MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Viking Blue]

Regarding Carthage's changes and Bosko's adjustments...does it really surprise anyone?  The man certainly has one heck of a track record!

[aceon2]

I, for one, was extremely impressed with the Redmen's road win yesterday at Elmhurst.  I believe they had lost their last two there, and 4 outta 5 to Elmhurst.   As I stated a long time ago, I think this Carthage team can definitely compete for a conference crown, if certain things were to happen:

1) Shemerdiak show up more often than not.  And he sure has played well this year. He is a matchup problem for most 4's in the league.
2) They could find some kind of prescence in the middle.  Neb has been the most underrated/undervalued player thus far in the conference season.  He is a ridiculous 16-18 from the floor and has 36 points in three conference games this season.
3) Everybody on this forum knows that Stevie can play, but this good?  Wow, he is off to a heckuva start, and as "the voice" put it we could be in for a special 4 years at Carthage. 
4) Bowens and Fendley flat out stroke it from the outside.  Fendley had 9 threes the other night in the first 30 min of the game.  Bowens has done his part as a senior to contribute big basket after big basket.
5) The "role players" on this team are doing everything the way they are supposed to.  Joe Higgins has 9 assists to 2 turnovers in conference.   Billy Jacklin has given them some much needed rebounding(16 in 3 conference games) despite the fact that he is an undersized 4/5, and is 5-7 from the floor.

One of the things that has plagued Carthage the post Mcdaniel/Garnes/etc era has been inconsistent free throw shooting down the stretch.  That seems to have fallen by the wayside, since the guys shooting the majority of those free throws are Djurickovic, Bowens, Fendley, Higgins, and Shemerdiak. 

I think if they can continue to get these types of contributions from the Shemerdiak, Neb, Higgins, Jacklin combo, they will no doubt challenge for the conference championship...

They have a big test this weekend against an Augie team that always seems to give Carthage trouble (1-7 last 8) with their physical play.

[79jaybird]

Wow,  anemic, hibernating, lethargic, lackluster.. any other adjectives to describe the Bluejays last night?  Sheesh!  That is/was not the team that I have called on the air all year last night.  Congratulations to Carthage and really-Bosko (gosh I hate commending that guy but the guy wins everywhere he goes).  Bosko's gameplan worked like a charm as the Bluejays looked tentative and timid all night. 
Couple things bothered me about the game.

1) Nobody wanted to drive inside last night for Elmhurst which is their bread & butter.
2) Carthage had 3-4 guys getting to every loose ball and/or had those guys present to try and pick up a loose board.
3) Somebody mentioned it earlier, but there was no "urgency" from Elmhurst.  You want to be the best?  You have to earn and BE the best,  and clearly the Red team was 5 steps quicker than EC last night.

Elmhurst shot 33% from the field in the first half and one of their stars was held to 0 points in the first half.  Tough to beat anybody when that happens.

The good news is that there are 11 games left to make a difference and everybody is still alive, however another performance like this can't happen.

Officiating?  Well, I am convinced the CCIW has the worst officials in D-3.  Last night they were very poor,  however poor for both sides.  I recall mentioning on the air a "phantom foul" which was called against Carthage, and my Analyst agreed that the officials were equally poor for both sides.  In our game, that let the players play in the first 5 minutes of the first half, and then started calling every little hand check, bump,etc. between the 5 minute mark and halftime.  For a player, that is so tough because you don't know what to expect.
Having said this- the officials in no way determined the outcome of the game.  Flat out- Carthage gave us a (***) whooping that should not happen on your home court.  I hope this is a wake up call to the Bluejays that they need to bring their "A" effort, each and every time on the court.
Lastly, I admired Brent Ruch's leadership.  There was a timeout when Carthage was up by 7 and the Bluejays were trying to make a comeback.  Mark Scherrer did not do most of the talking.  It was Ruch trying to motivate his players and get the team to respond.  He is a leader not just with his play, but his overall charisma that is very special.  You don't see that very often.  Last year the only player I saw to be like that was Wessels at Augie. 

[Pat Coleman]

Officiating?  Well, I am convinced the CCIW has the worst officials in D-3. 

Based on your extensive in-person observation of many other leagues?

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Officiating?  Well, I am convinced the CCIW has the worst officials in D-3. 

Based on your extensive in-person observation of many other leagues?

It ain't easy.  I've watched 43 years of CCIW basketball - I've seen the same officials work great games and lousy games.  I've seen good crews and bad crews.  I've seen downstate officials, and when Carroll was in the league, Milwaukee officials.  It ain't easy.

Last night at North Park the officials were just plain bad - both ways.  One thing that really frosts officials is when a coach derogatorally cheers calls against his own team.  I've watched the North Central coach for a couple of years - and he's a master at it.  That kind of attitude is contagious to his players, his fans, and yes, even his student radio station - they always think that they're the only team getting screwed.

There were enough bad calls and no calls in last night's game at North Park for two games - one official who called nothing, one official who called picky-touchy in the first half and then disappeared in the 2nd half, and one long-time official from Chicago, who just let the players play.  I'd never seen the first two - hope I never do again - but I think they gave it their best efforts, anyway.

Believe me - this generation of CCIW officials is way better than it was 20-30-40 years ago - when the town milkman was probably calling three-quarters of his team's games downstate - there were no split crews - and you always got local officials.

DoS

[Hoosier Titan]

Sager, I forget the exact year, but is the coach at Augie still the same guy from a few years back when their coach and Bosko got face to face at Carthage and a little shove was exchanged?

I'm not Sager, but the answer is yes, the Augie coach is still Grey Giovanine.  Carthage came to IWU shortly after that, and the front row of the IWU student section showed up with boxing gloves on.  During timeouts they "boxed" on the court, and everyone, including Bosko, found it pretty funny (he laughed, anyway!).  It would be nice to see the students involved in a positive way again--they've been very passive this year, even during close games.

[makemyday]

A story from the Decatur Herald & Review...

Rosenkranz makes his point

Interesting quote for Marc Smith to make:

"He's fast, and he runs their show well...we need a point guard like him.''


I'm guessing Mark Patrick isn't going to like that.

Q:

Milikan is one terrible team - it was like watching a bad high school game sorta like the one in which IWU played NCC at home. I am questioning the parity in the CCIW this year?

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Sager, I forget the exact year, but is the coach at Augie still the same guy from a few years back when their coach and Bosko got face to face at Carthage and a little shove was exchanged?

I'm not Sager, but the answer is yes, the Augie coach is still Grey Giovanine.  Carthage came to IWU shortly after that, and the front row of the IWU student section showed up with boxing gloves on.  During timeouts they "boxed" on the court, and everyone, including Bosko, found it pretty funny (he laughed, anyway!).  It would be nice to see the students involved in a positive way again--they've been very passive this year, even during close games.

I've always thought Illinois Wesleyan had the most loyal and most knowledgeable fans in the league - home or away.

I've been at Illinois Wesleyan when the fans would stand and cheer on the Titans after the visiting team had scored ten straight points.  They know their basketball and most of them bleed green.  They've also had some pretty good coaching and players over the years.  And it doesn't hurt that the school has a great academic reputation as well.  All aces.

DoS

[Pat Coleman]

They know their basketball and most of them bleed green.

I knew it! Vulcans, every last one of them!

[Titan Q]

A story from the Decatur Herald & Review...

Rosenkranz makes his point

Interesting quote for Marc Smith to make:

"He's fast, and he runs their show well...we need a point guard like him.''


I'm guessing Mark Patrick isn't going to like that.

Q:

Milikan is one terrible team - it was like watching a bad high school game sorta like the one in which IWU played NCC at home. I am questioning the parity in the CCIW this year?

I'd bet a lot of money you are OurHouse reincarnated.  I mean, anytime Rosenkranz or Johnson has a great game, it must be because the opposition is terrible, right?

Questioning the parity in the league?  You'll get laughed out of here saying that this year.

Pick a name and stay with it.

[Titan Q]

Sager, I forget the exact year, but is the coach at Augie still the same guy from a few years back when their coach and Bosko got face to face at Carthage and a little shove was exchanged?

I'm not Sager, but the answer is yes, the Augie coach is still Grey Giovanine.  Carthage came to IWU shortly after that, and the front row of the IWU student section showed up with boxing gloves on.  During timeouts they "boxed" on the court, and everyone, including Bosko, found it pretty funny (he laughed, anyway!).  It would be nice to see the students involved in a positive way again--they've been very passive this year, even during close games.

The best part about that was the names on the back of the "boxing robes" - one student had "Grey", the other "Bosko."  As the starting lineups were introduced, they had their backs to the Carthage bench as they sparred (with boxing gloves).  Bosko saw it and couldn't stop laughing.

Something tells me Coach G wouldn't have laughed.

[Viking Blue]

IWU fans ARE loyal....I have not had the opportunity to see their student section in person.  However, their loyalty seems to be much more townfolk than student body, from what I have seen of them on the road.

Does quantity equal quality?

[REDMENFAN]

Thanks for the info Hoosier Titan. I've never seen an event in the Shirk Center, but having seen it during football season and taking BP before baseball games, I bet its a great atmosphere, the facility is awesome.  It doesn't surprise me Bosko was laughing at the Boxing robes, he's got a great personality, and for those who have heard him bark out directions, a great coaching voice (if there is such a thing). 

Aceon2- You could say the same thing about any team that if there top 4-5 players play well night in and night out, they'd have a chance to win conference, but you're points about Shemerdiak and their role players are right on.  The two things I think will be huge factors night in and night out are Bowens (very streaky shooter) and if Neb can keep giving them 10-12 points a night to keep defenses honest. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU fans ARE loyal....I have not had the opportunity to see their student section in person.  However, their loyalty seems to be much more townfolk than student body, from what I have seen of them on the road.

Does quantity equal quality?

Does non-student equal non-quality?

For at least over 40 years (I first attended a game in 1966), average home attendance has been equal to or larger than the entire student enrollment.  (My understanding is that the Shirk occurred at least partially because of pressure from the fire marshall, who was fed up with constantly illiegally-large crowds at the Fred Young Fieldhouse.)  There are 423 (I believe) d3 schools; I dare say that at least 410 of them would give anything to have the community support that IWU is blessed with.

[Titan Q]

IWU fans ARE loyal....I have not had the opportunity to see their student section in person.  However, their loyalty seems to be much more townfolk than student body, from what I have seen of them on the road.

Does quantity equal quality?

Here is a pic from the IWU/Elmhurst game last season...

http://www.iwuhoops.com/shirk8.jpg

The entire section across from what is the EC bench in the photo is typically full of IWU students, as is a good chunk of that section at halfcourt...not to mention the IWU pep band (adjacent section) and cheerleaders.  

There are probably 300+ IWU students at the average CCIW game at Shirk Center.