MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Dennis_Prikkel]

I had a brief chat with North Park coach Paul Brenegan at NPU's Homecoming football game a couple of weeks ago.  He was guardedly optimistic.

I think replacing the energy of forward Jay Alexander will be key for the Vikings chances this year.  Alexander came off the bench to give the Vikings a real energy boost last year.  It will be interesting to see who fills that role this year.

Having Stephano Jones returning after a year's hiatus will definitely help.

Let the fun begin.

dgp

[titanhammer]

Yes, dgp - this board has taken a nap.  NCAA offical first practice date is 10/15 so let's get this board going again.  Did TQ actually tie the knot Oct 11th?  Did he take his laptop on his honeymoon?  And, if yes, will Rosemary let him post this week?  And, has GS recovered from the Cubbies and Sox going down in their respective LCS?

Posters and lurkers want to know!

TQ did marry Ro on 10/11.  I hated to miss it, but pressing matters kept me in Bloomington/Normal.  He called me on Monday as he was waiting in the Miami airport to embark on his honeymoon.  Don't know if he has his laptop...didn't ask.

While I have not had the opportunity to watch any of the incoming freshman scrimmage, I did get to meet Mr. Connolly.  I look forward to seeing what he can get done on the court.

[Gregory Sager]

And, has GS recovered from the Cubbies and Sox going down in their respective LCS?

I don't care about the White Sox, and the way that I recovered from the postseason pratfall of the Cubs was to turn the game off a half-second after Soriano missed that final slider in the ninth inning of Game Three and to move on to other things. Perhaps it's just age lending a sense of perspective, but it's a lot easier to live with one of your teams losing if you simply choose not to dwell upon it and you put your mind elsewhere.

As for NPU's basketball fortunes this coming season, I think it's going to come down to several things. One, the Vikings are simply going to have to do a better job of closing out games, which means making better decisions under pressure. Two, they're going to have to focus strongly upon rebounding, because they're going to be significantly outsized yet again in 2008-09. Three, they're going to have to shoot better from the outside in order to keep perimeter defenders honest and thus open up driving lanes. NPU was dead last in both overall shooting percentage and in trey shooting percentage in CCIW play last season, and that needs to change if the Vikings are going to compete in 2008-09.

Paul Brenegan and his assistants really like this freshman class that they've brought in, but I don't know if it'll result in any immediate dividends for this upcoming season. That's not because the freshman class doesn't have players who are ready to see the floor in CCIW varsity play, it's because there is a solid, experienced, and deep cadre of returnees who as of yesterday's first practice started out ahead of the freshmen on the depth chart. I agree with Dennis that the biggest new impact will probably be from an old player coming back to the fold, Stephano Jones.

I think "guardedly optimistic" is the phrase I'd use for NPU as well.

I think it is safe to say that, top to bottom, this as deep as the conference has ever been.

I think that that's overstating it. Remember, this league is sixty-two years old. It's pretty difficult to get away with such a sweeping statement about a league that has produced so many illustrious teams from various schools over the course of those sixty-two seasons. And I doubt that anyone here has been around for all sixty-two of them, so we may be hard-pressed to make any definitive statements about all-time depth.

Having said that, I'll add that it appears to me that the league is certainly very deep this year. How that will play out should prove to be very interesting, because within a historical context this has been a very deep decade for the CCIW. Here's a handy reference that will help us get a fix on how strong the league is as we progress through November and December. These are the top twenty yearly performances by the CCIW in non-conference play (including postseason):

rank	season	W	L	pct
1.	2000-01	75	25	.750
2.	2006-07	66	23	.741
3.	1999-00	63	26	.708
4.	2007-08	66	28	.702
5.	2004-05	63	27	.700
6.	2003-04	62	28	.678
7.	2002-03	61	30	.670
8.	2005-06	63	34	.649
9.	1971-72	50	28	.641
10.	2001-02	56	32	.636
11.	1988-89	59	34	.634
11.	1998-99	59	34	.634
13.	1976-77	59	37	.615
14.	1955-56	44	29	.603
15.	1970-71	45	31	.592
16.	1992-93	55	38	.591
17.	1994-95	54	38	.587
18.	1951-52	61	44	.582
19.	1966-67	44	32	.579
20.	1972-73	48	35	.578

As you can see, the past ten years have been far and away the most successful in the history of the CCIW. While there are some mitigating factors involved (for instance, CCIW teams now play fewer games against scholarship-level foes than they used to), I don't think there's any question that the league has been deeper as a whole throughout this decade; even the second-division teams tend to rack up very strong non-conference records, which didn't used to be the case. So this season's octet of CCIW teams have a lot to live up to in terms of recent history.

[AndOne]

Greg----

I think the return of S. Jones will help immensely.
I see Phil Schneidermeier who left the team last year has returned. Will he help?
What became of Ozminiski who started several games last year, Capalbo who shot so well as a frosh 2 yrs ago, and Chimino who looked to provide some good bench help this year? I see all 3 are missing from the roster.

Ever hear where Bruce Durham landed?

[Gregory Sager]

Greg----

I think the return of S. Jones will help immensely.
I see Phil Schneidermeier who left the team last year has returned. Will he help?

Schniedermeier never left the team, AO. In fact, he suited up for just about every varsity game from mid-January on, and he played in three varsity games in February. He'll begin the season as the backup center, and he'll bring much-needed size and experience to the floor when he's in there.

What became of Ozminiski who started several games last year

I haven't heard anything about Oziminski not playing this season, athough it's been several weeks since I spoke to any of the coaches. As of now, my guess is that his omission from the posted roster is an oversight.

Capalbo who shot so well as a frosh 2 yrs ago

Capalbo isn't back at NPU this year. I don't know the specifics behind that, but my guess is that he may have become disaffected as he slid down the depth chart and his playing time evaporated. The last game in which he saw big minutes was the overtime win at Carthage on January 30. After Capalbo's terrific freshman season the league adjusted to him, and he never made a counter-adjustment. The CCIW is not a friendly place for undersized spot-up shooters who aren't particularly quick and can't shoot well on the move. Nevertheless, I hope he lands at a school that is able to make use of his talents.

and Chimino who looked to provide some good bench help this year?

I haven't heard anything about Chimino not playing this year, either, although it wouldn't come as a big surprise to me if he didn't. He, too, was well down the depth chart by the end of last season and played a lot more on the JV team than on the varsity team in February; in fact, the only varsity action he saw in the second half of the CCIW slate in 2007-08 was a minute apiece of garbage time in the lopsided wins over North Central and Carthage. Even if it turns out that he was left off of this season's roster by mistake I would not expect him "to provide some good bench help this year" -- even though he's a senior he's not likely to figure prominently in Paul Brenegan's plans this season if he is indeed suiting up. He'd be more of an insurance-policy type of player. And it's often hard to expect a senior-to-be to come back if he's looking at nothing more than a minute here and and a minute there of mop-up duty on varsity. We all admire the kids who put in the practice effort and stick around on the team until their senior season is over even though they never get to play, but realistically speaking it's a lot to demand of a kid that he do exactly that. Basketball is a huge time commitment, and it's not the primary reason at the D3 level why someone is in college.

In other words, I hope that Chimino is going to be a part of this year's team -- but if he isn't, I can understand why.

Ever hear where Bruce Durham landed?

He's going to play for Joliet Junior College this season, according to the Wolves' website. No word on whether or not he's there on scholarship, although given his talent level and his dad's complaints about NPU's cost I'm guessing that JJC is probably giving Durham at least some scholie money to play there.

[dropkick11]

If he is at Joliet Junior College he is not getting scholarship moeny. Joliet is a NJCAA DIII and therefore not allowed to give money for athletics but here are ways around it. He may have gotten scholarship money for academics, special programs etc. ANd of course financial aid but money for purely athletics is not part of the NJCAA DIII by laws.

[AndOne]

Greg---

Thanks for the info on the NPU players. Evidently Chimino had slid farther down toward the end of the year than I realized. Rather than Schneidermeier, I believe I was thinking of Alsing.

[AndOne]

How many CCIW schools began practice on 10/15?
NCC begins on 10/19.

[thundermike11]

I think it is safe to say that, top to bottom, this as deep as the conference has ever been.

I think that that's overstating it. Remember, this league is sixty-two years old. It's pretty difficult to get away with such a sweeping statement about a league that has produced so many illustrious teams from various schools over the course of those sixty-two seasons. And I doubt that anyone here has been around for all sixty-two of them, so we may be hard-pressed to make any definitive statements about all-time depth.

Having said that, I'll add that it appears to me that the league is certainly very deep this year. How that will play out should prove to be very interesting, because within a historical context this has been a very deep decade for the CCIW. Here's a handy reference that will help us get a fix on how strong the league is as we progress through November and December. These are the top twenty yearly performances by the CCIW in non-conference play (including postseason):

rank	season	W	L	pct
1.	2000-01	75	25	.750
2.	2006-07	66	23	.741
3.	1999-00	63	26	.708
4.	2007-08	66	28	.702
5.	2004-05	63	27	.700
6.	2003-04	62	28	.678
7.	2002-03	61	30	.670
8.	2005-06	63	34	.649
9.	1971-72	50	28	.641
10.	2001-02	56	32	.636
11.	1988-89	59	34	.634
11.	1998-99	59	34	.634
13.	1976-77	59	37	.615
14.	1955-56	44	29	.603
15.	1970-71	45	31	.592
16.	1992-93	55	38	.591
17.	1994-95	54	38	.587
18.	1951-52	61	44	.582
19.	1966-67	44	32	.579
20.	1972-73	48	35	.578

As you can see, the past ten years have been far and away the most successful in the history of the CCIW. While there are some mitigating factors involved (for instance, CCIW teams now play fewer games against scholarship-level foes than they used to), I don't think there's any question that the league has been deeper as a whole throughout this decade; even the second-division teams tend to rack up very strong non-conference records, which didn't used to be the case. So this season's octet of CCIW teams have a lot to live up to in terms of recent history.

Point taken, GS. I wasn't trying to make any sweeping generalizations, but rather point out that this season seems to be unique. Obviously, the depth of a conference is hard to quantify regardless of how old the league may be. The CCIW certainly has a storied history and the point of my comment was simply to state that at the outset, this year appears as though it will be special because all of the teams seem to have the ability to make some noise.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

I think it is safe to say that, top to bottom, this as deep as the conference has ever been.

I think that that's overstating it. Remember, this league is sixty-two years old. It's pretty difficult to get away with such a sweeping statement about a league that has produced so many illustrious teams from various schools over the course of those sixty-two seasons. And I doubt that anyone here has been around for all sixty-two of them, so we may be hard-pressed to make any definitive statements about all-time depth.

Having said that, I'll add that it appears to me that the league is certainly very deep this year. How that will play out should prove to be very interesting, because within a historical context this has been a very deep decade for the CCIW. Here's a handy reference that will help us get a fix on how strong the league is as we progress through November and December. These are the top twenty yearly performances by the CCIW in non-conference play (including postseason):

rank	season	W	L	pct
1.	2000-01	75	25	.750
2.	2006-07	66	23	.741
3.	1999-00	63	26	.708
4.	2007-08	66	28	.702
5.	2004-05	63	27	.700
6.	2003-04	62	28	.678
7.	2002-03	61	30	.670
8.	2005-06	63	34	.649
9.	1971-72	50	28	.641
10.	2001-02	56	32	.636
11.	1988-89	59	34	.634
11.	1998-99	59	34	.634
13.	1976-77	59	37	.615
14.	1955-56	44	29	.603
15.	1970-71	45	31	.592
16.	1992-93	55	38	.591
17.	1994-95	54	38	.587
18.	1951-52	61	44	.582
19.	1966-67	44	32	.579
20.	1972-73	48	35	.578

As you can see, the past ten years have been far and away the most successful in the history of the CCIW. While there are some mitigating factors involved (for instance, CCIW teams now play fewer games against scholarship-level foes than they used to), I don't think there's any question that the league has been deeper as a whole throughout this decade; even the second-division teams tend to rack up very strong non-conference records, which didn't used to be the case. So this season's octet of CCIW teams have a lot to live up to in terms of recent history.

Point taken, GS. I wasn't trying to make any sweeping generalizations, but rather point out that this season seems to be unique. Obviously, the depth of a conference is hard to quantify regardless of how old the league may be. The CCIW certainly has a storied history and the point of my comment was simply to state that at the outset, this year appears as though it will be special because all of the teams seem to have the ability to make some noise.

As no doubt GS remembers in 1983 the CCIW went in to the final week of the season with the possibility of a six-way tie for the title in the nine team league.

Millikin won the league that year 12-4 and four teams were tied for second at 11-5.  Elmhurst (me thinks) was the sixth team, but the Jays lost two or three games in the final week.

dgp

[petemcb]

How many CCIW schools began practice on 10/15?
NCC begins on 10/19.

Carthage began last night.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

the absence of Dan Ozminski name on the NPU roster was explained in this email from the school's SID

"Yes, Dan Oziminski quit the team a few weeks ago."

dgp

[AndOne]

the absence of Dan Ozminski name on the NPU roster was explained in this email from the school's SID

"Yes, Dan Oziminski quit the team a few weeks ago."

dgp

THIS e-mail?     

Did I miss something?   

[Dennis_Prikkel]

the absence of Dan Ozminski name on the NPU roster was explained in this email from the school's SID

"Yes, Dan Oziminski quit the team a few weeks ago."

dgp

THIS e-mail?     

Did I miss something?   

my personal email with the North Park SID involved more than just discussing Dan Ozminski's non-presence on the Vikings roster.  The sentence in quotes was his response to my question.

If you put down your crayons I'll draw a better picture for you.

dgp

[petemcb]

OK.  Sounds like we're in mid-season form.