MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[hoopdreams]

With Hope not losing through the MIAA tourney, I can see them sitting at #1-3 in the country entering the dance, hosting the first round and potentially the second (of course contingent on them winning out in weekend 1).  Hope at home, in the tourney, is a tough out regardless of who you are.   I don't not know the rules pertaining to hosting, men vs women, etc... so could be WAY off base.

Flashback to 2007-08 when Hope played semingly endless # of home games in a row before heading to Salem.  Guessing someone will do the research for me on this.

[KnightSlappy]

With Hope not losing through the MIAA tourney, I can see them sitting at #1-3 in the country entering the dance, hosting the first round and potentially the second (of course contingent on them winning out in weekend 1).  Hope at home, in the tourney, is a tough out regardless of who you are.   I don't not know the rules pertaining to hosting, men vs women, etc... so could be WAY off base.

Flashback to 2007-08 when Hope played semingly endless # of home games in a row before heading to Salem.  Guessing someone will do the research for me on this.

Women won't be in position to host, so that shouldn't be an issue. Hope has the inside track to the top spot in the GL ranks, so hosting until Salem could be a real possibility.

[wiz]

One semi-local kid for whom Trine is one of the favorites is Jared Holmquist, 6-5, 230 all-around forward from Reed City. Some WHAC schools are throwing the bank at him, as he's strong, tough and smart enough to play right away. Won a lot of games coaching him last two years in AAU so biased but for good reason. He'd help any team in the MIAA. Dad Chuck played at Alma.

Hearing that Alma is one of his choices too, and he's been on campus a few different times.

Good talent and possible legacy recruit but in the end will follow the money, especially if at a winning program.

[Erm Schmigget]

With Hope not losing through the MIAA tourney, I can see them sitting at #1-3 in the country entering the dance, hosting the first round and potentially the second (of course contingent on them winning out in weekend 1).  Hope at home, in the tourney, is a tough out regardless of who you are.   I don't not know the rules pertaining to hosting, men vs women, etc... so could be WAY off base.

Flashback to 2007-08 when Hope played semingly endless # of home games in a row before heading to Salem.  Guessing someone will do the research for me on this.

Hope's regular season of 2007-08 ended on the road at Trine.  They hosted through the MIAA tournament, then got a first-round bye for the NCAAs.  The second, third and fourth rounds were home games, making it 6 home games before heading to Salem.  That team had 3 losses, 2 that mattered to the Committee.  Even with the automatic bid from the MIAA, the committee had to have weighed those in-region losses against them when determining host sights and byes.  Keeping that in mind...

Women won't be in position to host, so that shouldn't be an issue. Hope has the inside track to the top spot in the GL ranks, so hosting until Salem could be a real possibility.

Really?  Last year's women's team hosted with 2 in-region losses on their record and a Pool C ticket to the dance...and there was another host site only 1/2 hour away.  This year's women's team still only has 2 in-region losses (like the 07-08 men).  Their chances at winning out the season aren't as good as the 07-08 men's were at this point, but their 2 toughest games for the rest of the season are Calvin at home, and a probable rematch in the MIAA tourney.  I'd like their chances better with a healthy Kussmaul, but what if an injury were to befall a certain key calvin player?  Heaven forbid, but it sure would even the scales.  (I would not like to see that happen, just to be clear.)  Hosting the first couple rounds isn't likely, but I didn't think it was last year, either.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I like their chances.  But I've learned to wait and see before writing someone off.

[sac]

I believe men have hosting priority in even years.  If Hope is able to take care of business, which is no where near a given but for arguments sake they run the table or even lose a game or two, they would be in excellent position to host in the first weekend of the NCAA's.

I feel dirty for even discussing this in January, 2 days before a Calvin game.

[KnightSlappy]

Women won't be in position to host, so that shouldn't be an issue. Hope has the inside track to the top spot in the GL ranks, so hosting until Salem could be a real possibility.

Really?  Last year's women's team hosted with 2 in-region losses on their record and a Pool C ticket to the dance...and there was another host site only 1/2 hour away.  This year's women's team still only has 2 in-region losses (like the 07-08 men).  Their chances at winning out the season aren't as good as the 07-08 men's were at this point, but their 2 toughest games for the rest of the season are Calvin at home, and a probable rematch in the MIAA tourney.  I'd like their chances better with a healthy Kussmaul, but what if an injury were to befall a certain key calvin player?  Heaven forbid, but it sure would even the scales.  (I would not like to see that happen, just to be clear.)  Hosting the first couple rounds isn't likely, but I didn't think it was last year, either.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I like their chances.  But I've learned to wait and see before writing someone off.

If they run the table, including two wins against Calvin, then maybe we could have that discussion, but even then it would depend on what Mount Union, DePauw, and Chicago do. If regional rankings were released this week, they would certainly not be ranked in the GL Region, but I think there's a different board for that discussion.

Either way, men have hosting priority this year, as sac points out, and it's hard for me to envision the Hope men not hosting at this point. The OAC doesn't have a strong candidate, the NCAC looks like it will tear itself to bits (everyone there has two in-region losses already), and Bethany’s SOS could be a limiting factor. Hope's SOS probably won't look spectacular by season's end (especially if they play two home MIAA tournament games), but they'd be a very strong candidate to host with 0-1 losses, and they could still potentially host with two losses.

[Adrianguy55]

I wish the MIAA kept track of total 3 point shots made.  Cory Schneider has 161 right now, I would think that could be close to making a top 10 if the league had one.

Steve Brooks made 253.
Mo Brookens made 230.
Andy Draayer made 221.
Brian Schaefer made 217.
Caleb Veldhouse made 215.
Wes Weir made 210.

Here are the stats from the Adrian Page.  Need to add Todd Wesche, Ben Taylor, Mike Riley and Dan Walter.  And Brian Schaefer had 227 not 217.
I hope this helps

http://adrian.prestosports.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/histcarr.htm#ICRECS.FCA

1. 253 Steve Brooks (104 games) - 1999-03
2. 233 Todd Wesche (72 games) - 1993-97
3. 227 Brian Schaefer (114 games) - 2000-05
227  Ben Taylor (69 games) - 1995-99
5. 205 Mike Riley (66 games) - 1997-00
6. 180 Dan Walter (104 games) - 1999-03

[gohope]

Nice Article from the GR Press:  http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2012/01/how_hope_guard_transformed_int.html

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Nice Article from the GR Press:  http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2012/01/how_hope_guard_transformed_int.html

Thanks for the link GH, good article.

In my opinion Krombeen is the clear cut MIAA MVP at this point of the season, both from a numbers perspective but also just understanding the impact a player has on a game.  He's really fun to watch.  It's really interesting to observe the progression and development of Hope seniors in recent years who consistently have improved over the course of their career to emerge as MVP or MVP runners-up:  Cramer, VanderHeide, Reimink, Bowser (second only to McClary).  These guys were not all MIAA freshmen but saw consistent, significant development over the course of four years and all received well-deserved accolades as seniors.  Add Krombeen to that list this year. 

If you chart production from Calvin's recent stars over four year careers, it's a much flatter curve (Veltema, Mantel, Rodts, Veldhouse, etc) than Hope's.  An interesting case study right now would be Tom Snikkers and whether he can make the leap to MVP candidate or not.  He certainly had as much talent and upside as an incoming freshman as the the list of Hope MVP's.  I'd be interested to hear other posters' opinions on why Hope has seen better success in this area in recent years (specifics, not just a general KVS bashing please).   

[hoopdreams]

I think its a slightly easier evolution to go from a slasher, limited range player and extend your game outside,  as opposed to a perimeter player who has to evolve into a "take it to the hoop" player.  Whether its a lack of ballhandling, lack of speed, lack of enjoying contact, lack of instruction, whatever....  it's a lot easier setting up a gun and firing up 500 jumpers a day, then it is working on getting into paint, absorbing contact and shooting around/over a helpside defender

Veltema and Rodts are the best examples... poor ball handlers, not real quick..let's catch and shoot.  They were pretty easy to defend IMO and they rarely tried to take their defenders off the dribble.

Cramer, Bowser, Krombeen, Overway, made their living in hs getting to the rack and generally went from poor perimeter shooters to at least respectable if not better.  Not sure Krombeen's 23 % during conference play has teams shaking but he always seems to make a BIG one.

From what I've seen from d3, and the lack of position workouts and 1 on 1's like the big school utilize year round, its really up to the player. The easiest decision is to go to the gym and work on the skills you're already strong at.

[KnightSlappy]

In my opinion Krombeen is the clear cut MIAA MVP at this point of the season, both from a numbers perspective but also just understanding the impact a player has on a game.

I'm sure Ian Jackson disagrees on both counts.

[BogeyMan]

In my opinion Krombeen is the clear cut MIAA MVP at this point of the season, both from a numbers perspective but also just understanding the impact a player has on a game.

I'm sure Ian Jackson disagrees on both counts.

I'm sure more than Ian Jackson disagree.  After watching him play this year, he has improved his game at the defensive end tremendously.  He has made himself into more than a scorer.  Tough vote at this point in the season.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

In my opinion Krombeen is the clear cut MIAA MVP at this point of the season, both from a numbers perspective but also just understanding the impact a player has on a game.

I'm sure Ian Jackson disagrees on both counts.

I'm sure more than Ian Jackson disagree.  After watching him play this year, he has improved his game at the defensive end tremendously.  He has made himself into more than a scorer.  Tough vote at this point in the season.

Just my opinion.  Looking deeper than just scoring stats, Krombeen vs Jackson:

Shooting 9.4% better from the field
5.3% more points per shot taken
0.8 more rebounds per game
0.3 more assists per game
1.0 fewer turnovers per game
63% better Assist/turnover ratio
0.3 more blocked shots per game
1.1 more steals per game

all this in 13% fewer minutes played.  The reason for this is leading Hope to more team success than Trine so they don't need their starters on the floor as much.  Team success should also be somewhat of a factor in MVP voting.  While I'm not a believer that the award should just go to the best player on the league champion, it should count for something.

[KnightSlappy]

In my opinion Krombeen is the clear cut MIAA MVP at this point of the season, both from a numbers perspective but also just understanding the impact a player has on a game.

I'm sure Ian Jackson disagrees on both counts.

I'm sure more than Ian Jackson disagree.  After watching him play this year, he has improved his game at the defensive end tremendously.  He has made himself into more than a scorer.  Tough vote at this point in the season.

Just my opinion.  Looking deeper than just scoring stats, Krombeen vs Jackson:

Shooting 9.4% better from the field
5.3% more points per shot taken
0.8 more rebounds per game
0.3 more assists per game
1.0 fewer turnovers per game
63% better Assist/turnover ratio
0.3 more blocked shots per game
1.1 more steals per game

all this in 13% fewer minutes played.  The reason for this is leading Hope to more team success than Trine so they don't need their starters on the floor as much.  Team success should also be somewhat of a factor in MVP voting.  While I'm not a believer that the award should just go to the best player on the league champion, it should count for something.

I believe MVP and All-Conference voting only includes in-league games. Jackson has better ppg, and a/to ratio so far.

[sac]

Interesting that Ian Jackson has 1083 points with at least 10 games left in his Junior season.  He is well on his way to reaching 1500+ points which would put him among Trine's top 10 scorers all-time.

Most of Trine's leading scorers come from their NAIA days when they played a handful of games more per season, so this would be no small accomplishment.  On a per game basis, he'll probably finish among their top 5 scorers.

http://www.trine.edu/athletics/mens_sports/basketball/archives/