Contact: Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevich@concentric.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage Web Page: www.carthagesports.com
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline (262) 551-5388
Carthage Men’s Basketball Defeats Millikin, 90-68, on Feb. 23;
Steve Djurickovic Named “D3hoops.com” Second-Team All-Region
2008 Season Finale: The Carthage College men’s basketball team (13-12, 7-7 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) lost to North Park University (13-11, 5-8 CCIW), 91-72, on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at the North Park Gym in Chicago. Combined with Elmhurst College’s 88-67 win over North Central College, the Red Men missed qualifying for the CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament. On Saturday, Feb. 23, Carthage closed out its 2008 schedule with a 90-68 win over Millikin University (9-16, 2-12 CCIW) at the Carthage Physical Education Center in Kenosha, Wis.
Steve Djurickovic Named “D3hoops.com” All-America: Steve Djurickovic (Fr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford, 23.2 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, 4.28 assists) was named “D3hoops.com” fourth-team All-America, national “rookie of the year” second-team All-Midwest Region and regional “rookie of the year.”
Two Red Men Named All-CCIW: Two Carthage players were named All-CCIW. Steve Djurickovic (Fr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) was named first-team All-CCIW, while Trey Bowens (Sr., Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove-South) earned third-team all-conference honors. Djurickovic leads the CCIW in scoring (23.2 points per game thru Feb. 28). He’s first in assists (4.28 per game), first in assist/turnover ratio (1.73 per game), tied for fifth in free-throw percentage (.795), ranked 11th in field-goal percentage (.471) and tied for 14th in rebounding (4.4 per game). Trey Bowens is seventh in scoring (15.7 points per game). Djurickovic is the first Carthage player named first-team All-CCIW since Theo Powell in 2004 and the first Red Men freshman to earn the honor since Rob Garnes in 1999. Bowens is a repeat member of the third team.
Final Game at the Carthage PEC: The Feb. 23 season-finale against Millikin University was the final Carthage men’s basketball game at the Carthage Physical Education Center. The facility will be replaced by the Tarble Arena, with preliminary construction work already underway. The Carthage PEC opened with a varsity-alumni game on Dec. 4, 1965, with the first varsity contest taking place on Dec. 6, 1965 versus Aurora University. The Tarble Arena is expected to ready for the start of CCIW games in January 2009. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams will play their November and December games on the road. The Carthage women’s volleyball team will play its 2008 home schedule in the Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center.
2008 NCAA Championship First/Second Rounds: No. 6 Augustana College (Ill.), the winner of the CCIW Women’s Basketball Tournament, played host to first and second-round games in the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship on March 7-8 at the Roy J. Carver Physical Education Center in Rock Island, Ill. The Vikings (23-5) defeated Aurora University (22-7), 72-61, on March 7 in a first-round game, with No. 11 Washington University (Mo., 20-6) knocking off No. 17 the College of Wooster (23-5), 79-74, in the other first-round contest. No. 32 Wheaton College (Ill.) received a Pool C berth in the championship, and the Thunder were shipped to Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Kachel Gym. Wheaton (Ill., 20-7) upset Lawrence University (22-3), 93-83 in overtime, in a first-round game, Loras College (22-6) shocking No. 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater (24-5), 71-70, in the other first-round contest. Augustana (Ill., 23-6) lost to Washington (Mo., 21-6), 70-67 in overtime, in the March 8 second-round game. Wheaton (Ill., 21-6) defeated Loras (22-7), 76-73, in second-round action on March 8, and the Thunder advanced to a sectional semifinal games on Friday, March 14 versus Whitworth University.
2008 NCAA Championship: Hope College played host to a March 14-15 sectional championship at the DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland, Mich. The host-Flying Dutchmen (26-3) defeated Ohio Wesleyan University (22-8), 71-63, in a semifinal game on March 14, with CCIW-member Wheaton College (Ill., 22-7) winning over Whitworth University (21-7), 76-67, in the other semifinal contest. Hope (27-3) defeated Wheaton (Ill., 22-8), 83-70, in the March 15 sectional-championship game.
2008 CCIW Tournament: Conference-champion, top-seeded and No. 9 Augustana College (Ill., 22-5, 11-3 CCIW) defeated Illinois Wesleyan University (16-11, 9-5), 71-60, in the Saturday, March 1 championship game of the CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament. Augustana (Ill., 21-5) outlasted fourth seeded and No. 38 Elmhurst College (18-8, 8-6 CCIW), 69-68 in overtime, in a Feb. 29 semifinal game, while Illinois Wesleyan defeated No. 30 Wheaton College (Ill., 19-7), 81-78, in the other semifinal contest. The winner of the tournament receives the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship. Augustana (Ill.) clinched the conference title on the final night of the regular season with a 63-59 win over North Central College. The CCIW championship is the 12th for the Vikings and their third in a row.
Last Year: Carthage went 16-9 in 2006-07 (7-7 CCIW).
Two Former Red Men Named “D3Hoops.com” All-Decade: Two former Carthage men’s basketball players were named to the “D3hoops.com” all-decade team on Feb. 11. Guard and current Red Men part-time assistant coach Antoine McDaniel (Schaumburg, Ill., 2000-03) was named to the second team, and forward Jason Wiertel (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) was named to the fourth team. McDaniel was named National Basketball Coaches Association first-team All-American in 2002, “D3hoops.com” second-team All-American in 2002, the CCIW “Fred Young Most Outstanding Player” in 2002, and All-CCIW four-straight years, third team in 2000, second team in 2001 and first-team all-conference in both 2002 and 2003. Wiertel was named NABC second-team All-American in 2000, NABC first-team All-Midwest Region in 2000, 2001 and 2002, "D3hoops.com" All-American in 2000, 2001 and 2002, the CCIW “Fred Young Most Outstanding Co-Player” in 2000 a co-winner) and first-team All-CCIW four-straight years from 1999 to 2002. He is one of only five players to be named first-team All-CCIW four-straight years, two of whom are from Carthage.
2007 CCIW Tournament: Augustana College (Ill.), last year’s CCIW champion, had the top seed and the home court for the Friday-Saturday, Feb. 23-24 CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Carver Physical Education Center in Rock Island, Ill. The Vikings defeated fourth-seeded North Central College (16-10,), 74-67, in a semifinal game on Friday, Feb. 23, with second-seeded Elmhurst College edging third-seeded Wheaton College (Ill., 17-9), 85-82, in the other semifinal. Augustana (Ill., 22-5) defeated Elmhurst (21-6), 78-70, in the tournament-championship game on Saturday, Feb. 24 to receive the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship.
2007 NCAA Championship: No. 7 Augustana College (Ill.), with the CCIW’s automatic qualifier, was the league’s lone representative to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship. No. 13 Elmhurst College (21-6), the league runner-up and the second-place team in the CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament did not receive a Pool C berth in the NCAA championship. Augustana (Ill., 22-6) was stunned by Carroll College (Wis., 17-8), 73-69, on Thursday, March 1 in a first-round game at the Carver Physical Education Center in Rock Island, Ill.
The Polls: Hope College (24-3, 11 first-place votes) was ranked first in the final, regular-season “D3hoops.com” poll, followed by Wisconsin-Whitewater (24-4, 7 first-place votes) second, Amherst College (23-3, 5 first-place votes) third, Centre College (25-2) fourth, Brandeis University (20-5) fifth, CCIW-member Augustana College (Ill., 22-5) sixth, the State University of New York-Plattsburgh (26-2) seventh, Guilford College (24-4, 1 first-place vote) eighth, Wisconsin-Stevens Point (22-6) ninth, Massachusetts-Dartmouth (25-3) 10th, Washington University (Mo., 19-6) 11th, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (25-3) 12th, the University of Rochester (20-5) 13th, Millsaps College (25-3) 14th and Lawrence University (22-2) ranked 15th. CCIW-member Wheaton College (Ill., 19-7) was ranked 32nd. Conference-members Elmhurst College (18-8) and Illinois Wesleyan University (16-11) were tied for 36th place.
Broadcast Information: WRJN-AM Radio (1400) in Racine, Wis., will broadcast all of Carthage’s men's basketball games in 2007-08 for the seventh-straight year. Veteran Kenosha radio sports announcer John Weiser, “The Voice of the Red Men and the Lady Reds,” handles the play-by-play chores. The WRJN-AM broadcasts are also available on the Internet at http://www.carthage.edu/ais/media/love/streaming1.html. “Live stats” for home games are available at http://www.carthage.edu/athleticspages/livestats/xlive.htm.
The Coach: Head coach Bosko Djurickovic is in his 12th season at Carthage in 2008 and his 22nd overall. His 22-year record stands at 398-187 thru the end of the 2008 season (202-108 in 12 years at Carthage, 196-79 in 10 years at North Park), an overall winning percentage of .680. His 385 career wins starting the 2008 season placed him 35th all-time among active NCAA Division III coaches, and his .688 career winning percentage (385-175) was ranked 32nd nationally among active coaches. Djurickovic’s winning percentage at Carthage (.652) leads the school’s all-time list, and his 202 wins ranks him first all-time, ahead of Herbert “Hub” Wagner (170-107, 1928-43). Djurickovic’s CCIW winning percentage entering the 2009 season (.670, 217-107) is the fifth-best in the 62-year history of the league, and his 217 league victories are second only to Illinois Wesleyan University’s Dennie Bridges. At North Park (1985-94), Djurickovic coached two NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship teams, one in 1985 and the other in 1987. He is one of 13 active coaches to have won two or more NCAA Division III titles. His teams in the mid 1980s set an NCAA Division III record with 62 consecutive home wins from February 1984 to February 1988, and five of his players were named National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Americans. All 10 of his North Park teams were nationally ranked at some point in their seasons. Dave Roehl is the assistant coach, with Antoine McDaniel, Theo Powell and Cory Wilson serving as part-time assistant coaches.
Home Court Advantage: Since Bosko Djurickovic took over head coaching duties in 1996, the Red Men have compiled a 114-36 record (.760) at the Carthage Physical Education Center.
Non-Conference Success: Since Bosko Djurickovic took over head coaching duties in 1996, Carthage has a 92-39 non-conference record in the regular season (.702).
Record Against Top-25 Teams: Since Bosko Djurickovic took over head coaching duties in 1996, Carthage has a 23-28 record against teams ranked in the top-25 of the “D3hoops.com” poll.
The Conference: Now in its 62nd year as of 2007-08, the CCIW has sponsored men's basketball as a championship sport since the conference began play in 1946-47. Illinois Wesleyan University has dominated the league over the years, winning or sharing 27 titles in 60 years. Augustana College (Ill.) has won 12 times, including three titles in a row since 2006. Millikin University has claimed nine championships, Wheaton College (Ill.) eight titles, and North Park University has won six times. Carthage has won four CCIW championships, winning outright titles in 2000 and 2002 with shared titles in both 1964 and 2003. North Central College has won three league championship, and Elmhurst College won its first-ever conference basketball title in 2001. The CCIW coaches, with six first-place votes, picked Augustana (Ill.) to win the 2007-08 title, followed by Elmhurst second with two first-place votes, Wheaton (Ill.) third, North Park fourth, Carthage fifth, North Central sixth, Illinois Wesleyan seventh and Millikin eighth.
CCIW Leaders: Carthage’s Steve Djurickovic (Fr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) finished the 2008 season ranked second among CCIW scoring leaders (23.2 points per game), first in assists (4.28 per game), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.73 per game), tied for fifth in free-throw percentage (.795), ranked 12th in field-goal percentage (.471) and 15th in rebounding (4.4 per game). Trey Bowens (Sr., Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove-South) was seventh in scoring (15.7 points per game). Billy Shemerdiak (Jr., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) was 22nd in scoring (8.7 points per game), 10th in rebounding (4.9 per game) and 15th in three-point field-goal percentage (.364). Joe Higgins (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./St. Joseph) was tied for eighth in steals (1.16 per game) and ranked 12th in assists (2.44 per game). As a team, Carthage finished the season ranked fourth in scoring offense (72.2 points per game), fifth in scoring defense (70.7 points per game), fifth in scoring margin (+1.5 points per game), sixth in free-throw percentage (.729), seventh in field-goal percentage (.439), seventh in three-point field-goal percentage (.359), eighth in rebounding margin (-6.8 per game) and fourth in home attendance (779 per game).
NCAA Leaders: Carthage’s Steve Djurickovic (Fr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) finished the 2008 season ranked 13th among NCAA Division III scoring leaders (23.2 points per game).
The Record Book: Carthage freshman Steve Djurickovic (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) set both school and CCIW records on Jan. 23 with 23 made free throws in an 83-73 win over North Central College at the Carthage Physical Education Center in Kenosha, Wis. He also set a Carthage record with 27 free-throw attempts. The previous conference record of 22 free throws was set by Dale Schweinberger of Augustana College (Ill.) against Elmhurst College on Feb. 23, 1957. Both of the Carthage free-throw records were set by Johnnie Butler at Monmouth College on Dec. 22, 1970. Butler was 17-for-23 in that 1970 contest, and his 17 made free throws were subsequently matched by Michael Gardner at Concordia University (Wis.) on Dec. 7, 1978.…Illinois Wesleyan University’s Darius Gant tied a Carthage game record for individual opponent rebounds with 20 in the Feb. 2 game at the Shirk Center. Gant tied a mark set by current Wisconsin-Oshkosh head coach Ted Van Dellen on Jan. 11, 1977.
Quoting Coach Bosko Djurickovic on the Feb. 23 Millikin Win: “Sometimes, when the pressure is off, teams play differently. The crowd was really good, and we played really, really well. We rebounded really well tonight, and that’s been a problem all year. We’ve been out-sized and frankly, out-toughed on the boards. If you look at the CCIW stats, the top-four rebounding teams are the same four teams that are playing in the CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament. Trey Bowens might be a little under-appreciated. He really became a good college basketball player over the course of his career. When he shoots the ball well, he’s one of the better players in the league. Basketball is the easiest of all sports to fix, because you don’t need numbers, but it’s the hardest of all sports to recruit players for. We bring back one of the best players in the league in Steve Djurickovic, along with some other useable pieces with experience. The average level that we’ve been at over the past few years falls in my lap. It’s a tough league, and everyone wants to win. We need to get bigger, and we need to get stronger. We need to be a better defensive team. The new Tarble Arena is going to be tremendous upgrade. It’s going to be a fun place to watch basketball, and we’re going to get some bells and whistles that we haven’t had.”