MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Adrian Hoops Fan]

Quite a rough nite for the Bulldogs on the offensive end and brutal nite from the charity stripe.  Defensively, the Bulldogs got after Siena Hts holding them to 48 pts, but even with that effort it was not enough.  Adrian could not find their range and squandered away many good scoring chances with a turnover and not protecting the ball themselves.  Hard fought game just on the short-end of the stick.

On the bright side for AC the new scoreboards were dedicated in front of a large crowd that included many of Coach Riley's former players there.  The new scoreboards were named in honor of Coach Riley.

As a whole, the MIAA is off to a rough start for the year. But with the amount of graduations that each team had, it will take a little time for the MIAA to hit stride.  Hope and Calvin will hit their stride as well as Albion and Olivet.  Adrian can make some noise too if they continue to play hard at the defensive end, their offense will improve as they adapt to a new offense.

[sac]

Two games tonight in the MIAA

Trine goes to Purdue-North Central,  the Panthers are 3-6 and coming off a loss to Grace Bible.  First game in 8 days for Trine.


Albion hosts 3-1 North Central, the Cardinals are coming of back to back overtime and triple overtime wins.  This is  Albion's last game for nearly 2 weeks.

The league is 10-22 and could use two wins tonight.

[Civic Minded]

In Palos Altos, Hope 44, Trinity 40 at half.  Will Bowser (3 fouls) and Josh Holwerda (2) sitting most of the first half.  Anyone able to tell me what Will's technical was all about?  (Not listening through most of the first 15 min...bad fan!)  With so many fouls in the first few minutes, I wondered if maybe he expressed his frustration in some way the refs found objectionable.  

Nelis close to his season-high of 18, with 15 in just the first half!

Will's technical was pretty much a ref with a chip on his shoulder, and the foul that proceded it was nonsense.  Will was at least half the court away from the ref (immediately before the technical), and must have said something to a teammate like "that was really an unusual call."  Nothing was said to, or even near, a ref.  Seriously, that's all it was.  The officiating in the first half was very inconsistent and very frustrtating.  They evidently don't see many blocks in IL.  Things seemed to level out (officiating-wise) in the second half.  The good news is that even with Bowser and Holwerda on the bench, and Venema and Snuggerud unable to play, the Dutchmen had the players and composure needed to take care of business.

Was it pretty?  Often times not.  But they got the job done, and the drive home was sweet. 

[CalKnight60]

As frustrating as the Hope-Calvin game? 

[Flying Dutch Fan]

As frustrating as the Hope-Calvin game? 

What frustration        

[sac]

As frustrating as the Hope-Calvin game? 

Unlike the Calvin game Hope was called for 4 more fouls against TC vs 3 more against Calvin, and Trinity shot 12 more FT's vs Calvin's 10 more.............so 

http://miaa.org/mbb/stats/0910/hallfme3.htm

http://miaa.org/mbb/stats/0910/game-8.htm

[RuleBritannia]

I'm anticipating a really good game tonight at Kresge for Albion, anyone who came should come by and give the Britons and the MIAA some support. After the game tonight I shall write a post previewing what to expect from the Britons this season having finally gotten to see them for a few games.

[sac]

I'm anticipating a really good game tonight at Kresge for Albion, anyone who came should come by and give the Britons and the MIAA some support. After the game tonight I shall write a post previewing what to expect from the Britons this season having finally gotten to see them for a few games.

Wave to us..........

live video tonight from Kresge

http://media.albion.edu/sportsvid

and live stats

http://www2.albion.edu/sports/stats/xlive.htm

[Gregory Sager]

I'm anticipating a really good game tonight at Kresge for Albion, anyone who came should come by and give the Britons and the MIAA some support. After the game tonight I shall write a post previewing what to expect from the Britons this season having finally gotten to see them for a few games.

The good readers of this room kindly request that you include the word "supersweet" somewhere in your upcoming Albion preview. Thanks!

[sac]

Albion came back from 10 down in the 2nd half, and almost threw a victory away at the  end........but won the OT session to pull out the win.

Chris Farr 18, JC Cruse 12, Chris Hutton 10

video announcer mentioned injury issues and Kazan fouling out, I didn't watch all of it so I don't know what thats about.


Trine 69 Purdue North Central 62

MIAA now 12-22

[RuleBritannia]

Whew! That game was a doozy. It might sound crazy, but I always thought we would win the game, even when they went up by 10, I thought they might have peaked a little too early. If nothing else, Albion seems like they compete for 40 minutes (or more) regardless of the score, and we almost always seem to give ourselves a chance to win. I was also impressed by the way we responded in OT, after having the game all but won inside 2 seconds, and then having to face the prospect of playing another 5, the Brits really responded and took control of the OT session after a couple of minutes.

Just a quick note on the end of regulation. I'm not sure if that was a "foul" or not, it looked to me like a North Central player who wasn't looking where he was going just barreled into Jake Robinson (42), who was guarding the in-bounder and mostly just standing there.that being said, Jake wasn't paying much attention either, and he certainly didn't make any attempt to get out of the way. I don't think you should make that call there though and give a team that has essentially played themselves into a desperate situation (down by 2 1.3 left) a 1 and 1 on the other end to send it to OT. But that's just my opinion.

Also, just to clarify, it was Kolin Kazan who was injured, he suffered what looked to be an ankle sprain early in the second  half, he left the court under his own power, but was limping badly, he returned from the locker room later with crutches. Hopefully that will heal up quick, but if it's the dreaded "high ankle sprain" then he may miss extended time. It was Chris Hutton who fouled out with a few minutes to go.

Anyways, this is how the Britons look to stack  up this season:

Returning Contributors:

#3 PG SR David Stasiak, a 3rd year starter, Stasiak is a veteran and the floor leader of the Brits. Stasiak is a facilitator first, but can score the ball as well and has good touch from outside. However, if he's scoring a lot, it usually means the offense is struggling and usually doesn't bode well (see his 29 points in the loss to Heidelberg, tonight, only 5). Stasiak is a calming presence on the floor for the Brits, and I would argue that no other player is as important to Albion's success as Stasiak. However, every now and then Stasiak tries to force a pass that isn't quite there.

#14 G JR JC Cruse, Cruse, who is just now getting into basketball rhythm after playing football in the fall is easily the most athletic player for Albion and one of the most athletic in the MIAA. Cruse is highly versatile and can play any position between the 2 and 4. Cruse's length and speed make him an outstanding defender, the MIAA's high scoring guards can expect to see a lot of Cruse guarding them this year. Cruse's speed to the basket makes him a good fast break threat for the Brits. Cruse possess average ball handling ability, sometimes his body moves more quickly than he's able to move the ball with it, which creates some silly turnovers. Cruse's jump shot is also virtually non existent and he tends to be a liability at the free throw line (although he knocked down 4 of 5 clutch ones tonight).

#32 F JR Jake Siebert, an extra forward, Siebert gives Jody May an extra body with decent size, good rebounding ability, a little mid range jumper, and a few inside moves. Although he doesn't always log a ton of minutes, Siebert is a quintessential "glue guy." While playing less than 1 minute tonight, he's lay in following a full court heave when North Central was in "fouling" mode late iced the game.

#34 G/F SR Andre Bridges, Bridges is another player who has been a solid contributor for 3 years. Bridges can really do it all. He plays solid defense, rebounds, scores inside, scores outside, and always seems to come up with a clutch bucket somewhere down the line. There are really very few true weaknesses in Bridges' game, but no overwhelming strengths either.

#44 F SR Chris Farr, whose name might sound vaguely familiar, like an old elementary school classmate. That's because prior to sitting out almost all of last season with an ACL injury, Farr was a contributor for the 07-08 Britons. Farr, another veteran senior and team leader is the "silent assassin" for Albion, he seems like he makes a few nice moves, scores a few buckets, then you see he had  18 points at the end of the night. He has some excellent inside moves, and is another solid defender and strong rebounder. If Farr was 3 or 4 inches taller, he'd be an elite Big Man in the MIAA, as it is he's another solid veteran leader for the Brits and has a nice touch from the FT stripe as well. Farr however, does have a tendency to be a little careless with the ball in the post and doesn't have much if anything of a jump shot.

#50 C SR Wayne Bond, after playing sparingly in his first two seasons in Albion, came on strong last year as a defensive force in the post as well as some who can crash the glass. This year Bond has added a few nifty post moves and a consistent FT shot to shore up his game. If he can put these tools to use consistently, Bond could be a crucial cog for Albion down the stretch.

New Faces:

#10 G FR Anthony Walsh, one of several new players for the Britons, Walsh is very quick and possesses strong ball handling capabilities. Walsh is still trying to figure out exactly where he fits, but it seems like he's found a niche as the second point guard behind Stasiak. Walsh has pretty good court vision but is still adjusting to playing at this level. His jumper also could use some work, but I think he has a bright future ahead of him.

#12 G SO Chris Hutton, who is technically in his second season as a Briton, is counted as a "new face" because he played very sparingly last year. Hutton, who has "supersweet" touch from outside, is the Britons' main sharpshooter. However, Hutton is an all round offensive player who can handle the ball, drive the basket, and can dish as well. However, Hutton is prone to sometimes taking ill advised 3s early in a possession, and is still something of a defensive liability. For Hutton though, the sky is the limit, and he should mature a great deal this season and become an excellent player.

#20 G JR Adam Hiday, who kind of appeared out of nowhere, is listed as a junior. However, I do not believe he was part of the program last year, and therefore can only assume he is a transfer. Hiday is pretty quick and can guard the ball pretty well. Hiday also has a respectable jump shot with legitimate 3 point range. Hiday should prove to be a useful piece, but it's not exactly clear where his role is yet.

# 30 F FR Kolin Kazan, who suffered an injury in tonight's contest, looks to be a very exciting new player for the Brits this year. Kazan is another multi-tooled player who can do a lot of things well. Kazan possesses good size, can play defense and rebound well. But he can also score with his back to the basket, or on a drive, or make a jumper, he also has an above average court sense for a forward and has 11 assists to just 6 turn overs. hopefully his injury isn't too severe and he can return to action soon.

#42 C FR Jake Robinson, a big man with great potential but who is still quite raw wraps up my play analysis. Robinson has shown he isn't afraid of working inside and has proved his mettle as someone who will crash the boards and isn't afraid to take the ball to the hoop. However, Robinson needs to learn to be a little stronger with the ball and make use of the pump fake as he has been blocked a number of times by shorter defenders when try to fight inside. Robinson is almost too aggressive at time, trying to drive to the basket a few times without really possessing the ball handling skills to do so. Still, it's better to have a big man who is aggressive than one who is passive.

The Coach:

Joday May 2nd season. After taking over from the legendary Mike Turner, coach May inherited a team with a lot of veteran talent in 2008-09. However, adversity came early and came often. Chris Farr tore up his knee in the fourth game after tearing up the opposition in the first 3. Returning All MIAA 1st team player Drew Yancey was lost early on in league action to a back injury. Reserve forward David Bunn and point guard David Stasiak also suffered injuries through the course of the year. However, coach May was able to get the team to a 15-11 record and a 3rd place finish in the MIAA. I tend to believe that Albion's ability to put together a solid season last year despite the adversity really won the players respect for Coach May.

The Scheme:

May, like Turner, preaches tough physical man to man defense, and a controlled tempo offense. However, Albion is a little more athletic than they were last year, I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to run just a little bit more.

Outlook: The Britons have finished up an early flurry of games with a highly respectable 4-2 records with wins over an exceptional Wooster squad, a very good North-Central team, and a respectable Ohio Wesleyan team. The Britons losses came to a good Depauw team at home, and a total implosion against a mediocre Heidelberg team on the road. With so many of their early games taking place in the friendly confines of Kresge Gymnasium, the team still needs to learn how to win on the road. A December 15th trip to Spring Arbor to take on their always game squad will be a start in that direction. Albion then travels out west to play in a tournament in California, and then travels to Michigan's upper peninsula to play Lake Superior State, and Finlandia. The conference slate starts with what should be an interesting trip up the road to Olivet. The stretch from January 20th to the 30th when Albion plays Hope at home, Calvin and Adrian on the road, and then Olivet at home, as well as their final 3 contests, Hope on the road, Calvin at home, and Adrian on the road should determine where Albion falls in the MIAA.

Final prediction

19-7 (12-2) 2nd place in the MIAA.

Go Brits!

[Gregory Sager]

Nice post, RuleBritannia! Very thorough!

[hopehoopfan]

Nice post, RuleBritannia! Very thorough!

Wow, is there another "Sac" on here

[almcguirejr]

19-7 (12-2) 2nd place in the MIAA.

If Albion (or any other team) goes 12-2 I think that will be good enough for a league championship.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

19-7 (12-2) 2nd place in the MIAA.

If Albion (or any other team) goes 12-2 I think that will be good enough for a league championship.

I would agree, in fact I was wondering if 3 or 4  losses might even win the league