MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

So did you not take the time to look at the last post Dennis or do you have some reason not to trust CardinalAlum, who actually met all of your criteria (8 is indeed between 7-9 and he got all the teams you picked out).

[Mugsy]

CardinalAlum,

If you continue to post basketball related information, you'll have to trade in the football helmet for some baggy bball shorts, some Nike/Reebok shoes, or a jock strap... 

[Jim Matson]

Yeah, Wheaton and North Park have had their share of upsets, but I guess the point of my question was seeing Wheaton's line-up and North Park's line-up in juxtaposition.

[CardinalAlum]

CardinalAlum,

If you continue to post basketball related information, you'll have to trade in the football helmet for some baggy bball shorts, some Nike/Reebok shoes, or a jock strap... 

Nice.

Hey Mugsy,

When did you submit your picks yesterday?  Halftime?? 

[CardinalAlum]

I like to get to a couple of NCC games a year.  I should make sure to catch them early in the season, we sure seem to fall apart in the 2nd half of the last couple of seasons.

[carthageking]

Why is Carthage so bad this year?  It comes from numerous things that I don't think some people will agree with.  First and foremost they do not have any stars.  Players like a Chris Martin or Dauskas who can take over a game in the last 4 minutes and will a team to win.  Bosko seems to think Trey Bowens is the answer and he simply isn't, he is over-rated and lacks leadership skills as well as the talent to get it done when it really counts.  They also sorely lack leadership, I know for a fact as a student that I aways see players out at bars nights before games and after them.  To top it all off I think the reason Carthage is so bad this year is due to coaching,  Bosko does a horrible job as a coach closing games when he has a team on the ropes.  Numerous times this year Carthage has nearly blown or blown big second half leads.  You can disagree all you want but that comes down to coaching.  Any good coach in America will tell you that.  I know everyone on this board holds Bosko on a high platform for his accomplishments at NP and two good years at Carthage but here is a question:  When has Bosko had a team that won a conference championship without three of the 5 best players in the league?  The answer never.  I believe the mark of a good coach is someone who can win without the more than one star.  An example would be Elmhurst this year.  One star in Chris Martin but the others players are nothing to special but they find a way to get it done and our my pick this year to beat IWU once.  Just my thoughts on Carthage this year.  I hope they pick it up because it was sure fun going to games when we at least were competitive.

[Mugsy]

Nice.

Hey Mugsy,

When did you submit your picks yesterday?  Halftime?? 

In hindsight it was after games started... time stamps on posts are EST, so I think I submitted them at 7:46pm or there abouts.  I was returning home from 5 hours worth of job interview and my brain was mush.  I realized it too late, but I honestly went straight to the pick-em's without looking for any scores. (I know... yeah, sure you did!)  Even though the Millikin game was closer than expected, I don't think last nights games were very controvesial in terms of who to pick.  11 had Rockford, 3 had NPU.  In the other game, 9 had MU, 5 had Illinois C.

Anyway, I didn't intend that to happen and will live by the rules if I'm ruled in-eligible for those 2 games by the powers that be.  I won't forfeit all previous games and I won't go on probation for the remainder of the season either.  It's up to Mr. Sager.  Guess it'll just be a bigger comeback when I blow past you in the standings.

[CardinalAlum]

 
Mugsy,

Didn't think I would let you off that easy did you??!! Especially when I took one on the chin with my NPU pick!!   

[Titan Q]

It's too early to really analyze Quality of Wins Index numbers, but I post this for the sake of anyone not real familiar with QOWI  (formerly "Strength of Schedule Index)" and how it works.

Current QOWI of CCIW teams, through last night...

(record is in-region D3 games only, as that is all that is factored into the calculation)

Illinois Wesleyan (3-0): 13.67
North Central (2-0): 12.00
Augustana (6-0): 11.50
Millikin (4-1): 8.60
Elmhurst (4-2): 8.50
Wheaton (3-4): 7.86
Carthage (1-3): 7.75
North Park (1-6): 4.14

Point values assigned to each in-region win/loss can be found at the link directly below.  To calculate the QOWI you simply divide the total by the games played to come up with an average per game.

http://www.d3hoops.com/faq.php?question=35

Remember, these numbers change not only as your team wins and loses in-region games, but also as the opponents' in-region record changes.  So right now for example, IWU's win @ U. of Chicago (in-region 4-2, .667) is a 15 pointer, but if the Maroons lose at Coe Friday to fall to 4-3 (.571) in the region, IWU's win @ Chicago turns into a 13 pointer. 

To put the numbers above into perspective, here are the top 10 QOWI in the nation last year during the last week of the season...

Amherst     12.083
St. John Fisher    10.957
Worcester Polytech    10.920
Illinois Wesleyan    10.909
Ramapo    10.792
Springfield    10.731
King's    10.720
Puget Sound    10.684
Aurora    10.636
UW-Stevens Point    10.600

Even though the QOWI only measures a team vs in-region opponents, the NCAA Division III selection committee actually compares the totals across regions when evaluating Pool C (at-large) candidates and also in determining seedings.  Obviously, this makes no sense as the playing field is not level.

The QOWI is a flawed system in a lot of ways, but "it is what it is" as they say and it is something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

[CardinalAlum]

Especially when I took one on the chin with my NPU pick!!   

I stand corrected!!  I did have Rockford!!  Sheesh, these holidays have me worn out!  Mugsy, you're ok in my book!

[Titan Q]

I don't think it's very useful to discuss/debate Paul Brenegan's X's and O's abilities since North Park's problem is (and has been for about a decade) personnel.  John Wooden wouldn't have won a CCIW game last season with a starting lineup of Je'Shawn Stevenson, Matt Lindahl, Lamar Townsend, Brett Mathisen, and Mike Haehn.  It is amazing how great a coach looks at the X's and O's on both sides of the floor when he has great players and how bad he looks with not-so-great players (see Bosko post above).

Also, I'm a firm believer that you give a coach until at least the end of year 3 to evaluate.  You have to give a couple years to let the coach go out and recruit his own guys, get those guys into the system, develop them, etc.. 

North Park head coach Paul Brenegan is at the beginning of his second season.  At this point in Scott Trost's IWU tenure he had gone 12-12/6-8 CCIW in season #1 and was 3-2 in the early going of his 2nd season at IWU.  He was spending a lot of time in high school gyms watching prep stars Adam Dauksas, Keelan Amelianovich, Jason Fisher, Cory/Chris Jones, etc..

I don't know if Paul Brenegan is closer to Scott Trost or Rees Johnson in coaching ability (which definitely includes recruiting ability), but I'm sure not going to form an opinion on it for a while.

[thegreatest]

carthageking-

this is actually my first time on this forum because i was only reading it at first to keep up with happenings in the CCIW. you are not the only person doing it so i'm not just faulting you but why is it that everyone has something to say about how "bad" carthage is. first, just because they dont have any standout players doesnt mean that they cant win. second, who are you to criticize Bowens' game as well as anyone else on that team. obviously you dont play so to say anyone is overrated and lacks leadership skills or talent is just stupid. third, you claim you're a student so if any of them are going out to bars why are you putting their personal business all over the internet. that is not your place or resposibility to do that. last, you cant comment on coaching if you dont know whats going on in the system. so until you find out saying bosko is a terrible coach is not the best move either.

and for everyone else who feels the need to bash carthage and their players, or any other team and their players for that matter, think about what you're saying first and if its not too positive just keep it to yourselves.

[tjcummingsfan]

thegreatest

Settle down man.  I can't speak for everyone, but I think its pretty safe to say the vast majority of the people here are doing their best to offer constructive criticism, and pretty good observations from what they've seen and heard about the teams.  We all know there is an incredible amount of effort put in by the players and coaches on all the teams in the CCIW, and nothing anyone says can discount that.  Just look at this post board like a very large, basketball oriented letter to the editor section of a newspaper.  These are all just opinions. 

[Stat]

Hey Knup, what are you doing in Pekin?
That is too close to Bloomington, isn't it?
Jason got married in July, teaching and doing some personal training on the side.

[Stat]

Getting lambasted is part of the board.  I remember one of my many. 

All the feathers flew when I stated Travis Senick?( the Wheaton kid) had a "pitty-pat" dribble. He did get a kick out of that.

By the way, anyone hear from Wheaton C?