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Messages - Gotberg

#1
Who are the espn announcers for the game?
#2
Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 18, 2023, 04:35:39 PM
Coe 86
North Park 66

Right now the Vikings look exactly like the same sort of frustrated victim that they try to create in opponents by their aggressive style. This weekend they were the team that lost its head in the face of adversity, thereby causing even more mistakes to pile up. This doesn't look at all like the team that battled DePaul into the final three minutes a couple of weeks ago. The Vikings spent too much time and energy arguing calls/non-calls, and you could tell just by looking at their postures that they were wound up too tight. They played two excellent teams in Jacksonville that they couldn't just sweep aside, and both of those opponents, Wabash and Coe, demonstrated that a huge part of winning basketball games is keeping your wits about you when you make some mistakes and/or the other team goes on a run.

Sean and his coaching staff have to sort this out and get this team back into its proper headspace. There are some X's and O's stuff to figure out as well, but the big problem with this team right now is mental.

During the first half of the game against DePaul, Dave Corzine commented that North Park doesn't have offensive structure and the person that brought the ball up tends to shoot.  He said that made sense, because if they pass it, they will never get to take a shot themselves.

I watched the Wabash game and the second half of the Coe game.  I didn't see much passing in these 2 games - lots of 1 v multiple.
#3
I'm surprised neither Brooks or Kone didnt get a few minutes against depaul.  Do we know if they weren't available or if it was the coach's decision?
#4
Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 03, 2023, 11:34:05 AM
Quote from: tjcummingsfan on November 02, 2023, 10:05:46 PM
DePaul 74 - NP 63.

NP out rebounded DePaul 33-32, NP had fewer turnovers (16-18), and NP had 4 more steals (11-7).  The steals and turnovers were things I would have hoped NP would have been close on.  The rebound stat is exciting to me. 

Purely watching the gamecast (I had to talk too much in my meeting to sneak AirPods in during it), it seemed like NP kept it close-ish for much of the game. 

I'm encouraged, and looking forward to GS's recap of the game.

With the likely exception of next week's game at D1 SIU-Edwardsville, last night was the only time that NPU will be physically outmatched this season. The Vikings are longer and stronger than they were a year ago, and they haven't really sacrificed any team speed in the process (Kyren Gardner and Phil Holmes are rough equivalents, quickness-wise, for their graduated predecessors Marquise Jackson and Jordan Boyd). Granted, by Big East standards DePaul is not a powerhouse, but it's a tough proposition for a D3 team to play an opponent that has multiple players in the 6'5" to 6'8" range who are quick and can handle the ball in the halfcourt as well as the open floor.

As tjcf noted, North Park won the rebounding battle. That was simple aggressiveness on the part of the Vikings; of course, a big part of NPU's game is cued on the ability to hit the offensive boards hard, and the Park enjoyed a big 13-5 advantage on the offensive glass. The main problem for NPU last night was in simply dealing with the one-on-one play of the big, fast Blue Demons; they drew a massive number of fouls on the Vikings (23-12 foul disparity) and got to the line 26 times, hitting 21 of them. NPU, by comparison, only shot three FTs all night (making all three), and thus free throws were the deciding factor in the game.

DePaul led wire to wire, but the Blue Demons were only up by a basket ten minutes in, and by five points at the half. They pushed out the lead into the teens at several points in the second stanza, only to see NPU claw back into the game each time, but with six minutes and change to go DePaul extended the lead to 62-45 and it looked like the game was over. But then Kyren Gardner, who is an extraordinary physical specimen at 6'2", 185, drove hard on the right side and dunked over one of DePaul's 6'8" forwards, drawing a foul in the process and finishing the and-one. That electrified the crowd (NPU had about 50% of the 2,000-plus attendees, and the Vikings fans made a lot more noise) and started an 11-0 Vikings run that culminated in back-to-back Kolden Vanlandingham treys that brought NPU to within six at 62-56 with under three minutes remaining. At that point the Blue Demons clamped down and the comeback charge petered out, but DePaul walked off of the floor after the final buzzer knowing that it had been in a game. I sat at the scorer's table next to a member of the DePaul sports information staff who is a Millikin grad from the '80s, and we chatted a bit during the game about the old days of the CCIW (he goes back to the last great Big Blue era of Barnes, Horst, Bottorff, and Slapak in the late '80s). After the game was over, he said, "Good luck to you guys this season, although I don't think you're going to need it. Nobody's gonna stop #1 (Shamar Pumphrey) in the CCIW."

Pumphrey led the way for NPU with 13 points, six boards, three steals, and a sterling 5:2 a:to ratio. Vanlandingham, who was face-guarded all night -- imagine that, a D3 player who gets face-guarded by a Big East team -- wound up with an even dozen points, and Kyren Gardner had 11. Phil Holmes, the 6'9, 225 transfer who is going to come as an unpleasant surprise to the rest of the CCIW, played very well underneath the basket against multiple Blue Demons who could match his size and speed.

Not a win, but a highly-encouraging outing for North Park in its 2023-24 debut.


The dunk - worthy of a post:  https://twitter.com/kyrengardner1/status/1720283025622147421
#5
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on October 25, 2023, 07:49:07 AM
Quote from: Gregory Sager on October 24, 2023, 02:17:37 PM
Preseason poll is out:


1. North Park (3)  55
2. Carthage (3)  54
3. Elmhurst (3)  53
4. Illinois Wesleyan  51
5. Wheaton  35
6. Millikin  27
7. North Central  23
8t. Augustana  13
8t. Carroll  13

That's as narrow a first-division as I can remember seeing in a CCIW preseason poll.

Last season's preseason poll

IWU (6) - 6th
NCC (1) - 5th
Elmhurst (2) - 4th
Wheaton - 1st
Millikin - 8th
Augustana - 7th
NPU - 2nd
Carthage - 3rd
Carroll - 9th

It should be an exciting year!  Lots of talented teams with good coaching.
#6
Quote from: Gregory Sager on October 12, 2023, 02:40:11 PM
Quote from: Gotberg on October 12, 2023, 02:08:38 PM
NPU added a picture with the roster.  It also looks like at least 1 name has been dropped off - Brandon Swann from IMG.  I didn't look that closely to see if there are others since the roster was first posted a while back....but I think there are more removed.

https://athletics.northpark.edu/sports/mens-basketball/roster

They're not "dropped off" or "removed" at all in the sense of their no longer being on the team. A lot of guys simply aren't listed. Only the players suiting up for varsity home games are listed. (And that list of 23 will undoubtedly be pared down further for road games, since I doubt that Sean has the budget to accommodate that many mouths to feed in a traveling party.) Thus, a number of players -- including Swann, Caleb Newman, LC, etc. -- aren't on there. They'll be listed if they get promoted, or perhaps Sean will submit a separate JV roster for the website, similar to how Hope and Calvin used to list their rosters.

Most of those JV guys are in the picture, however, wearing warmup gear. And some of the guys listed on the varsity roster -- such as the Vuckovic brothers -- aren't in the picture at all. (It's hard to get thirty-plus guys all together without schedule conflicts interfering, aside from 4 pm practice time.)

I'm at most practices in Helwig, and I can attest that it's a mob scene. They use both McCarrell and Djurickovic courts, and for much of the practices the coaches have them divided into four teams that each have multiple subs. And I can also tell you that there are some very, very good players at those practices in Helwig that may see little or no time in varsity games this season. This team isn't simply deep in terms of numbers; it's deep in terms of talent.

Interesting,  I did not know it was a varsity only roster.
#7
NPU added a picture with the roster.  It also looks like at least 1 name has been dropped off - Brandon Swann from IMG.  I didn't look that closely to see if there are others since the roster was first posted a while back....but I think there are more removed.

https://athletics.northpark.edu/sports/mens-basketball/roster
#8
Men's soccer / Re: CCIW
October 03, 2023, 05:08:32 PM
Quote from: Gregory Sager on October 03, 2023, 10:18:22 AM
Right now the burning question is whether or not Augustana will score a goal this season.

Holy smokes - I hope they get 1, but if they don't - would that be a first?
#9
Quote from: soccerpapa on August 29, 2023, 03:11:12 PM
Aurora University playing a D1 Team (northern Illinois) during the regular season - this seems odd doesnt it?

It's not uncommon in Basketball.  It's usually an exhibition for the d3 team, regular game for d1.  Likely, NIU had a date it couldn't fill, so added a d3 to get a game in....
#10
Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on August 29, 2023, 08:59:46 AM
Quote from: Gregory Sager on August 28, 2023, 03:10:03 PM
Calvin's archrival Hope likewise has a pedigree from the Dutch-American subspecies of Reformed Christianity. I don't ever remember anybody making predestination jokes about Hope teams losing, though, and I'd be curious if any of the Hope fans who regularly read this board have ever heard any such jokes directed at a Flying Dutchman squad.


I don't recall ever hearing these kind of jokes aimed at Hope, but then we didn't name the school after that guy.

To share one of the better Rivalry pranks of all time; For many, many years, the back and forth between the Hope and Calvin students would always "end" with the Calvin students chanting "where's your banner" (Calvin has 2 NCAA championship banners, Hope has none yet).  Some 20 or so years ago, the Hope students pretty much goaded the Calvin students to that chant, and then replied by producing one of the Calvin Banners (in their hands) and said "we've got yours".  As the Calvin students started to react and try to get their banner back, the Hope students destroyed the banner (turned out that the banner was a fake, created by some Hope students).

Great story!
#11
Men's soccer / Re: CCIW
August 27, 2023, 01:04:42 PM
Anyone have info on the NPU v Calvin scrimmage?
#12
Women's soccer / Re: CCIW
August 25, 2023, 10:49:47 AM
I'm looking forward to the NPU women playing this year, I think they're on the rise.  In addition to the new recruits, they also have a player who sat out last year with high potential, based on her H.S. career - looking forward to the season.
#13
Men's soccer / Re: Early season must see games?
August 15, 2023, 03:21:22 PM
I'm not sure what constitutes early, but I like the NPU / Chicago game on 9/12.
#14
Quote from: Gregory Sager on August 11, 2023, 05:34:56 PM
North Park has a late addition to the roster: 5'10 rising junior Julian Gatewood out of Homewood-Flossmoor. As a starter in the Aurora backcourt last season he averaged 9.4 ppg for the Spartans, but it was his shooting line that was particularly impressive: .449/.393/.903, as he led Aurora in treys made as well as trey percentage. With Jonah Ogunsanya sitting out the upcoming season due to injury, it's likely that Gatewood will compete with Davante Robinson for the role of designated sharpshooter off the bench.

I hadn't heard of Jonah Ogunsanya as a recruit....is that a late addition too?
#15
Quote from: RogK on August 11, 2023, 11:23:00 AM
Another good aspect of Greg's broadcasts is that he doesn't use the opportunity to editorialize on other topics.
But he almost made a political comment during a North Park baseball webcast in April.
North Park won in the bottom of the 9th with a perfectly executed squeeze bunt.
Greg wanted to do a quick postgame interview with that batter, but the guy couldn't be located.
Greg said : Hey, where is that bunter hidin'?

+k