Quote from: Dutchman17 on March 01, 2025, 09:26:13 PMSuch 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

Yeah, it is a tough loss.  However, I would give the Calvin team much of the credit for increasing defensive intensity and taking Hope out of what worked so well in the first half.  Can't fault Hope for lack of rebounding effort, defensive mettle, and a gutsy performance, even if they came up short. 

I enjoyed MIAA basketball this year and applaud all the student-athletes for their efforts.

Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on February 03, 2025, 10:09:39 AMI attribute that to a real lack of continuity in who is available to play on a given day.  As an example, Calvin has 9 guys who have played in all 19 games this season.  Hope has 2 and 2 who have played in 18 games.  Even looking at MIAA games, Hope has 6 who have played in all 8 games thus far while both Calvin and Trine have 9.

I agree to a very limited extent but there is a lot of nuance.  Every player is of such different value, especially with team chemistry and dynamics on and off the court (e.g. more of a focal point on offense or a role player, defensive specialist, etc.) and substitutes can tend to streaky-ness or are more liable to consistency issues,  even though they have certain strengths.  Also, practice time and various scrimmage teams incorporate different rotations and give experience playing together.  Finally, there are consistent aspects of play (e.g. rebounding) that do not seem to be impacted by the varied rotations.

There are systemic issues with persistent poor shooting percentage (missing many decent, open shots), principles of offense in the half-court set (regardless of who is on the court) and working together as five players to get to the spots/opportunities that maximize the strengths of the five people on the court.

I am not willing to give up on this team because they have good players and potential.  We just need shots to fall at a higher percentage, regardless of who is in or out any given day!

Looking 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.

The Trine-Calvin game was really fun to watch with so many swings and such stingy defense.  Calvin is the deserving league front-runner with timely contributions from various players over the last several games.  It has been fun watching Uchenna develop - from a defensive specialist to a penetrator and now to add the outside shot.  Defensively, as TUAngola said, he was instrumental in keeping Moore from having an explosive offensive night.  I am still so sad to not be able to see Fred and Uchenna compete and I think this particular game amplified the void.  Grant Pahl did an admirable job competing, especially since joining the team so recently. Congrats to Calvin on a strong first half of the Conference scheduled...will they go undefeated through the second half?

Hope continues to be in the rut of the season-long narrative...illness/injury, poor shooting (and free throw) percentages, but rebounding and effort are there...I think the first four minutes and last three minutes of the first half were symptomatic of just not starting and finishing strong.  The Hope lead was up to 7 around the three minute mark of the first half and yet dwindled to a tie game at half-time. 

I am starting to think that shooting percentage is a hard stat to really glean a lot (other than frustration) from because not every shot is equal (e.g. a three point heave at the end of the shot-clock versus an open three miss).  The discipline of getting the shots you want, rather than the shots the defense will let you take separates the teams that can make their breaks and teams that depend on shooting percentage. More could be said, but I look forward to the game when Hope gets the shots they want (and should be taking) and makes them. It would be great if this would come against the teams above them in the Conference standings.

Tough Trine-Hope game to watch from a Dutchman perspective.  Especially lack of competitiveness, apparent frustration by coaching staff (e.g. hand gestures, lowering head) and reserves playing the majority of the last 10 minutes...

Give Trine credit - the defense was solid with so much versatility to guard anyone at any position and place on the floor.  Their offence was good, Moore and Tucker were especially efficient, getting the shots they wanted and making them.

Very nice play at the 4 minute mark by "E" with a steal, behind-the-back dribble, pass to Tucker(?), and finishing the alley-oop!

Tough climb from here for the Dutchmen, but there is always Hope!

A good game at DeVos last night where the margins between winning and losing were so narrow.  The teams really are pretty even across the board - outcomes so often depends on which team is able to assert their strength more consistently.  It certainly helped Calvin to have Swartz come off the bench for 19 points in 22 minutes and be effective on Defense!

In the end, I think two areas determined the game, though much more can be said.  The FG% advantage really helped Calvin, with Hope going stagnant, settling for three's, and heaving shots (and making some) at the end of the shot-clock.  Wourman did his best to keep Hope in it and yet the absence of scoring off the bench and a few plays/shots not made served to the downfall of the Home team.  I think the Commentators helpfully mentioned these "funks" that Hope gets into offensively where they just don't click and miss 3-7 minutes of output.  Not sure what that is attributed to, of if it is just the nature of runs in the game of basketball...

A second area was that Hope wasn't able to maximize Quillan - both with him being a force down low (though he does shoot the three well!) and others playing off him when he was doubled in the post.  I am not exactly what can or should be done and it depends on where the double-comes from as Calvin did a good job of mixing up the double team and doing it quickly.  It must be said that Vernado is rock-solid with such a well-rounded skill-set - every rebound was a toss-up with Calvin doing a great job of swarming to the ball and having people around to grab the second bounce.

In the end, it was a fun game but a tough one to drop at Home.  Thankfully there is a lot of season left and it can be better to lose early than to lose late.  It will be important to get crucial wins - which, in my opinion, Saturday will be.

I have noticed that James Felton hasn't played in Calvin's last several games.  Is he injured or just out of the rotation?  Regardless, it seems like Calvin's rotation has really solidified with some consistent results.

At this point in time, I think it is a toss-up between the top three teams in the league, with any of the three capable of beating the others....Home court should be valuable and stealing a win(s) on the road (as well as not losing "should win" games) will go a long way to securing conference championship.

The Flying Dutchmen earned a much-needed win against Ohio-Wesleyan in what was a tale of two-halves.  Hope shot the ball very well in the first half 72% fg and 55% 3-pt to double-up OWU 46-23 at half.  OWU, to their credit, chipped away at the lead and Hope's shooting returned to reality but the team held on after being out-scored 46-33 in the second half. 

The A/TO ratio was much better this game with the two point guards have a 7/2 A/TO ratio. It was very nice to see Wourman  make timely buckets and assert control of the game.  It will take some time to really hit their stride together, but he is a player that really appears to make everyone else better.

I also thought Simon Neuhaus had a really nice game scoring the basketball (apart from free throws!) - especially against the zone.  His mid-range shooting really exposed a weakness in the OWU zone. He is certainly embedding himself in the rotation and brings a lot of hustle and heart!

An encouraging game to enter this final non-conference weekend.  After a challenging (disappointing?) majority of the non-conference schedule - Hope could really turn the corner and bring a bright outlook to the Conference competition.

I am still processing this and can't imagine what the Garland family, team and fans (TUAngola - thinking of you) are going through.

Long-term followers of the MIAA or D3 - can you think of other occasions when something similarly devastating happened?

Also curious how the Trine team is doing (though each person will be different and few people will truly know and be able to say) and what the path ahead looks like in the wake of something so tragic?

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on December 12, 2024, 11:15:57 AMWow. Thoughts and prayers to the Garland family, Trine and everyone involved.

https://www.kpcnews.com/heraldrepublican/article_289149fa-b899-11ef-8d4c-0b2fc3b2bb30.html

How shocking and sad! What a tragic reminder of the uncertainty and brevity of life.

I always appreciated the Garland's competitive edge - and was so glad the brothers got to compete together and win the National Championship.

Praying for the Garland family, coaches/teammates past and present, and the Trine University community.

Helpful insights sac and FDF - just curious what the low A/TO ratio should be attributed to?

(1)tough schedule (against several teams that play really stout defense),
(2)lack of cohesion on offense (multiple times I have observed a player making a cut, only to have the ball handler pass to where the cutter used to be, and not where he was going to), or
(3)missing a main ball handler and creator on offense....

Probably a combination of all three.

Other than the Calvin upset over La-Crosse (well-crafted play by Coach Sall to get the open Vernado game-winning 3-pointer) the WIAC hands it to the MIAA over the weekend.  Hope competed and was within striking distance but not enough plays made to get Wins. Turnovers continue to hurt the Dutchmen as well as a consistent second scorer.  Does anyone have a word on Wourman's return?

It was nice to see that defensive effort by Hope, which Coach Mitchell praised following the game.  Not that the Wheaton offence is too potent as they are rebuilding and far from where they were a few years ago. Particularly surprising to me is Wheaton's uncharacteristic lack of size and I wonder why that is?

It is possible a game like this, coupled with a possible return of Wourman (?) for next Friday and Saturday, really ignites the team... or next week's games may continue the growing pains... Regardless, nice to get the "W" and nice to see the [Christian college] teams come together at center-court after the game!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone - we are blessed

I agree that Hope has a very solid foundation with Quillan, Hovey (e.g. effort plays) and Wourman (when he returns).  What I think will determine the success of this team is the production of Mims and then, lesser-so, the position that Schoonveld is now playing.  Mims has been very inconsistent and yet has great athleticism and offensive potential (run outs/shooting/attacking the basket) - sometimes his decisions/shot selection is questionable .  Schoonveld is an excellent defender and good rebounder but doesn't pose an offensive threat.  The team needs one of those spots to produce 12-15 ppg with high efficiency and low turn-overs.

Currently the team is shooting 40% fg and 32% from three.  These numbers need to rise (and I believe they will because they are missing many good, open shots) for the team to have the success they are capable of.  Right now, it seems like everyone is trying too hard and attempting to do too much, individually, on offense.

We'll see how this week goes - but Hope does need to see some W's add up as we progress in the non-conference part of the schedule. 

With the fewer Hope basketball posts, as a long time follower...I thought I would chime in.  The first day of the GLI did not deliver down-to-the-wire close games, but still some excellent basketball by some teams appearing in mid-season form.  Hope's potential is clearly there but when a team defends physically and takes away easy looks (and when they get them shots aren't falling), Hope has struggled. Random observations...

1. Injuries have been a nuisance and challenged line-up cohesion...the team will really hit their stride shortly after Marcus Wourman returns...
2. Gabe Quillan should touch the ball just about every time down the court.  Teammates must not stand and watch but play off him with strategic cuts, finding space, and making open shots. 
3. Josh Dekker is a serious liability on defense. Yesterday (second half), the man he was defending on the perimeter (wing or corner) did a back door cut (didn't get the pass but was wide open) and Dekker realized it about two seconds after it happened...Parker Hovey re-entered the game on the next dead ball. Offensively, Dekker is steaky but can score in bunches - if his shot is off, I would think his playing time suffers.
4. I have liked the freshmen, especially Brady Miller the point guard replacing Wourman. I think he has a lot of potential and brings much-needed size and swagger.