MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Sorry to disagree GS---Accountablility is expected from his players---Why not the same from the Head Coach?

Late nite, I've made it plain twice already that Bosko is accountable. Whether or not he's the one who is actually doing the recruiting, as the head coach he's the one who has to answer for Carthage's inability to get the right players in place and keep them.

Why throw your current players under the bus in the middle of the season with a comment like that?---They're your players---You brought them in

I'm not defending his comments about needing better players. They're certainly truthful comments -- does anybody really think that Carthage could compete for the CCIW title with the roster it currently has? -- but I definitely agree that they're uncharacteristically candid as well. Perhaps excessively candid, in that they could discourage his current players. But I have a hard time knocking anyone for being honest, especially when that honesty is laden with self-criticism. Bosko is clearly blaming himself and his coaching staff for not getting those better players more than he's blaming his current team for not being those better players.

Most coaches can win with great players---How about "coaching up" the group that you have instead of passing most of the blame to them in the middle of a bad run?

First of all, as I said I don't think that he's passing on most of the blame at all, because the old adage "the buck stops here" is in effect when you talk about the head coach and the roster of players that he's recruited, trained, and put onto the floor. Second, I think that the timing of his criticism could've been better, but he clearly "coached up" Carthage in the first round-robin. He took a team with gaping holes to a 5-1 record before the league figured out how to stop the Red Men.

The CCIW certainly wasn't the SEC this season---The Redmen were outplayed and out-coached in the 2nd half of the conference season 

I don't agree. I think that Carthage reverted to its proper level in the second half, given what the Red Men had in uniform as compared to the rest of the league. Bosko ran out of answers as to how to stop NPU the other night -- but John Wooden or Bobby Knight wouldn't have done any better in that CC @ NPU situation, either. Even though their respective CCIW records don't reflect it, North Park is simply a better team than Carthage ... and that imbalance was especially acute in NPU's home gym on Senior Night.

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, when I was at NPU/Carthage JV game Wednesday night, I was impressed with NPU's other big man.  Don't know his name.  Forget his number.  Big guy with dark curly hair.  He was pretty active defensively, both inside and out on the perimeter.  He had several strong takes to the basket AND finished them.  He rebounded decently, and had good size and strength.  Who is he, what year is he, and why wasn't he getting any meaningful time on the varsity?  He looked like he could have helped the cause.

As Mr. B indicated, the player to whom you're referring is Jon Chimino. He had a particularly good night against the Carthage JV, scoring 28 points. He's not really a center; at about 6'5, 215 he's a power forward who can play some center against non-CCIW opponents such as Knox and Tri-State who have smallish and/or less skilled centers. He's a good shooter and he does finish nicely around the basket, and his floor game has improved this season. But his defense is still not where it needs to be for the Vikings coaches to feel comfortable with putting him out on the floor for lengthy stretches during varsity games. His varsity minutes have tended to come two or three at a time.

If he improves defensively, he could definitely become an important part of the rotation next season. That could turn out to be a numbers game, though, since Jorge Gonzalez -- who is also almost exclusively a power forward, albeit one of a different type than Chimino -- is expected to be back next season as well. Either way, Chimino's not the answer in terms of a starting center for NPU in 2008-09.

[Gregory Sager]

Greg: Regarding your inquiry, "What kind of question is that?"

How about analytical & historical. It was a harmless question I thought.

It didn't strike me that way at all. The question struck me as ambiguous, nebulous, and potentially loaded. I'd like Naperick to clarify his intent. Is he implying some sort of structural defect within the current programs at Carthage, Millikin, and NPU? Is he commenting upon those three teams as currently constituted? Or is he asking us to speculate as to whether or not the personnel is in place for any of those three teams to finish in the first division next year, in spite of the fact that we have no idea what CCIW rosters will look like in February 2009?

I'm not calling out Naperick. I'd just like him to elaborate further on what it is that he's asking.

I did not mean to create a "problem" with my post regarding the history of the CCIW tourney.  I was just curious if anybody had any information on what kind of teams Carthage, North Park, and Millikin might have next season.  I know it's impossible to know what every teams lineup will be next season.  Players transfer, drop out, quit basketball, get hurt, etc. and a good recruiting class can really move a team up fast.  IWU is a great example of how much a team can improve in just one season.

Once again, I'm sorry for the post and I'm not trying to hurt anybody.  I regret the post.

No need to regret it, Naperick. I apologize if you thought that I was coming down on you too hard. I think that you answered your own question, though; as you said (and as Mr. B reiterated) it's just way too early to get any sort of a read on next season.

[Gregory Sager]

One more post!

I'd like to give my special thanks to NPU's three departing seniors:

Ed Whitaker has the distinction of being the first graduate student to ever play for the Vikings. He received his undergraduate degree in December, and he's now a full-time MBA student at the Park. Ed's Vikings career has been a tribute to his persistence. As a sophomore he played in all 25 games and started 13 of them for a very bad NPU team. However, last season's increase in roster talent pushed Ed down the depth chart; he was primarily relegated to the junior varsity, and saw garbage time in a mere four varsity games. This season he was mostly stuck at the end of the varsity bench. However, in an effort to shake things up five games ago, Paul Brenegan rewarded Ed's dedication and good practice work with playing time, and Ed has really responded. He's averaged 10.6 ppg in those five games, and he'll finish his North Park career as a starter. Ed's dogged refusal to give up on his career and his effort and hustle have made him a great role model to his younger teammates.

Jason Gordon is one of the most well-rounded Vikings to have worn the royal blue and gold in this decade. Primarily a scorer when he first arrived as a freshman transfer from IIT, he was asked both to play point guard and to be the team's primary outside threat as a sophomore. A torn ACL at Wheaton that year ended his season and pretty much turned his junior year into a long struggle to get back to where he had been before his injury. He finally got back to that level at the tail end of last season, and while he has not always been the dominant player this year from a scoring standpoint that NPU observers were expecting, he's clearly the most versatile player on the roster. He's become a terrific defender who can guard both bigger inside players and smaller, quick guards, his rebounding (always a strength) has been outstanding, and he's the best low-post threat that the team has. He does a lot of things well, and that will make him tough to replace on NPU's 2008-09 squad.

Jay Alexander is one of the best captains that North Park has had in years, simply because he's never given anything less than 100% on the court. His development over his four years on the NPU varsity was erratic -- I think that this was in large part due to his complete inability to put any more muscle on his lanky frame, no matter how hard he worked at it -- but he certainly improved from his junior year to his senior year, especially at the defensive end. Jay's also been a great captain inasmuch as his gregarious nature has made him sort of the public face of the men's basketball team on campus. I think that Jay's earned a lot of respect around the league for both his talent and his boundless energy and hustle. He's one of my favorite North Park players of the past decade, and he will definitely be missed next season.

Thanks, guys, for a job well done, and best of luck to each of you in the future. I hope to see each of you in the stands at the crackerbox next season!

[sac]

The All-CCIW squads posted here demonstrate the league lacks a sufficient number of skilled players at the 4+5 positions.

Very true!  The teams that have them seem to have a huge advantage this season.

I think this topic was discussed a while back, but more in reference to D3 as a whole lacking strong bigs.  The point was made, which I tend to agee wth, that often kids with any size tend to get a lot more offers from the D2's and lower D1's just because of the size, and presumably potential, they have.  As they say, you can't coach size, so it tends to be in short supply at the D3 level.  There are plenty of kids 6' to 6'5" who can get overlooked by scholarship schools, who go on to excel in D3.  Unfortunately, not so much at the 5 spot.

Hope recruited a kid last year who  was 6-10 and was considered a project and would likely have spent a year on Hope's JV.   He's riding the pine at his D2 school with a full ride scholarship.

Received a note this morning that this kid received a partial scholarship.

[Titan Q]

Here is the Pantagraph article on the IWU/North Park game (Senior Night)...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/02/22/usports/doc47bf83282d937268813951.txt



Coon to be honored

Former IWU guard Korey Coon will be presented with a ring at halftime of Saturday's game by Jostens, Inc.

Coon won the Jostens Trophy for excellence in athletics, academics and community service in 2000. The company has designed a special ring which will be presented to all past recipients of the trophy and all future winners.

[Titan Q]

Is there anyone heading to the Augie @ NCC game that would be willing to send me a few score texts?  (NCC does not have live stats.)

Please e-mail if you can - bobquill@aol.com.

Thanks.

[Titan Q]

IWU's freshmen guards have had a good season...

IWU all-time 3-pointers made by a freshman:

1. Sean Johnson (2007-08): 53 (24 games)
2. Korey Coon (1996-97): 49 (31 games)
3. Adam Dauksas (2002-03): 45 (28 games)

IWU all-time freshman assists:

1. Brian Martin (1989-90): 102 (31 games)
2. Adam Dauksas (2002-03): 85 (28 games)
3. Travis Rosenkranz (2007-08): 82 (24 games)


These two are going to be very good players for the Titans.

[robberki]

Congrats to NPU for the 10 point victory down at the Shirk tonight. Can't wait for next season already, Paul and Steve and all the players are certainly disappointed in not making the conference tourney, but the steady progress that Paul and his staff have made over the last few years has been a joy to watch. NPU should be a contendor in the CCIW for the foreseable future.
The Vikings have nice nucleas of players already on campus that have at least a couple of years of eligibility left. Jay, Ed, and Jason aren't superstars but they are all straws that stir the NPU drink and have the type of athleticism that creates match up problems for opposing teams. NPU is going to have to find some players to replace them. Clayton should fill the Gordon role, he appears to be poised for some measure of stardom. I had high hopes for Alsing, but it doesn't look like it was meant to be, he would have been fantastic on this team and in this conference. The post issue will need to be addressed, but I know this is in the works. Also, Paul has been recruiting quite well and should have another strong class this year.

[mr_b]

Great back-to-back games for North Park: wins at home (Wednesday vs. Carthage) and at the Shirk tonight. 

[Viking Blue]

Amen, Berki.  It was certainly a fun team to watch this year, regardless of the results, and my resulting heart issues....

[Mr. Ypsi]

Geez: Darius Gant 12-18; rest of the Titans 8-49.

[armywife]

Augie pulls out the win at North Central,  63-59.  Two nail biters to finish off the regular season.  It's been fun, I'm out.

[mr_b]

Just looking at tonight's shooting stats:

North Park, 39% FG, 30.8% 3-pt (8-26), 75% FT.  Nick Williams was 5-10 from downtown.

IWU: 30% FG, 12.5% 3-pt (4-32), 72% FT

[Gregory Sager]

Final from the Shirk, in OT:

NPU 67
IWU 57

Antonio Stevens: 18 pts, 12 rebs
Nick Williams: 17 pts, 11 rebs
Jason Gordon: 15 pts, 7 rebs
Jay Alexander: 11 pts, 4 blks

Darius Gant: 28 pts, 21 rebs (wow!)
Sean Johnson: 10 pts

This game was played at NPU's pace, according to NPU's style -- a defensive battle, with what looked like pretty brutal shooting. The Vikes only shot 39% from the field and 31% from long range, but in overtime Jason Gordon got hot and knocked down two quick treys, putting the Titans back on their heels, and down the stretch in the extra stanza Antonio Stevens hit some big FTs to ice the game.

Darius Gant had an absolutely phenomenal game for IWU, which, thanks to him, won the rebounding battle, 50-42. He made up in large part for Wesleyan's backcourt trio of Dwyer, Rosenkrantz, and Johnson, who went a collective 4-35 from the field (2-24 from downtown). I'll be interested in hearing from the Titans fans how much of that was due to the NPU perimeter defense.

A great, great win for the Park, exacting some sweet revenge for that controversial loss that they suffered to the green and white in Chicago last month. It's great to see the team led by the two sophs, too, as it's a promising portent for next season for NPU.