MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Yes, Mich, I like your thoughts.  No doubt lots of room for improvement, on FTs and in other areas -- post positioning and footwork, rebound timing.  Lessons from Beasley on that would be grand.  He's amazing how he finds rebounds at the very peak of their bounce.  But, overall, O'Neill has played pretty well in the 8 games, 3 very close CCIW match-ups.  Again, time will tell and I think he has a good upside.  It is a long season and conditioning will play a part too.  With coaching and help from others with key post skills, I think things look bright, esp. as the TITANS have other good players around him and surely an abundance of shooters and slashers in their perimeter - oriented offense.  IWU will likely be taking, and hopefully making, more treys than any other CCIW team.

There are others we really haven't heard from yet too -- good players who will get their chance.  I'm hoping Coleman gets hot again soon, -- and Knoblach, too.  IWU has many weapons.  It may be someone different each game.

'70

[Gregory Sager]

As to O'Neil, yes, he's a sophomore and I assume two more years in the IWU program.   Burdine the senior will be gone after this year.  I'd venture to say, though I'm not wishing to start another "sturm und drang," that O'Neil will by his senior year be performing at or near the level of Sorenson, when all is said and done.  My comments were all said in the context of our worry at the beginning of the season that IWU did not have a strong presence or solution at the 5, with the departure of the ever dependable and consistent Trevor Seibring.  Now, we know that O'Neal will, barring injury, more than fill the bill there over the next several seasons, filling in a good piece of the Titan offensive puzzle with all the other shooters and slashers on the perimeter -- from Knoblach, to Curry, to Wolfe, to Bonnett, to Coleman, and others rising from the JV ranks (which I hear is a strong group) . . . and when Brady Rose comes back to his normal production, as he surely will, in the next few games.  I think O'Neal will, in fact, do more than a decent job in matching up with "bigs" around the league, esp. vs. Augie's "bigs." Danny Baker will be asked to replace Beasley's rebounding and toughness in future seasons, my guess.   We'll see, in time, of course, how O'Neil develops.  As the ever reliable shill for the IWU program, I'm optimistic. 

For those of you whose eyes glazed over while reading this paragraph or who just skipped it entirely, let me give you the highlights:

Our friend iwu70 spelled the surname of the future All-American as "O'Neil" three times and "O'Neal" twice in the same paragraph.

The kid's name is Alex O'Neill.

[Gregory Sager]

And now, because I'm heartily sick of the current topic (and I suspect that a lot of you who don't own a wardrobe dominated by the color green feel likewise), let's move on to something else. Here's the CCIW sked for the week:

Tuesday
North Central (3-4) @ Aurora (4-3)

Wednesday
Rockford (5-4) @ Augustana (6-1)
Carroll (2-4)  @ UW-LaCrosse (6-2)

Friday
North Central @ Alma (1-4)

Saturday
Augustana @ Central (2-6)
Carthage (5-3) @ Calvin (2-6)
North Park (1-6) @ Lake Forest (7-1)
Alma @ Wheaton (6-2)

Sunday
Washington (MO) (6-1) @ Illinois Wesleyan (7-1)
Millikin (5-3) @ Westminster (MO) (4-3)
Loras (5-3) @ Carroll

Massey sez:

North Central 84, Aurora 77	NCC 73% Aurora 27%
Augustana 89, Rockford 62	AC 98% Rockford 2%
UW-LaCrosse 71, Carroll 58	UW-LaCrosse 89% CU 11%
North Central 81, Alma 74	NCC 74% Alma 26%
Augustana 82, Central 73	AC 79% Central 21%
Carthage 78, Calvin 73	CC 66% Calvin 34%
Lake Forest 76, North Park 65	Lake Forest 86% NPU 14%
Wheaton 84, Alma 75	WC 80% Alma 20%
Illinois Wesleyan 83, Washington (MO) 76	IWU 73% Washington (MO) 27%
Westminster (MO) 70, Millikin 66	Westminster (MO) 63% MU 37%
Loras 78, Carroll 74	Loras 64% CU 36%

[iwu70]

Thanks for the editing, Greg.  You're a pal.  I think I got it right in subsequent posts, after noticing my error.  Mea culpa, mea culpa.  I don't recall saying that O'Neill would be an All-American, but I'm glad you suggested it.  It's a great idea.  You're such a charmer. 

I think everyone knew who I was talking about.

Merry Christmas to you.

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Thanks for the editing, Greg.  You're a pal.  I think I got it right in subsequent posts, after noticing my error.  Mea culpa, mea culpa.  I don't recall saying that O'Neill would be an All-American, but I'm glad you suggested it.  It's a great idea.  You're such a charmer. 

Here's what you said about his future:

I'd venture to say, though I'm not wishing to start another "sturm und drang," that O'Neil will by his senior year be performing at or near the level of Sorenson, when all is said and done.

Sorenson is a preseason second-team All-American.

Q.E.D.

[iwu70]

Greg, I know you are tired of all this, but here it is anyway:

Sorenson -- Senior, Second team pre-season All-American
O'Neill -- sophomore, newbie, in his first CCIW season with the Greenies

Scoring:
Sorenson 14.3
O'Neill 11.7

Rebounds:
Sorenson 12.0
O'Neill 7.0 (playing along side a rebounding artist in Beasley, at 9+ per game)

FG %:
Sorenson .640
O'Neill, well below at .493

Blocks:
O'Neill 1.67
Sorenson 1.00

Off RBs:
O'Neill 4.67
Sorenson 3.67

Def RBs:
Sorenson 8.33
O'Neill well below at 1.9

TOs:
O'Neill 5
Sorenson 19

Playing time:
Sorenson 25.7
O'Neill 20.1

Sorenson pretty clearly the better player at the moment.  But, I'd say as I did initially that O'Neill is playing decently as compared to this top-flight All-CCIW big, and senior.  That's all IWU was asking of him, surely all I was hoping for in this his initial season in the league.  So far, so good -- we'll see how he plays the next two years when Mssr. Sorenson is long gone.  He has a good upside.  Whether he makes All-CCIW, let alone All-American, I know not.  But the separation even now is not all that great. 

Yes, I do know what Q.E.D. stands for . . . my father was in a book club with fellow alums, pastors and academics for over 20 years -- by the name of Q.E.D. 

All best.

IWU'70

[iwu70]

I'm surprised Massey has IWU over #11 Wash U, even with home court advantage.

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, I know you are tired of all this, but here it is anyway:[snip]

But the separation even now is not all that great.

I don't see the point of that post, unless you're actually trying to support your original thesis that O'Neill is an All-American in the making ... a declaration from which you simultaneously appear to be backpedaling.

[Gregory Sager]

A few random musings on the league:

* Ricky Samuelson of Wheaton is shooting a ridiculous .697 from beyond the arc (23-33). The question is why he's only averaging four trey attempts per game. The high-volume shooter on that team is Aston Francis, and that's obviously not going to change, but it stands to reason that perhaps Francis should abstain from a few of his shots --- he's shooting .333 from long range, far below the CCIW leaderboard in that category -- in order to put the ball into the hands of Samuelson more, an entirely feasible tactic when you consider that Francis ranks second in the league in assists. It has been noted that opponents are being careful to make sure that the second man they throw at Francis when he goes off like a Roman candle is never the guy who is occupied with sticking to Samuelson like glue, and indeed I saw Elmhurst do that well the other day, but there are ways to free up Samuelson more.

* Only one player in this league is averaging a double-double, and that's Elmhurst's Jeremy Ireland. He's seventh in scoring at 16.4 ppg and first in rebounding at 11.6 rpg. At this point, he's clearly the CCIW's breakthrough player. Two thoughts: The disappearance of Devin Tennant from Elmhurst hasn't even come close to being the catastrophe it might've seemed at the time; and what would North Central look like if it still had Ireland and he was playing at this level alongside Alex Sorenson, Connor Raridon, and Erwin Henry?

* There are currently three players averaging more than 20 ppg (Francis, Colin Lake of NPU, and Brady Rose of IWU), and there's a plethora of big scorers right behind them -- eight players are averaging better than 16 ppg. This is a gold-rush kind of season for CCIW players who can fill it up in a big way.

* The one CCIW team of which I haven't seen more than a glimpse this season is Carroll, and I'm trying to figure out where the Pioneers are. On the one hand, their two CCIW losses weren't disasters; they went on the road and hung with Elmhurst at Faganel, although they never got over the hump and lost by six; and they made a major comeback in the Griz on Saturday, storming back from being 21 down with ten and a half minutes left to make it a one-possession game in the last two minutes, eventually losing to Millikin by three. But the Pios also needed a buzzer-beater to avoid a home loss to Concordia (WI), which is only 3-5 this season, and they lost to Bethany Lutheran (4-5), which, in spite of some creditable performances this season, has never been a program that strikes fear into anybody's heart. Carroll returned everybody from last season's team except for 2016-17 senior Kyle Keranen, and the Pios got senior Joel Heesch (their leading scorer) back for a fifth year via a medical redshirt. I just figured that the Pioneers would look a little more dangerous this early in the season, given their veteran lineup, than they've been thus far.

[wheels81]

A few random musings on the league:

* Ricky Samuelson of Wheaton is shooting a ridiculous .697 from beyond the arc (23-33). The question is why he's only averaging four trey attempts per game. The high-volume shooter on that team is Aston Francis, and that's obviously not going to change, but it stands to reason that perhaps Francis should abstain from a few of his shots --- he's shooting .333 from long range, far below the CCIW leaderboard in that category -- in order to put the ball into the hands of Samuelson more, an entirely feasible tactic when you consider that Francis ranks second in the league in assists. It has been noted that opponents are being careful to make sure that the second man they throw at Francis when he goes off like a Roman candle is never the guy who is occupied with sticking to Samuelson like glue, and indeed I saw Elmhurst do that well the other day, but there are ways to free up Samuelson more.

Greg, I was wondering that too.  I saw very few screens set specifically for Samuelson.  Is there not a set play to use to set screens for him.  He didn't need them his first couple of games but after that ,like Elmurst, teams are hermetically sealing someone to him.       

[mwunder]

Greg, I know you are tired of all this, but here it is anyway:[snip]

But the separation even now is not all that great.

I don't see the point of that post, unless you're actually trying to support your original thesis that O'Neill is an All-American in the making ... a declaration from which you simultaneously appear to be backpedaling.

Exactly....while you didn't exactly use the words "All-American", it certainly was inferred by this reader that you were calling your shot.

[AppletonRocks]

Sorenson should run for IL governor.  Some of you would vote for him I suspect. 

[petemcb]

Has anyone got a fly swatter?

[iwu70]

I've wondered the same things about Samuelson.  Incredible percentage.

'70

[robertthebruce50]

I'm surprised Massey has IWU over #11 Wash U, even with home court advantage.

'70

That game between IWU & WashU will be a fight to the finish.  Augie plays them later in the non-conference part of their schedule in St.Louis.  Along with UW-Stevens Point and that has the makings of a very tough non-conference part of the schedule.  The CCIW should get a lot more respect from the media as one of the toughest conferences in the country.  Maybe 3 maybe 4 teams get in if their record is sufficient.  5 teams from a New England conference got in last year.  I'd like to see the CCIW get hyped up like the east coast conferences and see that the CCIW gets its just due.