MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[oldknight]

I thought it was an appropriate and fitting Touch of Dutch to include both retiring congressmen, each a graduate of the opposing schools. I don't know that Hope intentionally placed Ehlers ahead of Hoekstra in the speaking order but that was wise. As smart as Ehlers is, Hoekstra is a far more gifted communicator whose superior extemporaneous speaking skills were evident last night. No one will mistake Vern for a refugee from Comedy Central.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

No one will mistake Vern for a refugee from Comedy Central.

+k for that   

FWIW - I enjoyed the lack of political correctness coming from former politicians

[almcguirejr]

Sorry but I don't agree with several of the comments here. Size was not a factor in the rebounding battle imho. Rebounding is about position and desire. I also don't think this game was in anyway an example of one coach outcoaching the other. This game came down to Hope not playing with the defensive intensity and rebounding desire needed.   Calvin simply outplayed the Dutchmen.

I think it is dangerous to try to make too much of one game.  It was interesting watching the reaction of Neil, and the Hope players when Calvin came out playing very aggressively from the opening tip off.  I think it caught them a bit off guard, but it didn't take long to make the needed adjustments.  Hope obviously had no answer for the taller players, and when the twin towers were on the floor Hope looked a bit dismayed or even shell shocked.  I think the Hope players knew what to do, and I think they wanted to do it, but  they just couldn't get it done.  They are still good players on a very nice team.  

I thought they were going to soil themsleves when they saw Schuster and Kruis.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

The TV announcer said that GVW was not in the building last night.  Does anyone know if this is true, and if so, why?  

If the reason is that he just didn't want to steal any of the spotlight from Coach Neil in his first Calvin game, then I think it's a nice touch of class and gesture of support.  

[almcguirejr]

If the reason is that he just didn't want to steal any of the spotlight from Coach Neil in his first Calvin game, then I think it's a nice touch of class and gesture of support.  

Well said.

[ziggy]

I commented a few weeks back that the MIAA champ may have as many as 4 losses, or something like that, and it was dismissed. No one is going to run the table, obviously, and 2 or 3 losses no longer seems safe, even after 1 night of action.

I think you're right about this. It is tough to handicap the rest of the conference season but I think that at the beginning of the season any Calvin fan would have circled last night's game as the one they were least likely to win. Ending the season with three conference losses is now much more likely.

On the other side of the ball, Olivet takes a huge hit by dropping their home date with Albion. They now need to find three wins in their four Hope/Calvin games and their game at Kresge to have any hope of ending with three losses. I believe they are capable of doing that but Olivet is behind the eight ball after just one conference game (as far as championship aspirations are concerned).

[ziggy]

The TV announcer said that GVW was not in the building last night.  Does anyone know if this is true, and if so, why?  

If the reason is that he just didn't want to steal any of the spotlight from Coach Neil in his first Calvin game, then I think it's a nice touch of class and gesture of support.  

It was sold out. He just didn't want to pay scalper prices.

I kid, I kid.

[arena]

If I watch the game again today, and Calvin wins, do they have to play again on the 29th? 

[Knight81]

OK, I'll try to resist the temptation to be glib, and I certainly won't gloat, but we got a taste last night of what the rest of the season could look like for Calvin.  The Knights came out with some fire and purpose, and, although Hope knocked them back on their heels a number of times, they showed the  ability and maturity (maybe for the first or second time this season) to weather the storm.  It's clear to me that there are enough offensive weapons to compensate for a dreadful night from the usually dominant Snikkers and the often-contributing Powell and DeBoer. 
It was senior night last night -- but there is talent aplenty in the underclassmen.  Many of us are still waiting for the full emergence of Jordan Brink as a key offensive contributor, and let's hope that happens as soon as the Knights get a true point guard into the rotation.  As oldknight has mentioned, Kruis is steadily developing into a force with which to be reckoned.  A Hope poster asked if that was as well as Calvin can play.  I strongly suspect it is not.

Are Powell and Brink not "true point guards"? Interesting, because Tom Cleary said the same thing on the tv broadcast last night. With Salo graduating, I thought Powell and Brink were Calvin's point guards of the future.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

some on this board have disputed my comment that KVS outcoached Neil last night.  Here's where I draw that conclusion from.  

1.  Intensity and desire.  Where does this come from?  usually it comes back to a head coach mentally preparing the team and motivating them properly for an important game.  Rebounding is the litmus test, and it was decisive as I've ever seen in a Calvin-Hope matchup last night.

I'm not sure I agree with #1 here. I subscribe to the philosophy that coaches coach and players play. Coaches cannot play with intensity for players. Coaches can prepare players with scheme and matchups, and yes, mental preparation, but the players themselves have to execute it. I'm sure Neil wasn't writing this one off to his team.

But, in the end, he is 0.000 against Calvin. 

True, but with a single win against the Knights on 1/29 he will blow past KVS Hope/Calvin record

[GoKnights68]

some on this board have disputed my comment that KVS outcoached Neil last night.  Here's where I draw that conclusion from.  

1.  Intensity and desire.  Where does this come from?  usually it comes back to a head coach mentally preparing the team and motivating them properly for an important game.  Rebounding is the litmus test, and it was decisive as I've ever seen in a Calvin-Hope matchup last night.

I'm not sure I agree with #1 here. I subscribe to the philosophy that coaches coach and players play. Coaches cannot play with intensity for players. Coaches can prepare players with scheme and matchups, and yes, mental preparation, but the players themselves have to execute it. I'm sure Neil wasn't writing this one off to his team.

But, in the end, he is 0.000 against Calvin. 

True, but with a single win against the Knights on 1/29 he will blow past KVS Hope/Calvin record

.5 isn't too far away from .4 is it?

[Knight2Day]

OK, I'll try to resist the temptation to be glib, and I certainly won't gloat, but we got a taste last night of what the rest of the season could look like for Calvin.  The Knights came out with some fire and purpose, and, although Hope knocked them back on their heels a number of times, they showed the  ability and maturity (maybe for the first or second time this season) to weather the storm.  It's clear to me that there are enough offensive weapons to compensate for a dreadful night from the usually dominant Snikkers and the often-contributing Powell and DeBoer. 
It was senior night last night -- but there is talent aplenty in the underclassmen.  Many of us are still waiting for the full emergence of Jordan Brink as a key offensive contributor, and let's hope that happens as soon as the Knights get a true point guard into the rotation.  As oldknight has mentioned, Kruis is steadily developing into a force with which to be reckoned.  A Hope poster asked if that was as well as Calvin can play.  I strongly suspect it is not.

Are Powell and Brink not "true point guards"? Interesting, because Tom Cleary said the same thing on the tv broadcast last night. With Salo graduating, I thought Powell and Brink were Calvin's point guards of the future.

No, neither are true point guards. I'd say Brink more than Powell due to the fact Powell has more of a shooting mindset rather than a "setting others up" mindset. Brink is more of a true scorer than distributor but he's done well in the stead of the injured Salo and missing Rietema during the beginning of the season especially as a freshman starting all games so far this season. I would suspect each will get a boost in the points per game department once Salo is fully back and Rietema gets some minutes, then they will have to worry less about taking care of the ball and can focus on creating their own shots.

[hoopdreams]

anybody know how to see a replay of last night's game?  I love to be able to watch it again and break some things down.   Can it be found online anywhere?  Thanks for any help...

[HopeConvert]

I doubt anything can be broken down more than Hope's defense. Have they hired Greg Robinson as a consultant?

[hoopdreams]

ouch.  I have a pretty solid idea on who played well, and who did not but there are some specifics I would like to look at.  Watching live, I thought 1 or 2 played pretty well, a slew were merely average and a couple were BAD, both in man/man and zone. 

There were many times where Calvin ended up with loose balls.  Was it all on desire, being in the right place at the right time, using great technique on the glass or luck(at times).

This Calvin team is going to be really good, for a while.

Correct assessment that Brink and Powell will see increases in scoring and shooting% when Salo returns.  Will Salo's tendency to dribble the piss out of it while going relatively nowhere at times effect the flow, or did he learn a lot on the sidelines watching his team perform on a daily basis?

FWIW- I thought Haverdink did some nice things last night that did, and did not, show up in the boxscore