MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[coebball70]

T Q - the reason Steve D (Bosko Jr.) is getting to the line is he has an amazing, almost explosive first step.  He is a classic example of a 'quick vs fast slasher'.  Several CCIW guards are as fast as Steve D, but few can handle that explosive move to the basket and end up 'grabbing on' or hacking the kid.  On the developmental side, the kid could refine his standard jumpshot technique as he does not release the ball over his head, his release is more in from shoulders and face on up, and, as Kent Raymond proved, he can be stopped with tight, chest-to-chest defense (Raymond held him to 2 points after 18 in the first half).  Make no doubt about it though, he's the real deal.  He 'schooled' Raymond twice in the first half with nice head fakes and then finding a way to get a shot on target while jumping into the defender.  It's funny, to a degree, Steve D. reminds me of another Serb I saw over 40 years ago, LSU's #23.  He's skinny, quick, has handles, and is absolutely fearless attacking the basket.  Oh, by the way, this guy averaged 44 points agame without the 3-pt basket!  I predict Steve D. will lead the CCIW in scoring for two reasons, he's good and his Dad will keep him on the court at all times.

[robberki]

what do you mean without the 3 point basket?

[coebball70]

R - there was a time when basketball only allowed two points for a basket!  I forget the year that the 3-point shot evolved.  Also, you may be interested in this one, there was a time when the 'dunk shot' was not allowed as well.  I guess this old fossil of a hoopster provided a small amount of history for a member of the CCIW chat board.

[Titan Q]

It's funny, to a degree, Steve D. reminds me of another Serb I saw over 40 years ago, LSU's #23.  He's skinny, quick, has handles, and is absolutely fearless attacking the basket.  Oh, by the way, this guy averaged 44 points agame without the 3-pt basket! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8qUZILi8IM&feature=related

Pistol also played for his dad.

[Late nite]

I agree that Little Bosko is a very good ballplayer, especially for a freshman---He's definitely got game---I also agree that he will lead the conference in FT attempts because of his style of play----It also won't hurt that he flops on nearly every drive to the basket and Big Bosko is in the ear of the official after every shot that he misses

T Q - the reason Steve D (Bosko Jr.) is getting to the line is he has an amazing, almost explosive first step.  He is a classic example of a 'quick vs fast slasher'.  Several CCIW guards are as fast as Steve D, but few can handle that explosive move to the basket and end up 'grabbing on' or hacking the kid.  On the developmental side, the kid could refine his standard jumpshot technique as he does not release the ball over his head, his release is more in from shoulders and face on up, and, as Kent Raymond proved, he can be stopped with tight, chest-to-chest defense (Raymond held him to 2 points after 18 in the first half).  Make no doubt about it though, he's the real deal.  He 'schooled' Raymond twice in the first half with nice head fakes and then finding a way to get a shot on target while jumping into the defender.  It's funny, to a degree, Steve D. reminds me of another Serb I saw almost 40 years ago, LSU's #23.  He's skinny, quick, has handles, and is absolutely fearless attacking the basket.  Oh, by the way, this guy averaged 44 points agame without the 3-pt basket!  I predict Steve D. will lead the CCIW in scoring for two reasons, he's good and his Dad will keep him on the court at all times.

[Gregory Sager]

T Q - the reason Steve D (Bosko Jr.) is getting to the line is he has an amazing, almost explosive first step.

That's only part of the reason. The other part is that Steve Djurickovic knows how to draw contact when he shoots, and he makes a concerted effort to do so whenever there's a defender anywhere within his vicinity. He not only takes a beating during a game, he wants to take a beating, because free throws are a big part of his game. In that respect, the smallish and skinny NBA superstar to whom he should be compared isn't Pete Maravich ... it's Allen Iverson. The difference is that I'm sure Steve has a much more positive attitude towards practices.

R - there was a time when basketball only allowed two points for a basket!  I forget the year that the 3-point shot evolved.

The first season that the three-point basket became a part of the NCAA rulebook was 1986-87.

[Gregory Sager]

Yeah pretty crazy, I knew I'd get some response on that one. What I saw from North Park this week was a very athletic team that has go to players and leadership. I didn't see that from Augie. When they needed 2 points who are they going to? I saw a bunch of guys chucking up shots from 3 feet behind the arc and no one rebounding....

Augustana had a tough shooting night on the road.  It happens. 

North Park lost to MSOE, Loras, and Robert Morris-Springfield (by 17)...and just a few days before the big Augie win played a barnburner vs Knox.  All accounts seem to suggest that NPU has very little inside presence, so they have plenty of issues too.

I'm sure NPU is good.  I'm not, however, ready to pass the torch from Augustana to North Park based on one head-to-head game.  Coach G and co. have been awfully good in the CCIW for a number of years now...NPU still has a lot of proving to do.

It's real early.

Agreed, and I'm not ready to place NPU ahead of Augie upon the basis of one game, either. The Park played indifferent basketball for the most part against a lackluster non-conference schedule, culminating in an atrocious performance against Knox last Saturday. The key to NPU's season will be consistency, a virtue that is hardly a given for a sophomore-dominated team. Can the Vikings play as well every night as they did on Wednesday night? Can they take the reins in crunch time and settle close games in their favor every night the way that they did on Wednesday night? Neither question has been answered yet.

There are no easy games for anyone in the CCIW this season, Elmhurst's 20-point home win over Millikin notwithstanding. That's not a cliche, that's a fact. I don't see any Final Four teams in the CCIW this season, and I don't see any eighteen-loss teams, either. I don't think that there's any team in this league that can go on the road and feel as though it'll have anything but a struggle to eke out a victory. I'm as nervous about NPU going into the Griz tonight to face the Big Blue as I was on Wednesday.

Incidentally, I would not say that "NPU has very little inside presence." NPU has a void at center in terms of offense. That's not the same thing as having very little inside presence. As I pointed out the other day, NPU and Augie -- a team that has inside presence up the ying-yang -- finished at 22 apiece in terms of points in the paint on Wednesday evening, and Augie only won the rebounding battle by two. The Vikings have two very solid inside players in Jay Alexander and Nick Williams, although they're forwards (and skinny ones at that) rather than centers. NPU also has two of the best inside guards in the league in Jason Gordon and Antonio Stevens, both in terms of getting to the rim and grabbing rebounds. Heck, even Joe Capalbo had six rebounds against Augie.

I'm not making light of North Park's deficiencies at the center position, because they are a significant concern and they will continue to be so as the season moves along. The decision of Stephano Jones not to return to school this year has been a real setback for the NPU program. But when it comes to inside scoring and rebounding, there's more than one way to skin a cat ... or a Doggie.

[Gregory Sager]

Hard to say how Elmhurst will do because of an unchallenging preseason schedule [...]

Awfully unsporting to do this when Greg is having connectivity issues.

Don't scold him, David, correct him!

Sakman, the correct term is non-conference, not preseason. The games played prior to this past Wednesday count towards a team's record, too.

I'm not sure if anyone has made note of this yet, but Lori Kerans is stepping down from her AD duties at Millikin as of June 30.  She will remain at the helm of the women's hoops program, and a full-time AD will be hired.  See Notables.  I recall that her perceived performance as the AD has come in for some criticism in here before, so this news may please some folks.

I saw that too, David. It made me wonder if perhaps the Big Blue folks might come out of hiding to dance a little jig online in the wake of the news that their bete noire is surrendering the AD job at Jimmy Millikin.

[Late nite]

The next 5 days will be crucial to Augie in the CCIW race---EC at home today and Wheaton at Carver on Wednesday---The Vikes need a quick turnaround after their disappointing performance against North Park---Are they up for the challenge or are we seeing a changing of the guard?---I don't think that Augie and Coach G are going to go quietly---We'll see

[Titan Q]

Am I correct in saying North Central and North Park do not do live stats online for home games?  Or am I just missing the NCC and NPU links?

Wednesday night I had to chuckle at how different following Division III basketball has become.  I'm sitting at the Shirk Center broadcasting the Illinois Wesleyan/North Central game, which is being streamed online. I have my laptop going with the IWU/NCC live stats (a tremendous help in calling the game), but also have the Elmhurst/Millikin live stats up, as well as the live video stream of Carthage/Wheaton.  With IWU up double digits on NCC, I'm watching the furious Wheaton comeback vs the Red Men.

Times have changed!

[Pat Coleman]

And for the better, to be sure.

[Titan Q]

Links I know of for tonight...please add if I am missing any.


IWU (1-0) @ Carthage (0-1)
Live stats, Carthage.edu

WRJN - Racine broadcast

WJBC - Bloomington broadcast


Elmhurst (1-0) @ Augustana (0-1)

Live stats, Augustana.edu

Augie webcast


North Park (1-0) @ Millikin (0-1)

Live stats, Millikin.edu

Millikin webcast


Wheaton (1-0) @ North Central (0-1)

WONC - Naperville broadcast

WETN - Wheaton broadcast

[Pat Coleman]

Elmhurst posted a WRSE link on our schedule but I guess I would be cautious because that's a long trip for a student station.

Not many CCIW schools have taken advantage of our broadcast and live stats links functionality. I've added what you posted.

[kenoshamark]

markerickson,

Steve creates in a number of various ways.  He will take guys off the dribble from outside of the trey line and get all the way to the hoop, he will take a pass off their offensive sets and break you down with a short jumper (trying to create body contact), they will run sets off of in-bounds plays where he will get the ball in the paint and draw contact or he could be driving to the hole off of transition.   

As I've mentioned before, he has the uncanny knack for looking for body contact depending on where he is on the floor.  He will drive and take a pull up jumper and create space using his body which sometimes will result in a foul off of his shot. 

Because he played so many different positions in high school, he has learned to handle the ball adeptly enough in traffic and his willing to attack the basket despite his slight frame.  He has a little bit of that Allen Iverson type of mentality when it comes to attacking the basket despite his size.   I'm not suggesting he is that quick or can jump that well but I've always been impressed with how Iverson likes to absorb the physical contact when it would be easier to just pull up and take jump shots. 

Sounds like Greg and I are thinking along the same lines...

[kenoshamark]

Bob,

Sorry I won't get a chance to see you tonight (my son has a game).....and I do agree that those matchups will be the key.    Neb finally put some points on the board against Wheaton so that was a good sign so lets hope that continues so it makes someone in the post have to cover him.   

Not sue why Bosko went with a shorter bench than normal the other night?   Both Milos and Logan Derrick didn't show up in the box and haven't seen anything to suggest they were injured.

Steve and Trey Bowens already logged some of the top minutes per game in the league and even though Fendley is back, they could use those additional legs as the season starts to ramp up.