MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

The Augie people are quiet tonight, so I'll pass along the Simpson @ AC box:

http://www.augustana.edu/athletics/MBasketball/stats/2007-08/08mbb01.htm

Looks like Chandlor Collins had a good night.

Those of you who like to look for clues as to which CCIW team is stronger by playing the comparative scores game are out of luck with this one. Unless you want to insist that one point makes a difference in comparative scores, it doesn't appear as though there's a dime's worth of difference between Elmhurst's home win over the Storm on Saturday and Augie's win over the Storm this evening.

[Late nite]

The AU point guard (by default) Starwood, was much more interested in scoring at the offensive end rather than disrupting the NCC point guards at their end---I don't think the NCC point guards will face another point guard the entire year with this type of offensive mentality---My comments were not directed at the misguided passes, but rather the decision-making when AU pressured and double-teamed at the end of the game---A good point guard will have turnovers just by the fact that they try to push the envelope and handle the ball so much---With the soft defensive approach that AU had, there shouldn't have been many turnovers---And there weren't---As I said, I have not seen the NCC 1's enough to have an educated opinion---I'll have a better handle when they face some 1's that will pressure the ball for 35-40 minutes

The North Central Cardinals invaded the 13th ranked Aurora Spartans gym this evening, and came away with a very well earned 78-70 victory.

Looking beyond the box score reveals that this was really a game of two very different halves. In all fairness, as mentioned previously by several posters, Aurora was definitely hurt by the absence of its PG, Dusty Magee--the team QB and also a deadly long range shooter. None the less, the Cards win, a TEAM effort, was impressive as you don't get ranked 13th in the country even if you do have a 1st team All-American, if thats all you have.

Going into the contest, a major part of the Cardinals game plan followed the premises that 1) Welton would probably get his points, or at least his shots, no matter what, and 2) that because the Spartans love the three and are so often on the mark with their bombs, that they wanted to limit their 3 point attempts and force them to shoot a higher percentage of two point attempts than is their usual mode of operation.     

To this end, of the 27 shots the Spartans offered up in the 1st half 8 were from beyond the arc. However, 7 of the 8 or 87.5% found their mark. Their inside shots were more closely contested, and only 7 of 19 were successful. Overall, AU shot 52%. The Cardinals hit 4/10 3 pointers and overall shot 15 of 31 for 48.4% The result was an Aurora lead of 41-36 at the half.

I sense the theme of coach Raridon's halftime speech was defense, especially perimeter defense, and after the break the Cards responded by limiting the Spartans to 37.9 % shooting overall, including only 1 of 8 (12.5%) on threes. For the game, AU hit 50% of their threes compared to only 44.6% of their two attempts. In addition to a better overall defensive effort in the 2nd half, the Cardinals showed both better spacing and offensive flow, and were very much more aggressive in attacking the basket and hitting the boards. Whereas they only went to the line 3 times in the 1st half, they earned 18 charity tosses, hitting 14, in the 2nd stanza. They out rebounded the Spartans 35-31.  

As has been touched on by other posters, the Cardinal win was indeed a collective team effort. Matt Rogers, who was prone to force the issue a few too many times in the 1st half, but let the game come to him and picked his spots after the break, finished with 19, including 7/10 from the field. He was closely followed by Chris Drennan with 18 on 8/13 shooting. Mitch Raridon was next with 13, and while he hit only 4/13 attempts, the 4 he sank all seemed to come at important junctures of the game. Dominique King threw in 10, and Jeremy Williams, battling hard inside all night added 8. Reid Barringer cashed in 7 times including hitting 2 pressure free throws late to basically seal the deal. Starwood led AU with 23 and Lambert was next with 20. All-Americam Larry Welton finished with 18 on 7/17 shooting. I must say, he didn't play like an All-American. One of his baskets was on a lob that he dunked after which he ran down the court thumping his chest. One of his misses  was a blown dunk on a breakaway when he tried to get a bit too "stylish."

An important point to be made about North Central as noted by Late, among others, above is that the Cardinals are really developing a nice team chemistry among themselves. They seem to realize they lack the individual stars of recent years past that could alone carry the team for a time, and that they need to rely on each other and work together as a more cohesive TEAM. As I said last week, if you choose to take on one of the Cards, you better be prepared to battle the entire crew as they do have each others backs. If they can maintain the chemistry they have built and play with the intensity they have displayed, they are going to turn some heads and surprise a lot of people this season. I believe their being ticketed for 6th in the CCIW was a blessing.

Lastly, while this evenings victory was truly a collective effort by all involved, my pick for the Card's most outstanding player would be point guard Dean Prince. He tallied only 3 points, but played 36 minutes, directed and kept the offense moving, collected 3 rebounds, and handed out 7 assists. His only 2 TOs were on long pass attempts on breakouts where he didn't put quite enough air under the ball, but rather threw a low trajectory pass attempt. As any student of basketball knows, the passing aspect of the game is based on proper passing angles. While I'd like to be able to take credit for this tidbit of information, it was Coach Bruce Buhrandt who reminded us in a post game discussion that a long straight pass is the toughest one to complete. Accordingly, Dean's transgressions were minor in comparison to his contribution tonight.   

[markerickson]

I had forgotten what a point guard is supposed to accomplish.   Seriously, it has been quite a while since North Park had a PG who effectively pushed the ball upcourt with the ability to create.  I also saw at last night's game a PG who actually dribbled inside the paint with intent to distribute.  NPU PG Bruce Durham is also able to create a shot.  This "kid" has a huge upside!  Jorge Gonzalez can provide sparks too.  He has the ability and appetite to rebound at and above rim level.

I'd like to see two alley-oops to Jay A. per game, plays designed for the interior, and better perimeter D.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Did anyone read Tuesday's Chicago Tribune sports section? The preview for tonight's matchup between Benedictine and Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena (which the Wildcats ended up winning by the predictable score of 95-63) referred to Benedictine not once but twice as "Illinois Benedictine". The school changed its name from Illinois Benedictine College to Benedictine University eleven years ago.

And it's not as though this is some out-of-town school; Benedictine is located in the Chicago suburb of Lisle.

Aside from being an ugly error by the newspaper that purports to be Chicagoland's paper of record, the Trib's gaffe is a telling illustration of just how hard it is for a D3 school to rise above media anonymity in this town.

Slap on the wrist to the Tribune, but this is probably as much a problem with Northwestern's SID department as with the downtown daily.

D1 SID departments have a way of "Big-Timing" when it comes to contests against the lowly D3.  I imagine this was as much an attempt by Northwestern's crew to distinguish between the two Benedictine's for their fans and season ticket holders. 

Too often, the downtown papers blindly print whatever they're given by the big schools, because they just don't have the time or inclination to proofread something that they have every right to assume is correct.

But, whoever made the gaffe - shame on you.

DoS

[Dennis_Prikkel]

How many sports must a school have in D2?

Take a look at North Park's fall sports performances this year to see why D2 might be inviting.

NPU obviously does not recruit in cross-country - both their teams were dead last in the CCIW meets this Fall, with their runners running as a pack at the back of the entire field.

Women's golf last - women's soccer didn't win a match - women's volleyball didn't win a match in the CCIW.  Football (are you kidding).

Men's soccer and women's crew were the only sports NPU was competitive in in the Fall.

By dropping what sports they don't care about - and offering just the bare minimum number of sports needed to compete in D2, NPU could then offer some sort of scholarship aid and be attractive to the big-time suburban athletes, who now won't even consider a campus visit.

It's an interesting idea - and Saturday night wasn't the first time I heard the suggestion - it was suggested as a hypothetical musing way back in the seventies by North Park's then athletic director, Dan McCarrell.

DoS

[Titan Q]

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=181111

Meet Kent Raymond, All-American rally killer.

The Wheaton College All-American junior guard already has a master's degree in defensive deconstruction and is on his way to a Ph.D.
-----
"He's a (NCAA) Division I player playing in Division III," Wheaton coach Bill Harris said.

[martin]

I don't think anyone ever posted a score from Millikin's win over Blackburn last night...

http://www.millikin.edu/athletics/mbasketball/m-mil01_088.htm

For some reason returning starting Joscar Demby did not play (injury?).

Blackburn needs to check its stats program or the computer it runs on.  Total minutes for Millikin is 205, for Blackburn 201.  Even with rounding, they should be 200 (plus overtime).  Occasionally you see 199 or 201.

[79jaybird]

Thoughts from the Elmhurst/MacMurray Game last night.

This is not a team to really "brag" about as MacMurray was well undersized.  Having said this though,  the thing I will take from this game is that it is not just the Brent Ruch and Ryan Burks show.  The Bluejays are getting great contributions from Hintzche, Aloisio, Ryder, and have been sharing the wealth very well.
The Eureka game is going to be much like the MacMurray game, however the first real tune up will be the UW-Oshkosh game. 

Great to see the CCIW cleaning house with a bunch of perfect records to start the season and congrats to NC for the big upset of #13 AU.

[AndOne]

The AU point guard (by default) Starwood, was much more interested in scoring at the offensive end rather than disrupting the NCC point guards at their end---I don't think the NCC point guards will face another point guard the entire year with this type of offensive mentality---My comments were not directed at the misguided passes, but rather the decision-making when AU pressured and double-teamed at the end of the game---A good point guard will have turnovers just by the fact that they try to push the envelope and handle the ball so much---With the soft defensive approach that AU had, there shouldn't have been many turnovers---And there weren't---As I said, I have not seen the NCC 1's enough to have an educated opinion---I'll have a better handle when they face some 1's that will pressure the ball for 35-40 minutes

Late-----

A play by play analysis shows that in the last 5:11 of the game, North Central committed only 2 TOs. These were the aforementioned errant long passes on the attempted breakouts. At the end of the game, when AU turned up the defensive pressure, NCC effectively passed out of the pressure situations and got the ball into the hands of Reid Barringer, Chris Drennan, and Mitch Raridon who hit a perfect 6 for 6 from the line down the stretch.

I think with continued observation you will find that Mr. Prince and the other PGs have the speed, ball handling, and passing ability to counter increased pressure.
Additionally, be assured that Coach Raridon and his staff have an effectively mapped game plan to help the players deal with those pressure situations.

[AndOne]

Thoughts from the Elmhurst/MacMurray Game last night.

This is not a team to really "brag" about as MacMurray was well undersized.  Having said this though,  the thing I will take from this game is that it is not just the Brent Ruch and Ryan Burks show.  The Bluejays are getting great contributions from Hintzche, Aloisio, Ryder, and have been sharing the wealth very well.
The Eureka game is going to be much like the MacMurray game, however the first real tune up will be the UW-Oshkosh game. 

Great to see the CCIW cleaning house with a bunch of perfect records to start the season and congrats to NC for the big upset of #13 AU.

79jaybird----

How did the Jays do as far as inbounding the ball in any pressure situations?
Last Saturday against Simpson, also not the most talented team, I'm sure you witnessed the extreme difficulty EC had inbounding the ball and bringing it up court.

[Late nite]

AO---You're closer to the situation than I am---I hope you're right---I enjoy watching the way this team plays---Time will tell

The AU point guard (by default) Starwood, was much more interested in scoring at the offensive end rather than disrupting the NCC point guards at their end---I don't think the NCC point guards will face another point guard the entire year with this type of offensive mentality---My comments were not directed at the misguided passes, but rather the decision-making when AU pressured and double-teamed at the end of the game---A good point guard will have turnovers just by the fact that they try to push the envelope and handle the ball so much---With the soft defensive approach that AU had, there shouldn't have been many turnovers---And there weren't---As I said, I have not seen the NCC 1's enough to have an educated opinion---I'll have a better handle when they face some 1's that will pressure the ball for 35-40 minutes

Late-----

A play by play analysis shows that in the last 5:11 of the game, North Central committed only 2 TOs. These were the aforementioned errant long passes on the attempted breakouts. At the end of the game, when AU turned up the defensive pressure, NCC effectively passed out of the pressure situations and got the ball into the hands of Reid Barringer, Chris Drennan, and Mitch Raridon who hit a perfect 6 for 6 from the line down the stretch.

I think with continued observation you will find that Mr. Prince and the other PGs have the speed, ball handling, and passing ability to counter increased pressure.
Additionally, be assured that Coach Raridon and his staff have an effectively mapped game plan to help the players deal with those pressure situations.

[79jaybird]

AndOne- This is definitely a concern for Elmhurst. When the opposition gets up in their face,  the Bluejays have been guilty fo turning the ball over.  Especially under their basket.  MacMurray was giving EC all they could in their tanks and did force a few errors.  Overall, this was a better game than their Simpson game ball handling, but still room for improvement. 

[Titan Q]

I'm heading to Kiawah Island, S.C. for Thanksgiving and will be out of town through Sunday - a rare missed Titan game for me this coming Saturday.  I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

Since I will be out the rest of the week, I will ask this now -- who knows something about Dominican?  IWU hosts the Stars Saturday.  I've heard a lot of good things about them.  It looks like their starters are:

http://www.iwuhoops.com/notes08.htm

Any scoop on the Stars is appreciated.

[Gregory Sager]

Everyone knows that Mike Haiduc is a load to have to handle down low, and that Wesleyan's big men will have a tough time with him, but Dominican's backup center, undersized junior Dan Borys, is a good player as well. The Titans can't let up just because Haiduc is out of the game.

Dominican has a jet-quick little point guard off the bench named Marvin Jeter who really impressed me when I saw the Stars scrimmage North Park. In general, the Stars seem to be pretty deep in undersized but fast guards. If they can force the tempo and get Wesleyan in an up-and-down game, they could be tough.

Jose Garcia is a very good outside shooter, although it appears that he hasn't gotten untracked yet from beyond the arc.

I think that this game will be close, but since Wesleyan has so many new faces this year it's hard to get a good read on the game.

[AndOne]

I'm heading to Kiawah Island, S.C. for Thanksgiving and will be out of town through Sunday - a rare missed Titan game for me this coming Saturday.  I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

Since I will be out the rest of the week, I will ask this now -- who knows something about Dominican?  IWU hosts the Stars Saturday.  I've heard a lot of good things about them.  It looks like their starters are:

http://www.iwuhoops.com/notes08.htm

Any scoop on the Stars is appreciated.

Here you go Titan. I posted this in the NathCon room this summer. Hope it gives u a little insight.

Re: Northern Athletic Conference Chat
« Reply #1659 on: July 05, 2007, 11:29:36 pm

A note on DOMINICAN from a regular poster in the CCIW room:

Saw Dominican play in the Deerfield summer league tonight. Great athleticism, speed, and especially jumping ability. They have several guys who can really sky. Additionally,  they appear to be very good shooters. I don't know how well they shot last year, but I bet they improve their FG% this season, no matter what they shot last year. They must have hit 75 % of their shots in the 1st half tonight. Fell off some in the 2nd half, but still impressive overall. Many of their shots fell due to great ball movement. They often passed up a good shot for a better shot. They wound up losing to North Central by one on a last second shot. The loss was due mostly to getting away from the ball movement and softer defense in the 2nd half. Also, North Central probably doubled its FG% in the 2nd half.