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Posted Dec. 8, 2005

E-mail: mark@d3hoops.com

NCAC rivals know each other well
Kyle Witucky has a pretty good history of making good choices, as Wooster 's starting point guard for the last three-plus seasons, so when he describes his school's rivalry with Wittenberg as “fierce” that seems like a pretty good way of narrowing this to its most basic parts.

The No. 2 Scots (7-0) and the No. 3 Tigers (6-0) will go toe-to-toe on Saturday at Timken Gym in Wooster as Part One of a matchup that will likely go three, and maybe even four rounds again this season. It will be fierce, competitive, intense, hard-fought, TV-worthy basketball between the two winningest programs in Division III (Wooster recently snuck ahead of Illinois Wesleyan for second).

Aside from losing to each other, Wooster and Wittenberg have lost just two conference games since the beginning of the 2002-03 season, both by Wittenberg.

These two teams have won every NCAC championship for nearly two full decades. Both Witucky and Wittenberg 's top scorer, senior forward Dan Russ, had the exact same words to describe the meeting.

“There is no love lost between us.”

Last season, the teams met three times with Wittenberg getting both of its wins on the road, including a two-point victory for the conference title. Wooster's triumph came in a classic triple-overtime contest in which Witucky sent the game into the third extra period with a three-pointer at the buzzer. Both teams than shared their heartbreak of a tough second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament. Wooster lost to Albion by a point while Wittenberg fell to John Carroll in double-overtime.

The two programs are a contrast in styles, so no one is quite sure how this game is going to play out. Wittenberg will rely much more significantly on its post play, halfcourt game, and defense.

The Tigers go 6-8 and 6-9 in the paint with senior forwards Dane Borchers and Russ, last year's NCAC Player of the Year. Both are adept at a number of things ranging from free throw shooting (a combined 20-for-21), passing (Russ has 15 assists and only 10 turnovers), shot blocking (a combined 16) in addition to the scoring and rebounding you'd expect from players that size.

Wittenberg spreads out its scoring, which is led by Kenny Brady, a 6-4 senior forward who missed much of last season with a foot injury. He's averaging 11.8 points, a hair more than Russ' 11.2. Three freshmen have also been significant from the get-go -- D.J. Corbett, Tyler Howard, and Gregg Hill.

“Since I've been here, we haven't started out like this,” Russ said. “It definitely builds confidence.”

Tigers head coach Bill Brown describes his team as a work in progress because he's got some things he's still trying to figure out regarding his backcourt.

“We're off to a good start against a very good schedule,” said Brown, whose squad earned significant victories in the opening weekend of the season against Tufts and Rochester. “We have some growth to do and some questions to answer. Last year, we were experienced all the way around. This year we're blending our experienced big people with some youthful people on the perimeter. To this point, we've had three perimeter players playing well each night, even if it's not always the same guys. We've always tried to breed depth.”

Wooster has changed its game this season to be a little more up-tempo and guard oriented, because its best players are a little smaller than usual. That had some wondering whether the Scots might experience a slight drop-off, but Brown noted, “They'll be good no matter what style they play.” That has proven to be correct.

Wooster is averaging 100.7 points (take out the 150 against run-and-gun Emory and Henry, and the tally is still 92.5), with three players (James Cooper, Tom Port, and Tim Vandervaart) averaging better than 15 a game. Witucky, a 6-0 senior is the self-described “old man” of the group, since he's the one holdover with significant experience from Wooster's 2003 run to the Final Four. He's also the primary ballhandler, and the clutch shooter, having made a buzzer-beater earlier in the week that defeated Earlham.

“Kyle has always been the guy to get the basket when we really needed it,” said Wooster coach Steve Moore, who happens to be a Wittenberg grad and a former teammate of Brown's. “He does whatever it takes for us to win.”

Cooper has improved significantly in his role as a scorer. Port had been the team's top tallier the previous two seasons but has settled in nicely into option 1a. Vandervaart is shooting better than 69% and averaging just over 10 rebounds per game. The Scots will try to make this a high-scoring game. They have made the adjustments work to their advantage.

“(It impressed me) the ability we had to change the style of play, for the upperclassmen especially,” Witucky said. “It's more fun to be a guard now. There's a lot more freedom, but that's because all our guys underneath are doing a great job.”

This will be the fourth time that both have met when ranked in the Top 5 of the D3hoops.com Top 25. Interestingly, the lower-ranked team has won all three previous meetings, so every time you think you know who's better, you have to think again. So, while fierce seems to be the way to go in trying to describe the rivalry, “even” would be a good choice as well.

Carroll photo by Ashley Hess Crystal Hoewisch hits the game-winning shot over UW-Stevens Point's Laura Neuenfeldt.

EARLY CHRISTMAS, CARROLL: It's not normally our style to write about the same school in consecutive weeks, but we'll make an exception for Carroll. In our last column, we referenced the strong start of the Pioneers men's squad. This time, it's worth mentioning the early success of the women's team.

Carroll's women are 6-0 with two wins against WIAC teams, including a 90-88 buzzer-beating triumph over UW-Stevens Point on Monday, snapping an 18-game losing streak against them.

This will be a much merrier holiday season from head coach Kris Jacobsen's perspective. Last season, in its season-opener with Fontbonne, the Pioneers lost their two senior captains -- Krista Rode and Jenni Poch to season-ending ACL tears within the first four minutes of the game.

“We took our lumps, but more importantly, we came together at the end of the year,” said Jacobsen, whose 2004-05 squad started 0-5 and finished up at 8-15. “We had something to build on.”

With Rode back from injury after being granted a medical redshirt year, the Pioneers have been a much different team. She has been a difference maker, averaging 17.6 points. Meanwhile, sophomore point guard Crystal Hoewisch, who became one of the team leaders after the injuries, has been great, averaging 17.2 points, and hit the shot that beat Stevens Point.

“(Krista's) leadership has brought us closer together,” Jacobsen said. “I think the players saw how hard she worked to come back. It created an overwhelming chemistry. Our practice quality has improved greatly from last year. We've been facing teams that are more athletic, but we've just been so determined to win. There is a desire to win that is almost unexplainable.”

Carroll didn't do any favors for itself with its scheduling of UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point (Jacobsen is a UW-Platteville grad), but for once, things have worked out just fine. The Pioneers can go into the Midwest Conference season feeling more confident than they have in seasons past.

“You have to play the best to beat the best,” Jacobsen said. “I've often wondered what the heck I was doing playing the WIAC so many times. It's nice to have a tough schedule pay off. Hopefully it will help us do well in conference.”

RIPENING: We tried to do our due diligence studying up on some more up-and-coming men's teams and while we might come back to Lakeland (off to its best start since 1986-87) and Middlebury (needs one win to match its best start, 7-0 in 1917-18) in the next few weeks, we wanted to give Carnegie Mellon its proper due. The Tartans are an all-time best 7-0 heading into a stretch in which they'll play seven consecutive games on the road, including a stop at Division I Princeton on Dec. 28.

Carnegie Mellon learned how to win away from home last season, when it finished 19-7, 10-4 in the UAA, losing to Rochester for the league title in the final game of the season after winning three road games in a six-day span to force a last-day showdown. The Tartans were picked fourth this season, mainly because they graduated eight seniors, but made an early statement by winning at Rochester this time around.

“Before the season, people asked me how good we were going to be,” said coach Tony Wingen. “I told them I thought we could be better, but I don't know if I really believed it.”

Wingen is much more of a believer now that he has seen the way that his returnees have played. Senior forward Nate Maurer, in his second season at Carnegie Mellon after transferring from Grove City (he was Presidents' Athletic Conference player of the year in 2002-03), is averaging 19.6 points, and fellow All-UAA selection Chris Barlow-Wilcox is averaging 17.0 points. Maurer had 41 points against Rochester , including the winning basket in the final seconds. Two other seniors who had seen little time prior to this season- forward Marques Johnson and guard Bary Dunn have risen to the occasion.

“Those guys have waited their turn, not so patiently at times,” Wingen said with a laugh. “Now they've taken full opportunity.”

The Tartans are an aggressive offensive team that can score at a high rate. They have a lot of size but can still play a fast-paced game. This is group that has shared the ball very well and really taken to playing team basketball.

“Our players are getting to the point where they've experienced winning throughout their careers, and that's a pretty rare thing here,” Wingen said. “We'd like to stay under the radar, but I guess that's easier said than done.”

CABBAGE PATCH KID: There's a thread on Posting Up that doesn't get as much attention as it should, regarding Best Player Names in Division III. That's where you can get the scoop on athletes like Munchie Muskievalley (Rose-Hulman), Lightning Jay (Wesleyan), and Funso Lafe (Case Western Reserve) who have already made a name for themselves in more ways than one.

Our nominee to the board this week comes from New York City Tech, 6-2 senior forward Danul Cabbagestalk, who fortunately for us had a sense of humor regarding his last name.

Cabbagestalk returned to the team this season after missing out on last year's championship run. He was in the hospital recovering from a liver infection and was flooded with phone calls from celebrating teammates. That, and knowing he's undersized playing in the paint, has made him work harder on the court. The Yellow Jackets are 3-4, but 2-0 in league play. He's averaging 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, as NYC Tech tries to regroup after the departure of All-American center Shacun Malave, who led the team to a CUNYAC title and a first-round win in the NCAA Tournament.

The son of a church pastor, Cabbagestalk is on his way to becoming a Deacon at the Pentacostal House of Prayer for All People in Brooklyn and is president of that organization's youth group. The congregants are among the team's biggest fans. They don't tweak Cabbagestalk, who does get jabs about his moniker occasionally. He offered a theory as to the origin.

“Most of my family comes from down in Sumter, S.C.,” said Cabbagestalk, who then added with a laugh, “Someone there must have worked in the cabbage patches, or with beanstalks or something.”

Notes for Around the Nation are compiled with the help of sports information directors across the country. If you have suggestions or information for this column, please send it to mark@d3hoops.com.

Previous columns
2007-08 columns
March 6: Faith restored
Feb. 27: John Jay, Cinderella
Feb. 21: No safety net
Feb. 14: Ursinus better enough
Feb. 8: Hope-TMC on collision course
Jan. 31: Plattsburgh's big shot
Jan. 24: UMD answers call
Jan. 18: Like Bosko, like son
Jan. 11: Keystone stakes
Dec. 13: Unstoppable
Dec. 7: UWW aiming deeper
Nov. 30: Coach's shadow lingers
Nov. 15: Strong duo
2006-07 columns
2005-06 columns
2004-05 columns
2003-04 columns
2002-03 columns
2001-02 columns

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