MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[oldknight]

A couple of comments are in order on recruit announcements. I don't believe Calvin (the institution) has made a single announcement on recruits, nor would I expect them to make any. The only "announcements" are those mentioned on this board. To the best of my knowledge none of us have any official capacity at the schools we follow and cheer. In my case, I have some confidence about Tyler Kruis because I have heard from Calvin Christian High School people whom I trust who tell me that Tyler has said he is going to Calvin next year. The Mitchel Vallie "announcement" was made by Steve Bell with the caveat that Vallie is "probably" going to Calvin. Others (i.e., Jordan Brink) are still undecided to the best of my knowledge. We also have to remember this is d3 so none of these student-athletes can ever give anything more than unenforceable verbal commitment to a school. We can't know for sure who is coming until the doors open in September--a bitter fact Calvin fans learned a few years ago when Ryan Klein ditched his Calvin roomie at the last moment to go to Hope.

[KnightSlappy]

You can't judge a recruiting class for at least a couple years, and I find this especially true for the Hope recruiting classes. It simply takes longer to see what you got when the players must first join a D-I team and then transfer to Hope.

[Mr. Ypsi]

In that case, my post is retracted (though I'll leave it up for comment).  I understood there was a difference in official recruit announcements, but apparently I was wrong.

Dam* - that's raises my 10 year total to TWO!   (And I've forgotten the other 67 !  Or, in cases of real errors, the other one.))

[Knightmare]

John Mantel and Matt Veltema will be taking part in an exhibition event held on Saturday at the Palace. John will be in the slam dunk contest while Matt will be in the three point shootout. The event features a mix of Michigan high school and college players.
http://www.palacenet.com/news.asp?news=691

Doug Anderson vs. John Mantel?? I love what John has meant to Calvin over the past 4 years, but OUCH!!   

Mantel is probably going to be out of his league in that dunk contest.  Note that he is the tallest player in the competition and I don't think he can emulate Dwight Howard in this case.  You heard it hear first but high schooler Dwuan Anderson from Suttons Bay (just outside Traverse City) is a darkhorse to win the whole thing.  He is one of the shortest participants (still 6'-3" though) but can jump out of the gym.  He's got a chance.

[sac]

John Mantel and Matt Veltema will be taking part in an exhibition event held on Saturday at the Palace. John will be in the slam dunk contest while Matt will be in the three point shootout. The event features a mix of Michigan high school and college players.
http://www.palacenet.com/news.asp?news=691

Doug Anderson vs. John Mantel?? I love what John has meant to Calvin over the past 4 years, but OUCH!!   

Mantel is probably going to be out of his league in that dunk contest.  Note that he is the tallest player in the competition and I don't think he can emulate Dwight Howard in this case.  You heard it hear first but high schooler Dwuan Anderson from Suttons Bay (just outside Traverse City) is a darkhorse to win the whole thing.  He is one of the shortest participants (still 6'-3" though) but can jump out of the gym.  He's got a chance.

I saw Doug Anderson dunk the ball at least 7 times in last years A Regional in Lansing......then I lost count.  Mantel has no shot whatsoever, Doug Anderson has NBA quality hops, I'd be pretty surprised if he didn't win this.  If he had a jumpshot and better grades he'd be a D1 star.

[sac]

Is there still an annual all-star game/s at Cornerstone?  If so anyone know when?

[northb]

Don't confuse a recruit list becoming public with when the recruiting takes place or is completed.   Hope simply does not talk publicly about it as quickly as Calvin does.  Not to mention that Hope has (at least for the past 5 years) been focused on the current season longer than Calvin has.

Interesting defensive strategy...

[almcguirejr]

HCG.  I think you nailed it.  Not every player is suited to being that type of leader. 
Watching KVS for these many years now I doubt he really prizes a player stepping up, and being a vocal leader.  I know, I know he says all the right words, but when you look at what happens on the floor he appears to be uncomfortable when a player shows either initiative or creativeness or asserts themselves like an alpha dog.    It will be interesting to watch this new class coming in.  If reports are right several of them haven't been afraid to take chances when the opportunity presented itself. 
Looking back at some of the guys I thought would be alpha dogs imho when several made the move to become that player it was not encouraged.  Any number of players over the years have expressed their frustration, and bewilderment with KVS via facial expressions, and body language.  For example some posters expressed the opinion that Veldhouse really didn't have a great sr. year.  Perhaps he just decided it wasn't worth the grief to fight "the system".  Ask yourself why Veltema, and Mantel (and one or two players every year) seemed to just disappear from time to time.

 

[GoKnights68]

I agree it is not all one way or all the other way, just tendencies.  Perhaps you are right that Powell will become that player.  History tells me not to build my hopes up as each time I have done so it did not happen, and in most cases it wasn't because the player lacked the ability to really make things click.  Looking at next years jr's and sr's I don't see the standout guy, and Snikkers seems to have the right mindset to grow into that type role.  Frankly I just don't see KVS relinquishing enough control to allow a player to become effectrive as a floor leader.  Veltema is a classic example of a player that just seemed to know when he was in the zone, and instead of using this opportunity to full adsvantage time after time KVS stuck with his predetermined subbing script.
I think Calvin has had the talented players to really be creative, it just has not been the way things were allowed to go.  The end result is a team that did not reach the full potential of either the individual players or the team as a unit.

The "subbing script" definitely can get a lot of criticism from the fans when a player gets hot and KVS takes him out.

Calvin's top players almost never get more than 30 minutes of playing time in the KVS era.  Of course one can argue that KVS is using this as strategy to build your depth up and ultimately play the best at the end of the season.

Of course that hasn't worked the past 3 seasons in the conference tournament... Although I do think in 2008 it was simply because Hope was a much much better all-around team than Calvin.  This past season's conference tournament, I really do think Calvin played a pretty good game verses Hope in the finals...but unfortunately except in the final 3 minutes of the game.  It just came down to Calvin not making any shot and Hope making their clutch shots.  That wasn't really KVS's fault that game.


Back to the whole "Underachieving" argument.  I'll just add Calvin has won 3 out of the last 5 regular season titles, including the last 2....all three were out-right  That haven't really underachieved in the regular season imo, but of course the conference tournament is incredibly important and that's where they have failed.  I do think Calvin could have done a little damage if they made the national tournament this past season, but of course we will never know.  I think 2008 was the only year the last 5 seasons where you can safely say Calvin really underachieved.

[GoKnights68]

Hope is just as talented as Calvin, and does not underachieve. It just appears to me that over the last couple years Hope has filled out its recruiting class later than Calvin.

Don't confuse a recruit list becoming public with when the recruiting takes place or is completed.   Hope simply does not talk publicly about it as quickly as Calvin does.  Not to mention that Hope has (at least for the past 5 years) been focused on the current season longer than Calvin has.

Besides 2008, do you really think Hope having a longer season has been the reason that Hope recruiting talk happens later?

Not that it matters to me when it occurs, but '06'07,'09, and '10, Hope's season was extended by just a
week compared to Calvin's.  I am no expert on recruiting, so I am curious, FDF, if you think that one extra week really affects message board talk going on in late March and April.

[wiz]

Last night Dayton defeated North Carolina for the NIT championship.  That crazy coach from Dayton just kept sticking with some kind of set substitution pattern and wouldn't change it all season because he seems to be stuck on his "system".  He put a new player in every 1.5 minutes.  Strange.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Hope is just as talented as Calvin, and does not underachieve. It just appears to me that over the last couple years Hope has filled out its recruiting class later than Calvin.

Don't confuse a recruit list becoming public with when the recruiting takes place or is completed.   Hope simply does not talk publicly about it as quickly as Calvin does.  Not to mention that Hope has (at least for the past 5 years) been focused on the current season longer than Calvin has.

Besides 2008, do you really think Hope having a longer season has been the reason that Hope recruiting talk happens later?

Not that it matters to me when it occurs, but '06'07,'09, and '10, Hope's season was extended by just a
week compared to Calvin's.  I am no expert on recruiting, so I am curious, FDF, if you think that one extra week really affects message board talk going on in late March and April.

Knowing FDF, I think he was just taking a free (mostly tongue-in-cheek) shot at the Knights.

[realist]

2009-10
record 19-9
2008-09
Record: 19-8
2007-08
Record: 16-11
2006-07
Record: 19-10

If you are happy with the above results that is fine with me.  For my part I think the record should have been better, and I base that on the talent that was avialable.
Sac, and others have pointed out that Hope has ended Calvin's season 5 years in a row.  Some of those Hope teams were better than the Calvin team, but not in all 5 of those years.  When the better team does not win it is natural to ask why.
Look at GVW's record against KVS.  Does it tell you anything?  It tells me that GVW has seen so many KVS teams that he can just about "script" the game as well as KVS does.  From my perspective it doesn't require a rocket scientist to figure out a little change might just be worth a try.  Continuing to do the same thing, and expecting different results obviously has not worked.
Recruiting race horses is fine if you let them run.  Recruiting plow horses is fine if you use their strenghts.  Recruiting shooters is great, and wisdom would seem to say let tham shoot.  Trying to take a diverse group of players with different skills and abilitites and making a team out of them is not an easy task.  IMHO it complicates mattters considerably when you dictate that all players must fit a predetermined pattern whether this pattern uses their strenghts or not.
Like I said before I am pleased that Calvin is able to attract good potential players.
Please forgive me if my failure to get all giddy and excited does not please you.
I see no sound reason to expect improved results if the current strategy is continued.  I am not saying change the coach necessarily, but it would be great to see a touch of change in the coach.

[sac]

Hope is just as talented as Calvin, and does not underachieve. It just appears to me that over the last couple years Hope has filled out its recruiting class later than Calvin.

Don't confuse a recruit list becoming public with when the recruiting takes place or is completed.   Hope simply does not talk publicly about it as quickly as Calvin does.  Not to mention that Hope has (at least for the past 5 years) been focused on the current season longer than Calvin has.

Besides 2008, do you really think Hope having a longer season has been the reason that Hope recruiting talk happens later?

Not that it matters to me when it occurs, but '06'07,'09, and '10, Hope's season was extended by just a
week compared to Calvin's.  I am no expert on recruiting, so I am curious, FDF, if you think that one extra week really affects message board talk going on in late March and April.

It doesn't really, this year the first round of the D3 tournament was on the last Friday of the high school regular season.  Not really a big deal, and if you're lucky enough to advance you really only miss the district finals on the next Friday unless you choose not to attend games because of practices, the final four weekend you'd really only miss the regional finals, ........by that point, most of the kids you're recruiting probably aren't playing anymore anyway.


What affects the top D3 programs more than anything is the late D1 signing period and then waiting for the 'filtering down' of players through D2 and NAIA schools.


But like FDF said just because you haven't heard anything doesn't mean someone hasn't already said they'll be attending Hope or any other MIAA school.  More than likely it just means it isn't public.  FWIW, Logan Neil 'announced' his intentions to attend Hope in February or January of 09, one of the earliest I can remember.

The only real difference I've noticed on this board is the willingness of some Calvin posters to discuss recruits that have decided to attend Calvin........and if they feel comfortable doing that, thats fine with me.

I know I'd prefer it if people waited until things were public though.

[realist]

Last night Dayton defeated North Carolina for the NIT championship.  That crazy coach from Dayton just kept sticking with some kind of set substitution pattern and wouldn't change it all season because he seems to be stuck on his "system".  He put a new player in every 1.5 minutes.  Strange.

I say "kudos" to the Dayton coach if this "pattern" was employed because it made the best use of his available talent, and it obviously does disrupt continuity on the otherside.
Several teams have gone further in the NCAA tournament than many expected simply brecause they were able to adapt to game conditions, and because in one case  "heaven forbid" a team used a defensive scheme no one had seen them use all year.  Imagine that?  Creating a unique game plan for one opponent as opposed to using the same script from the past xx years.