The NCAA Division II women's team at Glenville State hosted a tournament this weekend too begin its schedule, with the opener Friday night against Virginia Union and a Saturday matchup with No. 6 Edinboro. Tough tests.
In the first one, the Pioneers rallied from miserable shooting first half to win going away, 90-83. Ginny Mills made five 3-pointers on her way to 23 points and Kenyell Goodson connected on five 3s to finish with 20 points for Glenville State.
The comeback came mostly from making shots, which didn't really happen often for the Pioneers in the opening 20 minutes. At the break, they were 11-for-50 overall and 5-for-29 from beyond the arc, and the Panthers pulled out to a 41-35 advantage.
As I was following with live stats, the numbers really seemed to be working in Glenville State's favor with the pace. I figured once the fall started going through the hoop, the game eventually would turn in favor of coach Bunky Harkleroad's squad.
And that's just what happened.
Kenyona Simmons added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pioneers.
Game 2 figured to be a little more difficult. Edinboro finished 30-2 last season and reached the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season, and the first D-II poll had the Fighting Scots ranked sixth.
It really appeared difficult when Glenville State missed its first 14 shots from the field. Yep, that's correct, all 14 failed to drop through the hoop. Overcoming that would be difficult in the best of circumstances, and even more so with playing such a good opponent.
No worries, however. A 16-3 run pushed the Pioneers to a 20-9 lead midway through the first half, and the margin grew from there. After those 14 shots failed to go in, Glenville State made 17 of its final 32 shots of the opening 20 minutes, and finished 10-for-20 on 3-pointers. The result was a 56-31 lead for the home team.
Pretty incredible recovery. The Scots never got within double digits, and the Pioneers cruised to a wonderful, signature victory by the score of 101-82.
Mills again led the way, pouring in 24 points and making six more 3s, giving her 11 in two games. She added 12 boards. Simmons also had 24 points and Goodson added 14 (and made four 3-pointers).
Glenville State has a week off before traveling to California (Pa). next Saturday, with the game starting at 2 p.m. I wish Coach Harkleroad and his team all the best.
OLIVET NAZARENE, NAIA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
Talk about your tough assignments. For the second game of the season, and the second game under first-year coach Lauren Stamatis, Olivet Nazarene had to travel to its top rival in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference: the Saint Xavier Cougars.
The Cougars were ranked sixth in the preseason NAIA poll (Olivet Nazarene was 13th) and primed to exact a little payback after the Tigers swept the season series a year ago.
No such luck. A 20-6 run to start the second half gave ONU a 73-57 lead, and the margin ballooned as high as 23 as the Tigers held on to win 100-88. Miranda Geever led the way (again) with 20 points while continuing the pile up the stats: nine rebounds, three assists and three steals, all in 21 minutes of run.
Taylor Haymes had 16 points and Ashley Wilson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. A great result for Coach Stamatis and the entire team.
ONU has its home opener Wednesday when CCAC opponent Holy Cross visits McHie Arena, with the start scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST. Best of luck to the Tigers.
JACKSON (MICH.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE, NJCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
The Jets lost a tough one Saturday to Henry Ford Community 95-85 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association. No other details were available.
Coach Andy Hoaglin and Jackson CC gets back at it Monday on the road at the Davenport University JV team. I am rooting for them.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
New era at Olivet Nazarene opens with a victory
As I mentioned, System veteran (and System book author) Doug Porter retired from his job as coach of the NAIA women's team at Olivet Nazarene following last season. He quickly came out of retirement to help friend (and fellow coach) Michelle Roof install the most wonderful style of basketball the world ever has seen at North Central College.
So how would Olivet Nazarene fare in its first game without the man who made the program a perennial national contender? Quite well, thank you.
Liz Bart made seven 3-pointers on her way to 23 points and Miranda Geever made a jumper in the final seconds to help the Tigers hold on for a 111-106 victory over Trinity International University on Wednesday night in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
ONU led 90-71 with 8:37 left after a three-point play (not a 3-pointer!) by Tammy Ellis before Trinity International rallied. The margin was down to three before Geever converted her shot with 12 seconds remaining, and after Trinity International again got within three, Geever converted a pair of free throws to close out the scoring.
I guess we should mention The Formula stats, which for you newbies might seem odd. This is the way System teams track success. Here are the Tigers' number:
- Attempted 99 shots
- Attempted 61 3-pointers
- Rebounded 41 percent of their own misses
- Forced 47 turnovers (yowza!)
- Attempted 21 more shots than Trinity International
Geever filled up the stat sheet with 21 points, six steals, four assists and four rebounds, all in 18 minutes of run. Malory Adam added 16 points and made four 3s and Ashley Wilson scored 13 for ONU.
Great start for new coach Lauren Stamatis, who served as an assistant for Coach Porter for five years before taking over the program. She doesn't have much time to savor the victory, however, with a trip to longtime rival St. Xavier on Saturday. Tip is 2 p.m. EST, and we'll be watching. Or, at least, I will. I don't know what you'll be doing.
So how would Olivet Nazarene fare in its first game without the man who made the program a perennial national contender? Quite well, thank you.
Liz Bart made seven 3-pointers on her way to 23 points and Miranda Geever made a jumper in the final seconds to help the Tigers hold on for a 111-106 victory over Trinity International University on Wednesday night in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
ONU led 90-71 with 8:37 left after a three-point play (not a 3-pointer!) by Tammy Ellis before Trinity International rallied. The margin was down to three before Geever converted her shot with 12 seconds remaining, and after Trinity International again got within three, Geever converted a pair of free throws to close out the scoring.
I guess we should mention The Formula stats, which for you newbies might seem odd. This is the way System teams track success. Here are the Tigers' number:
- Attempted 99 shots
- Attempted 61 3-pointers
- Rebounded 41 percent of their own misses
- Forced 47 turnovers (yowza!)
- Attempted 21 more shots than Trinity International
Geever filled up the stat sheet with 21 points, six steals, four assists and four rebounds, all in 18 minutes of run. Malory Adam added 16 points and made four 3s and Ashley Wilson scored 13 for ONU.
Great start for new coach Lauren Stamatis, who served as an assistant for Coach Porter for five years before taking over the program. She doesn't have much time to savor the victory, however, with a trip to longtime rival St. Xavier on Saturday. Tip is 2 p.m. EST, and we'll be watching. Or, at least, I will. I don't know what you'll be doing.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Jackson CC wins opener going away
Ahhh, yes, it's that time again. An actual report from an actual game!
The initial game from this season from a team I regularly follow (for now) comes from the women's squad at Jackson (Mich.) Community College, where the Jets traveled all the way to South Bend, Ind., to play the junior varsity team from Indiana Tech on Tuesday night.
Jackson CC, coached by Andy Hoaglin pulled away in the second half to win 98-71, a great start to the season. The score was tied at 40 at the break, so it's easy to see how well the Jets played in the final 20 minutes. Not bad for a team with 16 freshmen!
Unfortunately, no stats are available from this one, but Coach Hoaglin was kind enough to post an update on the Yahoo! message board for The System. Here is part of his message:
The initial game from this season from a team I regularly follow (for now) comes from the women's squad at Jackson (Mich.) Community College, where the Jets traveled all the way to South Bend, Ind., to play the junior varsity team from Indiana Tech on Tuesday night.
Jackson CC, coached by Andy Hoaglin pulled away in the second half to win 98-71, a great start to the season. The score was tied at 40 at the break, so it's easy to see how well the Jets played in the final 20 minutes. Not bad for a team with 16 freshmen!
Unfortunately, no stats are available from this one, but Coach Hoaglin was kind enough to post an update on the Yahoo! message board for The System. Here is part of his message:
"I see the team learning each time they're on the floor and they're making progress in understanding the dynamics of System basketball. It's a hard thing for freshman who come out of traditional programs, but they're exorcising some of those traditional demons and becoming more System-like.Congrats to Jackson CC and Coach Hoaglin, and we'll stay on top of their schedule the rest of the way. The Jets host Henry Ford Community College on Saturday in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association. Best of luck to them.
We only had two players in double figures, but I believe 17 players scored in the contest. We'll continue coaching transition after a missed or a live turnover, and get them to be more efficient. We're still very much in the 'rushing' stage after a turnover. This will come with more and more experience in 5-5 practice and game situations.
Our enthusiasm was good and our energy was consistent, especially for opening up on the road 2 hours away."
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Why I Love The System
I figured the best way to ease back into this blog would be to reacquaint everyone with the basics of The System, the best, most entertaining style of basketball I've ever seen. I also thought I would share the story of how I come to discover the wonderful way to play a game I've always loved. Sounds fun, right?
First of all, I always have been an offense-kind of fan. That is to say I like to see high-scoring games in whatever sport I happen to be watching: football, baseball, hockey or, of course, hoops. So it should come as no surprise that I was drawn to the Paul Westhead-coached teams at Loyola Marymount teams from back in the day.
What really is surprising that I how I remember discovering this. You would think I would have caught on to what Coach Westhead was doing when he led his Lions against Dean Smith and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second round of the 1988 NCAA tournament. LMU lost that matchup 123-97, a couple of days after edging Wyoming 119-105, and a new phenomenon was born. Maybe I did notice at the time, I just somehow banished it from my memory.
Yet my first memory of watching Coach Westhead's team came Dec. 17, 1988 -- a full nine months later -- when the Lions traveled to play coach Billy Tubbs and the Oklahoma Sooners. It would be the first of many national TV appearances for Bo Kimble, Hank Gathers, Jeff Fryer and the rest of the run-and-gun LMU fellas, a 136-103 loss. I was mesmerized. The full-court pressure, the up-tempo pace of the game, the high scoring, everything seemed perfectly perfect to me. I truly thought, "This is my basketball Nirvana."
And so I, much as most of the country did, followed the Lions through the next couple of seasons. There were many more tremendous outings on TV, including a rematch with Oklahoma about a year later on LMU's home court, Gersten Pavilion. The Sooners won again 136-121, and LSU edged the Lions a couple of months later in overtime 148-141, but the wins and losses didn't matter to me. I was forever hooked on this type of game.
I cried when Hank Gathers collapsed and died in the final of the West Coast Conference tournament, and I watched with goosebumps as his teammates played their way to the Elite Eight of the 1990 NCAA tournament before losing to eventual national champ UNLV.
The next year, with Kimble and Fryer now graduated and Coach Westhead in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets, I stuck with LMU and new coach Jay Hillock. That team didn't have the name players, and except for a 186-140 victory over U.S. International, didn't score quite as much as the previous teams, but still I watched.
Eventually, Coach Hillock was fired, and no one stepped into his place to keep the game going at a fast pace. Even Coach Westhead wore out his welcome with the Nuggets. I thought I never again would feel the tingle of excitement I felt while watching those Loyola Marymount teams.
Fast forward to Dec. 10, 2002, when I was a Sports Writer with The Associated Press in Atlanta. I was scrolling through "the wire," seeing all the stories that would be the next day's headlines, when a story out of Iowa caught my attention. Drake was playing a game the following day against NCAA Division III Grinnell College, a school that didn't mean anything to me at the time. The yarn by Des Moines, Iowa, writer Chuck Shoffner documented Grinnell's unique style of basketball, and it sounded just as I remembered LMU.
Drake won that game 162-110, with its Division I talent just a little too much for Grinnell. Yet with the wonder of the Internet, I had a new team to follow, and new amazing statistics to follow. Along the way I discovered the University of the Redlands, another D-III team from California which also used this style.
At the time, I was a little protective of Grinnell and was jealous when the 2004-05 Redlands squad set the all-division record by averaging 132.4 points. I later came to find out that all this was done using the exact method Grinnell used, so that made it a little easier to swallow.
Now, all these years later, there are a handful of college teams and even more high school ones employing the up-tempo style I came to know as The System, which essentially took what Coach Westhead was doing to different level. For those newbies out there, here is how it works:
- All-out, trapping defensive pressure all over the court, all the time.
- Five-for-five substitutions every 35-45 seconds to ease fatigue.
- Constant pursuit for offensive rebounds, the lifeblood of The System.
- Shoot half your shots from beyond the 3-point line.
- Never, ever stop!
Through e-mail, I introduced myself to Grinnell coach David Arseneault, now-retired Redlands coach Gary Smith and a host of other coaches I met through a Yahoo! message board devoted to those daring (crazy?) enough to go to The System. I traveled to Grinnell to watch two games in December 2009, and then followed that up with a trip to Bluefield, W.Va., about a year later to watch see the NCAA Division II women's team at Glenville State, where coach Bunky Harkleroad brought The System.
My enjoyment from this way of playing only has grown, and here are a few reasons The System is so perfect to me:
- Everyone gets a chance to play. Grinnell often plays up to 20 players a game, and the high schools regularly use 15 or more. As a somewhat-frustrated high school player who hardly got any run, I can appreciate this.
- The focus stays on you, not your opponent. If a System team played Princeton, you wouldn't see any back cuts, any back-door layups or any of the other stuff that draws some people to the offense made famous by former Princeton coach Pete Carril.
- The players have the luxury of making mistakes. Too often I see a player throw an errant pass and immediately get removed from the game. Or I see a coach who cautions his team to slow the pace and run a set play, one that the other team undoubtedly has prepared for, then work the shot clock (in college) down to the waning seconds before hoisting up a contest long-range jumper.
The best way I can describe The System to someone who never has seen it is to compare it to a team trailing by 10 points with 2 minutes remaining in a game. The losing team does everything it can to gain possession and doesn't necessarily worry if the other team gets a layup. It's all about creating possessions, which is what The System is built upon.
I don't update the blog as often as I should (not that anyone misses it, but I feel as if I'm letting down the coaches and players I care so much about), but my mind never strays too far from these teams and their outside-the-box strategy. I figured it was time for everyone to rediscover them with an update on the 2011-12 season, starting with the colleges I regularly follow.
GRINNELL COLLEGE NCAA DIVISION III MEN'S TEAM
With Coach David Arseneault on sabbatical to work on his latest book about his creation, he turned over the team to his son and former point guard, Dave. It proved to be a wise decision.
The Pioneers opened with 11 consecutive victories, then after the first loss to eventual Midwest Conference tournament champ Carroll, won five more games to run their record to 16-1 (12-1 MWC). Three losses in the final five games dropped Grinnell to the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament, where a 13-for-62 performance from the 3-point line (21 percent) led to a loss to third-seeded St. Norbert.
The Pioneers finished 18-5, another stellar mark, and put up big numbers to lead all NCAA divisions in scoring (again) with 110.9 points per contest. Guard Griffin Lentsch was named to the all-MWC first-team and was chosen to play on a group of D-III all-stars who traveled to Europe to play five exhibition games over the summer.
Oh, I almost forgot. He also dropped 89 points on Principia in the first game of the season, a Division III record.
OLIVET NAZARENE NAIA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TEAM
The Tigers, coached by Doug Porter, won 16 consecutive games at one point en route to a perfect 10-0 mark in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference before falling to Robert Morris in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
ONU then lost in the opening round of the NAIA national tournament to Shorter University 84-83, a heartbreaking end to what was an incredible season. The Tigers finished 27-5, their second consecutive season with 27 victories, and led all collegiate divisions by averaging 103.5 points. That's the good news.
The less-than-good news, at least for us ONU fans, is that Coach Porter retired following the season and turned over his program to assistant Lauren Stamatis. Don't fret, however, since he decided to help a friend install The System at North Central College, just up the road from Olivet Nazarene.
With Coach Stamatis sticking with The System, that gives us another team to track. Win-win, right?
GLENVILLE STATE NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
Coach Harkleroad's season ended with disappointment, too, with a 97-76 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan in the final of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament final. Still, it shouldn't have ended there.
The Pioneers, who were 23-7 and 18-4 in the WVIAC, somehow were snubbed on an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament despite sharing the regular season conference title. Glenville State led D-II with 94.3 points per game and led its conference with a point differential of 13.4.
JACKSON (MICH.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE NCJCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
The Jets, coached by Andy Hoaglin, finished 23-7 and 12-4 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association, winning one game in the National Junior College Athletic Association district tournament before falling to eventual national runner-up Lake Michigan 101-82.
The Jets had won 98-94 at Lake Michigan earlier in the season. Jackson CC averaged more than 100 points again, leading all junior college divisions.
KNOX COLLEGE NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN'S TEAM
We finish up with our three first-year teams that I followed, including this one from Grinnell's conference. The Prairie Fire finished 4-19, including 4-14 in the MWC, for coach Emily Cline. Along the way, Knox averaged 83.5 points.
Three of the victories came in a four-game span; this included the Prairie Fire's highest-point total of the season when they beat Beloit 114-100, a new school record for Knox.
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
A first-year System team, the Aggies finished 5-21 overall and 2-10 in the Heartland Conference under coach Brad Vanden Boogaard, who since has moved on to Clarendon Junior College in Texas.
OPSU trailed only Glenville State in scoring for the season, averaging 88.9 points.
SHORELINE (WASH.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE NCJCAA MEN'S TEAM Another first-year System team which featured a familiar name: Bo Kimble stepped in to assist coach Greg Turcott early in the season and helped the Dolphins finish 19-12, including 10-6 in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.
Shoreline averaged 101.6 points
So, let's total these records from the six main collegiate teams running The System: including those tough first seasons at Knox and OPSU, the overall record is 119-66, a .643 winning percentage. Not bad, right?
Check back in later in the week and I'll let everyone know how some of our favorite high school teams fared last season. Thanks.
First of all, I always have been an offense-kind of fan. That is to say I like to see high-scoring games in whatever sport I happen to be watching: football, baseball, hockey or, of course, hoops. So it should come as no surprise that I was drawn to the Paul Westhead-coached teams at Loyola Marymount teams from back in the day.
What really is surprising that I how I remember discovering this. You would think I would have caught on to what Coach Westhead was doing when he led his Lions against Dean Smith and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second round of the 1988 NCAA tournament. LMU lost that matchup 123-97, a couple of days after edging Wyoming 119-105, and a new phenomenon was born. Maybe I did notice at the time, I just somehow banished it from my memory.
Yet my first memory of watching Coach Westhead's team came Dec. 17, 1988 -- a full nine months later -- when the Lions traveled to play coach Billy Tubbs and the Oklahoma Sooners. It would be the first of many national TV appearances for Bo Kimble, Hank Gathers, Jeff Fryer and the rest of the run-and-gun LMU fellas, a 136-103 loss. I was mesmerized. The full-court pressure, the up-tempo pace of the game, the high scoring, everything seemed perfectly perfect to me. I truly thought, "This is my basketball Nirvana."
And so I, much as most of the country did, followed the Lions through the next couple of seasons. There were many more tremendous outings on TV, including a rematch with Oklahoma about a year later on LMU's home court, Gersten Pavilion. The Sooners won again 136-121, and LSU edged the Lions a couple of months later in overtime 148-141, but the wins and losses didn't matter to me. I was forever hooked on this type of game.
I cried when Hank Gathers collapsed and died in the final of the West Coast Conference tournament, and I watched with goosebumps as his teammates played their way to the Elite Eight of the 1990 NCAA tournament before losing to eventual national champ UNLV.
The next year, with Kimble and Fryer now graduated and Coach Westhead in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets, I stuck with LMU and new coach Jay Hillock. That team didn't have the name players, and except for a 186-140 victory over U.S. International, didn't score quite as much as the previous teams, but still I watched.
Eventually, Coach Hillock was fired, and no one stepped into his place to keep the game going at a fast pace. Even Coach Westhead wore out his welcome with the Nuggets. I thought I never again would feel the tingle of excitement I felt while watching those Loyola Marymount teams.
Fast forward to Dec. 10, 2002, when I was a Sports Writer with The Associated Press in Atlanta. I was scrolling through "the wire," seeing all the stories that would be the next day's headlines, when a story out of Iowa caught my attention. Drake was playing a game the following day against NCAA Division III Grinnell College, a school that didn't mean anything to me at the time. The yarn by Des Moines, Iowa, writer Chuck Shoffner documented Grinnell's unique style of basketball, and it sounded just as I remembered LMU.
Drake won that game 162-110, with its Division I talent just a little too much for Grinnell. Yet with the wonder of the Internet, I had a new team to follow, and new amazing statistics to follow. Along the way I discovered the University of the Redlands, another D-III team from California which also used this style.
At the time, I was a little protective of Grinnell and was jealous when the 2004-05 Redlands squad set the all-division record by averaging 132.4 points. I later came to find out that all this was done using the exact method Grinnell used, so that made it a little easier to swallow.
Now, all these years later, there are a handful of college teams and even more high school ones employing the up-tempo style I came to know as The System, which essentially took what Coach Westhead was doing to different level. For those newbies out there, here is how it works:
- All-out, trapping defensive pressure all over the court, all the time.
- Five-for-five substitutions every 35-45 seconds to ease fatigue.
- Constant pursuit for offensive rebounds, the lifeblood of The System.
- Shoot half your shots from beyond the 3-point line.
- Never, ever stop!
Through e-mail, I introduced myself to Grinnell coach David Arseneault, now-retired Redlands coach Gary Smith and a host of other coaches I met through a Yahoo! message board devoted to those daring (crazy?) enough to go to The System. I traveled to Grinnell to watch two games in December 2009, and then followed that up with a trip to Bluefield, W.Va., about a year later to watch see the NCAA Division II women's team at Glenville State, where coach Bunky Harkleroad brought The System.
My enjoyment from this way of playing only has grown, and here are a few reasons The System is so perfect to me:
- Everyone gets a chance to play. Grinnell often plays up to 20 players a game, and the high schools regularly use 15 or more. As a somewhat-frustrated high school player who hardly got any run, I can appreciate this.
- The focus stays on you, not your opponent. If a System team played Princeton, you wouldn't see any back cuts, any back-door layups or any of the other stuff that draws some people to the offense made famous by former Princeton coach Pete Carril.
- The players have the luxury of making mistakes. Too often I see a player throw an errant pass and immediately get removed from the game. Or I see a coach who cautions his team to slow the pace and run a set play, one that the other team undoubtedly has prepared for, then work the shot clock (in college) down to the waning seconds before hoisting up a contest long-range jumper.
The best way I can describe The System to someone who never has seen it is to compare it to a team trailing by 10 points with 2 minutes remaining in a game. The losing team does everything it can to gain possession and doesn't necessarily worry if the other team gets a layup. It's all about creating possessions, which is what The System is built upon.
I don't update the blog as often as I should (not that anyone misses it, but I feel as if I'm letting down the coaches and players I care so much about), but my mind never strays too far from these teams and their outside-the-box strategy. I figured it was time for everyone to rediscover them with an update on the 2011-12 season, starting with the colleges I regularly follow.
GRINNELL COLLEGE NCAA DIVISION III MEN'S TEAM
With Coach David Arseneault on sabbatical to work on his latest book about his creation, he turned over the team to his son and former point guard, Dave. It proved to be a wise decision.
The Pioneers opened with 11 consecutive victories, then after the first loss to eventual Midwest Conference tournament champ Carroll, won five more games to run their record to 16-1 (12-1 MWC). Three losses in the final five games dropped Grinnell to the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament, where a 13-for-62 performance from the 3-point line (21 percent) led to a loss to third-seeded St. Norbert.
The Pioneers finished 18-5, another stellar mark, and put up big numbers to lead all NCAA divisions in scoring (again) with 110.9 points per contest. Guard Griffin Lentsch was named to the all-MWC first-team and was chosen to play on a group of D-III all-stars who traveled to Europe to play five exhibition games over the summer.
Oh, I almost forgot. He also dropped 89 points on Principia in the first game of the season, a Division III record.
OLIVET NAZARENE NAIA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TEAM
The Tigers, coached by Doug Porter, won 16 consecutive games at one point en route to a perfect 10-0 mark in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference before falling to Robert Morris in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
ONU then lost in the opening round of the NAIA national tournament to Shorter University 84-83, a heartbreaking end to what was an incredible season. The Tigers finished 27-5, their second consecutive season with 27 victories, and led all collegiate divisions by averaging 103.5 points. That's the good news.
The less-than-good news, at least for us ONU fans, is that Coach Porter retired following the season and turned over his program to assistant Lauren Stamatis. Don't fret, however, since he decided to help a friend install The System at North Central College, just up the road from Olivet Nazarene.
With Coach Stamatis sticking with The System, that gives us another team to track. Win-win, right?
GLENVILLE STATE NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
Coach Harkleroad's season ended with disappointment, too, with a 97-76 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan in the final of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament final. Still, it shouldn't have ended there.
The Pioneers, who were 23-7 and 18-4 in the WVIAC, somehow were snubbed on an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament despite sharing the regular season conference title. Glenville State led D-II with 94.3 points per game and led its conference with a point differential of 13.4.
JACKSON (MICH.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE NCJCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
The Jets, coached by Andy Hoaglin, finished 23-7 and 12-4 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association, winning one game in the National Junior College Athletic Association district tournament before falling to eventual national runner-up Lake Michigan 101-82.
The Jets had won 98-94 at Lake Michigan earlier in the season. Jackson CC averaged more than 100 points again, leading all junior college divisions.
KNOX COLLEGE NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN'S TEAM
We finish up with our three first-year teams that I followed, including this one from Grinnell's conference. The Prairie Fire finished 4-19, including 4-14 in the MWC, for coach Emily Cline. Along the way, Knox averaged 83.5 points.
Three of the victories came in a four-game span; this included the Prairie Fire's highest-point total of the season when they beat Beloit 114-100, a new school record for Knox.
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
A first-year System team, the Aggies finished 5-21 overall and 2-10 in the Heartland Conference under coach Brad Vanden Boogaard, who since has moved on to Clarendon Junior College in Texas.
OPSU trailed only Glenville State in scoring for the season, averaging 88.9 points.
SHORELINE (WASH.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE NCJCAA MEN'S TEAM Another first-year System team which featured a familiar name: Bo Kimble stepped in to assist coach Greg Turcott early in the season and helped the Dolphins finish 19-12, including 10-6 in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.
Shoreline averaged 101.6 points
So, let's total these records from the six main collegiate teams running The System: including those tough first seasons at Knox and OPSU, the overall record is 119-66, a .643 winning percentage. Not bad, right?
Check back in later in the week and I'll let everyone know how some of our favorite high school teams fared last season. Thanks.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Wilson leads five players in double figures, Glenville State wins sixth game in a row
Great news from the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ...
GLENVILLE STATE NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
Coach Bunky Harkleroad has his squad on a roll at the right time. Tenisha Wilson had 22 points to lead five players in double figures and Glenville State cruised to its sixth victory in a row by beating Davis & Elkins 96-67 Wednesday night.
Ginny Petties made four 3-pointers and scored 17 points, Beth Deren (13 points) and Kenyell Goodson (11 points) each connected on three 3s and Mishae Miles finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Pioneers (14-4, 12-2 WVIAC). Kind of an odd System game in that Davis & Elkins attempted five more shots than Glenville State -- and only one fewer from beyond the arc -- but had a difficult time making them.
The Senators (10-9, 9-6) shot 27 percent for the game and turned it over on 24 occasions.
Regardless of how it game, the victory allowed the Pioneers to stay just ahead of West Virginia Wesleyan in the standings, with Concord lurking right behind both of them.
This game capped a four-game homestand for Glenville State, which travels to Seton Hill on Saturday for a 2 p.m. EST start. I hope for the best for Coach Harkleroad and his team.
GLENVILLE STATE NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM
Coach Bunky Harkleroad has his squad on a roll at the right time. Tenisha Wilson had 22 points to lead five players in double figures and Glenville State cruised to its sixth victory in a row by beating Davis & Elkins 96-67 Wednesday night.
Ginny Petties made four 3-pointers and scored 17 points, Beth Deren (13 points) and Kenyell Goodson (11 points) each connected on three 3s and Mishae Miles finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Pioneers (14-4, 12-2 WVIAC). Kind of an odd System game in that Davis & Elkins attempted five more shots than Glenville State -- and only one fewer from beyond the arc -- but had a difficult time making them.
The Senators (10-9, 9-6) shot 27 percent for the game and turned it over on 24 occasions.
Regardless of how it game, the victory allowed the Pioneers to stay just ahead of West Virginia Wesleyan in the standings, with Concord lurking right behind both of them.
This game capped a four-game homestand for Glenville State, which travels to Seton Hill on Saturday for a 2 p.m. EST start. I hope for the best for Coach Harkleroad and his team.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Grinnell jumps on Knox from the get-go, Olivet Nazarene holds off IU South Bend, Jackson (Mich.) CC moves back in Top 25, North Shore HS continues fabulous season
Lots of great stuff to get to in his post, so I won't waste your time with my lame attempts at humor. I will commence with news of those loveable System teams.
GRINNELL COLLEGE NCAA DIVISION III MEN'S TEAM
The best start in school history continued Tuesday night for the Pioneers, who completely dismantled local and Midwest Conference foe Knox College 128-87. This one got out of hand pretty early, and I had the pleasure of watching it all unfold online.
Grinnell won the opening tip (as an aside, the fact that I mentioned "the opening tip" should let you know just how quickly things got away from the Prairie Fire) and worked the ball to Matt Skelly. He swished a 3-pointer from the right wing 16 seconds into the game, and following a miss by Knox, Skelly made another 3 only 24 seconds after the first one.
A turnover gave Grinnell the ball again, with Marques Valdez converting a layup, and another errant pass by Knox led to a 3 from Brian McManamy. It was 11-0 with 18:47 still left on the clock in the first half, and the Prairie Fire called timeout.
It wasn't much better after that. The Pioneers (16-1, 12-1 MWC) later had leads of 22-4 and 42-10 before going into the break ahead 67-34. That was as close as Knox would get.
Skelly simply took over the game during his early shifts and had 19 points after only 6 minutes of run -- yep, that's right, 19 points in 6 minutes! He finished with 22 points and made six 3-pointers and wasn't even the leading scorer; that title fell to Jesse Ney, who made 10 3s and scored 30 points.
Griffin Lentsch added 23 points and Garrett Nitz came through with 10 points and 10 assists. Skelly did more than score, filling up his stat sheet with five rebounds and four steals. The Pioneers shot 29-of-67 on 3-pointers.
Keep in mind this all was against a conference opponent who knows Grinnell as well as any team in the Midwest Conference, and one which trailed by only one point at the half in the teams' earlier matchup at Knox. The Pioneers eventually pulled away to win 85-68, and there was no way to see this coming.
Grinnell has very little time to celebrate, with a tough back-to-back scheduled on the road this weekend in the MWC. The Pioneers, still tied for first with Lake Forest, are at Ripon on Friday night and then go to St. Norbert on Saturday. Those two teams are tied for third in the conference, four games behind Grinnell and Lake Forest, but should be dangerous on their home floors.
Best of luck to "interim" coach Dave Arseneault and his dad, System creator David, this weekend.
OLIVET NAZARENE NAIA WOMEN'S TEAM
The Tigers were on the road in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference on Tuesday night and came away with a closer-than-expected 88-75 victory over Indiana University-South Bend. ONU (20-3, 4-0 CCAC), which moved up one spot in this week's NAIA Coaches' Poll to 13th, shot only 31.1 percent from the field (including 18.9 percent on 3-pointers) but still managed to hold off the Titans (8-15, 0-4).
Danielle Tolbert led the way with 19 points, three assists, three rebounds and three steals in 16 minutes, and Holly Schacht added 15 points. Denita Phelps posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
This one was close throughout, even as the home team only led at 2-0 and 4-3 before Tolbert gave the Tigers the lead at 5-4 for good with a jumper 1 minute into the game. Despite the cold shooting, they still dominated in the System stats:
- Attempted 103 shots
- Attempted 53 3-pointers
- Rebounded 45 percent of their misses on offense
- Forced 28 turnovers
- Attempted 33 more shots than IUSB
Coach Doug Porter's team travels to Roosevelt University on Saturday, with game time scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. I'll be rooting for them.
JACKSON (MICH.) CC NJCAA WOMEN'S TEAM
The Jets, coached by Andy Hoaglin, moved back into the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II poll this week at No. 16, the highest ranking in school history. They were 17th back in the second poll early this season.
Jackson still leads all of D-II with a scoring average of 102.5 points and hosts Muskegon on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST. Here's hoping the Jets keep it going.
NORTH SHORE HS GIRLS' TEAM (GLEN HEAD, N.Y.)
The Vikings had a great effort Tuesday night in a matchup at home against Conference A-IV rival Island Trees, jumping ahead by 12 after the first quarter and cruising to a 77-48 victory.
Erin Sheerin and Amanda Johansen had 17 points apiece for North Shore, now 13-1 overall and 9-0 in the conference. Island Trees (10-3, 7-2) stayed with the Vikings earlier this season, leading after one quarter before losing 67-55.
North Shore plays at winless Roosevelt on Friday, and I will be cheering for coach Keith Freund's team.
GRINNELL COLLEGE NCAA DIVISION III MEN'S TEAM
The best start in school history continued Tuesday night for the Pioneers, who completely dismantled local and Midwest Conference foe Knox College 128-87. This one got out of hand pretty early, and I had the pleasure of watching it all unfold online.
Grinnell won the opening tip (as an aside, the fact that I mentioned "the opening tip" should let you know just how quickly things got away from the Prairie Fire) and worked the ball to Matt Skelly. He swished a 3-pointer from the right wing 16 seconds into the game, and following a miss by Knox, Skelly made another 3 only 24 seconds after the first one.
A turnover gave Grinnell the ball again, with Marques Valdez converting a layup, and another errant pass by Knox led to a 3 from Brian McManamy. It was 11-0 with 18:47 still left on the clock in the first half, and the Prairie Fire called timeout.
It wasn't much better after that. The Pioneers (16-1, 12-1 MWC) later had leads of 22-4 and 42-10 before going into the break ahead 67-34. That was as close as Knox would get.
Skelly simply took over the game during his early shifts and had 19 points after only 6 minutes of run -- yep, that's right, 19 points in 6 minutes! He finished with 22 points and made six 3-pointers and wasn't even the leading scorer; that title fell to Jesse Ney, who made 10 3s and scored 30 points.
Griffin Lentsch added 23 points and Garrett Nitz came through with 10 points and 10 assists. Skelly did more than score, filling up his stat sheet with five rebounds and four steals. The Pioneers shot 29-of-67 on 3-pointers.
Keep in mind this all was against a conference opponent who knows Grinnell as well as any team in the Midwest Conference, and one which trailed by only one point at the half in the teams' earlier matchup at Knox. The Pioneers eventually pulled away to win 85-68, and there was no way to see this coming.
Grinnell has very little time to celebrate, with a tough back-to-back scheduled on the road this weekend in the MWC. The Pioneers, still tied for first with Lake Forest, are at Ripon on Friday night and then go to St. Norbert on Saturday. Those two teams are tied for third in the conference, four games behind Grinnell and Lake Forest, but should be dangerous on their home floors.
Best of luck to "interim" coach Dave Arseneault and his dad, System creator David, this weekend.
OLIVET NAZARENE NAIA WOMEN'S TEAM
The Tigers were on the road in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference on Tuesday night and came away with a closer-than-expected 88-75 victory over Indiana University-South Bend. ONU (20-3, 4-0 CCAC), which moved up one spot in this week's NAIA Coaches' Poll to 13th, shot only 31.1 percent from the field (including 18.9 percent on 3-pointers) but still managed to hold off the Titans (8-15, 0-4).
Danielle Tolbert led the way with 19 points, three assists, three rebounds and three steals in 16 minutes, and Holly Schacht added 15 points. Denita Phelps posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
This one was close throughout, even as the home team only led at 2-0 and 4-3 before Tolbert gave the Tigers the lead at 5-4 for good with a jumper 1 minute into the game. Despite the cold shooting, they still dominated in the System stats:
- Attempted 103 shots
- Attempted 53 3-pointers
- Rebounded 45 percent of their misses on offense
- Forced 28 turnovers
- Attempted 33 more shots than IUSB
Coach Doug Porter's team travels to Roosevelt University on Saturday, with game time scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. I'll be rooting for them.
JACKSON (MICH.) CC NJCAA WOMEN'S TEAM
The Jets, coached by Andy Hoaglin, moved back into the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II poll this week at No. 16, the highest ranking in school history. They were 17th back in the second poll early this season.
Jackson still leads all of D-II with a scoring average of 102.5 points and hosts Muskegon on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST. Here's hoping the Jets keep it going.
NORTH SHORE HS GIRLS' TEAM (GLEN HEAD, N.Y.)
The Vikings had a great effort Tuesday night in a matchup at home against Conference A-IV rival Island Trees, jumping ahead by 12 after the first quarter and cruising to a 77-48 victory.
Erin Sheerin and Amanda Johansen had 17 points apiece for North Shore, now 13-1 overall and 9-0 in the conference. Island Trees (10-3, 7-2) stayed with the Vikings earlier this season, leading after one quarter before losing 67-55.
North Shore plays at winless Roosevelt on Friday, and I will be cheering for coach Keith Freund's team.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The rumors of this blog's demise have been greatly exaggerated, if not warranted
Wow, has it really been nearly two months since I posted? What in the world is wrong with me? I should have my System membership card voided, if there was such a thing. As usual, I have no good excuse for neglecting all my favorite teams that employ the most exciting style of basketball since Dr. James Naismith first hung a peach basket from that balcony in New Jersey in the late 19th century.
Just now I feel terrible about it and I'm here to right some wrongs, namely giving all the teams, coaches, players and fans the information during the rest of the season. And just because I haven't been writing doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention. I still follow each of these squads zealously.
OK, is all forgiven? Good, I'll jump right in with the updates
GRINNELL COLLEGE (NCAA DIVISION III MEN'S TEAM)
What makes my absence even more inexplicable is the success the original System team has enjoyed so far. The Pioneers extended the best start in school history with a thrilling 98-92 victory Saturday over Lake Forest, which previously was unbeaten in the Midwest Conference. In fact, the Foresters had won 15 consecutive games since losing their season opener.
Grinnell (15-1, 11-1 MWC) jumped to an 85-67 lead midway through the second half before withstanding a late rally by Lake Forest (15-2, 11-1).
The only blemish so far for the Pioneers came on the road at Carroll on Jan. 14, a 109-106 loss. They have six regular season games remaining, including trips to Ripon and St. Norbert, always tough in the conference, and a rematch with Lake Forest in the friendly confines of Darby Gymnasium in the season finale Feb. 18.
Dating back to the first Grinnell season on record in 1900-01, no team ever has won more than 19 games, which came in 2002-03 with System creator David Arseneault. The 19-6 mark that season is the best of his career at the school.
Hopefully, I haven't been gone so long that you've forgotten Coach A currently is on sabbatical from his position, taking some time off to write a book on the evolution of The System. He turned over day-to-day control of the program to his son, Dave, and even though the games before the Christmas break counted against his dad's career record, Dave has been in charge all season.
I e-mailed him back before the holidays for an update on the team, and I foolishly neglected to get it out until now. Here is what he had to say about this year's team:
Good stuff there. Even with all the success, there have been a few hurdles along the way. Guard Matt Skelly missed seven games with a broken hand before returning after Christmas, and there was a tremendous comeback in a home game against Illinois College on Jan. 10. Grinnell trailed by 22 points at one point in the first half before rallying for a 115-113 victory. Even after my years of following the Pioneers and The System, I'll never become accustomed to the lopsided nature of that game stats: Illinois College shot 71.7 percent ON THE ROAD and still lost. Unreal.
Grinnell returns to action Tuesday at home against Knox College, looking to improve on that terrific start. And, finally, I plan to be back with updates.
GLENVILLE STATE (NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM)
One of those oddities when you follow teams as closely as I do is that it is easy to fail to see the big picture. I have had a sense that Glenville State has played a bit unevenly this season, never really hitting its stride while going through the brutal schedule in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (22 games).
Then I pull up the standings to check for this update, and there the Pioneers sit on top of the conference with an 11-2 record, a half-game ahead of Concord. Coach Bunky Harkleroad's team has won five games in a row -- and seven of its past eight -- to move to 13-4 overall, certainly much better than "uneven" or any other adjective I foolishly would put on them.
The Pioneers won again Saturday by overwhelming Wheeling Jesuit 99-72 and finish out a four-game home stand Wednesday against Davis & Elkins. In the latest victory, Tenisha Wilson, Beth Deren and Ginny Petties each scored 15 points, and Mishae Miles added 13. Wilson and Miles led the way with 10 rebounds apiece, and point guard Danielle Woodmore had 12 assists
For the season, Wilson is scoring 19.1 points per game, and Miles has been a double-double machine. She averages 14.8 points and 11.5 rebounds for Glenville State. Deren has made 54 3-pointers, including five Saturday.
Coach Harkleroad also e-mailed me some thoughts on his season around the holidays, including an update on Tiffani Huffman, a guard who injured her shoulder in the second game of the season:
"Also, when we keep things simple and execute our fast break we tend to get great looks at the basket. What I’m saying is this, when we play fast and make good SIMPLE decisions we’ve been very successful and shown some great signs. When we don’t execute our basic READS and when we foul too much it’s too predictable and the outcome isn’t good. Make sense?
"Huffman had surgery and will not be back this season, she was really doing a great job when she went down. Miles and Wilson have been great so far, Mishae has been amazing. Mishae is on a partial scholarship and is probably the best bargain in D-II sports period. Wilson is her usual self and plugging along. Both of them are great fits here and are just good players, that sums it up with them.
"I think we have a shot to be in the mix at the end. Been a lot of bad luck around the league and a lot of talented players graduated. I think the league is down a bit and there are really going to be a lot of teams with a great shot at winning."
A big thanks for Coach Harkleroad's time. Glenville State has nine games left, including trips to Concord and West Virginia Wesleyan, its two close pursuers in the WVIAC. Best of luck to them.
OLIVET NAZARENE (NAIA WOMEN'S TEAM)
Good things also are happening for coach Doug Porter and the Tigers, who were ranked 14th in the most recent NAIA coaches' poll. This despite losing starting point guard Danielle Pipal to a season-ending injury suffered in the final of the Holiday Inn Express Invitational at Warner University just after Christmas.
ONU has won nine consecutive games, including three in a row to open play in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. One of those was a 119-89 thumping on the road at longtime rival St. Xavier, a nemesis of the Tigers for years. On Saturday, ONU handled Robert Morris 115-73 back home at McHie Arena.
During the winning streak, the Tigers are averaging more than 107 points and outscoring their opponents by nearly 33 points per game. In the three CCAC games, those numbers jump to 118 points per game and an average scoring margin of nearly 38 points.
Coach Porter continues to do all this within the strict confines of The System, with 18 players regularly seeing quality run in each game and no one averaging more than Denita Phelps' 15.4 minutes. Pretty amazing.
Danielle Tolbert leads the way with 12.3 points per game, with Holly Schacht (11.0) and Phelps (10.0) also averaging in double figures. Liz Bart has made a team-high 48 3s and makes a team-high 40 percent from beyond the arc.
The Tigers go on the road for four consecutive games -- three in the CCAC -- before returning home Valentine's Day to play St. Xavier again. That is part of eight games remaining on the schedule, and here's hoping Coach Porter and his team keep it going.
JACKSON (MICH.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (NJCAA WOMEN'S TEAM)
The Jets, coached by Andy Hoaglin, are having a great season, moving into a tie atop the Michigan Community College Athletic Association's Western Conference with a 101-62 victory over Kellogg CC on Saturday. Kelsey White made six 3-pointers and scored 22 points, Nicki Wurster added 20 points and Alyssa Havens finished with 18 for Jackson (17-3, 7-1 MCCAA). Chabis Goble came through with 18 rebounds.
Early in the second half, a 40-point lead led to Coach Hoaglin dropping the press in favor of a 1-2-2 zone to keep the score down. The Jets lead all of NJCAA Division II by scoring 103.2 points per game and have won seven of their past eight games. The only loss was by the score of 118-99 to Kalamazoo Valley, which was ranked No. 3 in the most recent Division II poll before a loss Saturday to Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan was ranked 15th until a loss losing 98-94 to Jackson. Got all that?
Coach Hoaglin and his team are having a great run this season. Earlier, in a 145-73 victory over Ancilla, the Jets set a school record for points and 3s (26), all while putting up 80 points in the first half. Pretty impressive.
They begin the second run through the conference Wednesday at Glen Oaks. I hope Coach Hoaglin and Jackson keep it going.
GALESBURG (ILL.) HS GIRLS' TEAM
Remember last season when the Silver Streaks were breaking records often for either 3-pointers made or attempted, all during a tremendous run to the Elite Eight and a 28-7 finish. Well, coach Evan Massey's team is a bit of a different this season, but still just as effective.
While Galesburg still runs The System, the 3s are a bit harder to come by this season through a combination of different defensive looks and personnel. The defense is just as good, if not better, and the Streaks are one victory away from at least a share of the Western Big 6 Conference title. They are 23-4 overall and 6-3 in the conference, with a trip to United Township on Thursday the final regular season WB6 matchup.
There still are a handful of non-conference games, however, including a Galesburg victory Saturday over Bloomington by the score of 80-56. The Streaks ran away in the second half by outscoring Bloomington 51-30 and set another school record in the process: nine different players made a 3.
That included one from Jessica Lieber, a junior who has taken a leadership role with this team. On Saturday, she finished with 17 points, 10 assists and six steals, just a wonderful effort. Sadee Hamilton added 15 points and Chloe Anderson scored 10.
After the game against United Township, Galesburg finishes up with two games outside the WB6, including a trip to Dunlap next Saturday and a home game against Washington on Thursday, Feb. 9. I hope Coach Massey and his team continue to roll.
KNOX COLLEGE (NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN'S TEAM)
A new System team from Grinnell's conference has hit its stride despite a disappointing effort Saturday against Illinois College. A season after finishing 6-17 overall and 5-13 in the Midwest Conference, the Prairie Fire had a great chance to improve to 5-7 in the conference, leading IC by 16 points at halftime on the road.
But Knox faltered a bit in the final 20 minutes and lost 103-91, with Illinois College shooting 76 percent after the break. It was a tough loss for coach Emily Cline, but she still has brought her team a long way.
The Prairie Fire fell to 4-13 and 4-8 in the MWC, with a trip to the birthplace of The System next up Tuesday. As much as I love Grinnell, I have to root for Coach Cline and her team in that one (before changing to following the Pioneers in the men's game).
Good luck to them the rest of the season.
EISENHOWER HS BOYS' TEAM (BLUE ISLAND, ILL.)
The Cardinals, coached by Mike Curta, have had their struggles this season, as well, but are coming off a feel-good victory Friday. They won 97-86 on the road after reaching four of their five Formula goals, improving to 7-15 in the process.
I wish Coach Curta and Eisenhower the best of luck down the stretch.
NORTH SHORE HS GIRLS' TEAM (GLEN HEAD, N.Y.)
Coach Keith Freund has his team rolling again this season, sitting 12-1 overall and 8-0 in the Conference A-IV on Long Island following a 72-44 victory Friday on the road at Clarke. The Vikings were up 46-16 at halftime and cruised from there.
North Shore has a one-game lead over Island Trees in the conference heading into their game Tuesday at North Shore. Earlier this season, the Vikings won that matchup on the road 67-55, rallying from a one-point deficit following one quarter.
I'll stay on board and let you know how North Shore does this week.
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE UNIVERSITY (NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM)
The Aggies, coached by System newbie Brad Vanden Boogaard, fell to 3-17 overall and 0-6 in the Heartland Conference with a 107-84 loss Thursday to Newman. Still, it appears the team is getting accustomed to the style of play needed to be successful.
There have been some great games for OPSU this season, including a 125-111 victory over Henderson State on New Year's Eve. The Aggies finished 20-for-45 from behind the 3-point line in that one.
They are off until traveling to Arkansas-Fort Smith next Saturday, and here's hoping OPSU continues to improve.
MOUNT OLIVE HS BOYS' TEAM (FLANDERS, N.J.)
Coach Kevin Moore's team improved to 9-4 with a 94-77 victory Wednesday over Jefferson Township. Zach Heeman had 28 points for Mount Olive and Tyler McEvoy added 16.
On a side note, Coach Moore and his team were featured in a posting about their move to The System for this season, and he was kind enough to give the blog a little love. Pretty sweet, right?
A huge thanks to him for that, and continued success this season. The Marauders host Montville on Tuesday in their next game.
SHORELINE (WASH.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (NJCAA MEN'S TEAM)
Another new System team, the Dolphins are coming off an upset of Bellevue College last Wednesday, a 101-93 victory to live Shoreline to 11-8 overall and 5-3 in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.
Avery Scharer had 21 points and 15 assists before fouling out, Joe Bodman added 20 points and 12 rebounds and Jordan Lupher scored 13 points for the Dolphins. Earlie Dixon, Earl Thompson and Will Acromite all added 10 points each as Shoreline put six players in double figures.
The Dolphins lead the conference in scoring (but of course!) with 104.4 points per game and next host Skagit Valley College to begin the second trip through the NWAACC. All the best to coach Greg Turcott and his team.
Just now I feel terrible about it and I'm here to right some wrongs, namely giving all the teams, coaches, players and fans the information during the rest of the season. And just because I haven't been writing doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention. I still follow each of these squads zealously.
OK, is all forgiven? Good, I'll jump right in with the updates
GRINNELL COLLEGE (NCAA DIVISION III MEN'S TEAM)
What makes my absence even more inexplicable is the success the original System team has enjoyed so far. The Pioneers extended the best start in school history with a thrilling 98-92 victory Saturday over Lake Forest, which previously was unbeaten in the Midwest Conference. In fact, the Foresters had won 15 consecutive games since losing their season opener.
Grinnell (15-1, 11-1 MWC) jumped to an 85-67 lead midway through the second half before withstanding a late rally by Lake Forest (15-2, 11-1).
The only blemish so far for the Pioneers came on the road at Carroll on Jan. 14, a 109-106 loss. They have six regular season games remaining, including trips to Ripon and St. Norbert, always tough in the conference, and a rematch with Lake Forest in the friendly confines of Darby Gymnasium in the season finale Feb. 18.
Dating back to the first Grinnell season on record in 1900-01, no team ever has won more than 19 games, which came in 2002-03 with System creator David Arseneault. The 19-6 mark that season is the best of his career at the school.
Hopefully, I haven't been gone so long that you've forgotten Coach A currently is on sabbatical from his position, taking some time off to write a book on the evolution of The System. He turned over day-to-day control of the program to his son, Dave, and even though the games before the Christmas break counted against his dad's career record, Dave has been in charge all season.
I e-mailed him back before the holidays for an update on the team, and I foolishly neglected to get it out until now. Here is what he had to say about this year's team:
DAVE ARSENEAULT: "In the first part of the season our defense has been nothing short of spectacular. It still sounds crazy to hear those words come out of my mouth, especially since we’re giving up 98ppg, but everybody is buying into to getting after it defensively so that we can wear the opposition down. Back in the day, the teams I played for just wanted to outscore people. This current squad takes it personally when another team scores. Even though the game might not be quite asthetically pleasing (at least from my perspective since I like to see points scored), you can't argue with the results.
"As with any ball club, there are still plenty of areas we can improve. Most notably, we need to improve our offensive aggression after a live turnover. I suppose if we continue to 'D' up like we have been then we should get plenty of practice working on what we do on a live steal.
"It’s hard to say what the break will do to us. I’m a little nervous, given that we’ve been playing so well and you hate to take a break when you’re on a roll, but I still think it will be nice for everybody to get rested and healthy before we start the majority of conference play. The break also gives us a chance to watch a lot of film. Without classes and homework, the guys have a lot more time and energy to watch film. This should help us make significant strides over the month of January.
"I anticipate that everybody has taken care of business in the classroom. Additionally, I know that Dad and I have focused on distributing the minutes evenly to keep people fresh, both mentally and physically for the stretch drive."
Good stuff there. Even with all the success, there have been a few hurdles along the way. Guard Matt Skelly missed seven games with a broken hand before returning after Christmas, and there was a tremendous comeback in a home game against Illinois College on Jan. 10. Grinnell trailed by 22 points at one point in the first half before rallying for a 115-113 victory. Even after my years of following the Pioneers and The System, I'll never become accustomed to the lopsided nature of that game stats: Illinois College shot 71.7 percent ON THE ROAD and still lost. Unreal.
Grinnell returns to action Tuesday at home against Knox College, looking to improve on that terrific start. And, finally, I plan to be back with updates.
GLENVILLE STATE (NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM)
One of those oddities when you follow teams as closely as I do is that it is easy to fail to see the big picture. I have had a sense that Glenville State has played a bit unevenly this season, never really hitting its stride while going through the brutal schedule in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (22 games).
Then I pull up the standings to check for this update, and there the Pioneers sit on top of the conference with an 11-2 record, a half-game ahead of Concord. Coach Bunky Harkleroad's team has won five games in a row -- and seven of its past eight -- to move to 13-4 overall, certainly much better than "uneven" or any other adjective I foolishly would put on them.
The Pioneers won again Saturday by overwhelming Wheeling Jesuit 99-72 and finish out a four-game home stand Wednesday against Davis & Elkins. In the latest victory, Tenisha Wilson, Beth Deren and Ginny Petties each scored 15 points, and Mishae Miles added 13. Wilson and Miles led the way with 10 rebounds apiece, and point guard Danielle Woodmore had 12 assists
For the season, Wilson is scoring 19.1 points per game, and Miles has been a double-double machine. She averages 14.8 points and 11.5 rebounds for Glenville State. Deren has made 54 3-pointers, including five Saturday.
Coach Harkleroad also e-mailed me some thoughts on his season around the holidays, including an update on Tiffani Huffman, a guard who injured her shoulder in the second game of the season:
BUNKY HARKLEROAD:"Things are going well for the most part. When we shoot it OK and play hard without fouling good things have happened. On the other hand both of our losses have been almost identical ... our opponents have been 53-for-72 from the free throw line and we’ve shot it poorly in both those games. I’d like for us to continue to be aggressive and force tempo but do it without fouling. Sometimes that’s hard to do when playing The System.
"Also, when we keep things simple and execute our fast break we tend to get great looks at the basket. What I’m saying is this, when we play fast and make good SIMPLE decisions we’ve been very successful and shown some great signs. When we don’t execute our basic READS and when we foul too much it’s too predictable and the outcome isn’t good. Make sense?
"Huffman had surgery and will not be back this season, she was really doing a great job when she went down. Miles and Wilson have been great so far, Mishae has been amazing. Mishae is on a partial scholarship and is probably the best bargain in D-II sports period. Wilson is her usual self and plugging along. Both of them are great fits here and are just good players, that sums it up with them.
"I think we have a shot to be in the mix at the end. Been a lot of bad luck around the league and a lot of talented players graduated. I think the league is down a bit and there are really going to be a lot of teams with a great shot at winning."
A big thanks for Coach Harkleroad's time. Glenville State has nine games left, including trips to Concord and West Virginia Wesleyan, its two close pursuers in the WVIAC. Best of luck to them.
OLIVET NAZARENE (NAIA WOMEN'S TEAM)
Good things also are happening for coach Doug Porter and the Tigers, who were ranked 14th in the most recent NAIA coaches' poll. This despite losing starting point guard Danielle Pipal to a season-ending injury suffered in the final of the Holiday Inn Express Invitational at Warner University just after Christmas.
ONU has won nine consecutive games, including three in a row to open play in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. One of those was a 119-89 thumping on the road at longtime rival St. Xavier, a nemesis of the Tigers for years. On Saturday, ONU handled Robert Morris 115-73 back home at McHie Arena.
During the winning streak, the Tigers are averaging more than 107 points and outscoring their opponents by nearly 33 points per game. In the three CCAC games, those numbers jump to 118 points per game and an average scoring margin of nearly 38 points.
Coach Porter continues to do all this within the strict confines of The System, with 18 players regularly seeing quality run in each game and no one averaging more than Denita Phelps' 15.4 minutes. Pretty amazing.
Danielle Tolbert leads the way with 12.3 points per game, with Holly Schacht (11.0) and Phelps (10.0) also averaging in double figures. Liz Bart has made a team-high 48 3s and makes a team-high 40 percent from beyond the arc.
The Tigers go on the road for four consecutive games -- three in the CCAC -- before returning home Valentine's Day to play St. Xavier again. That is part of eight games remaining on the schedule, and here's hoping Coach Porter and his team keep it going.
JACKSON (MICH.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (NJCAA WOMEN'S TEAM)
The Jets, coached by Andy Hoaglin, are having a great season, moving into a tie atop the Michigan Community College Athletic Association's Western Conference with a 101-62 victory over Kellogg CC on Saturday. Kelsey White made six 3-pointers and scored 22 points, Nicki Wurster added 20 points and Alyssa Havens finished with 18 for Jackson (17-3, 7-1 MCCAA). Chabis Goble came through with 18 rebounds.
Early in the second half, a 40-point lead led to Coach Hoaglin dropping the press in favor of a 1-2-2 zone to keep the score down. The Jets lead all of NJCAA Division II by scoring 103.2 points per game and have won seven of their past eight games. The only loss was by the score of 118-99 to Kalamazoo Valley, which was ranked No. 3 in the most recent Division II poll before a loss Saturday to Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan was ranked 15th until a loss losing 98-94 to Jackson. Got all that?
Coach Hoaglin and his team are having a great run this season. Earlier, in a 145-73 victory over Ancilla, the Jets set a school record for points and 3s (26), all while putting up 80 points in the first half. Pretty impressive.
They begin the second run through the conference Wednesday at Glen Oaks. I hope Coach Hoaglin and Jackson keep it going.
GALESBURG (ILL.) HS GIRLS' TEAM
Remember last season when the Silver Streaks were breaking records often for either 3-pointers made or attempted, all during a tremendous run to the Elite Eight and a 28-7 finish. Well, coach Evan Massey's team is a bit of a different this season, but still just as effective.
While Galesburg still runs The System, the 3s are a bit harder to come by this season through a combination of different defensive looks and personnel. The defense is just as good, if not better, and the Streaks are one victory away from at least a share of the Western Big 6 Conference title. They are 23-4 overall and 6-3 in the conference, with a trip to United Township on Thursday the final regular season WB6 matchup.
There still are a handful of non-conference games, however, including a Galesburg victory Saturday over Bloomington by the score of 80-56. The Streaks ran away in the second half by outscoring Bloomington 51-30 and set another school record in the process: nine different players made a 3.
That included one from Jessica Lieber, a junior who has taken a leadership role with this team. On Saturday, she finished with 17 points, 10 assists and six steals, just a wonderful effort. Sadee Hamilton added 15 points and Chloe Anderson scored 10.
After the game against United Township, Galesburg finishes up with two games outside the WB6, including a trip to Dunlap next Saturday and a home game against Washington on Thursday, Feb. 9. I hope Coach Massey and his team continue to roll.
KNOX COLLEGE (NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN'S TEAM)
A new System team from Grinnell's conference has hit its stride despite a disappointing effort Saturday against Illinois College. A season after finishing 6-17 overall and 5-13 in the Midwest Conference, the Prairie Fire had a great chance to improve to 5-7 in the conference, leading IC by 16 points at halftime on the road.
But Knox faltered a bit in the final 20 minutes and lost 103-91, with Illinois College shooting 76 percent after the break. It was a tough loss for coach Emily Cline, but she still has brought her team a long way.
The Prairie Fire fell to 4-13 and 4-8 in the MWC, with a trip to the birthplace of The System next up Tuesday. As much as I love Grinnell, I have to root for Coach Cline and her team in that one (before changing to following the Pioneers in the men's game).
Good luck to them the rest of the season.
EISENHOWER HS BOYS' TEAM (BLUE ISLAND, ILL.)
The Cardinals, coached by Mike Curta, have had their struggles this season, as well, but are coming off a feel-good victory Friday. They won 97-86 on the road after reaching four of their five Formula goals, improving to 7-15 in the process.
I wish Coach Curta and Eisenhower the best of luck down the stretch.
NORTH SHORE HS GIRLS' TEAM (GLEN HEAD, N.Y.)
Coach Keith Freund has his team rolling again this season, sitting 12-1 overall and 8-0 in the Conference A-IV on Long Island following a 72-44 victory Friday on the road at Clarke. The Vikings were up 46-16 at halftime and cruised from there.
North Shore has a one-game lead over Island Trees in the conference heading into their game Tuesday at North Shore. Earlier this season, the Vikings won that matchup on the road 67-55, rallying from a one-point deficit following one quarter.
I'll stay on board and let you know how North Shore does this week.
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE UNIVERSITY (NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S TEAM)
The Aggies, coached by System newbie Brad Vanden Boogaard, fell to 3-17 overall and 0-6 in the Heartland Conference with a 107-84 loss Thursday to Newman. Still, it appears the team is getting accustomed to the style of play needed to be successful.
There have been some great games for OPSU this season, including a 125-111 victory over Henderson State on New Year's Eve. The Aggies finished 20-for-45 from behind the 3-point line in that one.
They are off until traveling to Arkansas-Fort Smith next Saturday, and here's hoping OPSU continues to improve.
MOUNT OLIVE HS BOYS' TEAM (FLANDERS, N.J.)
Coach Kevin Moore's team improved to 9-4 with a 94-77 victory Wednesday over Jefferson Township. Zach Heeman had 28 points for Mount Olive and Tyler McEvoy added 16.
On a side note, Coach Moore and his team were featured in a posting about their move to The System for this season, and he was kind enough to give the blog a little love. Pretty sweet, right?
A huge thanks to him for that, and continued success this season. The Marauders host Montville on Tuesday in their next game.
SHORELINE (WASH.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (NJCAA MEN'S TEAM)
Another new System team, the Dolphins are coming off an upset of Bellevue College last Wednesday, a 101-93 victory to live Shoreline to 11-8 overall and 5-3 in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.
Avery Scharer had 21 points and 15 assists before fouling out, Joe Bodman added 20 points and 12 rebounds and Jordan Lupher scored 13 points for the Dolphins. Earlie Dixon, Earl Thompson and Will Acromite all added 10 points each as Shoreline put six players in double figures.
The Dolphins lead the conference in scoring (but of course!) with 104.4 points per game and next host Skagit Valley College to begin the second trip through the NWAACC. All the best to coach Greg Turcott and his team.
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