MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwumichigander]

D3Hoops Preseason All-American team

4 CCIW players:

First Team--Alex Sorenson--North Central Jr.
Second Team--Juwan Henry--North Park Sr.
Fourth Team--Jordan Robinson--North Park Jr.
Honorable Mention--Connor Raridon--North Central So.

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/preseason-2017

All very worthy of selection.  And all, IMHO, to be superseded by Trevor Seibring as CCIW MOP.

I guess we will find out in a few months.

agree on Trevor Seibring.  I also think Connor Raridon could have been a little higher on the totem pole. Robinson, Henry and Sorenson deserving.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Trust me when I say there are a lot of good forwards/centers in Division III and with the disappearance of a true Center these days in the Division III game, it actually gets harder to gauge. Seibring was seriously considered, but ultimately decided to let Seibring play his way onto the post-season awards - which in many ways is far more meaningful, I would think.

[AndOne]

D3Hoops Preseason All-American team

4 CCIW players:

First Team--Alex Sorenson--North Central Jr.
Second Team--Juwan Henry--North Park Sr.
Fourth Team--Jordan Robinson--North Park Jr.
Honorable Mention--Connor Raridon--North Central So.

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/preseason-2017

All very worthy of selection.  And all, IMHO, to be superseded by Trevor Seibring as CCIW MOP.

I guess we will find out in a few months.

agree on Trevor Seibring.  I also think Connor Raridon could have been a little higher on the totem pole. Robinson, Henry and Sorenson deserving.

1. Lets just add Seibring's name to the 4 preseason AAs and say that group makes a good looking first team all-conference CCIW squad. Anyone want to play against that team?
2. As far as the early fav for conference POY, I think the first two in line at this point are senior Henry and junior Sorenson.
3. Connor Raridon is a great player because he does many things well. Yes, he probably could have placed a little higher as iwumichigander said, but lets remember he is only a soph this year. His time will come.

[bbfan44]

D3Hoops Preseason All-American team

4 CCIW players:

First Team--Alex Sorenson--North Central Jr.
Second Team--Juwan Henry--North Park Sr.
Fourth Team--Jordan Robinson--North Park Jr.
Honorable Mention--Connor Raridon--North Central So.

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/preseason-2017

These four guys are great players and fun to watch.  Interesting that no one made the pre-season team from #1 Amherst.  Perhaps they'll have someone appear at the end of the year.  Must be a good "team".

(modified by GS for formatting)

[AndOne]

Yes, maybe its the concept that they are the best team that drives their #1 ranking.
You can bet the world that if Amherst, or any other team for that matter, finishes first at the end of the year that they will have someone on the year-end AA team. Thats a given.

Kind of on the same theme, one "weird" thing, to me at least, is the fact that a team has both a 2nd team and a 4th team pre-season AA, and receives not only no mention in the Top 25, but not even a single vote as far as the ORV teams. Heck, they are only picked for fourth in their own conference. Wonder when the last time something like that happened?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Kind of on the same theme, one "weird" thing, to me at least, is the fact that a team has both a 2nd team and a 4th team pre-season AA, and receives not only no mention in the Top 25, but not even a single vote as far as the ORV teams. Heck, they are only picked for fourth in their own conference. Wonder when the last time something like that happened?

Surprised me to.  I had them mentally in my Top 25, then when I actually went to do the research and rank the teams, I couldn't justify it.  On paper, it's a Top 15 team, no problem, but the results last year were just too inconsistent.  I like that team a lot - I watched them disproportionately last year.  I'm not unfamiliar, but they're definitely an example of a squad that's got every opportunity to earn their respect on the court.  I sure hope they do.

[Greek Tragedy]

So, it surprised you but then you couldn't justify it?

Anyway, interesting that there are complaints about Raridon not being "ranked" higher in a PRESEASON AA list when he's considered one of the Top 25 players in a division that has 40+ conferences, 400+ teams and thousands of players. The committee or whomever put the list together, really screwed up by not putting him in the Top 15 or 20 like he obviously deserves. Apparently being listed in the Top 25 and only being honorable mention is an insult. Really?

[AndOne]

Greek,

Any chance you are over reacting? I honestly don't see where anyone classified Raridon's being classified "only" as Honorable Mention as an insult.   

[Titan Q]

D3Hoops Preseason All-American team

4 CCIW players:

First Team--Alex Sorenson--North Central Jr.
Second Team--Juwan Henry--North Park Sr.
Fourth Team--Jordan Robinson--North Park Jr.
Honorable Mention--Connor Raridon--North Central So.

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/preseason-2017

All very worthy of selection.  And all, IMHO, to be superseded by Trevor Seibring as CCIW MOP.

I guess we will find out in a few months.

agree on Trevor Seibring.  I also think Connor Raridon could have been a little higher on the totem pole. Robinson, Henry and Sorenson deserving.

1. Lets just add Seibring's name to the 4 preseason AAs and say that group makes a good looking first team all-conference CCIW squad. Anyone want to play against that team?

I believe Augustana's Pierson Wofford will be in the 1st Team discussion by February.

[iwu70]

Q, when is your season review coming out?

Is it fair to say that the IWU line up might be

1 - Brady Rose
2 - Falitico
3 - Stempel
4 - Beasley
5 - Seibring

With strong 6th man being Bausch?

Just my guess at this point, from my close watching of the group last year.

Any new faces to play a major part in the rotation?

Look forward to your review.

I'll be on campus to see the first 3-4 home games, then back to the Far Side and a video-streaming fan only.

IWU'70

P.S. I think the Titan women have a good chance of de-throwning Wheaton this year.  ms

[Gregory Sager]

Kind of on the same theme, one "weird" thing, to me at least, is the fact that a team has both a 2nd team and a 4th team pre-season AA, and receives not only no mention in the Top 25, but not even a single vote as far as the ORV teams. Heck, they are only picked for fourth in their own conference. Wonder when the last time something like that happened?

Surprised me to.  I had them mentally in my Top 25, then when I actually went to do the research and rank the teams, I couldn't justify it.  On paper, it's a Top 15 team, no problem, but the results last year were just too inconsistent.  I like that team a lot - I watched them disproportionately last year.  I'm not unfamiliar, but they're definitely an example of a squad that's got every opportunity to earn their respect on the court.  I sure hope they do.

It's all good. I prefer that the Park flies under everybody's radar, and I know that the team does as well. Nothing better than seeing a team go into the season with a chip on its collective shoulder.

I anticipate an exciting season for NPU.

[AndOne]

Greg,

Whether NPU flies under "everybody's" radar depends on which group of everybodys you're looking at.

If the group is those who are not familiar with the CCIW, or those who don't give the Parkers much credit because they don't see lots of articles, posts, etc singing their praises then, yes, they will be flying under the radar.

But, if you're talking about those who closely follow the conference and the teams therein, no such advantage will fall to your team. This is especially true of the players and the coaches who have played and coached against the current NPU squad. They know that to underestimate a squad who is capable of winning on just about any given night, means that there is a strong possibility that they will be leaving the gym that night with a check mark in the L column. And if they don't know that, they should.

[AndOne]

D3Hoops Preseason All-American team

4 CCIW players:

First Team--Alex Sorenson--North Central Jr.
Second Team--Juwan Henry--North Park Sr.
Fourth Team--Jordan Robinson--North Park Jr.
Honorable Mention--Connor Raridon--North Central So.

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/preseason-2017

All very worthy of selection.  And all, IMHO, to be superseded by Trevor Seibring as CCIW MOP.

I guess we will find out in a few months.

agree on Trevor Seibring.  I also think Connor Raridon could have been a little higher on the totem pole. Robinson, Henry and Sorenson deserving.

1. Lets just add Seibring's name to the 4 preseason AAs and say that group makes a good looking first team all-conference CCIW squad. Anyone want to play against that team?

I believe Augustana's Pierson Wofford will be in the 1st Team discussion by February.

I believe so too. 
And, that he will be a very deserving member of the 2nd Team. 

[Titan Q]

Per a tweet by the first lady of Big Blue basketball, Millikin scrimmaged at Blackburn yesterday. https://twitter.com/3littleblues/status/794677740872069122

I can make out four of the starters:

G - Jack Simpson, 6-0 So.
G - Nathan Lovekamp, 6-4 So.
F - Levi Bailey, 6-6 Jr.
C - Jordan Cunningham, 6-6 Fr.

[Titan Q]

Q, when is your season review coming out?

Is it fair to say that the IWU line up might be

1 - Brady Rose
2 - Falitico
3 - Stempel
4 - Beasley
5 - Seibring

With strong 6th man being Bausch?

Just my guess at this point, from my close watching of the group last year.

Any new faces to play a major part in the rotation?

Look forward to your review.

Mark Falotico is out with a concussion right now.  That will most likely set him back for a while in a deep and talented group of guards.

I'd say still a lot of things to work out on the perimeter, and a lot of moving parts (guys who can play multiple spots).  The decision on who to start at PG impacts the way the 2 and 3 shake out.  Whatever the combinations at the 1/2/3 end up being, I feel confident the Titans will be very strong on the perimeter this year.  I had a chance to watch practice Wednesday (was in town for work) and was really impressed by the talent at the PG, SG, and G/F spots.

Trevor Seibring is a lock at the 5 of course.  At the 4, 6-6 senior Alec Bausch and 6-6 junior Jaylen Beasley seem to be in a tight battle for the starting job - safe to say both guys will play a lot.  Beasley hit the weights hard in the off-season and is physically stronger (still a thin kid, but much stronger) - he will bring nice athleticism to the floor.

As far as new faces competing for time, I know that 6-6 freshman G/F Miles Curry was the leading scorer in the Green/White scrimmage.  Curry is very raw but very talented - he could get in the mix as the season progresses.  There are probably 2 other new guys competing for varsity time. 

I should have the preview out by a week from today.  I interview Ron Rose tomorrow and then need to pull it all together.