MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton outlasted Calvin, 70-66. Wheaton generally looked quicker and more energetic than did Calvin, but the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance went cold for long stretches, allowing a pesky Knights team to keep the game close down the stretch. Brayden Teuscher clearly won the battle of superstars over Jordan Brink, scoring a game-high 28 points despite being in foul trouble for a lot of the contest. I thought that Calvin coach Kevin VandeStreek sat Brink too much, especially in the first half.

[GoPerry]

Wheaton outlasted Calvin, 70-66. Wheaton generally looked quicker and more energetic than did Calvin, but the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance went cold for long stretches, allowing a pesky Knights team to keep the game close down the stretch. Brayden Teuscher clearly won the battle of superstars over Jordan Brink, scoring a game-high 28 points despite being in foul trouble for a lot of the contest. I thought that Calvin coach Kevin VandeStreek sat Brink too much, especially in the first half.

Another solid road win for Wheaton. 

Teuschers combination of natural scoring ability and 90+% foul shooting makes him tough down the stretch as evidenced tonight.  But as noted before, would still like to see someone else take on some scoring responsibility late in the game.  They pretty much gave it off to Teuscher on their last 7 or 8 possessions and I just don't think that will fly once January comes.  Michael Berg was solid (14 & 10)and I guess as he gains confidence that might be a viable alternative.  Peter Smith has always had the talent but after 3 seasons I just don't think it is in him to be assertive offensively.

Let's see if the Thunder can take care of Hope tomorrow and win both MIAA/CCIW challenge games, which it seems like they can never do(except when it's at King Arena).

[Titan Q]

Q,

Wheaton lost close at home to Wash U and beat U Chicago handily on the road. What do you make of them?

A friend of mine who was at Wheaton's season opener texted me after the game and said, "Wheaton's Wheaton."  From what I have seen of the Thunder this season so far, I think that sums it up very well.  Wheaton's Wheaton. 

From what I have seen, Wheaton:
* Is very skilled
* Has a star player
* Runs good offense
* Is perimeter oriented
* Defends well
* Is really well coached
* Has smart kids on the floor
* Plays hard
* Has a couple glaring weaknesses

These bullets could be used to describe most of Mike Schauer's Wheaton teams.  This year's version of the glaring weaknesses in my opinion are: 1) lack of a low post game, and 2) lack of depth.

I think this Wheaton team can beat everybody in the league if they shoot it well, but they are going to have problems on nights when that's not the case.  I don't think Wheaton can win the CCIW this year, but I think they'll be right there in the mix like always.

I think this is a good, not great, Wheaton team.

[Titan Q]

I watched the first half of North Central at Pomona-Pitzer last night and was impressed with the Cardinals.  Charlie Rosenberg has turned into a stud - he was a beast down low on the blocks, but was also really pure with his mid-range jumpshot.  He looks like a lock 1st Team all-CCIW player to me.  Guard Jayme Moten is really good.  Quick with the basketball in his hands and can really shoot it.  Those two NCC transfers both look like all-conference players to me.

I'd put North Central ahead of Wheaton right now - the Cardinals are a more complete, more balanced team.

I need to see more of Elmhurst, but the Bluejays look good to me. 

Unless I'm missing something, Carthage is staring at 7th or 8th.  The Red Men are just not a good team.

[Gregory Sager]

Hope dumps Carthage easily, 73-55. The Red Men looked awful.

[Gregory Sager]

This was my first look at the Red Men this season. I'm a little hesitant to judge a team based upon one observation, but Carthage seems to be a team desperately searching for a savior. Reese Herth was supposed to be the bell cow for the Red Men this season, but, as awful as he looked tonight (1-10 from the field, five points total for the game), he really hasn't put up stud numbers all season long. He might not have it in him to be The Man, or, equally as bad, he might have it in him but he might not want to be The Man.

I always expect a Bosko team to have two or three guys who've really stepped up noticeably from one season to the next, but that doesn't appear to be happening at all this season. To take some recent examples, guys like Senior, Van Wyck, and Sykes improved either noticeably or dramatically last season. Herth, Kastel, Matthews, McNellis, Valentine -- I thought these guys would be better this year, but they don't appear to be. I thought that Donte Logan would be more assertive this year at the point, and he isn't. The only guy who looks to me like he's actually gotten better from last year is Mike Kjeldsen.

(And how spooky is this -- as I am typing these words, Bosko tells John Weiser in the postgame interview how much the Carthage program has always prided itself upon the improvement players make from sophomore to junior years and from junior years to senior years during his tenure, and how this team isn't exhibiting that tendency. After all these decades, I am apparently channeling the Serbian Prince now. )

I agree with Bob. This looks like a bottom-level CCIW team right now. Hope's good, but the Dutch aren't 18-points-better-than-a-decent-CCIW-team-on-this-side-of-the-lake good, if you'll excuse all of my hyphens.

(Money quote from Bosko on the postgame show: "Right now we're struggling, and it's not as though I can go out and find the guys a lesser league to play in.")

[Gregory Sager]

The CCIW is now 36-11 (.766), with a full slate of games on tap for tomorrow:

Fontbonne (2-4) @ Augustana (5-1)
Calvin (4-3) @ Carthage (3-4)
Elmhurst (6-0) @ Albion (2-2)
Chicago (5-2) @ Illinois Wesleyan (5-1) 
Millikin (4-2) @ Illinois-Springfield (4-1)
North Central (5-0) @ Redlands (2-3)
Kalamazoo (3-1) @ North Park (3-1)   
Hope (2-3) vs. Wheaton (5-2) [@ Carthage]

[iwu70]

Jordan Nelson to be back for IWU vs. Chicago and WashU games.  Maybe he'll hit a trey, do a dance?  One never knows?

Marietti still healing -- broken thumb.  Could be back for Wash U.  Trevor Seibring playing very well, the best of the new season and newbie surprises on this deep Titan team.  Ryan Coyle #2 of pleasant new surprises. 

Nice Pgraph piece today on the emergence of Byrce Dolan as a starter, more complete player.  Looks like a great season for him this year. 

Titans vs. U Chicago at The Shirk.  Should be a good one.  Wash U @Wash U even better.

Go TITANS!

Congrats to the Titans women's soccer team on their run in the national tourney, going 4-1, losing to undefeated Lynchburg College 2-1 in the national semis.  A big break-through for the Titan soccer program.  Great run, great season.

IWU'70

[AndOne]

After the board was recently treated to several rather grandiose statements by Coach G, it seems Bosko is now taking the same tact in expressing angst at the thought that his team could finish seventh in CCIW. His primary reason for being unable to comprehend this is even a remote possibility is that it has never happened before. After all, no team he has ever coached has finished seventh, so that evidently means it can't happen this year. Makes perfect sense. Very logical. 

You're way off on this, Mark. First of all, I think that Carthage is better than a seventh-place team.

Unless I'm missing something, Carthage is staring at 7th or 8th.  The Red Men are just not a good team.

This was my first look at the Red Men this season. I'm a little hesitant to judge a team based upon one observation, but Carthage seems to be a team desperately searching for a savior. Reese Herth was supposed to be the bell cow for the Red Men this season, but, as awful as he looked tonight (1-10 from the field, five points total for the game), he really hasn't put up stud numbers all season long. He might not have it in him to be The Man, or, equally as bad, he might have it in him but he might not want to be The Man.

I always expect a Bosko team to have two or three guys who've really stepped up noticeably from one season to the next, but that doesn't appear to be happening at all this season. To take some recent examples, guys like Senior, Van Wyck, and Sykes improved either noticeably or dramatically last season. Herth, Kastel, Matthews, McNellis, Valentine -- I thought these guys would be better this year, but they don't appear to be. I thought that Donte Logan would be more assertive this year at the point, and he isn't. The only guy who looks to me like he's actually gotten better from last year is Mike Kjeldsen.

(And how spooky is this -- as I am typing these words, Bosko tells John Weiser in the postgame interview how much the Carthage program has always prided itself upon the improvement players make from sophomore to junior years and from junior years to senior years during his tenure, and how this team isn't exhibiting that tendency. After all these decades, I am apparently channeling the Serbian Prince now. )

I agree with Bob. This looks like a bottom-level CCIW team right now.

Greg,

We all, myself included, occasionally err in our assessment of teams. 
However, back on 11/11, when I brought up the possibility of this year's Carthage team finishing as low as 7th, you seemed to think I had lost my mind. I'm not sure why you thought there would be that much improvement in the Carthage returners. Perhaps you thought Bosko possessed some type of magic wand, or maybe it was his very logical explanation that it couldn't happen because it never occurred before. At any rate, its nice to know that you've apparently come over to the dark side with regard to your current analysis of the Redmen's talent level. 

[AndOne]

Jordan Nelson to be back for IWU vs. Chicago and WashU games.  Maybe he'll hit a trey, do a dance?  One never knows?

Marietti still healing -- broken thumb.  Could be back for Wash U.  Trevor Seibring playing very well, the best of the new season and newbie surprises on this deep Titan team.  Ryan Coyle #2 of pleasant new surprises. 

Nice Pgraph piece today on the emergence of Byrce Dolan as a starter, more complete player.  Looks like a great season for him this year. 

IWU'70

1. When I saw Dolan vs Benedictine, I thought he was clearly the best player on the floor that night. It seems he certainly has maintained his high level of play which, at least to me, is not surprising. 
Now that my favorite Greenie has returned it will be interesting to see if the 3 guards aren't him, Overstreet, and Dolan with Sodemann assuming a reserve role. 

2. Seibring certainly must be a pleasant surprise to IWU fans especially given the fact he really didn't see any significant time last year. He seems to be doing a nice job. 

3. When Marietti fully heals, he and Seibring have the potential to be a very effective 2 headed monster. 

4. Now that Mr. Nelson is back from his suspension and illness----No maybe about it, he will hit his share of threes. He is a damn good shooter most of the time. Unfortunately, there is also little doubt what he'll do immediately afterwards. I know Titan fans think its a sin to criticize an IWU player in any way, shape, or form no matter what he may do, so I'll not issue any further opinions/comments on the subject except to say he is lucky to be playing in today's environment. 

[AndOne]

I watched the first half of North Central at Pomona-Pitzer last night and was impressed with the Cardinals.  Charlie Rosenberg has turned into a stud - he was a beast down low on the blocks, but was also really pure with his mid-range jumpshot.  He looks like a lock 1st Team all-CCIW player to me.  Guard Jayme Moten is really good.  Quick with the basketball in his hands and can really shoot it.  Those two NCC transfers both look like all-conference players to me.

I'd put North Central ahead of Wheaton right now - the Cardinals are a more complete, more balanced team.

I need to see more of Elmhurst, but the Bluejays look good to me. 

Unless I'm missing something, Carthage is staring at 7th or 8th.  The Red Men are just not a good team.

Charlie and Jayme thank you. While I'm certainly somewhat biased, I'm also around the team on a regular basis, and agree about Charlie's development and Jayme's skills.

While Charlie is known to many CCIW followers/posters, Jayme, being a first year player at NCC, is not. In truth, Jayme is as talented as any guard in the league. However, he many not show his full level of talent, at least not until next year. The simple reason is that right now, Jayme is both the Cardinals best PG, and it's best 2 guard. So, sometimes, its like he is playing 2 positions at the same time! Who ya' gonna call? 

[Titan Q]

#9 Illinois Wesleyan (5-1) vs #17 Chicago (5-2), 3:00pm...

#9 Illinois Wesleyan (5-1)
G - Dylan Overstreet, 6-3/180 Sr. (10.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 6.0 apg)
G - Bryce Dolan, 6-0/165 Jr. (13.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.7 apg)
G - Pat Sodemann, 6-3/195 Sr. (6.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
F - Ryan Coyle, 6-6/208 Jr. (12.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
C - Trevor Seibring, 6-8/235 So. (11.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg)

G - Jordan Nelson, 6-1/170 Sr (7.3 ppg)
G - Andy Stempel, 6-3/180 So. (6.5 ppg)
F - Alec Bausch, 6-6/210 So. (5.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
G - Joel Pennington, 6-0/175 Jr. (5.0 ppg)
F - Rob Mahlke, 6-8/220 Jr. (0.8 ppg)

#17 Chicago (5-2)
G - Tyler Howard, 6-0/180 So. (11.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.9 apg)
G - Jordan Smith, 6-3/210 Jr. (14.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.0 apg)
F - Waller Perez, 6-5/200 So. (13.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
F - Alex Voss, 6-5/225 Jr. (7.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
F - Nate Brooks, 6-5/220 Jr. (8.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)

F - Blain Crawford, 6-8/220 So. (6.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
G - John Steinberg, 6-4/215 Jr. (4.0 ppg)
F - Collin Barthel, 6-7/210 Fr. (3.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
G - Scott Herlihy, 6-1/180 Jr. (1.4 ppg)



Pantagraph - http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/dolan-iwu-eager-to-take-on-chicago/article_f3499a08-d03b-5142-8779-961a8ea341c6.html

Live Video/Stats - http://portal.stretchinternet.com/iwu/

WJBC Radio - http://portal.stretchinternet.com/wjbc/

[Titan Q]

4. Now that Mr. Nelson is back from his suspension and illness----No maybe about it, he will hit his share of threes. He is a damn good shooter most of the time. Unfortunately, there is also little doubt what he'll do immediately afterwards. I know Titan fans think its a sin to criticize an IWU player in any way, shape, or form no matter what he may do, so I'll not issue any further opinions/comments on the subject except to say he is lucky to be playing in today's environment.

Jordan Nelson was never suspended, Mark.  Ron Rose chose to not play him in one game because after getting off to a bad start through 2 games, he thought Nelson was pressing and just not playing well.  Rose thought a game off would help get his head in a better place.  Huge, huge difference from a suspension.

To be at least somewhat fair here, there wasn't a single comment from any IWU fan after your first 10 or so comments about Jordan Nelson.  Your comment that "Titans fans think its a sin to criticize an IWU player in any way, shape, or form..." sounds cute and everything, but you poked and baited pretty hard over a long period, right?

[AppletonRocks]

This was my first look at the Red Men this season. I'm a little hesitant to judge a team based upon one observation, but Carthage seems to be a team desperately searching for a savior. Reese Herth was supposed to be the bell cow for the Red Men this season, but, as awful as he looked tonight (1-10 from the field, five points total for the game), he really hasn't put up stud numbers all season long. He might not have it in him to be The Man, or, equally as bad, he might have it in him but he might not want to be The Man.

I always expect a Bosko team to have two or three guys who've really stepped up noticeably from one season to the next, but that doesn't appear to be happening at all this season. To take some recent examples, guys like Senior, Van Wyck, and Sykes improved either noticeably or dramatically last season. Herth, Kastel, Matthews, McNellis, Valentine -- I thought these guys would be better this year, but they don't appear to be. I thought that Donte Logan would be more assertive this year at the point, and he isn't. The only guy who looks to me like he's actually gotten better from last year is Mike Kjeldsen.

(And how spooky is this -- as I am typing these words, Bosko tells John Weiser in the postgame interview how much the Carthage program has always prided itself upon the improvement players make from sophomore to junior years and from junior years to senior years during his tenure, and how this team isn't exhibiting that tendency. After all these decades, I am apparently channeling the Serbian Prince now. )

I agree with Bob. This looks like a bottom-level CCIW team right now. Hope's good, but the Dutch aren't 18-points-better-than-a-decent-CCIW-team-on-this-side-of-the-lake good, if you'll excuse all of my hyphens.

(Money quote from Bosko on the postgame show: "Right now we're struggling, and it's not as though I can go out and find the guys a lesser league to play in.")

Maybe Carthage just isn't ready for the Midwest Conference after all.   

[all blues]

Maybe Carthage just isn't ready for the Midwest Conference after all.   
[/quote]

Carthage will be relieved to meet Millikin.