MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Flying Dutch Fan]

[-3 and +11 doesn't give me high hopes for a 30 point Calvin win, but I'd venture to say 15-17 points is more likely...

"missed it by that much"

What can I say... I'm full of crap! Having seen one live MIAA game in 6 years hardly makes me an expert. Calvin is playing well, but did anyone in their right mind expect 80+% shooting in the first half???

I sense you may have misunderstood my reply (my appologies)- I was trying to give you props for predicting the score within a single point

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Lots still running through my head from last night, but it took me so long to catch up that now it's time to head to church.  I'll post a few thoughts later - thanks for all the great stuff folks!

Go HOPE

[hope1]

great game for hope last night  the big shot was when will made that 3 right before half time to put hope by 2 that was the big play i think when talking to the calvin players after the game they did think there seasson was over  that was really bad when the calvin fan tackled the hope dew crew fan when he ran across the top but the fans that got kicked out came back in with a different shirt on sat in a different section.  me and my think that hope could go pretty fan in the ncaa they are playing better and better that was nice that vandusien was sitting right behind the hope bench to 

[hope1]

and thank you hope for giving me the best bithday yesterday with 2 teams in the ncaa that was very special for my 41

[Dutch_Man]

Lots still running through my head from last night, but it took me so long to catch up that now it's time to head to church.  I'll post a few thoughts later - thanks for all the great stuff folks!

Go HOPE

My head is still trying to grasp everything that happened last night as well! There were so many eventful things that happened last night between the game it self and all the interactions between the Hope fans and the calvin fans. I just want to say that I am so proud of the Dew Crew for showing up with class last night! They were tackled, stolen from, and hit with debris but they kept the focus on the team and still did not turn to taunt the opposing student section when the game was over!
....This dew  is for you Dew Crew!

Flying Dutch Fan,
Dew make sure that you say a prayer of thanksgiving while you are at church! I am sure God knows our hearts! 

[HopeConvert]

When Calvin went up 32-26 at the 4:28 mark of the first half, I thought they were in the process of slowly taking control of the game. Then the lid went on the basket. Over the next 18 minutes the Knights would only score 11 points while Hope racked up 36. The Flying Dutchmen played a nice game but I can't say it was anything they did that was unusual or surprising. The Knights only made 8 turnovers, outrebounded Hope by 7, and had their share of open looks that simply didn't go in. The only criticism I might level was the tendency to put up the 3 ball a little early in possessions after they got down, rather than giving the ball to Mantel in the post more often. Next year I think John needs to demand the ball from his teammates in these situations. But congratulations to Hope and good luck in the tournament.

I thought exactly the same thing at that point. Here's the box from that timeframe:

GOOD! FT SHOT by Trent Salo                04:28  32-25  H 7  FOUL by Brandon Bosch
SUB IN : Matt Veltema                            04:28                    SUB IN : Jesse Reimink
SUB IN : John Mantel                              04:28                    SUB IN : Will Bowser
SUB OUT: Mike Zwier                              04:28                    SUB OUT: Brandon Bosch
SUB OUT: Danny Rodts                           04:28                    SUB OUT: Andy Venema
REBOUND (DEF) by Matt Veltema            04:07                    MISSED JUMPER by Will Bowser
MISSED JUMPER by Dustin Smith             04:00
REBOUND (OFF) by Tyler Zoerhof            04:00
MISSED JUMPER by Matt Veltema            03:54                    REBOUND (DEF) by Will Bowser
REBOUND (DEF) by Matt Veltema             03:47                   MISSED JUMPER by Peter Bunn
TURNOVR by Tyler Zoerhof                      03:18
                                                               03:17                    STEAL by Jesse Reimink
FOUL by Tyler Zoerhof                            03:13  32-26  H 6  GOOD! FT SHOT by Peter Bunn
REBOUND (DEF) by Tim Katt                    03:13                    MISSED FT SHOT by Peter Bunn
SUB IN : Caleb Veldhouse                       03:13                    SUB IN : Andy Venema
SUB IN : Tim Katt                                    03:13                    SUB OUT: Zach Osburn
SUB OUT: Tyler Zoerhof                          03:13
SUB OUT: Trent Salo                               03:13
MISSED JUMPER by John Mantel              02:51                   REBOUND (DEF) by Will Bowser
REBOUND (DEF) by John Mantel              02:40                   MISSED JUMPER by Jesse Reimink
MISSED 3 PTR by Matt Veltema               02:28                   REBOUND (DEF) by Andy Venema
                                                               02:05                   TURNOVR by Will Bowser

Like OK, I thought Calvin really had a chance to pull away from the Dutchmen at that point, particularly given Hope's precarious foul situation. I expected Calvin to really pound the ball inside on Jesse and Will, both of whom had 2. I also agree that Hope didn't do anything unusual or surprising, but I thought they did what they usually do unusually well. Where I disagree with OK is that Calvin had their share of open looks. It didn't seem to me they had many uncontested shots, or shots where they could get their feet set before shooting. Calvin had difficulty getting the ball to a spot where the shooter could set himself. I do recall a few where Calvin had that, but I don't recall any involving either Veldhouse or Veltema. I could very well be wrong about that, however. It seemed to me that Hope had turned up the defensive intensity this past week.

[dumezrules]

Any doubts about MVP?

Why did KVS call a timeout after Veltema's 3??  Seemed to get Hope settled down , they ran alot of time off the clock and then Bunn scored....I am usually a coach supporter but I thought at the time that was not a good decision....the younger Hope players were getting rattled.

Bowser may have missed a couple of puppies late but when he was not in the game in the first half with fouls, his rebounding was SORELY missed.  He was great on the glass and the defensive end.  Calvin is much bigger than Hope when he is not in the game. 

Veltema---you are a great shooter STOP FALLING DOWN  to get a foul call on every 3 you take!  (it only worked once for Calvin last night when Veldhouse got 2 FT;s early in the game.)  By the way, do Calvin's coaches teach that move?

Cant wait for the tourney...

[hope1]

i would like to know what  the calvin coach said the radio i did not catch it was not in the press today so if some knows  that would be great if they could post what he said and thanks

[HopeConvert]

Any doubts about MVP?

Not according to one observer. From today's Sentinel:

"'Hope was pretty much better in all facets of the game,' Calvin coach Kevin VandeStreek said. 'I thought their intensity throughout was better. We seemed to be a little spurty, and then I'd say Jesse Reimink showed today why he is the league MVP.'"

[sac]

MVP
... list your picks 1, 2, 3..........3pts for 1st, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd.

All-MIAA
We'll pick an all-miaa team like the MIAA does,  6 on the first team, 6 on the 2nd team.  3 points for a 1st team vote, 1 point for a second team vote.

Coach of the year
One vote for coach of the year

Freshman or Newcomer of the year
One vote


As always have fun and I encourage using the stats on miaa.org.


Feel free to send your ballot via pm or my email, eithers fine.  Lets set a deadline of 6pm Sunday and I'll try and post the results that night.


I've had a few responses but not nearly as many as I'd like.

[sac]

Best case scenario for Hope in the tournment pairing wise would be to draw a 4th seed vs a #5 in a pod of three teams.  Which could mean a home game Thursday night.  Wheaton is certainly going to draw one of the top 4 seeds, John Carroll might be in that mix as well.  This is plausible but a little unlikely.

But its probably 95% certain Hope will be on the road somewhere next weekend.  Hope will probably be no better than #5 in the final regional ranking, probably #6.  The chances of a #4 seed are pretty slim to begin with, and any hosting or drawing a #4 seed might be done to satisfy geography.  More likely Hope will be a #5 or #6, in which case you start looking around for #3 or #4's as possible opponents.  These teams seem to fit that bill......

Carnegie-Mellon
Transylvania
Elmhurst
UW-Whitewater
Wooster

A Hope vs Elmhurst game with either hosting and the winner playing Wheaton is attractive.  However Aurora made the tournament and will probably get a #8 seed, its seems near 100% they would draw Wheaton, making Wheaton a host of a 4 team pod.   You could also put Lawrence in that group, so Hope playing Elmhurst at Wheaton looks like a possibility.

A Hope Carnegie-Mellon matchup would work with a three team pod going to Cleveland, again though not likely.  In theory this looks good but I can't think of who would be JCU's opponent.  Maybe a bracket of Wooster/Carnegie   JCU/Hope........seedings look tough but that works.

I'm trying hard to get Hope to Capital, the only one that seems to work is Hope/Transylvania   Capital/Thomas More.  However this leaves JCU and Carnegie on their own, but if the East region gets 3 pool C's they'll need somewhere to go..........a few years ago Wooster went to Brockport St, so it isn't unprecedented for Eastern Ohio schools to go East.

All intersting, made more so that I get to think about this stuff.

All of this gets blown up if Calvin makes the field, slim but so were Wheaton's chances last year.  Both Hope and Calvin would draw similar seeds, so its possible they go in opposite directions though there's no competitive reason to do that and history has shown they pair together nicely on the road.


Destination probabilities

Wheaton 50%
John Carroll 20%
Capital 15%
UW-Stevens Point 5%
UW-Platteville 5%
Hosting Thursday 5%

In all honestly though, I don't care who we play or where.  Just thrilled to be playing.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Thoughts from last night:

- Loved the crowd, the atmosphere, and the noise.  I really love having the rivalry played with a more evenly divided fan base.  I'm guessing it was about 1/3 Hope, 2/3 Calvin.  

- An early key I thought was around the intentional foul call on Jungling.  Calvin had 2 FT and the ball coming (a potential for 4 or 5 points), but only got 1FT, followed by two challenged 3pt shots, followed by a turnover.  Hope came down and Reimink scored and was fouled, and made the FT.  To me, that 6-7 point swing was huge.

- Jesse proved last night why he is the MVP.  He also joins a pretty elite group of guys who have gotten into the NCAA tournament 4 years.

- Huge props for Krombeen.  5 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, 1 TO, 1 blk, 1 steal in 38 minutes.  He's a freshman...

[eatsleepblink182]

7. Knight Fans: This is our house.
   Dew Crew: You can't fill it.
   KF: You can't beat us.
   DC: 86-85! 86-85!

Others included, "Leprechaun" when Dan Cox took the floor and the many chants of All-i-son when Peter Bunn had the ball, a reference to his girlfriend who attends Calvin.
And at the end, the Hope fans: "This one matters!"

Some pretty good cheers finally from the Knights.  It made things fun.  Also in repsonse to the "You can't beat us" chants, we started some "Yes We Can!" chants which were pretty fun. 

8 turnovers for both teams?  And only 8 each in the last matchup?  What a high level of play we were treated to.

6 rebounds for Krombeen deserves major kudos. 

A lot of class exhibited by the leader of the Knights student section, especially after the game.  It was very nice to see.  Much appreciated.

I think you forgot to mention the chant, "Where's your banner(s)? Where's your banner(s)?"

[eatsleepblink182]

Recall this article (in the Sentinel of all places!):

It's not easy living in someone else's shadow, especially in sports. The constant comparisons are aggravating.

Especially if your chief rival, one you share a community with, has reached the pinnacle of your sport not once, but twice.

This weekend is about much more than a trip to Virginia for the top-ranked Hope College men's basketball team.

The Flying Dutchmen never are going to start measuring up with that school in Grand Rapids, Calvin College, if they don't emerge from the NCAA Division III Final Four as national champions.

While Hope enjoys an 86-83 lead in the all-time series -- and even have scored 91 more points -- the Knights own the bragging rights that matter the most to fans and to those closely associated with both programs.

Two to zero.

Calvin has two Division III national championships, winning in 2000 and 2004. While Hope won't match the Knights this weekend, the Flying Dutchmen need to get halfway there or it's going to get increasingly more difficult.

Another season without a title, and the pressure will mount, especially for Hope coach Glenn Van Wieren.

For all of his success over 31 years at his alma mater -- 617 career wins (the sixth Division III coach to achieve the feat), a record 17 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and three Final Four appearances -- the lack of a national title is glaring in its omission.

You know it drives Van Wieren, ever as competitive as he was when he played basketball at Hope before graduating in 1967, even though he'll downplay its importance.

The thing about winning at the highest level, no matter if it's college, professional or high school, is that it demands so much, particularly from coaches.

Every right decision seems to do more good. Every wrong one does even more damage.

The pressure is intense, especially when you haven't won the big one.

Fortunately for Van Wieren and the Flying Dutchmen, their opponent faces the same hurdle.

Washington and its highly successful coach, Mark Edwards, live with their own shadows.

The Bears don't have a national championship banner, either.

Washington's women's basketball team, meanwhile has four from an unprecedented run between 1997 and 2001. It's a total unmatched in Division III.

Edwards, like Van Wieren, is one of the winningest coaches in Division III history.

He owns a career record of 474-234 over 31 seasons at Washington, his alma mater. He's taken the Bears to the NCAA tournament 13 times, including back-to-back Final Four appearances.

Washington is relevant again because of Edwards. The Bears dropped men's basketball in 1971 for financial reasons before starting it up again in 1981 when Edwards was hired.

Still, without a national title, the men's team can't begin to get an equal footing.

That's the thing about shadows. You can't get away from them easily.

Commentary

By ALAN BABBITT, Friday, March 21, 2008: The Holland Sentinel

[sac]

Uh oh, that looks like the Hope superiority coming out again.