WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Warmest congrats to Coach Smith and all the Titans on an incredible season -- yet again.  Very exciting for all and a great strength for the IWU/Titan nation.  We are proud of all of you.  Next year will be even better . . . so keep up the good work, work hard in off-season, make us proud again.

To Christina Solari . . . you are simply one of the best overall, all-round players in the history of IWU sports . . . if not the best woman basketball player in the great tradition of IWU basketball.  Thank you and all best wishes for future endeavors.  We wish you all the best . . . and, of course, all IWU fans hope you "pull a Kent Raymond" and come back again next year for your last year of eligibility. 

Again, great season Titans.  We so enjoyed watching you play the great game, and were proud of you on and off the court.

Thanks to all who made possible the IWU season -- coaches, staff, trainers, players, fans . . . and all the staff, supporters at the Shirk Center.  It's wonderful for the B/N community and IWU community. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Mark, as I posted on the men's board already, Sean Dwyer also has a medical redshirt year for the asking.  I behooves us to urge Christina and Sean to spend a 'honeymoon year' seeking matching national championships!

I doubt it will work, but can't hurt to try!

[iwu70]

Perhaps romance and grad school calls . . . but one can always hope they both come back.  Both are great players and a credit to IWU and the community.  The future looks bright for both our teams.  Olivia Lett moving to the front court?  Or, Karen taking up Christina's position . . . with lots of other great players waiting for their turn. (Sarah Cotner?).   On the men's side, hope to see all the great players back, stronger, bigger and fitter than this year . . . and the further development of Connolly and others.  Let's hope Brady Zimmer is joining us, and his brother, for further bombs from three-point land, and spreading the floor more for Sexauer and other post players.  I think we need one more lights-out, consistent perimeter shooter and one more bruiser, enforcer big -- a la the Jones, or Steve Schweer.  The CCIW on the men's side will be very very tough next year, so IWU must improve, get stronger and even faster to compete, to get back to the DIII dance again next year.   Sad to see the season end -- it was a very good and exciting one for IWU fans and the Titan nation.

[RogK]

The highlight of this season for me was the February 10 Carthage - Elmhurst game, the most memorable I've seen in my eight or nine years of following CCIW women's basketball.
Thanks to Katie Klemke and especially Lyndsie Long for making it such a fabulous game!

[RogK]

iwu70, you raise some interesting questions about who gets Christina's minutes next year.
Sarah Cotner is a good low-post scorer, but may not be able to replace what Christina did in IWU's press. Same might be said about Amy Burton.
Mackenzie Floyd is an excellent rebounder and would be a long-armed impediment for opponents to inbound the ball past in a press situation.
If they decide to use less height, Karen Solari could get more minutes.
If it was up to me (and it definitely isn't!), I'd play Karen until she tired out or fouled out. I've seen her be a game-changer defensively and she can score pretty well too.
Olivia Lett did many things well, but wasn't one to get a lot of steals : one every 53 minutes, compared to Christina's one steal every 9 minutes.
We'll see if IWU presses less next year.
Offensively, they're relying less on threes than a few years ago : 24.8 3att/g in 06-07, 27.8 in 07-08, 22.5 in 08-09 and 20.1 in 09-10.

[RogK]

IWU's 20.1 3FG att per game did lead the CCIW, by the way.
The rest: Millikin 19.8, Wheaton 18.8, North Central 16.5, Carthage 15.3, Augustana 14.7, Elmhurst 13.1, North Park 12.2.
But I wouldn't call 20.1 a lot. Olivet Nazarene's 47.4 3FG att per game is a lot.

[RogK]

Nobody thinks my IWU speculation is a pile of fecal deposits?

[Titan Q]

I believe it is very safe to say that Olivia Lett will start next year for the Titans.  Lett's upside as a CCIW player is very high...I think she is good enough to develop into a 1st Team All-CCIW performer.  Maybe as early as next season.  She brings such a unique skill set to the Division III level - a 6-0 guard who can shoot the heck out of it.

Lett played at about 80% this season after transferring to IWU (still coming back from the knee injury at SIU).  She should enter 2010-11 much closer to 100% (both in terms of her knee and also conditioning...she was never completely in "basketball shape" this year) and she will no longer be the transfer trying to fit in without rocking the boat.  

IWU will really miss Christina Solari, and the Titans certainly won't have the low post presence they've had the last 3 years,  but my guess is that Lett will turn into a CCIW star next season.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Nobody thinks my IWU speculation is a pile of fecal deposits?

I have yet to see them live (I was counting on doing it this weekend ), but your analysis sounds pretty close to what this distant observer thought.  Of course, it would be no issue if Christina Solari and Sean Dwyer (who are both eligible for medical redshirts) would take my light-hearted advice and do a 'honeymoon tour' next year to try for matching Walnut-and-Bronze trophies!

Alas, it won't happen (but a fan can dream, can't he?!).

[Hoosier Titan]

I have been thinking for sometime about the Titan team will look next year if Christina Solari does not come back.  It will be massively different; more so than many realize.  I began to appreciate CS's game after I learned that she had played football (er, soccer) as a central midfielder throughout high school.  That position requires the ability to score, but also awareness of where teammates are (on a much wider playing field) and a willingness and ability to pass to the open player.  All of that, of course, we saw in her basketball play.  There just aren't many post players who have such a wide skill set, and that's no knock on the rest of the Titans, or on any other team.

No one has mentioned Stacey Arlis, and that was surely an oversight, as Stacey is the most athletic of the frontcourt Titans.  Hope Schulte was first team all-CCIW, and I think those two are set.  Karen Solari is a brilliant player, but at 5'8" it's unrealistic to ask her to play the post.  She's had some great play under the basket (somewhat like Crystal Dye a few years ago), but I think she's really a guard.

Mia Smith will have some interesting decisions to make, for sure.

[RogK]

That's interesting about Christina having been a soccer player, HT.
The lateral mobility and running endurance which soccer players develop translates very well into basketball, from what I've seen. The ability to change directions while sprinting makes for a good point guard and it's a real bonus to have that agility in a 6-footer.

[Hoosier Titan]

All-region teams are up.  C. Solari and Lyndsie Long are first-teamers; Hope Schulte and Elise Wildman third-teamers.  Julia Hirssig of UW-Stout is POY and Shirley Egner of UWSP Coach of the Year (well-deserved in my opinion).

The announcement came out on Facebook and Twitter first; it's here:
http://www.d3hoops.com/all-region/index.html

[RogK]

Congratulations to 1st teamers Lyndsie Long and Christina Solari and 3rd teamers Hope Schulte and Elise Wildman.
A big mistake leaving out Diana Jacklin! She was the third best player in the CCIW.

[RogK]

One team that should be as good, or better, in '10-'11 is Millikin.
They had just 8 players play more than 41 minutes in '09-'10 : Brooke Carlson (the only senior), Beth Wellbaum, Crystal Zeigler, Elise Wildman, Cecily Aldridge, Julia Robert, Kaitlin Brassil and Amy Radford.
I assume that the seven returning players will again play a lot, but perhaps not as heavy minutes for some of 'em. I'm guessing that Radford may get more time, reducing Wildman's a little.
Judging from one JV game I saw, Wellbaum may not have to play whole games if Olya Cholewick and/or the Williams sisters (twins?) get some time at guard. Millikin has a large roster, so there could be others that will factor in, too. Not to mention new freshmen.
I thought Julia Robert became an improved scorer late in the season, from distance and nearer the basket. I'll predict that her overall FG pct and 3FG pct will go up in '10-'11. She's not easy to guard.
I see no reason why Aldridge, Zeigler and Brassil will not be as good or better next year, too.
With Wildman as their go-to first choice offensive weapon, I expect they'll remain a half-court-type team. They can be beaten soundly, as IWU proved in the conference playoffs. But, if anyone plays a half-court style with them, it'll be a battle.

[RogK]

What are some other thoughts about Millikin? Moser? Anyone?