Hi all --

Avowed lurker here has a favor to ask:  Can anyone recommend a place to grab a bite before tonight's North Park/IWU game?  I live in North Center, but usually venture south rather than north for eats.  And no sushi, please.

Thanks!
HF24

Quote from: martin on June 01, 2006, 03:58:13 PM
A bit of a rant – that is not really off topic.  Discussion of the IHSA pops up from time to time since the bulk of CCIW cagers play under the auspices of that august organization. 

I was looking at information about some recruits and noticed that the University of Chicago Lab School is in Class AA.  All this because of the multiplier for non-boundary schools.  They had a nice 18-8 season and could have done well in the Class A tournament.  Unfortunately, their enrollment of 480 was boosted to 792, just above the cutoff for class AA.  So they went into the regional with Simeon. 

In the coming year, Peoria Manual, winners of the Class AA championship from 1994 -97, are being dropped to Class A. (Note: To Manual's credit, they have asked the IHSA to classify the Rams as Class AA in the coming school year, the last one under the two class system).

One thing that happens with the multiplier is that when you boost some schools, others come down.  Under IHSA rules, 4/9 of the schools are AA and 5/9 are A.  So we have this remarkable situation where the nerdiest high school in the state has to compete with the big boys while one of the all time basketball powers gets to beat up on smaller schools.  Maybe enrollment should be adjusted for the number of kids with thick glasses and pocket protectors. 

All this because the small downstate schools are angry about Catholic schools winning so many state championships in football.  So multiply their enrollments and get them into bigger classes, removing some of the competition.  I think a lot of the complaints about Catholic schools are vestiges of the racism and anti-Catholic sentiment that was (is?)  pervasive in downstate Illinois.  I think the Mason Dixon line runs somewhere through Tinley Park.  Most Chicagoans know a lot more about Wisconsin than they know about their own state.  Outside the Chicago area, it is a southern state.  What went on in Cairo and other towns in "Little Egypt" was just as ugly as Selma and Birmingham.

I admire the Catholic schools (I am not Catholic). I have noticed that the only athletic teams that are truly integrated are the ones representing Catholic schools.  There is a lot of sacrifice (and money) on the part of parents to send their kids to Catholic schools.   So what are the perceived benefits of not having boundaries?   Probably the biggest benefit is the ability of Catholic schools to demand discipline (and get it) from all their students.

But the IHSA is a one school, one vote organization.  So all the small downstate schools with 150 students count just as much as say Stevenson with 4,600.  And they want a better chance at winning a championship trophy.  So they want four classes in basketball instead of a great two class system.  They should see what happened in Indiana when they went from one to four.  They want to get the strong Catholic schools out of their brackets, so multiply their enrollments.

They really hate the small inner city Catholic schools like Leo and Hales Franciscan.  Hales is not really good at its paperwork.  They are trying to save inner city black males (on a shoestring budget).  But the downstate schools do not like it when an all black team from Chicago is in the Class A tournament.

I thought high school sports were all about participating.  Maybe the IHSA should make another class for backward, ignorant schools.  At the end of each season, every school in that class would be declared a champion and get a trophy. 

I can't really comment intelligently, except to state that I believe the Illinois Math & Science Academy is, in fact, nerdier than Lab.   

I, too, was at the IWU/Wheaton game on Saturday.  I don't have anything to add from a pure basketball perspective, but I did want to note that I was really impressed with how both teams conducted themselves after the game.

In my IWU years, it seemd as though the IWU/Wheaton rivalry was getting ugly.  There was no trace of that on Saturday night.  I was particularly impressed that the Wheaton players came to shake hands even in the midst of the student celebration.

Coach Harris and his team are clearly quality people.

Quote from: diehardfan on January 03, 2006, 01:01:20 PM
Personally, I like that they did this. I can personally attest to how beautiful California is,  and I'd bet money that trips like this are major highlights in a student-athlete's college career. It's one of the small consolations a talented young player would get, paying his dues and waiting for the older more experienced players to graduate. Or for the "grunts" who work hard in practice to make their teammates better, even if it means that they will never see game time... I definitely think they earn this. Maybe it costs the program some cash to bring them along, but if it helps them in the long run, and adds to the student's scope of experience and capacity of their worldview, I'm firmly all for it. Especially when it involves kids from the midwest who may never have even seen the ocean or real mountains before! 

I completely agree.   My favorite part of IWU athletics was our annual swimming trip to Florida -- yup, the powerhouse that was IWU women's swimming in the mid-nineties (NOT) took an annual training trip to Florida.  Might not have helped our standings in the conference, but it was definitely a great team-building event and provided the kind of extra experiences one gets from DIII in general.

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on December 22, 2005, 12:38:29 PM
IWU-ISU was an annual  match-up for many years, and was the top 'grudge match' for both teams.  ISU ended the series when they decided to go d1 (1969?).  We got our revenge for the 'we're too big for you now' slap by beating them in the final game!

Thanks, Mr. Ypsi.

That means that my mom (ISU '66) may very well have attended one.  I'll have to ask her.

Happy Holidays to all.

Quote from: Titan Q on December 22, 2005, 08:26:48 AM

Recently on the Top 25 board I stated that I think IWU fits in in the 150's of the Sagarin rating, near Illinois State...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkt0506.htm

Q --

Has IWU ever played Illinois State?  It seems like a geographic no-brainer for an exhibition, but I don't remember one in the 8 years that I've been paying attention.

Oh my, what an imappropriately timed introductory post on my part!  My condolences to the Wheaton community.

Just wanted to stop in and introduce myself.  Started lurking about a year ago, but haven't posted yet.  I have to say, though, that in addition to definitely improving my knowledge of D3 bball, you guys are a thoroughly entertaining bunch.

Probably still won't post often as it just isn't my nature, but wanted to give kudos to everyone for a most entertaining off-season.