MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[cmlundy]

Back when Von Washington was coach at WO they did in fact win a conference title

[Knight2Day]

Some of your fans are showing their frustrations as well... and maybe with good reason. You have a point though, announcers should be as unbiased as possible, but you get what you get.

Why?  And what defines "unbiased?"  If an announcer is making valid points about a team's play is he being biased?  

Maybe "unbiased" was the wrong term. And I didn't listen to his call... Valid points are valid points, but I think calls should be straight, without homerism one one side, or disparaging comments on the other. Just my opinion.

The man has done Calvin games for 40+ years. It is sometimes hard to follow the action on his broadcast but, he consistently tells you the score and the time remaining.  It's a simple thing but it seems to be overlooked by some radio people.  

I think Dougie Fresh is probably merely showing his frustrations with where the Calvin team is and where they seem to be headed this year. It looked like a few of the players mentally checked out of that game and it seemed as though the the defensive strategy and offensive strategy wasn't adapted to the game plan of Adrian.

[hoopdreams]

To be more specific, going back to 1990, West Ottawa never won an OK Red title, long before Coach Washington took over.  They may have won a conference title but it must have occurred during the two year OK Lake Shore experiment, consisting of powerhouses- Mona Shores, Holland, and pre-KVD/Snuggs Zeeland.

If I cared enough, I could sift through the records and throw out winning %'s but its not worth it.  

[oldknight]

Back when Von Washington was coach at WO they did in fact win a conference title

You're right. Washington was a respected coach who knew how to use the talents of Leonard Houston, later a star at Drake University which surprised everyone with a Missouri Valley Conference title and a NCAA appearance in 2009. This from Houston's bio on the Drake website:

http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15700&ATCLID=865707

High School — Averaged 15.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals as senior while sparking West Ottawa to 16-6 record, including first OK Red Lakeshore Championship since 1970


Von Washington is now principal at Kalamazoo Central, defending Class A state basketball champions, whose head basketball coach is Michael Thomas, a three time All-MIAA selection when playing for Albion 2003-05.

[sac]

http://michigan-football.com/t/schools.htm

You can find out all you would ever want to know about past high school team records on that link.  Despite it saying football it has basketball records as well, although basketball wasn't updated for '09 or '10.

The main page has even more fun stuff on it.

http://michigan-football.com/

[hoopdreams]

Thank you SAC for the link.  Here we go.....

In nearly 50 years of competition, WO's basketball program with a winning % of .370.  Take away the first couple years in the early 60's in the Grand Valley conference and the 2 years in the Lake Shore Conference, they come in at .345.

3 conference championships in nearly 50 years, 1 in the last 30 (in the weak Lake Shore) and 1 in the OK red-1969.

Simply reiterating that WO's hoops program, in general, is pitiful.

Coach Washington left a great impression on me, not only as a coach but mentor.  I have heard many stories of his tremendous heart for kids that may not have an ideal home life. It's a shame that he could not find an administrative position in Holland ( oh the rumors floating around that ) and took his talents to K-zoo. 

Did he really use Houston's talents?  15 points per game with a decently talented supporting crew, its debatable.  A D1 athlete for a PG, Ludwig who ended up at Spring Arbor? Osburn, 6'10 Tiemeyer who went to CMU, etc... Or the year before with the dynamic duo of Houston and CJ VanWieren- one of the best athletes to come out of the OK Red in 15 years?

Irrelevant stuff..... Go Colton!!!!

[GoKnights68]

Some of your fans are showing their frustrations as well... and maybe with good reason. You have a point though, announcers should be as unbiased as possible, but you get what you get.

Why?  And what defines "unbiased?"  If an announcer is making valid points about a team's play is he being biased? 

Maybe "unbiased" was the wrong term. And I didn't listen to his call... Valid points are valid points, but I think calls should be straight, without homerism one one side, or disparaging comments on the other. Just my opinion.

During the game, there really hasn't ever been much "homerism" in Doug's announcing.   I don't know why Doug can get so much flack sometimes.  I think he does a great job at calling the game without any annoying hoopla that you get from other announcers these days.  He clearly just loves the game of basketball.

I do agree that he should have given more credit to Adrian, but I also am glad that he is showing frustration in the team.  I don't know why some people on this board still don't understand if a Calvin fan is critical of this team at times.   Two of the their top 3 players are seniors.  There shouldn't be so many excuses for being 6-5 in the MIAA at this point.   

I do understand, though, from a non-Calvin/Hope fan's perspective that it may seem like we don't give the opposing team credit ever , but unfortunately that is always going to be the perception until more non-Calvin/Hope fans from the MIAA post here on a consistent basis. 

I think sometimes we just need to accept that it can often be a combination of the opposing team playing well and your own team playing poorly.

[oldknight]

An update on the board discussion over the MIAA decision to go to a four team playoff system. Dave McHugh interviewed Hope women's coach Brian Morehouse last night on Hoopsville and one of the topics covered in their lengthy dialogue included the new format that will go into effect next year. It was a great interview, Morehouse was refreshingly direct, and two things became obvious on the topic: 1) the new format was driven by the conference's college presidents; 2) Morehouse doesn't much like the idea of going to a four team playoff, especially the idea of losing an in-region game. I'm pretty sure other conference coaches would agree with that assessment. I recommend listening to the entire show but if you want to limit yourself to the Morehouse segment it begins just after the 11 minute mark and goes about 20 minutes.

[realist]

Thanks for that info OK.  It would seem there is a definite difference of opinion between the coaches, and the Presidents.  I think costs were the driving factor, and giving one or two teams a waiver may have had it's own set of problems.

[gohope]

Nice article in today's GR Press:

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2011/02/new_and_improved_hope_mens_bas.html

[wiz]

Nice article in today's GR Press:

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2011/02/new_and_improved_hope_mens_bas.html

"..including a 10-game winning streak since suffering an embarrassing 95-81 defeat against arch rival Calvin College on Jan. 5 on its home court."
Sounds like something Wentworth would say.

[Civic Minded]

A number of years ago Bear Bryant was interviewed after the Alabama Crimson Tide had lost two games in row, which rarely happened on Bear Bryant's tenure. One of the reporters during the news conference asked Bear, "I hear you have some conflict on your team?" Bear responded by saying, "No, but we are about to."

Perhaps a little "conflict," whether from comments from Doug Wentworth or others here on Posting Up, is just what's needed for the Knights.  I believe that some "conflict" in the form of a multitude of discussions about a lack of defense sparked the Dutchmen on early in the year.  Maybe some constructive critcism isn't necessarily a bad thing at this point in time...

[wiz]

It will be interesting to see who wins the MIAA tournament this year.  I remember the last time Calvin made it to the finall four was in 2005, a year in which they were unable to win the league championship.  Lots of basketball to play yet and the whole league is in the hunt.  It will be fun to see what unfolds over the next couple of weeks.

[NW Hope Fan]

I'd have to agree Wiz... As much as you and I want to see our respective teams win and get the AQ, an exciting tournament with an "outsider" winning it all could put stock in returning to our favored format. Or, on the other hand it could put that much pressure on teams peaking at the right time and playing at the highest level when it counts. Either way, it should be an interesting conclusion of the season.

[sac]

An update on the board discussion over the MIAA decision to go to a four team playoff system. Dave McHugh interviewed Hope women's coach Brian Morehouse last night on Hoopsville and one of the topics covered in their lengthy dialogue included the new format that will go into effect next year. It was a great interview, Morehouse was refreshingly direct, and two things became obvious on the topic: 1) the new format was driven by the conference's college presidents; 2) Morehouse doesn't much like the idea of going to a four team playoff, especially the idea of losing an in-region game. I'm pretty sure other conference coaches would agree with that assessment. I recommend listening to the entire show but if you want to limit yourself to the Morehouse segment it begins just after the 11 minute mark and goes about 20 minutes.

The loss of the in-region game is the most damaging aspect of all of this imo.

As an example right now, Calvin is 8-5 in region.

The best possible record Calvin can have and remain a Pool C candidate is 13-6 or .684 .......not a great chance at Pool C but at least in the conversation.

Without the extra tournament game, Calvin's best possible record would be 12-6 or .667.......probably not even in the conversation for Pool C, certainly not in the better position than they would be with the extra tournament game.