WBB: American Rivers Conference

[hoop_junkie]

Haha, I'm glad someone sees it my way. Miguel Ley is flat out tough! I just think going out of state is how D3 teams can sometimes get that diamond in the rough type of player. It's not always easy to do. Just because you try and recruit out of state doesn't mean you'll land anything worthwhile, although you won't know unless you try.

[Klompen]

Klompen, I am curious as to whether or not you think Coach Nikkel will be back? I could see this being the kind of season that would frustrate a coach near the end of his career enough to where he hangs it up. Just wondering what your thoughts are for the future of the Dutch women?

I would think it would be enough to make him think about hanging it up, but have not heard anything one way or another about what he is thinking.  I think there are a lot of people around Pella that thought he would be successful because of what he did at the HS level, but it sure has not translated to college ball and people see that.

[Klompen]

Haha, I'm glad someone sees it my way. Miguel Ley is flat out tough! I just think going out of state is how D3 teams can sometimes get that diamond in the rough type of player. It's not always easy to do. Just because you try and recruit out of state doesn't mean you'll land anything worthwhile, although you won't know unless you try.

Miguel Ley has been a tremendous spark plug for the Central team.  I know some people think he shoots too much, but there were a lot of times that he was the only one willing to actually take a shot prior to this year, so I don't think that criticism is fair.  It was nice to see others step up their game to match his intensity. 

Coach Boschee does a lot of out of state recruiting because it is too hard to recruit against all the other IIAC teams.  Now that we won the championship, that might get easier.  But graduating all 5 starters will mean serious rebuilding, but lots of opportunities too.

[Kohawk Krazy]

Other players that would be considered for POY are:

Lindsay Bava- Loras
Jen Nichols- UD
Stacey Schutjer- Simpson

Last year, I felt that the IIAC coaches really goofed this award up badly. I can't even remember which kid from Simpson won it but she probably wasn't even a top 5 choice for POY. Muhlbauer has to be the clear favorite. She averages 6 more points than the next closest player. The 3 players I mentioned above are all solid but Muhlbauer has been more consistent than Bava and Nichols so I think she should get it. Although, it seems Simpson must've had a great focus on stopping her in tonight's game (3 pts, i'm assuming that's a season low and probably career low for her). However, in Margo's favor, BV won the game and she has sort of become the Stephen Curry of the conference, seeing double teams on a regular basis.

How can you not even mention Kayla Waskow in this group?  She's sixth in the league in scoring at 14.9, 10th with 5.5 boards per game and third in shooting percentage at 60.3.  All of this while playing for the second place team that has a shot at the title still.  Not too bad of numbers for coming back from a torn ACL.

[hoop_junkie]

Only reason I left her off is because she's a sophomore and I don't really see the coaches voting for her over the seniors. Now I know Schutjer is a sophomore but she's the best player on the best team so that makes her a logical choice. Waskow should be on the ballot, but Muhlbauer, Nichols and Bava have put up these numbers for 4 years so it's pretty obvious that if it didn't go to Muhlbauer it would go to one of those 2. Waskow will be all conference and have her chance at POY, maybe in the next year or 2. There's a handful of others that probably deserve mention in this forum but would have a very outside chance of winning the award. I believe the 4 players that I mentioned have the greatest chance of winning it, with Muhlbauer as the favorite.

[Kohawk Krazy]

Only reason I left her off is because she's a sophomore and I don't really see the coaches voting for her over the seniors. Now I know Schutjer is a sophomore but she's the best player on the best team so that makes her a logical choice. Waskow should be on the ballot, but Muhlbauer, Nichols and Bava have put up these numbers for 4 years so it's pretty obvious that if it didn't go to Muhlbauer it would go to one of those 2. Waskow will be all conference and have her chance at POY, maybe in the next year or 2. There's a handful of others that probably deserve mention in this forum but would have a very outside chance of winning the award. I believe the 4 players that I mentioned have the greatest chance of winning it, with Muhlbauer as the favorite.

Dear Hoop_junkie,

Sophomores can win MVP Awards.

Signed,

Brad Boyle
Coe's Sophomore IIAC Football MVP

I see what you're saying, but if the Kohawks can pull off 3 more wins, they win the league title and she should be a serious contender for the award.

[hoop_junkie]

I agree. I really like Waskow's game. Hard to ignore what Muhlbauer has done for the past 4 years though. Waskow has not reached that level yet, but it's early.

[Klompen]

Only reason I left her off is because she's a sophomore and I don't really see the coaches voting for her over the seniors. Now I know Schutjer is a sophomore but she's the best player on the best team so that makes her a logical choice. Waskow should be on the ballot, but Muhlbauer, Nichols and Bava have put up these numbers for 4 years so it's pretty obvious that if it didn't go to Muhlbauer it would go to one of those 2. Waskow will be all conference and have her chance at POY, maybe in the next year or 2. There's a handful of others that probably deserve mention in this forum but would have a very outside chance of winning the award. I believe the 4 players that I mentioned have the greatest chance of winning it, with Muhlbauer as the favorite.

Dear Hoop_junkie,

Sophomores can win MVP Awards.

Signed,

Brad Boyle
Coe's Sophomore IIAC Football MVP

I see what you're saying, but if the Kohawks can pull off 3 more wins, they win the league title and she should be a serious contender for the award.

Cosigned,
Vance Schuring
Sophomore and Junior IIAC football MVP, beat out in senior year by his own QB and nagging injury
And, I think one excellent year beats 4 great years.  Maybe they need a career MVP award.

[Kohawk Krazy]

Only reason I left her off is because she's a sophomore and I don't really see the coaches voting for her over the seniors. Now I know Schutjer is a sophomore but she's the best player on the best team so that makes her a logical choice. Waskow should be on the ballot, but Muhlbauer, Nichols and Bava have put up these numbers for 4 years so it's pretty obvious that if it didn't go to Muhlbauer it would go to one of those 2. Waskow will be all conference and have her chance at POY, maybe in the next year or 2. There's a handful of others that probably deserve mention in this forum but would have a very outside chance of winning the award. I believe the 4 players that I mentioned have the greatest chance of winning it, with Muhlbauer as the favorite.

Dear Hoop_junkie,

Sophomores can win MVP Awards.

Signed,

Brad Boyle
Coe's Sophomore IIAC Football MVP

I see what you're saying, but if the Kohawks can pull off 3 more wins, they win the league title and she should be a serious contender for the award.

Cosigned,
Vance Schuring
Sophomore and Junior IIAC football MVP, beat out in senior year by his own QB and nagging injury
And, I think one excellent year beats 4 great years.  Maybe they need a career MVP award.

This!  Been waiting for someone to say it.  The MVP award is the who had the best season and contributed to their teams success, not who had the best four-year career.

[doolittledog]

Well, yes and no.  First off, it helps if you are on a team that either wins the conference or finishes near the top.  Put any of these players on a 1-15 team and it would be very strange to see them win POY.  Also, all things being equal.  If two players have somewhat similar stats, you will normally see a senior win POY over a sophomore.  

[Kohawk Krazy]

What are everyone's thoughts on the big game tomorrow? 

I don't know that the Coe women's basketball program has ever played in a bigger game than tomorrows...

[Klompen]

What are everyone's thoughts on the big game tomorrow? 

I don't know that the Coe women's basketball program has ever played in a bigger game than tomorrows...

The women are still playing???  I stopped watching a long time ago.

[hoop_junkie]

I've always felt that a POY award is based on the player having the best season or the player who is most valuable to their particular team. I believe tha Muhlbauer is probably both. To me there's no question, she should be POY.

As for tomorrow's games. Kohawk, I really believe the key to beating Simpson is controlling the tempo. If Coe can slow them down in transition and make it a halfcourt game I like their chances. Simpson scores a lot of points in transition and has the #1 scoring offense in D3 WBB. They have the fastest PG that I've seen this year in D3 in Bledsoe and they are very good at what they do. That being said, they don't deviate away from what they do. They're going to play a 2-3 on D and look to push the ball up the sideline on offense. Coe will need SC to make a few turnovers, but as BV just showed us, SC is susceptible. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's games. It's a shame that I'll be stuck at work, not able to watch any.

[Bird Dog]

What are everyone's thoughts on the big game tomorrow?  

I don't know that the Coe women's basketball program has ever played in a bigger game than tomorrows...

Two years ago Coe played for the tournament championship and lost to Simpson 94 to 80 in a game closer than the score indicates.  

[hoop_junkie]

2 years ago, that Coe team was dominated by seniors and had really good toughness. I see some of the same qualities in this Coe team. I know I might hear crickets for saying this, but this is a game where Coe could really use a Brittany Norris.