MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[BRLHSFAN]

AndOne- I don't know.  I find it really strange that EC would schedule back-to-back games like that.
As for the players starting or quitting,  I know a lot of information and much of it cannot be disclosed.  To paraphase, there has been a lot of kids quitting or leaving the team.  Some old reasons, some new reasons, but whatever the case is,  there has been a lot of "interior movement within"

BRLHSFAN- I will be calling most of the Bluejays games.  We did mention during the Aurora game that I/color guy would not be able to make the Simpson game (that thing called work got in the way    )   and directed people to log onto Simpson's website for directions  on how to listen to the game.

Thank you! I missed the MacMurray game and then forgot about the Aurora game since it was a Tuesday.  I have to get back in the swing of listening on Wed & Saturdays and then that was thrown in there! LOL  I will be listening this Saturday for sure.  But don't you hate it when that 4 letter word (work) gets in the way of all the fun?  Thanks for the info and I'll be listening.

[79jaybird]

You're welcome and you are not the only one who was startled by the rare Tuesday night game.  Yes, most of the games can be heard on the WRSE website http://www.wrse.com   I'm sure you know that the Jays have a few long distance travel games which may/may not get aired (don't know for sure yet) but all the local/CCIW road trips and reg. season games will be aired.  Hope you can tune in.  I heard that we installed some more ammo from our tower during the second to last football game, so I think people will be able to get better reception now and over a greater area.

[OurHouse]

You're welcome and you are not the only one who was startled by the rare Tuesday night game.  Yes, most of the games can be heard on the WRSE website http://www.wrse.com   I'm sure you know that the Jays have a few long distance travel games which may/may not get aired (don't know for sure yet) but all the local/CCIW road trips and reg. season games will be aired.  Hope you can tune in.  I heard that we installed some more ammo from our tower during the second to last football game, so I think people will be able to get better reception now and over a greater area.

Tell me why Mark Scherer cannnot win a conference championship or go farther in a playoff, if he gets there? I think his team is fairly stacked, no less than Wheaton, although they do not have the stud.
Is it that Mark can't coach? What is it mr. expert?

[79jaybird]

First of all, I am no expert,  and don't claim to be an expert Ourhouse.  I may know more than the common joe about Elmhurst and other things, but certainly no expert. 

Second, I think you are a little out of line thinking Scherrer cannot coach, or basing success based on CCIW titles. 

A few years ago Elmhurst just had to beat Millikin to tie Augie for a title.  One win away and missed the NCAA's because of not enough in-region games.  Seems like a pretty good year to me. 

I think a number of things come into play.  A) Quality of competition from top to bottom in the CCIW  B) Players executing or not executing  etc.  you can't just point the finger at the coach.  And,  if you look at Elmhurst historically, Scherrer has one of the best track records at Elmhurst.

I agree this team has some great players, not just All-American Brent.  I can see this team fighting for a CCIW championship, just as easy as I can see Elmhurst finishing 8-6 or 7-7.  Just depends on who shows up each night and the level of intensity. 
I think this upcoming week where the Jays play UW-L and UWSP will really give us a good clue of what to expect from EC once the CCIW arrives.

[augiefan]

Great to hear the complimentary remarks from Nate Frank regarding Augie's toughness in tight games. It's a real tribute coming from one of the classiest and toughest competitors Augie played against in Nate's great career at Wheaton. The respect is mutuial, when it comes to Wheaton basketball and Coach Harris.

[Gregory Sager]

Great to hear the complimentary remarks from Nate Frank regarding Augie's toughness in tight games. It's a real tribute coming from one of the classiest and toughest competitors Augie played against in Nate's great career at Wheaton. The respect is mutuial, when it comes to Wheaton basketball and Coach Harris.

Nate's not the first CCIW coach to make mention of the knack that Grey Giovanine's teams have for winning close games. I've heard similar sentiments uttered by other coaches around the league. And it was one of the big reasons why the NPU coaches were so excited about beating Augie last January -- it was one of the few instances anyone could remember in which a CCIW team found a way to outplay Augie down the stretch in a tight contest.

[pgkevin]

Dennis - Speaking about the Karma points. From someone who's total was as volatile as the stock market last year, don't sweat it. It's just a number. The more you worry and holler the lower it goes. It is in know way, in most cases, personnal.

Why not just go with a policy of appeasement?  Just give him a + Karma a day  until he's up to 0...

Seems like much ado about nothing if u ask me

[Titan Q]

An article on the Titans heading into their opener...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/11/20/usports/doc49262d4d5ad18109602021.txt

The Titans will start...

G Travis Rosenkranz (So), 6-0
G Sean Dwyer (Jr), 5-10
G Sean Johnson (So), 6-1
F Duncan Lawson (So), 6-7
C Doug Sexauer (So), 6-7

I think Ron Rose will play 5 guys off the bench:

G/F Jordan Zimmer (Fr), 6-5
F John Koschnitzky (Fr), 6-6
G Jordan Morris (Sr), 6-3
G/F Matt Schick (So), 6-4
C Edmond O'Callaghan (So), 6-7

The Manchester College Bankers' Classic field is:

Friday:
IWU vs Taylor-Fort Wayne (6:00pm EST)
Manchester vs Kalamazoo (8:00pm EST)

Saturday:
Consolation (1:00pm EST)
Championship (3:00pm EST)

I think there are two bad teams in the tournament - Taylor-Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo.  Manchester plays almost all sophomores and freshmen - I know coach Nadborne feels like the Spartans will finish much better than where they're picked in the HCAC (9th).  I'll have a better feel for them tomorrow.

IWU and Manchester haven't played since the 1995 NCAA Elite Eight game at the Shirk Center, with Steve Alford on the sidelines for the Spartans.  I'm glad Manchester won't have Brad Knoy this weekend.

[Titan Q]

Dennis - Speaking about the Karma points. From someone who's total was as volatile as the stock market last year, don't sweat it. It's just a number. The more you worry and holler the lower it goes. It is in know way, in most cases, personnal.

Why not just go with a policy of appeasement?  Just give him a + Karma a day  until he's up to 0...

For the same reason we can't just give $25B to the auto industry without more information on future strategy...we have to make sure past problems are corrected before a bailout.

[pgkevin]

Dennis - Speaking about the Karma points. From someone who's total was as volatile as the stock market last year, don't sweat it. It's just a number. The more you worry and holler the lower it goes. It is in know way, in most cases, personnal.

Why not just go with a policy of appeasement?  Just give him a + Karma a day  until he's up to 0...

For the same reason we can't just give $25B to the auto industry without more information on future strategy...we have to make sure past problems are corrected before a bailout.

But doesnt that just say that you actually care about his Karma level??  For someone who doesn't care about giving or taking Karma it shouldnt matter if his is at -38 or 0 or +38. 

On the flip side I think it would certainly matter to all of us if the auto industry was -25B or 0 or +25B right?

[thundermike11]

A lot of excitement and anticipation around Wheaton heading into the Lee Pfund Classic tomorrow night. I'mnot really sure what to expect from the College of Staten Island, after they lost their opener 90-48 against Stevens Tech.

Judging from the preseason, probable starters are:

Ben Panner, 6-3 Jr. G
Kent Raymond, 6-3 Sr. G
Tim McCrary, 6-6 Fr. F
Jake Carwell, 6-7 Jr. F
Andy Wiele, 6-8 Sr. C

A pretty big lineup for the Thunder.

It always hard to tell how many guys will get off the bench. Andrew Jahns will see time, as will Brad Smith. Wouldn't be surprised to see Jeremy Pflederer or Tom Sovocool either.

It's time to see if the Thunder can live up to the hype!

[Gregory Sager]

I think there are two bad teams in the tournament - Taylor-Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo.  Manchester plays almost all sophomores and freshmen - I know coach Nadborne feels like the Spartans will finish much better than where they're picked in the HCAC (9th).

How could they finish worse?

The Spartans start four sophomores and a freshman, they're coming off of a 4-21 season, and they're picked to finish dead last in their nine-team league. Thus far the Spartans have beaten an Alma team that (if past Alma teams are any indication) is probably the equivalent of a decent CCIW intramural team, and they've lost to a subpar D1 mid-major, Eastern Illinois, by 39 in a game in which EIU was up by 42 points at halftime (59-17) and went on a 24-0 run during one eight-minute stretch of the first half.

Regardless of how well the Spartans are playing this coming February, for now it appears that there are three bad teams in the Manchester tournament.

A lot of excitement and anticipation around Wheaton heading into the Lee Pfund Classic tomorrow night. I'mnot really sure what to expect from the College of Staten Island, after they lost their opener 90-48 against Stevens Tech.

Heck, I'm sure of what you can expect from Staten Island: A loss. A very, very, very big loss. Kent Raymond is going to cut up the Dolphins for fishbait, and Bill Harris is going to have to plumb the depths of his imagination to find reasons to yell at his team.

The folks who put together the CSI website appear to be geography-challenged. Contrary to what the school website says, the Lee Pfund Classic isn't taking place in Chicago. I hope nobody from Staten Island shows up in the Windy City this weekend looking for the Wheaton campus on Roosevelt Road around, say, S. Lawndale Avenue.

Which game gets the bigger spread on Friday night: Staten Island @ Wheaton, or Taylor-Fort Wayne vs. Illinois Wesleyan in North Manchester, IN? Discuss.

[Gregory Sager]

Dennis - Speaking about the Karma points. From someone who's total was as volatile as the stock market last year, don't sweat it. It's just a number. The more you worry and holler the lower it goes. It is in know way, in most cases, personnal.

Why not just go with a policy of appeasement?  Just give him a + Karma a day  until he's up to 0...

For the same reason we can't just give $25B to the auto industry without more information on future strategy...we have to make sure past problems are corrected before a bailout.

Perhaps we should monitor Dennis for his emission standards.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Dennis - Speaking about the Karma points. From someone who's total was as volatile as the stock market last year, don't sweat it. It's just a number. The more you worry and holler the lower it goes. It is in know way, in most cases, personnal.

Why not just go with a policy of appeasement?  Just give him a + Karma a day  until he's up to 0...

For the same reason we can't just give $25B to the auto industry without more information on future strategy...we have to make sure past problems are corrected before a bailout.

Perhaps we should monitor Dennis for his emission standards.

Now THAT is funny!  Even if you eschew karma - +k.

But I'm wondering about your previous post - if EIU is mid-major D1, who is LOW-major?

[Gregory Sager]

But I'm wondering about your previous post - if EIU is mid-major D1, who is LOW-major?

Good question. I've always thought that "mid-major" was a ridiculous term to use for lower-echelon D1 teams. It makes sense for, say, a Valparaiso or a St. Joe's or a Gonzaga or a George Mason -- teams from lesser conferences that occasionally make noise in the D1 tourney or beat a team from one of the glamour leagues in the regular season. But you just as often see the term applied to Chicago State or Eastern Illinois or Utah Valley State (i.e., the dregs of the division).

My guess is that the term's overly-kind usage is an example of a subject about which you most likely have an opinion, Chuck: Higher-ed grade inflation.

Incidentally, with regard to Illinois Wesleyan playing Taylor-Fort Wayne tomorrow night, this is not the first time that a CCIW school has faced the former Fort Wayne Bible College on the hardwood. Back in December '99, TUFW was one of the guests at the now-discontinued LeMay/Carthage Classic. The Redmen lambasted Taylor-Fort Wayne, 117-40, en route to their first CCIW title in 36 seasons. I needled Bosko mercilessly about scheduling that particular opponent. I was at the game, and I can assure you that Jason Wiertel had more trouble making baskets in the pregame layup line than he did in the actual game.

Alas, this is the last time that a CCIW team will ever feast upon this particular cupcake. Taylor University announced last month that it is discontinuing the undergraduate program at its Fort Wayne branch campus as of the 2009-10 school year.