WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

Millikin is bringing in a large pile of new players, according to these articles:
http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2009/05/12/sports/millikin/1041151.txt
http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2009/04/20/sports/millikin/1040648.txt
The May 12 article starts off by saying that the current roster has no prototypical post player. Elise Wildman might disagree with that, assuming she's returning for '09-'10.
Another Pembrook is on the way to Decatur : Kayla's little sister Leah.
Coach Kerans sounds very pleased with the new arrivals (16 of 'em!).

[Chi_areahoopsfan]

I just have to say that the reports from RogK are good and reliable as always.  Between him and Old Hoosier Baller I have seen some very insightful comments in regards to next season.  Elmhurst does look very good and I was thinking after watching them this past year that they would have a really good year this upcoming year.  Since there have been very few posts lately, I have been looking  back at past posts and I think that it is intriguing that when you look at the returning players statistics that Kristin Fox from Augustana shows up in each one.  If Augustana can make a move forward she might show up as one of the better guards in the CCIW this upcoming season(see the returning leading rebounders and look at the number of guards on that list).  She will be a senior but technically she was only a sophomore experience wise due to her not playing most of her sophomore year.  She could be an underrated player in the upcoming season, her last year.  I have been able to watch a couple of the Elmhurst summer league games as well and I think that it will be interesting to see these teams as the season starts.  I have not seen a team yet that has the core of there team playing in summer league so it is hard to tell at this point.  Rog, regarding the "new" kid for Augustana, the kid that I think that you are referring too as the possible "Gills" kid, I think that was Jessica..............and I forgot her last name, but she is from Morrison and was a freshmen at Augustana this year.  She played JV and suited varsity.  I did see her in HS and she was a tough HS player who could develop with some work and added strength.  She seems to be doing that and that is a credit to the current program at Augustana because she was definitely better a couple weeks ago than she was when I saw here in high school.  I have also seen the 6'2" kid that is going to North Central and she is pretty good.  She is limited in her movement but she will help them and will be a great compliment to McGuire.

[RogK]

More games at Elmhurst tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday, plus playoffs next Monday through Wednesday.
Thanks for the info on that Augie player, Chi areahoopsfan; it must be Jessica Scott – she's from Morrison, as you say.
A significant problem for Augie in '08-'09 was shooting percentage of all kinds: FTs, 2s and 3s. In 25 games, their overall FG% was .370. Take out Natalie Runge's 96/193 and Sarah Rachwalski's 71/150 and you get .330 for the rest of the team.
Kristin Fox made 30% of her threes, which is a decent-to-good percentage (the equivalent of 45% two-point shooting). The team desperately needed one or more threats from the arc and Fox did her part.

[RogK]

Saw some hoops at Elmhurst last evening.
IWU was up 24-21 at one point vs Concordia River Forest and later on, they were up by 42 (77-35 if I remember). Impressive effort by the Titans.
Next was a game featuring newly-ex-Titans Colleen Caplice, Claire Sheehan and Mallory Heydorn. Mal's dad was happy to again see a play that Mallory and Colleen have worked successfully for eight years (going back to high school). Claire did her usual dashes to the hoop for lay-ins, too.
More in a bit -- gotta get back to work.

[RogK]

For the 8:30 game, I selected the Elmhurst vs St Francis (NAIA) contest, which got a little chippy at times. EC's Kate Pilson, a strong 6-footer, stood her ground at both ends of the court, in the low post. The two arrivals from IIT also were very active; one is a 5'6"-ish point guard and the other a guard/forward, about 5'9". Both are quick afoot and can dribble very well. I think they'll be juniors.
Lyndsie Long shot the lights out, which delayed the game while repairs were made. (ha)
Kelsey Monroe is sidelined with a painful nerve problem in one leg. This has lingered for many months. Good luck to her on it getting healed or fixed somehow. The doctors are mystified by it.
At 9:30, I took in about half of Carthage's game. Drewann Pancratz did particularly well, I thought.

[RogK]

Saw some more summer games last night.
By the way, thanks to Elmhurst College for hosting the league again this year. Without the efforts of Todd and Jen Scheuerman, Coach Werner and the various Bluejay players that manned the scorer's tables, all of the games wouldn't have existed.
I spoke with North Park's Larisa Coldebella and she was pleased to report that as many as 15 players will be vying for roster spots for the '09-'10 Vikings. Some were playing in the summer league, but I am not able to identify any new ones. That'll have to wait until October, when rosters appear.
I saw part of the IWU vs Elmhurst game and was impressed by many players on both sides. Some Titans who didn't play a lot last year but are doing very well in the summer league include Karen Solari and Jessica Hinterlong.
EC's CJ Harris had superb energy and will be an interesting player to watch develop come November.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Saw some more summer games last night.
By the way, thanks to Elmhurst College for hosting the league again this year. Without the efforts of Todd and Jen Scheuerman, Coach Werner and the various Bluejay players that manned the scorer's tables, all of the games wouldn't have existed.
I spoke with North Park's Larisa Coldebella and she was pleased to report that as many as 15 players will be vying for roster spots for the '09-'10 Vikings. Some were playing in the summer league, but I am not able to identify any new ones. That'll have to wait until October, when rosters appear.
I saw part of the IWU vs Elmhurst game and was impressed by many players on both sides. Some Titans who didn't play a lot last year but are doing very well in the summer league include Karen Solari and Jessica Hinterlong.
EC's CJ Harris had superb energy and will be an interesting player to watch develop come November.

I realize it is meaningless for next season (I don't even know how the summer rosters compare to the in-season rosters), but since IWU and Elmhurst seem to be acclaimed as the favorites - WHO WON??

[RogK]

I had a ride back to the city late in the first half, so I don't know who won, Mr. Ypsi.
Also, I would say that IWU is by itself in terms of favorite to take the CCIW again.
I'd say Carthage and Elmhurst are in the 2nd tier. As good and experienced as they are, I think they must still improve more in order to beat IWU in Jan or Feb.
It sounds like many good new players are arriving throughout the rest of the league, so any of the other five teams might show marked improvement.
Can anyone tell us about any new Wheaton players?

[Old Hoosier Baller]

Actually, Elmhurst knocked off IWU on Wednesday night.  While I agree that the conference race will be tighter this year, I do not agree that IWU remains in a class by itself with respect to this coming season.  From my view, Elmhurst has the talent, size and strength to effectively compete at every position on the floor, and Carthage looks quite capable also.  Obviously, my perspective is driven by good fortune in terms of injuries, etc., but I do anticipate that IWU will have to work much harder some CCIW victories that came easy last season.

[RogK]

Thanks for the update, OHB.
Can you recall which Jays came through at the end?
Megan Ney was doing a lot of good work in the lane when I was there and Lyndsie Long was hitting shots from all over.
I'll agree with you regarding IWU to one extent: they'll need to work on a few things in terms of replacing the great contributions of Heydorn, Sheehan and Caplice. But, they have extraordinary depth, with size, speed, versatility and wide-spread scoring ability.

[Old Hoosier Baller]

The Jays were getting contributions from virtually everyone that was there during the second half.  In addition to Long and Ney that you mention, Rasheda, the new point guard from IIT, played stellar defense down the stretch and made some key plays offensively to help the cause.  As you also mentioned in an earlier post, C.J. Harris was all over the place throughout the game. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

How closely did the line-ups match the likely in-season line-ups for both IWU and Elmhurst?  Any significant omissions for either team?

[Old Hoosier Baller]

From the personnel that I am familiar with, I believe that the core group for both teams was on the floor for much of the game.  While it is hard to draw any real conclusions from summer league play, it was a fun game to watch from a competitive standpoint.

[RogK]

It was an interesting final night at the Elmhurst summer league.
In a semi-final game, Carthage topped IWU, 67-62 or 68-62. The first half was 50-39 in favor of the Lady Reds. The fast pace allowed many players on both teams to show their talent, which I enjoyed. The second half was more of a grind. The Titans made it close, but Carthage prevailed.
Dani Ripkey and Rosie Dorn led Carthage in scoring, if I recall correctly. Diana Jacklin scored some, too, and blocked several shots. She can just about match Christina Solari for agility and is of similar size. They should have competitive matchups this season.
Allison Groessl played very well. I was thinking she was Drewann Pancratz. If you've seen them just a few times, you could understand my confusion (I will have to study them next time). Cory Bazany, Katherine Burshiem and two new guards, Caris Alan and Lauren Hyser, all did well, too.
IWU played hard, but made a few mistakes here and there. And it may be the case that they need the contributions of Hope Schulte, Nikki Preston, Holly Harvey etc to be at their best.
Kylie Castans again gave indication that she could easily raise her scoring average from 7.4 as a freshman to 12 or better as a sophomore. She's one strong kid, with a nice shooting touch. Hard to tell, though, what any Titan might average scoring-wise, since the shot attempts are spread around in their offense. Speaking of strong kids, the CCIW will get to know Karen Solari this coming season. As a "2-guard", she has a different game than Christina does, but she'll be very helpful in many facets of the game for the Titans.
Carthage, having exerted itself very much during the IWU game, was fairly worn out during the title game against a team of D1 players. They gave it what they had, but got clobbered by the D1 kids, who moved the ball very well and made at least 25 threes, I'd estimate. They must have hit 60 to 70% from the arc.
The Lady Reds, despite obvious fatigue, kept at it, admirably. Cory Bazany had as much stamina as anyone, and will be an important part of the '09-'10 team.

[RogK]

Good luck and congratulations to Casey Thousand, assistant coach at Carthage and now moving to Madison to be head coach at Edgewood.
Their first game will be at Elmhurst on November 16.