MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Pat Coleman]

The list is a little less Orange than last season.

Indeed. It could have been oranger, or rosier, but this is where we ended up. Division III men's basketball is super guard-heavy right now and there are definitely quality guards whom we couldn't fit on the preseason team unless we went with, say, a five-guard offense.

[WUPHF]

Understood! Thanks Pat!

[AndOne]

I've had a few PM inquiries recently regarding when we might see the NCC roster posted.
NCC traditionally posts their roster at a later date than most teams so all I can say is 'patience grasshopper.'
While some teams assign every team member their own uniform number, even if that player doesn't even dress for varsity games, the Cardinals have only 16 varsity game day uniforms. With 28 current players in only their second week of formal practice, the coaching staff is still understandably evaluating the talent in order to determine who the 16 varsity/traveling team members will be and who will comprise the JV team. Accordingly, practice is basically in a tryout phase presently. It may be until after the  scrimmages are completed before a final determination of varsity/JV will be made. 🤔 ⛹🏼‍♂️

[4samuy]

 Did you notice that your guy Dillon Durrett is no longer listed on the Augustana roster?  Being in the DuPage Valley and Dukane conference area, do you have any thoughts?

[AndOne]

The d3hoops.com preseason All-American list is up. Aston Francis is on the second team, and Nolan Ebel is on the third team. Two other Chicagolanders, Anthony Moseley, Jr. of Illinois Tech (Whitney Young) and Josh Ruggles of Loras (Wheaton-Warrenville South), made the honorable mention team.

The list is a little less Orange than last season.

Unusually enough, it has a good bit of brownish tint.    

[AndOne]

Did you notice that your guy Dillon Durrett is no longer listed on the Augustana roster?  Being in the DuPage Valley and Dukane conference area, do you have any thoughts?

Is he still even in school?
It doesn't appear that Durrett ever played in a game for Augustana. He might have never even dressed for one. Augie obviously had a darn good team when he came in last year, but given how good he was in HS (conference MVP I believe) this is a bit surprising. Perhaps he forgot how to play basketball? Maybe he just loved, or thought he loved, Augie as a school. Nothing surprising there. However, it appears he made a poor choice as far as basketball is concerned. He certainly could have gone to any number of other schools and either started or played significant minutes.

I haven't heard a peep as to where he might be this year. Lots of student-athletes from this area who go to college for a year, don't play, and then don't return, end up at our county JUCO, College of DuPage, for their second year. I've heard COD is something like the fifth largest JUCO in the country.

[4samuy]

If you hear anything, I'd be curious to know.  Thanks

[USee]

AndOne,

Maybe North Central could ping one of those big name donors with their names on various structures to get a few more bucks to buys a few more than the 16 uniforms they currently have? Or charge an extra $2 to get in to see the beloved Cardinal contests? Seems like an easy answer.

[AndOne]

AndOne,

Maybe North Central could ping one of those big name donors with their names on various structures to get a few more bucks to buys a few more than the 16 uniforms they currently have? Or charge an extra $2 to get in to see the beloved Cardinal contests? Seems like an easy answer.

I think the big boys have probably taken enough pings, at least for the short term. Due primarily to the generosity of big name donors, NCC has recently erected a new fine arts center, a (as far as dorms go) luxurious new dorm, and a new Science Hall. 🏤 🏬 🏫

As far as raising prices, North Central likes to keep things affordable so a ticket price increase isn't likely. Besides, any additional revenue would probably go more toward something in the academic realm rather than anything associated with athletics. 🎓

And, having only 16 varsity uniforms gives the kids who come out something to work for. ⛹🏼‍♂️ 🏀

[iwumichigander]

Wheaton's Roster up now:
https://athletics.wheaton.edu/roster.aspx?path=mbball

Bringing in a big freshman class (shortest member 5'11, the rest above 6'5). I'll be interested to see if any of these guys are able to crack through the deep core of returners that this Wheaton team has. I feel that the team will need at least one to not play like a freshman this year in order to significantly compete, but time will tell.

One problem Wheaton had last season was that all of their freshmen played like freshmen. Another was an over reliance on Francis—no better a player to rely on if you're going to primarily rely on one asset. However, with basketball being a team game, you need a significant contribution from at least one other team member. I wouldn't be surprised if Kobe Eichelberger emerges as Wheaton's #2 this season. I've always thought of him as an underrated player who usually gets the job done in most aspects of the game.
Will we see Coach Schauer frequently sending Spencer Peterson into games with instructions to shoot a three every time he touches the ball? I think Wheaton will do a good job rebounding the ball. But perhaps the biggest factor in determining whether Wheaton will be the good team they should be and the very good team they could be is whether or not they will be able to upgrade their level of defensive intensity, and turn opponent's open looks into more contested shot attempts.

agree with your Peterson observation but first he has to get the ball out of Francis hands!  Maybe Perterson needs to take the inbounds and never give it up

[AndOne]

Despite Mike Schauer's admonishments to the contrary, I sense Peterson often confuses a 🏀 with a 🏈. When he gets a 🏈 in his hands, his first inclination is to throw it. Much to the delight of opposing teams, he often seems to react to touching a 🏀 in the same manner! Doesn't matter where he is on the court—throw it! 

[duckfan41]

Despite Mike Schauer's admonishments to the contrary, I sense Peterson often confuses a 🏀 with a 🏈. When he gets a 🏈 in his hands, his first inclination is to throw it. Much to the delight of opposing teams, he often seems to react to touching a 🏀 in the same manner! Doesn't matter where he is on the court—throw it! 

To be fair, Peterson has been consistently a wildcat option QB, and rarely throws. I do understand the analogy tho 😉

[Titan Q]

Fun week ahead for the Titans - UIC Flames on Thursday and Fighting Illini on Friday.

I expect Ron Rose to start:

G - Brady Rose, 6-3/185 Sr
G - Collin Bonnett, 6-4/190 Sr.
G - Jason Gregoire, 6-4/205 Sr.
F - Miles Curry, 6-6/205 Jr.
C - Alex O'Neil, 6-9/245 Jr.

It won't look like it in these two D1 exhibitions, but this is a big, strong, athletic IWU team.  I believe the Titans will have a size/strength advantage this season vs most Division III teams on the schedule.

[Titan Q]

Potential starters for IWU's two D1 opponents this week...

Titans:
G - Brady Rose, 6-3/185 Sr
G - Collin Bonnett, 6-4/190 Sr.
G - Jason Gregoire, 6-4/205 Sr.
F - Miles Curry, 6-6/205 Jr.
C - Alex O'Neil, 6-9/245 Jr.

UIC:
G - Godwin Boahen, 5-11/180 Jr.
G - Marcus Ottey, 6-2/185 Jr.
G - Tarkus Ferguson, 6-4/190 Jr.
F - Michael Diggins, 6-8/190 So.
F - Jordan Blount, 6-8/235 Jr.

Illini:
G - Trent Frazier, 6-1/170 So.
G - Ayo Dosunmu, 6-5/185 Fr.
F - Aaron Jordan, 6-5/210 Sr.
F - Kipper Nichols, 6-6/220 Jr.
C - Adonis De La Rosa, 7-0/260 Sr.

[AndOne]

NCC will scrimmage at Olivet Nazarene Mon, 10/29 at 7:00, and U of Chicago on Tues 11/6, I believe at 7:00 also.

Any other scrimmages coming up?