MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Sorry, my bad. Thanks, Augie6.

[havej]

Avid posters help me out here - I only watched about 10 minutes of any D3 tournament games this year and that was during the final.  I was extremely impressed with the left handed PG from St Thomas - very smart, good with the ball and showed the ability to score on all three levels just in the half of a half I watched.  Just looked up his stats for the year - also excellent.

How does he not merit any All American recognition?  I want to say his numbers are very comparable to Hunter Hill who is a first teamer.

[Gregory Sager]

That's really more of a question for Pat Coleman than for any of us, havej. But, since I've made a habit out of answering questions that were really meant for somebody else ...

It's been my observation that D3hoops.com All-American selections hew pretty closely to the various All-Region teams; the players picked as All-Americans tend to be culled from the first-teamers and second-teamers previously named to the site's eight All-Region teams. Grant Schaeffer did not make the West Region's All-Region team at all, although two of his fellow Tommies did, Ryan Saarela (2nd team) and Taylor Montero (3rd team). The All-Region teams are voted upon by the sports information directors of the schools in their respective regions, so perhaps it's not the staff of d3hoops.com that's on the hot seat for Schaeffer's omission but rather the West Region's various SIDs.

One difference between Schaeffer and Hunter Hill is that Schaeffer's a junior while Hill is a senior. I don't know if that played into it.

For the record, I am hugely impressed by Schaeffer, too, even more because of how he played in the sectional final than for what he did this past weekend. This Augustana team played outstanding perimeter defense all season long, and yet Schaeffer made mincemeat out of it.

[AndOne]

Greg,

Since you say you often answer questions that were meant for others perhaps you'll take a shot at this one.

* Lucas Johnson (who I have always said was a very good D3 player) was named the D3 POY.
* In head-to-head competition this year North Central's Alex Sorenson had 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 block vs. Johnson's 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
* Sorenson was a unanimous 1st team All CCIW selection as was Augie's Ben Ryan.
* Sorenson was a D3Hoops 2nd team All Central Region selection as was Ryan.
* Sorenson averaged 15.3 PPG, and 7.7 RPG.
* Ryan averaged 14.0 PPG, and 7.1 RPG
* Ryan was D3Hoops 2nd team All American.
* Sorenson not only wasn't selected D3Hoops 2nd team All American, he wasn't selected to the 3rd or 4th team, or even named Honorable Mention.

Doesn't something seem amiss here?

[Titan Q]

IWU has landed Daniel Hoekstra, a 6-3 SG from Bishop McNamara H.S...

https://twitter.com/TheReal_Hook31/status/712064194422685700

http://www.prephoops.com/2016/03/daniel-hoekstra-illinois-wesleyan/

http://www.daily-journal.com/sports/boys-basketball-meet-our-all-area-team/article_6b8debb6-496d-5cc4-bd75-1905039a339d.html


Hoekstra averaged 19.5 points and 7.2 rebounds as a senior.  He is Bishop Mac's all-time leading scorer.

[AndOne]

Well, probably not much chance that he was gonna go to Augie. 
Maybe he'll be IWU's 4th guard next season?

[Titan Q]

Well, probably not much chance that he was gonna go to Augie. 

Augustana was very much in the mix for Daniel.  Augie, St. Norbert, and IWU were his final three.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Would anyone disagree that NCC and NPU will be picked 1,2 (in whichever order) in the pre-season poll?  (My personal bet would be 1. NCC  2. NPU.)

Challengers would seem to be IWU, Carroll (good returners, but hard to judge a newcomer from another conference), and probably Augie (lose the vast majority of their fire-power, but they have depth and 'The Stomper/Jacket Tosser' - love him or hate him, but say he's not a helluva coach at your peril ).

The bottom four seem almost inevitable: Elmhurst graduated EVERYBODY, Wheaton may be the best of the rest, but is coming off a 1-13 conference season, Carthage lost their top returning scorer when Kedrowski transferred, and Sims was kicked out/dropped out at Millikin.  I'd call it a near miracle if any of the four made the conference tourney.

BTW, anyone hearing any rumors about expanding the tourney now that the conference has expanded?  I like four, but would not necessarily be opposed to six, with the top two seeds getting byes.

[AndOne]

Well, probably not much chance that he was gonna go to Augie. 

Augustana was very much in the mix for Daniel.  Augie, St. Norbert, and IWU were his final three.

Michael Hoekstra, heavily recruited before choosing Augie, has played the equivalent of about seven games (291 minutes) in three years. I doubt that he expected to be used so sparingly and, accordingly, whether he is passing out many exuberant endorsements of the AC program. 😐

[AndOne]

Ypsi,

I was involved in a discussion on this very subject just this afternoon, and I believe your analysis is pretty much right on.
NPU then NCC or, more likely, NCC then NPU is pretty much a given for pre-season 1 and 2.
I very much like IWU for the #3 pick. When you start with Trevor Seibring you can't go too wrong. Augie was favored for #4. If there is any year that Augie won't make the conference tourney next year will be the year. But I think they will be able to hold off the other contenders for the last (unless its expanded) tourney spot. The prime reasons for this are named Orange & Wofford.
Carroll had a pretty good season, albeit in a weaker conference. With the other teams so down, it appears they have a solid chance for 5th. Wheaton, Elmhurst, Millikin, and Carthage--who knows, other than, as Ypsi said, none seem to have a realistic chance to finish in the top four. If I have to pick, I'd say Wheaton, Elmhurst (lost their top NINE players), nobody in 8th, and Carthage and Millikin tied for last.

Haven't heard anything about the possibility of the tournament being expanded (maybe #4 and #5 having a play-in game). The talk seems centered on how the extra two conference games will be scheduled. Looks like at least two, and possibly three, conference games in December. It's possible some teams will be playing conference games before completing their full slate of non-conference games.

[Titan Q]

Michael Hoekstra, heavily recruited before choosing Augie, has played the equivalent of about seven games (291 minutes) in three years. I doubt that he expected to be used so sparingly and, accordingly, whether he is passing out many exuberant endorsements of the AC program. 😐

Michael Hoekstra committed to Augustana knowing that posts Ben Ryan, Tayvian Johnson, and Brandon Motzel were in the class ahead of him -- 6-5 Ryan and 6-6 Johnson started as freshmen.  I don't think it's fair to blindly suggest (without any knowledge of the situation) that 3 years later Hoekstra is upset that he's been behind those same 3 guys, and that he is not happy with the Augie basketball program. 

From a common sense standpoint, why would Daniel Hoekstra have considered Augustana so strongly if his brother was unhappy there? (And I know he did strongly consider Augie.)  So your theory doesn't seem to add up.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Greg,

Since you say you often answer questions that were meant for others perhaps you'll take a shot at this one.

* Lucas Johnson (who I have always said was a very good D3 player) was named the D3 POY.
* In head-to-head competition this year North Central's Alex Sorenson had 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 block vs. Johnson's 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
* Sorenson was a unanimous 1st team All CCIW selection as was Augie's Ben Ryan.
* Sorenson was a D3Hoops 2nd team All Central Region selection as was Ryan.
* Sorenson averaged 15.3 PPG, and 7.7 RPG.
* Ryan averaged 14.0 PPG, and 7.1 RPG
* Ryan was D3Hoops 2nd team All American.
* Sorenson not only wasn't selected D3Hoops 2nd team All American, he wasn't selected to the 3rd or 4th team, or even named Honorable Mention.

Doesn't something seem amiss here?

There were a lot of forwards considered this year. There is only so much room. Ryan Saarela didn't make the All-American team either.

As for your comparison with Johnson, stats isn't the only key. He did help lead a team to a championship game appearance and only suffered one loss and any coach I have talked to who has seen him play, played against him, or knows him stats that Johnson could easily go for 20-30 points a game if that is what the team needed. He actually does an amazing job getting the rest of the team involved (over 100 assists this season - over 3 per game) and when needed steps up with big nights (21 points, 11 rebounds in title game). Head to head can be tough to make decisions based on versus the entire resume of the player and the team.

Sorenson is certainly a good player, but there really were a lot of good forwards this season.

[havej]

Appreciate the input Greg - I had heard he had handled Augie's pressure extremely well in the Elite 8 game so wanted to see him if I could in the Final 4.

Your analysis makes much sense - hopefully he has a terrific senior year in 2016/2017

[Augie6]

Michael Hoekstra, heavily recruited before choosing Augie, has played the equivalent of about seven games (291 minutes) in three years. I doubt that he expected to be used so sparingly and, accordingly, whether he is passing out many exuberant endorsements of the AC program. 😐

Michael Hoekstra committed to Augustana knowing that posts Ben Ryan, Tayvian Johnson, and Brandon Motzel were in the class ahead of him -- 6-5 Ryan and 6-6 Johnson started as freshmen.  I don't think it's fair to blindly suggest (without any knowledge of the situation) that 3 years later Hoekstra is upset that he's been behind those same 3 guys, and that he is not happy with the Augie basketball program. 

From a common sense standpoint, why would Daniel Hoekstra have considered Augustana so strongly if his brother was unhappy there? (And I know he did strongly consider Augie.)  So your theory doesn't seem to add up.

I'll put it more succinctly.  The comment by AO is simply a load of crap.

[unanimous22]

That's impossible.