MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[GoKnights68]

The frustrating aspect of their inconsistency is the way they follow a good game with a bad game. The four games of the conference season is a perfect example.

Solid win at Hope -> Bad home loss to Kzoo
Lead Olivet about the whole way for a nice win -> Turn a 7 point halftime lead into a ten point loss at Adrian

Perhaps even more frustrating is the fact that there is no correlation between performance and where the game is played.

And win over a very good Cornerstone team who is 17-2 as of this past weekend, and then lose to a struggling below .500 Aquinas team on your own floor a few weeks later. 

It seems Calvin needs to work on their level of focus.  Perhaps Adrian was just the better team on Saturday, but it seems some of Calvin's losses this season has come in ugly fashion.

[thealmascots]

I'm starting to realize the amount of discernment needed and eggshells one needs to walk on while typing his or her views on this board.  If you type something a little inaccurate or hyperbolic, you will get relatively instant negative feedback!

I don't know if my post was the catalyst of your observation or not, so let me be clear as to why I butted into the dispute between K2D and AHF. It's not necessarily a big deal to be "a little inaccurate or hyperbolic," but if you do so while calling someone else's school a "perennial bottom feeder" then you're kinda asking to be challenged on your inaccuracy.

Now, if K2D had used that same term, as emphatic and uncompromising as it is, about Alma I wouldn't have said anything. Over the past eleven seasons Alma's finished last in the MIAA eight times, and of the other three seasons two of them saw Alma finish next-to-last. "Perennial bottom feeder," while harsh, is an accurate term when used to describe Alma. But it's certainly not an accurate term when used to describe Adrian, and thus, because it is both inaccurate and harsh, I felt compelled to respond on AHF's behalf.

Ouch, now that hurts!!

[Stinger]

Let's not lose our cool because the league race is more than a two team race after four games. It's good for the league to have more than two teams involved the race for the top spot

Let's talk about something more serious.  How is Coach Passage and Coach Harmon doing?  They both left during games last week because of health problems.   I wish them both a speedy recovery!

I am not sure about Coach Passage's health, but he did suffer a significant loss over the weekend. His grandfather, Charlie Haag, one of Purdue's finest athletes of all-time, passed away.  Charlie attended many Hornet games and was a great person with great stories. Condolences to Coach Passage and his family.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/courierpress/obituary.aspx?n=charles-haag&pid=147884435&sms

[ziggy]

Let's not lose our cool because the league race is more than a two team race after four games. It's good for the league to have more than two teams involved the race for the top spot

Let's talk about something more serious.  How is Coach Passage and Coach Harmon doing?  They both left during games last week because of health problems.   I wish them both a speedy recovery!

I am not sure about Coach Passage's health, but he did suffer a significant loss over the weekend. His grandfather, Charlie Haag, one of Purdue's finest athletes of all-time, passed away.  Charlie attended many Hornet games and was a great person with great stories. Condolences to Coach Passage and his family.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/courierpress/obituary.aspx?n=charles-haag&pid=147884435&sms

Not many (any) two-sport Division I star athletes majoring in mechanical engineering these days. Sorry to hear of his loss.

[KnightSlappy]

According to Massey, only Alma ranks outside of the top half of D3 right now.

Five MIAA teams rank within the top 117 teams of D3. That may not seem 'good', but since there are over 400 D3 basketball teams, that's the top 28%. Not too shabby.

He ranks the MIAA as the #9 conference. Top conference among the GL (OAC, NCAC, PrAC, and I'll even throw in AMCC).

WIAC, MIAC, NESCAC, NWC, CCIW, ODAC, UAA, and MWC right now are rating better, but it's nearly a dead heat with UAA and MWC. I think that makes the MIAA the top conference without a ranked team. Actually, all of those leagues had a Top 15 team as of last week's rankings.

[oldknight]

An excellent summary of Adrian/Calvin is posted today on KnightSlappy's blog. A worthy read, I think, for all MIAA fans.

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/

[ghostofdouma]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=6021619

[ghostofdouma]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=6021619

[realist]

An excellent summary of Adrian/Calvin is posted today on KnightSlappy's blog. A worthy read, I think, for all MIAA fans.

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/

Thanks OK:  I have been a regular reader.  He sort of confirms what I figured out listening to the game.  Calvin was not prepared for the game Adrian plays.  No one has mentioned that Adrian changed their game just for Calvin.   

[Ralph Turner]

D-III Connection  -- He is running McMurry Head Coach Hal Mumme's Air Raid offense.

Earnest Wilson had been an assistant coach at New Mexico State, and he'd had his eye on Casey Therriault for a while. A disciple of Hal Mumme and his Air Raid offense -- which emphasizes quick, precise throws from the shotgun formation, in some ways a precursor of the current spread offenses -- Wilson saw a quarterback who fit that offense perfectly.

But Mumme had gotten fired from New Mexico State in 2008. His successor, DeWayne Walker, had retained Wilson -- but after a shaky, 3-10 debut season in '09, Walker was in no position to bring in a guy with a radioactive résumé like Casey's. Like every other school, New Mexico State backed off.

Then Wilson relocated to Jackson State as offensive coordinator and installed the pass-happy offense at a quarterback-poor school.

[Knight81]

An excellent summary of Adrian/Calvin is posted today on KnightSlappy's blog. A worthy read, I think, for all MIAA fans.

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/

The last sentence of KnightSlappy's blog says it all: the Knights are "struggling". Unfortunately, it appears that unless they snap out of it very quickly and pretty much run the table the rest of the regular season, they will have to win the conference tournament to make the DIII tournament.

[Busted Stuff]

I'm starting to realize the amount of discernment needed and eggshells one needs to walk on while typing his or her views on this board.  If you type something a little inaccurate or hyperbolic, you will get relatively instant negative feedback!

I don't know if my post was the catalyst of your observation or not, so let me be clear as to why I butted into the dispute between K2D and AHF. It's not necessarily a big deal to be "a little inaccurate or hyperbolic," but if you do so while calling someone else's school a "perennial bottom feeder" then you're kinda asking to be challenged on your inaccuracy.

Now, if K2D had used that same term, as emphatic and uncompromising as it is, about Alma I wouldn't have said anything. Over the past eleven seasons Alma's finished last in the MIAA eight times, and of the other three seasons two of them saw Alma finish next-to-last. "Perennial bottom feeder," while harsh, is an accurate term when used to describe Alma. But it's certainly not an accurate term when used to describe Adrian, and thus, because it is both inaccurate and harsh, I felt compelled to respond on AHF's behalf.

I completely agree with your stance on this point, and appreciate your clarification of the inaccuracy.  Sometimes we all need to have a little reality check! I don't feel that my comment resulted from one specific comment you or anyone else made about this statement.  Rather, I think it was somewhat of a culmination of comments made about various themes since I have been a board poster: Brian Haverdink's playing time, Peter Bunn's injury, where one school does or does not "feed", and quite possibly other subjects which don't currently come to mind.  But like I said earlier, this is part of the appeal of the board with each person entitled to his or her own opinions.  With that said, post away! 

[sac]

An excellent summary of Adrian/Calvin is posted today on KnightSlappy's blog. A worthy read, I think, for all MIAA fans.

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/

Thanks OK:  I have been a regular reader.  He sort of confirms what I figured out listening to the game.  Calvin was not prepared for the game Adrian plays.  No one has mentioned that Adrian changed their game just for Calvin.   

With due respect, unless you are already a lock down defensive minded team in the Albion tradition, there really isn't any way to prepare for what Adrian is going to throw at you.  No one in the MIAA plays like they do right now.   Listening on the radio (or internet) won't tell you much, you need to be there in the stands to see how they force match-ups you don't want, how they control the game,  how they pressure the ball, deny the ball, beat you to spots on the floor and make you work hard for everything.  You need to see the athletes they have on the floor compared to yours etc. etc.

Its a style of defensive basketball I doubt anyone in this league saw in the non-conference season and something any team is going to have a very difficult time simulating in practice.

Dismissing the loss as Calvin not being prepared, is another dismissal of Adrian's team and abilities.  They aren't going away and will find many more victims before the year is over, I'm pretty certain of that.

[ziggy]

The last sentence of KnightSlappy's blog says it all: the Knights are "struggling". Unfortunately, it appears that unless they snap out of it very quickly and pretty much run the table the rest of the regular season, they will have to win the conference tournament to make the DIII tournament.

It will take a bit of a turnaround on Calvin's part but their SOS is much better than it has been the last two years. You've been rooting for Ohio Wesleyan and DePauw, haven't you?

One team to watch is Wabash. Unless they can get over the Wooster hump they might find themselves in the same position as Calvin in '09 and '10: very good WP but sub .500 SOS. We all know what that got the Knights.

[sac]

This was the offensive and defensive efficiency ratings a couple days before conference play started, for reference.

A look at efficiency,  numbers are points scored per 100 posessions.


Offense
Hope     114.3
Calvin    107.5
Trine      106.4
Olivet    103.8
Albion    101.8
Alma      96.2
Kzoo      93.1
Adrian    91.8


Defense

Adrian   90.2
Albion    98.5
Hope     100.9
Trine     101.4
Kzoo     101.5
Calvin    102.9
Olivet    104.6
Alma      105.6



Subtracting 200 by defense and adding it to offense.

1.  Hope      213.4
2.  Trine      205
3.  Calvin     204.6
4.  Albion     203.3
5.  Adrian    201.6
6.  Olivet     199.2
7.  Kzoo      191.6
8.  Alma       190.6

....and updated through this weekends games.


OFFENSE
1. Hope       114.9
2. Calvin      107.5
3. Trine        104.2
4. Albion      103.6
5. Olivet       103.0
6. Kzoo       95.2
7. Adrian     94.9
8. Alma       91.4


DEFENSE
1. Adrian          91.0
2. Albion          97.5
3. Kzoo            99.2
4. Hope           102.6
5. Calvin          102.8
6. Trine            104.7
7. Olivet          105.1
8. Alma            105.6


Subtracting 200 by defense and adding it to offense   with +/- from last look at efficiency.

1.  Hope          212.3      -1.1
2.  Albion         209.1      +5.8
3.  Calvin         204.7      +.1
4.  Adrian        203          +1.6
5.  Trine          199.5       -5.5
6.  Olivet         197.9      -1.3
7.  Kzoo          196          +4.4
8.  Alma          185.8       -4.8


4 games into the MIAA season Albion and its opponents have still attempted the same number FG's at 819.

In my post about Kzoo the other day I wrote that Offense had been the biggest improvement, in fact  their defense has improved at about the same rate. 

Alma and Trine's dropoff I think can be attributed to a higher quality of opponent vs their non-conference schedules.


Olivet has had the toughest run through the first 4 MIAA games of the challengers.  Albion, Adrian, Calvin and Hope.   The next 3 games should see some improvement in their efficiencies and possibly W/L's.