MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[bbfan44]

Based on history, it's hard to get worked up about silly outcomes of the All Conference Team.  It happens every year that someone is misplaced. 
I wonder how the coaches make their picks.  Do they ask for their assistants to make recommendations for consideration; do they refer to the Conference Stat sheets; do they just have their personal thoughts and preferences from watching two games during the season?
For Juwan Henry not to be selected to the 1st team, perhaps he had a not so good game against a certain team and that was enough to cause the coach not to name him 1st.? Or, perhaps a coach just wanted to be sure his own player got 1st team recognition and dropped Henry down?
At any rate, something seems intentional.  Too bad that it happens.
For Robinson, do you think a little "attitude" may have dropped him to the second team?

So long, Mother Falkner, you'll be missed by those who love to yell at the ref's.

[izzy stradlin]

Berg shot 40% from the field during the conference season.  That's a super low number for a PF/C and probably what did him in.   Nonetheless Berg and Berntsen were clearly Wheaton's top two players all year by a wide margin and they both graduate.   Wheaton likely takes another step back next year.   Anyone know how things are at ZRG?

A step back?  To where?  To the intramural A league(which is extremely competitive at Wheaton btw)??  They were 1-13/5-20! Even so, I think they will be better next year. 

Well it depends if Zach Lindquist and Luke Thorson are on the same IM team?  Seriously though I think you're engaging in some wishful thinking.  Wasn't it you who said Wheaton would make some noise this year and compete for fourth?

I said it at the end of last year and I'll say it again.  The cupboard is bare at Wheaton. Owen Handy and for a short time Nate Frank were a big part of Mike Schauer's early recruiting (well really, his first and only solid class in Peters, Kvam, Haynes, DeMoss).  With Owen and Nate long gone (Owen has had two great recent recruiting classed at Anderson), as Greg Sager outlined a few weeks ago, Wheaton/Schauer hasn't been landing quality recruits. It's not even that Wheaton has young talent-- non of the freshman had particularly strong showings with plenty of opportunity.  I'm thinking of previous good freshman campaigns at Wheaton (Rob Hamann, Luke Moo, Kevin Blomstrom, Joel Kolmodin, Kent Raymond, Tim McCrary, Tyler Peters) and it isn't on the roster right now. 

There has been some lingering in the Wheaton basketball program of the idea that they have more to overcome in recruiting than IWU, Augie NCC etc in that they can't have that kind of depth.  I don't buy this as Wheaton as much to sell and as many buyers as any school in the conference. Look at football, soccer (gulp), swimming, women's bball, etc.  I am not delusional enough to think they should win the conference every other year or even ever win a national hoops title, but at worst they should be close to .500.  11-14, 5-20 and likely something similar next year is simply unacceptable.   

Don't disagree with any of that - especially the Nate and Owen shout-out.

True indeed, I was expecting much more from this team - never expected them to finish 1-13.  I don't remember saying that they might compete for fourth, but I'll take your word for it that I did- (you don't have to re-post it).  Clearly, they had the talent to do much better than 5 wins.  Came close to beating Augie twice, took Hope to OT in Holland(definitely should've won that one)  and looked decent in Nov/Dec.  Even in their losses they were pretty competitive.  Now, what does that get you?  Answer: nothing this year.  I probably did not appreciate their lack of experience overall to finish out games.  But it's enough for me to say that yes, I think they will be better next season.  Further explained, I'm not saying they will be among the top teams or compete for #1-#4. Taking for granted another tough non-con schedule, a .500 season might be the best one can hope for.  But I don't expect them to finish dead last again.  Berg and Berntsen were solid players, but I don't see them as talent so difficult to replace like the players you mentioned above.

By the way, I believe Mike Schauer used the 2nd half of the season to experiment a little to see what he has for next year.  He got pretty creative in his rotation with Christian Simpson, Mike Winowiecki, Kobe Eichelberger, and a few others seeing true game minutes- not just at slop time.

He definitely did some experimenting but no way was it for next year.  Mike would like to keep his job and that meant doing whatever he could for any win this year. 

[GoPerry]

Don't disagree with any of that - especially the Nate and Owen shout-out.

True indeed, I was expecting much more from this team - never expected them to finish 1-13.  I don't remember saying that they might compete for fourth, but I'll take your word for it that I did- (you don't have to re-post it).  Clearly, they had the talent to do much better than 5 wins.  Came close to beating Augie twice, took Hope to OT in Holland(definitely should've won that one)  and looked decent in Nov/Dec.  Even in their losses they were pretty competitive.  Now, what does that get you?  Answer: nothing this year.  I probably did not appreciate their lack of experience overall to finish out games.  But it's enough for me to say that yes, I think they will be better next season.  Further explained, I'm not saying they will be among the top teams or compete for #1-#4. Taking for granted another tough non-con schedule, a .500 season might be the best one can hope for.  But I don't expect them to finish dead last again.  Berg and Berntsen were solid players, but I don't see them as talent so difficult to replace like the players you mentioned above.

By the way, I believe Mike Schauer used the 2nd half of the season to experiment a little to see what he has for next year.  He got pretty creative in his rotation with Christian Simpson, Mike Winowiecki, Kobe Eichelberger, and a few others seeing true game minutes- not just at slop time.

He definitely did some experimenting but no way was it for next year.  Mike would like to keep his job and that meant doing whatever he could for any win this year.

Sounding like you believe Schauer should be fired . . .?

[Gregory Sager]

And they certainly aren't losing as much as Augie or Elmhurst who both are losing pretty much 190 out of 200 minutes of playing time once this season is done(Elmhurst more like 195/200)

I think that Augie will be better than people are likely to think they'll be. As I've said before, Chrishawn Orange is a star in the making, and Dylan Sortillo will be a very good CCIW player in 2016-17. Michael Hoekstra and Jacob Johnston saw a lot of the court this year, and I think that they'll step up and capably play more prominent roles next season.

The fact that Augustana has now finished in the first division of the CCIW for 16 straight seasons doesn't automatically guarantee that 2016-17 will make it 17 in a row, of course. But a streak that long is obviously a trend rather than a coincidence -- especially in a league with as much churn as this one -- and it's a trend worth taking seriously.

Elmhurst? Barring some sort of incoming super-recruit, it'll most likely be Nathan Rogers who will be The Man for the 'jays next season. He went from playing about 16 minutes per game in 24 of EC's 28 games last season to only seeing four and a half minutes' worth of tick in a mere 13 games this season -- and, having watched him play a JV game this year, I can attest that there's absolutely nothing wrong with him. I heard some scuttlebutt from Elmhurst types that Rogers sank down the depth chart because of a lack of progression in his game from sophomore to junior year, but I didn't see anything like that in that JV game. Jalen Loving, who is a talented player and the only non-senior regular on this year's team, is the other guy who'll likely be one of EC's studs next season. Then you've got JayQuan Lee (who sat out this season) and a bunch of two-year JVers (Tucker Harlan, Caleb Mowry, Chris Parilli, Brandon Auker, Morten Mueller, Chris Lynch, etc.) who play well together on that level but who are basically untested in terms of facing the big boys. Bottom line, I don't think that Elmhurst will be terrible next season, or even bad, really. But if the 'jays are going to be a first-division team again, they'll almost certainly have to get great senior seasons out of Rogers and Loving, and they'll probably need Lee to be a force as well.

Yes, EC and AC will be very different rosters next year.  NPU pre-season CCIW #1?

IWU'70

North central college

A lot of next year's polling probably all depends on what happens over the next week or two. I feel like NCC will probably be the preseason favorite since they're losing the least out of the three headed monster at the top from this year, but North Park is going to be up there too just based on the fact that Henry/Robinson are freaks of nature

I agree with izzy and lmitzel. Barring any significant off-season changes, I think that NCC will be the preseason #1 pick and NPU will be #2. That's the thing, though; there's always a solid likelihood that there will be significant off-season changes around the league. Let's not be naive and think that the status quo at the end of this season must necessarily still be in place next November in terms of CCIW rosters.

It's not even that Wheaton has young talent-- non of the freshman had particularly strong showings with plenty of opportunity.  I'm thinking of previous good freshman campaigns at Wheaton (Rob Hamann, Luke Moo, Kevin Blomstrom, Joel Kolmodin, Kent Raymond, Tim McCrary, Tyler Peters) and it isn't on the roster right now.

As I've said before, I think that Trae Masten and Troy Morrison have some potential ... but it's certainly more long-term potential than was the case with the players you mentioned above, all of whom were basically stars from the moment that they donned orange-and-white togs. 

There has been some lingering in the Wheaton basketball program of the idea that they have more to overcome in recruiting than IWU, Augie NCC etc in that they can't have that kind of depth.  I don't buy this as Wheaton as much to sell and as many buyers as any school in the conference. Look at football, soccer (gulp), swimming, women's bball, etc.

This is a good point, especially since football and soccer are harder sports to sustain at Wheaton's national level of excellence than is basketball. Recruiting the sheer numbers of top-level players required to be nationally competitive in those two sports (as well as the grunts necessary to fill in the rest of the rosters) on a yearly basis is not easy for a school of Wheaton's selectivity -- and yet Wheaton does it. That's not to say that recruiting for the same level of success in basketball should be a piece of cake, but you're quite right, izzy, that the ongoing big-time successes of football and soccer at Wheaton render invalid any excuses made for basketball. Heck, even Wheaton baseball is having some modest success over the past couple of years ... and Wheaton used to be allergic to anything that had to do with bats and gloves.

I am not delusional enough to think they should win the conference every other year or even ever win a national hoops title, but at worst they should be close to .500.  11-14, 5-20 and likely something similar next year is simply unacceptable.   

Well, somebody's gotta be at the bottom. (And, man, am I glad that it's no longer my alma mater that's stuck being the whipping boy.) Unfortunately for Wheaton, it appears that men's basketball will be one of Carroll's better sports coming into the league next season, given that the Pios are losing only one starter and one of their top five reserves from a team that's 19-4 going into the MWC tourney, so it's not as though Wheaton stands to gain from the league's expansion.

Don't disagree with any of that - especially the Nate and Owen shout-out.

True indeed, I was expecting much more from this team - never expected them to finish 1-13.  I don't remember saying that they might compete for fourth, but I'll take your word for it that I did- (you don't have to re-post it).  Clearly, they had the talent to do much better than 5 wins.  Came close to beating Augie twice, took Hope to OT in Holland(definitely should've won that one)  and looked decent in Nov/Dec.  Even in their losses they were pretty competitive.  Now, what does that get you?  Answer: nothing this year.  I probably did not appreciate their lack of experience overall to finish out games.  But it's enough for me to say that yes, I think they will be better next season.  Further explained, I'm not saying they will be among the top teams or compete for #1-#4. Taking for granted another tough non-con schedule, a .500 season might be the best one can hope for.  But I don't expect them to finish dead last again.  Berg and Berntsen were solid players, but I don't see them as talent so difficult to replace like the players you mentioned above.

By the way, I believe Mike Schauer used the 2nd half of the season to experiment a little to see what he has for next year.  He got pretty creative in his rotation with Christian Simpson, Mike Winowiecki, Kobe Eichelberger, and a few others seeing true game minutes- not just at slop time.

He definitely did some experimenting but no way was it for next year.  Mike would like to keep his job and that meant doing whatever he could for any win this year.

Sounding like you believe Schauer should be fired . . .?

I find it hard to believe that Schauer could be under that much pressure to keep his job, although I freely admit that I don't have the inside scoop on the machinations within the Wheaton athletic department that I used to have before the passing of Dave Lawrenz.

[Gregory Sager]

C'mon, Mark. I had posted an hour and a half earlier in my CCIW Chat game recap that Robinson had seven rebounds.

Did none of the coaches happen to notice my post the other day that there are only four players in all of D3 who are averaging 20 and 10 for the season, and that Robinson was one of them?

Maybe you could try a bigger font... 

... or I could use the "stick out like a sore thumb" strategy by slipping in annoying references to opera.

So after getting chastised this weekend (very politly I might add) --- for not making enough trips to Bloomington ----
to ride the fan bus!
by one of my favorite (more senior than I) fans

How were the funeral-home donuts?

and since my new meds are giving me insomnia ----

1) See paragraph #1 above
2) Given the sheer volume differential, Ypsi award not at risk.  But, Mark has earned a "participation trophy" LOL!
3) Amen
4) We did not see it but "your mikes still on"
5) Agree - NBA referee school teaches you to turn your hearing aids off, lip read all the words you can not say on TV and how clearly signal a "T" while facing the camera
6) A long time ago the coaches, mostly before this group, decided how the selections and awards would be done and it has been passed on as new coaches come on board. It works and gets you to your favorite beverage a little faster. Right. I think we can all agree that at least the coaches are consistent. They have a time-tested system in place. It's just not what's advertised in terms of being individually-earned awards.
7) "mediocre fifth-place team"
Hum, oh my, on behalf of every poster on this board, other than Sager, we are sure glad Sager wrote this and not us!  BUT, we will bookmark this page, commit it to memory and from time to time, remind someone, maybe even via a quote  who wrote those words! I don't see why what I've said is so controversial. Mediocre, by definition, means "in the middle" -- and that means either fourth place or fifth place in an eight-team league. NPU finished fifth; therefore, the Vikings were mediocre. Same goes with fourth-place IWU.
8) I do think you cleaned the bones. Like a vulture on the Serengeti. 

Thanks, Greg, as John Wesley would say, "on toward perfection."  I always accept back-handed compliments.

You guys are so fixated on men's basketball that I have to throw in a bit of extraneous material now and then, just to get a rise out of Q. We all know that many on this board have a rather low annoyance tolerance.   Usually, Ypsi plays the role of extraneous contributions, but as we are from the same intrepid class at IWU, perhaps we both share the same maladies. 

I find the "we always do it that way" of the Coaches on this All-CCIW team to be regrettable, reprehensible, esp. as it relates to Juwan Henry and Mssr. Robinson.  Let's see if the women's coaches do a better job on Friday on their All-CCIW team selections (now I hope that wasn't too extraneous for you fine gentlemen).

Yes, EC and AC will be very different rosters next year.  NPU pre-season CCIW #1?

IWU'70

I don't make it here as often as you do 70 but I've noticed this too.  And I've thought it odd that it would be happening on a men's basketball forum.  Obsessions are one thing but this has gone way beyond any reason.  It doesn't seem to be getting any better either.

Absolutely true. I, too, have noticed an alarming tendency on this board to talk about CCIW men's basketball. Heck, some days it seems that that's all that gets talked about here: CCIW men's basketball this, CCIW men's basketball that, nothing but CCIW men's basketball. I suppose that we all owe iwu70 a big thank-you for playing Barney Fife and nipping it in the bud.

Sorry to have jinxed the Vikings, Greg. 

Well, you didn't miss any free throws, bw, so nobody's blaming you for NPU's misfortune. But, next time you throw your hat in the ring for the Vikings, we may ask you to post your endorsement in purple, since that usually seems to work for you.

Based on history, it's hard to get worked up about silly outcomes of the All Conference Team.  It happens every year that someone is misplaced. 
I wonder how the coaches make their picks.  Do they ask for their assistants to make recommendations for consideration; do they refer to the Conference Stat sheets; do they just have their personal thoughts and preferences from watching two games during the season?
For Juwan Henry not to be selected to the 1st team, perhaps he had a not so good game against a certain team and that was enough to cause the coach not to name him 1st.?

Nope. That's not what happened. He was snubbed because of a fit of personal pique on the part of one of the head coaches, whom I will not name.

Or, perhaps a coach just wanted to be sure his own player got 1st team recognition and dropped Henry down?
At any rate, something seems intentional.  Too bad that it happens.

While there is a time-honored methodology in place that the coaches use to make their picks -- the spoils system -- don't think for a second that political maneuvering and personal grudges don't come into it, too. They most certainly do.

I'd almost rather have the SIDs pick the teams, or Chris Martin and Mike Krizman. Hogs will become airborne before either of those things happen, of course.

For Robinson, do you think a little "attitude" may have dropped him to the second team?

Nope. Spoils system, plain and simple. NPU finished fifth; therefore, NPU cannot possibly get two players on the first team. Q.E.D.

So long, Mother Falkner, you'll be missed by those who love to yell at the ref's.

He could be frustrating to watch, given what seemed to be his need to be center stage whenever he called a game, but he certainly was entertaining -- and in terms of running a game and making the calls, he did a better job than most, even at his age.

[bbfan44]

Thanks Gregory Sager for offering a response to my questions.  Much appreciated.

I agree with you that Ken Falkner wasn't a bad ref, and indeed probably was as good or better than most others.  The thing about his "air"...(not hair, which of course is a very nice coloring job)....but air,... is that he seemed to have bigger rabbit ears than many of the ref's.  It seems like he delighted in talking with coaches, players, and fans (at times) which slowed down the action.  To me, he carried himself as if "this is only a game" when in fact the players were out there fighting for their team to win.  Well, anyway, a unique guy.  I'm guessing it is hard to keep a stable of good ref's.

I hope your coach can pick up a couple of giants to go with your speed demons.
I saw a 6'10 or taller young man at the game the other night.  Maybe you saw him as well, wearing a Konnerko shirt.  Hard to tell if he was a high school senior, or college age.  Did you notice him, and know of him?

[Gregory Sager]

I don't remember seeing anybody who fits that description, but there is a 7'0 undergraduate at NPU who chose not to play basketball for the Vikings. That might've been the person you saw.

[bbfan44]

That would probably be the fellow that I saw.  Does he play IM ball?  If he has any feet at all maybe someone could talk him into moving on up.

[Gregory Sager]

I don't know if he plays intramurals or not. He was home-schooled, and therefore didn't play high-school ball. He was on the team at Harper (briefly) before transferring to NPU, but he told the North Park coaches more than once that he was not going to play for the Vikings.

Even if he were to change his mind and go out for the team next season (which I doubt will happen), my impression is that he wouldn't be likely to be a difference-maker. He simply hasn't played enough organized ball -- and the caliber of play in this league is too high for on-the-job training, even for a seven-footer. By the time he would've developed sufficient competence he'd be ready to graduate.

[cardinalpride]

A tid bit of CCIW history,
In the inaugural CCIW tournament in 2006 the seedings and pairings are identical to this years tournament. NCC defeated elmhurst and IWU defeated augie on its home court. The next night NCC defeated IWU in a knock down drag out to win the first ever CCIW tournament title.
Final score 51-49! Let's hope history can fully repeat itself!
If memory serves, there was chatter that year on this board about Chris Martin being more deserved of MOP than Rick Harrigan(MOP augie 2006).  Still can't believe that elmhurst team didn't make it to the national tournament. Wow.
On a side note, Keelan Amelianovich(IWU 2004 MOP) and Adam dauksas(IWU 2005 MOP) were not unanimous 1st teamers.

[Gregory Sager]

Juwan Henry ended the season in sixth place on the NPU all-time scoring list:

Michael Thomas (1978-81)	2085
Justyne Monegain (1982-85)	2039
Michael Harper (1977-80)	1880
Modzel Greer (1977-80)	1826
Greg Crawford (1967-70)	1690
Juwan Henry (2014-current)	1627
Keith McDonald (1970-73)	1609
Rick Alspach (1997-00)	1562
Mike Barach (1986-88)	1507
Michael Starks (1986-88)	1499

If he stays healthy next season, it seems inevitable that he'll end his career as North Park's all-time leading scorer.

[voxelmhurst]

A tid bit of CCIW history,
In the inaugural CCIW tournament in 2006 the seedings and pairings are identical to this years tournament. NCC defeated elmhurst and IWU defeated augie on its home court. The next night NCC defeated IWU in a knock down drag out to win the first ever CCIW tournament title.
Final score 51-49! Let's hope history can fully repeat itself!
If memory serves, there was chatter on this board about Chris Martin being more deserved of MOP than Rick Harrigan. Still can't believe that that elmhurst team didn't make it to the national tournament. Wow.
On a side note, Keelan Amelianovich and Adam dauksas, two former MOPs from IWU, we're not unanimous 1st teamers.

The CCIW was an incredible conference in 05/06. That was one of my years as a student broadcaster for Elmhurst. They were 17-9 overall and 9-5 in CCIW that season (2005/06). I can't quite remember the exact mood at the time, but I want to say that Elmhurst knew that had to win the CCIW tournament to get in the national tournament that season. There was much more disappointment after Elmhurst were left out of the national tournament in 2006/07 after going 20-5, beating Kent Raymond and Wheaton in first round of the CCIW Tournament before losing to Augustana in the final and finishing 21-6. It's too bad that Chris Martin never got to lead Elmhurst in a national tournament game, but that 2004/05 - 2008/09 era for Elmhurst was truly the first time in the history of the program that the Jays had consistently winning squads. Good times. 

[kenoshamark]

C'mon, Mark. I had posted an hour and a half earlier in my CCIW Chat game recap that Robinson had seven rebounds.

Did none of the coaches happen to notice my post the other day that there are only four players in all of D3 who are averaging 20 and 10 for the season, and that Robinson was one of them?

Maybe you could try a bigger font... 

... or I could use the "stick out like a sore thumb" strategy by slipping in annoying references to opera.

So after getting chastised this weekend (very politly I might add) --- for not making enough trips to Bloomington ----
to ride the fan bus!
by one of my favorite (more senior than I) fans

How were the funeral-home donuts?

and since my new meds are giving me insomnia ----

1) See paragraph #1 above
2) Given the sheer volume differential, Ypsi award not at risk.  But, Mark has earned a "participation trophy" LOL!
3) Amen
4) We did not see it but "your mikes still on"
5) Agree - NBA referee school teaches you to turn your hearing aids off, lip read all the words you can not say on TV and how clearly signal a "T" while facing the camera
6) A long time ago the coaches, mostly before this group, decided how the selections and awards would be done and it has been passed on as new coaches come on board. It works and gets you to your favorite beverage a little faster. Right. I think we can all agree that at least the coaches are consistent. They have a time-tested system in place. It's just not what's advertised in terms of being individually-earned awards.
7) "mediocre fifth-place team"
Hum, oh my, on behalf of every poster on this board, other than Sager, we are sure glad Sager wrote this and not us!  BUT, we will bookmark this page, commit it to memory and from time to time, remind someone, maybe even via a quote  who wrote those words! I don't see why what I've said is so controversial. Mediocre, by definition, means "in the middle" -- and that means either fourth place or fifth place in an eight-team league. NPU finished fifth; therefore, the Vikings were mediocre. Same goes with fourth-place IWU.
8) I do think you cleaned the bones. Like a vulture on the Serengeti. 

Thanks, Greg, as John Wesley would say, "on toward perfection."  I always accept back-handed compliments.

You guys are so fixated on men's basketball that I have to throw in a bit of extraneous material now and then, just to get a rise out of Q. We all know that many on this board have a rather low annoyance tolerance.   Usually, Ypsi plays the role of extraneous contributions, but as we are from the same intrepid class at IWU, perhaps we both share the same maladies. 

I find the "we always do it that way" of the Coaches on this All-CCIW team to be regrettable, reprehensible, esp. as it relates to Juwan Henry and Mssr. Robinson.  Let's see if the women's coaches do a better job on Friday on their All-CCIW team selections (now I hope that wasn't too extraneous for you fine gentlemen).

Yes, EC and AC will be very different rosters next year.  NPU pre-season CCIW #1?

IWU'70

I don't make it here as often as you do 70 but I've noticed this too.  And I've thought it odd that it would be happening on a men's basketball forum.  Obsessions are one thing but this has gone way beyond any reason.  It doesn't seem to be getting any better either.

Absolutely true. I, too, have noticed an alarming tendency on this board to talk about CCIW men's basketball. Heck, some days it seems that that's all that gets talked about here: CCIW men's basketball this, CCIW men's basketball that, nothing but CCIW men's basketball. I suppose that we all owe iwu70 a big thank-you for playing Barney Fife and nipping it in the bud.

Sorry to have jinxed the Vikings, Greg. 

Well, you didn't miss any free throws, bw, so nobody's blaming you for NPU's misfortune. But, next time you throw your hat in the ring for the Vikings, we may ask you to post your endorsement in purple, since that usually seems to work for you.

Based on history, it's hard to get worked up about silly outcomes of the All Conference Team.  It happens every year that someone is misplaced. 
I wonder how the coaches make their picks.  Do they ask for their assistants to make recommendations for consideration; do they refer to the Conference Stat sheets; do they just have their personal thoughts and preferences from watching two games during the season?
For Juwan Henry not to be selected to the 1st team, perhaps he had a not so good game against a certain team and that was enough to cause the coach not to name him 1st.?

Nope. That's not what happened. He was snubbed because of a fit of personal pique on the part of one of the head coaches, whom I will not name.

Or, perhaps a coach just wanted to be sure his own player got 1st team recognition and dropped Henry down?
At any rate, something seems intentional.  Too bad that it happens.

While there is a time-honored methodology in place that the coaches use to make their picks -- the spoils system -- don't think for a second that political maneuvering and personal grudges don't come into it, too. They most certainly do.

I'd almost rather have the SIDs pick the teams, or Chris Martin and Mike Krizman. Hogs will become airborne before either of those things happen, of course.

For Robinson, do you think a little "attitude" may have dropped him to the second team?

Nope. Spoils system, plain and simple. NPU finished fifth; therefore, NPU cannot possibly get two players on the first team. Q.E.D.

So long, Mother Falkner, you'll be missed by those who love to yell at the ref's.

He could be frustrating to watch, given what seemed to be his need to be center stage whenever he called a game, but he certainly was entertaining -- and in terms of running a game and making the calls, he did a better job than most, even at his age.

Greg,

I respect your not wanting to name the coach, but my guess is that it was Bosko.  This is based on the ending of the game when Henry launched the three to try and score 50 instead of dribbling it out.  I'm not looking for a response, but it seems like this could easily be the reason he chose not to select him.  What a shame if it was... it wouldn't surprise me either....but that's a story for another day.

[markerickson]

Until the Vikings crack the top four, I will not predict anything higher.

In three of the Vikings four straights losses to end the season, they shot .276, .286, and .280 from beyond the arc.

I am befuddled why Henry and Robinson were penalized for the team's lack of depth.

[markerickson]

Kudos to Elmhurst's wrestling coach, Steve Marianetti, for winning his sixth CCIW Coach of the Year in his 14th season.  Congratulations to the Elmhurst squad for winning the conference title, again.