MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Flying Dutch Fan]

DHF - I can here The Who singing in the background

"D3 wasteland, it's just a D3 wasteland..."

[diehardfan]

Well I don't, cause I am too young to know what "The Who" sound like... who is the who? (sorry, too easy!)    

Lol... and here I was singing Phantom of the Opera (think of me fondly...) only to find out I had the wrong sound track on!

[Flying Dutch Fan]

And that reminds me of some 70's sitcom (might have been the Brady Bunch) that did a take off of the Abbott & Costello classic, Who's on First?  It was done with The Who and The Band - two bands I'm sure you're too young to have listened to.

[David Collinge]

...I am too young to know what "The Who" sound like...

[shakes head sadly]

Thanks for the confession, April.  I guess we won't get fooled again! 

[ziggy]

A roster is up for Calvin at http://www.calvin.edu/sports/mbasket/roster06.htm

No Hoekstra and this team looks young.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

WOW - the loss of Hoekstra is huge - I think he was their most consistant player all year last year.  What happened to Brian Roelofs and Brandon Gerth.  Roelofs showed some signs of being a real force inside and while Gerth got hurt early in the season, I was assuming he would step in as the point man.  5 freshman and 3 sophomores on a 14 man roster - definitely a young team.  And who is the point guard?

I watched Calvin play something like 9 or 10 games last year and was impressed mostly with their depth.  With graduation and now Hoekstra, Roelofs, and Gerth gone, it may be a tough year for the Knights.

Come on Calvin faithfull - lets hear your take

[calvin_grad]

Without Roelofs, Hoekstra, Gerth, and a proven point guard plus with a young, inexperienced bench I would be surprised if Calvin finished higher than 4th in the league.  They certainly aren't going to challenge for the league title.  I think hosting a first round MIAA tournament game is about as good as I expect.

I can see it being a long year unless some of this freshmen talent develops quickly.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Adrian's roster is also up:

http://www.adrian.edu/athletics/mbbroster.php

Nockovich missing from this lineup.  And only a 12 man roster.

What's up with all the seniors not playing in their final year?

[Dark Knight]

Brandon Gerth is not enrolled at Calvin. I don't think he was for the last part of last year, either.

Brian Roelofs is enrolled, though. I don't know why he's not playing. That's a big loss.

Wow, 5 freshmen! 2 new sophomores! The main inside scoring threats are gone. There's still some beef in the middle, but the inside-outside scoring threat doesn't work as well sans the inside part.

Looks like it could be a rebuilding year for the knights.

[Civic Minded]

Hats off to Roelofs though for remembering and desiring the student part of student-athlete.  It will be a different, interesting year to be sure.

Sad to hear about Nokovich -- he's a nice kid (well, kid, when you're my age).  Will miss seeing him play.

Any other shockers out there?  I may need heart pills at this rate!

[northb]

Let's not write Calvin off so fast--remember last year when many prognosticators expected very little from then, and they went to the Final Four!  Tradition, coaching and overall excellence of the program still count for something.

[Civic Minded]

Very good point, northb.

It's just the surprise of not having those guys (that we expected to see out there) on the roster, I guess.  Time will tell, but in the meantime, its good advice to not get too far ahead of ourselves.

[sac]

Writing off Calvin is a dangerous thing.  They still have a nice starting 5.

They definately aren't Final Four quality but ya never know.  Looks like some of those young ones are pretty beefy and Calvin's had some good luck with out of state kids.....who lets be honest none of us know anything about.

Gaurd certainly looks like the thin spot but if memory serves me Micah Chappel is a pretty good player.


The bigger story is no Aaron Winkle on the bench!

As for Adrian, that roster is returning players only, who knows what kind of Fr they have or transfers.  My guess is it will change after the weekend.

Is it basketball season already?

[Dark Knight]

Yes, it's basketball season. There's a scrimage Saturday for the Calvin's men's team, at 8:00 am, and there's an open practice for the women's team at 8:30 pm.

[oldknight]

I wouldn't write off the Knights either, but I still think losing 3 frontline players will have a major impact. Aultman and Hoekstra in particular are big losses, not just because of their talent, but in large part because they were not the the kind of players who would run from the ball when the game was on the line. Each was comfortable with the ball late in games when the issue was still in doubt and players like that are not all that common. A loss of talented players is easier to replace than a loss of money players. They may have some money players on the roster this year but we don't know that yet.

The guard situation at Calvin may not be as rough as some currently think. I am told that Veldhouse is the real deal at point. Supposedly he is that rare kind of player who penetrates the lane with ease, breaking down the defense and then either dishing or going all the way to the hoop depending on how the defense reacts. If so, that makes him a big man's dream. He has yet to do it in MIAA action though so we shall see.