MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[gohope]

Hope 80 Kalamazoo 71

Well, tonights game was actually a "home" game for me, so I think I'm the first one to post, but I'll leave the statistical comments to SAC, FDF, Civic Minded or HopeConvert. I'll just share some of the other "highlights":

* All comments about the Hope radio announcers should be erased. The P.A. announcer for Kalamazoo College has now been handed the award!  He began by announcing K's Head Coach as "Bob" Rob Passage.  "Bob??!!"  Now I might understand this mix-up if K was playing on the road, but this was on their HOME court!!  And it was quite evident that he has never had any Rusk Toast, Banket, Olie Bollen, or Pigs in the Blanket in his life because it was fun to hear how he pronounced  the names of a couple of Hope players:  Andy Venema  came out as Ven-Eeeeeee-Mah, Ven-enama and Van-Knee-Mah!  Then he had fun with Jessie Reimink as it came out Rey-mink, Reh-mink and Rah-mink. But I think I can probably attribute some of his confusion because he probably checked in with the Hope coach during the pre-game when the music was, ah, um, REALLY LOUD and couldn't hear the correct pronunciations!!

*  Light crowd tonight. Must have been the snow, the cold and the fact that Hope's ladies were playing Calvin.

* The best highlight of the game was at the 6:35 mark in the second half when one of the stripes, Ray Kelser, did his "Trademark" - CHARGE call!!!  Sac has a pretty good impression of Ray doing the "Charge" - We'll have to film this immitation someday and put it on YouTube. So it was fun to hear Sac exclaim, "I was waiting all night for that!!!"  Thanks Ray!

[sac]

Its not so much that Alma beat Trine, I expected Alma to win at least a couple at home or at least have a chance, but they thumped Trine pretty good tonight.   http://www.miaa.org/mbb/stats/0809/acvstum.htm

* The best highlight of the game was at the 6:35 mark in the second half when one of the stripes, Ray Kelser, did his "Trademark" - CHARGE call!!!  Sac has a pretty good impression of Ray doing the "Charge" - We'll have to film this immitation someday and put it on YouTube. So it was fun to hear Sac exclaim, "I was waiting all night for that!!!"  Thanks Ray!

Oh brother!   .......but it was a beauty. 

[oldknight]

* All comments about the Hope radio announcers should be erased. The P.A. announcer for Kalamazoo College has now been handed the award!  He began by announcing K's Head Coach as "Bob" Rob Passage.  "Bob??!!"  

Bob-Rob? I never knew Coach Passage was from Arkansas.

[bulldogalum]

Calvin 1,874,243,948
Adrian 12

Calvin is a heck of a basketball team, and they played great tonight.  They had balanced scoring, and a nice effort from everyone on the floor.  Going into the season, I thought there should be no reason that Calvin shouldn't win the MIAA title, and I saw nothing to change my mind tonight. 

That being said, there's really no way to sugarcoat this game for Adrian:  it was a complete disappointment. Adrian is a much better team than they showed today.  Credit must be given to the Knights for doing their part in bringing about the Adrian mistakes, but Adrian did plenty to hurt itself as well.  Rebounding continues to be a concern, and over the last two games, turnovers have been a problem. 

More disturbing to me tonight was a seeming lack of energy on the defensive side of the ball.  Frequently, Adrian would force Calvin into somewhat less than ideal shots, but wouldn't follow through by contesting the shot.  The result was obvious from the scoreboard.

Losses like this are always hard, and I'm probably being a little too negative in this post.  As the old saying goes, you're never as good as you think, nor as bad as you think.  Tonight was a bad night, but the important thing for this team is to get over it, and to bounce back against an improved Alma squad on the road.  Losing tonight was bad, but it was be far worse to let this game infect the team for the next week or so.

[sac]

Hope 80 Kalamazoo 71

High energy game I'd call this one......Kzoo started strong as expected, as always it seems at Anderson.  They knocked down their first 3 trey's, and probably 5 of 6.    Kzoo led by 6 at 17-11 and then as so typically happens 2 1/2 minutes later it was 25-19 Hope and really for this Hope team it should come as no surprise that Jesse Reimink scored 11 straight points.

For the middle 10 minutes or so it was a pretty good back and forth game, although sloppy would probably describe some of the play, but I thought both teams were giving maximum effort.  Hope closed the half with a key run of 10-0 to build an important 11 point lead.  Psychologically I think that was big, Kzoo played well and yet were down 11.  Best part about this last run was all 10 points came from David Krombeen (7) and Peter Bunn (3).   Jesse Reimink scored all 22 (unofficial) of his first half points in a 13 minute stretch, then took an elbow or knee to the head and spent the remaining minutes of the half on the bench.  I can't remember if Jesse was out there for the late run, but if not......even better.

The second half was really about wether Kzoo could sustain their first half energy and play.  Kzoo missed their chance to make it a game in the first 5 minutes when Hope missed its first 5 shots of the half, Kzoo went scoreless for 4 minutes and the opportunity was lost.  It deserves mentioning that Kzoo double Reimink hard with Orozco and McCain, it was affective but other guys stepped up and that was good to see.  Hope made no huge run, but over the next several minutes they seemed to trade 2 baskets for 1 with Kzoo and with about 9 minutes left Hope had built a comfortable 22 point lead.  It was here that Hope began subbing liberally.

Kzoo didn't quit and played really hard down the stretch, in fact they seemed to find another gear.  Hope basically played sloppy and well.....dumb basketball during this stretch.  To be fair to the Hope guys it was really 4 of Kzoo's 6 top players vs a bunch of guys who haven't played much.  Kzoo made a nice run, hit some shots, turned the rebounding battle in their favor and generally skewed how solid of a win this was for Hope.

This is the kind of no win situation that bugs me sometimes, if GVW doesn't sub, Hope ends up winning by somewhere between 20-30 points and gets accused of running up the score.  If he does sub the other guys leave in their starters and start playing harder.........no win situation.  We'll never know but if Hope doesn't have the Calvin game Saturday, Hope doesn't sub in the same way I don't believe.

Reimink 27, Bunn 19.........both of these guys were excellent.

McCain 16, Clark 14.........

Anderson's been a tough place to play for Hope for most of the 20 years I've been going there, tonight was no different (sans a big boisterous crowd) and its to Kalamazoo's credit that Hope had to play well to get this win.  More things to feel good about, more improvement in general for the team.

With the win the Hope winning streak over Kzoo now goes to 23 games (trust me) and what seems like an unbelievable 13 in a row at Anderson.  I take no pleasure in this (ok maybe some), streaks like this are weird and sometimes weird things have to happen for them to continue.  Tonight wasn't weird, it was just another solid performance from a team thats become accustomed to solid performances on Kzoo's floor, which might be weird by itself.  The streak to me is just another reminder of how far this series has strayed from its path as a tough rivalry.   Someday it will end, it just wasn't going to be tonight.

[HopeConvert]

Alright - after tonight's results, I would say my anxiety level is on "high" for Saturday's game. You might not want to be around me.

[sac]

Notes from the AAC

**  Hope's been smoking from the floor since the Aquinas game, tonight they were under 50% (for the first time in 6 games I think) but a closer look reveals the starting 5 went 23-43 or .535.   They are shooting it well, but are shooting it smart.

**  Will Bowser's efforts on the glass tonight were big, he pulled down 11 for game leader and with McCain and Orozco floating around the rim, I think thats a win for Hope.  Will might not contribute big points every night but he played with a good amount of confidence tonight, I thought he was very active against a very active team.

**  Scott Jungling made his varsity debut playing around the last 10 minutes and frankly I was impressed with his play.  He's obviously kept himself in good basketball shape and wasn't sloppy with the ball like you'd expect someone who hasn't played a game in almost a year.  I still don't think he'll play alot but its nice to have that option available, and maybe he will play more.  There's a great debate among the 'blue crew' (ugh) about what constitutes a Hope point guard and how many Hope really has.........Jungling is one of them.

**  Scores tonight reflect a league that may canibilize itself so much in the middle that someone can run away.  My two most likely challengers Albion and Olivet both have 2 losses and 1 at home, they are effectively 3 games back now.  Adrian might be better than they are tonight but their home loss effectively puts them 2 back.  Once again after much talk and deliberation the two knuckleheaded rivals have gone and taken control of the MIAA race early.



** Young teams can go in alot of directions through the course of the season.  I imagine if you asked the Hope staff in October, given what they have, what they'd like their team to be like heading into the first showdown with Calvin..........I really think the answer is this team, right now.  Hope's as ready as they're going to be.  Is it good enough to beat Calvin?  I don't know.  But everything I've  'seen' and heard suggests Hope will be going into this one with alot of confidence and getting better.  It has the potential to be a dandy!

[GoKnights68]

Any Knight fans out there have some early input on how Calvin plans to stop(somewhat) Reimink? 

It seems last year he always found himself wide-open on the three-point line in all three Calvin-Hope games, which means automatic 3 points for Hope.

My fear is that if Calvin tries to ever double team him, Hope can easily find the wide open man, and it seems all 14 players on Hope are automatic when they are unguarded outside (haven't seen Hope play this year, but I am going by last years freshmen, sophmores, and juniors I saw play).

Calvin needs to force Hope to drive to the basket to earn their points if the Knights want to come out victorious...

It looked like tonight that Calvin let Desmond Young get his points and shut down everyone else.  That may work for Adrian, but I don't see that working for Calvin with Reimink.

[shawn]

calvin well beat hope

[HopeConvert]

Saturday's game will present some interesting matchups.

*Osburn will have to step up big against Mantel. Zach's not afraid to bang it around, and this could move Big John outside. But if the refs call it tight and Zach gets into early foul trouble, that could be a huge advantage for Calvin. I expect Mantel to have a good game in any case.
*Smith and Veldhouse against Krombeen and Bunn. Clearly the experience advantage goes to the Knights on this one, but Hope's guards are longer, just as quick, and Bunn can flat out shoot. I'm excited to see this chess match develop over the course of the game. DK will have to do a better job protecting the ball than he did last night. He an an uncharacteristically high 7 turnovers to go with his 8 assists. Calvin won't be able to play Hope's guards the way they have the past couple of years.
*I don't see Calvin having anyone who can matchup with Jesse. He's comfortable stroking the 3, will blow by you if you press him out too far, and has a nice series of moves on the inside, including a deft left hand. I think Calvin will have to go after him on the defensive end, make him work hard down there and see if that takes him out of his offensive rhythm. Jesse put on a clinic in the first half last night before he got his head whacked. I suppose that's one way to slow him down.
*What kind of bench play both teams will get. Can Venema do a good job spelling ZO? How deep will both coaches go into their bench? (GVW pulled his starters out pretty early last night.) I think a key for Hope will be how well Tanis shoots the ball. If comes off the bench and hits one or two early, that could be a big difference in the game.
*I anticipate GVW will put Bowser on Veltema. Hope can't afford to let the latter have open looks (we all remember THAT game). Bowser is an interesting defensive matchup. He's taller than Veltema and has very long arms, and MV won't be able to shoot over him. Can Calvin get Veltema to open spots on the floor and get him the ball before Hope rotates over? Will has on occasion been a little slow on his defensive rotations. If that happens Saturday, it could be a problem for the Dutchmen.

As I said, I'm really looking forward to seeing those 4 guards play against each other, and how Hope's young ones respond to the pressure of a Hope/Calvin game. Hope is still a work in progress, but there has been a good amount of that. And, as young as they are, they do have 5 guys on the roster who played in a final 4.

[Adrian Hoops Fan]

It looked like tonight that Calvin let Desmond Young get his points and shut down everyone else.  That may work for Adrian, but I don't see that working for Calvin with Reimink.

On the above comment, Desmond had to work for every point being face guarded and having a second defender in help position at all times.  Players like Reimink and Young are going to get their points even with the special attention put on them by opposing defenses.  On this night, Adrian did not have anyone that was able to take advantage of their opportunities with a rough shooting night.  Credit to Calvin with their defensive intensity, they were focused in and helping and recovering to make Adrian work for everything.

Unfortunately for Adrian, the defensive intensity by the Bulldogs was not sustained and at those times a lack of patience and execution at the offensive end doomed the Bulldogs, especially when a number of their shots rimmed in and back out.

I was impressed with the balance of the Calvin team and their stars did not disappoint, but I must say give Veldhouse an Emmy for his flop and pulling Asher on top of him at the end of the 1st half.  After seeing this John Stockton imitation for 7-8 years from him (he has been there that long hasn't he), it made me laugh that the officials of the MIAA still can't see that he always fall down in that situation and give him that call.

[Galahad]

I was impressed with the balance of the Calvin team and their stars did not disappoint, but I must say give Veldhouse an Emmy for his flop and pulling Asher on top of him at the end of the 1st half.  After seeing this John Stockton imitation for 7-8 years from him (he has been there that long hasn't he), it made me laugh that the officials of the MIAA still can't see that he always fall down in that situation and give him that call.

...perhaps "brushing up" on his "Immink flop" in preparation for Saturday??

[realist]

Sac:  Thanks for the write-up.  I sort of suspected something of that nature when I saw the 14 guys playing, and the minutes etc.  Cagey ole GVW resting his starters trying to get an edge for Calvin.
It strikes me that Adrian had the misfortune to have an "off" night when hosting a Calvin team that definitely had an "on" night.  Young didn't have a great first half, but it is hard to shut a guy like that down for 40 minutes.
gk68: "6: Calvin can't let Jesse Reimink beat them on Saturday."  Perhaps yes, and perhaps no.  Think about doing as HC pointed out.  Force Jesse to play defense by bringing the offense to him.  On the other end of the floor realize he is going to get his points, make him work for them, and at the same time force him to beat Calvin by himself.   Yes. I think Jesse is that critical to Hope's chances.  This is a great opportunity for him to prove his MVP credentials.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

Alright - after tonight's results, I would say my anxiety level is on "high" for Saturday's game. You might not want to be around me.

well said 

[Stinger]

Reimink hit every open look last night, and that was exactly the problem for the Hornets. They gave both he and Bunn too many open looks from 3 and it was the difference in the ball game.  Without Reimink Hope is not a team that could compete for a title. At least, that is what I saw last night. 

Offensively, the Hornets did not shoot the ball well at all.  When you get 6 more FG attempts, as well as 27 offensive rebounds, you need to make them count. And K simply didn't.  I was happy to see them fight back the last 5 minutes of the game.  40 minutes of that intensity will lead to good things for them.