This was a problem in the 1st half.  I mean Witt had 4 trips in a row where Borchers went to the line for fouls that were called against Wooster's defenders for trying to hold their ground as Borchers backed them down.  From what I could tell, they were touch fouls at best.  The fouls were being called before Borchers was even shooting?!  I didn't really notice this as much in the 2nd half.  I think it was more of a fact that Wooster's defenders felt they had to lay off down low resulting in easy bunnies for Witt's post players.  I just don't like to see the referees feel like people came to the game to watch them which is the sense I got from this officiating crew.  As I said before, the officiating was equally poor for both sides.  I just felt like they were calling far too many silly touch fouls and as a result, didn't allow the game to flow at all.[/color]





  Final stats show both teams were called for 19 fouls. Both teams made exactly 16 foul shots, Wooster had 21 attempts and Witt 20. Hard to believe it was this close with all the recent comments. By the way, Borchers was only at the line 8 times, only 3 more than Vandervaart......maybe not so far our of line as perceived.[/color]

Quote from: seinfeld on November 03, 2006, 11:42:14 AM
Blue Russian,

I'm guessing based on your username that you are familiar with Russia, Ohio and Russia high school. What do you know about a big kid that is going to be a freshman this year at OWU? Sounds like he could be pretty good.

I really think this is going to be the year that OWU puts itself into the Top-25. They have a lot of talent across the board. If they can avoid the couple of clunker losses they seem to take early in the year, I can see them finishing the regular season with just 4 or 5 losses.

Wow, I'm impressed with your knowledge of all the teams and incoming freshman. Yes, OWU picked up a 6'8 freshman, Brent Plieman who will definitely help them this year. A solid big frame athlete, great hands,  and a soft touch, who used his body well. OWU only had 4 conference losses last year after splitting with Wooster, they possibly could have even less this year.

Quote from: David Collinge on November 01, 2006, 07:20:25 PM
From the front page story about the preseason top 25:

QuoteNational runner-up Wittenberg lost its two top post players and comes in at No. 10[...]

emphasis added

Has Dane Borchers decided not to return after all?  Or is this a charitable reference to Kenny Brady?

I can't comment on the article, but I can assure you Dane Borchers is playing for Witt this coming season.

Quote from: ScotsFan on October 02, 2006, 02:25:50 PM
Pat,

In regards to the story on the front page about the Collegiate Basketball Invitational, I was wondering if you knew if this would be open to the public?

I wonder how Wadswoth, OH ended up as the destination of such an event?  Seems like quite the odd choice if you ask me.  Not that I'm complaining, because if it is open to the public it will be a good opportunity to see some quality hoops on display.

HAS ANYONE SEEN ANY MORE INFO ON THIS NEW PROGRAM?  THANKS.

Quote from: jscwittfan on February 23, 2006, 06:01:41 PM
As a Wittenberg fan, it pains me to say this, but if I had a vote in POY, I would have to give it to Cooper.  I have seen him once this year (and many people have talked about how their one viewing can have a large impact), and was awed by what he did to Wittenberg in Springfield.  Add to that the fact that Cooper's numbers have been outstanding, and he stepped up to another level when Port got hut and I can't see not giving it to him. 

Dan Russ is second . . . right now.  He is such a dominating presence inside that is makes it hard for anybody to stop him.  It will be interesting to see if postseason play does play a role in the vote, because if it does, and if Witt can win the tourney, I think Dan has a shot.  Look at what he did Tuesday against Denison (27 pts, 5 rebs, compared to Cooper's 14 against Kenyon), and his season numbers against the 3 teams he possibly could play (OWU - 18.5 ppg, 5 rpg; Earlham - 15.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg; Wooster - 27.5 ppg, 7.5 ppg).  He'd definitely be tournament MVP if he put up numbers like that, and you know it would influence voters on POY.

However, with that said, I still have to go Cooper.  He's 4 points a game ahead of Dan, shoots 56% from the field (which is incredible for a guard, especially considering Dan is at 57% down low shooting "high percentage shots"), is a far better free throw shooter (81% vs. Dan's 63%), and has 25 more assists than Russ.  I enjoy watching Russ, and I don't think we could complain if he was named POY, but I think it is Cooper's award unless Dan takes it away here in the tourney.


POY

Now that the tournament is over, perhaps we could revisit this subject. I'm not sure if the tournament statistics are even included in this process, but I think we may have a little clearer picture of the players that made it to the tournament finals.

Of the 3 most common names that seem to keep coming up, Russ, Cooper and Miller, I would like to give my limited perspective after watching them for several games.  I'm a Witt fan and the 3 games that I saw Miller play (2 vs Witt and 1 vs Wooster) I would say he probably deserves the title as the one player with the most 'raw' talent or potential in the league. The only issue I have with Miller is his antics after some fouls. There is not a player in the conference who doesn't get some good and bad call during the course of the game, you just have to deal with it and go on. When he fouled out of the Witt game, he pulled his shirt over his head at midcourt and walked off straight to the locker room. I'm not sure that I would want to bring my son or daughter to the game and tell them to mold themselves after this player. Is there more to player of the year than just talent? I don't know but I would like to think that this POY has it all.

As for Cooper, I would think that he would have to be the leader in the 'Best Offensive Player' in the league. Boy, is he fun to watch and can he hit the shots from all over the floor. Once again, looking for multiple qualities for this title, I'm know that Cooper plays tenacious defense and is very quick with a steal, but I haven't seen where he can take over a game on both ends of the court.

I'm trying not to be biased, but I believe that Dan Russ has demonstrated that he can change the outcome of the game at both ends of the court. His offensive skills has been mentioned several times in these discussions, but please also note that his shot blocking and rebounding on the defensive end, along with how he handles himself under pressure, shows that he is the complete package. There were several mentions that some other players had higher stats, but with the controlled tempo that Coach Brown is using this year, his players are not going to rack up any impressive individual numbers. This strategy finally worked in the Tournament Championship Game. Regardless, Dan is very capable of putting up some impressive stats as well.

With that being said, in my opinion ..... Dan Russ should get back-to-back POY award in the NCAC.

Just a question.

At the risk of looking too far ahead in the NCAC tourney.....if two teams are tied for first place in the conference, what are the tiebreaker rules for deciding who will host the tournament finals?