MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

Scrimmage results from the Shirk Center...

1st 20: IWU 48 MacMuray 21
2nd 20: IWU 38 MacMurray 29

Total: IWU 86 MacMurray 50

G Sean Johnson, (6-1/175, Fr) - 9 pts
G Jordan Morris (6-3/195, Jr) - 13 pts
F Matt Schick (6-4/190, Fr) - 10 pts
F Doug Sexauer (6-7/210, Fr) - 6 pts
C Brett Chamernik (6-5/230, Jr) - 13 pts

IWU bench points:

Darius Gant (6-4/210, Sr) 14
Kevin Bryant (6-2/200, Sr) 5
Duncan Lawson (6-8/225, Fr) 6
Ed O'Callaghan (6-7/210, Fr) 3
Justin Anthony (5-11/170, So) 3
Josh Sutton (6-5/205, Fr) 2
Jason Bloom (6-5/200, Sr) 2

MacMurray:

* Neil Compton (6-4, Sr) - 16
Adam Polston (6-1, So) - 9
* Billy Long (6-3, Fr) - 8
* Nick Schmidt (6-4, Jr) - 6
* Wes Littrell (6-2, So) - 4
Justin Fuller (6-3, Fr) - 4
Travis Albright (6-5, Fr) - 3
* Dustin Reiken - 0

* starter

[Titan Q]

First, to keep things in perspective, MacMurray would go 0-14 in the CCIW this year...I'm not even sure there would be a single digit game.  I'm sure Todd Creal is going to do a great in building a program in Jacksonville, but the 2007-08 Highlanders were terribly out-manned tonight by the team picked to finish 7th in the CCIW.

Takeaways...

* 6-7 freshman Doug Sexauer really stood out to me tonight.  He only made 3 FG, but all were off nice moves and he just looked good out there.  He knows what he is doing with his back to the basket and as soon as he puts on muscle, I think he will be a very good CCIW post player.

* IWU has a future star in 6-1 freshman guard Sean Johnson.  As soon as the point-guards get healthy (freshman Travis Rosenkranz and sophomore Sean Dwyer), I see Johnson moving back to his natural 2 spot and starting.  He is definitely out of position at the 1, but he does OK -- he will be a great 2.

* 6-4 freshman Matt Schick is very steady and reliable...exactly as advertised.  He just does a lot of things well.  Having started every high school game at Lincoln, he looks to be in IWU's starting lineup as a freshman.

* 6-5 junior center Brett Chamernik looked pretty good again -- IWU's strongest post player by far, I think he'll be IWU's opening night starter at the 5.

* I think 6-8/225 freshman Duncan Lawson is going to earn his way into the rotation in time.  He handles the ball well for a big man, he is a great passer, and a very good shooter (although he didn't shoot it that well tonight). 

* Senior Darius Gant is very good when he stays in control and sticks to his game (working hard in the low post, getting offensive rebounds, and using his athleticism to make things happen).


IWU is going to have some ugly nights this season and then some where these young guys shine -- there is a ton of raw talent on this team.

[Titan Q]

I certainly don't have all the answers, but I believe 100% in what I said about team chemistry and giving 100%. When facing a schedule containing such a number of tough opponents, I think chemistry and effort will go a long way toward building a successful season. Anybody disagree?

I don't disagree that team chemistry is vitally important.  I do think, however, that a team can have all the chemistry in the world, but if it's out-manned night in and night out, it's probably not going to do very well over the course of the season.

I'd rather have Keelan Amelianovich or Rick Harrigan or Drew Carstens or Joel Kolmodin or Ryan Knuppel or Antoine McDaniel or Jason Wiertel or Korey Coon or Bryan Crabtree or Chris Simich or Matt Nadlehoffer or Kirk Anderson, etc. first, and then figure the chemistry thing out second.  We'll go bowling as a team...or maybe get together and watch Hoosiers.


"You've got to get off the bus with the best players." - Dennie Bridges

I don't necessarily agree with Bridges---I recall a team just two years ago with 3 All-Americans that finished 3rd in the CCIW and couldn't win the inaugural conference tourney---They rallied late to play up to their potential in the NCAA, but the chemistry that season didn't match their superior talent

The 2005-06 Titans soundly defeated MWC champ Carroll in Round 1 of the NCAA tournament.  The next night, they dominated WIAC champion UW-Whitewater on the Warhawk's floor.  In Round 3, IWU defeated the #1-ranked team in the nation, 25-0 Lawrence, on their floor.  They earned a trip to the final four by beating a good Puget Sound team in the Sectional final.  In the national semifinal, the Titans led for most of the game, before falling by 2 points to the eventual national champions, Virginia Wesleyan.  The next day, they knocked off Amherst (who would go on to win the national title the next year) for 3rd place.

The Titans had a strange conference season that year, but it wasn't team chemistry that was to blame.  Afterall, the same exact group of players won the league the season before at 12-2.  In the end, the talent on that team carried them to Salem, where they just got beat by a great Virginia Wesleyan team by a bucket.

[wheels81]

Congratulations to Kent Raymond for making D3hoops.com 2nd team all american.  

Personally I think he should have been 1st team based on last season's performance but now he has room to grow

GP-GS  Min--Avg  FG-FGA   Pct 3FG-FGA   Pct  FT-FTA   Pct  Off Def  Tot  Avg  PF FO   A  TO Blk Stl  Pts  Avg

34-34  983 28.9 230-445  .517  78-180  .433  74-86   .860   12  65   77  2.3  43  0  80  71   2  35  612 18.0

23-22  796 34.6 150-325  .462  51-128  .398 164-187  .877   27  66   93  4.0  41  0  84  82   7  26  515 22.4

32-32 1021 31.9 125-270  .463  53-133  .398  52-60   .867   10  71   81  2.5  30  0 243  95   2  36  355 11.1

Above statistics are Cooper's from Wooster on top,
Raymond's from Wheaton in middle
Olson's on bottom.
Like I said he ranks up there with other 1st teamers,  
Pat maybe play 3 guards but I guess you can't bump a player from Chapel Hill  or from a place like sugar Land,  and I guess you're making Olson feel good about switching coasts and being so far from the warm climes of CA.

[AndOne]

North Central will host Rockford in a scrimmage at 7 PM on Friday.

One starter and two other possible starters or top reserves were injured and unable to play in NCC's 1st scrimmage against Univ. of Chicago. At least two of these three players are still out, and they have now been joined by two of the players who started against Chicago.

Opportunity for PT is knocking. Who'll answer the call?

[Gregory Sager]

Sounds like the type of team that will give my Vikes fits---Very similar personnel to the teams that have eliminated Augie from the NCAA's the past two years

This season's NPU team looks as though it will match up with Augie's personnel much better than any North Park team has in many years. NPU has added more quickness at the point, more size on the wings, more depth to handle the biannual bruiseathon that playing Augie entails, and (finally!) the Park has a post defender who is capable of neutralizing Dain Swetalla.

Of course, matching up with Augie and actually beating Augie are two utterly different things. Since Augustana is everyone's consensus preseason #1, and because the Chicago Vikings haven't beaten their Rock Island counterparts since 2001, skepticism regarding whether NPU can handle Augie this season will naturally abound.

Congratulations to Kent Raymond for making D3hoops.com 2nd team all american.  

Personally I think he should have been 1st team based on last season's performance but now he has room to grow

GP-GS  Min--Avg  FG-FGA   Pct 3FG-FGA   Pct  FT-FTA   Pct  Off Def  Tot  Avg  PF FO   A  TO Blk Stl  Pts  Avg

34-34  983 28.9 230-445  .517  78-180  .433  74-86   .860   12  65   77  2.3  43  0  80  71   2  35  612 18.0

23-22  796 34.6 150-325  .462  51-128  .398 164-187  .877   27  66   93  4.0  41  0  84  82   7  26  515 22.4

32-32 1021 31.9 125-270  .463  53-133  .398  52-60   .867   10  71   81  2.5  30  0 243  95   2  36  355 11.1

Above statistics are Cooper's from Wooster on top,
Raymond's from Wheaton in middle
Olson's on bottom.
Like I said he ranks up there with other 1st teamers,  
Pat maybe play 3 guards but I guess you can't bump a player from Chapel Hill  or from a place like sugar Land,  and I guess you're making Olson feel good about switching coasts and being so far from the warm climes of CA.

Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun-Times does a great job with his "Small Colleges" column every Thursday, but yesterday he erroneously referred to Raymond as a d3hoops.com first-team All-American. I feel almost guilty about pointing that out; since his daughter's a North Park student, it's almost like calling out family in public.

[Pat Coleman]

I guess you're making Olson feel good about switching coasts and being so far from the warm climes of CA.

Or for winning the Walnut and Bronze two years running. Oh, and having more assists than the other two combined. It'd be hard to put two shooting guards and no point guard on the first team.

[Gregory Sager]

North Central will host Rockford in a scrimmage at 7 PM on Friday.

One starter and two other possible starters or top reserves were injured and unable to play in NCC's 1st scrimmage against Univ. of Chicago.

Matt Rogers was obviously the missing starter, and David Twyman was a missing possible starter / top reserve. Who was the other missing possible starter / top reserve?

Also, when is NCC going to post a roster for 2007-08? North Central is the lone remaining holdout.

[AndOne]

North Central will host Rockford in a scrimmage at 7 PM on Friday.

One starter and two other possible starters or top reserves were injured and unable to play in NCC's 1st scrimmage against Univ. of Chicago.

Matt Rogers was obviously the missing starter, and David Twyman was a missing possible starter / top reserve. 1) Who was the other missing possible starter / top reserve?

2) Also, when is NCC going to post a roster for 2007-08? North Central is the lone remaining holdout.

1) Dan Schacht

2) When the coaching staff decides who will be on the final varsity roster.

As I understand it, there are 16 spots open on the varsity (traveling) roster. The owners of nine of those spots have been determined for sure with another two spots virtually assured. That leaves 6 guys fighting for the 5 remaining spots. They include a returning soph, 2 jr transfers, and 3 freshmen. The scrimmage against Rockford and next week's practices will probably determine who gets the final 5 spots. The 6th player will join those already determined to comprise the JV team. Naturally some of the 16 who dress for varsity will also see time on the JV squad.

Once the coaches have made the final determination, its up to the SID as to when the varsity roster will be posted on the NCC web. Its his job.

[Gregory Sager]

Thanks, AO.

[Titan Q]

I guess you're making Olson feel good about switching coasts and being so far from the warm climes of CA.

Or for winning the Walnut and Bronze two years running. Oh, and having more assists than the other two combined. It'd be hard to put two shooting guards and no point guard on the first team.

Pat, I think Olson is a 1st teamer, but just FYI, Kent Raymond plays point...a very different different type of point-guard than Andrew Olson obviously, but he is Wheaton's 1.

[David Collinge]

I guess you're making Olson feel good about switching coasts and being so far from the warm climes of CA.

Or for winning the Walnut and Bronze two years running. Oh, and having more assists than the other two combined. It'd be hard to put two shooting guards and no point guard on the first team.

Two years running?

[Titan Q]

I guess you're making Olson feel good about switching coasts and being so far from the warm climes of CA.

Or for winning the Walnut and Bronze two years running. Oh, and having more assists than the other two combined. It'd be hard to put two shooting guards and no point guard on the first team.

Two years running?

Well, I believe all Salem finishers actually get Walnut and Bronze (I know 3rd place gets hardware, and I assume 4th does too).  I'm not sure if that is what Pat meant, or if he just made a mistake, but in a literal sense, that is a true statement.  Of course, since he said, "the Walnut and Bronze", it makes me think he forgot about the 2005-06 Virignia Wesleyan Marlins...unfortunately I have not!

http://bearsports.wustl.edu/mensbball/FinalFour.jpg

[augiefan]

Don't feel too bad Titan about those recent Salem memories, Augie fans still remember Potsdam State and Ohio Northern in a very painful way, and those memories are a lot longer. At least IWU has a National title not two narrow and very tough finals losses.

[Late nite]

I certainly don't have all the answers, but I believe 100% in what I said about team chemistry and giving 100%. When facing a schedule containing such a number of tough opponents, I think chemistry and effort will go a long way toward building a successful season. Anybody disagree?

I don't disagree that team chemistry is vitally important.  I do think, however, that a team can have all the chemistry in the world, but if it's out-manned night in and night out, it's probably not going to do very well over the course of the season.

I'd rather have Keelan Amelianovich or Rick Harrigan or Drew Carstens or Joel Kolmodin or Ryan Knuppel or Antoine McDaniel or Jason Wiertel or Korey Coon or Bryan Crabtree or Chris Simich or Matt Nadlehoffer or Kirk Anderson, etc. first, and then figure the chemistry thing out second.  We'll go bowling as a team...or maybe get together and watch Hoosiers.


"You've got to get off the bus with the best players." - Dennie Bridges

I don't necessarily agree with Bridges---I recall a team just two years ago with 3 All-Americans that finished 3rd in the CCIW and couldn't win the inaugural conference tourney---They rallied late to play up to their potential in the NCAA, but the chemistry that season didn't match their superior talent

The 2005-06 Titans soundly defeated MWC champ Carroll in Round 1 of the NCAA tournament.  The next night, they dominated WIAC champion UW-Whitewater on the Warhawk's floor.  In Round 3, IWU defeated the #1-ranked team in the nation, 25-0 Lawrence, on their floor.  They earned a trip to the final four by beating a good Puget Sound team in the Sectional final.  In the national semifinal, the Titans led for most of the game, before falling by 2 points to the eventual national champions, Virginia Wesleyan.  The next day, they knocked off Amherst (who would go on to win the national title the next year) for 3rd place.

The Titans had a strange conference season that year, but it wasn't team chemistry that was to blame.  Afterall, the same exact group of players won the league the season before at 12-2.  In the end, the talent on that team carried them to Salem, where they just got beat by a great Virginia Wesleyan team by a bucket.

I disagree---You can't tell me that losing that many close games that year in the CCIW with all that talent had nothing to do with chemistry---They were beaten out by a very talented NCC team that had no depth and an Augie team that was upproven and unknown before the season began---The team with the best players (by far) didn't win the conference---Good chemistry also includes the coaching staff in their dealings with the players---