WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[peachbasket]

Here are my pre-pre-season predictions:
1.  St. Ben's - based on returners and the rest of the league, they should win it.
2.  Carleton - Vig is the best overall player in the league and what sounds like some unbelievable talent, if Tammy can combine the old with the new, it could be scary!
3.  Bethel - They make a HUGE jump, and catch up to the top.
4.  St. Thomas - Opdahl could be amazing if they can find someone to handle the ball/shoot from the perimeter.
5.  Gustavus - Still good, and their defense should get them in the top half.
6.  Concordia - No Mandy, but perhaps this biased pick can still get into the play-offs.
7.  St. Olaf - Should be better than 7, but this team is far too wishy-washy!
8.  Hamline - Really talented individuals, but WAY too many individuals, including the Coach!
9.  St. Mary's - Oh how the mighty have fallen, 3 very talented players have graduated!
10. Augsburg - New coach really got this team playing well by season's end, but still not enough talent.
11.  St. Kate's - Always put a scare in people, but just can't finish!  WAY too much drama!
12.  Macalester - Poor, poor Mac.  Only gets as high as 12 because there are only 12 teams...will they finish the year?  That in and of itself gives them the 12th spot.

[Collegeville Magic]

Not that my opinion will ever matter, but here's my pick:

 

1. (tie) CSB and Carleton- Heikenen and Vig battle it out for MVP, and the teams split the season series. Each will also drop one game to somebody else.  That other loss will determine the conference title.
3.  UST- Opdahl is BIG, being Trish-free is bigger
4.  Hamline- good talent, but team chemistry and school history against them
5.  Bethel- still scores plenty, but can't stop anybody else
6.  GAC- still defends plenty, but can't score enough
7.  Oles- who knows which version will show up on any given night
8.  Cobs- Mandy is now a Piper
9.  St. Kate's- "up and coming" every year, which starter(s) will get hurt this season?
10.  SMU- can anybody help Luehmann?
11.  Augsburg- they're Augsburg
300. Mac- may never complete a full season again

[peachbasket]

Mac should be announcing their new hire.  Very interesting!!!

[KnightsArmor]

Ellen Thompson, UST 1991, is Mac's new coach.  Good choice!

Picking MAC to finish last in the MIAC makes about as much sense as picking MAC's football team to finish last in the MIAC ---- neither team is even a member of the MIAC.  It is unlikely the football team will ever return to the MIAC and the women's basketball team is not scheduled to return to the conference until the 2006-2007 season.  In the 2005-2006 season, MAC is playing as an independent.  They will play each of the other 11 MIAC schools once and play 11 games against other non-MIAC schools.   

[peachbasket]

Ellen Thompson, were there any other legitimate choices? 
Now if I am correct, she had been assisting at UST during Dornish's tenure, could she aid in bringing Macalester any lower, as she aided in UST's demise, or does she get no credit for what happened at St. Thomas?
Wait a minute, I'll answer one of my questions, you can't get any lower than where Mac is right now, can you?!?!?!  Good luck, to her, I wouldn't wish that job on my worst enemy, even MY-K.  (That was for you KK.)

Hey CM, you a little gun-shy to give your Bennies the out-right title with your picks.  Has Tantrum Tammy scared you enough to make you believe in the Knights, or are you questioning the Blazers?  I do believe your pick of my Cobbers is probably more realistic than my own, but a guy's got to dream!
Should be another great year in the MIAC, can't wait for the start.

[Ghost of MIAC Past]

  It's nice to see Bethel finally get some recognition.  As far as the score a lot but can't stop anyone bit.  They finally got some help there.  Of course you can't stop any one when you only have one player over 5'8".  Players like the freeman twins and heikenen will dominate little players more so than normal.  They finally have some size and depth off the bench.  So don't count on the D being quite as poor as years past.

[bobby]

   EXCITED FOR BASKETBALL TO START, NO PREDICTIONS FOR ME YET.  INTERESTING PREDICTIONS ON HERE SO  FAR, IT COULD BE A WHOLE DIFFERENT YEAR, ALOT OF GOOD PLAYERS GONE THAT WILL MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF DIFFERENCE ON SOME OF THE TEAMS.

[LA RAMS]

Okay, so what if it's only the Labor Day weekend and my mind's on the U.S. Open and football.  Here's my (very) early preseason picks:

1.  CSB - Just too much size and talent here to deny them - plus an even more experienced AH will lead the way for the red-clad Blazers.

2.  Carleton - A lot of talent and experience lost to graduation here for my Knights.  However, they do return arguably the best player in the conference in Vig and the newcomers are supposedly very good so we'll see.  Somehow Tammy will get this group to blend together and stay in contention for the title.

It gets a bit messy after the first two picks.......Your guess is as good as mine....

3.  UST - It will be interesting to see how new coach Ruth Sinn brings this squad along.  I'm just guessing with Opdahl back they should be better than last year. 

4.  Hamline - They finally make the jump into the top six.  How well they handle it is another subject.  But they have some talent now and a coaching staff committed to building a winner and this may be where it all starts for them.

5.  Concordia - With Mandy now a coach at the above mentioned institution and not wearing the maroon and gold this may be a generous pick. 

6.  SMU - Yet another team that is facing the loss of a star player.  Just making the MIAC playoffs would be a moral victory for them.

7.  St. Kate's - I'm always thinking that this team could make the jump and they keep finding new ways to disappoint.

8.  GAC - I really, really, REALLY hope I'm wrong here on this one and I'll gladly break out the frying pan and defeather the crow should the Gusties somehow prove me wrong but I just don't see a lot of good things in store for this group.  It was one thing when you had the one-two punch of Etzel and AP but they just don't have that now.

9.  St. Olaf - They showed some spark last season but they don't have enough yet to get to the upper echelon.

10.  Bethel - This team could certainly finish much higher but size looks to be the stumbling block here.

11.  Augsburg - This is a team that played much better down the stretch last year.  If they can be more consistent they could finish a few spots higher.

12.  MAC - Hey, where else am I supposed to put them?  Seriously, though, it was good to see Ellen Thompson named as the new coach and hopefully she can get the program in a position to compete on a night-in and night-out basis.   

[gacbacker]

LA Rams - besides your top two teams I pretty much think your predictions are way off base.

GAC 8th and Bethel 10th? You're giving way too much credit to Hamline, St. Mary's and St. Kate's as well.

Remember that GAC could have two of the best five players in the conference this year in Monahan and Vadnais...and from what I've heard Bethel has addressed their size problems with a couple of transfers.

Also an interesting note: The Gusties have finished in the top 6 in the conference every year since the 1988-89 season...that's 17 straight years...you really think that streak will end this year?

I will guarantee you that St. Mary's and St. Kate's will not finish in the upper half of the conference this year.

My predictions:

1. St. Ben's
2. Carleton
3. Gustavus
4. Bethel
5. Hamline
6. St. Thomas
7. St. Olaf
8. Concordia
9. St. Mary's
10. Augsburg
11. St. Kate's
12. Macalester

[bobby]

LA Rams - besides your top two teams I pretty much think your predictions are way off base.

GAC 8th and Bethel 10th? You're giving way too much credit to Hamline, St. Mary's and St. Kate's as well.

Remember that GAC could have two of the best five players in the conference this year in Monahan and Vadnais...and from what I've heard Bethel has addressed their size problems with a couple of transfers.

Also an interesting note: The Gusties have finished in the top 6 in the conference every year since the 1988-89 season...that's 17 straight years...you really think that streak will end this year?

I will guarantee you that St. Mary's and St. Kate's will not finish in the upper half of the conference this year.

My predictions:

1. St. Ben's
2. Carleton
3. Gustavus
4. Bethel
5. Hamline
6. St. Thomas
7. St. Olaf
8. Concordia
9. St. Mary's
10. Augsburg
11. St. Kate's
12. Macalester

[LA RAMS]

GACBacker,

Hey, I hope I'm proven wrong on my pick for GAC.  I WANT them badly to finish in the top 3 or 4.  Yes, they do have a couple of very good players in Vadnais and Monahan and I also think Erin Boese could develop into a very good one as well.  Beyond that, what else is there?  The problem I see with the Gusties (and I saw this a lot last year) is that they got bullied by other teams down low.  Second, they lost a lot in terms of senior leadership and that's going to be a tough element to replace as well.  Hopefully, someone can/will step up and show the younger ones the way.......

Also, why does everyone seem to be jumping on the Bethel bandwagon all of a sudden?  I like their coach and I do see improvement for them down the road but picking them to finish third or fourth in the conference?  C'mon.  Look, maybe they did address the size issue with a couple of new transfers and they have been making progress but until I see all this parlay into success I'll resist the temptation of doing any backflips over Bethel for the time being.  

[Collegeville Magic]

Peaches- My only fear in the area of Tammy is that she might enter the stands some time and chew off a fan's ear, a la Tyson.  Carleton will still be scrappy and probably talented, but they've lost their sharpest elbows, their most clutching hands, and their most insane parent with the graduation of the Freemans.

I would be the unabashed homer and pick my Blazers outright, but I'm really not all that knowledgeable to begin with, and my feeble brain doesn't want to attempt the pressure of a self-centered pick right away.

Go Blazers!!

[gacbacker]

LA - Why are you doing backflips for Hamline then?

[peachbasket]

CM - no truer words ever spoken from a fan in St. Joe's!!
As for the predictions, I really think the league is pretty even. Bethel makes a jump, in my mind, because of graduation around the league!
Hamline, on paper, still should be more talented than most, but when the team is fighting over who gets to shoot, and who they won't pass to, they'll be hard-pressed to beat anyone, except Mac, and those other pansies they slapped-up a year ago!

[Willy Wonka]

There is no way GAC finishes 8th. It's football season so I refuse to go into detail, but you can bet your bottom dollar on that.