2017-18 MIAA Thread

[MisterWizard]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

Crazy stat that former Bearcat Scott Fleming tweeted out yesterday: NW is 62-2 since January 12th of 2016. One loss to Augie in the last five seconds of the de facto National Title game to end 2016 and one off day in Joplin. The brand of basketball over the past five years has been absurdly good. Just wish more people could see it but thats what you get at our level. Its been a joy to watch and I am not taking one game for granted because you never know how long it will last.

Assuming Pitts stays healthy, it will last until he graduates.

[NWFanatic]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

Can somebody explain to me why, on Dec. 19, Northwest Missouri State is playing Lincoln Memorial in Owensboro, Kentucky?

[NWHoops]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

I can answer that question for you. On the day Justin Pitts' eligibility ends.

Assuming Pitts stays healthy, it will last until he graduates.

If you are talking about going 62-2 in the last 2 years or so then I agree. That just doesn't happen often at any level.

However, it's not like the NW program will just disappear once Pitts graduates. They started their streak of reaching at least the Sweet 16 before he arrived. They won conference championships under Mac before he arrived. There is no doubt Mac has a built a great program and he may have other opportunities. I don't believe he's going to just take any job though. It's going to have to be a good D-I job and those are hard to come by.

Regardless, NW will still be competing in Regionals, at minimum, as long as Mac is around and potentially longer based on how he has continued to build on the program that Tapp essentially started.

[simple as a $3 bill]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

If you are talking about going 62-2 in the last 2 years or so then I agree. That just doesn't happen often at any level.

However, it's not like the NW program will just disappear once Pitts graduates. They started their streak of reaching at least the Sweet 16 before he arrived. They won conference championships under Mac before he arrived. There is no doubt Mac has a built a great program and he may have other opportunities. I don't believe he's going to just take any job though. It's going to have to be a good D-I job and those are hard to come by.

Regardless, NW will still be competing in Regionals, at minimum, as long as Mac is around and potentially longer based on how he has continued to build on the program that Tapp essentially started.

Not sure that anyone is saying your program is going to "disappear", but gone will be the days when you knew in December, if your team was going to be any good, that you needed to make reservations for St. Joseph in early March. Since that is where the regional would be held.

[NWHoops]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

Not sure that anyone is saying your program is going to "disappear", but gone will be the days when you knew in December, if your team was going to be any good, that you needed to make reservations for St. Joseph in early March. Since that is where the regional would be held.

That's essentially what I said. The original poster said the program has been on a run for the last 5 years and they were going to enjoy it while it lasts. You and MisterWizard said that lasts for as long as Pitts is around. That run pre-dates Pitts being on the team (or at least prior to him seeing the court).

[NSU4LIFE]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

That's essentially what I said. The original poster said the program has been on a run for the last 5 years and they were going to enjoy it while it lasts. You and MisterWizard said that lasts for as long as Pitts is around. That run pre-dates Pitts being on the team (or at least prior to him seeing the court).

You can ask Winona fans about programs where the fan base feels they will always be near the top until the end of time.. things happen. Best to just enjoy what you have. What Simple is saying is you have a player that is not coming around again very soon to the region or your conference. Pitts is a game changer, as sure a bet as there is. You may have teams after him with talent, but no one as reliable or talented as he.

[simple as a $3 bill]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

You can ask Winona fans about programs where the fan base feels they will always be near the top until the end of time.. things happen. Best to just enjoy what you have. What Simple is saying is you have a player that is not coming around again very soon to the region or your conference. Pitts is a game changer, as sure a bet as there is. You may have teams after him with talent, but no one as reliable or talented as he.

Stop it, you're scaring me.

[NSU4LIFE]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

Stop it, you're scaring me.

Well, am I wrong?

[NWHoops]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

You can ask Winona fans about programs where the fan base feels they will always be near the top until the end of time.. things happen. Best to just enjoy what you have. What Simple is saying is you have a player that is not coming around again very soon to the region or your conference. Pitts is a game changer, as sure a bet as there is. You may have teams after him with talent, but no one as reliable or talented as he.

I don't recall saying they will be at the top until the end of time. Thanks for telling me how talented he is though. I thought D2 POY and all-time leading scorers at a school by the end of their Jr year came around every year. Will NW be at #1 in the nation or win another national championship without Pitts? Who knows, but it's more unlikely than likely to happen again. Will they still be a Top 25 team and a factor in the Regionals for at least as long as Mac is the coach? I believe so.

If you don't agree with that then please go back to believing that the NW program is just the "Fighting Pittses" and nothing else.

[MrAugustana]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

I don't recall saying they will be at the top until the end of time. Thanks for telling me how talented he is though. I thought D2 POY and all-time leading scorers at a school by the end of their Jr year came around every year. Will NW be at #1 in the nation or win another national championship without Pitts? Who knows, but it's more unlikely than likely to happen again. Will they still be a Top 25 team and a factor in the Regionals for at least as long as Mac is the coach? I believe so.

If you don't agree with that then please go back to believing that the NW program is just the "Fighting Pittses" and nothing else.

I feel like there is a bit of a miscommunication happening here. I won't speak for NSU4LIFE or simple (mostly because I think both of them would smack me in the head if I tried), but I feel like most of the NSIC posters are considering it in terms of utter dominance vs. high competitiveness.

I don't think very many people here doubt that Northwest will consistently be in the running for a regional spot with or without Pitts, as long as McCollum is at Northwest.

The bigger question is whether they will ever be back to the level of dominance they have been at during Pitts's time here. To be clear, I recognize that is essentially the entire point of your post, I'm just reframing it slightly for the sake of conversation. The NSIC crowd is saying you guys might always be solid, but it's easier to fall off than you'd think, even with strong recent success.

That being said, I think Northwest will probably always be a top two or three team in the conference as long as McCollum around.

Regarding the, "Just ask Winona fans" argument, I kind of look at it a little bit the opposite way. Several fans, primarily a couple of Winona fans, used to blast Augie for not winning a national championship or two when Cody Schilling was playing. The argument was made that he was the best player Augie would ever have, and it was a wasted opportunity. While I don't disagree that it would have been great to achieve more national success during Cody's time at Augie, it was only a few years later that we had not one, but two players who went above and beyond what Cody accomplished (both team-wise and as individual players) and helped the Vikes win a National Championship. Admittedly, it's really hard to imagine a player at the D2 level better than Pitts for 2-4 years, but unlike NSU4LIFE and simple, I'm not totally ready to dismiss it as impossible.

Bottom line is I agree with you completely. Northwest is going to continue to be really good. It will be amazing and depressing for non-NWMSU fans if they manage to be equal to or better than the last couple of years of success they have achieved with Pitts on their roster.

[NWFanatic]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

Final NWMSU 70
LMU 56
LMU was averaging 101.8 pts a game and scored 156 pts last week.
Very impressive win.

[Mule4ever]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

Good win for NWMSU. I always root for the conference teams in out of conference games. Question for all MIAA fans does the conference set up the number of games allowed against NAIA and smaller division teams seams like a lot of teams are cherry picking that's why this win is especially impressive.

[Gorilla John 92]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

That's essentially what I said. The original poster said the program has been on a run for the last 5 years and they were going to enjoy it while it lasts. You and MisterWizard said that lasts for as long as Pitts is around. That run pre-dates Pitts being on the team (or at least prior to him seeing the court).

Hmm...if it does it may be only a year. Pitts was hurt one year and received a redshirt if my memory is correct with this being his 5th year at NW. A friend of mine who really knows basketball said it like this; "They will still be good but players like Pitts don't come around that often. He runs the show and the ball goes through him all the time so they are going to miss Pitts more than you think. He's willing to give the ball up as he knows if the shot is not there, they will give it back to him."" As a Mules fan, I hope my friend is correct.

[MisterWizard]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

That's essentially what I said. The original poster said the program has been on a run for the last 5 years and they were going to enjoy it while it lasts. You and MisterWizard said that lasts for as long as Pitts is around. That run pre-dates Pitts being on the team (or at least prior to him seeing the court).

I didn't say it would end. I only said it will last until Pitts graduates. Could last longer, but if "it" is dominance we are taking about, then Pitts would have to be replaced with another unbelievable stud.

[NWHoops]

Re: 2017-18 MIAA Thread

Hmm...if it does it may be only a year. Pitts was hurt one year and received a redshirt if my memory is correct with this being his 5th year at NW. A friend of mine who really knows basketball said it like this; "They will still be good but players like Pitts don't come around that often. He runs the show and the ball goes through him all the time so they are going to miss Pitts more than you think. He's willing to give the ball up as he knows if the shot is not there, they will give it back to him."" As a Mules fan, I hope my friend is correct.

Pitts redshirted as a freshman because Cooper was a senior and a first team all American that year, not injury related. If Starzl doesn't tear his Achilles against UCM in the regional final that year then NW likely wins that game and possibly the national championship that UCM went on to win.