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Whats up with Baseball? Very poor year- lose to NAIA school (Culver-Stockton), and last in the Summit.
I thought things were looking up here.
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| Anybody have any thoughts onthe recruits he is bringing in? I see he has some guys from Michigan. I know when i was listening to the Iowa/WIU game the Iowa announcers were shocked that WIU doesn't have any Iowa guys on the roster for as close as they are to Iowa.
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I have used this analogy before but I can't help thinking this way. A couple of years ago WIU and Oral Roberts were playing at the new stadium, WIU was challenging Oral Roberts for the conference lead, it was Friday, and WIU had a 4 run lead going into the 8th or 9th inning and could not close it out. The next 3 games that weekend were train wrecks. WIU hosted the conference tournament and could not get past Southern Utah or Oral Roberts. High water marks!!!! At Gettysburg the high water mark of the Confederacy was the stone wall at Picket's charge. After that it was all down hill. I kinda view Stan's program the same way. Its almost like he was grasping at straws for recruiting. He took two pitchers from a JC that only won 10 games. Just not the way to go. I know he is not here to defend himself, but I think the baseball program was just going to basically tred water without a coaching change. Stan did so much to re-establish the program, built the stadium, and got WIU once again pointed in the correct direction, but he could only do so much. Vilano is fundamentally sound, good with pitchers, and has been left with what Stan recruited. I like the fact that they challenged Oral Roberts at ORU in the first game, taking a t 7-4 lead in the late innings before going down. He has already announced his recruiting class, a first in my estimation, and has his coaching staff organized to "beat the bushes!" Look or dramatic improvement in the years to come! He is a winner and will prove it very soon!
jc
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It was a very rough year. I will wait five years to decided on the coaching change. He has my support in working in his style. I feel positive about the future. Next year will be a struggles again but with the addition of new recruits over time it will be better. The staff and players did well considering the circumstances. Good job guys.
I want to make a scheduling point I see across the board about WIU..... I don't hate the loss to Culver Stockton but is a terrible team to schedule. I would add that Quincy is a bad team to schedule too (Quincy in hoops would be a disaster). CSC is NAIA and in a very good conference. Their team was full of D1 non qualifiers, they have just as much if not more scholarship money, they have had far more players get drafted than WIU, they had more kids playing this year that had been drafted, and finally they have won big for years (they weren't even good for their own standard this year). STUPID TEAM TO SCHEDULE (they are not an automatic W in baseball like they are in basketball)! Do your homework so people don't see a box score and think WIU is a joke. I am tired of the attention to detail never being what it should. I haven't liked a few schedules in a row for different teams and I hope we make a serious effort to play quality teams and compete to our best ability. I give credit that we occasionaly play difficult teams but I'd like to see some of them in Macomb.
Go Leathernecks....... 
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| I've been able to speak to Coach Villano on a few occasions and I think he has the tools to do a great job here. The guy made it to the big leagues so at least we know that he knows the game, one thing that I always doubted about Stan Hyman. Villano has been left with Stan's recruits and he's making the best of it. I really don't think you can judge this year on wins and losses based on everything that has happened. I really hope that they try to recruit the Peoria and Spriongfield areas better. The good teams I played on at WIU had really good players from those areas, and now I look at the roster and I see none.
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Like Dennis Mantick!!!!!!!! What a player who eventually played some for the Twins as I recall. Have touched base with him in the last couple of years. He is doing well with the Peoria Park District.
I still think the fact that we have already signed 12 players is a big step forward. Lets keep track of the roster changes in the next year. That will tell you who Villano thinks can play and who can't from Stan's group! Stan would have been a good fit for Dwaine Roche spot!!!
jc
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| I loved and respected Stan Hyman as much as anybody who was near the program the past few years, but Stan had a habit (not always good) of relying too much on the word of others (assistants, juco/HS coaches, etc,) when it came to recruiting players. There was no one better than Stan when it came to selling his program and what he was trying to do at WIU. Unfortunately, it started to run downhill the last 2-3 years. Mike Villano is doing the best with what he has, but has already spent as much time on the road recruiting as many coaches do in months. Sure, for now, he is going to go heavy into Michigan because that is where his connections are and his familiarity with talent is the best. But, I know he has made strong pitches to in-state juco and high school players since his arrival and I would imagine it will continue in the years ahead. I have found out (surprisingly) that there is a couple of in-state jucos whose coaches have tried to dissuade their kids from coming to WIU because they didn't feel Stan was getting the most out of his players. Villano is trying to change that and it may take a couple of years. I know he is excited about his recruits for next season and is still trying to bring in a few more impact-type players to get the program headed back in the right direction. When it comes to baseball, he seems to be a no-nonsense type of guy who is very fundamentally sound. He was successful as a player and as a recruiter at CMU, so he knows what it takes to build a program. Let's all hope he can get it done at WIU. I still miss seeing Stan around campus, but I believe Mike Villano has the ability to take WIU to the next level. On a side note, continued improvement to Boyer Stadium will be key in drawing better recruits as well. Many juco playing fields are as nice as WIU even with its upgrade the past couple of years and the better players will take note of that.
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[quote]Neckfansince71 (4/29/2010)
Like Dennis Mantick!!!!!!!! What a player who eventually played some for the Twins as I recall. Have touched base with him in the last couple of years. He is doing well with the Peoria Park District.
I still think the fact that we have already signed 12 players is a big step forward. Lets keep track of the roster changes in the next year. That will tell you who Villano thinks can play and who can't from Stan's group! Stan would have been a good fit for Dwaine Roche spot!!!
[/quote]
I agree 100%. He was a great salesman/spokesman for the university.
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You guys are really lucky to have Villano.....some of the kids he gets are because professional scouts RECOMMEND a kid to go play for him. He will surely raise your talent level next year....those kids he is bringin in will play immediately. It might not change the results too substantially next year because he will be playin some young kids.....but it will be a big improvement.
It wouldn't have mattered who was coaching right now....no real chance of winning. How did they recruit sooo badly?
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