MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

...My contingent at the game believe that  Michael was given a foul made by  Hintszche.  Thus when Michael "fouled" out, neither him, nor Coach Scherer, nor many EC fans knew it was his fifth.  I'm not saying this was done deliberately (as Michael was not good last night), but can anyone ever remember a player being given his 5th foul when it was pretty clear that he had only committed 4. 

I'm sure it happens, and it's a scorekeeper's nightmare.  If you've never kept the official book, it can be more challenging than it would first appear.  Not only does it entail careful recording of scoring (player, time, and points), fouls (player & time recorded in two places), timeouts, and possession arrow -- other scorekeepers record rebounds, assists, etc. -- but it also requires working with the refs to charge the right player with the foul.  Some refs flash hand signals so quickly (from a distance, and often screened by a player or coach) that errors are apt to occur.  It's also a good idea to double-check with both benches at the half to make sure the number of fouls and timeouts are accurate.  That might have been the case with Michael if the phantom foul in question occurred before the break.

Some other problems I've seen several times already this year is a ref not speaking clearly or loudly enough when announcing the number of the player who has committed the foul. Also I've noticed that some refs when signaling a players number containing a zero will signify the zero with a clenched fist while others make make a zero sign with their index finger and thumb. Whichever they use, they often do it so quickly, its almost impossible to see from the scorer's table. 

[John Gleich]

I've never done book for a game as high profile as a college game, but when doing book, because what I've got is official, I've kept the ref from entering the ball to clarify before play started.  I've had refs angry with me before but it's better to have it right than to not, and you're definately right, the bench should have someone keeping track of fouls too, and checking up on it periodically throughout the game so a situation like that wouldn't happen.

[Titan Q]

A tough loss for the Titans vs a good St. Xavier team.  The Titans made the comeback, just didn't finish it off...and SXU made a play in the final seconds to win it.


http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/11/29/sports/doc456d12a1880c0278266553.txt

http://www.sxu.edu/athletics/mbb/latest_news.asp?ID=1115&h=1

http://www.sxu.edu/athletics/game_stats.asp?id=1115

[AndOne]

Looks like the Redmen are a team of interchangable parts.  Bosko is happy with the group and early results are impressive.
Players to watch who will develop as the year progresses:
Expect more from Eric Moore, however the freshman will take some time to fit in.

I think Moore can be a decent player. One of the biggest roadblocks to his development MAY be his grades. I BELIEVE they weren't that good at Neuqua Valley HS. Additionally, Bowens has already been academically ineligible twice in 2 years, and Shemerdiak once last year as a freshman.
Here is hoping ALL the athletes on all teams make their grades so they can continue to grow both as a student and an athlete, and we fans can continue to enjoy their play.    

[Gregory Sager]

Once again I see no reference to Glen Woodside in a post about NPU.  Is this guy hurt or not playing to the level as originally billed?

He's playing JV. His balky knee has set back his development somewhat, but he's just not playing at a varsity level yet. Keep in mind that last year was basically a wash for him. He's still very much a freshman, and most big men come along more slowly than do perimeter players. Don't worry about Woodside. He'll get to where he needs to be, eventually.

Former Viking captain Al May was drooling as he watched the VIkings inept attempts at post defense and rebounding.  Just five minutes coaching a day with a player of Al May's defensive ability would really develop the talent of this rather short team that is going to need all the aids it can get under the boards this season.

I would love to set Al May loose on NPU's big men. They could learn a ton of stuff about interior defense and rebounding from him, just as NPU's perimeter players profit from the tutelage of May's former teammate Modzel Greer.

Over-playing the ball and using your quickness to develop turnovers is a great game plan as long as you know how to reverse direction when you get back-doored and if you get some help around the basket defensively.  Very little of that happened last night.

I think that this Vikings team actually recovers very well when they miss on a defensive overplay. They did a good job of rotating, especially in the first half, and in the second half they switched off screens very effectively on the perimeter. But Dennis is right that the men inside need to move their feet better and cut off drivers. The only player who was doing this was Lenoir -- but, as I noted last night, he was fantastic at it. He drew (I think) three charges after a penetrating Eagle had beaten his man -- two of them late in the game when it mattered most.

One last note - I felt very sorry for Jay Alexander last night - he's a very good player - but against a zone he's just like a chicken without a head - and referree Dennie Bracco seemed to have it out for him on the defensive end (which sometimes happens).  There will be better nights.

Someone wondered aloud after the game if Jay Alexander had run over Bracco's cat. He made three pretty questionable calls against the Vikings forward, and the one that fouled out Alexander was the most questionable one of all. I don't consider Bracco to be one of the CCIW's better refs, and I'm not alone in that opinion.

Many new faces not being part of the past losing culture is definately a plus. However, as with any good team, NPU will not begin to win consistently unless and until all the new players spend enough time together to learn each others strengths and weaknesses, and develop into a cohesive unit.

That involves good coaching, but also may require several of the players to "give up" a little. For example, several of the new guys may be used to always being the leading scorer, rebounder, assist leader etc on their past (HS & JC) teams. To develop that cohesiveness at the next level may, and probably will require some of the players to defer to others who are even better or more natural scorers, rebounders, passers. Often times, thats a tough order. Thats where good coaching and player maturity come in.

Additionally, many new team players frequently make mistakes/turnovers because they fail to play "within" themselves. They often feel that in order to earn more PT, they have to make a spectacular shot, pass, or rebound. They fail to understand that often the best move is to pass up a good shot for a better one, make the good/safe rather than the risky no-look pass, and rebound with two hands instead of trying to make a flashy one hand cradle type grab. I especially see this with freshmen. Master the fundamentals together first----then the "flash" will happen more naturally later.

Lastly, this applies to ANY team with lots of new players, not just NPU. 

All good points, AO. Well said.

Who's this Burks guy?  He's tossing in 19 points a game in the early going. 

Burks was actually discussed more than once last season on CCIW Chat, even though he saw almost no varsity tick for the 'jays. The fact that he's from Ryan Knuppel's hometown and high school and plays the same position (and apparently has a lot of the same skill as a shooter) and even shares the same name as the former CCIW MOP made Burks a natural topic of conversation. Both ECdubb and I commented earlier this fall that if Elmhurst was going to be a winning team this year it would likely be because Burks stepped up as the perimeter threat needed to balance the inside game of Michael and Ruch.

Aurora 85 NCC 69 in Naperville. Aurora outscored NCC 56-36 in the 2nd half. AU beat up on Augie in a preseason scrimmage, so they must be pretty good.

Check out the box: http://www2.noctrl.edu/athlet/basketball_m/06-07/nccm-au.htm

I wonder if AO or CP was at the game tonight, as I'm curious to hear how the Spartans managed to take NCC apart so thoroughly in the second half. The box seems to indicate that Simmons had foul trouble, which undoubtedly hampered the Cards' ability to stop Larry Welton (23 pts). But the NCC guards must've had a particularly bad night on defense; Aurora's guards went 9-15 from long distance, and Spartans guard Darrick Leonard penetrated the Cardinals defense with such aplomb that he got to the line to the tune of 19 FTs, making 17 of them.

I saw AU coach James Lancaster scouting Saturday night's Franklin @ North Central game. The man certainly knows how to scout opponents and game-plan for them, that's for sure.

This loss is an eye-opener. Every coach in the CCIW is going to want a tape of this game!

[Gregory Sager]

I've never done book for a game as high profile as a college game, but when doing book, because what I've got is official, I've kept the ref from entering the ball to clarify before play started.  I've had refs angry with me before but it's better to have it right than to not, and you're definately right, the bench should have someone keeping track of fouls too, and checking up on it periodically throughout the game so a situation like that wouldn't happen.

I've kept the scorebook for the NPU women's team on occasion, and I've done the same thing as you, PS -- I've stopped the official from resuming play if I've needed a call to be clarified. What I've found when this happens is that the official tends to be patient and professional. A good ref knows that his or her first task is to get the call right, and part of getting the call right is making sure that it's recorded properly.

[Gregory Sager]

Looks like NPU defeated Eureka 75-66 in OT

A good, solid win for NPU; Eureka is nobody's idea of a powerhouse, but they're supposed to be greatly improved this season, and playing them in their gym after a three-hour busride and two games in the previous three days held all the earmarks of a "trap" game.

Jason Gordon didn't play tonight. I'm not sure why; he seemed perfectly healthy after last night's game against RMCS. I'm sure that his absence looms large in explaining why the game was so close, along with the fact that Eureka had much fresher legs (the Red Devils hadn't played a game in seven days). At any rate, NPU roared out to a 15-3 lead within the first six minutes of the game ... but Eureka steadily whittled it down and tied the Vikes just before the half. A Mike Ventura layup with :32 left gave the Vikes a slim 30-28 lead at intermission.

NPU's offense went south once the second half started, as the Vikes missed nine of their first ten shots from the field. The Red Devils capitalized by going on a 25-4 run that put them up big, 53-34, with 11:43 left. This time it was North Park's turn to mount a comeback. A combination of good D (six steals) and 9-16 shooting from the field slowly brought the Vikings back, and with 1:36 left a pair of Sheldon Evans free throws knotted the game at 61. Each team would get off two shots in the final minute and a half of regulation, but neither side managed to get one to go down.

It was all NPU in overtime, as the Vikings never trailed and a Joe Capalbo trey with 3:39 left gave them the lead for good.

The Vikes didn't shoot well for the night (less than 40% from the field and only 64% from the line, although they did sink seven of their 17 trey attempts), but they did manage to rebound and defend well. They won the battle of the boards, 47-40 (I'm especially impressed by the 19 offensive boards, particularly since the Red Devils have a taller center and power forward than NPU's), and of Eureka's 25 turnovers 12 came on steals by the Park.

Freshman guard Joe Capalbo, starting in Gordon's place, led the Vikes with 15 points (including 4-6 from downtown). Fellow plebe Nick Williams had the best night thus far of his young career, chipping in 14 points and nine rebounds, while Anthony Lenoir had a double-double with 12 and 10. Stephano Jones scored nine and Jay Alexander eight, while Sheldon Evans had six steals and five assists to go with his eight points.

The 4-2 Vikings now get a three-day respite before they have to host a 3-1 Loras team on Saturday that is easily the best team NPU will have faced thus far. The Duhawks own a win over 2006 NCAA tourney entrant UW-LaCrosse, and this evening they blitzed Simpson to the tune of a 16-point win in the Storm's gym; this is the same Simpson team that beat Elmhurst by eleven on opening night.

[mr_b]

I've never done book for a game as high profile as a college game, but when doing book, because what I've got is official, I've kept the ref from entering the ball to clarify before play started.  I've had refs angry with me before but it's better to have it right than to not, and you're definately right, the bench should have someone keeping track of fouls too, and checking up on it periodically throughout the game so a situation like that wouldn't happen.

Absolutely.  When I keep the book, the crew at the scorer's table will hit the buzzer to alert the refs that something is amiss.  I've never had a ref get upset over that.

[ac_fan]

Aurora 85 NCC 69 in Naperville. Aurora outscored NCC 56-36 in the 2nd half. AU beat up on Augie in a preseason scrimmage, so they must be pretty good.

Augiefan, I believe Augie and Aurora split in their scrimmage and the JV scrimmage Aurora won pretty handily. Anyways, a 16 pt. victory over NCC is pretty darn impressive.

[AndOne]

Aurora gave North Central a good ol butt kicking last night in a game in which they used a combination of speed, ball movement, and deadeye shooting to power  their way to a 16 point victory.
NCC actually led by 4 at the half. However Aurora's first basket, only a few seconds into the 2nd half, was a 3 pointer from the right corner on which the shooter (Welton I believe) was knocked down. With the FT, NCC's halftime lead evaporated almost immediately.
Welton was actually somewhat more of a factor from long range as he hit 5 3's as opposed to only 3 baskets inside. 
Aurora scored 56 points in the 2nd half.  ! In my estimation, the things most responsible for this onslaught were the speed and power of Darrick Leonard, and Spartans uncanny accuracy from long range. This was enhanced by good ball movement. Aurora   had a player (#3, Robinson) whose primary mission seemed to be to facilitate ball movement from one side of the court to the other. Several times, he would initially take a position down low then come up high to the FT line area, take a pass, and swing the ball to the opposite side. It appeared that taking a shot was the last thing on his mind, and with the driving and shooting ability of Leonard, Welton, Magee, and especially Trudo, he didn't have to. Welton (5 of 10) and Magee (3 for 6) were a combined 50% from long range while Trudo bombed away at a 71% rate. The further away Trudo was when he launched a bomb, it seemed  like the more chance it had to find its target.
Aurora's shooting was compounded by NCC' s problems on defense. I heard little talk on defense from the Cardinals as far as calling out screens, switches. Also, they didn't have a player in the building who could stay with Leonard who looks like a real nice combination of speed and power with good upper body strength. He continually used that combination to blow by NCC defenders, who after his quick first step could do little more than wave at him on the way by thus fouling him and sending him to the line---19 times! This was death personified as he hit 17 of the 19 FT chances. He missed his 1st of the night, then hit 15 in row before missing for the 2nd time.
NCC's Anthony Simmons (16 points along with Dan Walton) battled foul trouble all night. He picked up his 3rd with 7-8 minutes left in the 1st half, and his 4th just 3-4 minutes into the 2nd half. I believe one of the fouls was a really crappy call by the ref, and 2 others were for swinging his elbows, one of which was somewhat questionable. Like any good player, he MUST adjust to this.

[LUMAN80]

wheaton all the way

[Titan Q]

A few thoughts after last night's IWU/SXU game...


St. Xavier is a very talented team – a team that would probably fit in the 15-20 range of the D3hoops.com poll.  I'd say that UW-Whitewater is a little better, but it's close.  I believe it's fair to say that if in the CCIW, we'd all consider SXU to be one of the top contenders for the league championship. 

The Cougars have four All-CCIW type players in their starting lineup, including 6-6/220 Adam Gregoriou (Brother Rice H.S.), freshman guard Julian Scott (Hillcrest H.S.), point-guard Paris VonShae Davis (St. Joseph H.S.), and 6-7/220 Dan Bolger (St. Patrick H.S.).  Off the bench, they have two Division I transfers – 6-9/235 Kevin Lowe (Eastern Illinois) and point-guard Alok Aiyar (Illinois-Chicago).  Lowe gave IWU a lot of trouble (10 points on 5-7 FG).

So on one hand, playing that caliber team so tough on the road is very encouraging.  If this new cast of Titans lost by 2 on the road at, say, Augustana at this early stage, it'd be hard for me to be disappointed with that...and SXU is certainly as good as Augie.  On the other hand, a loss is a loss and IWU made a lot of mistakes, especially in the 1st half.  St. Xavier took 10 more field goal attempts that IWU in the game, due in large part to 17 Titan turnovers...IWU was 16-25 (64%) from the free throw line...SXU grabbed 13 offensive rebounds.  IWU looks like a team trying to figure out who its go-to guys are after Zach Freeman, what its identity is, etc...and I guess that is to be expected right now with this squad.  IWU also just doesn't have much depth and there isn't anything they can do about that.

Zach Freeman is really a ton.  After 28 points and 10 rebounds last night, Zach is now averaging 19.7 & 11.7.  He is 46-68 (.676) from the field.  When he gets the ball down low, one-on-one, it's a basket.  When he catches it 15 feet from the hoop, he can knock down the jumpshot or take it hard to the basket and score.  He will be one of the most dominant players in Division III this year and the reason Illinois Wesleyan will be able to compete with good teams.

[Titan Q]

Olivet Nazarene will be another nice test next week.  The Tigers have 6-7 post player Phil French (21.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and NAIA preseason All-American Stan Chismark (14.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg), a 6-5 senior.  The SXU and ONU games are great opportunities for Illinois Wesleyan to play CCIW contender-type squads, without losses hurting at all.  They are also nice preparation for key upcoming in-region games with Wash U (12/9), Chicago (12/16), and Hanover (12/9). 

I am still not sure what exactly we have here in Bloomington this year, but I suspect IWU will end up right in the middle of the contention picture behind Zach Freeman and a supporting cast that should keep getting better and more comfortable.

[Titan Q]

Big in-region game tonight in Hyde Park, with Wheaton facing U. of Chicago.  On paper, this one seems very even to me.  Should be a battle of great backcourts.  Kent Raymond (23.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.7 apg) and Ben Panner (13.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) vs Brandon Woodhead (14.6, 3.2 rpg, 2.2 apg) and Jesse Meyer (8.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg).

[Titan Q]

Final:

Chicago 81
Wheaton 77

http://athletics.uchicago.edu/mensbasketball/WHT-UCM.HTM


Chicago missed two FT's with about :15 to play and Wheaton got the rebound down 79-77.  Bill Harris elected not to call timeout, which I liked.  Kent Raymond missed a 3, Chicago got the rebound and made 2 FT's to seal it. 

There was a freak play that had an impact on the game.  Ben Panner made a steal and turned to head for what would have been an uncontested layup to put Wheaton up 6 with about 4:00 left.  One of the officials couldn't get out of the way, Panner ran into him, and the ball went out of bounds off Panner.  Not the officials fault, but bad luck for the Thunder.

Raymond had a huge game for Wheaton - 32 pts.  Woodhead and Hainje had 22 for Chicago and Meyer 21.  Wheaton backcourt = 41 pts (Panner 9), Chicago backcourt = 43 pts.  Bill Harris is very unhappy with his team's overall play per the postgame show.

Another in-region loss for Wheaton (Whitworth was also in-region).