WBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association

[Civic Minded]

...for the hotdog crowd.  All are better than the hotdogs at DeVos.     Did I just say that?   

To be fair, the DeVos concession stands offer more than just hotdogs.

Hey!  I like the DeVos hotdogs (even without the now world famous condiments)!

[sac]

Can anyone share suggestions for some nice places to eat around Hope College? I'm sure many folks will be going to the Final FDOur and some of the local posters from that area might be good resources! Thanks, Dan

The word of warning would be any of these downtown places will be pretty busy before the games both Friday and Saturday, even if Hope isn't there.

My favorite, 8th Street Grill, is usually packed before games.


This should help..

http://holland.org/sections/32-dining

[SKOT]

How you can talk about dining in Holland without mentioning their amazing authentic Mexican places like Margarita's and Taco Fiesta is beyond me!  Both are excellent choices and don't break the bank!

[veragrace]

Also happening downtown on this Saturday at noon is the St Patricks Day parade.  The Curragh will have live music starting around 11:30 all day long and will be ridiculously busy.  If you're up for a late night, check out The Green Room playing at 11pm...very fun band.

[hope1]

you can not forget  about  skiles tavern  maybe the best  pizza and beer down town with walking from the devoss

[realist]

Please do not kill the messenger.     
Yesterday I spoke with a friend who is on the staff at Schreiner U.  They are in Kerrville TX, and the same conference as HPU.  When I mentioned Hope playing HPU the phone went silent for several moments, and then he asked if I knew how good they were.  I said obviously good enough that they are undefeated, and hosting a sectional.  His main point was look at the team roster, and realize that this team is made up of young ladies (many of whom) just missed getting D2 rides.  His comment is that they are extremely quick,  like to drive,  and like to pressure the ball.  Generally TX players are weak on some fundamentals, but his thought was this team is the real deal, and playing them at their place is no picnic.
Please do not kill the messenger.   

[hope1]

good luck hope girls   i hope you have a nice air plane from tulip city airport   and good luck hope you come back with 2  wins and safe travel

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Please do not kill the messenger.     
Yesterday I spoke with a friend who is on the staff at Schreiner U.  They are in Kerrville TX, and the same conference as HPU.  When I mentioned Hope playing HPU the phone went silent for several moments, and then he asked if I knew how good they were.  I said obviously good enough that they are undefeated, and hosting a sectional.  His main point was look at the team roster, and realize that this team is made up of young ladies (many of whom) just missed getting D2 rides.  His comment is that they are extremely quick,  like to drive,  and like to pressure the ball.  Generally TX players are weak on some fundamentals, but his thought was this team is the real deal, and playing them at their place is no picnic.
Please do not kill the messenger.   

No reason to kill the messenger - it's nice to hear that assessment.  Of course I think you might hear the same thing about our team, so we'll just have to go down there and show them.  Potentially an awesome game -but right now Hope needs to focus on George Fox.

[Ralph Turner]

Looks like great golfing weather this week!

[WWWRHH]

Please do not kill the messenger.    
Yesterday I spoke with a friend who is on the staff at Schreiner U.  They are in Kerrville TX, and the same conference as HPU.  When I mentioned Hope playing HPU the phone went silent for several moments, and then he asked if I knew how good they were.  I said obviously good enough that they are undefeated, and hosting a sectional.  His main point was look at the team roster, and realize that this team is made up of young ladies (many of whom) just missed getting D2 rides.  His comment is that they are extremely quick,  like to drive,  and like to pressure the ball.  Generally TX players are weak on some fundamentals, but his thought was this team is the real deal, and playing them at their place is no picnic.
Please do not kill the messenger.   

I concur that there is no need to kill the messenger.  Their are reasons that both Hope and Howard Payne would prefer to play on their home courts this weekend.  No one makes it this far unless they are a very good team.

But several Hope players also had the opportunity to play in scholarship programs.  For instance, "everyone" knows that Carrie Snikkers was Miss Michigan Basketball runnerup and left a full ride DI scholoarship to come to Hope.  She is obviously very talented and has had a big impact in the tournament.  However, both Knox and Lange are more or less equally productive in the post.  Hope's guards are quick and play great ball defense.  Hopefully both teams get past the Friday games and face each other Saturday.  It has the makings of a great game.  Too bad it is not equal distance from both schools so the crowd would be more evenly balanced.

As has been mentioned on this board often, Hope's strength is its balance and depth.  Not many teams can count on near equal scoring from the first and second rotations.  The Dutch average 78 pts per game and the leading scorer averages only 11.3.  HPU average 76.8 pts. per game and three of their players average 12.9 or better.

HPU does have some size and starts  a 6-0 F and 6-2 C, but does not seem to go as deep inside as the Dutch.  Hope's post are tall, fast and strong (if you have time take a look at Lange's (an All-american heptathlete) and Knox's performances at the conference track meet - not what you would expect from girls their size).  I suspect the overall balance, 10 deep rotation, depth at the big positions, combined with quick defensive minded guards and a couple of outside shooters might present a look that HPU has not seen this year.

Again the makings of a great game, but not a guaranteed victory for anyone.

[realist]

Personally I think Hope has the depth to be able to handle HPU, should that game come to pass.  The point the Schreiner guy was making is HPU has had considerable success in forcing other team's ball handlers into making bad decisons.   On several occassions posters have mentioned the turnovers the Hope team has had in some games.    His feeling was turnovers could very well be a telling factor should the two teams meet.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

For anyone who has the ability to get away from work for a few minutes today, the Hope women will be leaving for Texas today, and Tom Renner (on the Hope Sports Report this morning) suggested that we give them a send-off.  They will be boarding the bus at 2:45, and leaving around 3:15 from the DeVos parking lot (the rear lot by the loading dock).  The bus will be taking them to Tulip City Airport, to board a charter plane for Texas.

Interesting side note - the same plane that earlier will be arriving with the Whitworth mens team from California.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Personally I think Hope has the depth to be able to handle HPU, should that game come to pass.  The point the Schreiner guy was making is HPU has had considerable success in forcing other team's ball handlers into making bad decisons.   On several occassions posters have mentioned the turnovers the Hope team has had in some games.    His feeling was turnovers could very well be a telling factor should the two teams meet.

It is true that Hope turns the ball over at a fairly high rate - averaging 18.5 turnovers per game.  A big reason for this is how hard they push the ball up the court. 

Another factor to look at is that although they average 18.5 turnovers per game, they are forcing their opponents to turn the ball over 23.9 times per game.  Hope is also averaging 14.4 steals per game.

[JACKET84]

Hope should enjoy the weather in Brownwood.  High in the 80's.  Near 90 on Friday.  Cooling off to the 70's on Saturday.

[Ralph Turner]

I don't have an idea if Meia Daniels is quicker than any Hope guards, but HPU has been able to push the zone outwards versus outside shooters in the last few years.

The HPU front court seems sufficiently deep to match Hope on rotation.  I also wonder if the amount of quickness that we see in guard play in the ASC is comparable to the MIAA.

I have reviewed the stats of HPU's games at Chapman and vs Redlands in California and then the games versus the Top 4 teams in the ASC-East (UT-Tyler, UT-Dallas, Mississippi College and Louisiana College and the next four teams in the ASC-West, (McMurry, Hardin-Simmons, UMHB and Concordia TX) whom I consider the creditable opponents for this analysis.  All teams in the analysis have winning in-region records.

In those 18 games, the opponents averaged 12.9 offensive rebounds and 21.8 defensive rebounds or 34.8 rebounds per game.  They committed 21.3 turnovers and got 8.6 steals per game.

HPU got 11.6 offensive rebounds and 27.6 defensive rebounds or 39.3 rebounds per game.  They committed 18.6 turnovers and got 13.7 steals per game.

Five more rebounds, three fewer turnovers and 5 more steals per game for HPU than their best opponents..

This should be interesting.