MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

Gregory Sager · February 17, 2007, 12:12:47 PM

Quote from: tjcummingsfan on February 16, 2007, 03:21:29 PM
As I remember, Lee was kind of a non-factor in the NP @ Elmhurst game (although he was real hot at the Crackerbox).

Lee was mostly quiet in the NPU @ EC game, but he made some big plays late. Elmhurst wouldn't have won without his contribution.

Gregory Sager · February 17, 2007, 12:35:56 PM

This evening will be Senior Night for NPU, so I'd like to say a quick thank-you to the departing Vikings seniors:

* Mike "Cali" Peterson has had a tough-luck career at the Park. Two years ago he arrived on the scene from a juco in California as an athletic wing in the Sneed Deaderick mold, and as a part-time starter had some very strong games for a pretty dreadful NPU team -- the most impressive of which was a 22-point performance at Wheaton. Unfortunately, Mike tore his ACL in preseason practice last year, shelving him for the 2005-06 season. This year he returned to the team, but he's never been the same player that he was before. Lingering knee issues have contributed to limiting him to mostly JV play this year. But you have to tip your hat to someone who goes through all that rehab work and continues to show up every day for practice out of love for the game and loyalty to school and teammates.

* Julian Boyd, the first Viking in three decades to hail from the Buckeye State, is the lone four-year senior being feted tonight, and he is also the last link on the roster to the Rees Johnson era. An undersized power forward, Julian's been mostly a JV player over his NPU career, but his relentlessness in the paint and his work ethic finally got him promoted to steady varsity work at the start of the CCIW season in January. He performed ably, and his 16-point performance against Elmhurst in the crackerbox was a memorable career highlight. Since then, the emergence of freshman Nick Williams has largely supplanted Julian from the rotation, but he continues to give it his all in every practice and in every JV game. Guys like Julian Boyd are the lifeblood of every D3 basketball program.

* Uriah Rice arrived last season as a transfer from Kennedy-King, and had a hard time finding his place. He wasn't quite in sync with what the coaches wanted from him, and he had some trouble adjusting to NPU's more structured offense. But this year, after spending most of November and December as the second guard off the bench, he has really found his niche. He's scored in double figures in three of NPU's last six games, including an 18-point performance at Wheaton. As in that game, his shooting in the game at Elmhurst proved instrumental in a big Vikings comeback. Uriah's just coming into his own now, which makes it even more of a shame that tonight will be his last game in a North Park uniform.

* Coaches are usually wary of taking in a senior transfer, since one-year-only guys are hard to integrate into a team and have the potential for being disruptive, often through no fault of their own. Any concerns Paul Brenegan and his assistants might've had about Anthony Lenoir in that respect were immediately allayed. He has been the team's big motivator with his never-leave-anything-left-on-the-court demeanor; in a Sun-Times interview, Brenegan pointed to Lenoir's "warrior" attitude as being instrumental in NPU's turnaround this year. He currently leads the Vikes in both scoring (10.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg). Anthony ably filled the void left by Brett Mathisen's graduation, and he, in turn, will definitely be missed.

Congratulations, and thanks, to all four NPU seniors!

markerickson · February 17, 2007, 02:19:58 PM

Thanks for the post, Greg. I'd like to see these four Vikings start tonite. Now let's go get a victory!

How many CCIW male hoopsters have had his jersey retired? I'm fairly certain NP bestowed that honor on only Michael Harper.

BRLHSFAN · February 17, 2007, 02:44:22 PM

You're right, he does take some great pics.

Also senior night at Elmhurst tonight. I'm sure Jaybird will be along to post about it though.

armywife · February 17, 2007, 02:55:57 PM

It's also senior night at Augie. Is there anyone who can comment on the Augie seniors?

robberki · February 17, 2007, 03:13:15 PM

There is also an alumni game scheduled at North Park tonight. Starting at 5:15, come see Alf, Mark Hammill(scheduled to appear) and other stars!

diehardfan · February 17, 2007, 04:59:39 PM

Quote from: armywife on February 17, 2007, 11:05:11 AM
Great Pictures Q. Looks like that announcer is doing a great job with the future Titans.

They sure do start recruiting them early down there in Bloomington.

It is a cute picture though. I've always thought Bob was really good with all the little junior Titans running around the Shirk.

I personally like the one where Panner and Wiele are boxing out Zach.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on February 17, 2007, 12:12:47 PM
Quote from: tjcummingsfan on February 16, 2007, 03:21:29 PM
As I remember, Lee was kind of a non-factor in the NP @ Elmhurst game (although he was real hot at the Crackerbox).
Lee was mostly quiet in the NPU @ EC game, but he made some big plays late. Elmhurst wouldn't have won without his contribution.

Lee's numbers sure have gotten a lot quieter as the season has gone on (a major down for my fantasy team, as he was my #2 pick!!!) but I don't think anyone believes that Elmhurst would be where they are without the steady point guard they have in Lee. That position is just way too important to a team's success. I don't think it's a coincidence that the teams at the top of the CCIW standings right now are the ones with great point guards.

79jaybird · February 17, 2007, 06:15:03 PM

Senior Day/Night is always a special memorial moment no matter where your team is at in the standings. I don't think people realize how difficult it is to practice daily, compete, hard, AND maintain a respectable GPA (which is why we attend college in the first place!

)
Elmhurst will honor these Seniors
Nick Michael 6'10 really grew up nicely over his last 2 years and will be missed inside next year.
Mike Sayre- Though Mike doesn't score a bunch and you won't see staggering numbers from him, he is a great utility/all around man and a great team player.
Brian Lee-- IMO, one of the better point guards in the CCIW and the leader of this team. We are certainly going to miss B Lee in the lineup next year. Hopefully the Jays can string together a few more wins and continue their season in the NCAA's with Augie.

Congratulations to all Seniors playing their final home games tonight and on Wednesday.

BRLHSFAN · February 17, 2007, 07:53:39 PM

Thanks jaybird, I knew you'd do it! LOL I sat somewhat close to Brian Lee's parents both times at IWU and they seemed to get along well with the Ruch's and had some fun teasing between them. After watching him these last 2 years, I definately agree that he'll be missed next year.

joehakes · February 17, 2007, 08:35:27 PM

Quote from: 79jaybird on February 17, 2007, 06:15:03 PM
Senior Day/Night is always a special memorial moment no matter where your team is at in the standings. I don't think people realize how difficult it is to practice daily, compete, hard, AND maintain a respectable GPA (which is why we attend college in the first place! )
Elmhurst will honor these Seniors
Nick Michael 6'10 really grew up nicely over his last 2 years and will be missed inside next year.
Mike Sayre- Though Mike doesn't score a bunch and you won't see staggering numbers from him, he is a great utility/all around man and a great team player.
Brian Lee-- IMO, one of the better point guards in the CCIW and the leader of this team. We are certainly going to miss B Lee in the lineup next year. Hopefully the Jays can string together a few more wins and continue their season in the NCAA's with Augie.

Congratulations to all Seniors playing their final home games tonight and on Wednesday.

Memorial moment?? I think that they are just graduating, not actually passing away.

mr_b · February 17, 2007, 10:47:56 PM

Final from the Crackerbox: Illinois Wesleyan 81, North Park 80

mr_b · February 17, 2007, 10:54:52 PM

Zach Freeman (24 points) put in a basket with 14 seconds left to give the Titans a hard-fought victory. North Park took the ball downcourt but couldn't put in the game-winner. Uriah Rice had a career night with 26 pointsin his final game for the Vikings. Congratulations to the seniors for both teams!

knarocky22 · February 17, 2007, 11:19:06 PM

The foul at the end of the game on Wessels was questionable at best. Simmons didn't even seem to know how much time was left. He lowered his shoulder and tried to barrel into the lane with less than a second left, definitely wasn't even going to get a shot off, and the ref (who had blown his whistle maybe twice the entire game) bailed him out. Oh well, Augie is still CCIW champs and will host the conference tourney next weekend (although this really hurts their chances to host NCAA tourney games).

Jim Matson · February 17, 2007, 11:49:54 PM

Every poster thinks every foul at the end of every game is either "a bad call" or a "questionable call." The refs do have a responsibility to call the game, and to call it down to the last second. Just because we all know that refs do tend to let the boys play as the final seconds roll off, that doesn't mean a player can conveniently forget the rules just because its late in the game. E.g. you have to be set in order to draw the charge, right? Right.

BRLHSFAN · February 17, 2007, 11:59:56 PM

EC over Wheaton 80-74 final

Weird game and happenings at EC tonight.

Late start due to wrestling not being over in time, then someone must've pulled the fire siren during half time cuz it went off and they had to evacuate the building. Finally got over at 10:55 p.m. Was a very close game all night and Raymond had a good game for Wheaton, I believe it was 37 pts for him.

Congrats to ELMHURST!!!