MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sac]

The next step for  Alma is learning to win on the road in tough environments  (ie at Hope, at Calvin).  They could also learn to play man-to-man defense, zones will only get you so far .

Getting over the hump in this league is pretty difficult, especially when that hump is Hope/Calvin.

Great that they've learned to be a thorn in the side of some MIAA foes, now it's time to do that to some non-conference opponents.

Also important.  I think they struggled early because they had several new faces and lost 2 or 3 pretty good players from last year.   By NCAA tournament team standards they are rather small.  They could use a little size inside, but couldn't we all.  Outside of Hope/Calvin the MIAA is a pretty small league.

[KnightSlappy]

The next step for  Alma is learning to win on the road in tough environments  (ie at Hope, at Calvin).  They could also learn to play man-to-man defense, zones will only get you so far .

Getting over the hump in this league is pretty difficult, especially when that hump is Hope/Calvin.

Great that they've learned to be a thorn in the side of some MIAA foes, now it's time to do that to some non-conference opponents.

If Alma went .500 out of conference Calvin would be a Pool C bubble team right now (instead of being off completely). The league as a whole needs to step up in these non-conference games.

(Also an option for Calvin would have been not losing a double-digit lead at Alma).

[GreatScot!?]

The next step for  Alma is learning to win on the road in tough environments  (ie at Hope, at Calvin).  They could also learn to play man-to-man defense, zones will only get you so far .

Getting over the hump in this league is pretty difficult, especially when that hump is Hope/Calvin.

Great that they've learned to be a thorn in the side of some MIAA foes, now it's time to do that to some non-conference opponents.

They have a really tough non-conference shedule again, but after gaining some momentum and confidence there's no way they go 0 for their first 8 or however many non-conference games it was. Having some tournament experience should help a ton, but they definitely need to learn to win tough road games. Only beat K-Zoo and Olivet on the road this year.

[GreatScot!?]

The next step for  Alma is learning to win on the road in tough environments  (ie at Hope, at Calvin).  They could also learn to play man-to-man defense, zones will only get you so far .

Getting over the hump in this league is pretty difficult, especially when that hump is Hope/Calvin.

Great that they've learned to be a thorn in the side of some MIAA foes, now it's time to do that to some non-conference opponents.

If Alma went .500 out of conference Calvin would be a Pool C bubble team right now (instead of being off completely). The league as a whole needs to step up in these non-conference games.

I don't think Alma's mindset for non-conference games is to help Calvin get in to the tourney haha. Their just trying to prepare themselves for January and Feburary and hopefully someday March!

[ziggy]

zones will only get you so far .

His fingers are missing a lot of rings.

[KnightSlappy]

The next step for  Alma is learning to win on the road in tough environments  (ie at Hope, at Calvin).  They could also learn to play man-to-man defense, zones will only get you so far .

Getting over the hump in this league is pretty difficult, especially when that hump is Hope/Calvin.

Great that they've learned to be a thorn in the side of some MIAA foes, now it's time to do that to some non-conference opponents.

If Alma went .500 out of conference Calvin would be a Pool C bubble team right now (instead of being off completely). The league as a whole needs to step up in these non-conference games.

I don't think Alma's mindset for non-conference games is to help Calvin get in to the tourney haha. Their just trying to prepare themselves for January and Feburary and hopefully someday March!

It's not just for Calvin (or Hope), it's for everyone. If the league gets better out-of-conference overall, it will open up more opportunities or spots in the regional rankings and in the tournament for other teams on the rise. (And it's not just about Alma, everyone can do better in the non-conference).

[GreatScot!?]

The next step for  Alma is learning to win on the road in tough environments  (ie at Hope, at Calvin).  They could also learn to play man-to-man defense, zones will only get you so far .

Getting over the hump in this league is pretty difficult, especially when that hump is Hope/Calvin.

Great that they've learned to be a thorn in the side of some MIAA foes, now it's time to do that to some non-conference opponents.

If Alma went .500 out of conference Calvin would be a Pool C bubble team right now (instead of being off completely). The league as a whole needs to step up in these non-conference games.

I don't think Alma's mindset for non-conference games is to help Calvin get in to the tourney haha. Their just trying to prepare themselves for January and Feburary and hopefully someday March!

It's not just for Calvin (or Hope), it's for everyone. If the league gets better out-of-conference overall, it will open up more opportunities or spots in the regional rankings and in the tournament for other teams on the rise. (And it's not just about Alma, everyone can do better in the non-conference).

Well I can guarantee it will be a heck of a lot better this year! Now they have players that have actually won some big games and they will build upon that. I also bet they are trying to recruit some size, because they only guys that have consistent post up games are 6'3" or shorter

[realist]

The next step for  Alma is learning to win on the road in tough environments  (ie at Hope, at Calvin).  They could also learn to play man-to-man defense, zones will only get you so far .

Getting over the hump in this league is pretty difficult, especially when that hump is Hope/Calvin.

Great that they've learned to be a thorn in the side of some MIAA foes, now it's time to do that to some non-conference opponents.

Also important.  I think they struggled early because they had several new faces and lost 2 or 3 pretty good players from last year.   By NCAA tournament team standards they are rather small.  They could use a little size inside, but couldn't we all.  Outside of Hope/Calvin the MIAA is a pretty small league.

What do you call the two 6'9" players, and the the 6"8" player listed on the Kalamazoo roster?   Kalamazoo is also showing 2 6' 6" guys, and 3 6'5" guys.  In fact Kalamazoo may just have the tallest roster in the MIAA next season if most of those guys return.  Both Hugan and Miller look a little raw at times, but if you watch someone is teaching them how to play in the post.

[sac]

Miller and Hugan took 14% of Kzoo's shots this year.

Having big guys on your roster and actually playing big are two different things aren't they.

[knightvision]

Jumped back and forth between the two semis online last night, but a few thoughts (based on a less than complete viewing of both games) to add to what has already been noted:

1) Underscoring sac's comments on Hope's defense, Hope's perimeter players did an outstanding job of poking/swiping and not allowing Holmquist to just wheel and deal 1 on 1 with Blackledge (or whoever was guarding him) without going to an immediate or complete double team on him when he caught the ball in a scoring position (15ft and in).  I don't recall seeing him have an even remotely open look that wasn't contested, and the 0 for 7 that sac noted gives you an idea of how difficult Hope made it for him to not only make anything but to even be able to get a shot off.  Box score says he had 4 turnovers (my gut says that's probably a bit on the low side) and every one that I saw was a guard coming down to poke it away after he had initiated a move.  At the risk of hurting myself patting myself on the back, (a risk that I'm obviously willing to take  ) in previewing the semifinal games a few days ago I noted that given the importance of Brink and Holmquist to their respective teams, if either of them has a bad game "the chances for team success drop pretty significantly."  Hope made things extraordinarily difficult for Holmquist and this was a huge factor in the outcome of the game. 

2) Hope seemed to really look to push tempo and generate offense in transition--and had some success doing so.  When they didn't have anything, though, they did a nice job of settling in to half court sets.  I expect to see more of this on Saturday...

3) I know I've said more than once that I'd have a hard time keeping Sam Otto off the floor, but his 35 minutes last night (due in part to Eidson's absence for sure) only underscored why.  He didn't shoot the 3 as well as he normally does, but he posed some real problems for Trine, and I don't recall many of his shots being of the forced variety. I will be surprised if he doesn't have a big game on Saturday--he appears to be playing with a lot of confidence.

4) Alma's 2-3 zone was wholly holey--and I'm a bit befuddled as to why they didn't pack it in a bit tighter.  Maybe it was part of the master plan to give up twos and shoot threes, but there were gaping holes in the middle that Calvin exploited repeatedly, and they absolutely abused Alma on the offensive glass.  I'm surprised they didn't mix it up with some different zone looks or even half-court trap, but they seemed pretty content to sit in their stock 2-3 zone.  I'm sure SH would kindly point me to Calvin's shooting percentages (31% overall, 21% from 3) and ask if I had any other helpful defensive suggestions for him  , but it literally seemed like if Calvin got up a shot that didn't go in (which happened quite a bit) they either got a putback or got fouled after an offensive rebound. 

5) oldknight, Amen! and preach on about T.J.  Box score may say he had only 1 assist, but he finds open people, keeps the ball moving, and he always seems to defend and rebound well.  And Daley continues to be a handful for opposing teams.  He's relentless on the glass, and when he knocks down the mid-range jumper, it really opens up other things for him offensively, both in allowing him to get to the rim and also forcing people to try to keep him off the glass in space.  Against teams that play man, I'd still like to see Calvin run more isolations for him in the post--he almost always has a mismatch, and he excels on the block. 

6) Still waiting for a gut-feeling to develop regarding Saturday. Right now it feels like a complete toss-up. 

[oldknight]

6) Still waiting for a gut-feeling to develop regarding Saturday. Right now it feels like a complete toss-up.

Massey Ratings agrees. Massey predicts a 76-75 Calvin win (actually it rates the score closer than that by providing a mean score of 76.13--75.37) and gives the Knights a 53% probability of winning. In other words, go ahead and toss that coin.

[Dark Knight]

Jumped back and forth between the two semis online last night, but a few thoughts (based on a less than complete viewing of both games) to add to what has already been noted:

4) Alma's 2-3 zone was wholly holey--and I'm a bit befuddled as to why they didn't pack it in a bit tighter.  Maybe it was part of the master plan to give up twos and shoot threes, but there were gaping holes in the middle that Calvin exploited repeatedly, and they absolutely abused Alma on the offensive glass.  I'm surprised they didn't mix it up with some different zone looks or even half-court trap, but they seemed pretty content to sit in their stock 2-3 zone.  I'm sure SH would kindly point me to Calvin's shooting percentages (31% overall, 21% from 3) and ask if I had any other helpful defensive suggestions for him  , but it literally seemed like if Calvin got up a shot that didn't go in (which happened quite a bit) they either got a putback or got fouled after an offensive rebound. 

Has Alma been playing this defense for the last few games, or is it something new they cooked up for the end of the season? I don't remember it at the first Alma-Calvin game at Calvin. In fact, I remember that game as being more or less defense-free.

[sac]

Alma played 100% zone from at least the middle of the first half of the MIAA rotation.

[oldknight]

Jumped back and forth between the two semis online last night, but a few thoughts (based on a less than complete viewing of both games) to add to what has already been noted:

4) Alma's 2-3 zone was wholly holey--and I'm a bit befuddled as to why they didn't pack it in a bit tighter.  Maybe it was part of the master plan to give up twos and shoot threes, but there were gaping holes in the middle that Calvin exploited repeatedly, and they absolutely abused Alma on the offensive glass.  I'm surprised they didn't mix it up with some different zone looks or even half-court trap, but they seemed pretty content to sit in their stock 2-3 zone.  I'm sure SH would kindly point me to Calvin's shooting percentages (31% overall, 21% from 3) and ask if I had any other helpful defensive suggestions for him  , but it literally seemed like if Calvin got up a shot that didn't go in (which happened quite a bit) they either got a putback or got fouled after an offensive rebound. 

Has Alma been playing this defense for the last few games, or is it something new they cooked up for the end of the season? I don't remember it at the first Alma-Calvin game at Calvin. In fact, I remember that game as being more or less defense-free.

I didn't remember it either so I went to the video of the January 7 game at VNA (the link is still active on Calvin's website) and checked out selected portions of the entire contest. From what I saw it appears Alma played a tight zone the first 35 minutes of the game, with no defender ever roaming more than 2 feet outside the circle. With about 5 minutes left the Scots started to pick up the ball handler at half court and the last 90 seconds played a full court trap like what we saw in most of last night's game. The first time I remember seeing Alma regularly use a zone trap that extended out to half court and beyond was in the regular season rematch at Alma when the Scots seemed to confuse Calvin players and erased an 18 point deficit the last 7 minutes of regulation before winning in OT. I strongly suspect it was the success of that extended zone that caused Sammy Hargraves to roll the dice again, even if it led to a "wholly holey" zone that left more than a few gaps. [+k to kv on the use of theological jargon that only the product of reformed Christian catechism training could fully appreciate as a double entendre' ].

[sac]

16 years later, Holland still screwing around with the Civic Center
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20150206%2FNEWS%2F150209459%2F1996