MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

iwu70 · April 24, 2020, 10:19:02 PM

Thanks, Q. Very interesting new group. And, it's not like the Titans don't have other key guys coming back, with Yoder, Noe and Lambesis on the perimeter doing well already. Yoder was superb and I'm really big on Noe. I thought he played so so well this past year. I actually thought Lambesis was the TITANS CCIW first-teamer in terms of consistency and year-long performance, not Leritz . . . but both are back too. A gaggle of riches.

Hope all the CCIW chatsters and friends are staying safe and well. Take all care and precautions out there. IL. in a bad way still. A long long way to go on this dastardly wee bugger of a bug. Let's hope Fall sports in the CCIW can happen.

IWU'70

Titan Q · April 24, 2020, 10:45:45 PM

@mannyrod_11
Very excited to announce that I will be continuing my academic and athletic career at Elmhurst College! #GoBlueJays

* Manny Rodriguez, 5-10 PG (Morton H.S.)

Titan Q · April 25, 2020, 08:13:51 AM

Ultimate Titan Fan · April 25, 2020, 08:56:02 AM

Quote from: Titan Q on April 24, 2020, 10:18:22 AM

Really impressive perimeter group coming in. I believe it is fair to say 6-5 SG Ryan Sroka and 6-5 G/F Connor Heaton are the top two.

Seven quality recruits and maybe another in the wings. I don't know how coach Rose does it year after year. I think part of it is we're in a basketball-rich state combined with solid recruiting. Every year I wonder "how do you keep them all happy?" But I guess the answer is, you don't. It's the best problem to have: too many star players rather than too few.

iwu70 · April 26, 2020, 03:53:48 AM

Ultimate, yes, gonna be hard for Coach Rose to get them all worked in, all happy longer term. I guess part of it is a strong JV program? . . . and surely the good combination of strong academics and one of the best athletic/basketball facilities in all of D3. Will be interesting to see who really emerges, develops quickly out of this group. Seems most will have to wait 1-2 years at least, till some of the rising seniors clear away. IWU not really losing anyone of significance from last year's strong squad, with likely Yoder and Bair returning from injury, maybe even Grant Wolfe, too. Not sure about that last one. Surely a strong program, a great pipeline of talent. Coach Rose and his team doing a great job in recruiting, for sure.

iwu'70

Titan Q · April 26, 2020, 09:18:30 AM

Quote from: Ultimate Titan Fan on April 25, 2020, 08:56:02 AM
Every year I wonder "how do you keep them all happy?" But I guess the answer is, you don't.

Quote from: iwu70 on April 26, 2020, 03:53:48 AM
Ultimate, yes, gonna be hard for Coach Rose to get them all worked in, all happy longer term.

Dennie Bridges used to have a "winning checklist" - https://www.iwu.edu/magazine/2015/Spring/bridges-sidebar-winning.html. I think a couple items apply here:

6. Winning is players fighting hard to be in the mix — earning meaningful playing time while unselfishly
pulling for teammates.

7. Winning is a coach not trying to keep everyone happy with practice or game playing time.

With the incoming class, like always, it will sort itself out through competition. As in every college basketball program, IWU's guys go head-to-head in practice in competition for time at each position at there are winners and losers. I believe the best programs at every level have intense competition for time at every position.

IWU's recruits, like recruits at any school, know exactly who is returning. That is a very public/obvious thing. This class came to IWU 2019-20 games seeing a rotation full of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. And then, of course, during the recruiting process the coaches at competing schools made sure to have extensive IWU roster/depth chart conversations with each young man as a courtesy. The recruits who picked IWU did so knowing they'll have to earn their way into the rotation, and are obviously comfortable with competition. (IWU certainly isn't going to win out on the kid who wants playing time promised to him as a freshman.)

Ron Rose has often had a freshman or two in his rotation. For example, the last 6 seasons:
* 2020: Luke Yoder, Cody Mitchell
* 2019: Matt Leritz, Pete Lambesis
* 2018: Grant Wolfe
* 2017: Miles Curry
* 2016: Colin Bonnett
* 2015: Brady Rose

The Class of 2024 guys heading to IWU will have a chance to battle their way into the rotation. In my opinion, 6-5 G/F Connor Heaton and 6-5 SG Ryan Sroka will have the best chance to win time. From what I have heard about skill-set and potential from a lot of people with no connection to IWU (mainly other coaches who recruited them), these two in particular are going to make a big push. I hope other freshmen will make it really hard on the returners too -- every guy getting pushed seems like a good thing to me.

HAMBO · April 26, 2020, 11:00:44 AM

Does anyone know anything about Millikin recruits?

Titan Q · April 26, 2020, 11:48:24 AM

Quote from: HAMBO on April 26, 2020, 11:00:44 AM
Does anyone know anything about Millikin recruits?

I keep looking, but haven't found anything yet.

The only thing I have heard is that they might be leading for MacMurray's 2nd leading scorer, Trevor Voss (6-4 G) - 15.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg.

https://mchighlanders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/trevor-voss/1390

Titan Q · April 27, 2020, 04:50:10 PM

Quote from: Titan Q on April 26, 2020, 11:48:24 AM
Quote from: HAMBO on April 26, 2020, 11:00:44 AM
Does anyone know anything about Millikin recruits?
I keep looking, but haven't found anything yet.

The only thing I have heard is that they might be leading for MacMurray's 2nd leading scorer, Trevor Voss (6-4 G) - 15.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg.

https://mchighlanders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/trevor-voss/1390

Millikin has landed MacMurray (D3) transfer Trevor Voss, a 6-4 G/F from Payson Seymour HS. Averaged 15.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg as a soph. He did not make the SLIAC All-Conference team - https://www.sliac.org/sports/mbkb/2019-20/all_conf - but safe to say he was heading there as JR and SR.

Was IBCA 1A/2A 1st Team All-State in 2018.

https://mchighlanders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

https://app.box.com/s/w0cwk4t48egwrh2jodmb7dxwwjwd5w87

Titan Q · April 27, 2020, 04:57:33 PM

Titan Q · April 28, 2020, 02:46:56 PM

North Park...

Ali Hadi (Mather HS), 5-9/190 SG
https://twitter.com/MatherHoops/status/1253092949921009665?s=20

Titan Q · April 29, 2020, 02:23:53 PM

Logan Francis, senior year:

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12432211/5e4d82983df5b503ec953d8a

Look familiar?

Gregory Sager · April 29, 2020, 02:37:41 PM

Good grief, not again.

Smitty Oom · April 29, 2020, 02:59:20 PM

Quote from: Titan Q on April 29, 2020, 02:23:53 PM
Logan Francis, senior year:

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12432211/5e4d82983df5b503ec953d8a

Look familiar?

Is he committed yet? Wonder if he would be willing to follow the footsteps of his brother. Not an easy thing to do by any means...

Gregory Sager · April 29, 2020, 03:06:10 PM

As I try to block out the nightmare thought of another Francis in blue and orange wreaking havoc on this league, I'll add a couple of news items that haven't been disclosed on the CCIW website.

Since this board is more or less the clearinghouse for league-wide news unrelated to a specific sport covered by a d3boards.com board, I'll announce that one of the CCIW's associate members, Greenville, has bowed out. Greenville was an associate member for men's volleyball, which was in its first season as a CCIW-sponsored sport this school year. (The men's volleyball season came to an untimely end before most of the CCIW portion of the schedule had been played.) Greenville has just eliminated its varsity program and downgraded it to a club sport. Fortunately, Illinois Wesleyan is adding a men's volleyball program in 2020-21, so the league will still have the minimum seven members required for an NCAA autobid.

Related to that is the news that the CCIW will be adding a new associate member, Illinois College. The Blue Boys will be coming in as a men's volleyball member in 2022, bringing the total of CCIW men's volleyball programs up to eight. The MWC doesn't sponsor men's volleyball, so the CCIW was a logical choice for IC, and the CCIW approved IC's petition for associate membership. The interesting thing to me is that this is something of a homecoming for Illinois College; IC was a charter member of this league, but left it for good all the way back in 1953.