MBB: Northwest Conference

[dumpdotes]

well, it appears that you are a Boxers fan, you don't want to see Linfield get better... I am not an ex player, just someone who knows a lot of kids who have played there. based on talent alone, the only two schools that were that much better than Linfield were Whitworth and UPS. I am serious. The coach did nothing with what he had. Go back and listen to darrell aune's broadcasts of the games. Listen to how often he wonders what offense the cats are running, no standing ,as that is what everyone was doing. They had as much size as anyone in the conference last year but I bet you could count the number of low post passes the big guys got on one hand- the entire season. all the big guys did was set high post screens so Timperly and brooks could launch bombs. go back to when timperly was really struggling- his assists should have gone up, but he was allowed to keep throwin up bombs. Talk to some players, they think (and treat him like) he's a joke.

[NWCer]

Guilty dumpdotes, I am a Boxers fan, but have mentioned that many a time before.  So by your account, Linfield had the third best talent in the league last year behind UPS and Whitworth?  Ahead of, or on par with, co-champion LC??  

[dumpdotes]

sorry nwcer, i forgot l& c. however, the cats only lost to l& c by 6 at home. they lost to UPS by 6 & 7. the talent was there, the coaching was not.

[LogShow]

based on talent alone, the only two schools that were that much better than Linfield were Whitworth and UPS

I for one would have to disagree with opinion, any neutral observer would probably rank Linfield's talent in the bottom 3rd of the league.  Pacific definately, GFox, PLU, and maybe even Whitman had the edge on Linfield last year. 

Dumps, if Linfield had so much talent down low last year, then why did they get out rebounded by 2 a game last year?  Linfield over the past few years has had the tendency to quit in the second half of games, its probably a good thing Doty cleaned house

[Gregory Sager]

All good inside stuff dumpdotes (couldn't be one of those players who quit could you?  ).

Take a look at his e-mail address: baber@bendcable.com. More than likely, he's either Jackson Baber or one of his relatives.

[NWCer]

Sager and OB, I figured it out early, was just trying to give the Wildcat a chance to come clean  ............

Only teams I didn't see play last year was Whitworth and Whitman, the Wildcat already humbly admitted that Whitworth had better talent, and with Born and Faidley, all leaguers, who swept Linfield, I'm going to say that Whitman had better talent,

And Logshow, I agree that Linfield's talent was in the bottom third easily and I'll add Willamette to that list of teams with better talent that you mentioned, SO, I think that's everyone in the league.............  Any other opinions out there???

Enough with last year, lets talk about the upcoming season!

UPS and LC have to be the favorites, hopefully my Boxers can overcomes Bartlett's injury with Van Domelen, Harrison-Davis and their transfers and battle Whitworth and PLU for one of those 3 conference tournament spots, if Willamette really is missing Nugent that hurts them, it seems like Fox will be down as well as Whitman, and dumpdoty's old squad, stripped of all that talent from last season's last place team  , is probably pulling in the rear again...........

[LogShow]

NWCer (nice jab at the end of your post) does Van Domelen still eligibility left???  I swear that he played a few years under Schumann!
What is his story?

Looking at the up coming year...
Quite honestly LC scares me. I think that Gailard has done a heck of a job getting talent in there, those guys can play.  Taboni gets the job done night in and night out and Revera might be the most underrated player in the NWC, he does it all, including bring the ball up against our press. 

Even if Whitworth has reloaded, I think their window has passed.  You don't lose 4 starters and 90% of production, mins played, and experience with out a dip in preformance.  And losing BWilliams can't be over looked, he single handedly made that team go.  Thats not to say they won't be tough...

Pacific will be better.  Their coach has them playing hard and the guys seem to be buying in.  It will be tough to walk out of Forrest Grove with a win.  The real question is how they will play on the road...that is how a average team can turn the corner.

PLU will be interesting to watch this year.  They finally have a coach that gives the program some stability and can keep the kids around.  Still don't think they are ready to comptete yet, but program could be heading in the right direction.

GFox, Whitman, and Willamette will probably be very average.  Unless Coach James can pull some real magic.  And Linfield will have its struggles this year.

Finally I come to the Loggers.  They return everyone, and should be hungry to win some games...considering they lost 4 of their last 5 to end 2007.  They are loaded with talent, but can they channel it to a common goal of winning a conference title?  UPS has a lot to prove to the league and themselves.

[David Collinge]

Sager and OB, I figured it out early, was just trying to give the Wildcat a chance to come clean  ............

I think pretty much everyone figured it out, except perhaps Mr. Dumpdotes himself, who I see is now a 'guest.' 

"Oh, my email address displays on my posts?  D'oh!"

[NWCer]

Sager and OB, I figured it out early, was just trying to give the Wildcat a chance to come clean  ............

I think pretty much everyone figured it out, except perhaps Mr. Dumpdotes himself, who I see is now a 'guest.' 

"Oh, my email address displays on my posts?  D'oh!"

That's funny.........

Logshow, VanDomelen has been around forever, he did play two years under Shumann, left school for a couple of years and then returned last year, so I'm pretty sure he has one left, I know he was listed as a Jr. last year. 

And Logshow, you hit the hammer on the head about my Boxers and gettin' it done on the road, and I'm with you about PLU

You're right about LC, absolutely scary, they got that swagger, and a whole lot of talent

Seems like it can be a great year in the conference

[UPSoundLogs]

First of all, thats hilarious about dumpdotes!!! To have your "secret identity" ousted on your first couple posts is pretty impressive...but to try and deny you've been found out is even better!!!  NWCer, you strung him along beautifully, I like ur style .  Not everyone can be as sneaky as Peter Parker i guess .

Just to put in my two cents on the topic...Linfield has been in the basement of the conference for the last several years.  The last legit players that they had were Sam Kreuger and Blake Shelton, in recent years they have seriously struggled to put talented guys on the floor.  And really there's no excuse for it.  They have some of the best sports facilities in the NWC and should be able to recruit players to match.  They have an awesome football team year in and year out, so why should BBall be any different? 

Anyways, enough about that...lets talk about some teams that can actually win some games this year.

Here's my pre-season picks...

1) UPS- returning 5 all NWC selections is just sick!!!  And they have much more experienced role players this year, plus some talented Sophs that didnt get much time last season.  If they come out and play with fire this year they could be even better than the 2006 elite 8 sqad.  

2) LC- I was very impressed with the Pios last year and they should be even tougher this year. Their power and athleticism inside will destroy a lot of teams.

3) WW- Ill have to see it to believe the hype, but from what i've heard they have reloaded pretty nicely.  But, they wont be able to make up for their lost seniors and experience...especially BWilliams.

4) Pacific- they have been on the verge of being really good the last couple years.  I think Logshow is right, they'll need to get some road wins to get over the hump.  They'll give everyone trouble at their place though. 

5) WU- They were tough last year, but if what im hearing is right and Nugent is gone they wont have a real "star" quality go to guy.  I'm thinking they will still be tough, but very inconsistant.  I think they're kind of a wild card and their home gym is always a rough place to play...especially with the drawbridge baskets.

6) 7) 8 9) Gfox/WTM/PLU/Linfield...the basement is crowded this year, my initial feeling is that the bottom half of the league is gonna be pretty weak.  Only time will tell...  I'll give a slight edge to PLU because they finally got a coach change. 

I'm looking forward to an entertaining season, GO LOGGERS!!!

[NWCer]

Pretty solid picks Sounds, I still have to give the nod to LC, even with the impressive talent UPS has coming back, but it could go either way, LC is the co-champ and got them 2 of 3 times, but going with your boys is natural.  I hear you on Whitworth too, they lost a lot, and it sounds like they lost a lot of saavy, that's hard to replace, even if they brought in this great class. 

Are you listening Boxers?!?!  Get it done on the road this year!!  All the posters are right on that one (road play), I can't even defend that one, you just got to go get em!

I think PLU may be better than those teams you grouped them with.

Jackson, I mean Dumpdotes, no worries, we welcome your first hand experience within the Linfield regime, anything else you got for us???

[dumpdotes]

No, This is Jackson's dad. For two years, I have watched this guy demean and belittle kids, including mine who finnally had enough. i am not trying to hide anything I have been at work all day. This "coach" was my family's best friend when he wanted my son to attend Linfield. He ethically told us that the Willamette coach might not be around all four years my son was in school. He set a curfew during a tournament in Tempe and did not enforce it. When parents found out two kids were missing, they went looking for them.
Turns out they had bben arrested for Drunk in Public. When told about it, he went back to sleep. Some parents(not the kids) bailed them out so they could make the team flight home. He is the coach, who when 9 parents make the road trip to Spokane and walla walla can't even say thanks for coming. Not a good guy and I am looking forward to telling him that to his face. I have nothing to hide - Sorry if I misled anyone. I have just grown very tired of seeig good kids leave A DIVISION 3 PROGRAM because of the way they are treated.

[UPSoundLogs]

Dumpdotes-

My apologies for making light of your situation in my last post, it's too bad that a coach who is supposed to be a leader should feel the need to act that way .  That being said, Linfield DOES need to find more talented players if they expect to compete with some of the top NWC teams.  Especially UPS and LC who are both stacked this year.

Hey Logshow-

Just out of curiosity, what comes before Logshow (if that doesnt make sense to you then dont worry about it) It's good to have another UPS guy around!!!

[NWCer]

Dumpdotes, not good stuff to hear coming out of Linfield, too bad, whether I'm a Boxer backer or not.  But as Logs mentioned, their talent still is lacking in comparison to the rest of the league, and if you have an atmosphere like your describing on top of below average talent, escaping last place is going to be a major chore.

Sounds and Logs, two UPS backers, I see you two cornering the market on the board this year 

[pineconefan]

Been spending most of my time on the football side so far this fall, so it has been a nice surprise to come over and catch up on a lot of reading.

I do want to respond to recent posts, however.

I have wondered about Doty's situation at Linfield.  I wonder if he isn't just going through the motions at this point.  It seems like the stretch where they won the title two out of four years in 1999 and 2001 that he learned basketball will never be really appreciated at such a football-centric school.

But, in response to DumpDotes - I have seen enough disgruntled athletes and especially their parents to know that EVERYTHING they say about a coach needs to be taken with a huge grain of salt.

Did you want Doty to sit in the lobby of the hotel and essentially babysit by making sure kids didn't sneak out - or should he treat them like adults and let them follow the clearly stated curfew.  Then when they didn't, I know there are a lot of coaches at every level who wouldn't go get students who had embarrassed the program so badly, but let them miss the flight and find their own way home.  Again - its about treating them like adults and letting them learn from their mistakes.

Every player whose career doesn't pan out as expected in a college program will feel like they were misled during the recruting process.

Even your chosen handle demonstrates a certain lack of credibility, IMO.