MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Not to be a rumormonger or anything, but I've heard some tidbits through the grapevine over the past few weeks and I'd like to see if they can be confirmed or denied:

* Word has it that Brandon Smith has transferred from North Central to Quincy. True or false? AO, you're our best bet for checking this one out. Considering the way that Smith tore up this league as a freshman last season, if it's true then his premature departure could be right up there with Drew Gensler's in terms of negative impact to his team. Given the graduation of last year's entire starting front line, the loss of Smith could put a humongous dent in NCC's prospects for this coming season. Aside from Matt Rogers, whom I think will make a very successful transition from the NAthCon to the CCIW, and streaky sophomore Reid Barringer, there isn't a lot of proven offensive firepower on the roster for the Cards. Mitch Raridon's an excellent complementary player, but I don't see him morphing into a big-time scorer. I think that Chris Drennan does have that potential, but it's a big step to go from scoring in double figures once every five or six games to being expected to do it every night.

* I've also heard that Kyle Fiedorowicz has opted not to play for NCC this season, which would appear to cede the center spot by default to his fellow sophomore and '06-'07 JVer Josh Corso. Any truth to that?

* Word also has it that John Mohan has been suspended for fall semester again. Is anyone from Wheaton able to confirm or deny that? If it's true, then it would appear that Andrew Jahns has a chance for a lot of varsity playing time for the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance earlier than we thought he'd get it.

Incidentally, NPU did lose one expected returnee this year as well, center Stephano Jones. He might return for spring semester, but probably won't suit up this year if he does.

[Gregory Sager]

Last night I performed my annual ritual of observing the first open gym of the school year at NPU. As the Park's resume over the past decade and a half would seem to indicate, there's been some first open gyms in which I've walked out of the crackerbox feeling as though I should get a new winter hobby. Not this year, though.

The first thing one notices about the prospective '07-'08 Vikings is how much depth Paul Brenegan will have at his disposal this season. He not only has a plethora of players who could acquit themselves well on the CCIW level, he has an assortment that lends itself to different emphases: Big team, small team, uptempo team, defense-first team, and various combinations thereof. It's odd and exciting to see a North Park team with that much roster versatility.

And it's still a young team as well. While Jay Alexander and Jason Gordon should supply some much-needed senior leadership on the floor, it's likely that more than half of the rotation will consist of underclassmen. And NPU's terrific sophomore class should carry the lion's share of the load; while Brenegan and his assistants have landed their second good recruiting class in a row, this one will have less of an immediate impact than the class of '10 managed because it'll be much harder for this year's plebes to get a lot of varsity tick than it was last season.

To be specific, PG Bruce Durham appears to be the only sure thing as far as a freshman making the rotation is concerned -- although Phil Schniedermeier and Christian Alsing could each force their way into the picture. While in the past any halfway-decent NPU freshman was likely to dress for varsity right away, this year there's several freshmen (Clayton Cahill, Nick Hoekstra, and Kendall Greer in particular) who have CCIW varsity potential who will nevertheless be honing their skills on the JV team this season, barring unforeseen changes. That ability to develop young talent at a more measured pace is a sign that the program is beginning to emerge as a threat in this conference (although "emerging as a threat" and "carrying out the threat" are two very different things). Durham really looks like something special, and he and sophomore Chris Brown look as though they could provide a great 1A and 1B combo at the point guard spot. Their quickness and court vision will give opponents fits. Schniedermeier is a beast; he's fairly raw at the offensive end, but he's an imposing physical presence in the blocks on D and I'd hate to have to go up against that guy for a rebound. Alsing looks very smooth, and if he can find his niche he could develop into a capable CCIW forward.

Somewhere along the line, junior Mike Ventura went from being the skinny guy in the Charlas Atlas ads who gets sand kicked in his face to being the guy who is doing the kicking. His physicality and toughness on D will be an important element in the big-man rotation. Glenn Woodside is starting to show glimpses of what he could do down the road, although like most sophomore big men he's still figuring it all out. Sophomores Lukas Dahlstrom and Dan Oziminski and senior Ed Whitaker are dark horses to pick up playing time in the backcourt, and they'll help provide that depth I spoke about. And the two transfer forwards, John Chimino and Jorge Gonzales, bring size and versatility to the table.

But the core of the team will be Nick Williams, Jay Alexander, Jason Gordon, Antonio Stevens, and Joe Capalbo. Those are the guys to whom the Park will be looking for points. I think that Williams will establish himself in 2007-08 as one of the top players in this league; everyone already knows about Capalbo's shooting ability; and Alexander and Gordon both look to go out with a bang. Watch out for Stevens, though; 'tone could prove to cause more headaches for opponents this season than anyone else on the team.

NPU will most likely be picked for the middle of the pack in the preseason coaches poll. I'm pretty sure it'll be Augustana first, Elmhurst second, Wheaton third, and then the Park anywhere from fourth to sixth. That's due to North Park's lack of an established big man or point guard, plus the fact that the Vikings lost so many last-second decisions last season and therefore still need to prove that they have the composure and the killer instinct to close out games. And that's fine; better to be the hunter than the hunted. But anything's better than being picked for eighth place and knowing inwardly before the season even starts that that's one pick that the coaches got right.

[markerickson]

Too bad Stephano Jones will not return.  Once tabbed as a starter in the second half of the season, I recall he was the only Parker posting up and creating a shot.

Thanks for the contributions, all y'all.

[AndOne]

Not to be a rumormonger or anything, but I've heard some tidbits through the grapevine over the past few weeks and I'd like to see if they can be confirmed or denied:

* I've also heard that Kyle Fiedorowicz has opted not to play for NCC this season, which would appear to cede the center spot by default to his fellow sophomore and '06-'07 JVer Josh Corso. Any truth to that?

The fact that Kyle Fiedorowicz has "opted not to play" for NCC this season is PARTIALLY true. Last spring he announced his intention to switch from basketball to football this year. Coming out of HS, I believe he received looks from several D I schools for football and even some offers. However, last summer he decided he liked basketball better than football and would just continue his BB career in college and forgo FB. Too bad, as I'd bet his skill on the gridiron exceeded his ability on the hardwood. The one problem with all this thinking and planning is that he forgot that in order to play ANY sport, you also have to attend school! Alas, Kyle seems not to be enrolled for the about to commence term.   

As far as the center position falling "by default" to Josh Corso, I can offer THREE points of information relative to that possibility:

1. I believe that, at least at times, North Central will play without a true center this season. They will employ 2 guards and 3 forwards with one of the front-line players positioned more out on the wing as opposed to operating lower down along the baseline.

2. Josh Corso will see meaningful minutes this season. I believe this would be true even if Fiedorowicz had returned. Josh's teammates have given him a nick-name I think he should be very proud of. Its "Big Work." Thats because Josh, while perhaps not the most talented guy around works harder than anyone in practice in order to improve his game. You will never find anyone who puts more effort into it than Josh. And, his game HAS improved. Although lacking in style points, he usually can be counted on to get the job done. More often than not, this is accomplished due solely to his outworking his opponent. Josh will be a valuable member of this year's team.

3. Many of the available "big man" minutes for North Central this season could well be taken up by an as yet to arrive source. STAY TUNED FOR SOME LATE BREAKING RECRUITING NEWS AS SOON AS CONFIRMATION IS REC'D

[AndOne]

Not to be a rumormonger or anything, but I've heard some tidbits through the grapevine over the past few weeks and I'd like to see if they can be confirmed or denied:

* Word has it that Brandon Smith has transferred from North Central to Quincy. True or false? AO, you're our best bet for checking this one out. Considering the way that Smith tore up this league as a freshman last season, if it's true then his premature departure could be right up there with Drew Gensler's in terms of negative impact to his team. Given the graduation of last year's entire starting front line, the loss of Smith could put a humongous dent in NCC's prospects for this coming season. Aside from Matt Rogers, whom I think will make a very successful transition from the NAthCon to the CCIW, and streaky sophomore Reid Barringer, there isn't a lot of proven offensive firepower on the roster for the Cards. Mitch Raridon's an excellent complementary player, but I don't see him morphing into a big-time scorer. I think that Chris Drennan does have that potential, but it's a big step to go from scoring in double figures once every five or six games to being expected to do it every night.

OK--Here is the skinny on the above. Believe me, I could give out a lot more factual information than I'm going to. While it would be the "whole truth and nothing but the truth," to the uninformed it might very well sound like sour grapes. Accordingly, I'll attempt to stick to the high road as much as possible and just report a few of the basics.

Yes, Brandon Smith HAS transferred. Quincy (D II) seems to be the place as I've not heard any other schools mentioned as a possibility.

Brandon DID have a very good 1st year in the CCIW. In truth however, the fact of the matter is that he really isn't as good as he thinks he is.

Good luck to him. I hope he finds basketball nirvana in Quincy, Illinois, and that he is able to garner whatever amount of publicity and adoration there that he needs, but evidently feels has been missing to this point in his career.

[Gregory Sager]

Thanks for the 411 on the Cardinals, AO.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Thanks for the 411 on the Cardinals, AO.

Greg,

Since there IS a poster going by AO (at last look, karma of -279 after only 228 posts), you might want to spell out 'AndOne' - he might cringe at the possible confusion!

[AndOne]

Yikes Mr. I didn't even know about the "other" AO.    Thanks.
And you're right. The possible confusion does make me cringe----although once the season starts and things get nastier, my Karma will probably soon begin to more closely resemble that of the "other" AO.      

I see I already lost a point since my post about B. Smith.      

[Gregory Sager]

Greg,

Since there IS a poster going by AO (at last look, karma of -279 after only 228 posts), you might want to spell out 'AndOne' - he might cringe at the possible confusion!

Yikes Mr. I didn't even know about the "other" AO.    Thanks.
And you're right. The possible confusion does make me cringe----

His existence crossed my mind, but that other guy is strictly a creature of the UMAC and MIAC boards. I strongly doubt that he'll ever make an appearance here.

[north central]

Sager I am pretty sure Tunde Ogunleye is not related to the bears players cause Im quite sure he would have mentioned it in the past.  I think Tunde has a chance to be a very productive player in the CCIW this year. Even though he played at a d 3 previously by comparison he is much better than the Wessels kid at Augie from Iowa. He will have an impact at Millikin if he remains focused.

Good info on NPU open gym as well Sager but you know that at least 5-7 of those guys who you saw wont be around when the CCIW season starts. 


Titan Q i think if there was an organization to rank incoming recruiting classes then IWU's class would probably be top ten nationally. they will be kinda loaded. I almost want to see a jv game.

[north central]

In addition I just hope I am wrong about Drew Ginsler. He was a good CCIW player and would have helped the big blue but he is not a d 1 player.  No where close to one. but good luck .

[tjcummingsfan]

Good info on NPU open gym as well Sager but you know that at least 5-7 of those guys who you saw wont be around when the CCIW season starts. 

What do you mean?

[dansand]

Sager I am pretty sure Tunde Ogunleye is not related to the bears players cause Im quite sure he would have mentioned it in the past.  I think Tunde has a chance to be a very productive player in the CCIW this year. Even though he played at a d 3 previously by comparison he is much better than the Wessels kid at Augie from Iowa. He will have an impact at Millikin if he remains focused.

Cool...some bulletin board material from the Millikin crowd!

[Gregory Sager]

Good info on NPU open gym as well Sager but you know that at least 5-7 of those guys who you saw wont be around when the CCIW season starts. 

That's absolutely ridiculous.

The 22 or so guys who were at the annual fall meeting on Tuesday won't all be in uniform in January, that's for sure. I would wager that the number of D3 teams that make it intact from the fall meeting to the opening of conference season in January is vanishingly small. Someone who is destined for the JV bench may see the writing on the wall and walk away. That happens pretty frequently. And there may be another guy who decides NPU isn't the place for him and transfers out at the break, because that happens fairly frequently as well. And there's always the chance for an injury or two. But to flat out declare unequivocally that at least five to seven guys will be gone by January is just plain wrong.

(I should also add that every returnee for NPU is academically stable. And the coaches tell me that this season's incoming players are the best crop that they've recruited yet from an academic standpoint.)

By my count, there were three guys who were at last fall's first open gym for NPU who weren't suited up when January came around. That's a reasonable estimate for this season as well -- not declaration, estimate.

In addition I just hope I am wrong about Drew Ginsler. He was a good CCIW player and would have helped the big blue

Gensler "would have helped the Big Blue"? Who are you kidding, man? Drew Gensler was the star player and the focal point of that team. Saying that he "would have helped" the 2007-08 Millikin squad if he'd stuck around is the understatement of the year.

Sager I am pretty sure Tunde Ogunleye is not related to the bears players cause Im quite sure he would have mentioned it in the past.  I think Tunde has a chance to be a very productive player in the CCIW this year. Even though he played at a d 3 previously by comparison he is much better than the Wessels kid at Augie from Iowa. He will have an impact at Millikin if he remains focused.

Cool...some bulletin board material from the Millikin crowd!

"Crowd"?

[cciwgrad]

Gensler will be a big loss for the Big Blue.  But it could make it interesting with a large young group that won't try to ride one player.  I here that many freshmen that are looking good in the open gyms.  New coaches, new players could go either way.

My big hope that the competition level is high across the board in the CCIW