MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Don't hype up Vance too much now, guys!    He hasn't played a single CCIW minute yet.

Not hyping him at all, Mark. To me, "hype" means speculation presented as already being a done deal, as in, "This guy's a can't-miss," or "He's going to be an All-American eventually," or "This guy will dominate in the CCIW."

You'll never see me say that sort of thing. Why? Because I don't own either one of these:



or one of these:



... so I'm not going to stick my neck out and make a surefire prediction about a 17-year-old whom I've never seen play. For all I know, Marquis Vance could turn out to be a total bust for NPU. I'm simply expressing my excitement about my alma mater landing him, as well as relaying facts about his recent games and quoting from a Daily Southtown article that is behind the Tribune's paywall.

[Gregory Sager]

2024-25 All-CCIW honors:

Fred Young MOSA: Ryan Johnson, Carthage
First-Year SAOY: Josh Fridman, Illinois Wesleyan
COY: Steve Djurickovic, Carthage

All-CCIW First Team
Tyler Knuth, Augustana, 5th, F, Rockford, Ill., Guilford
*AJ Johnson, Carthage, Jr., G, Oswego, Ill., Oswego East
*Ryan Johnson, Carthage, So., G/F, Oswego, Ill., Oswego East
Tagen Pearson, Elmhurst, Gr., G, Westchester, Ill., Nazareth Academy
*Nick Roper, Illinois Wesleyan, Sr., G, St. Louis, Mo., MICDS
Hakim Williams, Illinois Wesleyan, Sr., G, Round Lake, Ill., Round Lake
Rico Powell, North Park, Sr., G, Chicago, Ill., Brother Rice
*Soren Richardson, Wheaton, So., G, Northfield, Minn., Northfield
 
* -- Unanimous selection
 
All-CCIW Second Team
Evan Ambrose, Augustana, Sr., G, Cary, Ill., Stevenson
Erik Victorson, Carroll, Sr., G, Oregon, Wis., Oregon
Riley Brooks, Carthage, So., G, Ripon, Wis., Ripon
Dominic Trelenberg, Elmhurst, Jr., F, Westchester, Ill., Nazareth Academy
Harrison Wilmsen, Illinois Wesleyan, Sr., F, St. Louis, Mo., St. Louis Priory
Lane Thomann, Millikin, So., G, Mackinaw, Ill., Dee-Mack
Terrance Moncrief, North Central, Sr. G, Joliet, Ill., Joliet West
Lance Nelson, North Park, Sr., G, Cottage Grove, Wis., Monona Grove
 
CCIW RESPECT Award Recipients
Nicolas Giliberto, Augustana, Sr., F, Phoenix, Ariz., Paradise Valley
Dominic Burns, Carroll, Sr., G, Salt Lake City, Utah, Judge Memorial
AJ Williams, Carthage, Jr., G, Chicago, Ill., Whitney Young
Sebastian Blachut, Elmhurst, Jr., G, Wood Dale, Ill., Lake Park
Trey Bazzell, Illinois Wesleyan, Sr., G, Fairbury, Ill., Prairie Central
Anthony Lewis, Millikin, Sr., G, St. Charles, Mo., St. Dominic
Tyler Swierczek, North Central, So., F, Palatine, Ill., Palatine
DJ Wallace, North Park, So., F, Hoffman Estates, Ill., Hoffman Estates
Nathan Clark, Wheaton, Sr., G, Pacific Palisades, Calif., Pacifica Christian

[Gregory Sager]

Not to open the can of worms again, and I apologize if this was already posted about (I went back a little ways, but not over the whole season)...  Does Carthage being the host for the tournament on the weekend mean that there will be no free livestream of the games? 

They have links for the games at their schedule to their YouTube page, which is free, so I think signs point to them being available.

The CCIW wouldn't allow Carthage to put the games on PPV even if the Carthage braintrust wanted to do so. Tournament games operate under the auspices of the CCIW, not the host school. That's why tickets have that fixed $10 price regardless of venue, and it's why we're asked as game staff to wear black, gray, or white, rather than the primary color of a participating school.

[GusD]

The CCIW wouldn't allow Carthage to put the games on PPV even if the Carthage braintrust wanted to do so. Tournament games operate under the auspices of the CCIW, not the host school. That's why tickets have that fixed $10 price regardless of venue, and it's why we're asked as game staff to wear black, gray, or white, rather than the primary color of a participating school.

It will be interesting to see if Sager will be attired in his black, gray, or white Armani suit for the Tuesday evening festivities. 

[mwunder]

Not to open the can of worms again, and I apologize if this was already posted about (I went back a little ways, but not over the whole season)...  Does Carthage being the host for the tournament on the weekend mean that there will be no free livestream of the games? 

They have links for the games at their schedule to their YouTube page, which is free, so I think signs point to them being available.

The CCIW wouldn't allow Carthage to put the games on PPV even if the Carthage braintrust wanted to do so. Tournament games operate under the auspices of the CCIW, not the host school. That's why tickets have that fixed $10 price regardless of venue, and it's why we're asked as game staff to wear black, gray, or white, rather than the primary color of a participating school.

You said, "Carthage braintrust"....that's a good one!

[markerickson]

Is the RESPECT Award comparable to tykes' 'everybody gets a trophy" award? /s  For example, what did DJ Wallace do to earn his award?

[mr_b]

Is the RESPECT Award comparable to tykes' 'everybody gets a trophy" award? /s  For example, what did DJ Wallace do to earn his award?

From the CCIW website:

RESPECT Award

"At the conclusion of every sports season, each varsity program will recognize one student-athlete as their RESPECT Award honoree. RESPECT Award recipients have distinguished themselves as an integral member of the team, their institution and community by upholding the values of Responsibility, Enthusiasm, Service, Pride, Excellence, Collaboration and Trust. The RESPECT Award recognizes the intangible traits a student-athlete possesses that exemplify great character and encourages inclusiveness and a positive culture."

It's one of many such CCIW awards. I don't know the intricacies of the selection process, but I'd hazard a guess that each recipient is nominated internally by the coaching staff and players.  Let's applaud these student-athletes for their contributions to their teams and their sport.

[Gregory Sager]

The CCIW wouldn't allow Carthage to put the games on PPV even if the Carthage braintrust wanted to do so. Tournament games operate under the auspices of the CCIW, not the host school. That's why tickets have that fixed $10 price regardless of venue, and it's why we're asked as game staff to wear black, gray, or white, rather than the primary color of a participating school.

It will be interesting to see if Sager will be attired in his black, gray, or white Armani suit for the Tuesday evening festivities. 

White lamé jumpsuit.

Is the RESPECT Award comparable to tykes' 'everybody gets a trophy" award? /s  For example, what did DJ Wallace do to earn his award?

If it was an "everybody gets a trophy" award, why would each school be allowed only one RESPECT Award winner?

As the RESPECT Award explanation from the CCIW website quoted by Mr. B indicates, this is really an award that reflects the holistic approach to being a student-athlete that reflects D3 at its best. In my opinion, it's thus a valuable and worthwhile award for the CCIW to bestow. And, with regard to North Park men's basketball, I can't think of a more fitting recipient than DJ Wallace, an impressive young man who really does represent those seven qualities in the RESPECT Award well.

[iwu70]

The two IWU recipients are also excellent representatives exemplifying the values described above.  Caite Knudsen for the women and Trey Bazzell for the men.  I have admiration and appreciation for both of them and for their dedication and contributions to their respective teams and programs.  Excellent choices. 

'70

[mwunder]

Having watched most of the Carthage games this season, I would agree that AJ Williams is representative of that award as well. I've seen numerous examples of him chasing down balls so that a ref wouldn't have to do it, handing the basketball to a ref rather than pass it to them, etc.  I've also never seen him bark at an official or lose his cool before, during, or after a game.

[markerickson]

/s = sarcasm   So you learned something today.

[petemcb]

Is the RESPECT Award comparable to tykes' 'everybody gets a trophy" award? /s  For example, what did DJ Wallace do to earn his award?

If you would spend five minutes with DJ, you wouldn't need to ask this question.

[Stertorous Thunder]

North Park and North Central are tied 89-89 with one minute to go. This has been an awesome game. One set of great seniors is unfortunately about to end their careers tonight, but they absolutely put on a magnificent final show.

[Gregory Sager]

North Central 94
North Park 92

Rico Powell: 22 pts, 8 rebs
TJ Gardner: 19 pts
Lance Nelson: 14 pts, 7 rebs, 10:2 a:to
Taijon Barry: 12 pts (5-6 FG)
DJ Wallace: 11 pts

Ethan Helwig: 21 pts (7-10 FG, 7-9 trey), 7 rebs
Drew Gaston: 19 pts (6-10 FG)
Terrance Moncrief: 17 pts (7-11 FG), 9:1 a:to
Tyler Swierczek: 16 pts (6-11 FG, 4-9 trey)
Alejandro Diaz: 10 pts
Justin Svieteris: 10 pts

Vikings lose a heartbreaker to end their season. With 11 seconds left and NPU down by two, Lance Nelson hit an open trey from the right corner to put the Park up, 92-91. But it gave NCC enough time to get the ball over the timeline and into the hands of Ethan Helwig, who hit a slightly off-balance 24-footer with five-plus seconds left on the clock to win the game. TJ Gardner's pull-up trey attempt at the buzzer came up short, and that was that.

The ending was indicative of how the game went. The Cardinals shot out of their ever-lovin' minds from the field in the opening half: 68% from the field and 67% from downtown. In the first ten minutes, in which the Cards pulled out to a 13-point lead, this was done in large part due to what I referred to on the air as "November defense" by North Park, as the Vikings were biting on every fake and the Cardinals were able to take full advantage. From that point onward, though, NPU played tough defense. But the Cardinals still kept hitting shots -- the difference now was that their degree of difficulty was much higher. It took North Central's shooting a highly improbable .586/.556/.846 line for the game just to beat North Park by two, which I guess is some sort of sideways compliment to the Vikings.

NPU fought back from a 13-point deficit in the first half and then a 12-point deficit in the second half, and nearly pulled off the win. No finger-pointing from me; the Vikes fought like warriors tonight. Just have to tip your cap to NCC for getting hot and then staying hot.

[lmitzel]

I caught the first few minutes of the game where the Cardinals built their lead, then missed a chunk while I was coaching my son's youth basketball team, but managed to catch most of the final 10 minutes or so, including that final sequence. Great play call by the Vikings on the Nelson three, followed by the ever popular "NononononoYES!" three by Helwig.

Maybe the most underrated part that we leave out: North Park's Tristan Arneaud missed a fast break layup with maybe about 30 seconds left that would have totally changed the calculus of that ending, then proceeded to foul Terrance Moncrief, who hit both free throws to make it 91-89 and setting up the photo finish.

NCC becomes the first 6 seed to win a CCIW Tournament game on the men's side.

Good job on the call as always tonight, Greg!