Word on the street is that Bethel hasnt really been trying yet.  I heard they are going to bring their "A" game after christmas and make a run at the playoffs 

I have to come to the aid of Bethel a little bit here.  Bethel played about as bad as they possibly could last night.  I think it will be a different story when BU plays Mac at home.  Mac is a hard gym to shoot in and as we all know, Bethel needs to shoot the ball well to put up points this year.  One arm...how did you think the refs were?  Definately not the reason Bethel lost, Im not saying that but I thought it was pretty one sided.  BU got beat up pretty bad on the boards it looked like.  Cook is going to have to see more minutes if they want to have a chance at more rebounds and points on the inside.  Conboy played well getting 25.  Personally I do not think he is going to average more than 12-15 this year.  He made a couple three's last night that looked a lot better in the box score than they did coming out of his hands.  Gotta give the kid some credit though...hes going to have to keep puting up 20 a game if they want to have ANY and I mean ANY chance at making the playoffs.  I have to disagree with you one arm, Mac is far from a playoff team.  Im sure you will put those words right back in my mouth at the end of they year if they do make playoffs.

Good update Timmy.  I was just about to write something about Bethel but you beat me to it.  I couldn't agree more about Andy Cook.  He needs to be on the floor atleast 20 minutes a game. 

Splash, Bethel in the past has always fronted the post.  I am hoping they dont do that with Cook.  Does that clarify?

Yes I did make it to part of the scrimage.  Bethel looked smooth, large in part to Cook playing well on the inside.  He is a different player this year, he looks great!  St. Cloud is pretty weak this year but either way...Bethel played excellent.  I just hope that Bethel doesnt have Cook front anyone this year because when he gets big in the lane and gets his hands up, he cant to shot over with accuracy. 

jdowney-Yes I agree with you, I wasnt all that serious about that Duke comment.  They are going to win the national title this year though! 

Wow you all are posting machines.  Im sitting at work catching up on the past few pages.  I want to put in my two pennies about the whole d3-d1 conversation.  Splash and miacsuperfan said it when they stated that the best players in the MIAC could play large roles on d2 teams but not d1 schools.  Many of us passed up on scholarship money to play in the MIAC for the education and other personal reasons.  Its a little easier to pass up on a d2 school than a d1 school.  I can honestly say that if a major d1 school was recruiting me I would have been there in a flash.  I only got recruited by one small scrubby d1 school and a bunch of d2's.  There is a reason I didnt get recruited d1.  I was too short and skinny coming out of highschool to play anything other than the perimater at d1 and I didnt have the skills to compete with those guys who where just a step faster and just a tiny bit better at most aspects on the game.  I think that in most cases for d3 players, they have the skills to play d1 but not the athletic ability.  In my case I think it was probably the oposite.  I was lacking some of the ball handling skills to play on the perimater at the d1 level.  There are also a lot of pathetic cases in my opinion where players go ride the pine at a d1 level just so they can say they played d1.  I know a couple people who have done that and never saw a minute in 4 years.  I must admit though, if I could sit the bench for duke I probably would have done that!

Someone was asking about some updated from Bethel...I dont have much but I know they scrimage St. Cloud State on Thursday.  Im not sure how good St. Cloud is this year.  Bethel has been hit with a bunch of lingering injuries in which guys are having to sit out of practice.  I hope that isnt a trend.  The early word is that Madsen MIGHT have a stress fracture in his foot.  I sure hope he doesnt because that would really hurt BC.

MSF...That was a great post.  I think it will hold true for the most part in upcoming years.  You should do the same thing just for the MIAC matchups.  I would be curious to see what those stats are. 

I personally think there is a HUGE difference in the way GAC and SJU play ball.  When you play st. johns, you know where they are going before they do a lot of times.  They need to bag the flex offence.  Paul is a good player and it sort of fits his style but it isnt suited very well for ohme.  That was one of their biggest struggles last year...getting ohme involved.  Hinrichs(sp?) is gonna get his just because he is so aggressive but they need to get ohme involved and the flex just doesnt do that well enough.  GAC on the other hand is the most well coached team in the MIAC year in and year out.  I dont even feel like that is debatable.  Just when you think you know what they are doing on offence and you start to lean a little, you are going to be getting back cut for a layup.  They definately arent always the team with the most talent but they always seem to come out of top because of execution and COACHING!!!     Their interior screening and switching defence is unmatched. 

About Bethel...Corey plays bigger than he is.  He is going to have to limit his turnovers this year though which i HOPE wont be a problem.  Strom is much improved from last season, he will be one of the leaders for this team.  He is an amazing athlete and defender and his basketball "skills" have improved a lot.  He will have to be able to hit the open three to really develop into a top 15 player in the MIAC.

Yes I realize that Tim and I did do a lot of the scoring and rebounding but I think a lot of the points and boards can be made up elsewhere.  The scoring will be more spread out this year.  What Bethel really needs is someone who can create shots for other people this year.  That is a big part of what Bethel lost last year.  Bethel has a lot of good shooters, but someone has to be able to get them the ball.  If a couple people develop and fill that role, it will be a big part of BC's success.  You make a good point about the interior defence hurting though.  The exterior defence took a pop in the mouth as well, Tim was a very underrated defender.  Another large part of their success will depend on thier ability to keep the ball in their own hands.  Eliminating turnovers might be an issue for Bethel this year considering Gilbert did such a great job handling the ball last year.  If Corey does get a chance this year(which I think he will) he will need to slow down the game in his mind because the pace of the game is so much faster in college.  Wade B. has some sticky fingers though so I am not too worried about him turning the ball over.  I personally am pumped for the season because i have NO IDEA whats gonna happen.  Other than St. Thomas and maybe GAC, things are wide open.

Its gonna be fun to join this site.  Ive always read the posts but never posted anything myself.  I think many of you are underestimating Bethel this year.  Many of you have them at the bottom this year.  I think they have a good shot to sneak into the 5 or 6 spot this year.  It seems like whenever a team loses some players, another player steps up to fit the bill.  They just need one or 2 guys to step up this year and take the leadership role.  I think I read a post a couple pages ago by Bethel Guy asking if we got any recruits this year...Bethel had one of its best recruiting classes in many years this past off-season.  Maybe a couple impact freshman but we will just have to wait and see.  A point gaurd and a center that should see some time this year.(Trying not to say names.)  I have to spill the beans about Tim Madson this year though.  He is going to be a shophmore this year and was hurt all of his freshman year.  He is going to be one of Bethels best players, the kid can just flat our score.  I dont know if anyone of you remember Joe Madson a few years back, but this is his younger brother.  There isnt anything this kid cant do.  Look for Madson, Steve Strom, and Matt Fredrickson to do the bulk of Bethels scoring while Trent Perry will be gaurding the apponents best player.  If Bethel can hold teams to one shot this year, I think we will be okay.