MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sac]

If I were to rank the regions right now, I would have to put GL #1 over the MW.  

I would too, especially since I forgot Carnegie-Mellon at #23.

Of course its early and the conference races will certainly create casualties......still a very impressive looking region.




Big weel for the Olivet Comets as they take on UW-Whitewater in cheeseland tonight.  Then they'll get a crack at #16 Elmhurst should they beat 1-5 Buena Vista on Friday.

Pretty good measuring stick week for the Comets who look like they have a shot at cracking the top 4 in the MIAA.  All the statistical evidence suggests this is a good defensive team.  We'll know more after Saturday.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Now the Sentinel has made the mascot story front page news:

http://hollandsentinel.com/stories/121505/local_20051215005.shtml

[diehardfan]

Speaking of GOOD ketchup and mustard, I got to see the special hidey place where the Hope condiments come from.  I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you all... 8)

Am I the only one who read this and thought death would be worth it?

White and white and white and white,
They give a ferocious fight
Up to but not including championship!

It's funny cause it's true. Uhm... not that...  this statement was totally true of Calvin last year.   - Signed, a totally not bitter Wheaton fan

P.S. Ketchup!!

P.P.S. And Mustard!!! 

[Dark Knight]

It's funny cause it's true. Uhm... not that...  this statement was totally true of Calvin last year. - Signed, a totally not bitter Wheaton fan

The pot calling the kettle black, eh? Well, true, Calvin has just as much need to increase diversity as Hope (or Wheaton, for that matter). But I couldn't pass up the line, as it tied in to previous discussion...

Calvin fan ribbing Hope about fight songs <chuckle>  "Puff the Magic Dragon" is all I have to say.........maybe you could all sing along with Cal the Knight.   

A Cal the Knight sing-along does evoke "knightmarish" images... But I honestly don't know what you mean with the Puff the Magic Dragon comment. Do you mean the tune http://www.smile-a-day.com/puff.shtml? I've been going to Knights games pretty faithfully for the last 5 years or so and I don't recall hearing it.

You are either very, very clever, or have way too much time on your hands!  

I'll give you three guesses which I prefer to think.   

[Flying Dutch Fan]

I saw somebody do an interesting comparison of the "potential" experience of the teams in the CCIW, so I did the same for the MIAA. 

The numbers were calculated by identifying the top 8 players on each team - in terms of average minutes played.  Then each player recieved points based on their class - 4 for seniors, 3 for juniors, 2 for sophomores, and 1 for freshman.  The points were then totaled for each team, and here they are:

Adrian - 23
Albion - 26
Alma - 25
Calvin - 20
Hope - 26
Kalamazoo - 22
Olivet - 27
Tri-State - 21

Obviously you can't assume that a senior has 3 years more playing experience than a freshman - since the senior may have been a bench warmer for 3 years.  I still think this is an interesting comparison, and it will be fun to compare this list to the final standings.

[ziggy]

Go Baby Knights!

[KnightSlappy]

So the low rating for the young Knights means the rest of the MIAA will be crying for a few years.

[Picket Fence]

It would if you had more than 1 future All-MIAA player on that list. Veldhouse is going to be good for 4 years. I'd like to see what Meckes is going to do without Aultman and Hoekstra before I annoint him a first team-er.  Other than that, what do you have? Snoeyink, Pearcy, Duff, Zoerhof? The only other guy to remotely worry about is Koetsier, but he hasn't proved he can stay healthy.

There's a difference between being young and talented and being young with a bare cupboard.  There can't be much on the JV, because if there was anyone there, they'd be on your varsity this year.

[Picket Fence]

On a positive note, I want to commend Carlson on the job he did this week in stepping into the starting line up.  He is definitely not the scorer that Marcus is, but he filled in admirably and appears to have found his shot.  I'm big on defense and noticed that Jayson did not have nearly as many points when Carlson was guarding him than others had him.

Hope missed VanderHeide's spark and energy that he brings, but Carlson did very well and I wanted to point that out.  I can't wait until the full roster is back and healthy.

[GoKnights68]

It doesn't matter picket fence.  KVS always finds a way to bring out all his talent and reload every year.  Just look at this year.  Calvin has has the two best shooters in the league on their team.

[NW Hope Fan]

Whitwater over Olivet 67-52
Some telling stats: Whitewater went to the line 23 more time than Olivet and shot 75% Almost half of Whitewater's points came from the line
Also Olivet shot a dismal 2-14 behind the arc

[ziggy]

It would if you had more than 1 future All-MIAA player on that list. Veldhouse is going to be good for 4 years. I'd like to see what Meckes is going to do without Aultman and Hoekstra before I annoint him a first team-er.  Other than that, what do you have? Snoeyink, Pearcy, Duff, Zoerhof? The only other guy to remotely worry about is Koetsier, but he hasn't proved he can stay healthy.

There's a difference between being young and talented and being young with a bare cupboard.  There can't be much on the JV, because if there was anyone there, they'd be on your varsity this year.

I agree Pearcy sucks and Duff doesn't play as it is.  Zoerhof will be a good player when his time comes and I'm willing to bet Snoeyink could beat up anyone in the league.  The abilities of Meckes have nothing to do with Aultman.  Meckes is one of the best on the ball defenders in the league and he eats up just about everything on the glass.  It's too early to tell if guys like Dustin Smith and Micah Chappell will develop into first teamers but judging by the amount of playing time they get I wouldn't discount them yet.  It would be easy for KVS to play a 6 or 7 man rotation all game but he gets guys important experience.

[Civic Minded]

The Baby Knights will find a way to be trouble -- they always do.  Whether or not they will be able to be enough trouble this year remains to be seen.  But it would be foolish to count them out at this point.  KVS does have a way of getting the most out of his players (now if he would just not teach them to whine like he does, I'd be happy).

Speaking of whining and Baby Knights, I'm really liking what I see of Veldhouse.  He seems to be a very mature young man with a great deal of talent...and he doesn't whine!  That's the one thing that really irritates this Hope fan -- the way Calvin players tend to pitch a fit over the smallest things.  Many Knights seem to be dramatic, pitiful, and well over the top in the whining department, but watch KVS for a while, and you'll see the exact same thing.  Passion is fine; expressing frustration is fine (unless you're a coach flinging yourself on the floor and throwing a temper tantrum ala Haklin); but whining is just so, ugh, wrong.  Kudos to Veldhouse for avoiding this trait so far.

[devossed]

Many Knights seem to be dramatic, pitiful, and well over the top in the whining department, but watch KVS for a while, and you'll see the exact same thing.  Passion is fine; expressing frustration is fine (unless you're a coach flinging yourself on the floor and throwing a temper tantrum ala Haklin); but whining is just so, ugh, wrong.

Yes, there is a difference between passion and whining. I've seen it (whining) from a lot of Calvin and Hope players over the years, but Calvin's players stick out more in our collective memories because they do it more dramatically in big moments--whereas Hope's players have tended to draw it out over the course of a game or two. And GVW--they should just create a new category for him. It's not whining, per say, but more of an emphatic statement on his part in a "the ref blew it, everybody else around saw it, I just want you to admit it to me that you should've called it" type of manner!

[Picket Fence]

It doesn't matter picket fence.  KVS always finds a way to bring out all his talent and reload every year.  Just look at this year.  Calvin has has the two best shooters in the league on their team.

My point is that he doesn't have the talent there. Trewella, Drayer and Velthouse are it.

Whoever said Snoeyink could beat up anyone in the league, what does that have to do with him being a basketball player.  I think Bear could beat up Snoeyink, but who cares? Joe Haklin continuously got the most out of sub par players and it got him a 3rd to 4th place finish every year. If Calvin doesn't restack the shelves, they could be headed down the same road.