MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[almcguirejr]

I think the outcome of tomorrow's game is going to depend on how much and how well Snuggerud plays.  If he plays 25-30 minutes at his potential, Calvin is going to have a difficult time winning.  Hope's team and Snuggerud have not come together yet and played a complete 40 minutes.  Hope was the preseason favorite for that reason.  If they all get on the same page they will be very strong.

Nate hasn't played more than 22 minutes since the Spring Arbor game, and only more than 15 twice.

Sac, I know what the stats are.  It's Calvin/Hope.  I can't see a preseason All-American and league MVP not playing major minutes in this game.  My personal opinion is the "prodigal" returns to the fold tomorrow night.

[oldknight]

And the weakest Hope one in years.

It might just be me but this team looks a lot like the 2009/2010/2011 Hope teams.  21-8, 21-8, 23-7. 

This team also played a more difficult schedule than those teams did.

I'm going by the eye test, and the Massey numbers seem to back up the claim that this is not a very good defensive team. I wasn't trying to fool anyone: every time I've watched this team this year they've looked to me out of sorts and very much so on the defensive end. Honestly - and I hate to say this - I expect a 15 point win for Calvin tomorrow.

One of the things that makes me enjoy HC so much is his unwillingness to descend into namby-pamby irrelevance. No Caspar Milquetoast academic is he. I would like to say this prediction is correct but age has made me a coward and tempered my willingness to be so bold. Double digit wins--even by favorites--don't come easily in this rivalry. Take last season's conference semi-final. By that time of the season it was obvious an excellent Hope squad was the superior team but an outmanned Calvin quintet played hard and made pests of themselves all night. Hope never could really shake the Knights who forced Matt Neil to keep his starters in the game to the bitter end before outlasting Calvin 87-80. If you pressed me on it, I would mark the rebuilding of Calvin with that game. Now the Knights have the missing parts back and forged a pretty good record.

Every year a new dynamic seems to be at play in this rivalry series. The big one this year is Nate Snuggerud. Will Matt Neil continue to sit his pre-season All-American? The last six games Nate has played 5, 15, 22, 6, 20, and 10 minutes. The Hope freshmen are fine players and maybe they will perform well but they have never experienced the intensity and pressure associated with this game. If they struggle, it's hard to imagine MN leaving his best player on the bench for long, particularly given his history of good play in big games.

As for Calvin, it's taken four years but it is clear that this is Tom Snikkers' team. As Snikkers goes, Calvin goes, and Calvin has been going well for the last seven games. I have literally seen Tom play basketball since before he entered junior high and his most recent stretch is the longest during which he has been consistently good. There has never been any doubt about his talent level but his prior inconsistencies have been fed by allowing his frustration to bubble over. There was a moment he wanted to clock a Wabash player who tried to take him out in Faganel Hall in late December. But Snik regained his composure and quickly showed to be as unruffled as a catamaran on a zephyrless Reeds Lake. Tom has been a consistent force in all the major aspects of the game--scoring, rebounding, playmaking and defending--and if he plays well Wednesday and Calvin wins, he has to be an early favorite for conference MVP.

It seems to me Hope has more questions than answers at this point. Maybe they will provide those answers tomorrow night. They will need to because at this point I don't think Calvin can be better prepared for this game.

[sac]

as unruffled as a catamaran on a zephyrless Reeds Lake.

+1

[sac]

Drake Harris has re-opened his recruitment, Calvin may have a shot yet.

[ziggy]

Drake Harris has re-opened his recruitment, Calvin may have a shot yet.

Ah but alas, the recruitment has re-opened as a result of dropping basketball from his collegiate extracurriculars.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Drake Harris has re-opened his recruitment, Calvin may have a shot yet.

Ah but alas, the recruitment has re-opened as a result of dropping basketball from his collegiate extracurriculars.

So now Hope is in the mix?   

[calvinite]

OSU -- Urban Meyer flew into Grand Rapids yesterday to meet with Harris (perhaps, others, too; I don't know). I'm sure Hope is a close 2nd or possibly 3rd on his list.

[KnightSlappy]

I wouldn't be completely surprised to see KVS empoly an 8-man rotation tomorrow night. He nearly did this vs. Adrian when DeBoer had 4 minutes and Vallie had 2.

Will playing a Hope team that may go as many as 11 deep, possibly even 12 allow that though?  Adrian and Albion really can't do that because of roster issues.  Hope's been playing a solid 9 with 2 or 3 others getting a handful of minutes each.

I don't understand your point. You're saying that Calvin went with a shallower rotation against Albion and Adrian to their detriment?

[knightvision]

I wouldn't be completely surprised to see KVS empoly an 8-man rotation tomorrow night. He nearly did this vs. Adrian when DeBoer had 4 minutes and Vallie had 2.

Will playing a Hope team that may go as many as 11 deep, possibly even 12 allow that though?  Adrian and Albion really can't do that because of roster issues.  Hope's been playing a solid 9 with 2 or 3 others getting a handful of minutes each.

I don't understand your point. You're saying that Calvin went with a shallower rotation against Albion and Adrian to their detriment?

I took sac's comment to mean that Calvin would need to play more than 8 guys if they wanted to "keep up" with Hope having fresh guys on the floor because of how many guys they are playing.  It's probably less about how many guys Hope plays and more about if they try to force tempo and get out in transition and make it a track meet.  I haven't seen enough of Hope to know if that's how they've been playing (or want to play against Calvin as part of their game plan), but I suppose it could be an issue if they are successful in speeding things up.  The TV time outs that OK mentioned do come into play in this regard and tend to mitigate the fatigue factor a bit because of the periodic breaks. 

Inspired by the already building excitement about the Super Bowl ads that I will do my best to completely ignore, I forgot to mention one other thing I'll be watching closely:  Will some of the wonderful advertisers who support the game use the same ad they've used for the last 5 years?   

[HopeConvert]

And the weakest Hope one in years.

It might just be me but this team looks a lot like the 2009/2010/2011 Hope teams.  21-8, 21-8, 23-7. 

This team also played a more difficult schedule than those teams did.

I'm going by the eye test, and the Massey numbers seem to back up the claim that this is not a very good defensive team. I wasn't trying to fool anyone: every time I've watched this team this year they've looked to me out of sorts and very much so on the defensive end. Honestly - and I hate to say this - I expect a 15 point win for Calvin tomorrow.

One of the things that makes me enjoy HC so much is his unwillingness to descend into namby-pamby irrelevance. No Caspar Milquetoast academic is he. I would like to say this prediction is correct but age has made me a coward and tempered my willingness to be so bold. Double digit wins--even by favorites--don't come easily in this rivalry. Take last season's conference semi-final. By that time of the season it was obvious an excellent Hope squad was the superior team but an outmanned Calvin quintet played hard and made pests of themselves all night. Hope never could really shake the Knights who forced Matt Neil to keep his starters in the game to the bitter end before outlasting Calvin 87-80. If you pressed me on it, I would mark the rebuilding of Calvin with that game. Now the Knights have the missing parts back and forged a pretty good record.

Every year a new dynamic seems to be at play in this rivalry series. The big one this year is Nate Snuggerud. Will Matt Neil continue to sit his pre-season All-American? The last six games Nate has played 5, 15, 22, 6, 20, and 10 minutes. The Hope freshmen are fine players and maybe they will perform well but they have never experienced the intensity and pressure associated with this game. If they struggle, it's hard to imagine MN leaving his best player on the bench for long, particularly given his history of good play in big games.

As for Calvin, it's taken four years but it is clear that this is Tom Snikkers' team. As Snikkers goes, Calvin goes, and Calvin has been going well for the last seven games. I have literally seen Tom play basketball since before he entered junior high and his most recent stretch is the longest during which he has been consistently good. There has never been any doubt about his talent level but his prior inconsistencies have been fed by allowing his frustration to bubble over. There was a moment he wanted to clock a Wabash player who tried to take him out in Faganel Hall in late December. But Snik regained his composure and quickly showed to be as unruffled as a catamaran on a zephyrless Reeds Lake. Tom has been a consistent force in all the major aspects of the game--scoring, rebounding, playmaking and defending--and if he plays well Wednesday and Calvin wins, he has to be an early favorite for conference MVP.

It seems to me Hope has more questions than answers at this point. Maybe they will provide those answers tomorrow night. They will need to because at this point I don't think Calvin can be better prepared for this game.

I appreciate the compliment, but you've read some of my other stuff. It's nothing but namby-pamby irrelevance. Well, maybe not always namby-pamby, but certainly irrelevant. And - to beat GK to the punch - not infrequently irreverent.

Caspar Milquetoast. I may have found my nom de plume.

[oldknight]

OSU -- Urban Meyer flew into Grand Rapids yesterday to meet with Harris (perhaps, others, too; I don't know). I'm sure Hope is a close 2nd or possibly 3rd on his list.

http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/01/drake_harris_still_committed_t.html#incart_2box

Committed but looking. How special. I think I'll try that one out on Mrs. OldKnight on the way to VNA. We'll see how that works out. If board regulars who attend don't see me in my usual spot tonight, feel free to stay until the final buzzer but I would appreciate it if you could divide up the territory and do a search on your way home. I suggest you start with shallow graves.

[HopeConvert]

OSU -- Urban Meyer flew into Grand Rapids yesterday to meet with Harris (perhaps, others, too; I don't know). I'm sure Hope is a close 2nd or possibly 3rd on his list.

http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/01/drake_harris_still_committed_t.html#incart_2box

Committed but looking. How special. I think I'll try that one out on Mrs. OldKnight on the way to VNA. We'll see how that works out. If board regulars who attend don't see me in my usual spot tonight, feel free to stay until the final buzzer but I would appreciate it if you could divide up the territory and do a search on your way home. I suggest you start with shallow graves.

That's fantastic.

Reminds me of, during the height of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, Dick Armey at a press conference. As resignation was being discussed a reporter asked Armey "If you were in the President's position..." and Armey immediately quipped "If I were, I'd be looking up from a pool of my own blood hearing my wife say 'How do I reload this thing?'"

[Flying Dutch Fan]

OSU -- Urban Meyer flew into Grand Rapids yesterday to meet with Harris (perhaps, others, too; I don't know). I'm sure Hope is a close 2nd or possibly 3rd on his list.

http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/01/drake_harris_still_committed_t.html#incart_2box

Committed but looking. How special. I think I'll try that one out on Mrs. OldKnight on the way to VNA. We'll see how that works out. If board regulars who attend don't see me in my usual spot tonight, feel free to stay until the final buzzer but I would appreciate it if you could divide up the territory and do a search on your way home. I suggest you start with shallow graves.

That's fantastic.

Reminds me of, during the height of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, Dick Armey at a press conference. As resignation was being discussed a reporter asked Armey "If you were in the President's position..." and Armey immediately quipped "If I were, I'd be looking up from a pool of my own blood hearing my wife say 'How do I reload this thing?'"

You guys both crack me up!! Will ask CM to bring along a shovel and some good flashlights, and we will find you oldknight - rivalry or no rivalry

[maroonandgold]

After looking at the MIAA pick 'em site, I am a little surprised at the extent to which the predictions reflect belief in the favorite team.  There are predictions all the way from a 4 for a Hope win and a 4 for a Calvin win.  That is probably the way it should be with strong belief in our own teams.  Personally I expect a typical hard fought game with a tight margin of victory, and it could go either way without a big surprise.  If Tom Snikkers is going to be league MVP, and I agree, he is the favorite at this point, this is the time for him to continue to show that he has really matured and is an outstanding leader as a senior.  He has been impressive over the last two weeks, but this is the ultimate test!

[Civic Minded]

OSU -- Urban Meyer flew into Grand Rapids yesterday to meet with Harris (perhaps, others, too; I don't know). I'm sure Hope is a close 2nd or possibly 3rd on his list.

http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/01/drake_harris_still_committed_t.html#incart_2box

Committed but looking. How special. I think I'll try that one out on Mrs. OldKnight on the way to VNA. We'll see how that works out. If board regulars who attend don't see me in my usual spot tonight, feel free to stay until the final buzzer but I would appreciate it if you could divide up the territory and do a search on your way home. I suggest you start with shallow graves.

That's fantastic.

Reminds me of, during the height of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, Dick Armey at a press conference. As resignation was being discussed a reporter asked Armey "If you were in the President's position..." and Armey immediately quipped "If I were, I'd be looking up from a pool of my own blood hearing my wife say 'How do I reload this thing?'"

You guys both crack me up!! Will ask CM to bring along a shovel and some good flashlights, and we will find you oldknight - rivalry or no rivalry

I don't know.  While I'd normally defend OK, and even hunt for him if lost, I'm afraid I might have to side with Mrs. OK on this one...