MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[OurHouse]

Article about enforcing sportsmanship:  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/seth_davis/01/27/NCAA.sportsmanship/index.html

You obviously are a wimpy green whiner  -- BTW, that is a D1 article not D3 .. whatever it takes to win is the mojo, little whiner -- BOSKO rules!!

[TitansIWU]

I find it odd that a coach such as the previously mentioned can have an obvious temper tantrum issue and still be respected for his success.

In my mind, there is just a certain way that people with class act.

I just imagine if I went to my office today and launched my coat into the conference room upon being given some news I disagreed with.

I might have the best professional record of all time, but too many temper tantrum inspired, coat launchings would get me listed as a loose cannon. I would certainly lose the respect of my peers.

For myself, I have a lot more respect for a coach who disagrees with the call, and can still coach to a victory without an emotional tirade.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

From a Mid-Atlantic point of view, I would say people had respect for what Mike Lonergan did at Catholic, including leading them to a National Championship in 2001... but Lonergan certainly had his own antics on the sideline. So did one of his heated rivals in Leonard Trevino at Goucher (when the Gophers were good).

While people didn't like their tactics and such during a game, they respected the fact they got the job done. Don't get me wrong, I think people got tired of those tactics when the team struggles.

It's called turning a blind eye on something when you are getting results... very common... though, not necessarily the right thing to do.

[Pat Coleman]

I saw a lot of Lonergan games and never saw him throw his coat.

[augie_superfan]

Not that it makes it any better, but almost always the coat is ripped off due to him being upset with his players, not with a bad call.  I think if he was complaining about a call and ripped of his coat in disgust and threw it at the bench, then he'd be getting T'd up.  If he's just yelling at his team while doing this, I think it's a bit different.

And I'm not even sure what the whole jacket thing is about.  It's like its some sort of tradition now because I've never seen him make it through the game (much less 10 minutes) with the jacket on.  Maybe Grey should go without a jacket and make it easier on all the opposing fans.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I saw a lot of Lonergan games and never saw him throw his coat.

True... but the jacket would come off rather emphatically sometimes! I miss having him with in 10 feet of me... he and one other coach were the reasons I had to invest in a microphone that had a mute button I could easily activate!

[TitansIWU]

Not that it makes it any better, but almost always the coat is ripped off due to him being upset with his players, not with a bad call.  I think if he was complaining about a call and ripped of his coat in disgust and threw it at the bench, then he'd be getting T'd up.  If he's just yelling at his team while doing this, I think it's a bit different.

And I'm not even sure what the whole jacket thing is about.  It's like its some sort of tradition now because I've never seen him make it through the game (much less 10 minutes) with the jacket on.  Maybe Grey should go without a jacket and make it easier on all the opposing fans.

If whoever catches the jacket just keeps it, it will be a pretty expensive process!

[CCIWFAN6]

Wow! What a comeback for the Titans, and what the heck happened at the end of the game? It appeared to me that there was still some time left when the ball was knocked out of bound.

IMHO, the jacket toss by GG early in the game, his continued antics, intimidated the officials to the point that they were more than happy to get off the floor at the end of the game.  They would have to deal with GG one more time, perhaps another technical?

I doubt that very much. Dave Laning, Jeff Murrow, and Eric Anderson, the crew that reffed the game at Carver last night, are a trio of CCIW veterans. Each one of them has seen Grey's shtick a hundred times, both at Carver and on the road. I highly doubt that any of them are intimidated by Grey. The problem is usually more a matter of refs ignoring Grey so that they can call a "normal" game without unduly influencing the outcome with non-basketball matters (e.g., bench technicals), when in fact those rules about sportsmanship, coaching boxes, etc., are in the NCAA officiating manual for a reason.

The league should deal with this coach once and for all.  At a minimum, Augustana should address his actions with a stern hand!  Perhaps he should journey back to D1 or the pros where players play for money (tongue in cheek, D1).

He's been at Augie for well over a decade now. It's been a highly successful tenure, and yet he has not returned to the scholarship ranks. Face it: Grey isn't going anywhere. There's no sense in even talking about it. As for Augustana disciplining him, if the school had chosen to take umbrage with his behavior it would've done so long ago. The administration at Augie clearly has no problem with the way he acts on the sidelines ... or, perhaps, they're the ones who are intimidated by him (or by his supporters), not the refs.

Either way, you're just indulging in wishful thinking here. The refs aren't going to discipline Grey Giovanine, the league isn't going to discipline Grey Giovanine, and Augustana isn't going to discipline Grey Giovanine. Why grouse about something over which you have no control and which isn't going to change?
Better to just beat his team and then indulge in a little post-game schadenfreude at Grey's expense.

Final in Decatur:  Wheaton 82, Millikin 25.

Millikin with 23 turnovers and only 3 assists, 18% from the floor, 8% from 3, 48% from FT.
Wheaton 58% from the field, 65% from 3 (13 of 20), 76% from FT.

Millikin averaging 26.5 points in last two games, while giving up 90 points.  OUCH!

Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forward. It is not going to be pretty the rest of the way for the 'Big' Blue, but there is a turnaround coming. To do the process right will require a few years and a ton of work in recruiting. I think the new staff knows that and is prepared to do things the right way.

I agree, and I think that Matt Nadelhoffer has the right attitude. He's no longer bothering with the scoreboard, and why should he? The scoreboard tells him nothing he doesn't already know about how badly he's undermanned. He's focused strictly upon his players executing better from day to day and demonstrating the effort and character that is often woefully absent when a team gets drubbed every time that it takes the floor.

I think he'll eventually turn the Big Blue around -- and it could take as long as four or five years for that to happen, so I hope the MU administration is patient with him -- and, for the sake of the league I hope he'll get them at least semi-decent soon. Just not too semi-decent.

Greg, isn't this one of the reasons for this forum? To express a voice that would otherwise not be heard, even if it has very little effect in the long run.

[iwumichigander]

Sure.  I think any coach in the most popular sports is a public face of the college.  That still doesn't change my opinion that the coach-ref interaction should be different from the player-ref interaction. 

I think its a completely different arguement if you are hinting that Grey is a bad example for students and players.  That is something that the college obviously has made their mind up on.  I'm only guessing that they think the successful program he has built and the good works that he does in and around campus outweigh his demeanor on the sidelines.

There is no doubting he is an intense man when it comes to basketball and that intensity transfers over to his players.  But, if he were serving as a bad example to his players, don't you think we'd see a lot more of the players getting technicals for their behavior on the court?

If his players give the two handed full "waive off" to the officials that Grey did, there is no doubt that they should/will get the technical foul that Green did.

If Augustana accepts trading the antics/habits of their coach for a winning record, that is their choice.

While don't approve of Coach G's behavior; in fairness, he usually does not tolerate that behavior by his players. He has a quick a hook.  If someone is going to get a "T" for behavior, it better be Coach G rather than a player.

As far as NCAA, other than control the assignment of tournament officials, there is not much NCAA can do other than 'encourage' or 'place emphasis' on certain aspects of the game.  And, most of our CCIW officials are doing this part time rather than as a full time career.  I think they still get rated by the coaches after every game so passing out a "T" can have consequences for the official, too.  To paraphrase an AD 'don't get on them too much as they might be calling your next game!'

Besides, I'd bet most of the CCIW officials know Coach G reputation for tossing the coat and watch for it as much as we fans do!  I've certainly seen a smile or two from officials when that coat goes flying.  Heck, I saw one almost swallow his whistle from laughing so hard.

[gordonmann]

While don't approve of Coach G's behavior; in fairness, he usually does not tolerate that behavior by his players.

Something about "practice what you preach" seems appropriate here, but maybe it doesn't matter. Do Augie's players draw more technical fouls than other teams? 

I've seen some animated coaches in this part of the country. Glenn Robinson (F&M men's coach) seems to irritate opposing teams' fans. Mike Strong (Scranton women's coach) is very animated on the sideline.  They also are the two winningest coaches in Division III history.

Strong got thrown out of the game in which he broke the NCAA record.  He wasn't allowed in the gym to watch the final seconds tick off.  From what I heard, it was his only ejection in his career.  And from what I saw, he wasn't doing anything other than what he normally does.

[diehardfan]

Hiiii! Go Thunder! 

(It's been a long time since I've read them, but I am pretty sure this post violates the terms of service... It would be funny if I got banned on my first couple of posts back. I don't really have anything substantive to add yet though, just thought I'd say hi.)

Do you guys still scare away all the new people for being "annoying college students"? 90% of these names are familiar to me.

[Titan Q]

Hiiii! Go Thunder! 

(It's been a long time since I've read them, but I am pretty sure this post violates the terms of service... It would be funny if I got banned on my first couple of posts back. I don't really have anything substantive to add yet though, just thought I'd say hi.)

Do you guys still scare away all the new people for being "annoying college students"? 90% of these names are familiar to me.

Welcome back April.

Not much has changed since you last posted - this is basically still a group of old white guys talking basketball.  It's just that everyone is 5 years older now.

We could use a "fresh outlook"/change of scenery if you're interested in staying around.

[iwu70]

Hey, hey DieHardFan, where have you been?  Pretty hard to get banned in here.  Not hard to be criticized, but then again who cares?

Lot of us old farts still here, still cheering for our teams, of course.  Great season underway . . . hope you are back for good.

Lots of basketball still to be played, esp. big games of the contenders.

IWU70

[iwu70]

April, are you bringing your cookies back too?

IWU70

[hopefan]

Diehardfan... best oatmeal raisin cookies I've ever had!!!!!    We've missed you!!!!!