Final tune-up Thursday

Division III MacMurray (Jacksonville, IL) visits the Shirk Center Thursday for a 7:30 scrimmage vs Illinois Wesleyan. This is it for the Titans -- the last tune-up vs another team before the Albion Tip-Off Tournament next weekend.


My best guess is that Ron Rose will start the following lineup:


G Sean Johnson (6-1/175, Fr)
G Jordan Morris (6-3/195, Jr) or Andrew Gilmore* (6-3/185, Jr)
F Matt Schick (6-4/190, Fr)
F Darius Gant (6-4/210, Sr)
C Brett Chamernik (6-5/230, Jr)

* just depends on knees...is Thursday an "on" day or "off" for Andrew?

Where I said, "Don't read too much into the starting lineup" before the St. Francis scrimmage, I guess I'd say it's fair to try to start reading something into the starting lineup and rotation used tomorrow...we're getting close. Considerations...


* Is freshman Matt Schick winning the battle at the small forward spot? Schick was a four-year starter at Lincoln High School, a really good Class AA program, where his teams went 109-26 (.807) with two trips to Peoria. Last year he averaged 13.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.3 apg for the Railsplitters. He is a good, solid player.

* Who will the first 3 off the bench be? If Josh Sutton (did I mention I am a big fan?), it would seem to indicate that he is very squarely in the middle of the varsity rotation picture.

* Is Brett Chamernik winning the battle at the 5 over youngsters Edmond O'Callaghan and Doug Sexauer? Chamernik, who averaged 18.3 ppg and 8.1 rpg at Benet Academy, had a very good Green/White game. The players will also tell you he has been solid in practice lately and is playing with a lot of confidence. It's obvious to anyone who sees Brett that he hit the weight room very hard in the off-season -- he put on 20 pounds of muscle since last year.

* It seems clear to me that 6-7 freshmen Edmond O'Callaghan and Doug Sexauer will play a lot for the Titans this year, whether as starters or reserves, but where does 6-8 Duncan Lawson fit in? Seems to me he is a better fit at the 4 (as opposed to the 3) on this team...which means that Lawson and senior Jason Bloom may be in competition for one reserve spot realistically. (There is time for 5 posts, but not 6.)

The Highlanders were 16-9 last year and 14-4 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference...

http://www.d3hoops.com/school_info.php?school=MacMurray&team=mens&year=2007


MacMurray's new head coach is Todd Creal, an assistant at Millikin last year under Tim Littrell. Littrell was fired after the 2006-07 season. The Higlanders are in full rebuilding mode.