MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Next Man Up]

* Word is also circulating about a possible noteworthy transfer. We'll see if anything comes of this.

I've heard this rumor...but no confirmation.

https://merrimackathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/ethan-helwig/10110

Not saying this is the transfer.  BUT, having lived in New Hampshire, worked in Boston and very familiar with North Andover, Mass. I will guarantee this.  A college that fields men's and women's  ice hockey, field hockey/lacrosse  and soccer ... basketball is not a major sport (neither is football).

And, Merrimack began the transition  from D2 to D1 so no post season NCAA , NIT or NEC playoff chances until 2024.  Add to the mix changes in the portal rules and extra year eligibility, the young could be representative of the "overcrowding " at Div 1&2 this season and IMHO next season.

Call it a wild hunch, but the opportunity to play close to home and with his brother might outweigh the fact that hockey outdraws basketball at Merrimack. 🤗

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'm not sure it's possibly to properly communicate, especially to people in the Midwest, just how little New England sports fans care about basketball.

[Gregory Sager]

It really isn't possible at all, Ryan. Lord knows I've tried. As someone who grew up in the Northeast, I've told lifelong Midwesterners a thousand times over the years that lacrosse is an absolutely huge sport in the northeastern corner of the country, in some places rivaling even football, and that hockey goes toe-to-toe with basketball for winter supremacy on every level from pee-wee all the way to pro-franchise fandom. (The exceptions to that are among urbanites and those who can't afford the equipment or get adequate access to ice time.) And all I'd ever get from Midwesterners is blank, uncomprehending stares. You'd think that I would've learned eventually and just given up trying to explain it to them.

(This works in reverse, too. Northeasterners are quick to dismiss the Hoosiers mentality as hogwash. Many refuse to believe that high-school basketball still means life and death to people in much of the Midwest, and that in lots of places in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, etc., kids start learning how to shoot a basketball as soon as they can walk. Likewise, a lot of people don't get just how massive football is to Texas culture in terms of youth sports and high-school sports.)

Nowadays, as Midwesterners are beginning to at least recognize what a lacrosse stick looks like, and the more well-heeled high schools in our part of the country are actually participating in the sport, it's gone from blank, uncomprehending stares to pushback. "Lacrosse can't be that popular! Most of the high schools in my area don't even have it! My college doesn't have it! My college's league doesn't sponsor it!" Sigh.

We see McDonald's, Subway, and Dunkin' Donuts franchises all over the country, we know plenty of people who've moved hither and yon around the country throughout their lives, and we've grown up with television networks whose programming blankets America from coast to coast ... and we sometimes get lured by all that into the myth that we're all just part of some massive homogenous lump of a country in which the culture of Oregon is identical to the culture of North Carolina, which is identical to the culture of Illinois, which is identical to the culture of Connecticut, which is identical to the culture of Oklahoma. It's ignorance walking hand-in-hand with provincialism. This is a very diverse country, and our regional sports interests reflect that diversity, not our supposed societal homogeneity.

Still don't believe me? Well, then, let's set a spell and talk us some NASCAR, y'all.

[hopefan]

It really isn't possible at all, Ryan. Lord knows I've tried. As someone who grew up in the Northeast, I've told lifelong Midwesterners a thousand times over the years that lacrosse is an absolutely huge sport in the northeastern corner of the country, in some places rivaling even football, and that hockey goes toe-to-toe with basketball for winter supremacy on every level from pee-wee all the way to pro-franchise fandom. (The exceptions to that are among urbanites and those who can't afford the equipment or get adequate access to ice time.) And all I'd ever get from Midwesterners is blank, uncomprehending stares. You'd think that I would've learned eventually and just given up trying to explain it to them.

(This works in reverse, too. Northeasterners are quick to dismiss the Hoosiers mentality as hogwash. Many refuse to believe that high-school basketball still means life and death to people in much of the Midwest, and that in lots of places in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, etc., kids start learning how to shoot a basketball as soon as they can walk. Likewise, a lot of people don't get just how massive football is to Texas culture in terms of youth sports and high-school sports.)

Nowadays, as Midwesterners are beginning to at least recognize what a lacrosse stick looks like, and the more well-heeled high schools in our part of the country are actually participating in the sport, it's gone from blank, uncomprehending stares to pushback. "Lacrosse can't be that popular! Most of the high schools in my area don't even have it! My college doesn't have it! My college's league doesn't sponsor it!" Sigh.

We see McDonald's, Subway, and Dunkin' Donuts franchises all over the country, we know plenty of people who've moved hither and yon around the country throughout their lives, and we've grown up with television networks whose programming blankets America from coast to coast ... and we sometimes get lured by all that into the myth that we're all just part of some massive homogenous lump of a country in which the culture of Oregon is identical to the culture of North Carolina, which is identical to the culture of Illinois, which is identical to the culture of Connecticut, which is identical to the culture of Oklahoma. It's ignorance walking hand-in-hand with provincialism. This is a very diverse country, and our regional sports interests reflect that diversity, not our supposed societal homogeneity.

Still don't believe me? Well, then, let's set a spell and talk us some NASCAR, y'all.

When I played at RPI, the only people that came to watch hoops were those that couldn't get tickets to the hockey game....(though I will say the frat house stayed pretty loyal.....)

[Gregory Sager]

Yep. I had a friend who went to Union who said that, at his school, they jokingly referred to the basketball team as a bunch of guys who just never learned how to skate very well.

(And he went to Union in an era in which the Dutchmen hockey team was a mediocre D3 program, not the D1 power it's been in recent years.)

[jaller]

I'm not sure it's possibly to properly communicate, especially to people in the Midwest, just how little New England sports fans care about basketball.

I will never forget my first playoff recruiting experience for your alma mater, Ryan. Having spent 14 years in basketball mad Kentucky, I had developed a blind spot as to how things were in New England. Wanting to make sure I didn't have to stand for the entire game, I arrived at the gym 90 minutes before tip off, which was about 60 minutes before they started selling tickets. Once inside, I was able to stretch out amongst the 'friends and family only' crowd. Spent most of the game snobbishly texting pictures of the sparse crowd to friends and coaches back in Ky with the caption 'can you believe this is a playoff game?' The quality of basketball was as good (or better) but the atmosphere was um, lacking. Didn't sign any of the players and subsequently threw up a 9-15 season the next year, lol. Good times

[iwumichigander]

He gave me flashbacks of Duncan Robinson!   If he becomes even half the player DR was/is, the Titans have their next mega-star.   (And, while he could use some time in the weight-room, he's already WAY ahead of DR at that age.)

I don't think a 5-10 PG should give you flashbacks of a 6-8 G/F.

Right Q!  And doubt Mr Valetin grows 6" and gets to 180lbs over the summer 😀
Now if Mr Ypsil were commenting on another commit could be a valid discussion

[Mr. Ypsi]

He gave me flashbacks of Duncan Robinson!   If he becomes even half the player DR was/is, the Titans have their next mega-star.   (And, while he could use some time in the weight-room, he's already WAY ahead of DR at that age.)

I don't think a 5-10 PG should give you flashbacks of a 6-8 G/F.

Right Q!  And doubt Mr Valetin grows 6" and gets to 180lbs over the summer 😀
Now if Mr Ypsil were commenting on another commit could be a valid discussion

I didn't notice that the conversation had switched to Nathan Valentin - my comment was intended to be on the video of 6'7" Nick Roper.

[Titan Q]

ELMHURST RECRUIT

Nick Tingley, a Class 4A All-State Special Mention 6'2" SG  from Lincoln-Way Central, is a Elmhurst commit.

Tingley is no longer committed to Elmhurst.

[Wildcat]

Hey Q what do you know about the Nick Tingley situation? I haven't seen any other recruiting information about Elmhurst?

[Titan Q]

Hey Q what do you know about the Nick Tingley situation? I haven't seen any other recruiting information about Elmhurst?

I don't know much, really.  He verbally committed to Elmhurst back in January...but then he took down all mention of that commitment on Twitter and someone pointed that out to me.  Then I confirmed he is in fact no longer committed to EU.  It looks to me like he is a stud, so that is a big loss.

I have also not seen any other Elmhurst recruiting info.

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to the Carthage men's volleyball team, which made some history by defeating Benedictine this afternoon in five sets to win the D3 national championship in Salem, VA. Men's volleyball thus becomes the thirteenth sport in which the CCIW has won a national title ... and it happened in the first full season that our league has sponsored the sport, since the inaugural CCIW season last spring was curtailed by Covid-19.

The Final Four was a bit of an odd duck, with three of the four participants being located within an hour and a half of each other; the team that Carthage defeated in the semis last night was Dominican. (The NACC now has something the CCIW doesn't -- two teams participating in the same Final Four in any sport.) Then again, the D3 men's volleyball tournament is a bit of an odd duck in general, as men's volleyball is a young-but-growing sport on this level that's still largely undersponsored in the D3 ranks. Therefore, there were only 12 teams in the entire tournament. Carthage, which drew an opening-round bye, only had to win three matches to garner the Big Doorstop.

Nevertheless, Walnut & Bronze is still Walnut & Bronze no matter the sport, and the Firebirds deserve due congratulations. This is a very big deal for our recently-renamed brethren north of the Cheddar Curtain, as it's the school's first-ever national championship (at least on the team level). Now that Carthage is finally off the schneid, it leaves Carroll as the lone CCIW member that has never hauled home the ultimate hardware.

It would be interesting to see if there are any other D3 leagues that can claim eight member schools that have won one or more D3 national team championships.

[WUPHF]

I would love to see more varsity Men's Volleyball program among the CCIW and SLIAC schools.

It is probably my second favorite sport to watch after basketball.

Also, congratulations to Carthage.

[Caz Bombers]

normally there would have been 16 teams in the tournament, but bracket reduction this year made that 12. 2019 national champion New Paltz and perennial #1 juggernaut Springfield were not selected for at-large bids this year. Vassar beat New Paltz in their conference title match while Springfield I believe only made it onto the court for 3 matches, not enough for the committee to justify picking them.

The men's volleyball forum I follow has for years pooh-poohed midwestern teams as not playing the competition of the Eastern brahmins. I have long felt it was only a matter of time before a midwestern team (and nobody gets dumped on in that forum like Carthage, so I'm glad it was them) won a Doorstop - I don't think the east will be able to keep up and before long Springfield, New Paltz, Stevens and the like will be relics of history.

[iwu70]

Congrats to Carthage on their volleyball championship.  (Yes, IWU starting to play men's volleyball now too). 

(And, while I'm here, congrats to the TITAN women golfers on bringing home another CCIW championship in the three-day tournament, concluding today).   

IWU '70