MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwumichigander]

It's been touched on to some extent here recently, but there seems to be some question as to whether the Green Team's fine player Trevor Seibring is currently functioning at 100%. Also, if not, is he up in the 90% area, or more like 50%? A less than full strength Seibring is a tremendous advantage to NPU, especially considering their lack of an inside force on either end of the floor. Also, I think a key for NPU vs IWU will be to exploit the quickness/speed advantage they enjoy.

With regard to Augie @ Carthage on Sat., I think AC will have a successful trip. Carthage has been steadily slipping lately after their impressive start. AC by 9?

Mark, after watching last night ( and not taking anything away from NPU), I would put Trevor closer to 50%. I think the lower back injury still bothering him.

[iwumichigander]

Thoughts about IWU vs NPU last night -
Titans came out in second half taking the ball to the paint and bucket with success.  Titans were scoring with the adjustment and drawing fouls on NPU.  Then, to me, Titans went away from the adjustment.  Why, I do not understand as they were closing the gap and having success.

Juwan Henry - you watch him and think he is in the low double digits but by games end he has put up 25.  He did a good job last night letting the game come to him.  When he does that rather than try to be a one man team is when the Vikings are really dangerous.

Jordan Robinson - I think, particularly at his size, he is one of if not the best high post players I have seen.  He is a really good passer, can step out and hit the three or drive by his defender to the hoop.  I really think NPU functions more around Robinson than Henry.

Roles and responsibilities - hats off the rest of the team.  There is now some depth to North Park which most would not say that in the past two seasons.  Players are stepping up, developing and you can see a future .

IWU - we are getting really good a digging deeper holes.  Somebody please toss a ladder into the hole so we climb out!

Memo - to NPU AD and President - if you have not signed Tom Slyder to a long term contract do so now.  Best basketball coach you have had since you let Bosko get away. 

[Gregory Sager]

Seibring's clearly not at 100% -- I've heard secondhand that he has a slight crack in his third vertebra and a marginally misaligned disk -- but he did play 30 minutes last night (well above his season average), and he had no problem getting up and down the floor. He was only one shot under his season average in terms of shots attempted and was right on target in terms of his season average in FT attempts. He made a quick, nifty inside move in the post for a hoop-and-harm in the second half, and he didn't appear to have any trouble at all with leaving his feet or absorbing contact (in fact, since he plays offense with his back to the basket and neither Biko nor Brown did so last night, Seibring was the one who initiated contact far more often than received it, and that's as one would expect, given the players involved). I think that the 50% figure is underselling his current ability by quite a bit.

His main problem last night, aside from the fact that he didn't shoot well and didn't guard Biko on the perimeter (although Bausch didn't, either, when he was assigned to Biko), was his turnovers. One was a badly-thrown outlet pass and the other three were traveling calls. I don't see how his back trouble affected any of those four turnovers.

Thoughts about IWU vs NPU last night -
Titans came out in second half taking the ball to the paint and bucket with success.  Titans were scoring with the adjustment and drawing fouls on NPU.  Then, to me, Titans went away from the adjustment.  Why, I do not understand as they were closing the gap and having success.

That was true at the end of the game, too, when the Titans went away from the trey for the most part and got much more aggressive off the dribble, especially in transition. During the early-second-half run you spoke of, in which IWU cut the 14-point halftime lead down to six, they did so mostly through layups and free throws, as you said. Bausch was a big part of that, as he was a difficult matchup for NPU. Starting at 14:20, however, there was a sequence in which Rose took a too-deep trey attempt that hit the front of the rim, got his own offensive rebound, quickly passed the ball to Coleman, and then Coleman took an off-balance trey attempt, which the Vikings rebounded. It all came and went in the space of four seconds, but at the time it felt both like a momentum swing and a miscalculation by the Titans, as NPU did indeed then get the lead back up to double digits (and, eventually, the game-high 19-point bulge). I think that the Titans are a team of jump shooters, and that that's their first instinct. Sometimes it's hard for a team to step outside of what it normally does, especially when it normally does it so well.

Juwan Henry - you watch him and think he is in the low double digits but by games end he has put up 25.  He did a good job last night letting the game come to him.  When he does that rather than try to be a one man team is when the Vikings are really dangerous.

Exactly. To be honest, this was the best game that Juwan Henry's played in quite a while, even though he was CCIW POW a couple of weeks ago. One of the coaches noted after the game that on three different occasions Juwan beat his man off the dribble, only to find three Titans defenders waiting for him. When Juwan's trying to do too much, he attacks in that situation and either tosses up a circus shot or gets called for a charge. When he's letting the game come to him, he either pulls up for a jumper or else backs out and resets the offense. Last night he wasn't going to the pull-up much, but on those three occasions he brought the ball back out and reset. He was told by that coach afterward, half tongue-in-cheek and half-seriously, that he could consider those three resets as three turnovers avoided.

Incidentally, Juwan's now at 1,987 points scored for his career. While it would've been nice if he could've joined the august and highly exclusive 2K Club on his home floor, best to just get that milestone and the distraction involved with it out of the way on Saturday at Faganel.

Jordan Robinson - I think, particularly at his size, he is one of if not the best high post players I have seen.  He is a really good passer, can step out and hit the three or drive by his defender to the hoop.  I really think NPU functions more around Robinson than Henry.

True. I've run out of superlatives for Jordan, but I do have an amusing anecdote about him. With 8:29 to go he was zeroed in right underneath a carom off of an Andy Stempel miss, only to have Miles Curry barrel into him for a foul before Jordan could get his hands on the ball. You could tell by the look of total disgust on Jordan's face that he would've much rather had the rebound than the foul, which he later confirmed to me afterwards. The man likes his double-doubles.

(I really like Curry, BTW. I think he has a nice future in this league.)

Roles and responsibilities - hats off the rest of the team.  There is now some depth to North Park which most would not say that in the past two seasons.  Players are stepping up, developing and you can see a future .

Kirby's stepping up, Biko's stepping up. I can see signs that Jason Hines could be ready for more varsity time. Jack Gurvey, who is already solid on the JV end of things, is looking more and more comfortable on the floor in a varsity setting. I think that the Vikings are fine, depth-wise. But nobody's kidding themselves into thinking that the Park is going to get far if the big three aren't clicking.

IWU - we are getting really good a digging deeper holes.  Somebody please toss a ladder into the hole so we climb out!

This isn't going to make you or anybody else with a green-oriented wardrobe feel any better, but I'm going to find myself rooting for the Titans quite a bit in February. Illinois Wesleyan is now a major ally of North Park as far as the CCIW race is concerned.

[Gregory Sager]

Memo - to NPU AD and President - if you have not signed Tom Slyder to a long term contract do so now.  Best basketball coach you have had since you let Bosko get away.

No argument here.

[iwumichigander]

I like Miles Curry also Greg.  He is rushing a little too much particularly on the offensive end.  I think he will find his shot; and, when he does the entire league will go - oh no!  Curry and Jaylen Beasley with Rose could prove to be trouble for the rest of the league.

[Mr. Ypsi]

The stat from yesterday that I found most stunning (and supportive of Trevor being well below 100%) was he had ONE rebound in 30 minutes!  (He is averaging 5.5 a game for the season, and 'should' have exceeded that against one of the shortest opponents of the year.) 

Or maybe it was just that Bausch (6.3 rpg for the season) was hogging them all - he had 13!

[4samuy]

Seibring's clearly not at 100% -- I've heard secondhand that he has a slight crack in his third vertebra and a marginally misaligned disk -- but he did play 30 minutes last night (well above his season average), and he had no problem getting up and down the floor. He was only one shot under his season average in terms of shots attempted and was right on target in terms of his season average in FT attempts. He made a quick, nifty inside move in the post for a hoop-and-harm in the second half, and he didn't appear to have any trouble at all with leaving his feet or absorbing contact (in fact, since he plays offense with his back to the basket and neither Biko nor Brown did so last night, Seibring was the one who initiated contact far more often than received it, and that's as one would expect, given the players involved). I think that the 50% figure is underselling his current ability by quite a bit.

His main problem last night, aside from the fact that he didn't shoot well and didn't guard Biko on the perimeter (although Bausch didn't, either, when he was assigned to Biko), was his turnovers. One was a badly-thrown outlet pass and the other three were traveling calls. I don't see how his back trouble affected any of those four turnovers.

Thoughts about IWU vs NPU last night -
Titans came out in second half taking the ball to the paint and bucket with success.  Titans were scoring with the adjustment and drawing fouls on NPU.  Then, to me, Titans went away from the adjustment.  Why, I do not understand as they were closing the gap and having success.

That was true at the end of the game, too, when the Titans went away from the trey for the most part and got much more aggressive off the dribble, especially in transition. During the early-second-half run you spoke of, in which IWU cut the 14-point halftime lead down to six, they did so mostly through layups and free throws, as you said. Bausch was a big part of that, as he was a difficult matchup for NPU. Starting at 14:20, however, there was a sequence in which Rose took a too-deep trey attempt that hit the front of the rim, got his own offensive rebound, quickly passed the ball to Coleman, and then Coleman took an off-balance trey attempt, which the Vikings rebounded. It all came and went in the space of four seconds, but at the time it felt both like a momentum swing and a miscalculation by the Titans, as NPU did indeed then get the lead back up to double digits (and, eventually, the game-high 19-point bulge). I think that the Titans are a team of jump shooters, and that that's their first instinct. Sometimes it's hard for a team to step outside of what it normally does, especially when it normally does it so well.

Juwan Henry - you watch him and think he is in the low double digits but by games end he has put up 25.  He did a good job last night letting the game come to him.  When he does that rather than try to be a one man team is when the Vikings are really dangerous.

Exactly. To be honest, this was the best game that Juwan Henry's played in quite a while, even though he was CCIW POW a couple of weeks ago. One of the coaches noted after the game that on three different occasions Juwan beat his man off the dribble, only to find three Titans defenders waiting for him. When Juwan's trying to do too much, he attacks in that situation and either tosses up a circus shot or gets called for a charge. When he's letting the game come to him, he either pulls up for a jumper or else backs out and resets the offense. Last night he wasn't going to the pull-up much, but on those three occasions he brought the ball back out and reset. He was told by that coach afterward, half tongue-in-cheek and half-seriously, that he could consider those three resets as three turnovers avoided.

Incidentally, Juwan's now at 1,987 points scored for his career. While it would've been nice if he could've joined the august and highly exclusive 2K Club on his home floor, best to just get that milestone and the distraction involved with it out of the way on Saturday at Faganel.

Jordan Robinson - I think, particularly at his size, he is one of if not the best high post players I have seen.  He is a really good passer, can step out and hit the three or drive by his defender to the hoop.  I really think NPU functions more around Robinson than Henry.

True. I've run out of superlatives for Jordan, but I do have an amusing anecdote about him. With 8:29 to go he was zeroed in right underneath a carom off of an Andy Stempel miss, only to have Miles Curry barrel into him for a foul before Jordan could get his hands on the ball. You could tell by the look of total disgust on Jordan's face that he would've much rather had the rebound than the foul, which he later confirmed to me afterwards. The man likes his double-doubles.

(I really like Curry, BTW. I think he has a nice future in this league.)

Roles and responsibilities - hats off the rest of the team.  There is now some depth to North Park which most would not say that in the past two seasons.  Players are stepping up, developing and you can see a future .

Kirby's stepping up, Biko's stepping up. I can see signs that Jason Hines could be ready for more varsity time. Jack Gurvey, who is already solid on the JV end of things, is looking more and more comfortable on the floor in a varsity setting. I think that the Vikings are fine, depth-wise. But nobody's kidding themselves into thinking that the Park is going to get far if the big three aren't clicking.

IWU - we are getting really good a digging deeper holes.  Somebody please toss a ladder into the hole so we climb out!

This isn't going to make you or anybody else with a green-oriented wardrobe feel any better, but I'm going to find myself rooting for the Titans quite a bit in February. Illinois Wesleyan is now a major ally of North Park as far as the CCIW race is concerned.

I understand that IWU will be major Ally for you and NPU because NPU swept them. But I don't think your going to need to "root quite a bit for the Titans in February".  The fact of the matter is that the only two teams that control their own destiny to host the tournament are NPU and Augie and if both take care of business (and I get that it is a huge if, but with only 7 games remaining both would have to have a major meltdown, or one of the teams packed in the middle run the table) and both have a little wiggle room so IMHO the rooting may only need to take place on Feb 21. Now if you are rooting for IWU because you want to see them in the tourney then disregard my previous thoughts.😃

[markerickson]

I thought Seibring had more travelling calls than three; he certainly traveled often last night.  When he posts with his back to the basket, he shuffles those feet and does not have a pivot foot.  I sat in the first row at last night's game, across the aisle from Titan fans.  They moaned incessantly about the traveling calls the refs did not make against NPU (mostly just whining and not legit).  Finally, I started to mention to the refs and well within hearing range of Titan fans every time Seibring traveled.

North Park got called for delay of game b/c people sat in the first row despite signage being taped that those seats were off limits.  By contrast, IWU got away with at least two delay of game efforts when they pushed the ball away after making a basket b/c that disrupts flow.  Again, I mentioned this to the refs.  There was a third possible delay when a made basket "conveniently" went off a Titan ankle and bounded away.

Brady Rose was clearly IWU's best player last night, but we all know that AC selections and conference MVP go to someone from a team that ends near the conference top.

Colin Lake played 38 minutes last night and NPU's two top scorers each played 36.  5'7" Colin Lake had four more rebounds than 6'8" starter Seibring.

[4samuy]

Markerickson,

Speaking of technicals, and Greg you may be able to add to this, last Saturday at the NPU vs Illinois Tech game the refs had three people thrown out of the the gym for what it seemed like foul language. Not sure of the exact reason but they were removed.  Any insight on that?

[Gregory Sager]

Markerickson,

Speaking of technicals, and Greg you may be able to add to this, last Saturday at the NPU vs Illinois Tech game the refs had three people thrown out of the the gym for what it seemed like foul language. Not sure of the exact reason but they were removed.  Any insight on that?

I spoke last night at the game to one of the North Park women who got tossed out of Keating on Saturday. She laughed and told me that one of them, a member of the NPU women's team, had yelled out something to the effect of, "You missed that foul on #32!" as the ref ran past. No foul language, no questioning of the ref's eyesight or knowledge of the game or family heritage, or anything like that. Just a remark that he had missed the call.

Some refs have thinner skins than others. I guess that this guy's skin can be described as "microscopic".

[Gregory Sager]

I like Miles Curry also Greg.  He is rushing a little too much particularly on the offensive end.  I think he will find his shot; and, when he does the entire league will go - oh no!  Curry and Jaylen Beasley with Rose could prove to be trouble for the rest of the league.

Curry's been trained by former NPU star Octavius Parker, who has been a personal basketball trainer for a lot of top local players recently, so there's a part of me that wishes him well for Octavius's sake. Not a big part, mind you ... 

The stat from yesterday that I found most stunning (and supportive of Trevor being well below 100%) was he had ONE rebound in 30 minutes!  (He is averaging 5.5 a game for the season, and 'should' have exceeded that against one of the shortest opponents of the year.) 

Or maybe it was just that Bausch (6.3 rpg for the season) was hogging them all - he had 13!

That's part of it; Seibring spent more time boxing out than actual rebounding, which helped lead to Bausch grabbing so many boards. But the other part of it is that it was a game that was chock-full of long rebounds. As Mark said:

Colin Lake played 38 minutes last night and NPU's two top scorers each played 36.  5'7" Colin Lake had four more rebounds than 6'8" starter Seibring.

Every rebound Lake grabbed was at least fifteen feet from the basket.

I understand that IWU will be major Ally for you and NPU because NPU swept them. But I don't think your going to need to "root quite a bit for the Titans in February".  The fact of the matter is that the only two teams that control their own destiny to host the tournament are NPU and Augie and if both take care of business (and I get that it is a huge if, but with only 7 games remaining both would have to have a major meltdown, or one of the teams packed in the middle run the table) and both have a little wiggle room so IMHO the rooting may only need to take place on Feb 21.

North Park may control its own destiny, but it certainly doesn't hurt if the Vikings are given an extra cushion by the teams below them dropping games, and that's where the Titans can come in handy. I wasn't thinking so much of the Titans beating Augie, because they play Augustana after NPU plays Augustana, at the end of the regular season. I was thinking more of the Titans beating Carthage, Carroll, Wheaton, etc.

Now if you are rooting for IWU because you want to see them in the tourney then disregard my previous thoughts.😃

Bite your tongue.

Brady Rose was clearly IWU's best player last night, but we all know that AC selections and conference MVP go to someone from a team that ends near the conference top.

Oh, Rose will definitely make All-CCIW, no doubt about it. He's sixth in the league in scoring at 15.3 ppg overall and 16.4 ppg in CCIW games, and that's easily All-CCIW territory. The question is whether or not he'll be the only Titan on the All-CCIW team, for the reason you mentioned.

[4samuy]

Markerickson,

Speaking of technicals, and Greg you may be able to add to this, last Saturday at the NPU vs Illinois Tech game the refs had three people thrown out of the the gym for what it seemed like foul language. Not sure of the exact reason but they were removed.  Any insight on that?

I spoke last night at the game to one of the North Park women who got tossed out of Keating on Saturday. She laughed and told me that one of them, a member of the NPU women's team, had yelled out something to the effect of, "You missed that foul on #32!" as the ref ran past. No foul language, no questioning of the ref's eyesight or knowledge of the game or family heritage, or anything like that. Just a remark that he had missed the call.

Some refs have thinner skins than others. I guess that this guy's skin can be described as "microscopic".

Wow.  That's BS.

[Gregory Sager]

That's why the NPU coed with whom I spoke last night was laughing about it. I think that they were all pretty incredulous that they were being thrown out for such a silly reason. It apparently took them a few minutes to realize that the ref was serious, which is why they didn't get up to leave until the IIT security person came over to order them out of the building.

[4samuy]

I like Miles Curry also Greg.  He is rushing a little too much particularly on the offensive end.  I think he will find his shot; and, when he does the entire league will go - oh no!  Curry and Jaylen Beasley with Rose could prove to be trouble for the rest of the league.

Curry's been trained by former NPU star Octavius Parker, who has been a personal basketball trainer for a lot of top local players recently, so there's a part of me that wishes him well for Octavius's sake. Not a big part, mind you ... 

The stat from yesterday that I found most stunning (and supportive of Trevor being well below 100%) was he had ONE rebound in 30 minutes!  (He is averaging 5.5 a game for the season, and 'should' have exceeded that against one of the shortest opponents of the year.) 

Or maybe it was just that Bausch (6.3 rpg for the season) was hogging them all - he had 13!

That's part of it; Seibring spent more time boxing out than actual rebounding, which helped lead to Bausch grabbing so many boards. But the other part of it is that it was a game that was chock-full of long rebounds. As Mark said:

Colin Lake played 38 minutes last night and NPU's two top scorers each played 36.  5'7" Colin Lake had four more rebounds than 6'8" starter Seibring.

Every rebound Lake grabbed was at least fifteen feet from the basket.

I understand that IWU will be major Ally for you and NPU because NPU swept them. But I don't think your going to need to "root quite a bit for the Titans in February".  The fact of the matter is that the only two teams that control their own destiny to host the tournament are NPU and Augie and if both take care of business (and I get that it is a huge if, but with only 7 games remaining both would have to have a major meltdown, or one of the teams packed in the middle run the table) and both have a little wiggle room so IMHO the rooting may only need to take place on Feb 21.

North Park may control its own destiny, but it certainly doesn't hurt if the Vikings are given an extra cushion by the teams below them dropping games, and that's where the Titans can come in handy. I wasn't thinking so much of the Titans beating Augie, because they play Augustana after NPU plays Augustana, at the end of the regular season. I was thinking more of the Titans beating Carthage, Carroll, Wheaton, etc.

Now if you are rooting for IWU because you want to see them in the tourney then disregard my previous thoughts.😃

Bite your tongue.

Brady Rose was clearly IWU's best player last night, but we all know that AC selections and conference MVP go to someone from a team that ends near the conference top.

Oh, Rose will definitely make All-CCIW, no doubt about it. He's sixth in the league in scoring at 15.3 ppg overall and 16.4 ppg in CCIW games, and that's easily All-CCIW territory. The question is whether or not he'll be the only Titan on the All-CCIW team, for the reason you mentioned.

Agreed.  Due to some significant injuries, the strength of the CCIW this year has come from the perimeter players.  IMO you may see a majority of AC selections come from the 1 and 2 guards and the wings.

[AndOne]

Markerickson,

Speaking of technicals, and Greg you may be able to add to this, last Saturday at the NPU vs Illinois Tech game the refs had three people thrown out of the the gym for what it seemed like foul language. Not sure of the exact reason but they were removed.  Any insight on that?

I spoke last night at the game to one of the North Park women who got tossed out of Keating on Saturday. She laughed and told me that one of them, a member of the NPU women's team, had yelled out something to the effect of, "You missed that foul on #32!" as the ref ran past. No foul language, no questioning of the ref's eyesight or knowledge of the game or family heritage, or anything like that. Just a remark that he had missed the call.

Some refs have thinner skins than others. I guess that this guy's skin can be described as "microscopic".

In such event, if the ref's skin is abnormally thin, the proper medical terminology would be that he suffers from skin atrophyatrophy. Beyond that, a determination would need to be made as to whether the malady was subdural--mainly involving the connecting tissue, or subcutaneous--primarily dealing with the layer that insulates against heat/cold, and cushions against shock.  💼