MBB: Northwest Conference

[blackhawks4]

Somebody else please talk some sense into this little kid...

#1:  Pecht has played excellent as of late and (of all people to say this, me) has made himself a legitimate POTY in the NWC.  But for god's sake...he is nowhere near (even of late)the best players in the country at this level.  There is nobody right now in the NWC that deserves that distinction.  The NWC is down as of late.  There are players that do what he does but are bigger, stronger, more athletic, and on quality nationally ranked teams.  Bearcats, pinecone-- (I realize it's your guy but are we gonna put him at a level with depew), maybe even pat coleman?  Somebody?  I've tried.

#2:  You responded to 2 of my rebuttals and are dead wrong on one of them (Pecht- and I hope others will speak the truth on this also)  and proved my point on the other.  Anything else???

#3:  When did I say I was a "talent evaluator?"  In fact, I believe bearcats fan and I joked about our lack of credibility in this area earlier in the year.  That was probably before the bandwagon picked you up though. 

You can't just make stuff up and say that people said it on the board because we'll call you on it. 

[bbaddict]

blackhawks4:   You seem concerned about the negative karma thing -- so here's a suggestion.  Disagree with posts without personal put-downs.  And give up on the bandwagon thing -- you should encourage new people to contribute to the forum because it gives you someone to jaw with besides bearcats & pinecone.

[Pat Coleman]

2. Does PC and the crew know WU beat Linfield on Saturday? Their Region and overall record hasn't been updated...

No. If neither school logs in and posts the score then the region and overall record doesn't get updated.

There are 800 Division III basketball programs. We have zero full-time employees. That's why we rely on the schools to post the scores. Since that only takes 60 seconds a score that doesn't seem much to ask.

[SpooH SreggoL]

How do you know he is no where near the best (Pecht) Have you seen all these team play?  I have seen quite a few of them play!!  And will say he is in the top of the nation for D3 athletes.  I did not say he was the best, but his play as of late is right up there!  His abilities that he brings to the court each night are unlike any player in the conference. 

bball, I'm afraid you are going to have to do some name-dropping if you want to compare Pecht to the best in D3.  Who are these great teams/players you have seen?  Oh please, please tell me you're talking about OXY!

Even IF Pecht was regarded as having the best skill set in the conference, this doesnt necessarily mean he would stack up against guys from around the country.  As much as we all love the NWC, there's no disputing the fact that the league does not traditionally compare well against the likes of the WIAC, OAC, etc.  A player capable of dominating in these conferences would have an absolute field day on most nights in the NWC (and I'm not talking about the kind of numbers Pecht has put up recently).

[bearcatsfan3]

Pecht is an excellent player in the NWC...which, traditionally, would put him somewhere in the category of MAYBE 4th team/HM All-AMERICAN in D3...you have to remember the sheer size of, say, the WIAC schools, and the ability to recruit better players to those size schools...guys like Devean George (LA Lakers, three WC rings) and Horace Jenkins (Pistons) make first team, and no one in the NWC is close to those type of guys...heck, I bet BHawks himself would tell you tales of the guys Stevens Point trotted out in Tacoma a few years ago...ballers...if you look back thru this sites list of All-Americans, you have exactly TWO NWC players, Depew and Scott Davis of LC who made 2nd and 4th teams respectively...is Pecht on their level? Scott Davis, who I saw play 3 times, is better than Pecht, and while Depew may have not been as athletic, you cannot argue with his numbers and put Pecht anywhere near him yet.  BHawks is right on this....no way Pecht is on a NATIONAL level (definately a first teamer in the NWC however.)

Pinecone, I think you nailed the Whitworth thing...for whatever reason, the pirates have pummeled smaller lineups, and haven't had to deal with the repercussions of their bigs guarding smalls...

BHawks gets a 4 in Karma from me...sure he's obnoxious occasionally, but honestly, would this site have any life at all if he wasn't on here?

PC...was not implying you were not doing your job...simply asking the question, and no, it is not too much to ask...

[blackhawks4]

A little obnoxious?---that's all, you like me don't you bearcats?..Hey we still got room for you on the Logger bandwagon...Yeah, it starts up friday night in tacoma, and it doesn't even have to travel anywhere until NCAA tourney time.  You can't sit shotgun though, that's reserved for BBall Addict when his team is gone.  Sorry NWC Bball fan, you got the back seat...It's illegal for your car seat up front, and my car only has the safety locks in the back.

Seriously, I still think POTY goes to winner of nwc...curtiss, olinger, or (now) pecht...I know it doesn't matter this year, but curtiss did get snubbed last year.  All this ww talk has made me forget about wu, who is in town this weekend for the most important game of the year! 

If UPS is at home the rest of the way...they win
If they go to wu....uuuuhhhhh
If wu or ups go to ww, i think ww's in trouble...They embarrassed ups and have beat wu twice...although i pick ww over wu, if i'm a betting man i'm not liking ww's odds of beating wu 3 times and definately not ups 2 out of 3...you definately cant count on your 6th man having another big one...rule of percentages
if ww goes to wu: i still say ww, with slight hesitation

BBall addict: 

"Disagree with posts without personal put-downs."

I already asked your boy NWCBball fan show me one that i've made in all 80 posts.  The closest I've come is jawing with NWC Bball fan about being a little kid...Just one.

And you didn't catch the sarcasm in the karma thing huh?  Ok... I could care less about karma, and have said my opinion no matter who disagrees.  Who cares about karma when you're a second stringer! Pretty soon I'm gonna have some karma power and I'm takin the man down.  I know I dont say much, but boy I do like to read my own posts.

Watch it bearcats, steppin on pc's toes like that....you're gonna end up with karma like me...then the whitworth guys will report you to the moderator.

[Pat Coleman]

PC...was not implying you were not doing your job...simply asking the question, and no, it is not too much to ask...

No problem -- I didn't take it as an attack, just answering your question.

[bearcatsfan3]

BHawks:  Keys to the game Friday.
Whitworth fans: Any hesitation about tonights game in Walla Walla? You guys seem to own Whitman, but they're a decent team at home...also, you guys got some love with the front page picture of Pecht on d3hoops

My Keys to the Game:
1. Tempo: Willamette successfully kept the game around their pace in Salem (77-68 is not a favorable scoring night for UPS)...but the last few times in Tacoma, it looks like the Loggers have swarmed them
2.Conversion:Can Willamette shoot in the high 50s to 60s range and make UPS pay for pressing them...can UPS turn WU turnovers into a run (8-0 here, 12-3 there) and pull away early?
3.Fouls:  Can WU not only get McVey in trouble, but can they get to the bonus early in each half to slow the pace and get free points...can UPS stay out of the bonus and continue to play at their reckless pace, with McVey and Curtiss in the game.
4. Atmosphere:  BHawks, apart from yourself, are Logger fans going to show up to this game? WU has packed Cone Fieldhouse, and it sounds like Whitworth has been putting butts in the seats...can you guys answer the bell?  The louder the better for UPS, and the smaller the crowd, the better for WU.

Pinecone or bball or NWC: Does whitworth want to see UPS or WU in the tourney?  Would they rather go to Tacoma or Salem? (obviously they want to be in Spokane, but they'd need one of the those two to tank both games this weekend)...

[blackhawks4]

Bearcats: 

I think the logger offense will be firing on all cylinders, especially with a large crowd.  If they're playing well offensively, wu will have a lot of pressure to match them offensively to stay in the game.  I don't think tempo is that big of an issue.  The loggers get better each year at playing lower scoring games. 

What this game comes down to in my opinion is Willamette's field goal percentage.  You're dead on with your conversions point.  If WU get layups, easy buckets, and open 3's all night (55-60% fg), and don't turn the ball over 30 times in the press, the loggers are in for a loooooong night.  If the loggers limit will. to around 50% from the field and force an avg. amount of to's I think UPS wins this hands down.  UPS is significantly better at home...which is why they need that home court.

Loggers can't give up layups all night...it's a killer, especially if we are forced to work hard for ours on "o," and then give them away in the press.

Loggers also can't let olinger and others tee up open 3's all night.  Interested to see olinger play...haven't yet. 

Is it just me or did the POTY ballots narrow down to 2, Pecht and Curtiss.  And i believe those are casted this week.   

Good to see nwc on front page.

[pineconefan]

bbadict, nwcbbfan - the surest sign of a newbie on this board is someone who takes him (or her) self too seriously.  If you get offended by what someone says about you on this board, then you are taking yourself too seriously.  How can someone truly insult you if they don't even know you?

Now it might be double standard, but I did respond to what I thought was a cheap shot at the NWC SID.  But all the other stuff was just banter.

As far as new folks showing up here when their teams do well, that is just the nature of these boards.  UPS was never heard from at all before 2004.  When L&C is doing well, you hear from more Pioneers on this board.  Same thing with George Fox last year.  Its a free country and no one has to prove themselves first before they decide to join the conversation.

Tough game for the Pirates tonight.  Whitman has two big guys who minimize the match-up advantage on the front line.  The Missionaries played Whitworth tough in Spokane this year, and I know those seniors will not want to go out without a win against Whitworth.

BH4, I think the WU-UPS game will be a close one.  In my opinion, UPS does not have the intimidation factor this year that they had in the last two.  Don't know if its because they have not posted the kind of blowouts this year they were known for the last two years, or if the NWC coaches are finally responding to the UPS game plan. 

Bearcats - What was interesting to me is that Whitworth beat UPS without trying to slow the game down.  In the previous two years (at least in Spokane), the Pirates tried to control the tempo.  And though they played close, they didn't win.  But this year they went back and forth in both games.  They lost by only one in Tacoma and won by 24 in Spokane.  Maybe teams have been too focused on slowing the game down against UPS?

[bbaddict]

Just for the record -- being offended & recognizing offensive behavior are NOT the same thing!  I was just commenting on someone's karma issue.   And Bhawks4 -- I'll be honored to ride shotgun with you, if you'll agree to ride in the trunk if the bearcats win.  Deal?

Did anyone see the picture/article about Whitworth being a possible Pool c on the front page of this website?  Just curious.

[bbaddict]

Any news on the Whitworth/Whitman game tonight? 

[David Collinge]

Whitworth 88, Whitman 74

Box score

[D O.C.]

Can only bring up Glory Days...

http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006/02/03/sports/local_sports/02sierra.txt

Jeffrey Weidel, Gold Country News Service
Auburn, Calif.

"He was driven, intense, possessing a competitive nature so great he
could motivate an entire team just with his actions. Yet glancing back
on his stellar basketball career at Sierra College, Gary Donnell would
rather have other people discuss his immense inner drive."

"After two years at Sierra, there were choices again for Donnell, who
opted out of a letter-of-intent to Gonzaga University and decided on
Linfield College, a powerful NAIA college in McMinnville, Ore.
Linfield coach Ted Wilson heard about the exploits of Donnell on
practically every trip to Roseville while visiting his longtime friend
George Sargent."

"I worked at the Texaco station (at Keehner Avenue and Douglas
Boulevard) near my house and Ted used to fill up his Orange
Thunderbird there," Donnell said. "He was always talking to me about
Linfield. I decided not to go to Gonzaga and just showed up at the
Linfield campus one day and he got me in."

[bearcatsfan3]

Huge night last night in the West Region, as OXY falls at Redlands (126-120) and Buena Vista knocks off Wartburg in the IIAC, meaning 2 West Region ranked teams go down in the same evening (the #1 and #4 respectively), both to opponents with sub .500 win% in the Region...

That being said, I cannot say I am surprised that WU fell out of the rankings this week...despite their now having the best record in region games in the West, and owning a victory over UPS (the #3 team) in the region, I knew their QOWI was very low in comparison to some other teams (the Linfields, PLU's, and Whitman's being below average this season has hurt both WU and UPS's Q rating)...While i obviously believe the 'Cats should be in the top 6 at least of the West, they have no better stage than Friday to go out and earn that recognition...

Getting close to gametime Friday night...trying to find a way to get up there with some other 90s Bearcats like myself...Bhawks, I'm sure you're heated over the region rankings this week...