Van Solkema is instantly elibible because he transferred from a DI school.  He has already lost a yr.'s elibigibility because he played at EMU lst semester, so I am quite sure he will have 2 yrs. left regardless of whether he plays this semester.  Playing so many transfers can be a slippery slope.  There can be definite short-term benefits, but also potential morale/chemistry problems with players who have been there for the long haul.  The most interesting case like this I have seen lately is Jeremy File, the former Hanover-Horton  star who played first semester last yr. at WMU, then transferred to Olivet and played second semester last yr., and plays this yr. at Spring Arbor(NAIA).  Three schools in 3 successive semesters without missing a beat.

Kresge is perfect for Albion.  It's pretty packed for big games, but seldom is it sro.  The crowd for the Hope game was sparse because they are on break until the 20th.  There were as many or more Hope fans at the game last week, so the gym environment wasn't an advantage for Albion, though it's always nice to be at home.   Kresge is far better than playing in the Dow, as there would almost always be empty seats.  Plus, no atmosphere.  Rule #l:  Never have a gym you can't fill at least some of the time.

It's hard to believe Hope only fell to 4th in the current Top 25 poll after the complete butt kickin' given to them by Albion last week.  I'm not sure the Britons are the 3rd best team in the nation, but if Hope is 4th, the field is really weak.  I also don't get d3hoops.com's fascination with Hope's Andy Phillips.  Even before his injury last yr. it was clear Albion's DePree was far and away the best player in the MIAA.   Yet,  Phillips was placed on the pre-season first team All America team. This year Phillips was again given pre-season status as first team All America,  far ahead of Albion's Brandon Crawford, yet Crawford is clearly the best player in the league.  I saw the Hope-Albion game; Phillips was a non-factor, while Crawford was dominant(20&l0).  What's up with that?