MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Greenville 119
North Park 117

Michael Osborne: 23 pts, 9 rebs, 14:7 a:to
Jordan Boyd: 23 pts
Jalen Boyd: 17 pts, 11 rebs, 7:3 a:to
Izaiah Sanders: 11 pts, 9:3 a:to
Jonathan Johansson: 14 pts, 7 rebs
Adam Bulwa: 14 pts, 7 rebs
Gabe Johnson: 8 rebs

I was only able to watch bits and pieces of this game, but every time that I glanced at it NPU was turning the ball over. That, or missing a free throw; the Vikings went an atrocious 15-32 from the line today.

Michael Osborne not only came within a carom of becoming the third player in Vikings history to record a triple-double, he also registered the most assists by a Viking since Danny James dished out 18 dimes against another run-and-gun team, Rust, 31 seasons ago. But gaudy stats are nothing more than an artifact of playing a System team, and what ultimately matters is if you win the game. The Vikings, who ended up getting beat on a final-buzzer trey (I clicked over to the game just as the Panthers were celebrating), didn't do what they had set out to do.

NPU is now 1-2, and it's not as though the Vikings have been playing world-beaters, either. This is not promising.

[Next Man Up]

I noticed that in Elmhurst's 70-55 win over St. Norbs, the flamboyant Wesley Hooker started but played only one minute. Usually, starters see a little more than a single minute of PT. Anyone know what what caused the abbreviated action?

[Titan Q]

Matt Leritz was a force today against Calvin - 28 points, 12 rebounds.  The Knights could not stop him in the 2nd half.

I think there is a good chance Matt is the best 5-man in Division III.  He is a really special player.

IWU out-rebounded Calvin 38-23 today - a good indication of where this game was won.  IWU was bigger, stronger, and more physical than Calvin.

The Titans did a nice job grinding out two road wins this weekend without Pete Lambesis.  The injury to Lambesis has created opportunities for guys like Ryan Sroka (So), Connor Heaton (Fr), and Nick Roper (Fr) to get great experience.  I think that will really help as the season plays out.

https://www.iwusports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=13653&path=mbball

[GoPerry]

Wheaton 85
UW Eau Claire  77

Nyameye Adom  41 pts, 11-17 FG, 18-20 FT
Tyson Cruickshank  24 pts, 10 rebs 6 asst

Spencer Page, 20 pts, 5 rebs
Brock Voigt, 18 pts, 7 rebs

The BluGolds gave Wheaton all it could handle tonight at King.  Eau Claire actually never had the lead the entire game but kept it close the whole way.  Wheaton never led by more than 10 and then only briefly in this very tight matchup.

The visitors really had no answer for Adom who pretty much had his way in pull up jumpers and then getting to the basket.  When the visitors tied it up late in the game the Thunder went to Adom who consistently delivered.  And if it wasn't him then Cruickshank was making some special plays.  It was a frustrating night for Cade Alioth who spent a lot of time in foul trouble.

This was a very good test for Wheaton.  They continue to get nice contributions from Eddie Scott and Nick Schiavello as both Collin Uveges and Andrew Williams are out w injury.  It looks like it could be at least 2-3 weeks before they get Spencer Petersen and Luke Anthony back.  Given the 7 man rotation currently going, their return can't come soon enough. 

Adom was named the Will Landry Memorial MVP and was joined on the All Tourney team by Cruickshank.

[Titan Q]

On on demand of the IWU/Calvin game...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85lg4MR77-E

6-7 F/C Matt Leritz in the 2nd half: 10-14 FG (2-3 3-point); 23 pts, 5 reb.

Matt is a great player.

[mr_b]

Greenville 119
North Park 117

Michael Osborne: 23 pts, 9 rebs, 14:7 a:to
Jordan Boyd: 23 pts
Jalen Boyd: 17 pts, 11 rebs, 7:3 a:to
Izaiah Sanders: 11 pts, 9:3 a:to
Jonathan Johansson: 14 pts, 7 rebs
Adam Bulwa: 14 pts, 7 rebs
Gabe Johnson: 8 rebs

I was only able to watch bits and pieces of this game, but every time that I glanced at it NPU was turning the ball over. That, or missing a free throw; the Vikings went an atrocious 15-32 from the line today.

Michael Osborne not only came within a carom of becoming the third player in Vikings history to record a triple-double, he also registered the most assists by a Viking since Danny James dished out 18 dimes against another run-and-gun team, Rust, 31 seasons ago. But gaudy stats are nothing more than an artifact of playing a System team, and what ultimately matters is if you win the game. The Vikings, who ended up getting beat on a final-buzzer trey (I clicked over to the game just as the Panthers were celebrating), didn't do what they had set out to do.

NPU is now 1-2, and it's not as though the Vikings have been playing world-beaters, either. This is not promising.

I don't look too closely at the basketball box scores, but the number that jumped out at me was that North Park gave up 40 turnovers to Greenville's 16. 

[markerickson]

I have never watched a game against a System team.  Why so many TOs?  I am sure there was a plethora of errant passes, steals, and traveling, but why?  Does the System employ a full court press most of the game?  If so, shouldn't a team practice against this deployment in every practice?  Any team can press at any time.

Three Vikings, including the touted Gabe Johnson (8/6), had more TOs than points.

[Titan Q]

I have never watched a game against a System team.  Why so many TOs?  I am sure there was a plethora of errant passes, steals, and traveling, but why?  Does the System employ a full court press most of the game?  If so, shouldn't a team practice against this deployment in every practice?  Any team can press at any time.

Three Vikings, including the touted Gabe Johnson (8/6), had more TOs than points.

https://www.d3hoops.com/columns/around-the-nation/2016-17/system-here-to-stay

[Gregory Sager]

I have never watched a game against a System team.  Why so many TOs?  I am sure there was a plethora of errant passes, steals, and traveling, but why?  Does the System employ a full court press most of the game?  If so, shouldn't a team practice against this deployment in every practice?  Any team can press at any time.

The System is much more than a simple full-court press. It involves double-teaming the man with the ball, no matter where the ball is on the court. That is very difficult for opposing players to handle, especially since, as I understand it, a large chunk of a System team's practice time is spent working on rotating the defensive players to ensure that the ball gets double-teamed as quickly and as effectively as possible. Therefore, the amount of time that any ball-possessing player has to locate his open teammate and pass the ball to him is reduced.

System teams also rotate in the line-change manner of hockey, with a fresh five taking the court every 30-45 seconds. That, plus the fact that the System team, although not actually conceding layups per se (although Grinnell used to do that), is not going to put up heavy resistance if you beat the press, means that they're going to have fresher legs than you for the duration of the game. The more worn-out you get, the harder it is to make a good decision with the ball when you get it into your hands and two System defenders are suddenly right up in your space.

System basketball is all about numbers. You have a certain quota of steals you need to make, a certain number of offensive rebounds you have to grab, etc. The idea is to maximize your amount of FG attempts while minimizing your opponents' FGA, because you're most likely not going to shoot nearly as well as your opponent. They'll be making plenty of layups (NPU shot a whopping .662 from the field on Saturday), and your System guys will be quickly chucking up the ball like there's no tomorrow (Greenville attempted 44 treys on Saturday, making ten of them), so you need to have that big advantage in FGA. Greenville attempted 100 shots, North Park attempted only 77.

[WUPHF]

As an aside, I have a friend who played at Monmouth during the first few years of the Dave Arsenault-era and he said every game with Grinnell involved a different approach to the offense.

For example, in one game, Grinnell left a guard and forward under the opposing team's basket for the entire second half.  Those players never crossed back across the half court line.

I can only assume this is true.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

As an aside, I have a friend who played at Monmouth during the first few years of the Dave Arsenault-era and he said every game with Grinnell involved a different approach to the offense.

For example, in one game, Grinnell left a guard and forward under the opposing team's basket for the entire second half.  Those players never crossed back across the half court line.

I can only assume this is true.

In the early days it was all trial and error for them.  They had these numerical goals they were working towards, but no concrete blueprint of how to do it.  They tried a lot of different things.

[Greek Tragedy]

I've been to several system games in the past. Depending on the situation, they'll actually pass up an open layup in favor of kicking it back out for a 3 attempt. I have also seen the "cherry picker" strategy where the player doesn't cross midcourt... it's interesting, exciting and painful to watch, all at the same time. It's definitely "must see tv" if you get a chance to see a system team in person.

[WUPHF]

Thanks guys.  I have seen Greenville play a few times, but as far as I can tell, they are not as stringent when it comes to the goals/targets/substitutions

[lmitzel]

Thanks guys.  I have seen Greenville play a few times, but as far as I can tell, they are not as stringent when it comes to the goals/targets/substitutions

Can confirm on the latter, at least based on a sample size of one game. When Greenville came to NCC a couple years ago, I expected a change about every minute; it was closer to every two. Don't know if we were more the exception or the rule though.

[iwu70]

Congrats to Matt Leritz on being named the CCIW Player of the week . . . 28 points two games in a row in Michigan, vs. Alma and then the win over Calvin.   IWU now 5-0 on the new season.

Let's hope Lambesis can return within a short time.

IWU '70