I have only gotten to see 3 teams play and I can give my quick synopsis on each.

MacMurray - not the most talented team on the floor, has in my opinion one pure scorer that can play consistenly enough to call them a scorer. The difference with this team is that they are prepared to play. Their coach is an intense passionate guy, and it seems like the guys buy into that. Because of this they will win games they shouldnt win, but I also think they will lose games they shouldnt lose. They will be tournament team but may not have the steam to win it.

Westminster -  well coached bunch that does not have the horses they have had in the past. Their player #22 is really good and can really take over a game, especially against bad front court defense. I think their bigs are a little sloppy around the basket and not athletic enough to make a real difference. They may make the tournament, simply because they know how to win a little, but lose in the first round.

Spalding - nowhere near the team they were a year ago. Sure losing McAfee and Cutsinger is a big blow but they still have the speed and athleticism to compete and they simple are not. It may be for a lack of preparation or maybe the other team is more prepared. Some young freshmen are playing big roles and are keeping up. This team needs a jolt of energy, no reason to lose two at home to teams that they are either as good as or better than. They are not eligible for the postseason but if they were, I dont think they would make it.

I believe Spalding does have graduate programs. However, I would assume that both student athletes would have been back for a 5th year either way.

Not sure if I agree with you Yjack about assuming the expense for another year if you could graduate in 4 years. These athletes, once in college are only guaranteed 4 more years of playing organized sports. If a season gets taken away because of injury or other personal reason, and that student stays on track to graduate but wants to come back for another year anyway to get one last chance to play, I fully support that. They only have 1 year to play the game for the rest of their life...They have the next 60 years to work and pay off that one year of tuition.

 Dewhon McAfee and Cody Cutsinger are sitting out this year for Spalding. The rumored reasoning is so that they can play in a conference tournament and potential NCAA tournament before they graduate.

  Spalding finished up 4th at the USCAA World Series. Their overall record was 30-13...not bad for a program that won a combined 19 games in 08 & 09.

Also is their roster right when it says they only have 2 seniors, by stats only one of which is a difference maker?

If that is true, they could be a team to watch for again next year.

Apparently all the games were well played and very close. Box scores show that the games were within one run for almost the whole series until the final inning(s). Looks like a great series amongst two very good and competitive teams. Wish they could face off again in the tournament. I think either of these two would be a great representative of the SLIAC in the regional tournament.

The standings show Spalding is leading the conference by one game. They have 8 more games to play, if they go 7-1 in those games they are guaranteed a share of the conference title. If they win all 8 they win the title all by themselves. (This is assuming that Webster doesnt lose again)

Should be interesting to see if they can overtake the SLIAC giant in Webster.

Congrats to both teams

On the same subject...

Who are some other snubs?

Who else do you think will jump into the top 6 eventually?

I would love to hear a good reason why North Park is not in the top 6.

If you plan to write one, please do not use the SOS as a reason, the team is 25-7.

North Park not getting in the top 6?

I guess it doesnt matter if they are there now or not, they will probably be there in the end

Quote from: Gregory Sager on April 22, 2011, 04:03:54 PM

That's a dangerous assumption. For all its resources (it's the wealthiest school in the CCIW) and all its athletic prowess across the board, Wheaton has struggled mightily in baseball for decades. Wheaton hasn't won a CCIW baseball title since 1951, and it didn't qualify for the conference tourney (in which only the top half of the league participates) from the tourney's inception in 1985 until 2008. If Wheaton, for all its muscle within the CCIW, couldn't make any headway in the league, there's certainly no great odds that Webster would be able to do so.

The purpose of my original thread was intended to address the lack of competitive balance in the SLIAC and see if anyone had any theories on how this could eventually change.  10 years is a long time to be as dominant as Webster's athletics have been and it would be refreshing to see several different quality schools battle it out annually "like" the CCIW has.

I didn't realize that there were SLIAC schools who didn't have full-time baseball coaches. Yeah, that is a humongous hurdle to overcome in terms of building a regionally-respectable program.

All my credibility is about to go out the window here....

Again I have only talked to one coach in the SLIAC about their coaches and she didnt specify by sport but did mention she thought many schools were employing part time coaches. I have no idea about baseball specifically.

Here is where my credibility will be tarnished...I have never seen Webster play, ever, I have seen just about every other team at some point, but after reading these boards, looking at their history (the past 6 years), and seeing their record vs. CCIW teams over that time, is it fair to assume that they would make the CCIW tournament this year? Would that be a possibility? If so, then I have to respectively disagree with comparing Webster with Wheaton. If they could make the tournament (Im saying could, not would) then they dont have to "work their way into winning in the league" they are already there. And they would be doing it by recruiting to the SLIAC. If they could recruit to the CCIW, wouldnt they be even better?

Again, I havent even seen this team play just seems after reading what you all have to say about them that they would be competitive.

Quote from: Hound Dog on April 21, 2011, 01:15:13 PM

The purpose of my original thread was intended to address the lack of competitive balance in the SLIAC and see if anyone had any theories on how this could eventually change.  10 years is a long time to be as dominant as Webster's athletics have been and it would be refreshing to see several different quality schools battle it out annually "like" the CCIW has.

Why is Webster so dominant and how can the SLIAC change???

SLIAC schools need to make their coaches full time, period! Now I could be totally off on this because I only talked to one coach in the SLIAC but she explained that many schools have part time coaches. Teams cannot compete recruiting wise with part time coaches.

Any schools in the CCIW with primary part time coaches?

Looking forward to seeing your opinions on the rankings...things will be shook up this week.

Augustana takes on North Park
IWU has already lost this week and squares off with Carthage
Coe will have to take care of Central, could be a stumbling block
North Central needs to take care of a tough Wheaton team
Webster dropped two to Wash U this week already
Wash U beat Webster twice this week already
Conference leader Simpson will be challenged vs. BV
Luther should jump in the polls if they can sweep Dubuque
Beloit lost one to Ripon but could sweep Carroll easily and find themselves in the top 10
Spalding has the chance to be 25-7 by Sunday night

Webster seems to be dominant in many of the sports over the years, with baseball having the most success. After looking at results over the past five years (i didnt look too hard), I think they are the only team to not only go far in a regional but to win a regional game...but is that their fault that they have been dominant.

I would assume that if you would put them in the CCIW with the same resources and prestige, they could be just as successful as the IWU's and Carthages eventually. They could aso recruit out of Chicago as opposed to St. Louis which I would think everyone would agree there is not as much talent (right? I really have no idea on that one)

I know the top teams in the SLIAC (for baseball at least) get a lot of grief since they play a "easy" schedule. But it's not their fault that other schools are not going and getting the players they need to win. Maybe the top teams in the SLIAC are good, but its true that they dont get challenged at times so how do you prove that?

Does anyone know what Webster's record vs. CCIW teams is over the past 5 years?

Also do you think the top teams in the SLIAC could compete in the CCIW?

What are the chances that the CCIW can get three teams into the Regional....

Obvioulsy the winner will get in, but can the 2nd and 3rd best team (Carthage and IWU???) get in at large?

snowed out on April 20th, depressing

Quote from: TheSportsFan on April 18, 2011, 11:32:14 AM

Don't get me wrong, Spalding appears to be a very good ball club.  Just because they aren't considered a top 5 or top 10 team in the Central does not mean they are not good.  Show me a signature win on the Spalding schedule?

I do not have a dog in this fight but to answer the question...

Brockport St, they lost to them 2-1 and beat them 7-3...they currently have a record of 18-8 and have received votes in the latest top 25 polls.