MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[hopefan]

I've been away from recruiting rules for a long time - in the article about Drew Gensler, he says the Coach from Boise called him and said he was welcome to play there   -  Is that legal?   Doesn't it have to be the other way  (Player calls coach)?   Legal D1 contacting D3?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I've been away from recruiting rules for a long time - in the article about Drew Gensler, he says the Coach from Boise called him and said he was welcome to play there   -  Is that legal?   Doesn't it have to be the other way  (Player calls coach)?   Legal D1 contacting D3?

Well I know a lot of d1 coaches keep in contact with players that go d3 with d1 talent "just in case."  It may be a thing where he mentions to someone "I wonder if I could still get a d3 offer" and word gets around and the next thing you know the Boise State coach is calling.

There's a lot of ways around it.

[AndOne]

I've been away from recruiting rules for a long time - in the article about Drew Gensler, he says the Coach from Boise called him and said he was welcome to play there   -  Is that legal?   Doesn't it have to be the other way  (Player calls coach)?   Legal D1 contacting D3?

Well I know a lot of d1 coaches keep in contact with players that go d3 with d1 talent "just in case."  It may be a thing where he mentions to someone "I wonder if I could still get a d3 offer" and word gets around and the next thing you know the Boise State coach is calling.

There's a lot of ways around it.

Or quite possibly, when Gensler was playing with the Boise players, he made a remark to the tune of "boy, would it be neat to play at this level/here," and the Boise coach just responded to that thought?   

[Gregory Sager]

I've been away from recruiting rules for a long time - in the article about Drew Gensler, he says the Coach from Boise called him and said he was welcome to play there   -  Is that legal?   Doesn't it have to be the other way  (Player calls coach)?   Legal D1 contacting D3?

Well I know a lot of d1 coaches keep in contact with players that go d3 with d1 talent "just in case."  It may be a thing where he mentions to someone "I wonder if I could still get a d3 offer" and word gets around and the next thing you know the Boise State coach is calling.

There's a lot of ways around it.

Or quite possibly, when Gensler was playing with the Boise players, he made a remark to the tune of "boy, would it be neat to play at this level/here," and the Boise coach just responded to that thought?   

Still, according to the article the Boise State coach contacted Gensler, not the other way around. And that, dear friends, is a no-no in the eyes of the NCAA.

It's entirely possible that the Boise State coach obeyed the rules and that Gensler contacted him first, and that the writer for the Decatur paper simply got the facts wrong. All things considered, I'd call that the most likely scenario.

The article also mentioned that Vincent Brock would not be returning to the Big Blue, either. That's another huge loss. Brock was a lot more raw than Gensler, but he was an undeniable talent -- absolutely blazing speed, a decent shot, good handles, and a real get-after-it approach to playing on-ball defense (he averaged over two steals a game in spite of the fact that he only averaged 23 mpg). As bad as it was to lose Gensler -- and I was not the least bit surprised that he decided to transfer -- losing both Gensler and Brock is catastrophic.

Marc Smith was going to be facing a pretty uphill battle in his first year even under optimal circumstances, but that uphill battle has clearly turned Sisyphean for the immediate future.

[joehakes]

Greg,

That's the first time that I have seen a gas consumption rating used to evaluate a basketball player's performance.  23 mpg is not bad for a pick-up truck, say, but not good for a smaller car.  Perhaps Millikin is looking to switch to more hybrid models for better mpg ratings out of their players.

[cardinalfanrochelle]

AndOne,
              Great OZ  do you with your great wealth of knowledge know what time NCC plays in DesPlains tonight and who they play???

[scacbbfan]

Well, the effect of the Littrell firing is just starting to be felt.  When you fire a quality coach and person like Tim, you have started the dominoes falling in the wrong direction.  Not only does the firing cause MU to lose Gensler, Littrell was in on several good 2007 players from around the state, at least two of whom will be suiting up for IWU this season.  If Lori Kerans' goal was to eliminate any internal competition to her women's team at MU, then mission accomplished.  From any other perspective, it is a sad time to an MU alum.

[AndOne]

AndOne,
              Great OZ  do you with your great wealth of knowledge know what time NCC plays in DesPlains tonight and who they play???

Of course----
Tonight's action in Des Plaines consists of the 2007 summer season playoffs.

**At 6:30, North Central (8-2) plays Xavier (5-5)
**If they win, they then play the Shoopdogs (9-1) at 7:45
**A victory in the second game puts them in the championship game at 9:00, where the most likely opponent will be the Carthage Alums (9-1).

Unfortunately, the playoffs in Des Plaines all take place on the same night. This makes it extremely difficult for any team other than the 1st and 2nd place teams, who receive byes at 6:30, to win the championship as it means playing 3 games in a row on the same night. This is one of the advantages the Deerfield league has over Des Plaines as the playoffs there take place over 3 nights.

[AndOne]

Well, the effect of the Littrell firing is just starting to be felt.  When you fire a quality coach and person like Tim, you have started the dominoes falling in the wrong direction.  Not only does the firing cause MU to lose Gensler, Littrell was in on several good 2007 players from around the state, at least two of whom will be suiting up for IWU this season.  If Lori Kerans' goal was to eliminate any internal competition to her women's team at MU, then mission accomplished.  From any other perspective, it is a sad time to an MU alum.

MU-----

As someone familiar with MU athletics, I'm interested in your opinion re:

1. What percentage of the reason for Gensler's transfer do you attribute to Littrell's firing, and what percentage, if any, do you feel is just Gensler having a big head and thinking he is hot stuff and capable of playing D1--or what passes for D1 in Idaho?

2. Additionally, do you feel a woman just isn't qualified to administer men's programs or just that Kerans generally doesn't know her ass from a hole in the ground and is not qualified to lead either the men's or women's programs?

Thanks

[Pat Coleman]

2. Additionally, do you feel a woman just isn't qualified to administer men's programs or just that Kerans generally doesn't know her ass from a hole in the ground ...

Ouch. Is either of those options really necessary??

[AndOne]

PAT---

Really necessary---probably not.
BUT--interesting to know---Yes (IMHO)

Also, I wouldn't have asked those questions to just anyone. MU is very familiar with the MU programs and I feel he, unlike someone who doesn't follow the school as closely, is qualified to answer them.

I'm sorry if the questions themselves are offensive to anyone, but I still think the answers will be interesting. 

[hoops2007]

Andone,

Gensler is a great ball player.. I do believe that he will succeed at the Division 1 level.. I believe that Littrell had a lot to do with Gensler being at Millikin. No one plays at Millikin because they like the town.. they play because they like they coach and respect him.  Another huge loss is Vincent Brock.. Coach Littrell and him have been very close since before he left for Iraq.  I would assume that Coach Lit being fired was his main reason for not playing, besides just wanting to be done with college.  Hopefully, in the next week, there will be a few others leaving Millikin!   On the comment about Lori Kerans, she does NOT know her ass from a hole in the ground. It is all about her program and seeing her face on the TV or her quotes in the newspaper.  She lies alot to the media just to look good..  Many people will agree that she is a very selfish person.  How many coaches has she fired this year? 6? Wake up Zemke!!! Congrats again to Todd Creal for getting out of that **** hole!! I wish you the best! Maybe eventually, Lori will quit paying off the newspaper and they will be allowed to print a good article about your new job! Go Highlanders!  I agree with mubigbluefan, it is a sad time for MU alums!

[AndOne]

Thanks for your comments Hoops2007. Very interesting to get opinions from people
close to the various programs.
Hopefully, we'll hear from mubigbluefan too.

As I said, I posed the questions only because I thought the answers would be interesting. They were not meant to be a commentary on anything, nor were they asked for anything like  "shock" value. You obviously didn't have a problem with them but others, like Pat above, evidently do.

I just felt the Littrell firing raised a lot of questions that were never fully answered. While I didn't have a strong opinion one way or the other on his coaching ability, I did find it odd that he was fired after bringing in prob MU's best recruiting class in a long time prior to last season. 

[hoops2007]

Everyone found it very odd... And we still don't know any of the reasoning behind it. 

[markerickson]

Why would Gensler, a third-team All-CCIW selection, have to redshirt a year befor lacing up with Boise State?