WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

Wheaton's web site has an '08-'09 schedule.
It will be interesting to see how the Thunder comes back from a rather sour '07-'08 season.

[omaha]

North Park is seeking a new womens basketball coach to replace Jack Surridge.  Apparently Jack will remain athletic director at NPU

[RogK]

Did a little digging and found the North Park opening announced on d3jobs.com, posted April 30, deadline May 31.
A few words about Jack Surridge, who is stepping down from the coaching position and will now be just the Athletic Director :
I would not be writing anything here or even attending any D3 women's games, were it not for the kindness of Jack Surridge.
Back in 1999 or 2000, I had just bought a panoramic camera and wanted to see how well it would take a wide view in a gym. North Park is the closest college gym to my house, so on a whim I went there.
Jack kindly welcomed me and said to "shoot away" (or something similar). He could have reacted with a common, but rancid, question that greets a stranger in some places : "who are you with?" -- as if being a regular, interested individual has no value. But he was nice and accessible to a guy who had just walked in off Foster Avenue.
Anyway, I stayed for the women's game of that afternoon. Before long, I was a D3 women's hoops addict, like the rest of you readers.
All the fun I've had attending games, meeting other fans, coaches, refs and parents wouldn't have happened without that initial act of generous hospitality by Jack Surridge. In my book, that rates up there with his 500+ wins.
Come November, I hope to see him relaxing and enjoying a game as fan/Athletic Director. That will be an easy transition from being a competitive coach, won't it?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Did a little digging and found the North Park opening announced on d3jobs.com, posted April 30, deadline May 31.
A few words about Jack Surridge, who is stepping down from the coaching position and will now be just the Athletic Director :
I would not be writing anything here or even attending any D3 women's games, were it not for the kindness of Jack Surridge.
Back in 1999 or 2000, I had just bought a panoramic camera and wanted to see how well it would take a wide view in a gym. North Park is the closest college gym to my house, so on a whim I went there.
Jack kindly welcomed me and said to "shoot away" (or something similar). He could have reacted with a common, but rancid, question that greets a stranger in some places : "who are you with?" -- as if being a regular, interested individual has no value. But he was nice and accessible to a guy who had just walked in off Foster Avenue.
Anyway, I stayed for the women's game of that afternoon. Before long, I was a D3 women's hoops addict, like the rest of you readers.
All the fun I've had attending games, meeting other fans, coaches, refs and parents wouldn't have happened without that initial act of generous hospitality by Jack Surridge. In my book, that rates up there with his 500+ wins.
Come November, I hope to see him relaxing and enjoying a game as fan/Athletic Director. That will be an easy transition from being a competitive coach, won't it?

Not if he's like me.  It was a good 3-4 years after I stopped coaching youth soccer before I could actually SIT while watching a game!  It just didn't seem natural to not be up and pacing the sideline!   Fortunately, I (almost) always kept my instructions to myself!

[RogK]

On IWU's athletics page is a list of probable '08-'09 newcomers. These are shown for women's hoops :
Amy Burton, 6-0 center, Vernon Hills, Ill. (HS)
Kylie Castens, 5-10 guard, Schaumburg, Ill. (HS)
Lauren Knaack, 5-6 guard, McHenry, Ill. (HS) - also soccer
Amanda Murray, 5-8 forward, Bloomington, Ill. (Central Catholic HS)
Karen Solari, 5-10 forward, Park Ridge, Ill. (Maine South HS)

[Titan Q]

A little on IWU's recruits...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/05/29/usports/doc483df82365d09885138720.txt

[AndOne]

Kendra Hunter has been named the new head woman's basketball coach at North Central College.

During her playing days (as Kendra Meyer) at Capital University in Ohio, she was a D3Hoops All-American for the 98-99, 99-00, and 00-01 seasons, including being named to the 1st team in 00-01. Further details follow.

http://www.northcentralcollege.edu/x44908.xml

[mr_b]

North Park has hired Amanda Reese as new head coach of women's basketball:

http://www.northpark.edu/home/index.cfm?northpark=RNews.RNews_Story&ID=2760

Reese was an assistant coach at UIC and is an alumna of Northern Illinois.

[RogK]

Welcome to the CCIW and good luck to the new coaches at North Central and North Park.
Elmhurst is hosting the NCAA-approved summer women's league this time. They started Monday night, with a large number of CCIW players participating. The first thing you notice is that the host Bluejays have many new players, including some tall ones. Coach Werner will have a lot to work with for '08-'09. Depth will not be a problem.
I also watched a contingent of IWU players cruise past their opponent. Mallory Heydorn dazzled onlookers with her marvelous shooting, knocking down three after three after three after...
Teammate Holly Harvey casually banked in an over-the-shoulder layup.
I saw most of Carthage's game as well. They had a new player or two that will make them stronger. The always-energetic Rosie Dorn played well (others played hard and effectively, too, of course).
Didn't get there last night.
Games are at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00. Remaining dates are June 19, 23, 24, 26 and July 7, 8, 10, 14 plus playoffs on the 15th and 17th. There are 24 teams, mostly featuring area D3 and NAIA players.

[Titan Q]

Millikin recruits...

http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2008/06/17/sports/millikin/1033420.txt

[RogK]

Titan Q, based on that article, we might expect Millikin to be right there in the battle for CCIW playoff positions in '08-'09. Although they lose four starters, they still have some experienced, talented players. Plus, those freshman sound good. Coach Kerans will form them into a good team, even if they are primarily guard size.
It promises to be an interesting season. After a couple more enjoyable evenings of spectatoring at the Elmhurst summer league, I can report a few things.
Augustana has picked up some new, athletic players to help them climb up in the standings.
Nearly all of North Central's veteran core of players are participating, doing so with vigor, unity and aggressiveness. I didn't hear anything about their incoming freshman.
Carthage has been well-represented, with most of their fine flock taking part in the games. Carlie Janowiak, foot in cast from recent surgery, has been there to encourage her mates. Coach Bernero says Janowiak should be ready to play when things start in the fall.
IWU has about nine or ten players on their summer league roster. Come this winter, it remains to be seen how many CCIW teams will get up to the level where the Titans are. Despite graduating some topnotch players, they are very deep and maybe even more so, if some of their freshman can help out right away.
Elmhurst got stomped 44-22 in the 2nd half of the February playoff matchup vs IWU, so it was evident that the Jays had to improve an already-good team in order to fully challenge the Titans. And, in fact, a large shipment of good-sized athletic newcomers has arrived for Elmhurst, giving them probably 20 – 24 players, so they are fielding two summer league teams.
In the real '08-'09 season, only five can play at a time, so Coach Werner will have a lot of deciding to do, all the while having many good options. She will be able to "go big" (imagine Brittany Bobruk as a 3 and a couple of the new 6-footers playing 4 and 5) or "go small" using four or five under-6-footers together, or anything in between.
There are some players from Millikin, North Park and/or Wheaton in the summer league, but I haven't observed them yet.

[RogK]

Most of the '08-'09 schedules are now up around the conference.
Due to arena construction in Kenosha, Carthage has no home games until January 13. Their all-road nonconference schedule sends them to contests in six different states.

[RogK]

The Carthage web site has an '08-'09 roster containing 15 players, including 6 new ones. The Lady Reds will have an abundance of mid-size guard/forwards, around 5'8" to 5'10".
Some further thoughts on the recent summer league in Elmhurst :
No wide-ranging conclusions can be drawn, primarily because there was no coaching and no shot clock. Nevertheless, it was fun to have a little preview of the upcoming season.
I don't remember her name, but Augustana has a new forward, maybe 5'11", who is very athletic and will shoot from distance or will drive to the basket with impressive quickness. She may become the next CCIW leader in free throw attempts and up there in minutes played.
As stated earlier, Elmhurst has a bunch of new players. A number of them should be able to help right away, in various facets of the game. I'm thinking that the Jays' returning top three scorers, Long, Bobruk and Monroe, may not have to carry so much of the scoring load in '08-'09. Meaning that the Jays will get contributions from a lot of players, some adding low-post scoring and others knocking down threes and midrange shots, plus fast break activity. For it all to work out well, with that many players (15-20?), the established veterans will need to help the younger ones fit in.
North Central has an experienced core of players and can be expected to contend for a conference playoff spot. It will be interesting to see the effect of a new coach on the Cardinals, whether they might modify any offensive or defensive tendencies.
North Park, Millikin and Wheaton did not have a lot of presence, if any, at the summer league, and I learned nothing about them.
Which brings us to the reigning champs of the CCIW, Illinois Wesleyan. Their summer league team did the best, making the playoff round, but got eliminated by an assemblage of D2 players. Suffice it to say that IWU will be good in '08-'09. The backcourt stars,  Claire Sheehan and Mallory Heydorn, are now seniors and will be at their best, combining talent, effort and experience. Fellow senior Colleen Caplice is an excellent part of the team, as well, starting or off the bench. The Solari sisters, Nikki Preston, Stacey Arlis, Jessica Hinterlong and Holly Harvey all did good work in the summer league. There was a freshman or two, too, but I'm not sure how much playing time will be open for them.

[RogK]

Here are some new arrivals for North Central (found under "Recruits" on their web page) :

Mallory Carlini, 5'11" forward (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook/Coll. of DuPage)
Ashley Dempsey, 5'5" guard (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North)
Karina Estrada, 5'5" guard (Burbank, Ill./Reavis/Moraine Valley CC)
Kelsey Kruel, 5'6" forward (Bartlett, Ill./Streamwood)
Tanya Lozano, 5'5" guard (Chicago, Ill./Campos)
Mia Sansone, 5'5" guard (Bensenville, Ill./Fenton)
Tanika Warren, 5'8" forward (Chicago, Ill./Hope)

[RogK]

Millikin has posted a roster featuring eight returning players, one new junior and ten freshmen.
See Titan Q's 6/23 post for the link to Coach Kerans's comments about the new kids. Looks to me like the Big Blue has plenty of good talent for the upcoming season.