MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Mr. Ypsi]

And for my 174th post... How will Hope's National Championship banner in 2011 blend in with all of their other significant men's basketball banners?  Will the attendance, runner up, etc.  stuff come down? Or will the big one be hung somewhere else?  Maybe erected from center court, or displayed as labels on the condiments in the food court?  This next season is going to be exciting, that for sure!

Well, how many posts do you need to be able to "give" karma?

200

[Pat Coleman]

Pat, you have gone too far!  Now I know you have no love lost for SAC*, but this is too much!  The announcement for the previous head coach annointing was on your front page for about three weeks.  Now HopeCollege finally picks their man** and you leave it up there for a measly 22 hours.  Now, I don't mind teasing SAC as much as the next guy***, but to disrespect his team, school and new coach by dropping them off the front page so qucikly.  Too far, too far.

*or do you???
**or second picks their man, or so I have heard
***that would be hoopdreams

I know you meant it facetiously, but in case others are thinking without their tongues in their cheeks, here's the deal.

They're still on the front page. Not much I can do about the timing of news, but I figure there were four 500-game winners that retired this offseason and three replacements hired. All seven stories are front-page worthy, no?

[realist]

Quoting Will Bowser (Grand Rapids Press  6-12-10):  "As soon as we found out, we started texting and calling each other about what we need to do to be a national championship team".  "We feel we have the talent and personnel to do it next year".  "We think he's (Neil) the guy that will take us to the next step...the perfect candidate".



Win the MIAA tournament.  Then win every game you play in the NCAA tournament, including all the games in Salem.  I never played, and I knew that!  
I am surprised the BFC never told his players what it took to win a championship.   Than again, based on the last quote, GVW's time as BFC is already over.   

 

[Knight In The Stan]

So what happens if Matt Neil doesn't bring a National Championship to Hope in five years? I mean wouldn't that have been the objective behind a national search, to get a guy who can bring you home a banner? If Hope thought that Matt Neil was the guy all along then they wasted a lot of time.

I don't see how someone who has been a part of your program for 30 years, who supposedly ran the show as much or if not more than GVW is going to get you that banner.

Hope lost out on BVH, but congrats to Buena Vista for keeping him 

[northb]

And for my 174th post... How will Hope's National Championship banner in 2011 blend in with all of their other significant men's basketball banners?  Will the attendance, runner up, etc.  stuff come down? Or will the big one be hung somewhere else?  Maybe erected from center court, or displayed as labels on the condiments in the food court?  This next season is going to be exciting, that for sure!

Well, how many posts do you need to be able to "give" karma?

Subtle     

[hoopdreams]

Congrats to Coach Neil, I wish him well just as would the other finalists if they received the position.  Just like his mentor, he is a good man and a great representative of the college. I will continue to believe there were some serious issues being dealt with during the 6-8 weeks (because of the closeness of the people telling me) between retirement and hire and maybe someday it will come to light, although it most likely will not.  Many of you may not believe it nor care and that is your right.

I am excited and curious to see what changes, subtle and obvious, transpire.  Having spoken to Matt directly about some issues, and hearing his thought process on things- O and D philosophies,players roles, pt, conditioning in season, etc..., it will be interesting to see.   How does one deviate from the only philosophy he has known for well over 20 years? 

FWIW- I'm neither for or against the hire, is it the best hire (long term) or the safe hire?  Yes it will be easier on the group already there, but the future?  For Hope College, its fans, the MIAA, and wm basketball in general, I hope so.

[almcguirejr]

So what happens if Matt Neil doesn't bring a National Championship to Hope in five years? I mean wouldn't that have been the objective behind a national search, to get a guy who can bring you home a banner? If Hope thought that Matt Neil was the guy all along then they wasted a lot of time.

I don't see how someone who has been a part of your program for 30 years, who supposedly ran the show as much or if not more than GVW is going to get you that banner.

Hope lost out on BVH, but congrats to Buena Vista for keeping him 

Paraphrasing Neil " Winning a National Championship is not a goal, it's a desire."

[Knightmare]

So what happens if Matt Neil doesn't bring a National Championship to Hope in five years? I mean wouldn't that have been the objective behind a national search, to get a guy who can bring you home a banner? If Hope thought that Matt Neil was the guy all along then they wasted a lot of time.

I don't see how someone who has been a part of your program for 30 years, who supposedly ran the show as much or if not more than GVW is going to get you that banner.

Hope lost out on BVH, but congrats to Buena Vista for keeping him 

Paraphrasing Neil " Winning a National Championship is not a goal, it's a desire."

I read that quote earlier about winning a national championship not being a goal but a desire and had a some questions.

If winning it all is not a goal and developing young men is the goal, why can't those be pursued concurrently.  Developing young men is a fine and worthy goal but there are certainly many other ways to develop the character of young men while at the same time benefiting the less fortunate or the community in general.

I think if you're playing basketball past the high school level winning, and winning the "bronze and walnut", certainly has to be a goal but doesn't need to be the only goal.  I suspect that Coach Neil might rephrase that slightly if given the chance.  I'm pretty sure there will be many, many Hope basketball supporters not very happy if the team started having seasons with 5-20 records but at the end of the season said we developed some fine young men this season, just not basketball players.

[realist]

Also from the GR Press article on Sat. 6-12-10:  "Bowser said he and a few other Hope players were involved in the interview process.  He said they stressed to each prospective candidate their goal to win the NCAA Div. 3 national title next year."
Quoting Bowser:  "We wanted to make an exact point about winning it,"  he said.  "Although each candidate was impressive, we always were partial to coach Neil. 

[Knightmare]

Also from the GR Press article on Sat. 6-12-10:  "Bowser said he and a few other Hope players were involved in the interview process.  He said they stressed to each prospective candidate their goal to win the NCAA Div. 3 national title next year."
Quoting Bowser:  "We wanted to make an exact point about winning it,"  he said.  "Although each candidate was impressive, we always were partial to coach Neil. 

As expected, every player should be striving to win a title.  Now Coach Neil and his players will need to get on the same page and set some common goals together.

Should be a very interesting season in the MIAA and Holland this coming year and if there is any visible impact or if it is business as usual at Hope.  I did see in someone's post (don't remember who) that an important question was answered and the blue blazer/khaki pant combo will stay.  Personally, I'm disappointed that we won't be able to see the coaching staff express their individualism with their game day attire  .  Was also looking forward to picking up a slightly used, like new condition blue blazer off ebay or craigslist for weddings or dinner parties, oh well.  What will be interesting are the quotes of him wanting to tweak a few things defensively and offensively and how that will impact playing style.

[knights2000]

A familiar face will coach the Calvin Men's JV team.

http://www.calvin.edu/news/2009-10/ricky-shilts/

[northb]

A familiar face will coach the Calvin Men's JV team.

http://www.calvin.edu/news/2009-10/ricky-shilts/

Took them long enough!  Christner resigned way back on April 9!

http://www.calvin.edu/sports/news/comments/mark-christner-named-head-mens-basketball-coach-at-waynesburg-college/

Promote from within, that's what I always say.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Took them long enough!  Christner resigned way back on April 9!

It does take awhile to conduct a "nationwide search".  

I missed this news release when it happened, but congrats to Mark Christner on landing a head coaching job in his early 30's.  Nice to see him follow in the footsteps of other Vandestreek understudies who went on to head coaching posts.  

Here's a question to ponder (has applications for the business world too):  Do you tend to get better talent in your program/company/organization if you employ people that are content to stay in the same seat for years/decades and develop that way (i.e. what happened with Matt Neil), or do get better talent if you develop a reputation for promoting people more quickly even if it means they leave your program to do so?  Put another way, do you value loyalty, stability, and experience more than ambition and perhaps upside potential?  

[northb]

I say go for the more talented person, and take loyalty as a bonus.

[KnightSlappy]

Do you tend to get better talent in your program/company/organization if you employ people that are content to stay in the same seat for years/decades and develop that way (i.e. what happened with Matt Neil), or do get better talent if you develop a reputation for promoting people more quickly even if it means they leave your program to do so?  Put another way, do you value loyalty, stability, and experience more than ambition and perhaps upside potential?  

It depends if we're talking about upside potential, tremendous upside potential, or unlimited upside potential.