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Showing posts with label missouri valley conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label missouri valley conference. Show all posts
Redbird Arena - 2-16-2019 Bradley at Illinois State
The Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball outcomes have been absolutely unpredictable this season. A few games back, Illinois State defeated Loyola to take the lead in the conference. Last night they lost to a struggling Bradley team. Actually, Bradley has been staging a bit of a comeback the last few seasons, albeit a slow one. But, nothing seems to happen overnight with maybe the exception of the Loyola Rambler cinderella team last season...Devine Intervention?
The game has always been a rivalry, but in recent years it's been beat up. This game, 9000 people filed in to the 'nest' to watch the game. Some accounts say the contingent of Braves fans that travelled 40 miles from Peoria were more energized. Maybe so, so much red in Redbird that I couldn't tell the fans apart by just looking up. Still, the rivalry wasn't like it was in its heydays a dozen plus years ago when the thunderous crowds could have been heard halfway to Peoria... the years my ears would ring for days and I'd swear I'd wear hearing protection the next year.
Enough of my ramblings... The Valley is truly up for grabs this season. Arch Madness is going to have to sort it all out. Here's to hoping the 'Birds are healthy and bring their best game.
Well, starting off with the positive is the Star Spangled Banner was adequately performed last night at the start of the game. It wasn't or even attempted to be overdone! Not a first, but pleasantly refreshing.
From there, depending on the team you follow or the perspective you have - the rest of the night was either really good, or not so good. Valpo walked on to something like a 14 - 0 run to start the game. The Redbirds finally got it going in the 4th quarter and cut a 23 point deficit to 7 but it wasn't enough to change the momentum. The Crusaders picked back up and sharpened their swords to take the score to a 16 point lead as the buzzer ended the bloodshed
Not a huge gallery this game, but some pretty cool under the bucket shots are here.
February 2, 2019 - Normal, IL: The Illinois State Redbirds and the Ramblers of Loyola Chicago squared off for a Men's Missouri Valley Basketball game to see who would walk away in sole possession of 1st place in the conference at near the midpoint of the season. Dick Ludtke, a long time broadcaster was on hand to do the radio play by play and was recognized before the battle for his 1000th Redbird Basketball broadcast.
Just over 8100 fans nearly filled the 10,500 seat Redbird Arena and stayed in their seats to watch the entire game. Although the point difference at the buzzer was 8 points in the Redbirds favor, the game was not really settled till inside the 1 minute mark. The frenzied late play kept a crowd that oftens leaves with minutes left on the clock, in their seats till the end.
For the first time since 2006, the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament is being held at Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal Illinois. Participating teams are the Drake Bulldogs, Indiana State Sycamores, Valparaiso Crusaders, Illinois State Redbirds, Missouri State Bears and Northern Iowa Panthers. The Bears pulled in the #1 ranking followed by the Panthers as #2. Both teams had the first round off. The Redbirds ranked 3rd. Surviving the 1st round were the Sycamores and the Redbirds. Round two will pit the Sycamores against the Bears and the Redbirds against the Panthers.
On January 11, 2014 Redbird Arena turned 25. The Redbirds won their first game in the arena on that very same night. The results were the same 25 years later with the Redbirds defeating the most recent addition to the Missouri Valley Conference and the two teams first such meeting. The Loyola Ramblers are led by Porter Moser. Moser, many will remember was the Redbird coach before Tim Jankovich. Jankovich left and Dan Muller is now in his second year. Final score of this game - 59-50.
In their 1st conference game this season, the Illinois State Redbird women secured their 2nd win of the year giving them a 2-9 overall and 1-0 Missouri Valley Conference record. The first half was highlighted by several 3 point nothing but net shots by Alexis Foley. Foley led the Redbirds with 20 points in 33 minutes of play, followed by Octavia Crump with 17 points. Drake's Kyndal Clark was the best in the game with 23 points in 34 minute of court time. Final score was 80-71
Wichita State seems to be some sort of a nemesis for Illinois State. Twice this year being the spoiler.
The Baseball Redbirds completed the regular season with the most wins, but lost 5-2 on a miserable cold and rainy late May evening at Duffy Bass Field, walking away with 2nd in the Missouri Valley Tournament. Still an awesome season by any reasoning.
Another game high scoring notch for Jackie Carmichael as he finishes above the 20 mark and John Wilkins comes in just behind him with what may have been a career high for him. Both rattled the rim twice. Jon Ekey was the victim of 5 fouls and spent the last half a dozen game minutes watching as maybe the most excited spectator.
I haven't seen this in the mainstream media yet and neither the Redbirds or Jayhawks websites have any information, but 2 very reliable sources have informed me that Todd Kober, Associate Athletic Director - Media Relations, is leaving Illinois State for Kansas. Todd has been at ISU since the early part of this century. He's worked for at least 3 different Athletic Directors during his stay. He will be following Dr. Sheahon Zenger to Kansas. Dr. Zenger left Illinois State earlier this year. http://alanlook.photoshelter.com/image/I0000Lzbb2RanFUQ - photo of Todd http://alanlook.photoshelter.com/image/I0000.CuABInBvag - photo of Dr. Zenger
It was early in Dr. Zenger's tenure that Todd Kober approached him about a statue commemorating the presence of player Doug Collins and coach Will Robinson be place near the north entrance to Redbird Arena. The statue was built and placed in that location and dedicated in 2009. It will be considered one of the crowning achievements of both men's careers at Illinois State. http://alanlook.photoshelter.com/image/I0000flcztZ3gPKo
- photo of Robinson-Collins Statue
Other accomplishment under the direction of Todd are several awards for design of Redbird Media Guides and the naming of the basketball court in Redbird Arean for Doug Collins.
The local papers are reporting today that Dana Ford will leave Wichita State and return to Illinois State. The article states that the Shockers have confirmed that Dana is no longer a coach on their staff and that sources at Illinois State confirm he has been offered a position on Dan Mueller's staff but that HR processes have not been completed.
Last week it was the guys, this week the ladies...
The Missouri Valley Conference, ahead of the beginning of the Conference tournament annouced the season acknowledgements for the ladies. Three players and coach Stephanie Glance were named.
Katie Broadway and Jamie Russell were both named to the All Valley first team. Russell also grabbed the award for best newcomer. Candace Sykes received Honorable Mention.
Stephanie Glance follows in her predecessor’s footsteps and received the Valley honor of Coach of the Year.
Doug McDermott was named the Larry Bird Player of the year.
Well, I think one more is in order. I really enjoyed watching Bryant Allen this year. He has got my vote for Happiest Player on the Court. He can hit a three open or not and if you take away the outside on him, he's going to find the open guy or take you inside. Still while doing all that, he has the largest smile on his face of anyone in the arena.
Of course, it wouldn't be a real Chimperscage blog entry with out some Alan Look photos.
Seems like all the hoopla this season has surrounded the McDermotts (Greg and Doug). Even Sports Illustrated had a multipage/mulitphoto spread on them and the 'Jays from Creighton. Still, I look at the leaderboard on the MVC site and see the Wichita Shockers are 2 games ahead of them.
The Shockers beat the Illinois State Redbirds on Doug Collins Court last night by thirteen. So, the MVC has a first, a second, a pair in third and a four way tie for fourth. Should be a fun dance in St. Louis this year!
Well, I got to wondering today just how many players I had shot that were possibly going to be in the 2012 NFL draft. A quick search of some of the polls and listings and a quick search of my archive came up with a number of players. One, Cody White I have been photographing since he attended High School at Normal Community West. There were a Number of Illinois State Redbirds that made the list and a good parcel from the Missouri Valley Conference. Fill in the rest of the non-conference games at Hancock and I got the following into a gallery. I only selected one image of each person for this gallery. If you search my archive by name, you will find several more of each. Unfortunately there were several players I did not capture.
Enjoy, and good luck to all involved when the draft takes place.
The season has started and in non-conference matches at home the Illinois State Womens volleyball team in 2 wins ans 0 losses.
The fanbase could be a little better this season, but I expect it will improve as they move to MVC play. Just to wet your appetite here are 2 galleries to let you see what you have missed.
Wow, what a lot of drama this summer. Football and the economy. One report had people more interested in the NFL lockout than the US debt ceiling issue. And why not, financial issues get to be monotonous and stressful. So, let's talk about football instead.
High school ball is just around the corner. Summer strength and condidioning should be wrapping up. Practices should be starting. Opening night is August 26th. Intercity at Hancock Stadium is September 2nd. If you haven't heard, the south stands at Hancock were to be removed. I haven't been to the stadium lately, so I'm looking forward to seeing what all has been done. I believe the west stands were also to get a facelift.
College can't be far off either. The Redbirds have an interesting bend on the normal Media Day this year. The fans and friends will be invited to attend and can also participate in a moderated question and answer session with some of the coaches and players. It all starts the morning of August 8. I'm not sure I'll be there, but I think the questions the fans will ask could be interesting.
I'm also getting excited about the NFL settlement. I haven't read a lot about the contract. What has been crossing my screen are reports of players from the Missouri Valley Football Conference being signed by teams. There are 7. ISU offers Chris Riley who is with the Bengals as will Colin Cochart from South Dakota and Stephen Franklin from Southern Illinois. South Dakota alum Cole Brodie is headed to Jacksonville and Derek Domino to the Broncos. North Dakota State sends Josh Gatlin to the Saints. Also headed to the Saints is Kolby Hurt of Missouri State. The NFL will be more fun knowing these people have passed before us at a more local level. I hope they all make the final cut.
After nine years, one trip to the NCAA sweet sixteen (2006), an overall record of 154-140 and 74-88 (MVC), and a less than stellar finish in the Valley (4-14) this season, the Bradley Braves said goodby to Jim Les. Athletic Director Michael Cross stated that the decision was difficult but in the long-term best interest of Bradley basketball, the student athletes and the university.
If you live or have lived in Central Illinois for any length of time and followed college basketball to any degree, you know Jim Les and the Bradley Braves Well. Les played for Bradley as a student and then in the NBA for seven season. The Braves and the Illinos State Redbirds share a mutual rivalry best know in basketball by the tag "War of 74". The arenas are always filled, the fans always pumped, the volume level almost crushing.
Well, for me anyway - Saturday was the 1st game. Yes, I know they played one already at Redbird. I was unable to attend. Seems like a lot of ticket holders didn't show up for the game against North Florida either. You missed out. I know, it's not conference season yet, but watching this team was truly special.
Defense seems to have been stepped up with the addition of some of the youth and transfers on this years squad. Watching Osiris, Dinma and Phillips are still fun. Dinma is still a hole filler underneath and Phillips is more confident out front. Osiris has stepped back up hit offensive attack (I thought it was a bit muted last season). The new guys make this a real treat. Johnson, Lewis, and especially Carmichael are filing in nicely. If you come to see nothing else, come to watch Carmichael. He's a blocker and he does it with quite a style.
This weekend I decided to follow some more Redbird Volleyball. It was early September since I had seen the Redbirds play and The Bradley Braves and Northern Iowa Panthers were in town.
Friday night, a larger than I expected crowd filtered into Redbird Arena. Bradley is always a favorite since they are a mere 40 miles away making them a rival at any sport. Their volleyball team has had some challenges the last few years, this year being no exception. A quick scan of the roster shows a lot of their on court staff at 5'5" or less. Not that shorter people can't play great volleyball, but it does leave the front line a bit challenged. Still the Braves managed to at least show that they were on the court. The Redbirds took the match in 3 sets. Kasey Mollerus received an award before play started for breaking the Redbirds record for most digs. She truly is one of the best I've seen. Rarely is she faked out by an opponent or out of position. Congrats Kasey!
On Saturday, the annual Pack the Arena promotion filled the stands even more for the bout against the Panthers of Northern Iowa. The Panthers are undefeated in the Missouri Valley Conference and have only lost 2 matches all season. In fact, coming into the match against the Redbirds they had only lost 2 sets in Valley play. They lost their 3rd against the Redbirds and had 2 more challenging sets only taking the first one by any number at all.
