton all have very good offenses, Carthage and NPU struggle to score effectively, and Millikin is.....well, just terrible.

DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY

1.  Augustana              82.59
2.  Wheaton                90.46
3.  Illinois Wesleyan       93.46
4.  Carthage                97.26
5.  North Central          98.46
6.  Elmhurst                 99.29
7.  Millikin                    100.77
8.  North Park              105.12

The only team better than Augie I've found is MIT, its overall a pretty good looking defensive league.


OVERALL
1.  Augustana          229.28
2.  Illinois Wesleyan  219.59
3.  Wheaton            219.54
4.  North Central      208.17
5.  Elmhurst            207.62
6.  Carthage            200.48
7.  North Park          202.75
8.  Millikin                186.43

This comes close to matching the chatter I've followed on here.  Probably should be no surprise IWU/Wheaton played a close one last night.

Augie, Wheaton, IWU and Carthage have played strong schedules.  I'd probably move Carthage up closer to NCC and Elmhurst but maybe not past them.


I think the really strange thing I see in my calculations and maybe a reason why so many are so down on the league (other than the records) is that the pace of play seems really low compared to past years.  Right now only  Carthage and IWU are playing games with 70 possessions for each team, and just barely, everyone else is in the mid to low 60's.

[Titan Q]

Great info, sac.  Thanks for compiling and posting.

[Titan Q]

An update on how I see the Midwest region through 1/5, based on NCAA seeding/selection criteria.  These are the teams I feel would be in the mix for one of the 8 Midwest spots as of today. 

(These are "in-region" records - games vs non-D3s or out-of-region D3s have been excluded.  I also listed wins/losses vs other teams on this list and vs prominent teams from other regions if the game was counted as "in-region.")

1. Transylvania (HCAC), 10-0 (won vs Wabash)
2. Augustana (CCIW), 10-1 (won vs UW-Stevens Point...lost @ Wash U)
3. Grinnell (MWC), 8-0 (won vs Ripon)
4. Ripon (MWC), 6-1 (won vs Illinois Wesleyan...lost @ Grinnell)
5. Illinois Wesleyan (CCIW), 8-2 (won vs Wash U, vs Wheaton...lost @ Ripon, @ UW-Whitewater)
6. Washington U (UAA), 8-2 (won vs Augustana, vs Wheaton...lost @ Whitworth, @ IWU)
7. Wheaton (CCIW), 7-3 (won vs Whitman...lost @ Hope, @ Wash U, @ IWU)
8. Edgewood (NATHC), 8-2 (won vs Lake Forest...lost vs UW-Stevens Point, @ UW-Whitewater)
----------
9. Hanover (HCAC), 8-2 (won vs Ohio Wesleyan, vs Rose-Hulman...lost vs Ohio Northern, @ Manchester)
10. Lake Forest (MWC), 7-1 (none...lost @ Edgewood)
11. Rose-Hulman (HCAC), 10-2 (none...lost vs Wabash, @ Hanover)


(The only Midwest Region conference I do not have representation for is the SLIAC.)

[AndOne]

RE: Carthage - NC

Offensive flow is a big problem for Carthage.  Shut down Kelly and they are cooked right now.  It seems like Bosko is trying to get Logan into the point where Kelly doesn't carry the load, but they seem to lack the set plays to get them out of the slumps and flowing again. 

I'd like to see Carthage mix up three bigs - two smalls and two bigs - three smalls to exploit the matchups.  They have enough good bigs to pull it off.  I also would like to see more Pierce in the offensive flow because he is a plus passer, which is probably Kelly's weakest skill.  Right now, it just feels like Bosko can't figure out the winning combinations, but there are enough horses there to be dangerous.

We'll see how things go.  I was starting to get hopeful until the Washington loss, now I'm more concerned.

bopol---

I'm sensing your suggestions can only mostly help. With regard to some of the points you highlight, I observed the following last night:

* Shutting down Kelly definitely goes a long way toward shutting down Carthage.
* Donte Logan seems hesitant/reluctant. Despite several open looks last night, he fired only once, a successful 3 attempt. Perhaps too much deferment to the upperclassmen?
* Pierce may be a decent passer, but his lack of mobility on defense could result in more of an overall negative than a plus.
* Your mention of Kelly's deficient passing skill is a classic understatement. The guy has more than twice as many turnovers as assists. The thing he hits most often with his passes is the opposition.
However, he still scares you with his ability to heat up and hit from deep, scoring in bunches.   

[bigz61550]

Also worth mention on the IWU/WC game is the return of 6-3 sophomore guard Jon DeMoss for Wheaton - he played his first minutes of the year last night (8 total). 

DeMoss started 19 games for Wheaton last year, averaging 8.0 ppg and 2.5 rpg.  He provides even more perimeter depth for the Thunder, who also have 6-3 Jr Nate Serenius (19.5 min/game) and 6-0 So Tad Fisher (11.1 min/game) coming off the bench.

Post depth is Wheaton's real issue though.  They could probably use Midwest Central's Michael Berg this season.

I've traveled from Peoria to attend this game for over 25 years as a Wheaton alumni with two daughters who graduated from Wesleyan.  I think post depth was a real issue for Wheaton too.  MacCreary seemed to get frustrated with the changing the opposition player and it seemed to be more obvious especially when Zeminic (spelling?) guarded him.  It was almost like a linebacker covering him, but the referees were fair as far as the fouls went.  I think Wheaton's poor outside shooting had a lot to IWU's defense.  Both teams seemed to be well prepared and there was a lot of respect for each other.  I think they will both be a difficult challenge for Augie.

[iwumichigander]

An update on how I see the Midwest region through 1/5, based on NCAA seeding/selection criteria.  These are the teams I feel would be in the mix for one of the 8 Midwest spots as of today. 

(These are "in-region" records - games vs non-D3s or out-of-region D3s have been excluded.  I also listed wins/losses vs other teams on this list and vs prominent teams from other regions if the game was counted as "in-region.")

1. Transylvania (HCAC), 10-0 (won vs Wabash)
2. Augustana (CCIW), 10-1 (won vs UW-Stevens Point...lost @ Wash U)
3. Grinnell (MWC), 8-0 (won vs Ripon)
4. Ripon (MWC), 6-1 (won vs Illinois Wesleyan...lost @ Grinnell)
5. Illinois Wesleyan (CCIW), 8-2 (won vs Wash U, vs Wheaton...lost @ Ripon, @ UW-Whitewater)
6. Washington U (UAA), 8-2 (won vs Augustana, vs Wheaton...lost @ Whitworth, @ IWU)
7. Wheaton (CCIW), 7-3 (won vs Whitman...lost @ Hope, @ Wash U, @ IWU)
8. Edgewood (NATHC), 8-2 (won vs Lake Forest...lost vs UW-Stevens Point, @ UW-Whitewater)
----------
9. Hanover (HCAC), 8-2 (won vs Ohio Wesleyan, vs Rose-Hulman...lost vs Ohio Northern, @ Manchester)
10. Lake Forest (MWC), 7-1 (none...lost @ Edgewood)
11. Rose-Hulman (HCAC), 10-2 (none...lost vs Wabash, @ Hanover)


(The only Midwest Region conference I do not have representation for is the SLIAC.)

Fair assessment thus far; Regards SLIAC also fair - I don't forsee post season beyond AQ for conference winner and the conference's post season record is (Um) not optimistic.

[OurHouse]

IWU's bench is the deepest in the league. Last night, the 4 IWU reserves scored 31 while the Wheaton reserves scored 20. And Nick Anderson, who scored only 2 and missed several shots he should have made, garnered 7 rebounds. I think IWU's outstanding depth will have a huge impact in the league. Another very capable reserve, David Molinari, son of the WIU coach, was in street clothes due to a concussion.

Speaking of wins - IWU will win the conference this year as long as Zimmer stays healthy - whole offense runs through him and has the green light from da coach. Bigs have stay very physical. JM2C

[bopol]

RE: Carthage - NC

Offensive flow is a big problem for Carthage.  Shut down Kelly and they are cooked right now.  It seems like Bosko is trying to get Logan into the point where Kelly doesn't carry the load, but they seem to lack the set plays to get them out of the slumps and flowing again. 

I'd like to see Carthage mix up three bigs - two smalls and two bigs - three smalls to exploit the matchups.  They have enough good bigs to pull it off.  I also would like to see more Pierce in the offensive flow because he is a plus passer, which is probably Kelly's weakest skill.  Right now, it just feels like Bosko can't figure out the winning combinations, but there are enough horses there to be dangerous.

We'll see how things go.  I was starting to get hopeful until the Washington loss, now I'm more concerned.

bopol---

I'm sensing your suggestions can only mostly help. With regard to some of the points you highlight, I observed the following last night:

* Shutting down Kelly definitely goes a long way toward shutting down Carthage.
* Donte Logan seems hesitant/reluctant. Despite several open looks last night, he fired only once, a successful 3 attempt. Perhaps too much deferment to the upperclassmen?
* Pierce may be a decent passer, but his lack of mobility on defense could result in more of an overall negative than a plus.
* Your mention of Kelly's deficient passing skill is a classic understatement. The guy has more than twice as many turnovers as assists. The thing he hits most often with his passes is the opposition.
However, he still scares you with his ability to heat up and hit from deep, scoring in bunches.

I heard that Donte Logan was injured and didn't really even practice with the team until December.  That just makes coming in as a freshman point that much tougher, but I think they are pretty high on him.  Like Luke Johnson, the learning curve to get to the higher level is sometimes painful to watch, but Kelly's one hole is his passing, so I don't see how Bosko has a choice, but to try to develop a point.  At least with Kelly, he busts his butt the whole time he's on the floor.  I wish that out of everyone on Carthage. 

I still don't see Pierce as a net negative.  In fact, in the Washington game, the Pierce/Bauch combo played better than Johnson/Thompson in the 2nd half.  That was mostly Johnson's afforementioned growing pains. 

Bosko's got a heckuva job this year trying to maximize the potential out of this group.  There is probably a winning formula there, but I'm not sure what it is...

[iwu70]

OurHouse, I think IWU can win various ways, with many combinations, this year -- the result of this excellent depth and sizable rotation.  Yes, Zimmer is bigtime on scoring just now, but they won tough games earlier in the year when he was not so dominant, not scoring much.  Others are very capable of scoring, much more so than we initially thought at season's start.  Reed is playing very well and Eliud and Rudnicki are very able to score, again more than we thought earlier, when called upon.  I'm hoping for more scoring from the 3 and the post area, especially from Kman, who is a very good trey shooter and slasher, and also from Victor Davis.  The stats so far show this potential balance, range of scoring options, and that many players, including Molinari and Oz, have in fact led in scoring in previous outings.  Should Overstreet or Musselman be called on, they are very capable of scoring as well.  (Brandon Heyen and Josh Wiggs from the JV are going to be excellent players down the road, in my view).   Eliud is very good at finding what the defense is giving . . . and delivering accurate passes to the scorers.  Vs. Wheaton, he also found his own shot and got to the basket off the dribble.  His on-ball defense is superb and makes an important contribution to disrupting the offensive flow of the opponent.  The scoring by Dortch and Ziemnik were useful additions vs. WC.  You can see Ron Rose can now sit back a bit and sense who is playing well, who is most aggressive, who is hitting shots (beyond Zimmer), who has most left in the tank, and then go with that combination, work key match-ups given the opponents players, schemes and sets.  Nick Anderson is developing nicely, though he struggled a bit offensively against Wheaton, but he's great on interior defense, shot blocking and active movement, runs the floor pretty well for 6-9 and shoots FTs well.  No lack of effort there.  Eric Dortch is a very good on-ball defender, and has great hops, blocking abilities.  Was happy to see him find his offense some this last game and take his opportunities to get to the rim.  I would expect some good offensive games from Kman and Anderson coming up.  Andrew Ziemnik certainly earned more minutes in his play vs. WC, against McCrary. Just a few thoughts from watching all the home games to date.  IMHO.

I was very very impressed with Aaron Garriott.  He's going to have a huge year, it would appear.

IWU70

[iwu70]

Good test for NCC @ Augie tomorrow.  We'll see how far they've come.  Augie, even without Scarlata, is going to be very tough at Carver.  Of course, would love to see NCC put a loss on Augie early on. 

Sorry I can't make the trip to NPU and the two Titans games up in the windy city tomorrow. 

Bring home two Ws, Titans!!!

Happy weekend all.

IWU70