Calvin is a very good team, no question about it.  But Hope has to take responsibility for it too.  If Calvin comes out and changes the dynamic of the game, we've gotta find a way to fight back.  It's similar play from Hope that we've seen a good chunk of the year.  There are many times when they just do not put pressure on defenses

Such a bad loss for Hope.  Played with so much energy and hustle in the first half, and then reverted to their horrible slow half court offense in the second half.  It's not just "they shot poorly in the second half".  Your shooting is going to get worse when you're flat footed and playing slow, or winding the shot clock down so far before doing anything.  Bad

Quote from: GoKnights68 on February 01, 2025, 07:50:47 PM

Quote from: Dutchman17 on February 01, 2025, 06:51:29 PMThis will be the 6th time in the last 7 years that Hope will have finished 3rd or worse in the conference.  A lot has to do with Trine's emergence, but it's still been a disappointing run in Hope's history.  Timely wins in conference tournaments and wins against Calvin over the years have lessened the blow. 

It was pretty surprising and discouraging to see the lack of Hope support at the game tonight, even with the current disappointing season.  The least amount of Hope fans in Van Noord that I can ever remember.

Maybe it was like this last year too and I just didn't notice, but where was the Dew Crew today?

I'm not sure.  A Saturday game at Calvin used to mean hundreds of Hope students would pack their section of the bleachers, but the enthusiasm isn't there.  The program needs to figure out a way to turn things around quickly.

This will be the 6th time in the last 7 years that Hope will have finished 3rd or worse in the conference.  A lot has to do with Trine's emergence, but it's still been a disappointing run in Hope's history.  Timely wins in conference tournaments and wins against Calvin over the years have lessened the blow. 

It was pretty surprising and discouraging to see the lack of Hope support at the game tonight, even with the current disappointing season.  The least amount of Hope fans in Van Noord that I can ever remember. 

Quote from: BigBallBoy on January 30, 2025, 09:39:01 AMLooking a bit at other stats from Hope-Albion - Hope's second half had them scoring 0 points off turnovers and only 2 fast-break points.  When half-court offense is struggling those are important areas to try to maximize...Thankfully Hope's 15 second-half second chance points kept them in the game.  It goes to show how Albion was able to get and keep (for the most part) the lead until the nail-biting end.

Hope plays slow, boring basketball pretty consistently.  We saw it again today.  Hold up and let the defense get set so we can run our ineffective, slow half court offense without many natural scorers.  Painful.

Hoping this Hope team can still outplay the 2020 team.  Wourman returning won't make them a good team, but they have zero depth and any playing time they can take away from the current bench minutes will definitely help.

Quote from: scottiedawg on November 27, 2023, 11:18:38 AM
Has it already been mentioned that Eli Schoonveld is now listed on Hope's roster?

Eli was voted a team captain even though I don't think he plans on playing this year.  He is listed on the roster, but just with a "C" next to his name and no number

6'2 PG Tyson Mann from Grandville commits to Hope.  Solid pickup, and looks like he plans to play football as well

Adrian
Cayden Lepper 6'2 Rockford
Luke Rager 6'0 Huron, OH
Dylan Gira 6'3 Anchor Bay

Alma
Logan St. Martin 6'6 Hackett Catholic

Kalamazoo
Connor Kouki 6'7 L'Anse Creuse North

Olivet
Brayden Wine 6'4 Olivet

That Coach Mitchell call appears to have been from East Lansing PG Marcus Wourman.  Marcus was recruited by Hope last year, but took a year at a Mt Zion prep school instead.  Had a D2 offer as well.  Great addition

Quote from: tartanpride2016 on April 14, 2022, 11:15:46 AM

Quote from: pointlem on April 14, 2022, 07:29:50 AM

Quote from: goodknight on April 14, 2022, 06:34:33 AM
Grand Rapids West Catholic High School senior forward Michael Morris (6-4, 20.5 ppg) announced on his Twitter feed he's committed to Calvin. #sallballhaul

Another 20 ppg big guard, to complement the huge post player recruits? I had wondered if Calvin BB fortunes might be descending after the graduation of so much of its talent. But Bill Sall looks to have a recruiting class that must be the envy of other MIAA coaches (though Greg Mitchell, I suspect, is happy with his recruits). Calvin fans must be smiling at the rebuilding possibilities.

It feels like Sall is bringing in a plethora of high-impact guards. Are there really enough minutes out there for these guys to all play/stay more than this year? I just don't see how they all remain happy. Perhaps existing players hit the portal or stop playing? Interested in how this all shakes out...this class has to be about done now right? So many guys...

That being said, I love Michael Morris' game. Followed him all year at WC, one heck of a ball player. Had a knack on the glass too, just a great ball player. Will be a great addition for Calvin.

From a roster balance perspective, probably only a max of 6 or 7 from this class will be on the varsity roster after their freshman year.  The 2-3 lowest performers will move on - a good problem to have

Quote from: goodknight on March 28, 2022, 10:12:51 AM
A couple of long search efforts at Calvin University culminated today. One was for the institution's presidency -- with the search committee unanimously recommending Dr. Wiebe Boer, a Nigerian-born academic and entrepreneur who has spent most of his life on the African continent serving with NGOs and business development. The other pursuit, conducted tirelessly by Bill Sall, will be announced shortly. #themaninthemiddle #postwiththemost

Jalen Overway.  More size in this class than Calvin has had in a little while

One problem that may be growing for Hope is how much their forward/center group has been decimated by injuries.  Cheaney, Halbert, Nocek, and Hawkins were all out against Western.  That means the only backup options behind Bikus and Wiegerink are two true freshmen in Wagar and Quillan - two guys who were probably going to get mainly JV minutes this year.  Not ideal going into this non-conference gauntlet

Quote from: sac on October 31, 2021, 03:47:15 PM

Quote from: Dutchman17 on October 29, 2021, 10:52:34 PM
Hope looked good tonight.  George played very well, and Dykhouse looks to have taken a step forward with his confidence.  Looking forward to the season

Sad moment for Harris Hawkins going down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury seconds after checking in.  Prayers for him for a full recovery

I was pleased to see Hope play at the same higher pace they had achieved last Winter, also thought they threw in some really good defensive possessions as well.  Guard play should be great, finding a good mix of post players at the 4/5 is really going to be the key.  It was hard to tell with this game since they lost Hawkins and Halbert pretty quickly and without much playing time.  I think both those guys were going to be in the bigger minute category mix.  Wiegerink is probably going to get more minutes early which can only help him.  Thought he looked the most changed physically of all the guys.

Only thing I'd temper this with is Chicago didn't play any basketball last Winter and a quick glance of rosters I think they only have 4 or 5 players from their 2020 squad.  That was an almost completely new team playing its first "game" together and I think it showed.  Didn't think they had great legs either, a little sluggish and their 3's were off.

It was still a reasonably close game to start the 2nd half, Dykhouse had 3 or 4 great defensive possessions that resulted in Hope transition baskets and kind of put it out of reach.


Hawkins injury doesn't sound great, he'll certainly miss some time here in November at a minimum.  Halbert looked more ankle, possibly high ankle which can be troublesome and linger.

Hope gets one more good run before their first game at Illinois Wesleyan, they'll play at Western Michigan on Nov 10.

Agreed.  The competition wasn't amazing, but the play was definitely promising in many areas

I think you switched up Nocek with Halbert here for the ankle sprain.  I didn't see Halbert get in at all, but I haven't heard anything about an injury for him

Rotational minutes for the bigs are definitely up in the air, but it seems like we have quite a few decent options.  I'm excited to see that sophomore class of bigs develop

Hope looked good tonight.  George played very well, and Dykhouse looks to have taken a step forward with his confidence.  Looking forward to the season

Sad moment for Harris Hawkins going down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury seconds after checking in.  Prayers for him for a full recovery