Yes. But Decatur is a heck of a commute. They could live in Clinton, and both have a tolerable commute.  See? This is why groundless speculation is so much fun.

Quote from: ChickenHoops on Today at 01:25:10 PMMaybe Matt Lewis can straighten out the IWU program.  Rose couldn't get them to the Final 4.     

So, this could be the source of some interesting though probably meaningless speculation. I'm sure he wants to keep his coaching knives sharp but what the heck could he do?  There are a handful of college and junior college programs within commuting distance but I'm not sure if any are looking for a coach or assistant coach.  Coach Rose couldn't offer him anything more than a volunteer position, and a coach like Lewis deserves a lot more than volunteer work.

Cleveland is a local kid who was quite familiar with IWU both playing at Shirk and b.b. camps. I'm sure Coach Rose worked his magic. But ISU, the local DI school, actively courted him too. I'm sure they're very interested he's in the portal.

Maybe he'll be like Yoder: try DI for a year and then come back, but that's wishful thinking.

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on March 24, 2026, 04:09:06 PMhttps://x.com/i/status/2036503295729000557

Noah Cleveland in the portal. His bro just earned CPOTY in the CUSA. Unfortunately, Zach is a senior, so he can't go play with him.

Just read that. What a back-breaker.

Proximity might be to the Titan's advantage in terms of fan support. Only a 4 hour drive, and there might be a fan bus. Wish I could make it, but it's not gonna work out.

Ice cold shooting in the first half by Endicott. Once the Titans got some space they never let go. A strange altercation between Endicott coach and a fan during handshakes at the end. Security rushed over and made separations.

Quote from: iwu70 on March 11, 2026, 09:46:50 AMAnyone here with thoughts about Endicott -- what kind of team, style of play, issues confronting the Titans?  Seems they are a high-flying, high-scoring team with over 85 ppg.  But, not that much size? 

Looking forward to the Sweet Sixteen game @Shirk on Friday.

'70

Just looking at Endicott's web page, their size is comparable to the Titans, but Noah, Mason and Carlo will have a 1 to 2 inch advantage. Their non-conference schedule shows they don't stray far from home  and was generally weak this year with the exception of Tufts. They beat Tufts by 3, which is far and away Endicott's biggest win. Their only loss was to Colby which ended with a 16-9 season. Tufts is still in the tournament, so Endicott's win over Tufts can't be dismissed as luck.

I wrote "Hell, the frickin' bank has to move to a different location." But that should be "band" not "bank." And yes, if the NCAA doesn't dictate concessions, then the greasy fingers are indeed green. Tinfoil hat now off.

Ok. Tinfoil hat on. I'm not a fan of punishing people for what they say. A bit to un-American for me. Yes, I know it's an organization they've agreed to join and follow the rules. But at some point, the NCAA turned into a government, not an organization. Like this round of games at IWU. Now, they dictate where the seating sections are. Hell, the frickin' bank has to move to a different location. The concession prices change I assume because they have their greasy fingers in the pie. I know these are old complains about the NCAA, but I'm an old man who yells at kids to stay off the lawn.

Unfortunately,  Illinois Wesleyan has spring break  starting that weekend.

Quote from: iwu70 on March 08, 2026, 05:37:55 AMIWU gets a nice win over John Carroll to make the Sweet Sixteen and will host Endicott at Shirk on Friday -- 6:30 p.m.  Sure is nice to have Noah Cleveland back -- he almost single-handedly pull the Titans ahead in the beginning of the second half, as the Titans pulled away and never looked back.  The game was very competitive in the first half, and quite chippy in the second with some some hard flagrant fouls, taunting and several Ts on offer. 

The Titans move on 73-60.

Nice to have a home game for the Sweet Sixteen level.

IWU'70

Insane.  Noah definitely found his comfort level with that cast.  It makes me cringe because I think he's going to emake it worse.  I've never seen him more demonstrably happy.  I've never seen a Titan game so emotionally charged. Shutting down Chicone in the 2nd half seems to have been pivotal.

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on March 03, 2026, 09:26:16 PM

Quote from: GusD on March 03, 2026, 06:28:11 PMIWU certainly doesn't even remotely need Cleveland to pound 16-12 (7-9 in conference) Heidelberg in their first game. Additionally, his presence really shouldn't be necessary to rather easily handle either NPI #32 John Carroll or NPI #41 Grinnell in the second round game.

And that's why they play the games, my friend. I'm sure you thought you'd pound Stout when they came to Shirk.

I don't know GusD, but I never got the impression he was a Titan fan. Maybe I'm wrong.

Quote from: iwu70 on March 03, 2026, 01:22:50 PMThe word around Shirk is that Cleveland is being further evaluated today or tomorrow, and may be able to play this weekend.  That would be a great help, to say the least.  Stay tuned. 

I just want to know what Ron Rose said to the team at halftime last Saturday??  He may want to bottle that and have it all ready for the post-season. 

'70

I'd be just as happy to see Noah sit this one out and focus on recovery over the summer. There's always next year,  says my inner Cub fan.

I was wondering of the women's team might be in a position to host too, but Q states "no chance," so I gotta trust the guys who crunch the numbers. But if the women were in the position to host, I don't think it would happen. I'm pretty sure it was last year (that's how bad my memory is) that both Titan teams had the option to host, and the women's team had priority (as it alternates). If the same occurred this year, now it's the men's turn.