MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[KnightSlappy]

I felt like I was watching the team from the beginning of the season, not the team that has earned tournament consideration.

While I agree the Knights' offense was uneven, I think that assessment is excessively harsh. The Calvin team we saw the first six weeks of the season would never have won this game. Calvin's defense the last 14 minutes of regulation was as good as we've seen this year. A look at the play-by-play shows that Thaler made his only triple at the 13:18 mark just as the shot clock expired to put Alma up 49-41. That basket occurred after an excellent defensive stand by Calvin and was the ugliest looking three ball to ever go in a basket at Van Noord Arena. By my count the Scots had 17 possesions from that point on to the end of regulation. During that span Calvin forced 6 turnovers and Alma only went 2-11 from the floor.

Some of Calvin's offensive struggles can be traced to Mantel's injury. As already noted, it is the same hip pointer he first suffered in Arizona and has flared up again the past week. He's barely practiced and was far from 100% on either end of the floor. Kudos to Schuster for stepping up his play when his team most needed him. When Brent scored the first 5 points of overtime he had Alma playing a less familiar game. I think part of Calvin's apparent flatness can be traced to Alma's playing style combined with the Knights' decision on how to meet it. Most of the game Calvin chose to allow Alma's offense to hold the ball near mid court for 20 seconds rather than forcing the issue. I will be curious to see if Calvin employs the same tactic Wednesday night.

I saw Andy Draayer play - that statement cannot possibly be true!

That guy had more 'ugly' 3s per game than most get in a career (by which point, of course, they are no longer 'ugly' but a sign of an amazing talent).

Andy graduated before the VNA opened so he's safe from this list!

Andy's threes were more of a "I can't believe he just shot it...wait...yep it went it." As long as he was past half court, he was in range to let it fly.
Thaler's a guy who has no business even thinking about shooting a three. I think it may have hit the backboard twice and bounced around the rim 3 or 4 times before falling though.

[gohope]

And.... if case you missed it (since MIAA Basketball games were done for the day, but the Olympics were still going on!) After Day 2 at the Bassmaster Classic, Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is in 2nd place with an overall weight of fish kept at 31lbs 15 oz!!!  Keep it going Kevin!!!   

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Congrats to ziggy on winning the league pick em contest.  We will once again be having a tournament contest as well.  Details available on the MIAA Pick 'Em page.

[northb]

Is anyone going to be surprised to see an Alma/Trine Championship game?

Perhaps in another galaxy, but not here, and not this year.  I predicted it would take 11-3 to win the MIAA this year, and that I wouldn't be surprised if someone went 12-2.  I also predicted Hope would win the MIAA.
  The bottom teams in the MIAA are no better this year than they historically have been.  At the same time the top teams this year have not seemed to be as dominant as past teams, but can't prove that based on the final standings.  The poor pre-MIAA showing still hangs over this year.

Of course, 6 of the last 9 years, the league champion had 2 or 3 losses, making the above assertion a pretty safe bet.

[goodknight]

Is anyone going to be surprised to see an Alma/Trine Championship game?

Perhaps in another galaxy, but not here, and not this year.  I predicted it would take 11-3 to win the MIAA this year, and that I wouldn't be surprised if someone went 12-2.  I also predicted Hope would win the MIAA.
  The bottom teams in the MIAA are no better this year than they historically have been.  At the same time the top teams this year have not seemed to be as dominant as past teams, but can't prove that based on the final standings.  The poor pre-MIAA showing still hangs over this year.

Of course, 6 of the last 9 years, the league champion had 2 or 3 losses, making the above assertion a pretty safe bet.

That's why his handle is realist, instead of fantasist or romanticist -- or some other -cyst.

[KnightSlappy]

I predicted it would take 11-3 to win the MIAA this year, and that I wouldn't be surprised if someone went 12-2.  I also predicted Hope would win the MIAA.
  The bottom teams in the MIAA are no better this year than they historically have been.  At the same time the top teams this year have not seemed to be as dominant as past teams, but can't prove that based on the final standings.  The poor pre-MIAA showing still hangs over this year.

I think you also predicted that the newbies on the Calvin team would learn to operate in KVS' defensive system, and that the team would top the MIAA in opponent's field goal percentage. 

[realist]

I predicted it would take 11-3 to win the MIAA this year, and that I wouldn't be surprised if someone went 12-2.  I also predicted Hope would win the MIAA.
  The bottom teams in the MIAA are no better this year than they historically have been.  At the same time the top teams this year have not seemed to be as dominant as past teams, but can't prove that based on the final standings.  The poor pre-MIAA showing still hangs over this year.

I think you also predicted that the newbies on the Calvin team would learn to operate in KVS' defensive system, and that the team would top the MIAA in opponent's field goal percentage. 

If I would have made a prediction of that nature I probably would have phrased it something like "the Calvin newbies will have to learn the KVS scheme' whether they like it or not. 
I also predicted that the team with the highest score at the end of each game would be declared the winner, but no one give me credit for that.

[almcguirejr]

Calvin students putting the old fieldhouse to good use:

http://www.freep.com/article/20100221/SPORTS08/100221013/1356/SPORTS/USA-Today-features-Calvin-kids-trick-shots

[arena]

Calvin students putting the old fieldhouse to good use:

http://www.freep.com/article/20100221/SPORTS08/100221013/1356/SPORTS/USA-Today-features-Calvin-kids-trick-shots

Some of those shots should have no hope at going in.

[gohope]

And.... if case you missed it (since MIAA Basketball games were done for the day, but the Olympics were still going on!) After Day 2 at the Bassmaster Classic, Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is in 2nd place with an overall weight of fish kept at 31lbs 15 oz!!!  Keep it going Kevin!!!   

And a FINAL update to make sure that you're in with the "Latest and Greatest" in the world of sports:  "Slam the Door" and "Congratulations" to Kevin VanDam, the newest Bassmaster Classic Champion and three time holder of this prestigious award. His total weighout for the tournament was 51lbs, 6 oz. Truly the most dominant angler in the history of the sport!!"  Yeah Baby!!!

[Happy Calvin Guy]

The Calvin team we saw the first six weeks of the season would never have won this game. Calvin's defense the last 14 minutes of regulation was as good as we've seen this year.

I agree.  One point to drive this home.  Early in the second half Kevin Ginther came off of a high pick (like he did every play) and hit Terry Brown on a backdoor cut that let to a thunderous dunk.  Does everyone remember early in the non-conference schedule (Grace Bible, Cornerstone, first Hope game, etc) how many times the Knights gave up easy layups on backdoor cuts?  I realized at that moment on Saturday how rare it is now.  Clearly the Calvin players have grown up in the defensive system over the course of the season. 

by the way, Alma's game plan was fantastic.  Shorten the game by taking the full 35 on every possession, hope to hit some threes and hang around.    We can talk all we want about how Alma was lucky to have banked in a couple of threes, but here's a telling stat on how lucky Calvin was to emerge with a W. 

Second half:
Alma leads:  19 minutes, 54 seconds
Calvin leads:  0 minutes, 0 seconds
tied:  0 minutes, 6 seconds, but they happened to be the last six seconds that counted.

Hopefully this was the wake up call that is sometimes necessary for postseason success.

[KnightSlappy]

The Calvin team we saw the first six weeks of the season would never have won this game. Calvin's defense the last 14 minutes of regulation was as good as we've seen this year.

I agree.  One point to drive this home.  Early in the second half Kevin Ginther came off of a high pick (like he did every play) and hit Terry Brown on a backdoor cut that let to a thunderous dunk.  Does everyone remember early in the non-conference schedule (Grace Bible, Cornerstone, first Hope game, etc) how many times the Knights gave up easy layups on backdoor cuts?  I realized at that moment on Saturday how rare it is now.  Clearly the Calvin players have grown up in the defensive system over the course of the season. 

by the way, Alma's game plan was fantastic.  Shorten the game by taking the full 35 on every possession, hope to hit some threes and hang around.    We can talk all we want about how Alma was lucky to have banked in a couple of threes, but here's a telling stat on how lucky Calvin was to emerge with a W. 

Second half:
Alma leads:  19 minutes, 54 seconds
Calvin leads:  0 minutes, 0 seconds
tied:  0 minutes, 6 seconds, but they happened to be the last six seconds that counted.

Hopefully this was the wake up call that is sometimes necessary for postseason success.

Calvin actually lead for the first 28 seconds of the second half after taking a one point lead into the break. Ginther hit a three with 19:32 to play and Alma never trailed until the overtime.

Other strange stats:

Alma was 5-6 on three point attempts in the overtime, and many of them were of the run and gun variety. Maybe they should re-consider the slow down and implement the old Tri-State offense.

Calvin was 14-16 from the free throw line in overtime, and only attempted 4 field goals.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Calvin actually lead for the first 28 seconds of the second half after taking a one point lead into the break. Ginther hit a three with 19:32 to play and Alma never trailed until the overtime.

my bad. Still an amazing stat though.  Alma leads for 19 minutes and 26 seconds of the second half.

[ziggy]

Calvin actually lead for the first 28 seconds of the second half after taking a one point lead into the break. Ginther hit a three with 19:32 to play and Alma never trailed until the overtime.

my bad. Still an amazing stat though.  Alma leads for 19 minutes and 26 seconds of the second half.

It was hard not to think of last year's loss at Kalamazoo to finish the 2009 regular season and how that probably cost the Knights a tournament bid.

[section7]

Good Morning All -

There has been discussion recently on here regarding Hope's bench and GVW's use or lack of use/trust in them.

Well, GVW pulled the typical (Alma/Trine/KZoo) sub patterns on Saturday and made a mess of the 2nd half for all involved (players and fans).

As the lead whittled from 19 down to 14, he inserted several players who make up the 3rd team and then proceeded to yank them one by one, as each of them made a mistake and watched the lead get down to 3 points at one point.

I am all for getting your bench time in games and rewarding all your players for their dedication and effort.  But, why does GVW continue to pull this type of sub pattern and then have to reinsert the starters to hopefully save the day?

Am I the only one who was frustrated by this on Saturday?  After the loss to Adrian on Wed and then that display on Saturday..........................not exactly how you want your team going into the MIAA tourney.  More than likely your only chance to make the NCAA tourney.

Please tell me I am on an island by myself so I can forget this feeling.