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A good year to cover the MAC!

The most recent Iowa 4A basketball rankings are out. The Mississippi Athletic Conference (MAC) has two of the top five teams in the state – Bettendorf at #2 and North Scott at #4. Pleasant Valley, Davenport Central, and Clinton each received at least one vote in this week’s poll.

That’s half the conference garnering at least one vote in the statewide poll. Pleasant Valley coach Steve Hillman told me during his pre-game interview before Friday’s PV-Waterloo East game that he felt the MAC was the strongest basketball conference in the state. It’s hard to argue with Coach Hillman, at least for the time being. My schedule last week included three MAC vs. Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC) games. The MAC teams – Pleasant Valley and Bettendorf – won their games by an average of 16 points. Bettendorf struggled with a game Linn-Mar team for almost three quarters before its experience guard tandem of Cole Clearman and Dylan Sortillo took the game over.

Conference play begins Friday night, and it starts with two big games. Fourth-ranked North Scott travles to Clinton, and second-ranked Bettendorf travels two miles to face Pleasant Valley. QCSportsNet will cover the PV-Bettendorf game with tip occurring at approximately 7:45 PM.

I know one game does not make a season, but we will learn a lot from these two key games.

Can Pleasant Valley’s guards contain Sortillo and Clearman? – I was very impressed with the leadership of Bettendorf’s guards. PV’s guard tandme of Chase Kipper and Noah Bryant have a tall task. If PV’s guards can play Bettendorf guards even, PV has a shot to win. PV’s front line is deep and complements each other well. Can PV’s guards come up big?

How will North Scott’s junior-laden team respond in a hostile environemnt? – North Scott is deep, athletic, and talented. I cannot wait to see this team play a bit later in the season. Going to Clinton will be a test. The River Kings are a real dark horse team in the MAC this year, and their size could give the Lancers some trouble.

How much will Bettendorf’s experience matter on Friday night? – PV plays two sophmores extensively. Will Carius played a lot last year as a freshman, but Carter Milam will get his first taste of a big MAC game. The 6-6 sophomore has shown deft footwork and rebounding strength in PV’s two non-conference wins. How will he fare against Nicholas Baer and Kyle Buhman of Bettendorf?

This weekend will be fun. It’s what makes high school sports so great. Go out and enjoy the first weekend of MAC basketball!

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Five things I learned from Pleasant Valley-Hempstead

QCSportsNet.com went live last night with its debut broadcast from Moody Gym at Dubuque Hempstead High School. Pleasant Valley’s boys basketball team opened its season with a 47-34 win over Dubuque Hempstead. Here are five things I learned from PV’s season-opening win.

  1. PV’s front-line depth is impressive – The Spartans have a very good mix of skill and strength on their front line. Will Carius has extended the range on his shot and looks very comfortable from 20 feet in. He will draw opposing centers from the basket and make more room for Steve Hillman’s motion offense. Carter Milam was a very pleasant surprise. The 6-6 sophomore brings strength to the middle, allowing Carius and Jeffrey Kardell to play more away from the basket. This depth will become even more apparent when Ryan Spelhaug returns from a foot injury.
  2. The Spartans do not beat themselves – Since I have watched Pleasant Valley beginning in the 2008-2009 season, I have been impressed by their execution. They are well-coached and rarely beat themselves. This will be important during the MAC conference season, which can be a grind.
  3. Austin Esters shows little rust from last year’s season-ending injury – The senior was wearing a knee brace last night, but he led the Spartans’ offensive efforts. His dribble penetration drew defenders, allowing him to kick the ball to open wing shooters.
  4. Hempstead will be a tough out in February – The Mustangs were frustrated by PV’s ability to control the pace of the game, but this is a young, athletic team. They have good athletes with size on the wings and will cause matchup problems with some MVC teams because of this.
  5. PV’s key is controlling tempo – The Spartans did run on limited occasions last night, but they controlled the game with their patient motion offense. Pleasant Valley ran a variety of offensive sets designed to create space for its wing players and to allow for dribble penetration. The Spartans’ best attribute is patience. They are tough to prepare for on limited practice time.

PV will have three days to prepare for its home opener against Waterloo East. QCSportsNet.com will carry the game live with the pre-game show starting around 7:15 PM (assuming the sophomore game does not go into double overtime like it did last night!)

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Matt Coss previews the MAC basketball season

Matt Coss, lead Mississippi Athletic Conference writer for the Quad City Times, joins me on QCSportsNet to discuss the upcoming MAC girls and boys basketball seasons. Matt and I discuss the following topics.

MAC Girls Preview

  • What is the biggest question facing Davenport Assumption in its quest for a fourth straight state championship.
  • Did North Scott’s opener tell us anything about the Lancers and their high hopes for this season?
  • Who is the team Matt is watching for a pleasant surprise?

MAC Boys Preview

  • What can the Bettendorf boys team do take the next step to a state championship?
  • Who will challenge the Bulldogs?
  • Who is the surprise team and the surprise player Matt is keeping an eye on this year?

Click here for the full audio interview

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Bring district play to Iowa 4A football – with one condition

The end of the 2013 football season also brings the likely end of 4A conference football in the eastern half of the state of Iowa. While the final decision on 4A district football will not occur until December, momentum appears to be building to moving to district football in 2014.

The Mississippi Athletic Conference has spent many years playing a full round-robin format among its ten conference schools. This is great for ease of scheduling and predictability of travel, but I do not believe this adequately prepares MAC schools for the playoffs. Matt Coss of the Quad City Times presented a telling statistic before this year’s second-round games. Mississippi Valley Conference schools – the conference with schools in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, and Dubuque – MVC schools were 29-12 against MAC opponents. Even this year’s 2-2 split only brought the difference to 31-14.

The district format will break the 24 schools in the MAC and MVC into four six-team districts. This means schools would have four out-of-district games to schedule. Meanwhile, the Illinois Quad City schools in the Western Big 6 saw their proposed alliance with the Peoria schools fall apart this year. This leads to a very simple solution which will help all schools in the area.

Why it’s time to restart cross-state rivalries

The advent of Iowa 4A district football and the breakup of the Western Big 6-Peoria football alliance presents a great opportunity to create a bi-state alliance to advance football on both sides of the river. With 10 MAC schools and five Quad City area Western Big 6 schools, it makes sense for each WB6 program to play two MAC schools each fall. Here are three key reasons why Illinois and Iowa schools should restart their rivalries.

  • Scheduling is made simpler – The WB6 schools always have difficulty scheduling out-of-conference games. In past years, the WB6 schools have had to schedule games with schools as far away as Chicago to complete their schedules. That type of travel in the regular season is difficult. MAC schools have more options to schedule out of conference schools in the MVC, but the WB6 would relieve a major scheduling headache playing two MAC schools each year.
  • All schools will see different styles of play – Would Rock Island benefit from playing against Pleasant Valley’s triple-option attack? Would Bettendorf be better playing Rock Island Alleman’s stingy defense? Of course they would. Playing strong teams and seeing different styles of play will only help teams prepare for post-season play.
  • The interest in these rivalries would rekindle interest in high school football – I have lived in Illinois and Iowa, and I know there is a healthy rivalry between the two states. Seeing WB6 and MAC teams square off will generate significant interest. The annual Genesis Shootout is the biggest basketball event in the area because it’s a full day of Illinois against Iowa. Rekindling bi-state rivalries would be a boost for the popularity of high school football.

How would schedules look?

I’ll use Pleasant Valley and Rock Island to illustrate how a regular-season schedule might look for the Illinois and Iowa teams.

  • Pleasant Valley – Five district games, one game against a WB6 program, one or two games against non-district MAC teams, one or two games against MVC teams.
  • Rock Island – One home game against a MAC team, one road game against a MAC team, two additional non-conference games, five conference games.

I expect district play to become reality in 2014. While it may take a year for a bi-state schedule to materialize, the athletic directors of the MAC and WB6 should take this opportunity to form an alliance which will benefit the schools and the community.