MBB: Northwest Conference

[nwhoops1903]

Williams from UPS would KILL the Gebbers brothers. He was way too fast and athletic. Neither one would be able to stay in front of him and contain. Also, on the defensive end, Williams would eat them up too. He had great body control, change of direction at full speed and his long arms cause every guard he played against problems. Taylor and Riley are what makes this team good, not the Gebbers. You take Taylor and Riley out and you have the Gebbers as your main guys? Those two would struggle and WW would be middle of the pack at best in the NWC.

Can we stop comparing players and teams please until after the season.  I am glad everyone has there own favorite teams and players, but no one can say for sure.  After a season is over, the facts are there.  

As for taking out both Riley and Taylor, of course Whitworth is more vulnerable.  The Gebbers have shown the ability to score.  This is one reason why Whitworth is so strong.  Riley's off night Tuesday and Felix only getting 3 FG attempts were large factors in the loss.  The biggest factor was Whitman's near perfection in the last 4 minutes.  They get respect for that.  Whitworth was the much better team for 35 minutes but as anyone knows who watches college basketball, winning on the road against a good team is never a sure thing.  

Pirates didn't start this season expecting to win every game.  The streak and ranking were exciting and impressive but not the team's goals.  Conference Champion...check.  NWC Tournament Champion...._____, Salem...._____,  D3 Champion...___.  The reality is Whitworth is on track to collect goals 2 and 3 after completing goal 1.  A great season does not have to be a perfect season.  Whitworth is having a great season, only 4 teams have 1 L in all of D3.  I EXPECT WW to remain top 4.

I think the loss Tuesday has many effects but most are psychological.  The mental strength and character of the Pirates will be challenged.  I think they are smart, tough young men that have a mentality of winning.  Saturday (PAC) could be a blowout like last years finale at LF, or it could be a stiff road challenge from a team looking for something to carry into the off season.  PAC has shown the ability to play to the level of their opponents, good and bad.  Whitworth won't have a 5 minute collapse, that I can predict confidently.

[Keandre]

TMT, I really understand your reasoning but answer me this. Do you think Duckworth from WM is better than Williams? I am sure you wouldn't think so, and if the Gebbers can play D so good, how come they couldn't control Duckworth who is a freshman? All I am saying is those two are role players and all they have to do is focus on D because they are not asked to score and when they do score, it isn't because they just have an uncanny ability to do so, the other 2-3 guys they have are being focused on and not them, so I would hope they can knock down open shots when they are not even being guarded. Another point, Williams was the reason that press was so good, he read the situation, played passing lanes and pressured the ball and was a steals machine and he cause turnovers that didn't count in the stat book. Yes, Williams mainly went right, but if no one can stop him from doing that, then why would he go left? He was always tops in the league in assists as well so it wasn't like he couldn't get other people envolved, I mean he made it easy for Krauel and Foster to be All-Americans and First team all region players. The pressure he would put on the defense allowed Foster to get great rebounding position and for an already great rebounder, that was huge. Plus, Williams has some DOG in him, he would find a way to get his team a win, the Gebbers can't and couldn't do that, they are not good enough, just lucky to have great players around them, not that Williams didn't but he was a great player that made everyone else better.

So, I am done comparing past teams and players because it seems to make my man nwhoops1903 not very happy lol.

[Keandre]

Oh yeah, what does the Karma thing mean? I am at -2, I am sure that is not good.

[nwhoops1903]

Dre: after a certain # of posts, you get to award Karma or subtract. Its a way to thank or smite a poster.  Its anonymous unless you put it in your post that you "were the one". Fun for some, meaningless to most.

I really mean wait on the comparisons til season is over but I guess some seasons are over   thx Dreb!

[playball]

Keandre, we get it.  Williams was good.  However the defense Whitworth plays is solid.  I think he would at least have a tougher time playing them than the defenses in the past. 

And if we are agreeing to disagree, the two Gebbers are the best defenders Whitworth has had in a long time.

Bo Gregg.   Longer, more athletic, and almost impossible to shake.

[etule]

During the stretch that Whit made their run the Gebbers were on the bench with foul trouble. They were there because Whit attacked the rim!
Williams was a great player much more athletic than the Gebbers !
WW does play very good help defense. I think their defense is what makes them exceptional!

[Keandre]

NWhoops, I think that was a poke at my Loggers not going to the tourney lol, I am giving you a -1 Karma hahaha.

Yes, Whitworth does play good team defense, which allows the Gebbers to play the way they do.

On another note, how do you guys feel about the Pacific coach and the job he has in front of him? I think from coming out of Boise, he didn't realize what he was getting into. He has a pretty good core of guards coming back, do you think they can win some games next season?

[playball]

They need some size in order to be anything next year.  They have a couple of good guards in Bartlett and Wester, however they will struggle in the post with the guys they have coming back.  Otherwise, they are looking at a worse season next year than they had this year.  Good coach, seems nice.  Hope the best for them

[LoggerNation4040]

WW does play very good help defense. I think their defense is what makes them exceptional!

I concur. They've always had great help D and a commitment to rebounding.  You rarely get easy buckets vs the Bucs and that's a testament to Hayford as much as I hate saying it 

Otherwise, they are looking at a worse season next year than they had this year.

Don't think it can get much worse in the Grove than 3-20.  I think the biggest thing for that program, and more so than personnel right now, is establishing an identity.  They've never struck me as a program with a distinct identity and one that carries itself with a lot of pride.  Certainly another team in search of an identity right now is Willamette...always tough when a helluva coach like Gordie leaves the program.  Not sure what to think of what Ioane has done so far down in Salem...I think he's in a bit over his head IMO.  Hope that doesn't tick Bearcat Press off!   

[bbaddict]

'Bout time for Mr Coleman's "There is no east coast bias" post, isn't it?

Mr. Coleman has been voting Whitworth No. 1 since the first week of January. You tell me.

And that's what we like about you -- you recognize excellence!

[Bearcat Press]

Certainly another team in search of an identity right now is Willamette...always tough when a helluva coach like Gordie leaves the program.  Not sure what to think of what Ioane has done so far down in Salem...I think he's in a bit over his head IMO.  Hope that doesn't tick Bearcat Press off!    

If I was still with the school paper, I'd probably do this:

But since I'm an alum now ...

I'm just as puzzled by the Willamette's drop-off as anyone else.  Kind of lost in the hoopla surrounding Gordie's retirement was the fact that we really underachieved during his final year: that was absolutely an NWC tournament team that had no business losing to Fox and Linfield at home.  The one game where we played to our potential was against UPS in the last game of the regular season - a game I guarantee that Loggers fans remember.

There was a big senior class that year, so the cupboard was a little bare last season, save Cam Mitchell.  For that reason alone, I'm okay with giving Kip some time to rebuild.  I think he's trying to create an identity as an up-tempo, press, transition style team (a huge break from the motion offense Gordie ran), and because of that too, I'm willing to give him a chance to recruit players suited for his own system.

That being said, there is one change he needs to make.  Right now, a couple of really key players on the team (Terrell Malley and Cody Pastorino come to mind immediately) are football players who don't really get into basketball shape until halfway through the season.  If they were reserves, that would be one thing, but they're starters.  We need more basketball players.

My $0.02.

[(509)Rat]

Thanks wc11 for the clip 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dP284z_4rI

Last play of the Whit v Whit game never had a chance...and Castle wasn't lying, the place was full

Tonight's results

Pac BEATS Whitman 59-55 (send your fellow Oregonians a thank you card, trymeteam)
GF beats linfield 76-61
PLU hangs on to beat Willamette 90-87
LC struggles with UPS but nips em in OT 89-85

[bbaddict]

Wow, Rat!  Why did they give that ball to him?   What about Riley or Taylor? or one of the Gebbers?  Were they fouled out?  (I didn't watch the game because I'm too spoiled by watching it free on WU's network.  Is WU the only team in the conference who shows the games for free?)

You've gotta love NWC basketball --  Whitman beats Whitworth on Tuesday and then loses to Pacific on Friday. 

LoggerNation4040:  Leave our (WU) coach alone.  There hasn't been enough time to transition from a system that's been in place for 20 years.  And, it wasn't just Gordie's last year that WU's success was dwindling.   I'd say the last 2-3 years he was there they weren't having the success we were all used to.

Really thought the Bearcats were going to win tonight.  What happened to our announcer?  Had to listen to the PLU guy.  He wasn't bad, but it was biased, especially at the end when it was really close.

So . . . Bearcats -- make  your free throws & quit turning the ball over!!

And BCP -- Malley was injured at the beginning of basketball season.   Yes, it was a football injury.   I think we're guard heavy and need some big huge post players to push people around like the other teams do!!

[Pat Coleman]

Mr. Coleman, what took you so long!  We were wondering how many double digit, 20+ average point wins it would take for you to jump on the wagon!

It took 10. Remember I've been voting for them No. 1 for seven weeks. Hoopsville watchers already know this, of course.

[nwhoops1903]

Mr. Coleman, what took you so long!  We were wondering how many double digit, 20+ average point wins it would take for you to jump on the wagon!

It took 10. Remember I've been voting for them No. 1 for seven weeks. Hoopsville watchers already know this, of course.

And what's the odds they will remain in your top 4 assuming they win tonight Pirate style (20+)?