MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[joehakes]

Remember that Greg doesn't drive and it is a long walk to Salem.

[titanfan]

Does anybody know if the final game will be accessible through comcast cable?  I plan on having the D3Hoops broadcast up and to listen to that, but I want to support the final game on TV too if it's there.

[Greek Tragedy]

It's only on CSTV (College Sports Television).  My Charter Cable doesn't have it and I believe it's only carried on satellite dishes like Dish Network and Directv.  I know the last two years, the Final is the only game that is televised.  The women's final is also televised.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

So no talk about the All-Region team yet?  Is anyone else as suprised as I am that Keelan is on the second team?  Doesn't that make him inelligible for All-America or does Pat not care?

[Greek Tragedy]

So no talk about the All-Region team yet? Is anyone else as suprised as I am that Keelan is on the second team?

I'm kind of surprised I didn't even make 3rd team.    I used to be a contenda!

In all seriousness...it's kind of hard to argue against Chris Martin and Chris Braier.  I'm guessing, from what I've heard in past posts, Martin might have gotten CPOTY had Elmhurst won the conference.

[iwu70]

I think Keelan and his teammates would rather have a national title (and the chance to win one) than worrying too much about where they landed on the All-Region squads.  Should be a great weekend of basketball in Salem with a huge turnout of the Titan nation.  Hope the other schools have really good turnouts too so that the atmosphere is all the better.   Va. Wesleyan being close by, they should really produce a good crowd.  Does any one know how Amherst and Wittenberg fans travel?  I would think Wittenberg would also have a IWU-like following, but I don't know about Amherst and how their fan base will get down to Virginia.  Any thoughts?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I doubt Amherst will travel as well as IWU.  I could see a few hundred, but even like 600 seems the high end.  I'm not sure how many tickets they are allotted, but I can't imagine them using them all.

[Titan32]

CSTV is available through some cable outlets, not just satellite.  Insight offers it through their expanded sports package on digital cable.

[martin]

All the best to the Titans this weekend.  We need someone in Illinois to bring home a trophy.

I saw a commercial over the weekend that made me wonder why IWU has been so successful over the years.  IWU gets players who may be able to get on a D1 roster (invited walk-on, maybe a mid or lower major) to give up the dream of the big dance, have a rewarding college hoops career, get a good education and a good life after college.  The dream is hard to give up.  Adam Dauksas was a reluctant recruit for IWU when he was a senior at HF.  He was expecting  D1 offers that never came.

The commercial was for Democratic candidate for state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.  He is 29, described as a Chicago banker and former basketball star.  He is a banker because he comes from a wealthy family that owns the bank.  He played professionally in Greece for a couple of years – primarily because he was counted as a Greek and not an American.  He has not done much in his life after college other than basketball and law school (Tulane).  But if your family has money and was an early supporter of Barack Obama, you can try to buy a political office. 

When I first saw the commercial, I knew that name sounded familiar. He played at Latin School – which had some good teams (Class A) during his time there.   Giannoulias went to Boston University.  He was on the basketball team but did not get much playing time.  He did play a lot as a freshman (1994-95) – at the University of Chicago.  He was a very good D3 player.  He led the Maroons in scoring as a freshman (435 points, 17.4 avg) and was second team all-UAA.  His freshman year was the beginning of Chicago's emergence as a good team.  Those freshmen went to the tournament as juniors and seniors. In 1997, they went 1-1 in the tournament, losing at the IWU (eventual champion) regional to Methodist.  In 1998, they went 2-1, losing at eventual champion UWP.  Two of Giannoulias' fellow freshmen were guards Aaron Horne and Rusty Loyd who led those teams.  As a freshman, Giannoulias was better than either of them.

Yet he could not let go of the dream.  A bright guy from a wealthy family, he still wanted to go to the BIG dance and transferred to BU after his freshman year at Chicago.  To succeed at the D3 level, you need to bring in guys like Amelianovich, Dauksas, and Giannoulias.  And you need to keep them.  A difficult task.  Somehow, IWU does it on a consistent basis.

[John Gleich]

I'm trying to remember how well Amherst travelled two years ago when they were at the final four... it was kind of hard to tell the fans apart, because Stevens Point, Williams, and Amherst all have purple as a primary color.

I think there were quite a few Lord Jeff fans, though, because they stuck around and were cheering for Stevens Point in the final against Williams!

[Knightstalker]

When NJCU played Amherst in the sweet sixteen at F&M two years ago they brought a nice healthy sized group of fans.  I think they will travel nicely to VA.  VWU should have a very large contingent on hand also, it is basically a home game for them.  If I was the AD I would be working on a plan to get as many students to the Salem as possible.

[Pat Coleman]

So no talk about the All-Region team yet?  Is anyone else as suprised as I am that Keelan is on the second team?  Doesn't that make him inelligible for All-America or does Pat not care?

Two things:
1) We are not bound by the decisions of the All-Region voters in determing All-Americans.
2) You can be very confident that some All-Region second-teamers will be named All-Americans over other regions' first-teamers.

[Pat Coleman]

When NJCU played Amherst in the sweet sixteen at F&M two years ago they brought a nice healthy sized group of fans.  I think they will travel nicely to VA.  VWU should have a very large contingent on hand also, it is basically a home game for them.  If I was the AD I would be working on a plan to get as many students to the Salem as possible.

It's a 5½-hour trip from Virginia Beach to Salem, only about a half-hour shorter than the trip from Wittenberg.

[hopefan]

CCIW "buddy"  Olivet Nazarene just won their first round game in the NAIA tourney, upsetting 16 seed Wayland Baptist, 84-77.  They have a potential matchup with the number 1 seed, Mountain St, W Va, in the 2nd round.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

So no talk about the All-Region team yet?  Is anyone else as suprised as I am that Keelan is on the second team?  Doesn't that make him inelligible for All-America or does Pat not care?

Two things:
1) We are not bound by the decisions of the All-Region voters in determing All-Americans.
2) You can be very confident that some All-Region second-teamers will be named All-Americans over other regions' first-teamers.

Thank you, Pat.  I was assuming that as the case, but I heard rumors and it's nice to have confirmation.

That leaves more of a question about first team members now.  Dauksas and Myrick, I think have good shots at it.  Braier is also a show-in, I think.  I would include Amelianovich and either Rhoten or Wansly as the fifth.  There are quite a few I could see battling for that last spot.