MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[KnightSlappy]

Jordan Brink sits at 993 career points.

[sac]

I'm sure KVS would have love to insert Dan Stout and TJ Huizenga into the game for defense at many points this afternoon. Stout was in uniform roughly an hour before the game, but when it came time for warmups he was back in street clothes.

Anderson was granted open look after open look from range, but even so, shooting over 50% on 35 attempts is hard to do. If they had instead made at a still-impressive 40% rate, it would have taken 12 points off the board for Anderson. 86 points would have been easier to stomach in what turned out to be a(n) ~86 possession game (super fast tempo).

The good: Anderson shot only .375 on their two-point shots.

Its pretty near impossible to look good on defense in a game with that many possessions.  86 possessions is an average of 13 seconds per, that is barely time to set, let alone play a half-court defense.

[sac]

Albion 72  Berry 63
Interesting to note, the Britons are playing 5 freshmen regularly.


Adrian 74  PSU-Lehigh Valley  66

[oldknight]

I'm sure KVS would have love to insert Dan Stout and TJ Huizenga into the game for defense at many points this afternoon. Stout was in uniform roughly an hour before the game, but when it came time for warmups he was back in street clothes.

Anderson was granted open look after open look from range, but even so, shooting over 50% on 35 attempts is hard to do. If they had instead made at a still-impressive 40% rate, it would have taken 12 points off the board for Anderson. 86 points would have been easier to stomach in what turned out to be a(n) ~86 possession game (super fast tempo).

The good: Anderson shot only .375 on their two-point shots.

Its pretty near impossible to look good on defense in a game with that many possessions.  86 possessions is an average of 13 seconds per, that is barely time to set, let alone play a half-court defense.

True enough. But from my seat it appeared that the reason for the high number of possessions was largely due to the fact that it didn't take long for the offensive team to get a good look, and that is at least, in part, an indication of defensive deficiency. Now that I rethink yesterday's game though, I'm wondering how much of Calvin's 108 point explosion can be attributed to its willingness this year to go all in on a 3 guard offense. Getting up and down the floor, spreading out the defense, and attacking the basket with dribble penetration wasn't an issue against Anderson. Even Calvin players off the bench seem to love it. In particular, Brad Visser has never taken long to pull the trigger. Late in the game, when Calvin was merely trying to run out the clock, the Knights actually went to a four guard offense with Tyler Dykstra the only big guy on the floor. I'll be interested to see if this pattern of a large number of possessions repeats itself throughout the season. I do expect that Jordan Brink will snagging more rebounds that he did in prior years.

[ziggy]

I'm sure KVS would have love to insert Dan Stout and TJ Huizenga into the game for defense at many points this afternoon. Stout was in uniform roughly an hour before the game, but when it came time for warmups he was back in street clothes.

Anderson was granted open look after open look from range, but even so, shooting over 50% on 35 attempts is hard to do. If they had instead made at a still-impressive 40% rate, it would have taken 12 points off the board for Anderson. 86 points would have been easier to stomach in what turned out to be a(n) ~86 possession game (super fast tempo).

The good: Anderson shot only .375 on their two-point shots.

Its pretty near impossible to look good on defense in a game with that many possessions.  86 possessions is an average of 13 seconds per, that is barely time to set, let alone play a half-court defense.

True enough. But from my seat it appeared that the reason for the high number of possessions was largely due to the fact that it didn't take long for the offensive team to get a good look, and that is at least, in part, an indication of defensive deficiency. Now that I rethink yesterday's game though, I'm wondering how much of Calvin's 108 point explosion can be attributed to its willingness this year to go all in on a 3 guard offense. Getting up and down the floor, spreading out the defense, and attacking the basket with dribble penetration wasn't an issue against Anderson. Even Calvin players off the bench seem to love it. In particular, Brad Visser has never taken long to pull the trigger. Late in the game, when Calvin was merely trying to run out the clock, the Knights actually went to a four guard offense with Tyler Dykstra the only big guy on the floor. I'll be interested to see if this pattern of a large number of possessions repeats itself throughout the season. I do expect that Jordan Brink will snagging more rebounds that he did in prior years.

It is a yearly rite of passage for there to be some consternation regarding Calvin's defensive system as it relates to opponents' shooting from the outside. The slow rotations, the poor closeouts, etc. While there was some of that yesterday, I had more issue with the seeming lack of awareness in matching up in the half court. There were a lot of good looks that Anderson really didn't have to work for.

As our friend Ken Pomeroy has shown, teams have very little control over their opponent's three point field goal percentage. However, what Calvin can and should do in the future is a better job of is preventing three point attempts. Should be an easy fix and their defense inside the arc was quite good. Even without Dan Stout in the lineup, Anderson didn't have success finishing at the rim.

[almcguirejr]

I'm sure KVS would have love to insert Dan Stout and TJ Huizenga into the game for defense at many points this afternoon. Stout was in uniform roughly an hour before the game, but when it came time for warmups he was back in street clothes.

Anderson was granted open look after open look from range, but even so, shooting over 50% on 35 attempts is hard to do. If they had instead made at a still-impressive 40% rate, it would have taken 12 points off the board for Anderson. 86 points would have been easier to stomach in what turned out to be a(n) ~86 possession game (super fast tempo).

The good: Anderson shot only .375 on their two-point shots.

Its pretty near impossible to look good on defense in a game with that many possessions.  86 possessions is an average of 13 seconds per, that is barely time to set, let alone play a half-court defense.

True enough. But from my seat it appeared that the reason for the high number of possessions was largely due to the fact that it didn't take long for the offensive team to get a good look, and that is at least, in part, an indication of defensive deficiency. Now that I rethink yesterday's game though, I'm wondering how much of Calvin's 108 point explosion can be attributed to its willingness this year to go all in on a 3 guard offense. Getting up and down the floor, spreading out the defense, and attacking the basket with dribble penetration wasn't an issue against Anderson. Even Calvin players off the bench seem to love it. In particular, Brad Visser has never taken long to pull the trigger. Late in the game, when Calvin was merely trying to run out the clock, the Knights actually went to a four guard offense with Tyler Dykstra the only big guy on the floor. I'll be interested to see if this pattern of a large number of possessions repeats itself throughout the season. I do expect that Jordan Brink will snagging more rebounds that he did in prior years.

It is a yearly rite of passage for there to be some consternation regarding Calvin's defensive system as it relates to opponents' shooting from the outside. The slow rotations, the poor closeouts, etc. While there was some of that yesterday, I had more issue with the seeming lack of awareness in matching up in the half court. There were a lot of good looks that Anderson really didn't have to work for.

As our friend Ken Pomeroy has shown, teams have very little control over their opponent's three point field goal percentage. However, what Calvin can and should do in the future is a better job of is preventing three point attempts. Should be an easy fix and their defense inside the arc was quite good. Even without Dan Stout in the lineup, Anderson didn't have success finishing at the rim.

Nathan Gross (#44) was really the only rebounder that Anderson had.  Anderson had 11 offensive rebounds for the game and Gross had 10 of them.  His 10 offensive rebounds directly led to 18 points. Calvin should have been able to do much better against him.

[Dark Knight]

As our friend Ken Pomeroy has shown, teams have very little control over their opponent's three point field goal percentage. However, what Calvin can and should do in the future is a better job of is preventing three point attempts. Should be an easy fix and their defense inside the arc was quite good. Even without Dan Stout in the lineup, Anderson didn't have success finishing at the rim.

Very interesting. However, Pomeroy's conclusions are based on pro teams, right? So they apply to teams showing a high level of competence even when they are playing "badly". Still, no doubt you are right that the high number of 3 attempts Calvin allowed (35) is something Calvin could improve on much more easily than the percentage the opponent hit, and the 51% number likely is mostly noise ("they got lucky").

Any predictions on the starting lineup once Stout is back to health?

[KnightSlappy]

As our friend Ken Pomeroy has shown, teams have very little control over their opponent's three point field goal percentage. However, what Calvin can and should do in the future is a better job of is preventing three point attempts. Should be an easy fix and their defense inside the arc was quite good. Even without Dan Stout in the lineup, Anderson didn't have success finishing at the rim.

Very interesting. However, Pomeroy's conclusions are based on pro teams, right? So they apply to teams showing a high level of competence even when they are playing "badly". Still, no doubt you are right that the high number of 3 attempts Calvin allowed (35) is something Calvin could improve on much more easily than the percentage the opponent hit, and the 51% number likely is mostly noise ("they got lucky").

Any predictions on the starting lineup once Stout is back to health?

Pomeroy's research covers Division I basketball.

My guess on the lineup with Stout 100% is: Stout-Dykstra-Daley-Brink-Parks, with VanderBrug also getting starter's minutes.

Aside: two or three students found their way behind me for half of the game. It took everything I had not to turn around and begin lecturing when they denigrated KVS for pre-planning his rotations and not sticking with a hot player.

[sac]

The Sentinel has a nice article on Greg Mitchell
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/article/20141116/SPORTS/141119207/2000/NEWS

[oldknight]

As our friend Ken Pomeroy has shown, teams have very little control over their opponent's three point field goal percentage. However, what Calvin can and should do in the future is a better job of is preventing three point attempts. Should be an easy fix and their defense inside the arc was quite good. Even without Dan Stout in the lineup, Anderson didn't have success finishing at the rim.

Very interesting. However, Pomeroy's conclusions are based on pro teams, right? So they apply to teams showing a high level of competence even when they are playing "badly". Still, no doubt you are right that the high number of 3 attempts Calvin allowed (35) is something Calvin could improve on much more easily than the percentage the opponent hit, and the 51% number likely is mostly noise ("they got lucky").

Any predictions on the starting lineup once Stout is back to health?

Pomeroy's research covers Division I basketball.

My guess on the lineup with Stout 100% is: Stout-Dykstra-Daley-Brink-Parks, with VanderBrug also getting starter's minutes.

Aside: two or three students found their way behind me for half of the game. It took everything I had not to turn around and begin lecturing when they denigrated KVS for pre-planning his rotations and not sticking with a hot player.

Next time' slap those sophomoric sophomores with a stack of Pomeroy's research and demand a ten page paper by Monday. That'll teach 'em.

I love objective research and statistical analysis such as Pomeroy's. Stuff like that is helpful. It also has its limitations.

One thing statistical modeling may not do well is account for the reasons behind why teams may "have very little control over their opponent's three point field goal percentage." If I accept the quoted language as a statement of fact, I simply don't believe it to be true. Anderson took 35 shots from the arc Saturday because they were 1) often available and of high quality--i.e., wide open--and 2) often taken early in the shot clock. Both factors were important to hitting 18-35. If the same quality shot had been taken but only after the Knights had played defense in such a way that required more effort by Anderson players, that shot is simply more difficult to make. I would be interested to know if there is any research available to support my presupposition but it certainly could be done. Comparing shooting percentages in the last 10 seconds of the shot clock as opposed to those taken in the first 20 seconds (as happened often Saturday) might be quite revealing. Albion's style of defense, where they bump and grind you for most of the shot clock, helps them keep games lower scoring and therefore closer. Taking a wide open shot after running your offense through hard-nosed defense that lasts 30 seconds takes a lot out of your legs and makes the shot taken more difficult to make.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Let's not freak out about the Knights' defensive performance on Saturday.

1. Calvin has a defensive system that is notorious for its slow starts and strong finishes to seasons.
2. Calvin played 66 minutes from freshman or sophomores with no varsity experience (I'm ignoring Michael Welch's 28 minutes of PT last season for purposes of this point).
3. Calvin's two injured players Stout and Huizenga are both seniors with multi year varsity experience, and both pretty decent on the defensive side of the ball. Assuming full health for both, I would expect them to chew up 30-35 of the minutes mostly given on Saturday to Welch/Van Engen/Wilks. This will improve both defense and rebounding (which led to a number of second chance pts for Anderson) significantly.
4. Zeroing in on #12 for Anderson, who went 4-8 from beyond the arc: I think all four of his makes were of the 27-foot variety taken early in the shot clock. Not only should we be letting him take those shots all day long, but ordinarily I think he only makes on average one of those. That alone changes the margin to almost 20 and I'm not sure we'd be worrying too much about the defense giving up high 80's in a ridiculously high possession game.

I believe we'll be just fine on the defensive end.

Also, I was thinking before the game started that it would be nice for Tyler Dykstra to make "the leap" this year. If Saturday was any indication, he could be a major force on both ends of the floor in his senior campaign. If it weren't for Jordan Brink's takeover of the game in the second half, we'd be talking much more about Dykstra's 10-11 (including a 3) FG, 2-2 FT, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 steal, 2 block, zero turnover game.

[oldknight]

Let's not freak out about the Knights' defensive performance on Saturday.

1. Calvin has a defensive system that is notorious for its slow starts and strong finishes to seasons.
2. Calvin played 66 minutes from freshman or sophomores with no varsity experience (I'm ignoring Michael Welch's 28 minutes of PT last season for purposes of this point).
3. Calvin's two injured players Stout and Huizenga are both seniors with multi year varsity experience, and both pretty decent on the defensive side of the ball. Assuming full health for both, I would expect them to chew up 30-35 of the minutes mostly given on Saturday to Welch/Van Engen/Wilks. This will improve both defense and rebounding (which led to a number of second chance pts for Anderson) significantly.
4. Zeroing in on #12 for Anderson, who went 4-8 from beyond the arc: I think all four of his makes were of the 27-foot variety taken early in the shot clock. Not only should we be letting him take those shots all day long, but ordinarily I think he only makes on average one of those. That alone changes the margin to almost 20 and I'm not sure we'd be worrying too much about the defense giving up high 80's in a ridiculously high possession game.

I believe we'll be just fine on the defensive end.

Also, I was thinking before the game started that it would be nice for Tyler Dykstra to make "the leap" this year. If Saturday was any indication, he could be a major force on both ends of the floor in his senior campaign. If it weren't for Jordan Brink's takeover of the game in the second half, we'd be talking much more about Dykstra's 10-11 (including a 3) FG, 2-2 FT, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 steal, 2 block, zero turnover game.

Those are all fair points but the intent of my commentary wasn't to say that I expect Calvin to be a poor defensive team this year -- merely that they were a poor one Saturday. I probably should temper my criticism by pointing out that both Jordan Brink and Jordan Daley demonstrated again that they are very good defenders. They were excellent at cutting off some passing lanes with each player credited with five steals, most of which promptly became Calvin layups at the other end. But defense is still primarily a team game and that part needs some work.

Jordan Brink named -- unsurprisingly -- MIAA Player of the Week:  http://www.calvinknights.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/20141117m4t30y

[almcguirejr]

Let's not freak out about the Knights' defensive performance on Saturday.

1. Calvin has a defensive system that is notorious for its slow starts and strong finishes to seasons.
2. Calvin played 66 minutes from freshman or sophomores with no varsity experience (I'm ignoring Michael Welch's 28 minutes of PT last season for purposes of this point).
3. Calvin's two injured players Stout and Huizenga are both seniors with multi year varsity experience, and both pretty decent on the defensive side of the ball. Assuming full health for both, I would expect them to chew up 30-35 of the minutes mostly given on Saturday to Welch/Van Engen/Wilks. This will improve both defense and rebounding (which led to a number of second chance pts for Anderson) significantly.
4. Zeroing in on #12 for Anderson, who went 4-8 from beyond the arc: I think all four of his makes were of the 27-foot variety taken early in the shot clock. Not only should we be letting him take those shots all day long, but ordinarily I think he only makes on average one of those. That alone changes the margin to almost 20 and I'm not sure we'd be worrying too much about the defense giving up high 80's in a ridiculously high possession game.

I believe we'll be just fine on the defensive end.

Also, I was thinking before the game started that it would be nice for Tyler Dykstra to make "the leap" this year. If Saturday was any indication, he could be a major force on both ends of the floor in his senior campaign. If it weren't for Jordan Brink's takeover of the game in the second half, we'd be talking much more about Dykstra's 10-11 (including a 3) FG, 2-2 FT, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 steal, 2 block, zero turnover game.

Your point on #12 is right on.  3 of  his 4 made 3 pointers were made with only 6 seconds having elapsed on the shot clock.  These 3 shots came 1-2 dribbles past half court and he let it fly.    His other 3 came with only 11 seconds run off the shot clock. 

[maroonandgold]

Let's not freak out about the Knights' defensive performance on Saturday.

1. Calvin has a defensive system that is notorious for its slow starts and strong finishes to seasons.
2. Calvin played 66 minutes from freshman or sophomores with no varsity experience (I'm ignoring Michael Welch's 28 minutes of PT last season for purposes of this point).
3. Calvin's two injured players Stout and Huizenga are both seniors with multi year varsity experience, and both pretty decent on the defensive side of the ball. Assuming full health for both, I would expect them to chew up 30-35 of the minutes mostly given on Saturday to Welch/Van Engen/Wilks. This will improve both defense and rebounding (which led to a number of second chance pts for Anderson) significantly.
4. Zeroing in on #12 for Anderson, who went 4-8 from beyond the arc: I think all four of his makes were of the 27-foot variety taken early in the shot clock. Not only should we be letting him take those shots all day long, but ordinarily I think he only makes on average one of those. That alone changes the margin to almost 20 and I'm not sure we'd be worrying too much about the defense giving up high 80's in a ridiculously high possession game.

I believe we'll be just fine on the defensive end.

Also, I was thinking before the game started that it would be nice for Tyler Dykstra to make "the leap" this year. If Saturday was any indication, he could be a major force on both ends of the floor in his senior campaign. If it weren't for Jordan Brink's takeover of the game in the second half, we'd be talking much more about Dykstra's 10-11 (including a 3) FG, 2-2 FT, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 steal, 2 block, zero turnover game.

Your point on #12 is right on.  3 of  his 4 made 3 pointers were made with only 6 seconds having elapsed on the shot clock.  These 3 shots came 1-2 dribbles past half court and he let it fly.    His other 3 came with only 11 seconds run off the shot clock.

I have to agree with Happy Calvin Guy about the way in which the Calvin teams defenses have a tradition of building slowly as the players gain experience.  The only exception that I recall was last year or the year before when the team had far more experienced  players to begin the season.  Another factor that contributes to the slow start against 3 point shots year after year is the emphasis on defense always appears to build from the inside out.  One of the earlier comments pointed out that the defense was already solid on the inside, and that always seems to come first.  That defense should be fine with the return of veteran players and more experience for the players with new varsity experience.  One of the earlier comments also pointed out the fact that the freshman Vander Brug sat out the last ten minutes, a fact that I had also noted.  Could part of the reason have been to also provide more experience for other inexperienced big men?

[sac]

Has anyone asked if Anderson is playing a Grinnell (or more likely Trine's brief experiment) type of style?  ie  lots of 3 point shots whether good or bad