MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[hopehoopfan]

A player from Class D Ellsworth, 6-2 Tyler Ingalls a Bankhoops 4th team shooting guard, has shown a lot of interest in Alma, but is making a visit to Hope this weekend. Ingalls was one of the main reasons Ellsworth finished 24-1, losing to eventual state champ MWMC in the quarters, 75-70.

[realist]

Question to a knowing Calvin fan about the Meckes brothers; I know that Nate was a DIII champion in the shot and has been (and maybe still is) nationally ranked, but only played maybe a year or two of basketball(?) Did he ever play varsity?
Aaron will be a very nice addition to the Calvin family, and while it's hard to predict what his (or any freshman's) contribution will be to the basketball program, can he ever throw the shot and discus.

The Calvin records do not mention Nate Meckes ever playing bball.  I know he holds the Calvin record in Discus and Shot put, and that he went to NCCA finals, but don't recall him being a national champion.  If memory serves corrrectly he was bigger than Josh,  and concentrated on field events.
I am sure the younger brother will be welcomed on the Calvin scene if he is at all like his brothers.  Just like the younger Mantel he will get his  chance to prove his worth on the court.

[oldknight]

Given Calvin's backcourt graduation losses, getting both Harrison and Bryan Powell in this year's freshmen class are very nice additions. I saw Harrison play once this year and he was easily the best player on a rather run-of-the-mill Kent City squad. The night I saw him play (before I even knew Calvin was in the hunt) he was the focal point of the opposing team's defense which was obviously geared at stopping him and letting one of Harrison's teammates beat them. Harrison didn't have a great shooting night when I saw him but he clearly has skills, and he never seemed frustrated by all the defensive attention. His ball handling is pretty advanced and he is one of those players who seemingly carries the ball as a natural extension of his hands. I agree with Harrison's high school coach that Steve sees the court very well.

At 6'2" Harrison also has nice size though like most high school seniors he would benefit from a little work in the weight room. He seems to be a natural for the point but given his height, he is probably interchangeable at either guard position, an attribute that is always useful to a team. If Calvin hadn't gotten Bryan Powell, I think Harrison would have had a good shot at playing varsity ball right away since the Knights' roster struck me as pretty thin at guard. But now, I think it's likely Harrison will get a chance to develop on the JV team which is just fine with me, because I think Powell is a step ahead of Harrison in the pecking order of talent. I think Harrison will pay dividends down the road.

On the subject of Calvin's recently vacated backcourt, I don't know if anyone noticed but KVS subtly and without fanfare inserted Danny Rodts in the 2 guard spot for short periods of time during the last few games of the past season. No one's mentioned this to me, nor has anyone on this board, but it wouldn't shock me if we saw Rodts take the shooting guard position next year. He seems to have the necessary ballhandling skills and he is an excellent outside shooter.   

[ziggy]

Question to a knowing Calvin fan about the Meckes brothers; I know that Nate was a DIII champion in the shot and has been (and maybe still is) nationally ranked, but only played maybe a year or two of basketball(?) Did he ever play varsity?
Aaron will be a very nice addition to the Calvin family, and while it's hard to predict what his (or any freshman's) contribution will be to the basketball program, can he ever throw the shot and discus.

The Calvin records do not mention Nate Meckes ever playing bball.  I know he holds the Calvin record in Discus and Shot put, and that he went to NCCA finals, but don't recall him being a national champion.  If memory serves corrrectly he was bigger than Josh,  and concentrated on field events.
I am sure the younger brother will be welcomed on the Calvin scene if he is at all like his brothers.  Just like the younger Mantel he will get his  chance to prove his worth on the court.

The following article is a bit old, but it does have a picture of Nate and Josh on the medal stand; hard to tell with the step difference but I believe Nate is a couple inches taller than Josh.  http://www.calvin.edu/publications/knight/2005/summer/mtrack.htm

[goodknight]

Nate Meckes played on the JV hoops team at Calvin in his freshman year. He was 6-7 as a freshman, on the way to his currrent 6-8 or 6-9, and he could jump out of his shoes, but he had virtually no offensive skills beyond dunking.  He evidently considered trying out for the varsity in his senior year, to play alongside his brother, but instead decided to focus on track and field.  I believe Nate also served as an assistant to Calvin Coach John Ross on the distaff side the year after he graduated, but I'm fuzzy on that one.

[mrknight]

You would be correct in what you said about Nate being an assistant to the women's program last yr. I don't know how much basketball knowledge he holds but you could see him working with the players on last yr's women's team pretty well. And like what was said earlier, it will be interesting to see how this younger Meckes lives up to the talent level of the former Meckes brother's athletically, specifically on the court. Only time will tell, and it will be interesting to see how Calvin's team pans out for them, especially considering the number of recruits Calvin is supposed to have coming in.

[Knight In The Stan]

Snikkers commits to Calvin.

[Knight In The Stan]

Bryan Huntley, Guard, also is coming to Calvin. He played last year for Forest Hills Northern and went to Grand Valley last year for academics.

[Knight81]

Snikkers commits to Calvin.

Where did you hear this?

[Knight In The Stan]

My sources are reliable

[Galahad]

Wow!  If all these reports of Calvin "commitments" are true, then last fall's discussion about the death of Calvin basketball are greatly exaggerated.  (with apologies to Mark Twain)

[oldknight]

KII's information about Snikkers is accurate. With regard to Huntley, I had heard rumors that he might transfer to Calvin, but KII's information is the first confirmation that he will be doing so. Since I've seen both players compete in high school (in Snikkers case, many times), I'll offer my impressions of these two players.

Tom is a rugged, mulit-talented 6'3"--6'4" player (a member of the Grand Rapids Press Dream Team with VanDussen and Duke Mondy among others) who I expect will play major varsity minutes right away for KVS. If Snikkers doesn't, that would be a disappointment since he is arguably the most gifted front line player to commit to Calvin since Jeremy Veenstra. Tom was also an excellent football player that Dean Kreps courted for the Flying Dutchmen. Many posters are familiar with Tom's older brother who has had a gypsy and unsatisfactory college career, but Tom is a player far superior to his older brother. Tom also is a pretty decent student and is not likely to have the academic issues that have dogged Jon. Tom has a reliable jumper and is a load to guard down low because he already has a fully developed upper body with upper arms that resemble a pair of bazookas. He also has extremely long arms (a reach of 6'7") which makes him elevate well beyond what someone normally would at his height, he is a good defender, and can effectively play almost any position on the floor. Like his older sister Carrie--a Hope All American--Tom has great basketball hands. He often took the ball up the floor on the press and averaged 16 points on a team that had many offensive options. Scoring 16 for Scott Soodsma is like scoring 21 for anyone else. When eventual D3 All American Joel Kolmodin played for Soodsma, I think Joel only averaged about 13-14 per game. But to me the most pleasing (and underrated) aspect of Tom's game are his passing skills. He's one of the finest interior passers I've ever seen at the high school level, with the knack for delivering the ball softly, accurately and on time. The only criticism of Tom is his tendency to sulk when a referee's call or non-call doesn't go his way. He's an emotional player and when things haven't gone his way he has occasionally lost focus and loafed his way back into transition defense. But I've seen him play since his freshmen year and he has made a lot of progress with the mental aspect of the game.

Huntley played guard for a very good Forest Hills Northern squad that advanced to the semifinals his senior year. In my opinion, Bryan was the most effective player on a well-balanced team, and a pretty tough matchup with a consistent jumper from both long and mid-range. I suspect he'll play wing for KVS and his coming is more good news for a backcourt that needed infusion of talent.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

I don't recall seeing this in my two visits to the Van Noord this year, but exactly how long is the home team bench area?   

[oldknight]

I don't recall seeing this in my two visits to the Van Noord this year, but exactly how long is the home team bench area?   

Long enough to accomodate Hope's entire coaching staff.

[Knight81]

KII's information about Snikkers is accurate. With regard to Huntley, I had heard rumors that he might transfer to Calvin, but KII's information is the first confirmation that he will be doing so. Since I've seen both players compete in high school (in Snikkers case, many times), I'll offer my impressions of these two players.

Tom is a rugged, mulit-talented 6'3"--6'4" player (a member of the Grand Rapids Press Dream Team with VanDussen and Duke Mondy among others) who I expect will play major varsity minutes right away for KVS. If Snikkers doesn't, that would be a disappointment since he is arguably the most gifted front line player to commit to Calvin since Jeremy Veenstra. Tom was also an excellent football player that Dean Kreps courted for the Flying Dutchmen. Many posters are familiar with Tom's older brother who has had a gypsy and unsatisfactory college career, but Tom is a player far superior to his older brother. Tom also is a pretty decent student and is not likely to have the academic issues that have dogged Jon. Tom has a reliable jumper and is a load to guard down low because he already has a fully developed upper body with upper arms that resemble a pair of bazookas. He also has extremely long arms (a reach of 6'7") which makes him elevate well beyond what someone normally would at his height, he is a good defender, and can effectively play almost any position on the floor. Like his older sister Carrie--a Hope All American--Tom has great basketball hands. He often took the ball up the floor on the press and averaged 16 points on a team that had many offensive options. Scoring 16 for Scott Soodsma is like scoring 21 for anyone else. When eventual D3 All American Joel Kolmodin played for Soodsma, I think Joel only averaged about 13-14 per game. But to me the most pleasing (and underrated) aspect of Tom's game are his passing skills. He's one of the finest interior passers I've ever seen at the high school level, with the knack for delivering the ball softly, accurately and on time. The only criticism of Tom is his tendency to sulk when a referee's call or non-call doesn't go his way. He's an emotional player and when things haven't gone his way he has occasionally lost focus and loafed his way back into transition defense. But I've seen him play since his freshmen year and he has made a lot of progress with the mental aspect of the game.

Huntley played guard for a very good Forest Hills Northern squad that advanced to the semifinals his senior year. In my opinion, Bryan was the most effective player on a well-balanced team, and a pretty tough matchup with a consistent jumper from both long and mid-range. I suspect he'll play wing for KVS and his coming is more good news for a backcourt that needed infusion of talent.

Great information, thanks.

Since you've seen Snikkers and Unity play, do you think Calvin is recruiting Van Koevering also?

Huntley is intriguing. He did not play basketball at GVSU, so it will be interesting to see how much he can contribute.

I'm also curious to hear where Zach Schutte of Calvin Christian ends up. He's receiving some post-season all-area honors.