MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[wiz]

A lot of posts here disceting the Hope loss to Albion.  I'm not sure why it's such a big deal.  Hope lost to a very talented and well coached, as usual, Albion team which is clearly one of the best teams in the nation.   The MIAA is a strong league and you won't see much better plan than what you get to see right here, year in and year out. 

And speaking of the MIAA, congratulations to Derek Griffin, this year's most likely MVP, for being named player of the week.  Good to see his unselfish play, his great athletic talent, and his ability to play through injury, be rewarded in such a way.

[hoopdreams]

as far as post play next year, no one on the if team will be ready to be a major contributor.  Snikkers is not a post presence ,think 3pt shooter.  They are hoping that another cornerstone reject will come- vennema,but I don't think it will happen.  They are close to getting a. 6'6 athlete who is at a cc getting his life in order. Great kid, so I've heard, who has gone through some personal/family issues. I still stand firm with the thought of mixing the lineup, thus always having veteran leadership on tube floor.  As a hope fan,I wouldmuch rather face Calvin in our tourney.  We do not respond well to physical defense. And until players start going backdoor And taking guys off the dribble,shot faking and getting people in foul trouble, they will continue to struggle.

[hopehoopfan]

A lot of posts here disceting the Hope loss to Albion.  I'm not sure why it's such a big deal.  Hope lost to a very talented and well coached, as usual, Albion team which is clearly one of the best teams in the nation.   The MIAA is a strong league and you won't see much better plan than what you get to see right here, year in and year out. 

And speaking of the MIAA, congratulations to Derek Griffin, this year's most likely MVP, for being named player of the week.  Good to see his unselfish play, his great athletic talent, and his ability to play through injury, be rewarded in such a way.

Two things, just because Albion beats Hope does by no means make them, "clearly one of the best teams in the nation", and secondly, you may not have noticed but last week the poll question at the top had MVH of Hope the clear mid-season MVP. Griffin is an awesome shooter when hot, but speaking of hot, he'll have to have a mighty hot second have to be considered for the MVP.

[SKOT]

And speaking of the MIAA, congratulations to Derek Griffin, this year's most likely MVP,

* SKOT ducks and covers.

[Erm Schmigget]

A lot of posts here disceting the Hope loss to Albion.  I'm not sure why it's such a big deal.  Hope lost to a very talented and well coached, as usual, Albion team which is clearly one of the best teams in the nation.   The MIAA is a strong league and you won't see much better plan than what you get to see right here, year in and year out. 

I have to scratch my head at this one.  Yes, they are talented and well-coached, but one of the best in the nation?  Not a whole lot of folks backing you up there.  I will agree with you in as much as they are a very good team, and seem to have a game plan that works well against Hope.

Keep in mind that Hope was able to make an adjustment in their post play at the half and out-rebounded Albion in the second half.  Unfortunately for Hope, their shooting got worse, and Albion got more accurate.

And speaking of the MIAA, congratulations to Derek Griffin, this year's most likely MVP, for being named player of the week.  Good to see his unselfish play, his great athletic talent, and his ability to play through injury, be rewarded in such a way.

Troll.   

[Civic Minded]

And speaking of the MIAA, congratulations to Derek Griffin, this year's most likely MVP, for being named player of the week.  Good to see his unselfish play, his great athletic talent, and his ability to play through injury, be rewarded in such a way.

Troll.   

True enough.      However, there may be some validity.  I hear they're going to make a bobble-head doll in his honor.   

[Erm Schmigget]

And speaking of the MIAA, congratulations to Derek Griffin, this year's most likely MVP, for being named player of the week.  Good to see his unselfish play, his great athletic talent, and his ability to play through injury, be rewarded in such a way.

Troll.   

True enough.      However, there may be some validity.  I hear they're going to make a bobble-head doll in his honor.   

That's not a stretch!            

[northb]

Seriously, Hope fans--take it easy!  It is one loss.  You guys were whooping everyone's butt, now Albion sets you back on your heels and the bench is worthless, MVH is gone, and next year is a total mess.  Suck it up, let your team respond to a tough loss, and chill out.  Much as I like to see Hope fans squirm, you seem to be ready to go down with ship when only a small leak has occurred.

I know my Karma is gonna go down the tubes (like after my last post), but folks, just take a deeeep breath.  GVW is at the helm...

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Seriously, Hope fans--take it easy!  It is one loss.  You guys were whooping everyone's butt, now Albion sets you back on your heels and the bench is worthless, MVH is gone, and next year is a total mess.  Suck it up, let your team respond to a tough loss, and chill out.  Much as I like to see Hope fans squirm, you seem to be ready to go down with ship when only a small leak has occurred.

I know my Karma is gonna go down the tubes (like after my last post), but folks, just take a deeeep breath.  GVW is at the helm...

northb - you got +k from me - you're right.    It was a tough loss, but based on the Dutchmen's previous responses to tough losses this year, we have nothing to be hanging our heads about. 

[realist]

Thanks for the eye witness reports on the Hope Albion game.  It sounds like Hope just ran into a very motivated Albion team on their floor, and that isn't at all unusual for Albion.  I don't really think this one loss means that Hope is going to come crumbling apart, and that GVW has massive problems.  Perhaps things haven't gone just the way some posters would have liked, but it is hardly time or reason to despair too much.  
p.s. darn NB had to go a quick post all the really good lines.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

Seriously, Hope fans--take it easy!  It is one loss.  You guys were whooping everyone's butt, now Albion sets you back on your heels and the bench is worthless, MVH is gone, and next year is a total mess.  Suck it up, let your team respond to a tough loss, and chill out.  Much as I like to see Hope fans squirm, you seem to be ready to go down with ship when only a small leak has occurred.

I know my Karma is gonna go down the tubes (like after my last post), but folks, just take a deeeep breath.  GVW is at the helm...

I don't think anyone said or thought MVH is gone. He had a bad game and hopefully it'll be the only one he has all year.

I think the other issues are a bit deeper. This is not the first time Hope's bench has failed to help the team out and second time in three games. I think that brings about a bit of trepidation amongst fans naturally inclined to worry.

Second, one loss is a small leak. For me though I have always thought Hope was too highly ranked. Hope is a solid, good team but reading other boards and listening to other games a bit I have never been convinced they were a top 5 team unless they were firing on all cylinders. I guess I believe they have a smaller margin of error than teams like Rochester or Amherst. Saturday's game highlighted that fact in my opinion.  On the other hand despite poor shooting and a shockingly horrible rebounding effort in the first half Hope still had a chance to win the game in the final minute. So maybe that is a positive as well.

[Erm Schmigget]

Seriously, Hope fans--take it easy!  It is one loss.  You guys were whooping everyone's butt, now Albion sets you back on your heels and the bench is worthless, MVH is gone, and next year is a total mess.  Suck it up, let your team respond to a tough loss, and chill out.  Much as I like to see Hope fans squirm, you seem to be ready to go down with ship when only a small leak has occurred.

I know my Karma is gonna go down the tubes (like after my last post), but folks, just take a deeeep breath.  GVW is at the helm...

northb - you got +k from me - you're right.    It was a tough loss, but based on the Dutchmen's previous responses to tough losses this year, we have nothing to be hanging our heads about. 

Hope's next game is at home, against the last place Comets.  They should be able to rebound from Saturday's loss.   

[wiz]

A lot of posts here disceting the Hope loss to Albion.  I'm not sure why it's such a big deal.  Hope lost to a very talented and well coached, as usual, Albion team which is clearly one of the best teams in the nation.   The MIAA is a strong league and you won't see much better plan than what you get to see right here, year in and year out. 

And speaking of the MIAA, congratulations to Derek Griffin, this year's most likely MVP, for being named player of the week.  Good to see his unselfish play, his great athletic talent, and his ability to play through injury, be rewarded in such a way.

Two things, just because Albion beats Hope does by no means make them, "clearly one of the best teams in the nation", and secondly, you may not have noticed but last week the poll question at the top had MVH of Hope the clear mid-season MVP. Griffin is an awesome shooter when hot, but speaking of hot, he'll have to have a mighty hot second have to be considered for the MVP.

The MIAA is a very strong division and usually has a team or two that is capable of making a long run in the DIII tournament.  Just because a team is not ranked in the polls does not mean they are not a strong national contender.  Albion is tested, they have played a heady schedule and they defeated Hope, which is a highly ranked team.  So, unless you think Albion's victory was simply a fluke, they are a national contender by the mere fact that they defeated the Dutchmen.  Teams need to learn from early season games and improve as the season goes on.  The Brits are showing signs of a team that has learned, may peak in February and be all set for a run.  This league is tough.  Take it as a compliment that some of the better teams in the nation are playing in the MIAA.

With respect to MVP, I didn't know that had been determined already and I guess I'm surprisedd to learn that MVP is decided by a D3Hoops poll.  I thought the coaches or the SIDS did that and that they wait until the season is over.  As is the case in many years, the award will probably go to a player who scores a lot of points and comes from a winning team.  That could be a number of people.  But, there are those who do even more than what shows up in the stats.  There are guys that are able to show team leadership and lift a team when they need it.  There are a number of people who fill that role and MVH could well be one of them.  And, after he mandhandled Calvin's pourous defense, he seemed like a lock.  In my mind, more for the way he distributed the ball than for how many points he scored.  I just happen to think that when it's over and Calvin wins the league tournament, that Derek will be the guy.

This season is far from over and there is no sure thing that Hope, Albion or Calvin will win the thing.  So just relax a little and enjoy beauty of this thing called the MIAA.

[hope_hoops1]

DCHN: you make a great point about the bench.  What has been one of Hope's strengths in years past and even early on this year now seems to be a possible weakness.  There is not much experience coming off of the bench and while the talent is evident in the four freshmen, there will still be some growing pains for adjusting to college basketball.  There have been glimpses of outstanding play from Bowser, Carter, Tanis and Sharples and if all four start to put it together at the same time, the 2nd unit will be VERY good.  IMHO, rotating a few of the starters with the bench guys more often as opposed to unit changes might be better.   But, then again, I haven't won 600 games either and playing Monday Morning Quarterback is easy after a loss.

[Erm Schmigget]

...unless you think Albion's victory was simply a fluke, they are a national contender by the mere fact that they defeated the Dutchmen. 

It's not so much that Albion's victory was a fluke.  I think we as Hope fans would like to look at Hope's performance (shooting and rebounding esp.) and consider that a fluke.

With respect to MVP, I didn't know that had been determined already and I guess I'm surprisedd to learn that MVP is decided by a D3Hoops poll.  I thought the coaches or the SIDS did that and that they wait until the season is over.  As is the case in many years, the award will probably go to a player who scores a lot of points and comes from a winning team.  That could be a number of people.  But, there are those who do even more than what shows up in the stats.  There are guys that are able to show team leadership and lift a team when they need it.  There are a number of people who fill that role and MVH could well be one of them.  And, after he mandhandled Calvin's pourous defense, he seemed like a lock.  In my mind, more for the way he distributed the ball than for how many points he scored.  I just happen to think that when it's over and Calvin wins the league tournament, that Derek will be the guy.

This season is far from over and there is no sure thing that Hope, Albion or Calvin will win the thing.  So just relax a little and enjoy beauty of this thing called the MIAA.

One of these is not like the others...  Come on everybody, sing along with me...  One of these just isn't the same........