MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

In most seasons, a win against the Titans is an occasion to storm the floor in celebration, but this year IWU is a victim of its own previous success.  It's quite a testament to their history that this season where they are merely "good," yet still very capable of keeping pace with the highest level of conference and national opponent, will be considered disappointing.

But the season isn't over and I completely agree that this year's Titans are capable of knocking anyone, and potentially everyone, else out of the tournament.  But if they don't, I legitimately hope to see IWU improve next year even though my CCIW basketball rooting interests are 1.) Wheaton and 2.) whoever is playing Illinois Wesleyan.  A good conference needs a good powerhouse villain.

This is an excellent point. Nobody plays the role of the moustache-twirling bad guy better than the Titans (and their occasionally obnoxious fan base). But, beyond that, the dilemma here is that we're all not just simply fans of a basketball program, we're also fans of the league it's in. Part of the pride we each take in our teams (and the schools to which they belong) comes from having success within a league whose overall success helps define that of its nine constituent members. And that's where the dilemma lies: Do you root for the other teams in the league when they're playing outside the circuit? In November and December there's an eminently pragmatic reason to answer "yes"; the success of the other CCIW teams means a better SOS for your team. But in the postseason? That's where it can become a matter of mixed emotions.

I'm a big believer in the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats. The better this league does as a whole, the better my team looks. And that means that, to a certain degree, you want to see the other CCIW teams get better, or at least to stay competent if they're already at that level. I hated it a dozen years ago when the Millikin program utterly and completely fell apart and couldn't win a game, even getting poleaxed night after night by SLIAC teams in November and December. It wasn't because I held any great love for the Big Blue; I just hated to see them dragging down the CCIW with them.

Of course, if IWU went 9-0 every year in non-conference play and yet never managed to climb out of the second division of the CCIW, I don't think you'd find me sobbing into my pillow every night over it.

[Gregory Sager]

Just in case anyone was wondering what Carroll is looking for in the job search for the next head coach of the Pioneers, here's the job description via Hoop.Dirt.com.

[Stertorous Thunder]

Nobody plays the role of the moustache-twirling bad guy better than the Titans (and their occasionally obnoxious fan base).

I've been in a fantasy baseball league for many years and we annually* celebrate Yankees Elimination Day.  On the day that the New York Yankees lose a playoff series or are mathematically eliminated from qualifying for the postseason, someone in the group sends out an email to wish everyone else a "Happy Yankees Elimination Day."  On that day, or as soon as practical, the various members are expected to order dessert at their next meal and privately celebrate the end of the season for the Yankees, bound in mutual dislike of pinstripes, scattered throughout the country, and yet together in spirit.

I'll be looking forward to wishing the rest of you a Happy Illinois Western Elimination Day on Tuesday evening**. 

*unless it's one of those awful years when they win the World Series
**unless it's one of those awful years when they win the CCIW Tournament

[Gregory Sager]

Nobody plays the role of the moustache-twirling bad guy better than the Titans (and their occasionally obnoxious fan base).

I've been in a fantasy baseball league for many years and we annually* celebrate Yankees Elimination Day.

Speaking of obnoxious fan bases ...

[kenoshamark]

Congrats to Bosko for being inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame for 2023.

https://www.kenosha.com/2023/02/14/former-carthage-basketball-coach-bosko-djurickovic-named-to-2023-wbca-hall-of-fame-class/

[iwu70]

Very touching guys . . . you'd almost think some of you have sympathy for the mediocre season by the Titans this year.   I find it all pretty funny, very touching . . .  LOL.   I've stated pretty clearly in recent weeks why the Titans just aren't that good this year, aren't able to finish games, are a way below average shooting team compared to most years of IWU basketball, and had issues with TOs and perimeter defense pretty much all year, esp. at key moments in games they could have won.   Decent defense and good rebounding.

And, I suppose it won't surprise too too many of you that I'm also a long-time Yankee fan!  LOL.   I grew up with the White Sox, but they surely didn't give us much to cheer about in those days, back to the time of Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio and others.  So, when I moved to NYC in the early 70s, I went over to the dark side and spent many many enjoyable and happy evenings, twi-lights at the old Yankee Stadium, in the pre-Jeter days, the days of Ron Guidry, Bernie Williams and, yes, Reggie Jackson.  We had some great Octobers . . . and I was there for the Mets-Yankees subway series, too.  A great time for NYC.    Not so much to cheer about in the recent few years, though I do love Da'Judge!   Another great time for NYC . . .  and, sadly, I was there with my high school son for 9/11 as well.  Once a New Yorker, always New Yorker, esp. after 9/11 and losing fellow parents from my son's high school in the Bronx.  They went to work in the Twin Towers too early that morning . . .

Should IWU get on a roll and win the CCIW tournament this year, I would likely be the most stunned of all . . .  not seeing it happen.  Greg has every right to be proud of, high on his NPU team this year.  They should be in the top 25 rankings with that record and all that grit and speed, great defense they have.   They are more fun to watch than Wheaton . . . IMHO.   Glad to see other CCIW teams ranked in the regional rankings, as that will help NPU get a Pool C bid.   

IWU has a long way to go to re-build for next year, as they lose Heflen and Mitchell, a huge chunk of their scoring and rebounding.  Yes, some good, young players, but playing still like young players.  Not much good shooting there left, only Bazzell . . . so perhaps Ron Rose will have to recruit well on that front and return the Titans to a better % trey shooting team next year.  They have all the other big bodies coming back, so strength in the paint won't be a problem and will likely improve significantly over this year as Schneider, Boldt, Wilsem and Carlo Anderson all return.   The perimeter players on offense and defense will be the issue, not much quickness or good defense out there.   Sroka at the wing is the most consistent returnee . . . 

Good luck to Wheaton and NPU, should they get into March.   

IWU '70  . . . there's always next year.   

[kiko]

Very touching guys . . . you'd almost think some of you have sympathy for the mediocre season by the Titans this year.

Look on the bright side: with the twists and turns of leads built and crumbled akin to the rise and fall of great societies from ancient lands that the Titans pilgrimaged to whilst foreshadowing their fateful season, with the tragic descent suffered by the lead players characters as they saw the exhilarating highs of preseason expectations slip elusively through their grasp, and with the pathos of holiday excursions cancelled and rescheduled amidst the unsettled times of a difficult season, next year's opera libretto (surely entitled La Titania Rose) has more or less already been written. 

(And should the Titans make a run in the conference tournament, well, that just evolves the ending into a special aria performed by tenor Norm Eash that pivots the story into one of triumphant redemption.)

[Stertorous Thunder]

And, I suppose it won't surprise too too many of you that I'm also a long-time Yankee fan!

It will be difficult, but I think I can handle being in the same (chat) room with you.  But if you're also a Notre Dame fan, please just keep that to yourself.

[Gregory Sager]

Very touching guys . . .

I was kinda wondering where you were, Mark. It's not like you to let people get away with badmouthing your Titans for that long without a rejoinder.

you'd almost think some of you have sympathy for the mediocre season by the Titans this year.   I find it all pretty funny, very touching . . .  LOL.   I've stated pretty clearly in recent weeks why the Titans just aren't that good this year, aren't able to finish games, are a way below average shooting team compared to most years of IWU basketball, and had issues with TOs and perimeter defense pretty much all year, esp. at key moments in games they could have won.   Decent defense and good rebounding.

And they're slow, Mark. Slooooow. Yours is a team that's built for 2003, not 2023. "Big" still has value, but in 2023, "quick" > "big". As I said earlier today, the Titans roster is not without its virtues, one of them being that Ron Rose is playing a lot of underclassmen who may grow their games over the next couple of years. But, if you ask me (and I realize that nobody is asking me anything, unless I'm being Ypsi'ed), Rose simply has to put a stronger accent on speed rather than size in recruiting in order to keep up in this league.

And, I suppose it won't surprise too too many of you that I'm also a long-time Yankee fan!  LOL.

Well, knock me over with a feather.

Should IWU get on a roll and win the CCIW tournament this year, I would likely be the most stunned of all . . .  not seeing it happen.

Well, they're a longshot, but we've all conceded that they're still a possibility to win it. Ron Rose teams do have a reputation for finding another gear at the end of a season. It's just hard to imagine a team that's got such significant issues at both ends of the floor winning three games in a row, two of which will have to take place in their opponents' gyms.

  Greg has every right to be proud of, high on his NPU team this year.  They should be in the top 25 rankings with that record and all that grit and speed, great defense they have.   They are more fun to watch than Wheaton . . . IMHO.   Glad to see other CCIW teams ranked in the regional rankings, as that will help NPU get a Pool C bid.   

My personal preferences aside, the upshot is that the CCIW has to get at least two teams into the dance. It has to. We'll have to turn in our Power Conference card if we can't make that happen. So that burden is mainly on the Vikings, I guess, because Wheaton appears to be the likely host of the semifinal and final rounds and is the prohibitive favorite to win the Pool A, despite currently being the best Pool C bet the CCIW has as well.

IWU has a long way to go to re-build for next year, as they lose Heflen and Mitchell, a huge chunk of their scoring and rebounding.  Yes, some good, young players, but playing still like young players.  Not much good shooting there left, only Bazzell . . . so perhaps Ron Rose will have to recruit well on that front and return the Titans to a better % trey shooting team next year.

Shooting can be developed, if a player is willing to put in the enormous time and effort in the off-season it takes to improve that aspect of his game ... and by that I mean literally setting aside the time every day to go somewhere that has a ball-return machine (or patient and willing rebounders) and take at least ten thousand shots. Case in point: NPU's Jalen Boyd, who did that this offseason and has added .044 to his three-point shooting average as a result (it was higher than that, but he's slumped a bit in the last few games).

Quickness? That's more innate than learned, although you can improve it to a certain degree. But, as North Park demonstrates on defense, basketball quickness is also about hand quickness, too, and it's even harder to develop that.

They have all the other big bodies coming back, so strength in the paint won't be a problem and will likely improve significantly over this year as Schneider, Boldt, Wilsem and Carlo Anderson all return.   The perimeter players on offense and defense will be the issue, not much quickness or good defense out there.   Sroka at the wing is the most consistent returnee . . . 

Good luck to Wheaton and NPU, should they get into March.

Thanks, Mark!

Very touching guys . . . you'd almost think some of you have sympathy for the mediocre season by the Titans this year.

Look on the bright side: with the twists and turns of leads built and crumbled akin to the rise and fall of great societies from ancient lands that the Titans pilgrimaged to whilst foreshadowing their fateful season, with the tragic descent suffered by the lead players characters as they saw the exhilarating highs of preseason expectations slip elusively through their grasp, and with the pathos of holiday excursions cancelled and rescheduled amidst the unsettled times of a difficult season, next year's opera libretto (surely entitled La Titania Rose) has more or less already been written. 

(And should the Titans make a run in the conference tournament, well, that just evolves the ending into a special aria performed by tenor Norm Eash that pivots the story into one of triumphant redemption.)

Elegant pivot into one of Mark's preferred venues of IWU braggadocio, kiko ... although I could've done without the mental image of a Stormin' Norman aria.

[Gregory Sager]

Congrats to Bosko for being inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame for 2023.

https://www.kenosha.com/2023/02/14/former-carthage-basketball-coach-bosko-djurickovic-named-to-2023-wbca-hall-of-fame-class/

Hear, hear!

And it is nice to see that the WBCA is willing to forgive Bosko for his FIB origins and his decidedly Chicago-bred demeanor.

[Aconsmu]

Congrats to Bosko. Great coach

[iwu70]

Stertorous, be assured I'm not a Notre Dame fan . . . I'm a recovering Methodist after all!!     I guess I get to stay in the Chatroom.  (I've earned it, over the decades.).

Greg, I'm with you on speed/quickness > size.   When coaching myself, I always told my players that basketball is a game of foot speed.   I'm sure Ron Rose will try to address it and improve the perimeter defense and trey shooting.  Otherwise, they will stay in the middle of the CCIW pack.   All the current, returning perimeter players have a lot to improve on if this is to be the Titan future -- both Williams and Anderson.  I think Rose will have to find some new, quicker guards -- like those NPU has, or Hellwig or the quick guys @Augie.   Just amazed me this year that our guys could not handle defensive pressure that well, and turned it over so many times in key situations . . . almost ill-fated, it happened so many times at crucial times in winnable games -- I can remember at least 5-6 times.   So, yes, very disappointing.  Ron Rose must have aged 4-5 years in just one season.  (Greg, as you said before, the Titans this year seemed to play to the level of their competition, and too often came up just short). 

Let's please keep Storm'n Norman out of this -- isn't this a basketball chat room!??   However, I did like the idea of "triumphant redemption."    Highly unlikely, IMHO.

Senior Day at The Shirk, vs. Carthage on Saturday.  We'll thank and say farewell to Heflen and Mitchell, two key parts of IWU's successes in recent years.  Their scoring, rebounding and competitive spirit will be hard to replace. 

Congrats to Bosco on his Cheeseheadland Hall of Fame honor. 

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

A few national Top 40 notes:

TEAM

* Carthage is 3rd in the nation in FG percentage (.516)
* Carthage is 34th in the nation in scoring offense (82.0 ppg)

* Elmhurst is 32nd in the nation in blocks per game (6.3 bpg)
* Elmhurst is 20th in the nation in free throw attempts per game (22.3 ftapg)
* Elmhurst is 8th in the nation in free throws made per game (16.6 ftmpg)
* Elmhurst is 26th in the nation in rebound margin (+7.6 rpg)
* Elmhurst is 36th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (13.50 orpg)
* Elmhurst is 29th in the nation in rebounds per game (42.38 rpg)

* Illinois Wesleyan is 29th in the nation in rebound margin (+7.4 rpg)

* North Central is 2nd in the nation in free throw percentage (.807)
* North Central is 34th in the nation in trey percentage (.374)

* North Park is 8th in the nation in free throw attempts per game (24.4 ftapg)
* North Park is 20th in the nation in free throws made per game (15.8 ftmpg)
* North Park is 25th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (14.08 orpg)
* North Park is 5th in the nation in steals per game (13.0 spg)
* North Park is 4th in the nation in turnover margin (+8 topg)
* North Park is 8th in the nation in turnovers forced per game (20.04 otopg)
* North Park is 40th in the nation in winning percentage (.792)

* Wheaton is 11th in the nation in a:to ratio (1.66)
* Wheaton is 28th in the nation in fewest fouls per game (11.2 fpg)
* Wheaton is 24th in the nation in free throws made per game (15.6 ftmpg)
* Wheaton is 34th in the nation in scoring defense (64.3 oppg)
* Wheaton is 17th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.8 topg)
* Wheaton is 11th in the nation in winning percentage (.875)

INDIVIDUAL

* AC's Matt Hanushewsky is 33rd in the nation in a:to ratio (2.36)
* AC's Dan Carr is 33rd in the nation in double-doubles (11)
* AC's Dan Carr is 26th in the nation in rebounds (246)
* AC's Dan Carr is 22nd in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (7.91 drpg)

* CC's Antuan Nesbitt is 32nd in the nation in field goal percentage (.592)
* CC's Antuan Nesbitt is 5th in the nation in minutes played per game (37 mpg)

* EU's Jonathan Zapinski is 3rd in the nation in blocks (74)
* EU's Jonathan Zapinski is 4th in the nation in blocks per game (3.08 bpg)
* EU's Jonathan Zapinski is 30th in the nation in rebounds (240)

* IWU's Cody Mitchell is 39th in the nation in rebounds (231)

* NCC's Matt Helwig is 24th in the nation in field goal attempts (372)
* NCC's Matt Helwig is 21st in the nation in field goals made (182)
* NCC's Matt Helwig is 15th in the nation in free throw percentage (.890)

* NPU's Shamar Pumphrey is 19th in the nation in a:to ratio (2.61)
* NPU's Shamar Pumphrey is 29th in the nation in assists (120)
* NPU's Shamar Pumphrey is 32nd in the nation in assists per game (5.0 apg)
* NPU's Kolden Vanlandingham is 34th in the nation in free throw attempts (147)
* NPU's Kolden Vanlandingham is 29th in the nation in free throws made (109)
* NPU's Marquise Jackson is 10th in the nation in steals (64)
* NPU's Shamar Pumphrey is 19th in the nation in steals (60)
* NPU's Marquise Jackson is 7th in the nation in steals per game (2.91 spg)
* NPU's Shamar Pumphrey is 23rd in the nation in steals per game (2.50 spg)

* WC's Tyson Cruickshank is 25th in the nation in assists (125)
* WC's Tyson Cruickshank is 29th in the nation in assists per game (5.2 apg)
* WC's Tyson Cruickshank is 37th in the nation in trey attempts (175)
* WC's Tyson Cruickshank is 16th in the nation in trey percentage (.440)
* WC's Tyson Cruickshank is 10th in the nation in treys made per game (3.21 3fgmpg)
* WC's Tyson Cruickshank is 11th in the nation in treys made (77)

[Gregory Sager]

Congrats to Bosco on his Cheeseheadland Hall of Fame honor. 

We've been over this before, Mark.

This is Bosco:



This is Bosko:

[Gregory Sager]

The CCIW has kept track of steals as a statistic since 1995-96. In that time, only twice has a player reached the 40-steals mark in conference play ... and both times it was the same player. Elmhurst's Chris Martin, now the head coach of Loras, had 45 steals in CCIW play in 2004-05, and 44 in 2005-06. Nobody else before this season had ever had more than 38.

Thus far this season, with one conference game remaining, NPU's Shamar Pumphrey has 42 steals in CCIW play, and his teammate Marquise Jackson has 41.

In third place in CCIW steals this season is NPU's Jordan Boyd, whose 27 steals would've led the league in roughly half of the seasons played since 1995-96. In fourth place with 26 is NPU's Kolden Vanlandingham; same notation.

North Park's 198 steals in CCIW games (13.2 per game) is almost as many as the next two teams combined.

Seven of the nine teams in the CCIW have negative turnover margins in league play -- and one of them is Wheaton, which, as I posted a few minutes ago, ranks 17th in all of D3 in fewest turnovers per game, averaging a measly 10.8 giveaways on the season. And yet Wheaton has a -0.80 turnover rate in CCIW play! How can that be?

Well, let's look at the two teams in the CCIW that have positive turnover margins in league play. One of them is Carthage, whose CCIW turnover margin is a modest +0.53. The other is North Park, whose CCIW turnover margin is -- get this -- +8.73.

Don't tell me that Sean Smith isn't turning this league upside-down with his style of play, and the players he's brought in this season to play it, because the numbers don't lie.