MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[hoopdreams]

was the decision by Tom Snikkers to attend Calvin ever discussed here?  From what I understand, he decided rather early in his senior year, whether or not it was announced early is not known.  If I remember correctly, his sister was at Hope, as was his brother during Tommy's senior year at Unity.  Wouldn't it have been logical to follow his siblings?  Did the perceived mistreatment of Jon and his playing time play into it? or was Hope never really on his radar.  Anyone know anything?

[Dark Knight]

Powell, Brink, and Snikkers are doing a fine job at point, but wouldn't it be nice to let them put more of their energy into scoring points -- something at which all three can really excel?

Salo won't be competing with Powell and Brink for playing time -- he'll be competing with  players at the other end of the bench.

[realist]

Time will give us the answer on how KVS uses all his guys this year.  I am not knocking Salo, and am sorry if it sounds that way.  Yes, it is important to have leadership on the floor, but look at what Calvin did on Sat. against the best team it has played so far this season.  It sure is nice  to be able to put a 6'1" and a 6'3" guard on the floor, and no amount of experience makes up for Salo's size.  I also think his style of play is  more compatiable with the "old" scheme or system.  I don't have a problem accepting a few turnovers if the guys make it up on defense.
My biggest fear before these 5 games was that KVS would have his sleek, fast, tall race horses try to run a plow horse offense.  Plow horse offense is good if you have plow horses to do it, but would be a waste of this group.  This is the fundamental difference that CU never could adjust to match.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

When healthy, Salo will play for one simple but important reason--he's a leader. Teammates beg for someone they can respect and follow. Coaches love having a leader on the floor. Trent doesn't have the creativity of a Bryan Powell nor the promise of steady strength the young freshmen from Illiana has already demonstrated, but Salo can lead. Anyone who saw him hop on his one good leg to separate would-be combatants in the Ohio Wesleyan game to quickly defuse a potentially ugly situation knows what I mean. It's really hard to teach that kind of stuff.

One has to wonder if a player needs to play 25+ minutes per game to have that leadership role, or if he can just be inserted when the team needs some stability/leadership on the floor.  Right now I'd hate to see anyone, Salo included, take away that many minutes from the guys who have been getting it done. After the Davenport game, Bryan Powell has done a much better job taking care of the ball and choosing his shots wisely, and Brink has done an impeccable job in not turning the ball over.  Most of the turnovers after the Davenport game have come from the guys who really force the issue (in a good way) like Snikkers and Schnyders, not our guards.  I would tend to view Salo and Rietema as guys who can come in, provide some quickness and reliable ballhandling, while keeping the team's legs fresh so we can continue to bring the intensity on the half court defense and push the ball on offense.    Is it conceivable that KVS has enough depth on the roster that we could settle into a 12 man rotation, rather than his traditional 9 man rotation?

[sac]

Olivet 86 John Carroll 79

I don't know what JCU's home record is over the past few seasons but I have to think its pretty rare for a team to go into the DeCarlo Center and get a W.   As the league races shake out it will be become more clear what this win means, but most likely this is at least a road win vs one of the OAC challengers.  A very nice win for the Comets.

The research fairy left me a package at my door...

Over the last three seasons (including this season), John Carroll is 25-5 at the DeCarlo Center.

14-1 in 2008-09
10-3 in 2009-10
1-1 in 2010-11

Not a bad win for the Comets Sunday.

[realist]

Without seeing Salo or Reitema play with this group it would be hard to answer your question HCG.  I like the idea of using Salo to lend his cool when needed, and using Reitema to spell others.  As many changes as KVS seems to be going with I wouldn't say he won't expand his rotation, but if that was his thinking why didn't he do it this past weekend?  
Rodts is on the floor 75% of the time, and Snikkers has a lot of p.t. so it isn't like an all rookie team.

The jr. class at Calvin (b-ball wise) is really small, and it was a dismal recruiting year.  I sort of suspect the chance of seeing p.t. early at Calvin was a factor in Mr. Snikkers decision process.   We know for a fact the Snikkers siblings are a competitive bunch, and sitting on the pine just doesn't seem their style.

[oldknight]

When healthy, Salo will play for one simple but important reason--he's a leader. Teammates beg for someone they can respect and follow. Coaches love having a leader on the floor. Trent doesn't have the creativity of a Bryan Powell nor the promise of steady strength the young freshmen from Illiana has already demonstrated, but Salo can lead. Anyone who saw him hop on his one good leg to separate would-be combatants in the Ohio Wesleyan game to quickly defuse a potentially ugly situation knows what I mean. It's really hard to teach that kind of stuff.

One has to wonder if a player needs to play 25+ minutes per game to have that leadership role, or if he can just be inserted when the team needs some stability/leadership on the floor.  Right now I'd hate to see anyone, Salo included, take away that many minutes from the guys who have been getting it done. After the Davenport game, Bryan Powell has done a much better job taking care of the ball and choosing his shots wisely, and Brink has done an impeccable job in not turning the ball over.  Most of the turnovers after the Davenport game have come from the guys who really force the issue (in a good way) like Snikkers and Schnyders, not our guards.  I would tend to view Salo and Rietema as guys who can come in, provide some quickness and reliable ballhandling, while keeping the team's legs fresh so we can continue to bring the intensity on the half court defense and push the ball on offense.    Is it conceivable that KVS has enough depth on the roster that we could settle into a 12 man rotation, rather than his traditional 9 man rotation?

Given the steady play and early success of Brink, I'm pretty sure Salo won't get the minutes each game he would have gotten if he had stayed healthy. But considering the fact that there are a minimum of 80 backcourt minutes available each game I could see a distribution between Salo, Powell and Brink for any given game being 25, 25 and 20 with the remaining minutes going to others. As for a 12 man rotation, I certainly hope not.

[goodknight]

Sure, it's possible to be a team leader without a ton of playing time.  Tim Katt comes to mind as a player who didn't get copious minutes but became a vocal and respected leader on the Calvin varsity.

I'm not suggesting that Salo will step back into a starting role immediately, or ever, for that matter.   KVS has viable options.  But his experience and speed and excellent decision-making skills will be welcomed back with open arms, and will help Brink and Powell keep their legs fresh and do what they do best.

[maroonandgold]

In all of discussion of p. t., I haven't heard any mention of the anticipated effect on Brad Schnyders' role when Salo and Rietema return since he is currently being used to bring the ball up the court and was used as a tall guard defensive replacement at the end of the game against Cornerstone.  He has really added energy to the offense since it seems he has finally learned to finish drives if they are open and pull up if they are not.  Will he go back to subbing at forward with less p.t. for De Boer and Haverdink?  It appears that Haverdink and Schnyders have been playing at guard do to the lack of guard subs and have done quite a good job.  So I can understand the talk of a 12 man rotation.  But it works much better with a 10 man rotation unless there is a big lead at the end.  Who comes out?

[arena]

In all of discussion of p. t., I haven't heard any mention of the anticipated effect on Brad Schnyders' role when Salo and Rietema return since he is currently being used to bring the ball up the court and was used as a tall guard defensive replacement at the end of the game against Cornerstone.  He has really added energy to the offense since it seems he has finally learned to finish drives if they are open and pull up if they are not.  Will he go back to subbing at forward with less p.t. for De Boer and Haverdink?  It appears that Haverdink and Schnyders have been playing at guard do to the lack of guard subs and have done quite a good job.  So I can understand the talk of a 12 man rotation.  But it works much better with a 10 man rotation unless there is a big lead at the end.  Who comes out?

I really don't think KVS is too upset with this problem.

[ziggy]

In all of discussion of p. t., I haven't heard any mention of the anticipated effect on Brad Schnyders' role when Salo and Rietema return since he is currently being used to bring the ball up the court and was used as a tall guard defensive replacement at the end of the game against Cornerstone.  He has really added energy to the offense since it seems he has finally learned to finish drives if they are open and pull up if they are not.  Will he go back to subbing at forward with less p.t. for De Boer and Haverdink?  It appears that Haverdink and Schnyders have been playing at guard do to the lack of guard subs and have done quite a good job.  So I can understand the talk of a 12 man rotation.  But it works much better with a 10 man rotation unless there is a big lead at the end.  Who comes out?

I really don't think KVS is too upset with this problem.

Exactly. What is the problem here, too much depth? Fine with me, may it plague the Calvin basketball program for years to come.

[KnightSlappy]

Rietema won't see the floor for more than mop up duties this year. You can pretty much take that to the bank.

I think Salo's minutes will most likely come at the expense of Matt DeBoer. Bryan Powell will be more likely to see 25 minutes, instead of 30, an we'll be less likely to see Vallie or Fabiyi. That's pretty much 20 minutes/game.

[Gregory Sager]

Four more games left in the "pre-season": Wheaton, Carthage, Trinity Christian, and Aquinas. The latter two are starting to look like W's. The former two are playing excellently -- but probably no better than Cornerstone. Hmmm.

Carthage is 3-2, with a home loss to John Carroll,  a neutral court loss to Whitworth, and only led Pacific by 2 points in the final minute two days ago. 

Wheaton looked very good in home wins vs UW-Whitewater and Loras, but lost by 18 @ Manchester.

Not sure I'd use "excellently" for either yet.

Not sure I'd use the term "pre-season," either.

[Gregory Sager]

Still in the "preseason" though and I'm sure this weekend will continue to tell a lot for each of these squads. 

Sigh.

[maroonandgold]

What will the effect of so many injuries and so many new players receiving quality p.t. be on Hope College?  Although the missing players resulted in a slow start, they may end up with a stronger team down the road.  Their players looked good against Aquinas, at least.  And, I understand they played a solid game much of the time in losing to Cornerstone.