MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[SBell]

Here are some league newcomers I like (Michiganders only):

David Bunn  6-6  Fr  Albion  (Lansing Christian): Smooth athlete for his size. Nice finesse moves around the hoop. Sometimes settles for outside shots even when he's one of the taller players on the court.

Daniel Greenan  5-9  Fr  Hope  (Forest Hills Northern): Pure point guard who can create. Small, but can get in there and take a beating. Has played a ton of high-level AAU ball.

Andrew Holms  6-3  Fr  Albion  (Portage Central): Tough kid, a coach's player. Not aesthetically pleasing, but gets the job done. In high school the offense was set up for him to get a ton of shots, but not sure that plays to Andrew's strength. He's a role player who can produce across the board.

Henry McCain  6-4  Fr  Kalamazoo (Grosse Pointe North): Underrated member of Class A state runner-up squad, as Michael Bramos was the star and another kid was a good dunker so got the fans' attention. But McCain is tough, athletic and plays physical defense, and can keep his man honest with an OK outside shot.

Tyler Wolfe  6-2  So  Hope  (Ferris/Cedar Springs): Sometimes it's about where you're at. Wolfe was probably too slow to play how they like at Ferris. But by the same token, had he not been injured the summer before his senior year he might have pulled some DI offers, as he was one of the top scorers at the Bob  Gibbons tournament in May for the Grand Rapids Storm.

Derek Telgard  6-4  Fr  Olivet  (Leland): He was named the top shooter at Five Star's shooting camp, and is Leland's all-time leading scorer, so that gives you an idea of what he can do. Will be a good specialist at least, and can be more because he's athletic.

Marcus Vanderheide  6-6  So  Hope  (Canisius/Calvin Christian): He'll never put up big scoring #s, but at 6-6 can do it all.

Derrick Wimbley  6-2  Fr  Hope  (Oak Park): Key member of one of OP's best team in years. Never really got a handle on the personnel as it seemed like everyone was 6-2, quick and scored 15 a game.

Tyler Zoerhof  6-5  Sr  Calvin (Holland Christian): Athletic slasher and very hard-nosed. More productive in AAU than for H.C. Because of childhood injury, always drives to the left.

Drew Yancey  6-7  Fr  Albion (Okemos): Nice combination of size, post-up moves and the ability to get up-and-down the court.

Olivet has a 6-9 kid from Jackson Northwest whose name I forget, but is a sleeper as he was a classic under-utilized high school big man. He could play the 3 as his career progresses.

http://www.bankhoops.com

[Flying Dutch Fan]

MIAAFAN3002 - Curious as to your source and level of confidence about Lewis and Nokovich not returning.  That would be a big blow for the Bulldogs (and a big dissapointment personnaly, since my wife and I got to know Jeff last year, and he is a great guy). 

[True Basketball Fan]

It sounds like Olivet is a rising team, am I wrong?

[Flying Dutch Fan]

TBF - on what are you basing that - a single freshman recruit?

[sac]

Olivet's always rising aren't they?


Very impressive group headed to Albion!


If a kid is 6-9 from Jackson Northwest and played against the schools I'm very familiar with.....and you can't remember his name?  More importantly didn't dominate those teams?  Well lets just say I'm a little skeptical, maybe if he has a Don Overbeek development period.

Thanks Mr Bell and welcome to the board, been a follower of your site/sites for a couple years....helps feed the off-season basketball starvation.

[SBell]

Thanks for the welcome. I'm partial to DIII ball, having grown up watching Hope, then going to Earlham ... at least Kenyon, Wooster, Manchester, et al. were good!

I think there's a direct correlation between the amount of road time Albion puts in, and the recruits it gets.

If anyone is in the Lansing area Saturday and wants to see some good future MIAA players, amongst others, check out our minicamp at Aim High (9-noon, drills; 1-4, games). It will be MIAA-centric, as Rob Passage and Ryan Klingler are both coaching in it.

[hope1]

thanks  for the info   might have to check it out

[True Basketball Fan]

I guess I'll need to explain why I said "Olivet is a rising team".

They are still in a transition phase with a new coach and they finished strong last year, winning 6 of their last 10 games.  They return 4 of their 5 top scorers from last year, and they've added at least two decent players.  That's pretty good for Olivet.

Hence the phrase "am I wrong?"

I guess in your opinion I was wrong.  But, can you properly assume that my opinion was based on the addition of a recruit and nothing else?  Only an idiot would make that assumption.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

TBF - if you're gonna start name calling, you might want to check your facts, and re-read my previous post.  In most circles, a question is not an assumption.  I was simply trying to get you to explain the reasons behind your statement.

And I never said anything about disagreeing or agreeing with your statement...

[gerald]

stinger,
I agree that the backcourt looks solid for the Hornets next year, and they'll definitely miss the scoring of Wicchmann up front.  But is the frontcourt really that weak? 

Other than Kellogg, Garfield, Weaver, Brinkman and Bezemek saw time last year, with Weaver starting about half the games.  I also hear good things about this freshman power forward they have coming in.

You've got to figure that these juniors will step up.  After all, most have been on varsity for two years.  A lot of teams have been hard-hit by graduation, and it looks to me that the Hornets actually have a pretty experienced group for the relatively young MIAA.

[True Basketball Fan]

That is true, dutch fan person.  However, a question CAN be an assumption, and that's the way I interpreted it.  A pure question that would've been more accurate for what you were trying to accomplish, could've been "What are you basing that statement (Olivet is a rising team) on".  By saying that you are simply wanting to know why I said that.  By adding "a single freshman recruit" to your question, you're ASSUMING that that was my reason for saying that. 

Anyway, I assume you didn't think about your question or your reply to my explanation, or is that an incorrect assumption?  If it is incorrect, then I question your assumption detecting skills, and I assume that you are not aware of it, until now.   

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Well I guess that proves the true meaning of the word ASS U ME

[devossed]

Those in the know at both Calvin & Hope's admission offices whom I've spoken with feel that both Bunn and McCain had Calvin/Hope higher on the list, and a major reason they're going where they're going is the financial aid packages were not close to being comparable. That's a shame, when one school can offer a more sizeable "academic" scholarship than another in our league, but I'm also just as sure that Calvin/Hope have gotten more than their fair share of talented kids over the years with "Christian/religious" aid packages...

Dave Bunn was solid at LC, but the real steal will be his little bro Pete in 2 years (PG already being looked at by D-1 schools).

McCain was definitely an underrated key to Grosse Pointe's success.

Tyler Wolfe: I still say that he was not outplayed by Drew Neitzel in Cedar's crossover win over WP. Although Neitzel may be a little smoother, Wolfe was just as good of a high school player. Should be a real coup for Hope as they can use him at either spot in the backcourt off the bench.

Marcus Vanderheide: anybody who plays at the Division 1 level can't be *bad*, but we'll see how his talents translate to small-school ball.

Derrick Wimbley: Anybody who averages double figures for a quarterfinal-bound Class A team has talent, and he should bring much-needed athleticism to Hope's bench.

Tyler Zoerhof: I always thought he was limited at HC by his position and think the college game could open up things for him to run a little and show his athleticism.

Drew Yancey: Overshadowed by teammates Johnny Jones and Joe Harrington for the last few years, he seems to be coming into his own and should be a good JV player for Albion this year, developing into another in the long line of solid and dependable 6-7 to 6-9 cookie-cutter big men they've had over the last decade.

Olivet has a 6-9 kid from Jackson Northwest whose name I forget, but is a sleeper as he was a classic under-utilized high school big man. He could play the 3 as his career progresses.


*whatever happened to other kids from around the area: Lettinga twins-FHC; Van Woerkum-Holland Christian; Jeff Carlson-Kent City;  Trammell-Jenison?, etc.

*What other non-seniors from last year won't be playing this season in our league (Lewis-Adrian, Hogeboom-Hope)?

[Flying Dutch Fan]

DV - Pete Trammel is at GVSU - they red-shirted him last year, but I  know he played with the GV team in summer rec ball this year in Holland.

I hesitate to put this here (since I have only heard rumors) but I have heard that Joel Hoekstra got married and may not be back for Calvin (what marriage has to do with it, I don't know).  In my opinion, he was/is the most dependable player on that team.

[sac]

Olivet won't be a good team in this league until they learn to play good defense.  They can recruit all the Class D shooting studs they want.

Something Mr. Soderberg appears to be focussing on, at the 2 or 3 games I saw Olivet they showed some resemblence of a decent defense.  Although not for 40 minutes, nor even 4 minutes.

It will take a lot to overcome the 3 headed monster of Calvin, Hope and Albion.  All 3 play excellent defense.  Adrian figured it out and played terrific D the last two years and pulled a couple major upsets along the way and were a general thorn in Hope's side.

Right now I don't see the top 3 changing, maybe in order of finish but those are the 3 to beat.

Given the rollover of players at Adrian, the #4 spot looks open.



Maybe if Hope/Calvin don't like what other schools can offer, their Alumni should donate more to the endowment fund.

Just a thought.