Getting "It"

So far, it's been a great NCAA Tournament. Basically everyone's bracket is donzo but there have been some great games (I still have Kansas and Butler in the Final Four, though the rest of my bracket is terrible). Obviously, over the last couple of weeks I've been watching a ton of hoop and certainly haven't been disappointed. The one thing that I always find interesting is seeing who and when the players get "it" whether it be at our level or at the big time D1 level.

Every single kid is different when they figure things out. You look at a player like Harrison Barnes from UNC and he was rated as the best freshmen by everyone and was named the first freshmen to be a preseason All-American. Everyone saw him in the AAU circuit, his state championships, and then during the All Star circuit and it looked easy to him. Then the season started. He didn't seem to click with the rest of his teammates, the game was moving too fast, and teams were taking away some of the things he was able to do over the course of his high school career. He was settling too much for jumpers (which I still think he does a little). Then something clicked.

There was a change at the point guard spot with Kendall Marshall taking over for Larry Drew and all of a sudden Barnes looked more comfortable. Things slowed down, he was getting the ball in scoring positions and all of a sudden he has a swagger about him. You see him smile on the court instead of having the weight of the world on his shoulders. He makes a game winning shot vs. Miami and boom, the "killer" look in his eye is there. Again, if you look at his stats, they aren't out of this world but I believe UNC is undefeated when he has scored 17 or more. It's amazing what a little change can do.

Now, if you look at our league this season, guys get "it" at different points. It's a matter of getting their body and mind use to the intensity of practice everyday. It's hard for a kid to grasp what it takes for them to be successful at the D3 level. They essentially had it easy during their high school years. They were able to slack off in certain situations whether it be on defense or take plays off on offense when they are tired. Some guys even have the free reign to go back into the game after they got taken out. Playing at the college level is just different.

Everyone on the team is usually their best player from their high school team and is use to scoring and getting the ball whenever a tough situation comes up. At our level, the chances that a freshmen is going to come in right away and consistently be the best scorer or player is extremely slim (not saying it doesn't happen but it rarely occurs). Chances are, they will have to do some of the little things that make the team successful like rebounding, getting to loose balls, and playing tough defense (usually another tough concept for freshmen to pick up). As the season progresses and they start to understand more of the team concepts the scoring may come. The scoring may come when they are sophomores or juniors. Sometimes it doesn't.

I know I felt the same way when I came to college. I watched the team play as a high school senior and felt that I could come in and contribute right away. Needless to say, I was in for a rude awakening. Of course, looking back on it now, I realized I wasn't athletic enough and didn't exactly fit the system for me to get immediate playing time but I believed that I was good enough to get time. I never complained, I just worked, on my game, on my body. The team was like Charlie Sheen out there, winning. After another year of basically sitting out, my chance had come in my junior year. Then in practice one day, I got it. I figured out my role and what I was going to do the rest of my career. I was going to be the "team jerk." I normally use another word for it but it's PG here on the blog.

I was going to be the guy that the other team absolutely hated playing against but your teammates love playing with you. I wanted to win and I wanted to see the floor and this was the best way for me to get burn, plus our team didn't have that guy at the time. Every good team has "that guy" and that is one of the reasons why they are successful. St. Thomas has two of those guys in Teddy Archer and Brady Ervin. Both guys are tough as can be and are always involved because that is what their team needs them to do to win. I'm certainly not saying that this has to be every freshmen's role but it's a way to get on the floor and it helps the team.

Connor Gunderson from St. Olaf really struggled early in the year with everything. He was a heck of a high school player but rarely saw competition on a consistent basis. Then something clicked for him towards the end of the year. The game clearly slowed down for him. He averaged 16 a game and shot close to 70% from the floor for a six or seven game stretch. During this time, he became a tough matchup in the league. He's 6'6", long and athletic with the ability to go inside and out. I'm not looking forward to seeing him next year.

I used Connor as an example for our conference because I think he will be a heck of a player. I would think that our returning freshmen will get "it" at some point and challenge for great minutes next season. Can't wait until next October 15th.

Big All Star Game for Carl

This afternoon Carl took part in the Reese's NABC D3 All Star Game. He finished with a really impressed statline in only 22 minutes. Carl finished with 14 points, 15 boards, and 4 blocks. 22 minutes sounds like the amount of minutes he was playing earlier in the year. His team, the West, also won the game 92-81.

On top of his stellar performance, he was named to the D3Hoops.com All American Third Team. Here is the official list from D3Hoops.com.

Here are his list of accomplishments for this season:
All MIAC
MIAC Player of the Year
All Region (West)
2nd Team All American (NABC)
3rd Team All American (D3Hoops.com)

Doesn't get much better than that as far as individual accomplishments are concerned.

St. Thomas won the D3 National Championship today after beating Wooster (OH) by 20 in the title game. They beat Middlebury (VT) last night in the semis. I'm shocked that they won. After playing and coaching on team's that only made it to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8, I thought they had too many holes to win it. Their style definitely gave both teams major fits. Those teams couldn't handle their pressure at all. As with any tournament format, it's all about matchups (ask Louisville). St. Thomas created problems with every team they played because of their pressure and none of the teams they played could hang tough for all 40 minutes.

Them winning is definitely encouraging for our program. We beat them and then had them on the ropes in the playoff game. We aren't that far off. We get a year older and more mature with another quality recruiting class, things could get interesting on Snelling and Hewitt.

There has been a lot of talk on the D3Hoops message boards about potential transfers throughout the conference and especially with us. There are quite a few people of the message boards that have no idea what they are talking about, if they did they would be coaching college basketball right now. They'll attack Nelson on a consistent basis after he has done nothing but bring Hamline back to respectability.

Our job as coaches is to bring in players every year that will help our program. Our ideal goal is to bring 5 guys that are just as good if not better than what we have (our guys know that). If we don't, we aren't doing our job. Competition is the key to having a good program. We have to have competition in the classroom, in the weight room, and on the floor for the program to be successful.

Look at St. Thomas, their freshmen wait their turn to play. They have 5 seniors that all play significant minutes for their NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP team. Their freshmen don't play and only one sophomore plays (he is junior age wise). I'm sure their practices are competitive as all hell because the younger guys want to get some time but the older guys won't let them take it. That's the sign of a very good program.

I'm going to leave you with a lyric from one of my favorite songs by Nas
"People fear what they don't understand, hate what they can't conquer"

Just wait...

NABC All American Team

Carl was named to the State Farm Coaches' All American Second Team, the NABC announced today. Just like I guessed. Quite an honor. My guess is that he'll be named to a couple of other All American Teams, just not sure which ones.

Here is the LINK to the All American Teams.

Mary Wilkowski of the women's team was named WBCA All American Honorable Mention. WBCA must in the everybody participates mode for their All American Teams. Here is the TEAM.

Also, the Piper hockey team had a player sign a professional contract. two time All American (possibly three time soon) Chris Berenguer signed with the Trenton Devils of the ECHL. Trenton is an affiliate of the New Jersey Devils NHL team. "Smoke" (as he is known by teammates) will be joined by former Piper and linemate Taylor Vichorek, who is already on the roster. The team actually plays in the same league as the team from my hometown, the Elmira Jackals. HERE is the writeup on the Devils' website.

Live Video for D3 All Star Game

Here is the LINK for the D3 All Star Game that Carl is playing in. Should be a fun one to watch.

Another Honor for Carl

Surprise, surprise. Another honor for Carl Hipp for his great senior year. Carl was just named to the NABC D3 All-District Team for the West Region. I could be wrong but according the order of the players on the list, it also means that Carl will be a 2nd Team All-American according to the NABC. Not sure when that list comes out but I'll keep you updated.

A couple of other MIAC players were honored as well. Tyler Nicolai was a First Team selection and Jeremy Sutherland was a Second Team Honoree.

Here is the LINK to all the All-District Teams.

Also, here is a LINK to the other players Carl will be competing with and against this weekend down in Salem at the D3 All Star game. Carl played with both Marvin Billups (SUNY Purchase) and Dave Golembioski (SUNYIT) this past summer on a foreign tour in Brazil.

D3Hoops.com All-Region

All Region teams were announced today by D3Hoops.com and once again a Piper was on the list. Carl Hipp was named First Team All-West Region to go along with a couple of fellow MIAC hoopers. Carl was joined on the team with Tyler Nicolai from St. Thomas and Aaron Burtzel from St. John's. Jeremy Sutherland from Carleton was named to the Second Team.

I thought that Aaron and Jeremy should've been flip-flopped but I didn't vote. I certainly won't miss seeing those two (actually three if you include Tyler) in uniform next year. I'm sure other MIAC coaches think the same way about Carl.

Also, Mary Wilkowski was also named First Team All-West Region on the women's side.

HERE is the link to the teams.

Hockey Goes Down

The Piper hockey team ended up losing to #1 St. Norbert last night, 4-0. It was a great run for them, definitely a tough wsy to lose, hopefully their success this year will continue for the next couple of years to push them closer to the Frozen Four.

St. Thomas extended their season last night with a convincing win at Augustana in the Elite 8. The Tommies beat UW-Stevens Point the night before with a game winner by, you guessed it, Tyler Nicolai. I didn't think they could get by the Pointers (terrible nickname in the WIAC, not quite like their neighboring state) but they certainly have a bunch of gritty veteran guys that know how to win.

Now, the MIAC will have at least two representatives down in Salem, VA. Carl Hipp and St. Thomas.

Also, a big congrats to the Williams Ephs for their second consecutive Final Four. They are coached by Mike Maker who I worked with at West Virginia. They open up with with Wooster out of Ohio while St. Thomas takes on Middlebury. Both Williams and Middlebury play in the NESCAC.