I try to avoid most of the political, controversial stuff here on Confessions of a Sportscaster. But this transcends politics and, while controversial, is something I feel like needs to be said.
I've touched on the anthem protests once before, and I've written some criticisms about a rival institution. The latter one raised an important point for me: you can't bring up the speck in your brother's eye without first removing the plank from your own eye. So today, I attempt to remove said plank.
And to do so, I need to refer back to the former post above. What I neglected to bring up back in May of 2018 was the plight of Mynk Richardson-Clerk. Richardson-Clerk is a 2020 graduate of North Central College and, in 2017 and 2018, a member of North Central's women's lacrosse team. So why, if she was a 2020 graduate, did she forgo those last two years of eligibility? Was it a loss of passion for the sport? Lack of playing time, or replacement by other players? According to Richardson-Clerk, it was a pattern of despicable behavior by teammates, coaches, and administration.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Monday, April 6, 2020
90's Youth Life Podcast Special: NBA 1990's Championship
You may remember Geoffy from his occasional appearances on Confessions of a Sportscaster. You may remember him more as the host of 90's Youth Life, a podcast about all things 1990's. In particular, you may remember when these two worlds collided in the summer of 2018, when I ruined an average Major League shortstop for him forever as we simulated out the 1994 MLB postseason that never was.
So it was hard to say no when Geoffrey pitched another episode idea to me as we go back to our formative decade, this one arguably more up my alley, and definitely up his. We grew up in the era of the Jordan Bulls Dynasty, and Geoffrey had the idea of doing an all-90's postseason. I had originally wondered specifically about all the champions of that decade, but Geoffy thought bigger, and I ultimately have to say, better.
He pitched to me a standard playoff field of 16 teams (eight from each conference), limiting each conference to one representative from each franchise, which makes sense because otherwise the Bulls will cannibalize themselves. He constructed the bracket and went back to the old best-of-five first round model, with best-of-sevens the rest of the way, including the old 2-3-2 format of The Finals. And with his part done, I went into the lab, did the work, and found the All 90's Champion.
After the jump I will post all the box scores from every game along with some details. As always, all simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. And now, for your listening pleasure... my second 90's Youth Life appearance.
Friday, March 13, 2020
2020 NCC Men's Basketball Recap
Late Saturday night into early Sunday, we got confirmation that North Central was slated to host Washington University Friday night in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. It gave me one final game for the year; one last chance to see this senior class on a quest for a national title. But with all the coronavirus talk, things were in flux.
We saw it even last weekend, as Johns Hopkins and Amherst hosted pods in men's and women's basketball, respectively, closed to fans, with only essential personnel and media allowed entrance to the respective gyms. The ban did not apply to North Central thankfully, so over a thousand people were able to see the comeback on Saturday.
The Bears were inside Gregory Arena practicing for the upcoming game when the announcement came down, and North Central players found out pretty quickly after this. And so, North Central's season comes to an end, with a 23-5 record and a Sweet Sixteen berth to show for their efforts.
So how did we get here? Let's look back on a memorable campaign.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Game Notes: (MBK) University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh @ North Central College (3/7/20)
NCC 84, UW-Oshkosh 82 (OT)
Game Summary
In an outstanding game worthy of being played in a later round, the Cardinals (23-5) scored the game's first basket and held some early leads in a back and forth affair, settling for their biggest advantage at 18-15 about nine minutes in. But the Titans (20-9) seemingly grabbed firm control over the next five minutes with a 15-0 run. They would lead by as many as 15 at 40-25 with 3:52 to go, but the Cardinals fought back, getting within seven, but no closer as the Titans took a 46-35 lead into the locker room. A strong early start to the second half for the Cardinals cut it back to seven, but the Titans kept getting clutch baskets and pushed the lead back as high as 13 as late as 10:43 to play. But then the Cardinals made their move, using a 10-0 run to make it a one possession game, but a Class B technical for a flop helped the Titans push it back to six moments later. Still, they couldn't put the Cardinals away, and North Central finally tied it up at 67-all with just under three minutes to play, and a minute later the Cardinals got their first lead since the first half with a huge three. Back to back Titan layups gave them a one point lead with just under a minute to go, but the Cardinals answered from distance again to go up two with 15 seconds left. Oshkosh would get a putback with just two seconds left to tie it. A last second deep three was blocked, forcing overtime. The Cardinals more or less controlled the extra session, building their biggest lead at 82-77 with just under two minutes to go. But the Titans fought back, tying the game with 43 seconds left and seemingly giving themselves the advantage. But the Cardinals got an offensive rebound on their go-ahead attempt with under 20 seconds to go, giving them a second chance with the shot clock off, and after a timeout, drew up the perfect play for a beautiful back door cut for the go-ahead layup with 3.2 to play. Oshkosh's inbounds pass was not cleanly handled, and the Cardinals escaped to the Sweet Sixteen.
Key Players
- Blaise Meredith (NCC): 8-20 FG (3-7 3PT), 4-6 FT; 23 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl. On a night where Connor Raridon and Matt Cappelletti were limited by foul trouble, someone needed to take over for the Cardinals... and Blaise stepped up big time. He had 10 in the first half, came up with 11 big ones, including two as part of the 10-0 run, and he hit the three that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the second half. He also scored the first points of the extra session to keep the Cardinals' momentum going. All in all, maybe his best game of the year.
- Mike Pollack (NCC): 6-8 FG (5-6 3PT); 17 pts, 4 reb (2 off). After a quiet first round game against Adrian, the Cardinals needed somebody else to step up on the offensive end... and Pollack, who in three years has built an illustrious history of big shots, came through. He hit two threes as part of the 10-0 run to get the Cardinals back into it, hit a third after the Class B technical, and added a fourth to cut the deficit to two with about four and a half to play. But he saved the best for overtime: his three after an Oshkosh offensive foul gave the Cardinals that five point lead, and on the final play of the game, he cut back door of a good Matt Cappelletti screen, and had a wide open layup that won the game for the Cardinals. Big Shot Mike strikes again.
Video credit to my dad of Mike Pollack’s game winner for @NCCMBB. Great cut, and a nice screen by Matt Cappelletti to spring him free. #WeAreNC #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/Dc1PvCz3KN— Lucas Mitzel🎙 (@northsider89) March 8, 2020 - Jack Flynn (UWO): 10-20 FG, 3-3 FT; 23 pts, 10 reb (6 off), 2 ast, 2 blk. After serving as a dominant force down low on Friday in their win over Transylvania, Flynn looked like the key to the Titans making it back to the Sweet 16. Especially as the game went on, Oshkosh repeatedly fed Flynn down on the left block, with Will Clausel being tasked with slowing him down. Flynn got his... but he had to work hard for it, though his rebounding was a big reason why the Titans were able to build that lead in the first place.
Key Stats
- NCC: 12-24 3PT (50.0%). That's an absurd number. The Cardinals shot fairly well from deep in the first half (5-12, 41.7%), but went bonkers in the second half (6-10, 60.0%) and split their pair in the extra session. When you're hot... good things tend to happen.
- UWO: Outscored NCC in the paint 52-32. When you have an edge on the glass (41-36 Oshkosh) and outscore your opponent by 20... you're going to win a ton of ballgames. Flynn was a monster, but Levi Borchert hit a few big shots through fouls, and guys like Adam Fravert were able to get to the bucket as well. It just wasn't quite enough tonight.
NCAA Tournament Scoreboard Watch
- CCIW Teams
- Elmhurst 84 (25-5), Grove City 66 (21-9)
- Elmhurst retains possession of The BeltTM
- Nebraska Wesleyan Pod- Sweet 16 Opponent
- Washington University 79 (22-5), Nebraska Wesleyan 58 (25-4)
Final Thoughts
I'm still absolutely wired two hours after witnessing the end of this. It was pretty hard to stay neutral as per NCAA rules... but I did. They can't stop me from fighting back tears as this one came down to the wire, though.
I was nervous driving to the game, and wasn't feeling great at halftime. But I talked myself into hoping, and this team rewarded me by refusing to give up, clawing their way back, and not getting down when the Titans made plays to try and hang on in this one. I was more worried when Connor Raridon picked up his fifth foul fairly early in overtime that that would be his final college basketball moment. But he said after the game, "We found a way," and that his teammates picked him up... and pick him up they absolutely did. It was a joyous atmosphere at Gregory Arena after the final buzzer, with some of the student section (who did make it back from Spring Break to catch this one) coming out on the floor to celebrate. I took a ton of pictures of the guys cutting down the nets, with every player on the roster (JV included) getting in on the action, and the coaches getting to cut it down at the other end of the floor. Tommy Koth did most of the work getting the second one down... but was super gracious in the aftermath.
— Lucas Mitzel🎙 (@northsider89) March 8, 2020
Friday, March 6, 2020
Game Notes: (MBK) Adrian College @ North Central College (3/6/20)
NCC 69, Adrian 54
Game Summary
This seemed like a troublesome start as the Cardinals (22-5) missed a wide open layup on the game's opening possession, but played good enough defense to grab the opening bucket about two minutes in and getting out to a 9-2 lead. But the Bulldogs (17-12) hung around for a bit, keeping the margin in the four to six point range. But the Cardinals finally did start to hit some threes and found themselves up double digits about 14 minutes in, and led by as many as 13 before taking a 37-26 advantage into the locker room. The Bulldogs still hung tough in the second half, getting to the line and hitting a few early threes to trim the deficit back to seven at 41-34. But then the Cardinal offense got going, with a few threes to pull the lead back out to 19 at the eight minute media timeout. Adrian showed heart though, refusing to go quietly, but got no closer than 11 the rest of the way as the Cardinals comfortably came out on top.
Key Players
- Matt Cappelletti (NCC): 5-10 FG (1-3 3PT), 1-2 FT; 12 pts, 20 reb (3 off). No, that's not a typo. Cap was able to get his share of layups in this one, but did a ton of damage on the glass. His 20 rebounds is tied for the eighth most in a game in program history, and he's the first Cardinal to get at least 20 since Michael Patterson did it against North Park back in February of 1989.
- Connor Raridon (NCC): 5-10 FG, 6-11 FT; 16 pts, 7 reb (2 off), 6 ast, 1 stl. This is a fairly typical Connor line. He got his teammates involved, did well on the boards, and ended up helping shoulder the load offensively. He struggled a bit in the paint, with a bunch of his makes coming from midrange. The free throw thing is a little alarming, because he's been so good all year. Hopefully just a one game blip.
- Will Clausel (NCC): 6-7 FG (2-2 3PT), 1-2 FT; 15 pts, 4 reb (2 off), 2 ast, 1 blk. Will has had some empty offensive games this year, but he really stepped up in this one. He took advantage of some nice feeds from Raridon, as well as doing a good job against Adrian's bigs to really have a good game. He's North Central's X-factor, and when he's on, the Cardinals are very tough to beat.
Key Stats
- NCC: 17-27 FT (63.0%). This number on the whole is alarming, especially considering half the misses came from your best free throw shooter in Connor Raridon. The first half was fine (12-16), before a 5-11 second half really raised some eyebrows. You can get away with that against Adrian... you can't in the second round.
- ADR: 17-54 FG (31.5%), 4-20 3PT (20.0%). In the preview for this weekend, I highlighted two guys: Jordan Harris and Jeremy Kalonji. They came into the weekend averaging a combined 42 points on really good shooting numbers. They combined to go 10-35 from the field tonight and managed just 35 points. A lot of that is a credit to North Central's defense, which has been outstanding all year, but Adrian missed some good looks too. You have to take advantage against a good team, and they couldn't.
Other NCC-Hosted First Round Game
This one wasn't really in doubt. The Pioneers (19-9) managed to hang tough early, even taking some brief leads thanks to some good dribble penetration, but couldn't hit their outside shots, while the Titans (20-8) did. They slowly began to pull away as the first half went on en route to a 40-29 lead at intermission. An early second half three cut the lead to eight, but the Titans went on a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach. Jack Flynn put up 29 points and nine rebounds to pace Oshkosh, Adam Fravert added 12 and 15, and Will Mahoney scored 10 off the bench for the Titans. Zach Larimore came off the pine to lead the Pioneers with 13 points, while Gabe Schmitt added 12.
NCAA Tournament Scoreboard Watch
- CCIW Teams
- Elmhurst 97 (23-5), Lycoming 73 (20-9)
- Elmhurst retains possession of The BeltTM
- Nebraska Wesleyan Pod- Would be Sweet 16 opponent
- Washington University 102 (21-5), Bethany Lutheran 68 (21-7)
- Nebraska Wesleyan 77 (25-3), Webster 73 (19-9)
Final Thoughts
Tonight was Adrian's first NCAA Tournament game, and I'd say they acquitted themselves well. They never got super down on themselves and played their hearts out. The Cardinals were just the better team, and made sure of it down the stretch by making the plays they needed to to come away with a good, solid win. The free throws remain a concern, but they've shot well from the line much of the year.
Saturday night brings up another game that should be a second weekend matchup as the Cardinals get another crack at the defending champions. The Cardinals didn't shoot particularly well in that game, something that I think can definitely change this time around. Both teams have slightly different rotations than they did the first time around, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. It should be one of the better games in D-III on the day though. Hopefully North Central can finally make it back out of the first weekend for the first time since 2013!
Monday, March 2, 2020
Dance Party at Chippy's House
This year's tournament will be a little different; kind of a blend between the normal tournament and the one in 2013. That year, the Cardinals made it to Salem, but got to play twice there with the Elite Eight and Final Four being played there before going onto Atlanta, where all three divisions played for their respective national titles on the same weekend. We have a similar situation this year, with the Elite Eight and Final Four being played in Fort Wayne, Indiana (where the Final Four and title game were hosted last year) before again going on to Atlanta. But instead of one game a week for three weeks, we're keeping the usual first and second round pods, then staggering the eight third round games between Friday and Saturday next weekend.
With North Central's loss, they were waiting with bated breath for their tournament fate... and that may be a little dramatic, because most of the experts had the Cardinals fairly safely into the field of 64. As far as I can tell, they were in fact safely in. But I think just about everyone within the program was shocked at this announcement around noon today.
Friday, February 28, 2020
Game Notes: (MBK) Elmhurst College @ North Central College (2/28/20)
Elmhurst 71, NCC 60
Game Summary
This game started out in a similar fashion to the last one between these two teams, as the Cardinals (21-5) were able to trade some early leads with the Blue Jays (22-5), but there was no dry spell for Elmhurst on this night. North Central reached its high water mark about halfway through the first half with an 18-12 advantage and again a few minutes later at 25-19. But then the Jays went on an 8-0 run sparked by back to back threes. They couldn't take full advantage, and the Cardinals battled back to take a 32-31 lead into the locker room. Elmhurst looked fresher and more ready to open the second half, scoring the first five points to take the lead back, but the Cardinals kept it close thanks in part to both teams shooting themselves in the foot a little bit. After each team received a flop warning earlier in the game, North Central drew a technical foul for a flop about five minutes in, allowing the Blue Jays to go up four instead of three. Elmhurst let the Cardinals back in with a Class A technical foul (two shots), and drew a Class B for a flop of their own a few minutes later, the latter of which pulled the Cardinals back within one. But the Jays hit a three the next time down, then after trading layups, an end of bench Cardinal drew a Class A technical, giving the Jays a four point possession to help spark what turned into a 13-0 run to extend their lead to 15. The Cardinals got no closer than seven the rest of the way, as the Jays advance to tomorrow's CCIW title game with The BeltTM in their possession for the first time this year.
Key Players
- Jake Rhode (ELM): 7-16 FG (4-8 3PT), 7-7 FT; 25 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast. Three weeks after struggling in this same building, Rhode came out guns blazing, hitting an early three, but he only had eight at halftime. He came alive after the break though, scoring 17, including a couple more threes and a perfect 5-5 mark from the free throw line.
- Derek Dotlich (ELM): 5-11 FG (2-6 3PT), 3-3 FT: 15 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 2 ast, 3 stl. Dotlich's first game here was even worse (0-6, including 0-4 from deep if I remember right). But he got an early fast break layup to break out, and hit a couple big threes, one in each half. The three steals were a team high; Lavon Thomas had the other two for the Jays.
- Connor Raridon (NCC): 6-18 FG (1-4 3PT), 5-5 FT; 18 pts, 10 reb (2 off), 6 ast, 1 blk. On a night where pretty much everybody struggled, Connor did all he could to will his team onto the finals. But even his best effort wasn't enough, as the Jays did a pretty good job forcing him into tough shots, and he missed at least one point blank layup that could have turned the tide.
Key Stats
- NCC: 22-60 FG (36.7%), 7-25 3PT (28.0%). That's not going to get it done. Elmhurst played good defense, but like I just touched on, the Cardinals missed, that I can clearly remember, three point blank clean layups in just the second half. It wouldn't have been enough to fully turn the tide, but hitting those maybe stops the bleeding and gives you energy to get a stop. I don't know. The threes not falling tonight either didn't really help.
- ELM: Outrebounded NCC 41-38. Each team had 31 defensive rebounds... meaning the Jays got three additional second chance opportunities, scoring eight second chance points to North Central's four. Combine that with the three missed layups by the Cardinals mentioned above... that's 10 of your 11 points that made the difference. I feel like saying that though does a disservice to the Blue Jays, because the stat line kind of bears out what the eye test tells you. The Jays had more energy and played like it, especially in the second half.
This was a great one to open the evening. The Vikings (18-8) seemed to be in control for most of it, and actually held the lead for over 36 minutes of game time, and were up by as many as seven in the first half, but the Titans (19-8) came back to tie a couple times before going into the break down 34-31. The Vikings again tried to pull away in the second half, but couldn't get farther than six up, and the Titans managed to come back late to tie a couple times again before taking the lead for good with 1:36 left. Peter Lambesis was ridiculous, putting up a game-high 28 points, Cory Noe added 17, Matt Leritz finished with 11, and Alex O'Neill only had six points but played some great defense to lead the Titans to the upset win. Austin Elledge and Micah Martin each had 19 points to pace the Vikings, while Pierson Wofford chipped in 15.
Bonus Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch
I was really on watch for this in a neutral game. It was Grey Giovanine's second trip to Naperville this season, so it was the second time of getting to look for it. Ultimately, he was chill with regards to the jacket even as he was laying into some of his players, before finally removing it with 4:05 to go in the first half.
Bonus Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch
I was really on watch for this in a neutral game. It was Grey Giovanine's second trip to Naperville this season, so it was the second time of getting to look for it. Ultimately, he was chill with regards to the jacket even as he was laying into some of his players, before finally removing it with 4:05 to go in the first half.
Women's CCIW Tournament Watch
- (1) WHE 76 (20-6), (6) NCC 44 (12-15)
- (2) IWU 76 (18-8), (5) AUG 75 (14-13) (OT)
Final Thoughts
With that out of the way, let me tip my hat to the Blue Jays. After a heartbreaking loss to the Cardinals at Elmhurst back in December, then a rough trip to Naperville three weeks ago, they were clearly up for this one, and definitely outplayed the hosts tonight. They earned their way to the title game, where they are going up against a never-say-die Illinois Wesleyan team for the CCIW's automatic bid. The Blue Jays should be in the NCAA Tournament already; this would be a formality for them. The Titans almost definitely need to win tomorrow night to get in.
As for the Cardinals, I think they're pretty safe. They entered the weekend ranked fourth in the Central, and while they may drop in the final set, they've set themselves up nicely the past few weeks to still have the resume to make it as an at large. They should be far enough away from the bubble that they won't have a ton of drama on Selection Monday. But the loss today, in addition to passing on The BeltTM to their vanquishers, it also likely ends any chances of NCAA Tournament games in Naperville.
I'll probably do a writeup on the CCIW title game tomorrow or Sunday (maybe Monday, depending) since I'll still be working that game. Monday, once the bracket is out, I'll have a look at what the Cardinals are looking at for a tournament matchup, assuming they do in fact make it.
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