A couple final thoughts from me on the Alma-Calvin finish:

1. Objectively I believe it was a foul. One can get into all the subjective reasons it should or shouldn't have been, but that's simply colored by our biases.
2. In the last twenty seconds, there were possibly two other uncalled fouls. First on Kleiver's shot (judging by the defender's reaction) and then on Gamble's (clear in the video below)
https://vimeo.com/309919157

In the end this reminds me of something I tell my 5th grade team. There will be calls you disagree with, and great shots made by opponents...get over it. In the end you have to make the plays to win. Calvin will get their shot at revenge in a few weeks.

I'm admittedly a fan of the Scots, but I do think it was a foul. The Calvin player extends his arm to grab Harvey. I think that play gets called every time it's seen. As so often happens on a last second shot, the defender became a spectator and had to grab with an extended arm. You can see many of the players and coaches on the Alma bench jump up to protest right away. I thought it was a reasonable call, but could see it go either way. Just like the foul on Gamble's shot just prior to the Woodruff miss.

Greg, I'm thrilled with the move to Fort Wayne and plan to attend the Final Four whenever possible.

Sitting around on Saturday evening looking at the box scores, it reminded me why the "survive and advance" part of college basketball is so much fun. It's often unpredictable, although the favorites certainly get their share of W's. In my opinion, Hope definitely has the most talent, but if they can't find a way to shoot it better than they did last week, others start to look awfully dangerous. Calvin has size, some experience, a coach who has seen it all and just won on the floor of the host. Trine just went into the one of the toughest gyms to play in and shot 50/60/90 from fg/3/ft, and has Dixon and some others who can light it up. Alma just made 25 threes in a game on 50% shooting...not sure anyone will beat them if they have a night like that again. It should be a fun two days in Holland!

Hey folks, I'm a new poster here after being a reader of the board for the past few years. For the first time, I felt compelled to get a login so I could share my thoughts. After being at the Alma-Hope game on Saturday I never thought it would see some of the things being said about Coach Hargraves that I've seen. A few thoughts that I feel strongly about:

-Seeing HopeKnight question his suitability to be the advisor for FCA at Alma is one of the most offensive things I've read over the past few years. Yes, I know Coach. Yes, I think highly of him, and that will certainly color this comment. There is no person I would rather have coach my children or mentor young men than Coach Hargraves. He is an absolute pillar of the Alma community, despite the mistake he made in making contact with the official on Saturday.

-I saw the phrase "childish temper tantrums". I have watched, played in, or coached thousands of games over the years. I have never seen a coach who is highly competitive with a more even view of officials than Hargraves. I am sometimes amazed that he lets so many close calls go. I don't need to name names, but there are coaches in the MIAA that spend more time talking to the refs than their own players during a game while Hargraves is coaching, teaching, encouraging, and of course, at times, also talking to the officials. In fact, I recently had a college official (women's) tell me how positively he is viewed in that community because of how fair he is. Doesn't sound like a person who throws childish temper tantrums to me.

-Sam Hargraves now has 2 technical fouls in MIAA competition this week, and exactly that same amount since he arrived at Alma in 2011. Those were his first T's in the MIAA.

-Coach Hargraves is highly respected among peers and by former players, as well as those he works with. People who know him.

-Coach Hargraves made zero contact with any opposing player at the JCU 2nd round game last March. I was sitting 15 feet from the scrum, where a JCU player appeared to punch a former Alma player, and Hargraves stepped onto the floor and drew attention to the issue. Was it spirited? Yes. Was it loud? Yes. Were there words from the opposing player toward Hargraves? Yes. Did Hargraves cross any line? Absolutely not. I 100% disagree with the post by sflzman that said if it were the NBA he would have been disciplined.

-I wonder if the official has any regrets about not making the call and getting the heck out of there. Watch any good official give a T and they are moving away. Why did this official stand and face the bench?

I appreciate Flying Dutch Fan and sac asking us to get back to basketball, but I couldn't let it go any longer. Hargraves is one of the best men I've ever been around and there's no way I could let this go without my opinion being expressed.

As for tomorrow, I'll be interested to see if the Alma players answer the bell without their emotional leader. Should be a good one!