An Early Look at NCC Basketball

I know, it's July, and basketball isn't really a factor for another few months, what with baseball still in full swing and football coming up very soon. But yesterday, the North Central Athletic Department released the schedules for both the men's and women's teams. You can view those schedules for yourself at the links provided, but I wanted to look over the key home dates on the schedule even though we're still four months out.

1. Saturday, November 15: WBK vs Albion. This one puzzles me. Thanksgiving is kind of late again this year, so the Tip Off Tournament isn't until the following weekend. It's not the first time they've played a game before the tourney (they opened with a loss at Dominican University in the 11-12 campaign), but it's not a usual thing either.
2. Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22: Chicago Marriott Naperville Tip Off Tournament. Two days. Eight games. Probably a good 10-11 hours a day and 8 bottles of Gatorade over both days to sustain my voice. I've had fond memories of the last two tournaments, between the epic Hope-College of Faith battle in 2012 and last year's epic opening game for the women against Ripon College. Like in prior years, the women's bracket is unknown (and probably won't be known until maybe October), but most of the men's field is known, since North Central has predetermined matchups. They get Trinity International University on Friday as a tuneup for the biggest game at Merner since the one that decided the fate of the universe a few years back: a date with defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater.
3. Tuesday, November 25: MBK vs Aurora. I like this rivalry. I'd like it more if my sister-in-law who goes to AU gave a crap about sports because then I could engage in unnecessary trash talk, but whatever. Always a fun date. Strangely, the women's team doesn't have Aurora on the docket this year. Then again, the men don't play Benedictine, so maybe it evens out (the women head to Lisle on November 26).
4. Saturday, January 3: WBK/MBK vs Illinois Wesleyan. Wesleyan is one of the bigger rivals in the CCIW for me, and I think for most who bleed Cardinal red. While I'm not sure what to make of the men's team going into this year, the women's game is going to be fun. The Titans lost just twice in CCIW last year, once at CCIW champ Carthage, and the other... at home to NCC! There's probably revenge in mind this year, while you have a prideful Cardinal team that matches up well with them. Great way to kick off the Gauntlet.
5. Wednesday, January 21: WBK vs Carthage. Welcoming the conference champ to your building makes for a big game. The fact that Carthage has (relatively) struggled here the last two years should make it a fun game. Also, I'm still mad about the push off by Stephanie Kuzmanic on what turned out to be the game-winning bucket last year.
6. Saturday, January 31: WBK/MBK vs Wheaton. It's not like I have an undying, seething hatred for every Wheaton Thunder team or anything. I missed out on the Wheaton games last year. I have no intent of missing them this time around. Beat Wheaton.
7. Saturday, February 21: WBK/MBK vs North Park. This marks the end of the regular season, which means this is Senior Night at Merner. This means bidding farewell to several seniors on the women's team who I've had the honor of announcing for for four years and watched unleash hell in the Murderous Press and from beyond the arc. It also means bidding farewell to a couple guys on the men's team I've gotten to watch in recent years. Always an emotional night.

It's too early to really do a preview, especially since I'm not 100 percent sure what Michelle Roof or Todd Raridon pulled off in the way of recruiting (though I do know Coach Roof seemed pretty pleased with the class she got to commit). As we get closer to the season, I'll do an actual preview and refer back to this guide.

Shifting the NBA Balance of Power

I've been on a writing hiatus for the past... four weeks or so, between spending two weeks in Hawaii, getting back into the swing of things at the office, and adjusting to life with the new Mrs. COAS. It's been an awesome few weeks. But things have been happening in the world of sports that I need to get to.

While none of the signings actually happened until I got back from Hawaii, the frenzy that was NBA free agency started while we were down there. I heard lots of rumors but wasn't really able to follow up on much of it. I had moments of hope that the Bulls would actually land one of the prime targets of the offseason, which went unrealized yet again. But there were exciting moments in the past week or so that have shifted the landscape of the league.

For almost my entire life, the balance of power in the NBA has been centered in the Western Conference. There have been a ton of juggernauts based in the East, but based on the number of quality teams, the West has long been stronger. I'd argue that now with a lot of the dust settled, the West is definitely stronger and holds the full balance of power. The defending champs reside in the West. Oklahoma City isn't going away any time soon. You have the Clippers within striking distance as well, and teams like Portland are on the rise. Houston, despite whiffing on all the major free agents, is still a team to worry about despite also losing Chandler Parsons. The odds of 2015's champion coming out of the West are pretty good.

What we did have in the last few years that we won't this upcoming season is a powerhouse in the East to serve as a counterbalance. With the breakup of Miami's "Big Three", the East has opened up significantly.

• Chicago Bulls: Geoffrey Clark over at Grabbing the Bull Horns has covered their major moves, including the signing of Pau Gasol and finally bringing over Nikola Mirotic. These moves combined with Derrick Rose coming back... again... hopefully not to get hurt again put the Bulls in a good position. If Rose is even 80 percent of the guy he was in 2011, look out. The fact that neither LeBron nor Carmelo decided to come to Chicago is kind of sad, but there's still some potential for improved offense this year.
• Cleveland Cavaliers: They got the top prize of the class to come back home. You add LeBron to a talented point guard in Kyrie Irving, plus rookie Andrew Wiggins, and some shooters like Mike Miller are on board. This team isn't as dangerous as LeBron's two title teams in Miami, but this is a young team with upside that, in adding the best player in the league, becomes a contender.
• Indiana Pacers: Two straight Eastern Conference Finals is nothing to sneeze at. But the Pacers seem to be on the downswing now, with Lance Stephenson leaving for Charlotte and the chemistry they had a couple years ago shot. Paul George is still a talented player, but unless Roy Hibbert returns to 2013 Roy Hibbert status, I'm not sure how much of a contender Indy is anymore.
• Miami Heat: Even without LeBron, you still have Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade (who is definitely getting older and his knees are a question mark), and they added a couple solid pieces in Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts. They're not as dangerous as they were the last four seasons, but this team can still make some noise both during the regular season and playoffs.
• Washington Wizards: They snuck into the playoffs last year and proceeded to run over a gassed Bulls team in the opening round. You add to that talent guys like Paul Pierce and lock up a talented big man in Marcin Gortat? These guys can contend in the East as well as long as John Wall and Bradley Beal continue their progress and Nene plays as well as he did against Chicago.

All of this stuff is big, but we're still waiting out the end of the Kevin Love Era in Minnesota (it's coming, probably not till next summer though). Otherwise, most of the big names have moved at this point. What I really enjoy at this point though: the fact that the Lakers will be irrelevant this year (an obscenely overpaid Kobe, rookie Julius Randle, Jeremy Lin, and a bunch of scrubs pretty much) makes me laugh. The whole Carmelo thing is kind of a mixed bag. I have joked for the past couple days, "Keep getting 'dem checks, Melo" with his decision to go back to New York for more money. In the grand scheme of things, it's his choice, and I don't blame him, because I'd be tempted by that amount of money. But if he was looking to win a title... he's not winning one in New York. I feel pretty safe guaranteeing that.

This might be the one season of basketball that I'm most looking forward to since LeBron went to Miami. Maybe it's also because Rose should be back and hopefully the Bulls can make some noise in the playoffs.