MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[sac]

It will be interesting to see with the short turnaround with a 4:00 P.M. game at home tomorrow....

They could've played Alma right after last nights game and the result would be the same.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Elmhurst wins 79-65.  But either they played quite poorly, or Alma had their best game of the year (the Scots were 0-8 against a very weak schedule).  Ruch and Burks combined for only 14 points, and Alma outscored the Jays for most of the second half (right up til the desperation fouls at the end).  Since Alma will be an underdog (even for home games) in every contest the rest of the season, this was NOT an impressive win for Elmhurst - nevertheless, it IS a W.

EDIT: from sac's post on the MIAA board, I stand corrected - the BlueJay starters played 65 of the 200 minutes!  I guess it would be fairer to say that the Elmhurst bench could only manage a standoff against a very weak team!

[79jaybird]

Elmhurst was able to rest their starters as Ruch, Burks, and most of their starters saw limited duty.  Alma is a pretty weak team, and their record indicates their youth and inexperience. 
Elmhurst is 10-1 and while that record means absolutely nothing as the CCIW commences, they are playing pretty solid ball and should fare well during the 14-game marathon ahead.

[Gregory Sager]

I'd have to say that yesterday's pyrrhic victory for NPU over an undeniably weak Knox team felt as close to a defeat as any victory could feel. It's not simply a matter of the Vikings not putting away a team that never should've been in the game with them for more than 20-30 minutes; it's the fact that they did so few things right as a team and appear to be taking backwards steps even though they're on the threshold of the CCIW portion of the season.

NPU's performance was a Bizarro World Baskin-Robbins, as the Vikings played as though there were 31 different flavors of ugly. They got outrebounded by a team that has little in the way of size and less in the way of athleticism. They shot a horrific 2-9 from the FT line in the first half, righted that aspect of their game by going 14-16 from the line over the first 19 minutes of the second half, and then went right back to horrific by missing eight of the ten foul shots they took in the final minute, most of which were badly off-line. The guards weren't looking at all to make entry passes into the post until the constant haranguing of the coaches finally got through to them -- at which point it was too late, because Knox was by then double-teaming inside and daring the wayward Vikings shooters to knock down treys instead. I saw all sorts of ill-advised shots taken without consideration of shot-clock status or likelihood of makeability. The shooters did poorly, both on the shots they were supposed to take and the shots that they shouldn't have (37% from the field for the game, 27% from downtown), and not because Knox was playing inspired defense, either.

For forty minutes I watched North Park flounder against a team that had two, maybe three, players who were of CCIW caliber, and I kept saying, "When are they going to put those guys away?" They never did. It was very disheartening. Not that I'm a slave to comparison scores or anything, but just as a matter of perspective that same Knox team lost by 21 to the consensus CCIW cellar pick this year, Millikin. I said to Paul Brenegan after the game, "If they play like that on Wednesday, Augie's going to beat them by twenty." He replied with a grimace, "Try fifty."

Momentum, whether good or bad, doesn't necessarily bleed from one game into the next. But within the larger picture of the NPU season, Saturday's struggles bode ill for the Vikings. This team still has a whole bunch of problems that need to be solved, and the 8-3 record that North Park has attained to date means absolutely nothing in terms of how far the Vikings have gone to deal with those problems. NPU hasn't beaten even one team worthy of distinction, and the only opponent that the Vikings have faced that could sniff the D3hoops.com Top 25 this season, Loras, beat them. Meanwhile, North Park's first CCIW opponent, Augustana, has played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the entire country. I have a sinking feeling that Augie will be more than ready to start running the 14-game gauntlet Wednesday, and that North Park won't be.

[David Collinge]

NPU's performance was a Bizarro World Baskin-Robbins, as the Vikings played as though there were 31 different flavors of ugly.

We've missed you, GS. 

[augiefan]

It sounds like NPU played the perfect game to lull Augie into a false sense of confidence coming to Chicago a lttlle rusty after a long break since the UWSP game. 

[Gregory Sager]

Andone - sorry, can't really get in to details about Jorge, he's a great kid though.

I understand. I was actually inquiring more about Durham though. Perhaps u can't also go into details re him either. Just thought I'd ask as I was pretty familiar with him last year and followed him pretty closely.

I can tell you that your earlier speculation was unfounded. Durham did not leave the team for academic reasons. Nor was it punitive. It was his decision.

It's extremely frustrating, inasmuch as this makes two seasons in a row that NPU has lost its starting PG at midseason. It gives the season in progress a sort of back-to-the-drawing-board feel, and you can't help but wonder if the Vikings would be in better shape now if Oziminski and Brown had played all of those minutes that were, in retrospect, wasted on Durham.

I concur with tj's comments about Oziminski. He's not the speedster who can break down a defense or create havoc at the defensive end with his quickness the way that Durham could (and that Brown can, although not as well as Durham), but Oz is a tougher, smarter, steadier customer at the point than Durham was and he's a better shooter as well. I just wish that he would've had more experience under his belt by now at running the point as the starter ... but that's water under the bridge.

Oziminski will start, and Brown will be his backup. The Vikings found last season that Joe Capalbo is better suited to play off the ball rather than PG, just as Jason Gordon demonstrated the year before. Both could play the position in a pinch, as could Antonio Stevens, but Oziminski and Brown are the best options Paul Brenegan has at that position -- and they're not bad options, just underutilized ones to date.

NPU's performance was a Bizarro World Baskin-Robbins, as the Vikings played as though there were 31 different flavors of ugly.

We've missed you, GS. 

Thanks, DC. First post in two weeks, so I had to try to make it memorable.

It sounds like NPU played the perfect game to lull Augie into a false sense of confidence coming to Chicago a lttlle rusty after a long break since the UWSP game. 

Let the head games begin!

[AndOne]

Andone - sorry, can't really get in to details about Jorge, he's a great kid though.

I understand. I was actually inquiring more about Durham though. Perhaps u can't also go into details re him either. Just thought I'd ask as I was pretty familiar with him last year and followed him pretty closely.

(A) I can tell you that your earlier speculation was unfounded. Durham did not leave the team for academic reasons. Nor was it punitive. It was his decision.

It's extremely frustrating, inasmuch as this makes two seasons in a row that NPU has lost its starting PG at midseason. It gives the season in progress a sort of back-to-the-drawing-board feel, and you can't help but wonder if the Vikings would be in better shape now if Oziminski and Brown had played all of those minutes that were, in retrospect, wasted on Durham.

(B) I concur with tj's comments about Oziminski. He's not the speedster who can break down a defense or create havoc at the defensive end with his quickness the way that Durham could (and that Brown can, although not as well as Durham), but Oz is a tougher, smarter, steadier customer at the point than Durham was and he's a better shooter as well. I just wish that he would've had more experience under his belt by now at running the point as the starter ... but that's water under the bridge.

Oziminski will start, and Brown will be his backup. (C) The Vikings found last season that Joe Capalbo is better suited to play off the ball rather than PG, just as Jason Gordon demonstrated the year before. Both could play the position in a pinch, as could Antonio Stevens, but Oziminski and Brown are the best options Paul Brenegan has at that position -- and they're not bad options, just underutilized ones to date.

WELCOME BACK GREG.
And thanks for the above info

With regard to A, B, & C above:

A--As I said in my 12/31 post, I had hoped he didn't leave for academic reasons, and I'm glad this proved to be the case. The timing of his leaving at the term break like he did, just made for a seemingly logical conclusion.
Still, its hard to imagine Bruce Durham leaving the team solely on his own accord. I know he certainly loved to play.

B--Sometimes, especially if you have the other parts in place, all you want your PG to do is to play smart and steady, and pass the ball to guys wearing the same color  shirts more often than than the other color. Any scoring would just be a bonus.

C--From watching Capalbo last year, I felt he was more suited to the 2 guard position. So, maybe having him concentrate there will allow him to do the things he does best. 

[Dennis_Prikkel]

perhaps some of north park's documented offensive woes versus knox was their absolute lack of any inside presence.  It's hard for the guards to get wide open looks outside if their is no inside threat that their defenders have to honor.

North Park begins almost every offensive set they run by having their #5 position player come out 35 feet from the basket and take an outlet pass from the guard that brought the ball down the court.  Ugh!

What a waste of effort for your big man - to run all the way to the baseline, then run out 35 feet from the basketball - accept a meaningless pass - make another meaningless pass to a wing player 25 feet from the basket - and then have the post player dive back to the baseline.  The shot clock is down 15 seconds already and no one has the ball in an offensive position to shoot.

I get tired just writing about it....

North Park has no inside threat - none- zero - zilch - as it's offense is now constituted - perhaps frosh Phil Sch............. will be a threat in the future - he actually looked like he knew what he was doing on the offensive end of the court in the brief cup-of-coffee he got on the court versus Knox.  NPU's other inside offensive options were just not present on Saturday.

DoS

[Gregory Sager]

WELCOME BACK GREG.
And thanks for the above info

With regard to A, B, & C above:

A--As I said in my 12/31 post, I had hoped he didn't leave for academic reasons, and I'm glad this proved to be the case. The timing of his leaving at the term break like he did, just made for a seemingly logical conclusion.
Still, its hard to imagine Bruce Durham leaving the team solely on his own accord. I know he certainly loved to play.

B--Sometimes, especially if you have the other parts in place, all you want your PG to do is to play smart and steady, and pass the ball to guys wearing the same color  shirts more often than than the other color. Any scoring would just be a bonus.

C--From watching Capalbo last year, I felt he was more suited to the 2 guard position. So, maybe having him concentrate there will allow him to do the things he does best. 

I certainly agree with you about B, although my gripe is that Oziminski, whom I like a lot as a player, would be smarter and steadier if he had more experience under his belt by now. Last season as a freshman he was primarily a JV player who made a bunch of cameo appearances on varsity. This season he's been Durham's primary backup, up until he was named the starter on the recent California trip. In retrospect I simply wish that Oziminski had had those first eight games' worth of starts as well.

Oziminski doesn't have Durham's huge upside -- Durham had "future All-CCIW point guard" written all over him -- but in the here-and-now the sophomore from Johnsburg High could actually turn out to be a better option at the PG position for the Park than Durham would've been. The Vikings would've gotten some spectacular nights out of Durham in the CCIW season in 2008, but he would've had his share of bad nights as well. This can be a very unforgiving conference for a freshman starting PG.

Anyway, at this juncture I'm more concerned with the absence of a scoring threat at center for NPU than I am about the PG position.

[Gregory Sager]

Since I've just spent the past 24 hours dumping on the Vikings, I do want to say something positive about them as well. And that's that they're getting great senior leadership out of Jason Gordon and Jay Alexander, not only in terms of demeanor and steadiness but also in terms of performance. Both of them have upped their games significantly this year, and that's gratifying to see. One of the benchmarks of how you measure a program is by how much progress its players make as their careers move along. Gordon and Alexander are clearly better players now than they were last year, or the year before -- and that's not only a testament to their hard work, diligence, and maturity, it's a testament to the NPU program as well.

[Gregory Sager]

The Knox coach yelling to one of his players during a North Park free throw attempt "to break the guy's arm" was a little over the top - as was one of the Knox deep reserves sitting right next to his coach yelling during every North Park free throw attempt (thought I was watching Augie for a minute - it was soo bush.)

I couldn't believe what I heard, either.  Wow.  I couldn't tell who was yelling at the Viking shooters -- I thought it must have been one of their fans.

Kudos to North Park coach Paul Brenegan for reading the Knox coach the "Riot Act" at the end of the game - the way the Knox coach and his player acted in the final seconds of a close game was really "Bush".

I thought Coach Brenegan handled it well.

I have to comment upon this as well. Knox head coach Tim Heimann totally disgraced himself with that "if he blocks you again, break his arm!" comment. I could hardly believe that a coach would tell one of his players to deliberately injure an opponent. There's just no excuse for that whatsoever. I was astonished that he didn't get T'ed up right there on the spot. Heck, if his team was in our league, I would've e-mailed the commissioner myself and asked him to review the tape of the game and hand out a suspension to the coach.

Heimann did provide us with a lot of laughs on Saturday, from his hideous sweater (it looked like Cliff Huxtable threw up on it back in the '80s) to his hilarious interpretation of the fouled-in-the-act-of-shooting rule (one of his players was fouled in midair, right before he passed the ball; veteran CCIW official Mau Cason rightly called it a non-shooting foul, and Heimann protested vigorously that his player should've been awarded two free throws, because "he would've shot the ball instead of passing it if he hadn't heard your whistle"). But there was nothing at all funny about that "break his arm" comment.

(Heimann's rejoinder to Paul Brenegan in the handshake line, when the NPU coach scolded him for that "break his arm" comment, was, "Well, your players were handchecking the entire game" -- as though breaking someone's arm is a legitimate quid pro quo for handchecking.)

[Titan Q]

The all-time league standings as we head into CCIW men's basketball season #62...

Illinois Wesleyan 624-231 (.730) - 27 titles
Augustana 502-352 (.588) - 11 titles
Wheaton 427-332 (.563) - 8 titles
North Park 354-318 (.527) - 6 titles
Millikin 440-415 (.515) - 9 titles
Lake Forest* 85-112 (.432)
Carthage 314-430 (.422) - 4 titles
Illinois College* 28-41 (.406)
North Central 331-524 (.387) - 4 titles
Elmhurst 298-472 (.387) - 1 title
Carroll* 187-364 (.339)

* no longer in conference

[augiefan]

Is Chris Drennan due back on the court for NCC any time soon? His return should make NCC a far more dangerous opponent. Thos teams that get a shot at NCC without Drennan in good health and in the lineup have a big advantage over those facing him later in the season, if in fact he returns.

[Titan Q]

After the non-conference season, I really have no idea what to expect from IWU in CCIW play.  As I posted recently, I think the Titans will finish anywhere from 4th to 6th.  7th, where the coaches picked them in the preseason, is certainly a possibility (as is 8th for that matter), but I think they're better than that.

Basically, the Titans have lost to the best 5 teams they've played (Albion, Olivet Nazarene, Wash U, Chicago, and Occidental) and defeated the other six (Tri-State, Dominican, Webster, Illinois College, Hanover, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps).  Four of the five losses were blowouts...all but the Wash U game, which came down to the final seconds.  Ironically, Wash U is the best team the Titans faced in the non-conference.  Kind of tells the tale of how inconsistent this team has been. Of the 6 wins, there certainly are none over Top 25/CCIW championship-caliber squads.

IWU's 8-man rotation right now is:

G Travis Rosenkranz (6-0/175, Fr) - 8.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.4 apg
G Sean Johnson (6-1/175, Fr) - 9.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.8 apg
G Jordan Morris (6-3/195, Jr) - 10.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg
F Darius Gant (6-4/210, Sr) - 13.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg
C Brett Chamernik (6-5/230, Jr) - 12.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg

F/C Doug Sexauer (6-7/210, Fr)
F Matt Schick (6-4/190, Fr)
PG Sean Dwyer (5-11/175, So)


Of the 8 guys who play, 4 are freshmen and 1 is a sophomore who missed all of last season with injury (Dwyer).  You just never know what you are going to get with this group from possession to possession.  I know some people find that frustrating...I think it's kind of fun.

As the starting freshmen guards go, so will go the Titans in CCIW play.  Travis Rosenkranz got off to a slow start after missing the entire practice season with injury, but showed glimpses in a couple games - 20 pts @ Illinois College, and 18 in the last game, @ CMS.  Travis turned it over too much and didn't shoot it very well in the non-conference, but I think he'll have a good CCIW season.  Sean Johnson is 18-46 (.341) from 3 and has 31 assists to 17 turnovers - pretty solid for a freshman.

Starting posts Gant and Chamernik are very undersized, but have been good overall.  They'll need to keep providing IWU with a low-post scoring threat.  6-7 Doug Sexauer looked great at times in the non-conference, and like a freshman others.  IWU really needs him to play well in the league.

I continue to be a big Matt Schick fan.  The freshman from Lincoln should get big minutes for the Titans in CCIW action.  Sean Dwyer is another guy the Titans will rely on for significant minutes in conference play.  He brings toughness and leadership to the floor.

Could be 8-6...could be 4-10.  I have no idea.  Bring it on though.