MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

True. And at least Chuck sticks around to read the results whenever he ypsis me. Mark vanished before I'd had enough time to post that list, and, given his usual m.o., he might not be back here for two or three days.

[USee]

I know that there were at least two holdouts (take a bow, USee and Bully ), and there were perhaps others, who thought that this award should've gone to Aston Francis.

I never said Francis should get the award, I simply said I would vote for him. Those are two different things. 

[mwunder]

It came down to what Bosko did without any All Americans or what I would consider 1st team CCIW.

No offense, Larry, but Mike Stevenson is a legit All-CCIW first-teamer.

I agree with you 100% Greg, however, at least one CCIW coach did not, and if the format were the same as last year, he would not have been since there were 5 unanimous selections ahead of him.

[kiko]

It came down to what Bosko did without any All Americans or what I would consider 1st team CCIW.

No offense, Larry, but Mike Stevenson is a legit All-CCIW first-teamer.

I agree with you 100% Greg, however, at least one CCIW coach did not, and if the format were the same as last year, he would not have been since there were 5 unanimous selections ahead of him.

Not necessarily.

Player A may have been perceived as the 8th best player by every coach, thus included on all ballots and earning unanimous selection under the new system.  In the old system, he would have not received any first team consideration.

Player B may have been perceived as 4th, 4th, 4th, 5th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and not listed.  In the new system, he is not unanimous, but likely would have made the first team as he received eight first team votes.  In the old system, he would have received six first-team votes, which conceivably could have been enough to garner first-team recognition.

(I am unsure if coaches can vote for their own players; this assumes they can, but the example holds if they cannot.)

We will see far more unanimous selections under the new system than in the past.

[Gregory Sager]

(I am unsure if coaches can vote for their own players; this assumes they can, but the example holds if they cannot.)

They can.

[augiefan]

Sorry to see Nadelhoffer dismissed. I was pretty optimistic that he would succeed when Millikin hired him. Hope he gets another chance at the DIII or perhaps at the high school level, if that his plan.

[augiefan]

Augie certainly exceeded my expectations this season, but their post season hopes effectively ended when Pierson Woffird was dismissed from the team. From that point on it was pretty much free fall ending with the embarrassing loss to IWU. Still don't know why he was dismissed and whether he is still in school. Sure could use him back next year.

[Gregory Sager]

The thing that puzzles me the most about Matt Nadelhoffer getting the axe is whether or not it indicates a change of heart on the part of Millikin AD Craig White. MU lost a ton of minutes from last year's team -- everyone was aware that T.J. Sims, T.J. Griffin, Elijah Kinmon, Tommy Pilackas, and Bryn Agnew would either graduate or walk out the door of Griswold for good for other reasons -- so it was plain to see that Millikin would have to start over, one way or the other.

I'm certain that Matt must've made his boss aware last season that his plan for the upcoming 2016-17 campaign would be to shake the Etch-a-Sketch and begin anew with a large crop of freshmen, rather than to try to import a bunch of juco transfers and play them alongside his rotation returnees Jack Simpson, Leighton Lark, and Nathan Lovekamp. (He did bring in two transfers, juco product Levi Bailey and former MacMurray player Brock Snarski, but only Bailey really figured into MU's season in more than a modest way, and Bailey was a DNP in Millikin's last four games, with seven minutes' worth of playing time in the two games prior to that.) In the end, Matt gave very prominent roles to four freshmen this season -- Zach Fisher, Jordan Cunningham, Logan Bader, and Korbin Farmer -- and, as I said, Craig White must've been very aware ahead of time that this was Matt's plan. (Those four freshmen played a minimum of 18 minutes per game, and they represent both of the Big Blue's top scorers and its four leading rebounders.)

In other words, Craig White must've known what was inevitably going to happen this season long before the opening jump ball on November 15 at Aurora was tossed up into the air. Relying that heavily upon freshmen is a recipe for disaster in a league like this, and you don't even get the consolation of doing well in non-conference play, because that's when the freshmen are at their greenest. The Millikin AD could've told Matt Nadelhoffer last year that this rebuilding plan was unsound in terms of Matt's job security, that he needed to produce some wins next season or else, and this would've forced Matt to go in a different direction by scouring the juco circuit to get experienced players that could buy him some time by getting him maybe six to eight wins in 2016-17. Instead, he signed off on Matt's plan to go young and recruit (and then immediately use) the kind of high-school seniors that he felt would be both strong CCIW players and good four-year investments for the program in terms of grades, character, and program culture.

My assessment has some speculation to it, but this is based upon my reading of the MU roster, playing time over the past two seasons, and my (admittedly brief) conversations with Matt over the past couple of years. It really does seem like the rug was pulled out from under him, because I can't see how his boss wouldn't have known last year that this was coming, given Matt's plan.

He told me on Saturday night that his youngsters were all in for Millikin, in spite of the terrible season that the Big Blue has had. He said that he had a full commitment from each of his players that they'd be back next year, and spoke some about how they'd all had their housing worked out for 2017-18. That's a real testament to their belief in him as a coach and in his rebuilding plan, because the usual consequence of a young team getting drilled like that over and over en route to a 3-22 finish is poor attrition and unplanned holes in next season's roster. Now I wonder if: a) those underclassmen may have a change of heart about returning; and b) the prospects that Matt and his staff have been working on are still interested in Millikin (given that his assistants may themselves be shown the door once Craig White hires a new head coach).

This whole thing reminds me of what Abraham Lincoln once said: "I am reminded in this connection of a story of an old Dutch farmer, who remarked to a companion once that it was not best to swap horses when crossing a stream."

[Gregory Sager]

Augie certainly exceeded my expectations this season, but their post season hopes effectively ended when Christian Woffird was dismissed from the team. From that point on it was pretty much free fall ending with the embarrassing loss to IWU.

That's not borne out by the evidence at all. Augie was 15-3, 8-2 when Pierson Wofford was removed from the roster. The first game after Wofford's dismissal was the overtime loss to Carthage at Tarble, which, given the uncanny knack that the Red Men have shown in winning close games since Christmas (especially at home), might well have happened even with Wofford available. After that, Augie eked out a close (and impressive) win over Wheaton at King Arena at a time when the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance was clearly finding itself, then smashed Millikin to tiny bits by 36 points at Carver, and then notched a very impressive overtime win in the airplane hangar against a tough North Central team that was already in the midst of that middle-of-the-pack dogfight for that last tourney spot.

That's one very understandable and non-shameful road loss followed by three impressive wins before the true free-fall began with the loss at Carroll.

It's a nice try at sandbagging, augiefan, but I can tell you that NPU is having none of it.

Still don't know why he was dismissed and whether he is still in school. Sure could use him back next year.

It's been reported that he's still taking classes at Augie. Who knows if he'll be back next year, though?

[Titan Q]

My thoughts on the Central Region Pool C picture heading into tonight...

Pool A Final (no conf tourney)
Washington U. .833/.575/7-2 (done)

Pool A/Would be Pool C Lock
UW-River Falls*: .875/.591/7-3 (vs UW-Oshkosh Saturday in WIAC final)

Pool A/Would be Pool C Bubble
Carthage: .708/.550/2-2 (vs North Central Friday in CCIW semis)
St. Norbert: .826/.500/1-2 (vs Lake Forest in MWC semis)
Benedictine: .875/.491/1-1 (vs Wisconsin Lutheran in MWC semis)

Pool C Lock
1. UW-Whitewater: .833/.575/7-2 (Done)

Pool C Bubble
2. UW-Eau Claire: .680/.570/3-4 (Done)
3. Augustana: .720/.535/2-2 (vs NPU Friday in CCIW semis)
4. Illinois Wesleyan: .680/.556/6-2 (Done)
5. North Park: .720/.524/2-2 (vs Augustana vs Friday in CCIW semis)
6. UW-Oshkosh: .654/.591/5-5 (vs UW-River Falls Saturday in CCIW semis)

Weekend implications
* UW-Eau Claire and IWU are done and officially on the Pool C bubble with the numbers above.

* Augustana's Pool C winning % would either be .692 (w/ loss Friday) or .704 (w/ loss Saturday).  At .692 Augie would be done...too many sub-.700 teams with better SOS and RRO.  At .704 I think Augie would be very much in the bubble mix but I believe the Vikings would end up behind Eau Claire and probably IWU in that scenario.  So I guess I'm saying Augie's season will end if they lose tonight, and they will be no better than the bubble with 1-1.

* UW-Oshkosh would be .630 with a loss tomorrow in the WIAC final.  I don't see any way .630 ends up regionally ranked - the Central Region would be blocking all teams below if they do that.  CCIW Pool C hopefuls really want UWO to lose to UW-River Falls.

* North Park's Pool C winning % situation is identical to Augustana's - would either be .692 (w/ loss Friday) or .704 (w/ loss Saturday).  My analysis of their Pool C chances is the same as Augie – no chance with a loss tonight; on the bubble with a loss Saturday.  In the .704 scenario though, North Park could easily end up regionally ranked ahead of IWU due to, a) higher winning % and b) a sweep vs IWU.  That is a close one.

* Carthage, presumed Pool A right now because they are hosting, would be either .680 with a loss tonight or .692 with a loss tomorrow.  I think Carthage is out for sure at .680 and on the bubble at .692...but behind IWU in that .692.  I guess I'm saying Carthage is probably Pool A or bust.


I believe the Central Region will get 2 Pool C teams in for sure – UW-Whitewater and UW-Eau Claire – and then have a third that has a decent chance on the bubble.  The third will be whichever ends up highest regionally ranked between Augie, NPU, and IWU – at this point, that could really go any way between the 3.

If you an IWU fan, I think your best shot to have a Pool C chance is with:
  * UW-River Falls winning the WIAC (keeping UW-River Falls out of Pool C)
  * St. Norbert and Benedictine winning their leagues as to not get in the Pool C picture (although both have SOS and RRO problems)
  * Augie beating North Park (thinking that IWU would be ahead of .692 NPU)
  * Augie beating Carthage in the title game (thinking IWU would definitely be ahead of Carthage in Pool C...but wanting CC to win a game to stay ranked for the RRO.

[Titan Q]

Radio interview with Matt Nadelhoffer from this am...

http://cdn.stationcaster.com/stations/wsoy/media/mp3/2_24_____Hour_3-1487963438.mp3

[Pat Coleman]

Radio interview with Matt Nadelhoffer from this am...

http://cdn.stationcaster.com/stations/wsoy/media/mp3/2_24_____Hour_3-1487963438.mp3

Thanks for sharing this, Bob. Appreciate it.

[USee]

Matt Nadelhofer= total class act!

Someone is getting a leader and a winner.

[markerickson]

Thanks for the research, Greg.  I didn't know Henry would be down that far on the NPU list.  I knew Alspauch led the Vikings, and I believe he still sits on top of the league.

NPU is getting thumped right now.  Augie is shooting very well and NPU has not been attempting many treys.  The online broadcast is now offline for the second time.

[markerickson]

Back on line to see Ebel throw yet another elbow at Lake.  Ebel undercut* Henry big time in the first half, sending him hard to the floor.  None of these obvious fouls were called and none influenced the overall game.

*I deeply dislike this hip maneuver as one sent my friend Wade Seifer to the hospital that resulted in a coma back in the late '80s.