Definitely a tough loss for Carthage especially with all the other starters that graduated.   The one mistake in the press release is stating he was a two time first team all conference player.  He was second team as a sophomore. 

Also, Riley is a high volume shooter..will be interesting if he has that kind of freedom at the D1 level.  He took almost 80 more shots than both the Johnson brothers and 21% of the total shots for Carthage last year.

Wish him well too...Carthage needs a huge recruiting/transfer class to complete.  Not much play from any underclassmen last year. Hard to gauge who can make a difference since none of the freshmen or sophomores got any true minutes.

Allow me to sidetrack from the basketball discussion.  Since there isn't a men's volleyball board, I wanted to give a shout out to the Carthage Men's volleyball team who will be playing in the National Championship game tomorrow in Springfield, MA. 

They will be up against the #1 team, which is Springfield, who is a perennial top five team (as Carthage has become too).  Just felt that any CCIW team should be recognized if they are playing for a title.  Carthage has won two previous championships (2021 and 2022) so this potentially would be three in six years.  These are the only team NCAA championships for Carthage, so it's a big deal. 

They are playing special right now and it should be a great matchup, although playing the number 1 team on their court will be a huge challenge. Their coach, JW Kieckhefer , is in his 7th year at Carthage.  He is a fantastic coach and an elite recruiter.  He pulls in some of the best in the Milwaukee to Madison area, but also recruits in IL.  Just watching how their team rallies around him shows the culture he has built.

I still follow the bball team, but I have to admit, I have more fondness for their volleyball team now over the past five years. 

Game is broadcast tomorrow at 6:00 (for free) on the NCAA.com site (you can find on the Carthage site too).  Let's hope for a third banner hanging from the gym soon.

Now, back to regular programming.

Little surprised that Riley Brooks wasn't voted unanimous first team.  Been the leading scorer for Carthage all year and with Carthage ending up second in the league and one game behind IWU, felt like someone should have been unanimous from Carthage.  Now, some may say Ryan Johnson might have been the choice then.  I've stated my position about the play of Ryan Johnson this year.  I will say he has come on at the end of the year and had two game winning baskets lately.  Don't dispute him being a first teamer, but some coach(es) didn't feel he was unanimous either.  After winning the most outstanding student athlete last year and being named a second team pre-season all-American this year, the output didn't reach the level I would have expected. 

With Carthage likely needing to win the CCIW tourney to make the NCAA tournament, I sure hope the team can make a run this weekend.  To me, that starts with the person who should have been more dominant this year.  All in all, not making the tournament will be a MAJOR disappointment this year.  They had every starter coming back after winning the league last year.  Two first team and a second team all conference players returning and Antuan Nesbitt returning after named a first team all conference player the year before, after sitting out last year due to injury.   They started the year ranked 8th in the nation.  Let's see if they can finally realize the potential to make the tourney that I at least thought would have been a foregone conclusion starting the year. 

Greg,

I was looking at the box score from the game and noticed the attendance was 250.  Is that accurate?  Seems like this big event would have drawn a large crowd and rightfully so.

Carthage with a dominating performance tonight in knocking off NP 103 to 66.  This is the team I expected to see, guess it just took them a big longer to put it together.  Couple of stats that jumped out.  Carthage with 19 assists and only 6 turnovers, shot 29 free throws and made 22.   Riley Brooks with 30 and AJ Johnson with 22.  Daun with 11 boards. 

Got production from their starting five and their three main subs, Haith, Schlesinger and AJ Williams.  All eight had some contributions.  Nice to have 5 guys that can bring the ball up the court against the pressure that NP likes to throw at you.

Carthage had an 18 point lead at half and got it up over 40 before the final buzzer.

Took in the Carthage matinee game today.  Carthage ended up blowing out Benedictine, 100 to 60.  The difference was only 11 with 15 minutes to go, but then Carthage finally put the hammer down and Benedictine couldn't make a shot. 

Brooks led Carthage with 22 points and 4 steals (3 dunks off the steals). AJ Johnson with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.  AJ got hot for like a 2 minutes stretch and I think he scored on four straight possessions.  Chris Schlesinger with another all around game with 11 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.  Daun with 10 rebounds as well.  Ryan Johnson did score 11 and pulled down 8 boards, but he still isn't that dominant player I expected.  I brought this up the last time I saw the game live, he just can't finish around the rim.  He draws the fouls, but he should be converting layups, with his size. He only went 5 for 9 at the line too. 

Not trying to be too hard on him, but I expect so much more from an All-American player, as he was projected to be this year. Just not the same player I saw last year.  Brooks is by far the best player on this team.  Good shooter and so athletic and bouncy. 

The key player in my mind is going to be Chris Schlesinger.  He gives them so much energy off the bench and really fills up the box score. Can score from outside, but likes to get to the rim too.  If Carthage can win the league, he will be a big part of it.  Still not convinced how good they will be.  I really thought with the whole team coming back, they would really impress and from my vantage point, they haven't. 

Now that the conference season is starting, I will look to reserve judgement.  Need more from a few of the players to convince me though.  A 40 point win looks good, but they need to play like they did for the last 15 minutes to get my attention.

Greg, Perhaps, but it would be a no brainer if they would have snagged McNabb. He is quite the get.

Got to watch the Carthage - Carroll game this afternoon in person.  Very high scoring first half with Riley Brooks just unconscious scoring 24 points with some real 3 point daggers.  As Greg has alluded to, McNabb from Carroll is a really good player, he can score from the outside and is very adept getting to the rim as well.  Interestingly, McNabb, Riley Brooks and Antuan Nesbitt all started their college careers out at Northern Michigan (D2).  NM recruits heavily in WI and half of their current roster is from WI.

Now, back to the game. If Carthage is going to go anywhere this year, their pre-season all American, Ryan Johnson, is going to have to step up his game.  Coming off the player of the year, last year, big thing should have been expected.  He scored 10 points tonight and missed a number of put backs that he should have finished.  When he did get fouled, he was only 6-11 from the free throw line and at least one was a front end of the bonus he missed. He was outscored by Carroll's center, Naber (11 to 10) and that should have been a true mismatch.  Now, everyone can have a bad game, but here are his stats so far, after 6 games.  Shooting .362 from the field, .263 from the 3 point area and .681 from the free throw line.  What he does very well is rebound (14 tonight) and he is a good passer, but he needs to be more of an offensive threat if Carthage is going to make the tourney again.  There was a point in the game, during a timeout, that he slammed the ball hard to the ground and caught it, so you can tell there is frustration on his part.  Again, I think he is a fine player, but he is not playing like an all American level player, in my opinion.  Fortunately, between Brooks in the first half and his brother, AJ, in the second half, they saved the game for Carthage or it easily could have been back to back losses at home.  I hope he can turn things around quickly, since he has shown the ability to dominate in the league as he did last year.  Just not showing up yet after 6 games.

Carthage expanded basketball roster is now up - https://athletics.carthage.edu/sports/mens-basketball/roster.

Not much info on newcomers, but now Nesbitt is listed with a number.  Will be interesting to see if he is back to his former ability

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

Carthage roster and schedule is up.  Doesn't include freshmen or potential transfers, but the roster up this early is not par for the course.  Whole starting five is back which includes the Johnson brothers who were first team all conference and Ryan was MOP.  Also, second team, Riley Brooks is back. Additionally, Antuan Nesbitt is listed as a graduate senior.  He was out all last year and was a first team all conference the year before.  If he can come back, that leaves them with likely one of the most talented and experienced teams in the nation. 

Carthage roster is up.

I like to see who they recruit locally.  Roster size is 113 with the breakdown of 58 freshmen, 23 sophomores, 10 juniors and 22 seniors.  What is intriguing is the number of local players.  6 from Kenosha and 15 from Racine (neighboring city).  I don't recall that many kids as long as I remember.  Not sure if this is a new recruiting strategy?  So almost 19% of the roster from the area and 17 of them are freshmen.  Six are from Racine St. Cats who won the Division 4 state last year (Think of enrollment of around 450). Two of them were first team all state at that level. Then there are five from Racine Case who was a top ten division one school.  I really don't remember when they had any kids from St. Cats.  Let's see if this is trend!  Interested to see how this goes.  I do see their D-line coach was on the St. Cats staff last year so kudos for his efforts to get his players to come to Carthage.

Forgot to mention, I was sitting up in the back row behind the Elmhurst bench and with a few minutes to go in the game I heard someone start barking at the refs from the upper deck behind me.  I'm like, I know that voice.  It was Bosko.   

Good to see him there to celebrate the conference championship with Steve.

I had a chance to see Carthage play Elmhurst in person this week.  First live game for me.  I was very impressed with the team.  Really nice job on the boards for not the biggest lineup.  They don't rely on one or two players to rebound, they are all around the hoop.  Also, very good defensively.  AJ Williams has some sneaky quick hands and Daun was making nice stops and taking on different players. 

I agree with Bopol and Michael, Daun is really a difference maker.  A nice fourth option who can take someone off the dribble.  He had 15 points and 11 boards, all around great game.  I can see why Steve said he is a glue guy...can fill the stat sheet and just plays really smart. 

All five starters in double figures (between 14 to 17 points).  They don't go very deep, but I didn't see anyone wearing down during the game. Really nice roles for all of them and they play a nice team game.  I think they can make some noise this year. One of their better teams I have seen since the Wiertel, Garnes and McDaniel years.

I would think Ryan Johnson will be the player of the year.  Three time player of the week (Roper only once).  They won the league so he should be rewarded.  His brother should be first team too. 

Carthage news...

https://athletics.carthage.edu/news/2023/11/13/carthage-football-head-coach-dustin-hass-resigns.aspx

Carthage roster is now posted - https://athletics.carthage.edu/sports/football/roster/2023

Some major losses on offense.  Starting QB, top three rushers and their all conference receiver are not listed on the roster.