MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[SBell]

I noticed Craig Kopas is not on coaching staff listing this year.  Anyone know?

Craig's coaching at Hudsonville with Elliott.

[KnightSlappy]

Western Michigan 93 Kalamazoo 50
http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=1924&DB_OEM_ID=4600&ATCLID=205723824

As you might have suspected it was a struggle for the Hornets.  Out-rebounded 63-34.  Their brief moments of glory came from cutting a 14-0 deficit to 18-17 before WMU regained control.

I bet Graham Couch is loving life right now. He can't believe Kalamazoo thought they could walk in there and hang with Western.

Graham is employed by the Lansing State Journal now as one of the beat reporters for Michigan State athletics.

He has no time, then, for small potatoes such as Western Michigan. How could WMU think they could waltz on in against a D3 opponent and draw the attention of Graham Couch?!?

[goodknight]

Update to Hope's roster:

http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/mbb/mbbrost.html

The change is the addition of Alex Eidson 6-2 Fr from Grand Haven (previously listed on JV).

I notice Van Dyke from Imlay City is no longer listed on the jv squad.

He has left school. 

[sac]

Western Michigan 93 Kalamazoo 50
http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=1924&DB_OEM_ID=4600&ATCLID=205723824

As you might have suspected it was a struggle for the Hornets.  Out-rebounded 63-34.  Their brief moments of glory came from cutting a 14-0 deficit to 18-17 before WMU regained control.

I bet Graham Couch is loving life right now. He can't believe Kalamazoo thought they could walk in there and hang with Western.

Graham is employed by the Lansing State Journal now as one of the beat reporters for Michigan State athletics.

He has no time, then, for small potatoes such as Western Michigan. How could WMU think they could waltz on in against a D3 opponent and draw the attention of Graham Couch?!?

The latest I read from him was an article where he interviewed Rollie Massimino of Villanova fame, now the head coach at D2 Northwood, Fl.  He probably told him Izzo's ring was bigger.

I'd link it but its Nov. 2 and I'm already over my monthly article limit.

[almcguirejr]

Western Michigan 93 Kalamazoo 50
http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=1924&DB_OEM_ID=4600&ATCLID=205723824

As you might have suspected it was a struggle for the Hornets.  Out-rebounded 63-34.  Their brief moments of glory came from cutting a 14-0 deficit to 18-17 before WMU regained control.

I bet Graham Couch is loving life right now. He can't believe Kalamazoo thought they could walk in there and hang with Western.

Graham is employed by the Lansing State Journal now as one of the beat reporters for Michigan State athletics.

He has no time, then, for small potatoes such as Western Michigan. How could WMU think they could waltz on in against a D3 opponent and draw the attention of Graham Couch?!?

The latest I read from him was an article where he interviewed Rollie Massimino of Villanova fame, now the head coach at D2 Northwood, Fl.  He probably told him Izzo's ring was bigger.

I'd link it but its Nov. 2 and I'm already over my monthly article limit.

Here's the link:  http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20121030/COLUMNISTS15/310300037/?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CINGHAM

[devossed]

Update to Hope's roster:

http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/mbb/mbbrost.html

The change is the addition of Alex Eidson 6-2 Fr from Grand Haven (previously listed on JV).

I notice Van Dyke from Imlay City is no longer listed on the jv squad.

He has left school.

WOTS-
Transfer to cornerstone

[devossed]

Update to Hope's roster:

http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/mbb/mbbrost.html

The change is the addition of Alex Eidson 6-2 Fr from Grand Haven (previously listed on JV).

And - there's now a baby Shaq from CA who wasn't listed before...that size is almost unheard of at the MIAA jv level.

[hoopdreams]

just had dinner with two fellas close to Hope's program and they too mentioned the whooping Bethel put on Hope the other night.  Anyone who was there......we know you're out there, care to elaborate?  Missing Colton is one thing but I've never considered him to be a great "distributor" and in all truthfullness,is fairly limited in half-court sets.  What gives on the Bethlel scrimmage?  Apparently he (overway) played against the CC team...correct?

My company for the night also praised the sheer enormity of the new kid.  Something like "circus side-show" big for a frosh.  Hope he puts in the work and pans out in the long run.

Kopas, Bosch and Elliott now at Hudsy....plenty of recent Hudsy hoop grads playing somewhere other than Hope, albeit several choosing to play hardball instead.

[jspiii]

Update to Hope's roster:

http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/mbb/mbbrost.html

The change is the addition of Alex Eidson 6-2 Fr from Grand Haven (previously listed on JV).

And - there's now a baby Shaq from CA who wasn't listed before...that size is almost unheard of at the MIAA jv level.

His senior year HS stats (team record 12-15) were: 11.9 PPG 8.7 REB 1.8 APG .5 ST 3.1 BLOCKS

He was listed at 6'11" 255lbs in HS

[sac]

I would take any and all scrimmages whether they are big wins or big losses with the appropriate grain of salt. 

Hope 'won' today 90ish to 40ish over St. Clair CC......only shot one free-throw on shooting fouls to save time, this was clearly to St. Clair's advantage (wacka, wacka)

Overway--still recovering from his illness, this his first week of practice, played well but didn't look 100%.
Holwerda--played very little, still recovering from his finger boo boo which was wrapped in a bright orange thingy
Ray--played very little today, or all summer and has a ways to go to get to 100%
Neil--just joined the team from soccer yesterday(?)

The day was mostly spent with the starting 5 playing 4 or 5 times together and then varying combinations of the veterans mixing with the new to the roster guys and even a few minutes of completely new guys together.  Two standard 20 minute periods with clock, refs etc.  Then a final 10 minute running clock where Matt Neil played all his new guys exclusively.  Collectively most everyone probably played between 12-20 minutes.  I won't say anyone stood out over anyone else, only that I have a much clearer idea of who will be competing with who for what positions.

Hope started:  Overway, Seiler, Whittenbach, Snuggerud, Van Arendonk

There's been a little talk about Whittenbach breaking out and he seemed to fit in really well with the starting five.  Maybe played a little of Peter Bunn's role from last season.  His outside shooting will be welcome.

Caleb Byers will  help this team.

Brock Benson will help this team.

Chase DeMaagd, Chris Ray and Josh Holwerda didn't play enough to get a good read on where they fit but obviously they're in the mix at the 3/4 and 5 spots

There appears to be a lot of even competition at the 2 guard spots.  Parisi/McMahon/Eidson battling for time at the 2 and I believe all 3 were part of a 3 guard set at times, Gardner/Denham battling for the second PG.  If you twisted my arm based on just what I saw today, an edge to McMahon and Gardner.

One thing I did notice right away was that Hope is much smaller at the guard spots than in years past.  Quite a bit smaller in fact.

Don't know what to think of St. Clair as I watch zero CC basketball.  Their website doesn't have a roster for this year up, though I think they looked a touch taller than last.  Frankly they looked a little out of sorts most of the day.  They missed a lot of shots.

St. Clair is nicknamed the Skippers, so the Flying Dutchmen played the Skippers today.     Its a shame Jim Schipper was not in attendance, though Kooiker was.

It was interesting to watch, I'd never watched Hope scrimmage before.  Its Nov. 2 Nov 3, much work to do.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Missing Colton is one thing but I've never considered him to be a great "distributor" and in all truthfullness,is fairly limited in half-court sets. 

Once again you are proving that when it comes to basketball you are clueless, completely clueless.  Colton "only" has 199 assists in 2 years of play.  Given that he was coming off the bench and averaged 19 minutes per game those years, it's pretty safe to say his playing time will increase, and with it his assists.  I'll predict he has around 125 assists this year - for a total of 324.

That would rank him #6 all time at Hope - just ahead of Klingler, Immink, Duistermars, Taylor, and C Carlson. 

Should you doubt his effectiveness as a point guard, I suggest you ask any other MIAA team (or fan of said team) if they would take him as their starting point guard.

[oldknight]

Missing Colton is one thing but I've never considered him to be a great "distributor" and in all truthfullness,is fairly limited in half-court sets. 

Once again you are proving that when it comes to basketball you are clueless, completely clueless.  Colton "only" has 199 assists in 2 years of play.  Given that he was coming off the bench and averaged 19 minutes per game those years, it's pretty safe to say his playing time will increase, and with it his assists.  I'll predict he has around 125 assists this year - for a total of 324.

That would rank him #6 all time at Hope - just ahead of Klingler, Immink, Duistermars, Taylor, and C Carlson. 

Should you doubt his effectiveness as a point guard, I suggest you ask any other MIAA team (or fan of said team) if they would take him as their starting point guard.

I don't have dog in the fight but I'll take the bait. I'm mystified by the comment that Colton isn't a great "distributor" which I understand to mean--a poor assist guy. Neither my eyes nor a look at last season's season box score support that assessment. Overway had only 12 fewer assists on the season than Krombeen, while playing far fewer minutes and he did that without being a turnover machine. Krombeen is a better scorer, mainly because Overway doesn't seem to be as good of an outside shooter, but Overway is every bit as capable as Krombeen when it comes to penetrating and dishing to the big guys. Given Hope's need to replace their back court losses there is a lot of pressure and expectation that Colton be the offensive leader, but he has the basic skills to get the job done. This year we shall see how well he lives up to the responsibility but if I were a Hope fan (perish the thought!) Overway wouldn't be much of a concern as long as he stays healthy and out of foul trouble. Hope should be more concerned about who will be Overway's backup. Hope had a great option last year when Krombeen wasn't in the game. I'm not sure who will fill that role this season.

[devossed]

just had dinner with two fellas close to Hope's program and they too mentioned the whooping Bethel put on Hope the other night.  Anyone who was there......we know you're out there, care to elaborate?  Missing Colton is one thing but I've never considered him to be a great "distributor" and in all truthfullness,is fairly limited in half-court sets.  What gives on the Bethlel scrimmage?  Apparently he (overway) played against the CC team...correct?

My company for the night also praised the sheer enormity of the new kid.  Something like "circus side-show" big for a frosh.  Hope he puts in the work and pans out in the long run.

Kopas, Bosch and Elliott now at Hudsy....plenty of recent Hudsy hoop grads playing somewhere other than Hope, albeit several choosing to play hardball instead.

I've heard a few different things about Kopas from reputable sources: that he had a bit of a falling out with Neil and Vanwieren about $ issues the last few years; or that he just wanted to spend more time with his family and charitable endeavors; or even that he's just really good friends with Elliott and wanted to enjoy the change of scenery with him.

Whatever the reason, I'll miss seeing him on the sidelines - he was always very nice to me and my family, and would always stop and have a fun word for the "special" group of fans that populate the top row across the concourse.

But I've also noticed that Hudsonville trend you mentioned -- seems like the days of stars like Immink/Reimink/etc just "coming" to Hope may be over...and that there seems to be some discontent with the fanbase about how some recent players have been treated by the Hope program in the last few years.

http://gbcol.edu/bbmens/index.php/players/
(see #4)

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/7019792451807478955/austin-elling-looks-toward-next-level-big-improvement-for-hudsonville/

http://www.yhtsn.com/Public/SportFeatureRead.aspx?content=576

[Civic Minded]

just had dinner with two fellas close to Hope's program and they too mentioned the whooping Bethel put on Hope the other night.  Anyone who was there......we know you're out there, care to elaborate?  Missing Colton is one thing but I've never considered him to be a great "distributor" and in all truthfullness,is fairly limited in half-court sets.  What gives on the Bethlel scrimmage?  Apparently he (overway) played against the CC team...correct?

My company for the night also praised the sheer enormity of the new kid.  Something like "circus side-show" big for a frosh.  Hope he puts in the work and pans out in the long run.

Kopas, Bosch and Elliott now at Hudsy....plenty of recent Hudsy hoop grads playing somewhere other than Hope, albeit several choosing to play hardball instead.

I've heard a few different things about Kopas from reputable sources: that he had a bit of a falling out with Neil and Vanwieren about $ issues the last few years; or that he just wanted to spend more time with his family and charitable endeavors; or even that he's just really good friends with Elliott and wanted to enjoy the change of scenery with him.

Whatever the reason, I'll miss seeing him on the sidelines - he was always very nice to me and my family, and would always stop and have a fun word for the "special" group of fans that populate the top row across the concourse.

But I've also noticed that Hudsonville trend you mentioned -- seems like the days of stars like Immink/Reimink/etc just "coming" to Hope may be over...and that there seems to be some discontent with the fanbase about how some recent players have been treated by the Hope program in the last few years.

http://gbcol.edu/bbmens/index.php/players/
(see #4)

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/7019792451807478955/austin-elling-looks-toward-next-level-big-improvement-for-hudsonville/

http://www.yhtsn.com/Public/SportFeatureRead.aspx?content=576

Kopas did a yeoman's amount of work for Hope, and with a young family that's difficult to maintain.

As for Elling and vanLoo, did you watch them play at Hope?

I've had the pleasure of getting to know both Austin and Nick, and they are great young men.  I also watched a lot of jv basketball their freshman year.  Unfortunately, they were good players in a large pool of good players, and they didn't translate as well to the college game as one might have expected.  The coaching staff went to great lengths to work with them, but in the end hard choices had to be made, just like they have to be made every year.  Not a big mystery, IMHO.

[Chief]

http://www.iupuijags.com/news/2012/11/3/MBB_1103125232.aspx