WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[gordonmann]

Holy moly.  That is impressive.

[RogK]

The summer league at Elmhurst College wrapped up last night.
Thanks to Coach Werner and her crew for again hosting the league.
I enjoyed several evenings there, although I didn't see last night's action.
The CCIW was well-represented, with players from seven of the eight schools (no Millikin participation --- they may have their own summer league).
The host Bluejays did very well, from what I saw. Meghan Merklein appears to be at her healthiest, which is very good news for the Jays.
And don't be surprised if some players that you haven't heard of play prominent roles for Elmhurst this fall. Coach Werner can expect a lot of serious competition for playing time from throughout her '10-'11 roster.
Carthage is loaded with talent. They will likely have the best group of low-post players that has been seen in the CCIW in quite a while. Diana Jacklin and Cailee Corcoran have proven themselves already, and Ashley Hermanson leads a freshman group that should do well.
IWU did not have most of its starters playing this time. There were a bunch of new Titans there, though. They did not do any full-court pressing from what I saw, so not many conclusions could be conclusively concluded by me.
Wheaton had a few players in the league. Kelly Brooks did quite well the night I saw her. I saw Brooke Olson in 4 or 5 games; she is always fun to watch --- very fine effort defensively and she's a sharp three point shooter (led the conference-only with .438).
I'll do another post regarding Augie, NP and NC.

[RogK]

The five teams that finished above Augie, North Park and North Central are led by some pretty good coaches. Let's check their CCIW in-conference results, ranked by winning pct :
Lori Kerans 257-91 (.739), 11 CCIW titles
Beth Baker 248-100 (.713), 6 CCIW titles
Mia Smith 119-49 (.708), 4 CCIW titles
Tethnie Werner 25-17 (.595), no titles yet
Tim Bernero 57-41 (.582), no titles yet
---
There can't be too many D3 conferences with a majority of current coaches achieving .582 or better.
So, Michelle Roof (0-0 in CCIW), Bobbi Endress (7-49) and Amanda Reese (3-25) do not have a particularly easy task outwitting or outrecruiting the five coaches listed above.
In order to encourage Augie, North Park and North Central, each of whom went 2-12 in conference play in '09-'10, I offer this:
In '06-'07, Elmhurst was 2-12. The following season, they went 8-6. So, a quick jump in league play is possible.

[Mr. Ypsi]

The five teams that finished above Augie, North Park and North Central are led by some pretty good coaches. Let's check their CCIW in-conference results, ranked by winning pct :
Lori Kerans 257-91 (.739), 11 CCIW titles
Beth Baker 248-100 (.713), 6 CCIW titles
Mia Smith 119-49 (.708), 4 CCIW titles
Tethnie Werner 25-17 (.595), no titles yet
Tim Bernero 57-41 (.582), no titles yet
---
There can't be too many D3 conferences with a majority of current coaches achieving .582 or better.
So, Michelle Roof (0-0 in CCIW), Bobbi Endress (7-49) and Amanda Reese (3-25) do not have a particularly easy task outwitting or outrecruiting the five coaches listed above.
In order to encourage Augie, North Park and North Central, each of whom went 2-12 in conference play in '09-'10, I offer this:
In '06-'07, Elmhurst was 2-12. The following season, they went 8-6. So, a quick jump in league play is possible.

IF any of them have a Lyndsie Long sitting around!

Maybe it is just too early for the question, but I still haven't gotten an answer.  With Christina Solari graduating, I'm guessing that IWU is still a favorite, but are they still THE favorite?

[RogK]

Yeah Mr. Ypsi, it's too early to declare THE favorite. We may know by late February!
All eight CCIW teams face the need for some tinkering, if not significant adjusting.
IWU definitely has plenty of good players to absorb Christina's minutes. The personality of the team will be altered somehow (toward size or speed?). The Titans will have a highly-experienced core of seniors and employ the best style of play in the league, so they will be formidable.
Rosie Dorn and Katie Klemke will certainly be missed, but Carthage has many, many good players to take over their playing time.
Elmhurst finished third at 10-4; the Jays most major loss is Lyndsie Long, obviously. They have some interesting newcomers though, so they should be fine.
Millikin was fourth at 9-5. They got mangled and mutilated by IWU in the conference playoffs, so they will modify their game a bit. I expect them to be strong in '10-'11.
Wheaton went 6-8 in conference play, but I think they're close to becoming very good (see my 3/17/10 post). Haven't heard any recruiting news about the Thunder.
Augie, North Park and North Central, each 2-12, face a steeper climb than the other five teams and therefore get the bulk of my wishes for good luck. But, it should be their goal to go 14-0 and to be competitive with everyone; not to be afraid of running with IWU, for example. Get ready to play fast, I say. Practice pressing, please!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Love your opening line - by LATE February I suspect we don't need this conversation!

By late January we will probably have a pretty good handle on the question.

But I'm impatient - I want insights NOW!

I'll stick my neck out and say IWU IS gonna win again.  Just not sure who is waiting if they stumble.  I thought they would have a big drop-off after one of the best back-courts in d3 graduated in 2009.  I now think Mia Smith has them at a re-load, don't re-build point.  Which probably means I am at a full-of-**** point of utter disappointment!

But, dang it, they only have one more season of hosting the d3 Final Four - show UP for it this year!

[RogK]

Mr. Ypsi, you didn't need to use asterisks in lieu of the four-letter word 'kelp'.
I don't think anyone who reads this web site would be offended.

[beltsh97]

Saw a post about Ill Wesleyan sched and it is very tough indeed.....heres another 1 to add to the mix as 1 of toughest in nation

http://www.keanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2010-11/schedule

[RogK]

The intersection of those two schedules is December 31, 2010, when Kean hosts IWU.
In the final d3hoops poll of last season, one finds Kean at 5 and IWU at 6.

[RogK]

Since no one has written a critique of my recent post encouraging most or all CCIW teams to play a fast tempo and practice pressing, I'll anticipate what a coach or two might think:
"My roster is smallish. I plan to use my best players 35 or 38 minutes per game. A lot of pressing and running will wear them out early in the game."
Yeah, individual players can't do high tempo for 35 minutes; you're stuck playing slow. However, practicing pressing should still improve your ability to deal with a press imposed by opponents. And, if your players get good at pressing, it could be used now and then to (hopefully) induce a turnover by the other team.
"I don't like to press because my team will get into foul trouble sooner than in a half-court game. I don't want to send the other team to the line."
Not to worry : in a one-and-one situation, D3 teams do not consistently make 2 FTs. Even in a double bonus, missed FTs are common.
A successful defensive stand allows 0 or 1 point, in my view.
Of course, the main purpose of pressing is to get the other team to commit a turnover. This is achieved with an in-your-face press, not from 8 feet away.
A half-hearted press isn't worth much; it'll eat some time off the shot clock, but it's not going to cause turnovers.
"I have great low post players, which means that a half-court game works in our favor."
OK, but if you practice pressing and get good at it, you'll still gain the advantages listed above : you will be better at getting through another team's press and you will have a good press in your arsenal, to periodically spring on the unsuspecting opponent.
I hope this answers all the questions that nobody asked!

[RogK]

thought of another one:
"My guards are too short to use in a full-court press. The other team can easily pass the ball over their heads."
Well, that's a problem in a half-court defense, too.
Solution: have non-guards do the initial wave of trapping/pressing, if your bigger players are agile enough to chase the ball.
At least have a tall player guard the inbound pass.
The bigger players are probably in the vicinity anyway -- have 'em play D where they are, rather than making them run from end-to-end every time. If none of this works, you can always teach height to the small players.
Such useful advice!

[RogK]

Had a look at the eight web sites.
Six have their '10-'11 schedules posted. Still waiting on EC and NP.
Carthage has the new roster, as does Millikin (without freshmen).

[RogK]

Elmhurst has their sked up now, too.

[Gregory Sager]

I haven't spoken to the NPU coaches yet, but I've been told that the Vikings are expecting twenty or so women to be out for the team this year -- and some of the newbies are supposed to be pretty impressive. I'm not surprised. I doubt that anyone in the league is going to outwork Amanda and Rachel on the recruiting trail.

Given the fact that, more often than not over the past four or five years, NPU has not had enough healthy women on the roster to even have full five-on-five practices, a twenty-player squad would be pretty amazing.

[RogK]

A deep roster will surely help North Park, Greg, even if it takes a while for them all to "get on the same page." And we may now get a better idea of what brand of play Coach Reese wants to implement.
Did any of our numerous IWU fans notice that the Titan web site now has a 25 player (8 freshmen) 2010-11 roster? Looks like everyone who could return has returned. Coach Smith again has an abundance of fine players.