RIPON, Wis. – Grinnell enters the 2011-12 season as the favorite to win its seventh Midwest Conference Championship in the 2011-12 MWC Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll. 

The Pioneers garnered seven first place votes and 76 points to barely edge out Lake Forest who earned 70 points and received two first place votes. Defending MWC Champion and MWC Tournament winner St. Norbert finished third with 60 points followed by Ripon (53 points) and Illinois C. (46 points) in fourth and fifth, respectively. Carroll and Beloit tied for the sixth spot with 43 votes each while Carroll tallied the final first place vote with Lawrence (27 points), Knox (22 points) and Monmouth (10 points) rounding out the poll.

Only seven All-MWC award winners return this season including two first team selections in Travis Clark (Lake Forest) and Aris Wurtz (Ripon). Wurtz was also named a preseason All-American by D3hoops.com after leading the Red Hawks in scoring last year. A trio of players return after being named to the All-MWC Second Team including David Bremner (Beloit), Nathan Kohler (Illinois C.) and Griffin Lentsch (Grinnell) while Tanner Carlson (Knox) and Tyler Crisman (Lawrence) are also back after earning honorable mention honors.

There is only one change this season among the head coaches as Todd Skivseth takes over as the 26th head coach in the history of Monmouth. Reigning MWC Coach of the Year David Arseneault is back for his 23rd season at Grinnell while Bob Gillespie will be looking for his 500th win this season as he holds 496 career wins at Ripon.

Place	School (First Place Votes)	Points
1	Grinnell (7)	76
2	Lake Forest (2)	70
3	St. Norbert	60
4	Ripon	53
5	Illinois C.	46
t6	Carroll (1)	43
t6	Beloit	43
8	Lawrence	27
9	Knox	22
10	Monmouth	10

Team Previews:

Grinnell College Pioneers
2010-11 Record: 18-7, 12-6
Returning All-MWC: Griffin Lentsch (2nd)

A year after not qualifying for the MWC Tournament Grinnell not only qualified in the 2010-11 season but played in the title game. Head coach Dave Arseneault returns six of its top seven scorers from a team that led the NCAA in scoring (102.9 ppg), three-point field goals per game (17.8) and steals per game (14.7). A trio of returnee’s averaged double-figure points last season led by Griffin Lentsch who finished second in the conference averaging 18.3 points per game and knocked down a conference-best 98 three-point field goals. Matt Chalupa (11.8 ppg) and Matt Skelly(12.2 ppg) join Lentsch this season as he combined to connect on 72 three-point field goals. Grinnell led the league in assists per game (18.8) and turnover margin (+14.0) with Patrick Maher finishing second in the league with 1.6 steals per game. Brian McManamy was the team’s second leading rebounder pulling down 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting better than 51% from the field in 25 games played. Grinnell score 100 or more points 12 times last season and had a season-high 150 points in a win over Principia in December.

Lake Forest College Foresters
2010-11 Record: 12-11, 10-8
Returning All-MWC: Travis Clark (1st)

Lake Forest barely missed out on the MWC Tournament last season and is shooting for its first MWC Championship since 1999-2000 under 16-year head coach Chris Conger. Travis Clark is one of only two All-MWC First Team selections to return this season and lead the Foresters once again after finishing eighth in the league with 15.0 points per game and second averaging 8.8 rebounds per game. Clark also blocked over a shot per game for a team that finished second in the league in field goal percentage defense (42%). Nate Bateman will join Clark in the frontcourt after averaging 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season. Jeff Beck and Chris Roets lead the backcourt for the Foresters after Beck finished second on the team with 11.5 points per game and Roets hit a team-high 53 three-pointers (42%). Lake Forest also looks to replicate last year’s defensive effort when they allowed the second fewest points per game in the conference (62.8 ppg).

St. Norbert College Green Knights
2010-11 Record: 20-6, 14-4
Returning All-MWC: None

In the past two seasons Gary Grzesk has led the Green Knights to a pair of MWC Championships as well as taking the team to the NCAA Tournament by winning the MWC Tournament. Grzesk is favored to turn the three-peat in his sixth season as coach of St. Norbert where he owns a .683 winning percentage (84-39). Last season the Green Knights won by virtue of great defense which held opponents to a mere 58.4 points per game while opponents shot a league-low 39% from the field. The Green Knights need to replace its top-five scorers that were lost due to graduation as Paul Appleton is the top returnee and averaged 4.3 points per game and shot 41% from the field. Brandon Gries is also back after scoring 4.1 points per game with 1.7 rebounds per game. St. Norbert will also rely on strong rebounding and ball security this season after leading the league with a +6.1 rebounding margin and finishing with the second best turnover margin (+1.6) in the league.

Ripon College Red Hawks
2010-11 Record: 14-10, 12-6
Returning All-MWC: Aris Wurtz (1st)

After finishing fourth in the MWC standings last season and making a trip to the MWC Tournament the Red Hawks look for its first MWC Championship since the 1998-99 season and first tournament title since 2001-02. Bob Gillespie is back for his 32nd season as the head coach and holds a career record of 496-239 (.675) in that time frame. All-MWC First Team selection Aris Wurtz returns for Ripon a season after leading the league with a 20.8 point per game average and finishing sixth with 6.5 rebounds per game. As a team Ripon finished third in the league in both scoring (79.1 points per game) and field goal percentage (48%) while also posting the second best rebounding margin (+4.7). Taylor Koth will replace Scott Gillespie (18.2 ppg, 7.6 apg) after averaging 13.8 points per game and ranking seventh in the league in field goal percentage (53%). Nic Schaalma is the main shot blocking force for the Red Hawks, finishing third in the league with 1.4 blocks per game while Wurtz was second in the MWC converting 85% of his free throw attempts.

Illinois College Blueboys
2010-11 Record: 16-8, 12-6
Returning All-MWC: None

After a second place finish in the 2010-11 regular season and a semifinal exit from the MWC Tournament the Blueboys set its sights on an MWC Championship which would be the first in school history. Head coach Mike Worrell returns a pair of double-digit scorers from a year ago led by Craig Bals. Bals was an All-MWC Honorable Mention pick last season and finished fourth in the conference averaging 16.7 points per game. Bals shot a team-best 57% from the field (second in MWC) and hit 45 three-point field goals while leading the conference hitting just over 46% of his three-point attempts. Brandon Barry scored 10.2 points per game while hitting over 73% of his free throws and 51.5% of his field goals. The Blueboys finished last season as the second highest scoring team in the conference at 81.2 points per game and held the top field goal percentage (51%) and three-point field goal percentage (39%) as well as a 1.4 assist to turnover ratio as a team.

Carroll University Pioneers
2010-11 Record: 12-11, 10-8
Returning All-MWC: None

Carroll was on the outside looking in last year finishing fifth overall, just one spot out of earning a MWC Tournament berth. Under third year head coach David Buchanan the Pioneers aim towards its first MWC Championship in school history and its first MWC Tournament title since the 2006-07 season. Buchanan will need to replace All-MWC Honorable Mention selection Paul Grosshuesch who led the team in both scoring and rebounding last season. Kyle Jones will help soften the blow offensively after scoring 10.0 points per game and shooting 45% from the field last season which included a team-high 33 three-point field goals. Andrew Rumler (4.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and Jake Bast (6.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg) will be relied upon to hit the glass and improve on a Carroll team that finished sixth in rebounding in the conference. The Pioneers ended last season as the third best free throw shooting team and should fare well this season behind Jones (88% ft) and Kevin Hurd (82% ft).

 

Beloit College Buccaneers
2010-11 Record: 9-14, 8-10
Returning All-MWC: David Bremner (2nd)

Brian Vraney enters his fifth season as head coach of the Beloit Buccaneers after finishing the 2010 season with a 9-14 overall record and an 8-10 mark in the MWC. Vraney returns forward David Bremner, a 2010-11 All-MWC Second Team selection who led the team averaging 14.5 points per game last season, good for 11th in the league. Bremner also topped the Bucs in rebounding (6.0 rpg) and blocks (23) while playing over 27 minutes per game. Travis Towns solidifies the front court after averaging 9.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last season. Michael Horton guides the backcourt after knocking down a team-high 26 three-point baskets, shooting just over 39% from behind the arc and dishing out 4.3 assists per game. Beloit will rely on defense again this season a year after finishing third in the conference in scoring defense (70.2 ppg) and rebounding (36.9 rpg). Beloit was also one of the best from the charity stripe hitting 72.6% of its free throws during the 2010-11 season.

Lawrence University Vikings
2010-11 Record: 11-12, 10-8
Returning All-MWC: Tyler Crisman (HM)

Head coach Joel DePagter and Lawrence finished in a three-way tie for the fifth spot in the MWC last season and aim to return to the MWC Tournament and win its first MWC Championship since the 2008-09 season. DePagter needs to find replacements for his two top scorers after Jon Mays and Erik Borresen, the fifth- and sixth-leading scorers in the MWC, were lost to graduation. All-MWC Honorable Mention guard Tyler Crisman finished last season seventh in the league in scoring at 15.4 points per contest, second in three-point field goals per game (3.0) and third in three-point field goal percentage (45%). Chris Siebert is coming off a freshman campaign where he averaged nearly 11 points a game and was fifth in the conference with 4.4 assists per game. Conor Klusendorf returns as the team’s top rebounder (4.8 rpg) and will need to continue that to improve a Lawrence team that finished eighth in rebounding margin (-1.8).

Knox College Prarie Fire
2010-11 Record: 2-21, 1-17
Returning All-MWC: Tanner Carlson (HM)

Rob Purlee enters his sixth season at the helm of the Knox men’s basketball team and aims to improve from a 2010-11 season where the Prairie Fire only won two games and held a -9.4 scoring margin. Purlee brings back his top-five scorers from a year ago led by Ben Wetherbee and All-MWC Honorable Mention section Tanner Carlson. Wetherbee led the team averaging 12.2 points per game while Carlson chipped in 12.0 points a game and a team-high 4.9 assists per game (third in MWC). Joe Kozak also averaged double-figure points (11.5 ppg) while also leading the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and field goal percentage (55%). David Jones (7.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Lukas Shaw (7.6 ppg, 54% fg) will fill out a strong returning roster for Purlee in 2011.

Monmouth College Fighting Scots
2010-11 Record: 3-20, 1-17
Returning All-MWC: None

Todd Skrivseth takes over the reins at Monmouth and inherits a team that managed only three wins and finished ninth in the MWC. Skrivseth hit the recruiting trail hard as a third of his roster will be newcomers to the program. The team lost last year’s leading scorer, Corey Gruber to graduation. He was the only Fighting Scot with double figure points (13.0 ppg) and also led the team from the charity stripe at 80%. Cory Bishop was the top rebounder averaging 4.3 rebounds per contest and also contributed 5.6 points per game. Bishop is also a linebacker on the football team will take to the hardwood after the gridiron’s postseason is complete. Bryce Donaldson scored 8.4 points per game and knocked down 37% of his three-point field goals while Wes Dukeman hit 46% of his shots and blocked a team-high 18 shots last season. 
 

[Full PDF Release]

[2010-11 Stats]

[2010-11 All-MWC]

[Past Men's Basketball Seasons]