MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[sac]

Conditioning can be improved with a little weight loss, though. It's not as though Perry is terribly overweight; he'd just move a bit quicker up and down the floor with a little less gut, and that's eminently fixable with the diet and training regimen that's typically imposed upon a scholarship player. And I've seen loads of D2 and NAIA scholie centers who are less athletic than Perry. As I said, nowadays scholie schools will make offers to anybody 6'11 who can walk and chew gum at the same time (and to plenty who can't, as well). It didn't used to be that way, but the D1 and D2 ranks have swollen so much in recent years, while NAIA has stemmed its losses and is now booming as well, that the standards for who gets scholie offers from D2 and NAIA programs is definitely lower than it used to be.

Bob and I have talked about that here before, in conjunction with comparing modern-day CCIW teams to the teams of the past. It's not that Bob and I and the other long-termers who've been around this league for decades live within the stereotypical fog of elder-statesman nostalgia in which everything and everybody was better in the past than it is now. It's just the plain truth that it's harder to get good quality high-schoolers to play for D3 programs now than it used to be, because there's more scholie schools and thus more competition for the borderline players below the blue-chip level. Plus, scouting and online research services are so much more extensive now that very few players get overlooked, and the off-season exposure from AAU likewise makes it even harder for such a borderline player to slip through the cracks.

Yeah, twenty years ago Brad Perry might've been snubbed by scholie schools. But today's a different story, which is why he's an anomaly.

Piggy backing here, virtually the entire GLIAC which consists of mostly D2 programs in Michigan and Ohio were all non-scholarship NAIA as late as the early 90's.  I imagine there are similar stories across the D2 spectrum.

[Gregory Sager]

Something's in the water down in Decatur ... well, besides the usual stuff. Millikin just beat Calvin today, 68-63, in the opening round of Wittenberg's holiday tourney. The Big Blue led for the final 26 minutes of the game, had a few ten-point leads, and came up with an answer every time that the Knights drew close.

Granted, this Calvin team is but a shadow of the powerhouse program that it was on an annual basis until the past couple of seasons, but this is a Millikin team that's powered largely by freshmen and was being bruited about as a possible winless-for-the-season prospect just a couple of weeks ago. Now the Big Blue are on a two-game winning streak -- and a two-game road winning streak at that.

[titanfan]

Halftime in Staten Island:

IWU 43
Middlebury 42

Titans were up 12 but Midd closed the half on a 17-6 run.  Lots of fouls called in the first half. 

[Gregory Sager]

The Wesleyan game is fun to listen to. The announcers have Noo Yawk accents so thick you can slice them with a pizza cutter.

[WUPHF]

The Wesleyan game is fun to listen to. The announcers have Noo Yawk accents so thick you can slice them with a pizza cutter.

You mean, pizza cutta...

I love when say no more gets the basket.

SAY NO MORE UP AND IN!

[WUPHF]

Say no more with the jumpa!

This is a good game.

[iwu70]

Middlebury is fast.  Titans look like perhaps a bit too much Christmas turkey.

Yes, love the SI accents.  Makes me feel like I'm back at home in Gowanus, Brooklyn. 

'70

[WUPHF]

Everybody should be watching the Middlebury-Illinoise Wesleyan game. 

[Gregory Sager]

Middlebury beats IWU, 77-75, on a Jack Daly pull-up in the lane with 1.6 seconds left.

[Gregory Sager]

The Wesleyan game is fun to listen to. The announcers have Noo Yawk accents so thick you can slice them with a pizza cutter.

You mean, pizza cutta...

I love when say no more gets the basket.

SAY NO MORE UP AND IN!

I sure hope that Matt St. Amour's Panthers teammates have nicknamed him "Nudge Nudge".

[titanfan]

Great game and a tough loss for the Titans.  Both teams gave up 12 point leads in the game and it took a last second jumper to put it away.  It seemed like two very evenly matched teams to me.

[iwu70]

Great game, Titans just coming up one possession short of coming back from 13 down.  Strange foul and Tech on Seibring with 2 minutes to go taking him out with five fouls.  Middlebury with some great footspeed and penetration.  Titans looked a bit slow today, for some reason, again not pushing the ball in their normal way.

Yes, very fun commentary, with true "local cola."  Nice job guys.  Made me truly homesick for New York City.   

Titans now 8-3.  One more game tomorrow in the Staten Island Tournament.

'70

[Titan Q]

Middlebury 77
IWU 75

* Seibring: 17 pts, 8 reb
* Rose: 16 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists
* Coleman: 9 pts (3-4 3-point)
* Bausch: 9 pts, 6 reb

* St. Amour: 23 pts, 4 reb, 2 assists
* Daly: 16 pts, 5 reb, 7 assists
* Majors: 14 pts, 4 reb
* Brown: 10 pts, 2 reb, 4 assists

A good game and a tough loss for the Titans.  Two good teams, very evenly matched...came down to a shot with 1.6 seconds left.  It was a really physical game...especially the 2nd half.

Too much Matt. St. Amour today for the Titans - he really hit some big shots for Middlebury.  Great player. 

The Titans really hurt themselves with turnovers - it's hard to beat a good team when you turn it over 21 times.

IWU (8-3) will face either Staten Island or Bridgewater tomorrow in the early game.

[Gregory Sager]

Everybody should be watching the Middlebury-Illinoise Wesleyan game.

"Ain't dat how youze goize say it in dah midwest?"

Great game, Titans just coming up one possession short of coming back from 13 down.  Strange foul and Tech on Seibring with 2 minutes to go taking him out with five fouls.

Nothing strange about it. The personal foul was obvious, as he clearly hit Daly. Seibring and Daly had been jaw-jacking and colliding with each other for several minutes before that final confrontation that resulted in the dual T's. At one point Seibring was down on the floor and Daly offered him his hand to pull him up, and Seibring declined it. Seibring looked to be in pain at the end of the game, but, pain aside, he had to be smarter that that in that confrontation, since he had just picked up his fourth foul on the play. Refs don't tend to be sympathetic to 6'8, 235 guys who are verbally and physically locking horns with 6'3, 190 guys.

Middlebury with some great footspeed and penetration.  Titans looked a bit slow today, for some reason, again not pushing the ball in their normal way.

Middlebury is just flat-out quicker than Illinois Wesleyan, Mark, plain and simple. The Titans are a better outside shooting team than Middlebury, and have a better inside game, but the Panthers are one of those quick teams that give the Titans fits.

[nescac1]

As a NESCAC fan I can tell you, Daly is a tough mofo.  I can easily imagine him mixing it up even with a big guy.  Absolutely fearless relentless dude.  Midd is REALLY quick when Baines plays; he's easily the quickest guy on the team.  They aren't going to kill anyone in the paint but they can fly up the court.