Midweek Blog 10: Airing of Grievances

Yes. If you must ask, I'm taking my midweek blog's idea from the "Seinfeld" holiday Festivus. I'm going to be airing two of by biggest grievances with the game of basketball in my "1 Big Thing."

But this blog won't all be negative. In fact, I will be adding a new part to my blog coming up in the "5 Worth the Price of Admission" section.

But, alas, it is time to air my grievances.

1 Big Thing

Really my grievances come down to two things that frustrate me as a former forward (I played the 4 spot in college, went inside and out) when I watch the college game. At all levels, really.

And both of these things go hand in hand with each other.

The first one is the refusal of post players to go to their off hand.

Really this seems like kind of a problem for guards as much as it is post players in today's game, which is true. There are still plenty of players that dislike going left, which astounds me.

But it seems like a big problem in the post. Most players just love going over their strong shoulder. Jump hooks or spins to their strong side where there really is no counter or even an attempt to go to their left.

But when defenders actually guard against going that way (more on that in a second) most players don't come back to their left unless it is really overplayed.

They don't feel the pressure and go away from it. Rather, most of them try to bull their way towards the right or end up taking an off-balance shot going away from the basket going to the right, when a simple turn to the left would put them in a prime position to score.

When I was in the post (probably about 30 percent of my playing time), I loved going left. No one knew that it was coming and if they got out of position and tried to get in front and guard me going right, I just spun left and got an easy one or used my up-and-under (another move that seems to be not en vogue anymore that still works. A lot).

But this brings me to my second grievance. Post defenders who refuse or don't get in position quick enough to force post players to their non-dominant hand. 

This seems to be a problem at all levels. Yes most D1 post players are able to beat you with the left on occasion, but I'd much rather them beat me going to their left then giving them their right.

DIII has the exact same problem, where it seems that players just let players beat them going to the right, instead of forcing to the left.

I tried my hardest when I defended in the post to make a person to go to their non-dominant hand (I still fell very much a victim of this, more on positioning then anything). I was successful a few times to draw charges on players who wanted to go right or just frustrate the player into take a poor shot.

Both of these things frustrate me more than anything when it comes to actual play and I see it consistently at all levels. Just thought I would air my grievances with you for awhile and I apologize to those left-handed players as I wrote this based on my right-handedness.

2 Small Things

-Will the WIAC garner three NCAA tournament teams?

This question comes down to three things, really: one, can one of three teams upset either Whitewater or Stevens Point late to make a better case for their Pool C bid, two, where the teams rank in the first regional rankings coming out soon and three, does someone besides Point or Whitewater win the conference tournament title.

The way I see it Point and Whitewater are both locks to make the tournament unless Whitewater completely falls off the edge at the end of the season. Point is a no-brainer and Whitewater did enough in the non-conference schedule to warrant a bid.

This leaves Stout as the only other team in the WIAC that I think can grab a Pool C bid. The Blue Devils have the exact same overall record as Whitewater and three of their losses have come to Whitewater twice and Stevens Point. Problem is they had a weak non-conference schedule with an ugly loss to a bad Loras team.

They have a chance here at a Pool C if they win out in the regular season, which would include a win over Stevens Point, and make the conference tournament title game. Again just my opinion on it.

Or, of course, if one of those teams not name Point or Whitewater win the conference tournament, it is my belief that the WIAC will have three teams make it. 

-Who will take the second spot in the NAC South?

The number one spot has already been spoken for in the South. It's going to be Aurora.

But quite the battle has sprung forth for the second spot in the conference and the chance to host a conference tournament game.

Dominican (7-6) leads that pack with a half game lead on Wisconsin Lutheran (6-6) and Rockford (6-6).

Dominican had been on a winning streak before losses to Edgewood and Wisconsin Lutheran, which shot their momentum for a stretch run.

Rockford has won three in a row to end a long streak of futility but are, in my opinion, far to inconsistent of a team to take the second spot.

Which leaves Wisconsin Lutheran, which has been playing the most consistently good basketball out of the three and they have a fairly favorable schedule on the way out. I think they sneak in and pick up the second spot.

3 Performances of the Week

Erik Olson, UW-Stout (against UW-Superior)

One of the leading assist men in the conference got it done scoring, pouring in 23 points for the Blue Devils. He also added eight assists and six rebounds and shot a perfect 3-of-3 from deep in the victory.

Mike DeDecker, Monmouth (against Illinois College)

DeDecker led the Fighting Scots' rout over the Blueboys by pouring in 24 points in the victory. He added five assists and shot 7-fo-13 from the field for Monmouth.

Justin Williams, Edgewood (against Dominican)

Williams came off the bench and scored 18 points in the Eagles win over the Stars. Williams also nearly missed a double-double, pulling down nine rebounds as well.

4 Power Teams in Two Words

WIAC

1. UW-Stevens Point (18-3, 11-1 WIAC) Words: Tripped up

2. UW-Whitewater (16-4, 9-3 WIAC) Words: Still good

3. UW-Stout (16-4, 8-3 WIAC) Words: Still dangerous

4. UW-Platteville (15-6, 8-4 WIAC) Words: Big win

MWC

1. St. Norbert (15-3, 12-2 MWC) Words: Continuing streak

2. Grinnell (14-4, 11-3 MWC) Words: Settling in

3. Carroll (13-5, 9-4 MWC) Words: Question mark?

4. Ripon (10-8, 8-6 MWC) Words: Taylor Koth

NAC

1. Aurora (16-5, 11-1 NAC) Words: On track

2. Concordia-Wisconsin (14-7, 9-3 NAC) Words: Looking strong

3. Lakeland (17-5, 10-3 NAC) Words: Offensive struggles

4. Marian (13-8, 8-4 NAC) Words: Staying hot

5 Worth the Price of Admission

Before we delve into the games, here is my new wrinkle in this section. Each game, I'm going to do a "Pick to Click."

For those who aren't familiar with Pick to Click, it's a psuedo-game where I will pick a player from either team who I think will have the biggest effect on the game. That could mean a huge point scoring game, a consistent all-around game or something like that.

It's been done before in a variety of sports, but I have to shout out to my former teammate Kyle Bickler and manager Marquis Rodgers for playing the game against each other on our own bench with our own players, which was extremely funny and pretty cool.

So I have decided to carry it over into this blog. So away we go.

1. Non-conference, St. Norbert at UW-Whitewater, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $9. Pick to Click: Quardell Young, UW-Whitewater

A non-conference rematch of the St. Norbert tournament final in late December, this one is very interestingly placed into the season.

St. Norbert has continued rolling after that tournament victory and haven't lost in a month, getting strong play on both sides of the ball and keeping an exceptional balance on the offensive end.

Whitewater has been more up and down than the Green Knights thanks to some injuries and inconsistent play, but they are still a force to be reckoned with as they try and figure stuff out before postseason play.

Quardell Young might be the single biggest factor in the game. He controls the Whitewater offense and pace. If the Green Knights can contain them and his penetration like they did in the first game, they could come out with another victory over the Warhawks.

If not, the Warhawks will come out with an important victory heading into the final month of the season.

2. NAC, Aurora at Lakeland, 4:15 p.m. Price I would pay: $8. Pick to Click: Mike Bumber, Aurora

The two top teams in the NAC seem to be heading in different directions.

Aurora is still as dominant as ever in the South after a small hiccup when starter Marious Lobdell was sidelined for two games. Now that he is back, Aurora looks to be cream of the crop.

Lakeland, however, has struggled mightily the past two or three weeks, most noticeably on the offensive end, where they were once one of the most potent offensive teams around. Now, they haven't cracked 80 in quite some time, but will be riding some confidence having beat MSOE on the road.

Both teams, if at full bore, are potent offensive teams. They each have a bevy of weapons at their disposal, which is why Bumber, who can be an explosive scorer, will be important as the Spartans third or fourth scorer in this game. If Bumber can put in 15 or more, Aurora will have a great shot at winning.

It will also come down to how well Lakeland can take care of the ball, which determines how fast Aurora can get out and run in transition.

3. WIAC, UW-Stevens Point at UW-La Crosse, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $7. Pick to Click: Joe Ritchay, UW-Stevens Point

This is a key game for La Crosse if they expect to do anything down the stretch. They have been struggling lately and are coming off a tough loss on the road to Whitewater in which they led at halftime.

They get a vulnerable Point team coming of it's first loss of the conference season to Platteville that by all accounts was the worst game the Pointers played all season.

It'll still be tough for the Eagles, but they do get Stevens Point at home coming off of a loss. Then again, this is Point coming off of their worst game of the season. They might be out for blood.

This one will probably come down to which teams' shooters are doing the most damage from the outside. I think the Pointers just have a little too much firepower in that respect.

4. WIAC, UW-Platteville at UW-Stout, 4 p.m. Price I would pay: $7. Pick to Click: Chris Hortman, UW-Stout

This is another huge game on the WIAC docket on Saturday.

Stout remains tied with Whitewater for the second spot in the conference and are desperately trying to take it from them outright so they can get a bye in the conference tournament.

Platteville is coming off of their biggest win of the season and are nipping at Whitewater and Stout's heals, just a game back in the loss column.

Stout stole one from the Pioneers earlier in the season and Platteville would like nothing more than to return the favor.

This game is very dependent on how the Blue Devils offense is going. You know that Stout can play defense, but their offense is going to have to do enough to win them this game, which means that it's going to rely a lot on what Chris Hortman does. On offense, they way he goes is the way the Blue Devils seem to go. He will be key for Stout this game.

5. MWC, Grinnell at Beloit, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $5. Pick to Click: Steve McAfee, Beloit

This game is important in the Midwest Conference race.

Grinnell is looking to keep pace with St. Norbert with a showdown with the Green Knights looming that could determine the conference championship. The Pioneers look to be back on track after losing Jack Taylor and are settling in their new rotations.

Beloit, meanwhile, will be coming off a tough loss to Lake Forest on the road after pulling out a huge victory over Ripon last week. Ripon is breathing down the Bucs' neck and this win would be huge for them to hang on to the fourth spot in conference.

Beloit struggled in the first matchup between the two in the second half. They handled the Pioneers press solidly in the first half before the wheels came off in the second.

This game could come down to a last few shots, which is why McAfee will be important to the Buccaneers cause, as he might have to take a few jump shots for Beloit to win.

Thanks for tuning in. As always you can find my thoughts on Twitter at @turkdigg40 and we'll see you for my weekend blog coming up.