MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

albinomascot19 · January 19, 2006, 01:35:59 AM

I think the Calvin-Albion matchup on Saturday should be quite a show. I am really looking forward to it. I want to see whether these Brits are for real. 14-1 so is a pretty good record, but the conference schedule has just basically started. The road only gets tougher. I want to see how Brandon Crawford and the rest of the Briton's shooters can do against an always tough Calvin team. Kresge hopefully will be rockin on Saturday, more so than it was against Kalamazoo. I would love to see a packed house. I dont know where the Albion supporters have gone.

Gregory Sager · January 19, 2006, 02:33:22 AM

Quote from: sac on January 18, 2006, 10:44:01 PMPS Nice comeback by the Flying Dutch tonight also, I've seen 2 full women's games in 15 years, both times Hope made big second half comebacks to win 16 and tonight 10. So ladies if you ever in a jam at halftime just give ol Sac a call and I'll show up.

Would this be the basketball equivalent of a booty call?

hcach · January 19, 2006, 07:41:46 AM

Adrian is a better team then what they are showing. This offensive is not and has not worked, time for a change. Every game same players with same results mr, bg,bc are the worst defensive players ever. You can't ride same lineup each week with same results down by 20 or 30 then try to switch it up. mr,bg would not start on any other jv team yet is on the floor and there team is paying the price. Hope buried this team hitting uncontested open shoots. This team has lost all confidence and buck has lost control of this team. bg 3-13 shooting and 11 were terrible shots yet he stays on the floor. I would be setting this team down,player by player and going over these game tapes.
Great win Hope nice to see a team that believes and plays both ends of the floor.

AndersDY · January 19, 2006, 09:30:12 AM

Is Adrian's coach tinkering his lineup every game out of desperation? I saw as the starters were announced that two of last night's starters averaged less than 5 points coming in. Someone here warned that Collins was the man for Hope to watch, but he saw a lot of pine most of the game. A lot of non-starters got more playing time than starters and the second half starting lineup was completely different from the starting 5 in the first half. The stat sheet for Adrian did look like most of the team had been tried as a starter at least a few times thus far. Based on what was going on last night, clearly desperate changes were in order, but have the Bulldogs been shuffling their lineup that drastically all season? Adrian must just be having a hard time finding what works.

The officiating control last night certainly did disappear as the chance of a competitive game became more and more remote. There seemed to be a lot of "steals" by guards in the second half that likely would have been reach-in fouls if the refs had really cared. One Hope player drove the baseline and first got slapped on the arms, then got a pretty solid body block and the ref 5 feet away seemed to almost reluctantly whistle it: oh well, I suppose I should call one of those. When a long shot from the baseline fell right on the top of the backboard and the officials just let it bounce back into play, it was pretty clear that the goal was to play with a running-clock the rest of the way. It wasn't pretty basketball, but was kind of interesting to see how out of control some of the guys would play.

Very nice to see Andy Phillips regaining his touch. He opened the game with another miss from 2 feet (uh oh, here he goes again...), but then added a rebound, a made put-back from close, and then the bonus free-throw. He made his FTs, had a couple other nice touch shots inside and drained a 3-pointer. Hopefully he is getting his confidence back, could be a big boost for Hope offensively (though the anticipation of scoring better not slow all that defensive rebounding of his).

Carl Yastrzemski · January 19, 2006, 09:38:48 AM

Mike Bailey of Albion has really developed into a player. I remember watching him during his Fr. year on JV and thinking he would be suiting up for Athletes and Ashabi in the A-League Intramural program his So. year.

His development is very similar to that of Marcus Gill. Who during his JV career was nicknamed the "Blackhole". Once he had the ball in his hands, you never saw it again.

Straight from Wolf Blitzer on CNN:
N.O.W. president has come out with a statement requesting Sac resign his All-American posting status based on his gender insensitive post about only seeing 2 women's basketball games in 15 years.

kresgekrazy · January 19, 2006, 10:02:24 AM

nicely done, bro!

bulldogalum · January 19, 2006, 10:04:30 AM

andersdy:

I think your comment that Adrian is having a time finding what works is accurate. They've tried a lot of different starting lineups, and most of the team has seen a fair bit of playing time, but there haven't been 5 players that have stepped up as leaders on the court. They seem to struggle most when they're facing a team much bigger than them (Albion comes to mind, they were taller in pretty much every position) because they have no ability to force a post presence. In order to compete in games with a small, quick team like this requires that we do all the little things well, and that's not happening so far. We need to make free throws, hold onto the ball, and create some turnovers of our own.

albionbritfan · January 19, 2006, 10:27:07 AM

Big, big game at the Kresge on Saturday. I'm looking for Albion to come out and play 40 minutes of solid ball. Curious to see Veldhouse live in action for the first time. Containing him and Tre would seem to be the key to the game for Albion. Some interesting match-ups at almost every position.

KnightSlappy · January 19, 2006, 01:14:17 PM

QuoteContaining him and Tre would seem to be the key to the game for Albion

You cant stop them, you can only hope to contain them.

kresgekrazy · January 19, 2006, 01:30:04 PM

GO BRITS
Thinking of going to the calvin vs. alb game this weekend. I haven't been back there for years. My suspension from campus was over this past summer so I might be on my way down I - 94 on Sat. If anyone wants to meet me - I might be conspiring with he-who-not-may-named be or whatever. I heard the ATO's are throwing a hula party this weekend. All men - only grass skirts I heard Carl yaz is putting it on.

John Stamos is supposed to show, too. Hot!

Headlines:

Lions take Marinelli in what seems to be the greatest coaching choice since Norman Dale was given a chance to take the Huskers to hoops glory. Too bad they didn't know he drilled some kid. Maybe Marinelli will kick the living *&^ & out of some of Det's perpetual punk bizzles. Marinelli sounds too much like Mariucci and Millen morphed together - are we sure this isn't some friggin hermaphrodite or something. I smell losing season (and some Maryjane in my back seat). SUPER SUCK!

Nate Newton

MIdoubleA · January 19, 2006, 01:36:52 PM

Interesting article in today's sentinel saying that Van Solkema will play this season for the Dutchmen. Apparently he'll be suiting up shortly (once he knows the plays/system/etc.) What do you think?

albionbritfan · January 19, 2006, 01:57:44 PM

Do you think this will affect GVW's ability to recruit top freshmen in the next couple years? If I am a HS senior thinking about going to Hope, am I worried that A) there is a busload of talent vying for PT ahead of me and B) there is a risk of more transfers when I am a Jr. or Sr.?

I'm not trying to be hyper-critical here or even trying to spoil GVW's recruiting efforts, just trying to open up a discussion. These transfers are some really good players, and it ensures Hope will be scary loaded for the next couple years. But considering their number, doesn't it seem likely to have to have some ramifications (other than on W-L's) on things like recruiting and maybe even team morale/chemistry?

AndersDY · January 19, 2006, 02:21:52 PM

Haven't read the Sentinel, but did note from the stands that Van Solkema was on the Hope bench in street clothes last night. The discussion in the stands was that he uses up a year of eligibility which could be saved for a full season if he plays the rest of this partial season, is that the case? Or will he be out of school anyway after next year so it wouldn't be logical to save eligibility for '07-'08 if he will have graduated anyway?

Of course, is Immink in any classes this year? When I mentioned his being able to come back after a full year off last year, it was pointed out to me that he was academically a senior, so why would he stick around just for the basketball? Is he done with his degree and just playing ball now, or is he coasting into graduation with a Katzenmoyer/Leinart strength class schedule?

Carl Yastrzemski · January 19, 2006, 02:38:49 PM

Andersdy

DIII rules do not allow for a redshirt season. Only a medical redshirt is allowed. If Van Solkema is sitting on the team bench and is on the roster, he is using a year of eligibility.

For Immink to be eligible he needs to be taking classes in both the first and second semesters to stay eligible.

Because you are never sure what that school to the West is doing, I placed a call to their Registrar's office and through the Freedom of Information Act, I found out that Immink got a 3.0 in Wooden Shoe Design 404. He is currently enrolled in Windmill Construction 220. Good Luck with the Academics Greg.

MIdoubleA · January 19, 2006, 02:47:24 PM

britfan, I could see this working both ways for GVW. On one hand, you are exactly right. However, I could see some high school seniors looking to this as an opportunity to play with the big boys and be a part of something special. It's probably a blessing and a curse to be able to say "we have a lot of talent on the team now, and it's something you could be part of in the next few years."

Who knows, I guess we'll just have to see what happens. Personally I am interested to see how many more transfers Hope gets (if any) and if Albion and/or Calvin would ever build a new gym if this would happen to them as well.