MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[knightvision]

Mlive article about Calvin hoops and featuring the comments of Tom Snikkers:

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2013/03/calvin_college_senior_relishin.html#incart_river_default

"god shots"

Well, they were 18-22!

They Probably could have hit a 2 iron last week.

For those of you scratching your head about the golf reference, he's referring to Lee Trevino's famous quote about holding up a 1-iron on a golf course when lightning is present:  "Even God can't hit a 1-iron!"

Whether divine intervention or just great shooting, 18-22 is ridiculous!  Would have been even better if the "g" had been capitalized!

[GoKnights68]

So who is making the trip over to Wisconsin this weekend?  Similar to what knightslappy mentioned on his blog, it would have been nice to meet at least half way or in Chicago or something.  I still remember how many Calvin fans made the trip down to Chicago in the 2005 2nd round game vs Aurora. 

[John Gleich]

So who is making the trip over to Wisconsin this weekend?  Similar to what knightslappy mentioned on his blog, it would have been nice to meet at least half way or in Chicago or something.  I still remember how many Calvin fans made the trip down to Chicago in the 2005 2nd round game vs Aurora.

Anybody going over? I can give some suggestions for places to eat, etc, if you want...

[almcguirejr]

So who is making the trip over to Wisconsin this weekend?  Similar to what knightslappy mentioned on his blog, it would have been nice to meet at least half way or in Chicago or something.  I still remember how many Calvin fans made the trip down to Chicago in the 2005 2nd round game vs Aurora.

We are going.  I'm hoping some Calvin fans from the Milwaukee, Waupun, and Randolph area show up.

Anybody going over? I can give some suggestions for places to eat, etc, if you want...

I would appreciate a couple of suggestions for places to eat.

[almcguirejr]

Stevens Point Journal article on a couple of their bench players: http://www.stevenspointjournal.com/article/20130307/SPJ02/303070462/Bench-players-step-up-contribute-Pointers-success?nclick_check=1

[ziggy]

My topic contribution of something that is in the future but not too far in the future so as to make it unsuitable for discussion:

Prediction Time!
Calvin leaves Stevens Point victorious, 68-64!

If Point was healthy, I'd feel differently but they aren't. Calvin will be playing with the team they have had all year and they are playing their best ball of the season. It won't be an easy game but if Calvin has become the team so many of us think they have become, they will win.

Go Knights!

[oldknight]

My topic contribution of something that is in the future but not too far in the future so as to make it unsuitable for discussion:

Prediction Time!
Calvin leaves Stevens Point victorious, 68-64!

If Point was healthy, I'd feel differently but they aren't. Calvin will be playing with the team they have had all year and they are playing their best ball of the season. It won't be an easy game but if Calvin has become the team so many of us think they have become, they will win.

Go Knights!

Very much on topic, quite well stated, and I agree. The Knights have shown steady improvement, a quality you must have in order to move on at tourney time. They have won four straight by 20+ and seem to be peaking. You have to be good to take on an NCAA tournament team at their barn, have one of your key players be a complete nonfactor, and still win by 20. I have no doubt SP is a major test but the qualities this Calvin team has displayed makes them an equally major test for any opponent.

[Gregory Sager]

I still remember how many Calvin fans made the trip down to Chicago in the 2005 2nd round game vs Aurora.

I have fond memories of the opening weekend of the 2007 D3 tournament at Aurora's Thornton Gym. The Hope fans occupied the northeast corner of the gym and the Calvin fans occupied the northwest corner. Titan Q, Pete McBride, myself, and about a dozen other CCIW fans who wanted to experience the Calvin vs. Hope vibe firsthand sat between the two sections in a group of seats that we dubbed "Switzerland".

[oldknight]

I still remember how many Calvin fans made the trip down to Chicago in the 2005 2nd round game vs Aurora.

I have fond memories of the opening weekend of the 2007 D3 tournament at Aurora's Thornton Gym. The Hope fans occupied the northeast corner of the gym and the Calvin fans occupied the northwest corner. Titan Q, Pete McBride, myself, and about a dozen other CCIW fans who wanted to experience the Calvin vs. Hope vibe firsthand sat between the two sections in a group of seats that we dubbed "Switzerland".

Didn't know North Parkers could be atheists.

[Gregory Sager]

I still remember how many Calvin fans made the trip down to Chicago in the 2005 2nd round game vs Aurora.

I have fond memories of the opening weekend of the 2007 D3 tournament at Aurora's Thornton Gym. The Hope fans occupied the northeast corner of the gym and the Calvin fans occupied the northwest corner. Titan Q, Pete McBride, myself, and about a dozen other CCIW fans who wanted to experience the Calvin vs. Hope vibe firsthand sat between the two sections in a group of seats that we dubbed "Switzerland".

Didn't know North Parkers could be atheists.

Nah, if we were going for atheist neutrality we would've named it "Sweden".

[John Gleich]

So who is making the trip over to Wisconsin this weekend?  Similar to what knightslappy mentioned on his blog, it would have been nice to meet at least half way or in Chicago or something.  I still remember how many Calvin fans made the trip down to Chicago in the 2005 2nd round game vs Aurora.

We are going.  I'm hoping some Calvin fans from the Milwaukee, Waupun, and Randolph area show up.

Anybody going over? I can give some suggestions for places to eat, etc, if you want...

I would appreciate a couple of suggestions for places to eat.

You may need to click through to the picture of the map to see better.... and so you can see that some street names change as you drive on them. For example, you can see that, just west of the Hilltop, the street is called 66, but east of I-39, it's Highway 10. The next exit north, Stanley Street is to the west of I-39, but it's 66 to the east. It can be kind of confusing!

Quandt Gym is where the "A" is on the map (1801 Fourth Street Stevens Point, WI 54481)

I-39 sort of wraps around the town and many of the places to eat are out that direction.


Probably the most popular local place is the Hilltop. It's just a few miles down the road from campus on 66 and lots of Point fans will go there either before or after the game.  There's also a unique restaurant just west of there called the Silver Coach. Not your typical pre-game meal here, I'd imagine... much more along the "cuisine" end of the spectrum, and you'll pay for it too.

Just east of I-39 is Highway 10 east. There are a lot of restaurants along this stretch of road (Grazi's - Italian food, Wendy's, Subway, Culvers, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Applebees, and Buffalo Wild Wings) Amber Grill is in the Holiday Inn and El Mezcal is a local Mexican chain (there are 3 or 4 in the central Wisconsin area) Hmm.. maybe this one closed.

The next exit to the south is HH. This is a shopping area with a Walmart and a Lowes that has grown up over the last 10 or so years. It has a Chili's, a Golden Corral, McDonalds, Subway, and a Starbucks.

Downtown Stevens Point is just west of Highway 51 on 66. There are several college-type places there (Erberts & Gerbers sub place, there's a gyros take out place, a burrito take out place, Polito's is a local pizza-by-the-slice place... these are all open late). There are also lots of college bars on the Square downtown if you're into that kind of a thing.

Finally, north of 66 on 51, right near campus, there are all sorts of fast food restautants (Taco Bell, Hardees, McDonalds, Subway, Jimmy Johns, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Noodles & Company).


Basically, there's a lot available. If you know what sort of thing you want to eat, you'll likely be able to find it, you just have to know where to go.

If I was going to give a suggestion, I'd probably say the Hilltop. Just know that it's likely to be crowded on a Saturday night before a Pointer game, and make sure to leave yourself plenty of time where ever you go. Stevens Point is very centrally located in Wisconsin and there have been more and more companies doing conventions, etc there... so there may be other events going on to draw a crowd.

Point's chamber of commerce has a website:
http://stevenspointarea.com/

and a visitor's guide:
http://stevenspointarea.com/request.cfm?id=vg

[almcguirejr]

So who is making the trip over to Wisconsin this weekend?  Similar to what knightslappy mentioned on his blog, it would have been nice to meet at least half way or in Chicago or something.  I still remember how many Calvin fans made the trip down to Chicago in the 2005 2nd round game vs Aurora.

We are going.  I'm hoping some Calvin fans from the Milwaukee, Waupun, and Randolph area show up.

Anybody going over? I can give some suggestions for places to eat, etc, if you want...

I would appreciate a couple of suggestions for places to eat.

You may need to click through to the picture of the map to see better.... and so you can see that some street names change as you drive on them. For example, you can see that, just west of the Hilltop, the street is called 66, but east of I-39, it's Highway 10. The next exit north, Stanley Street is to the west of I-39, but it's 66 to the east. It can be kind of confusing!

Quandt Gym is where the "A" is on the map (1801 Fourth Street Stevens Point, WI 54481)

I-39 sort of wraps around the town and many of the places to eat are out that direction.


Probably the most popular local place is the Hilltop. It's just a few miles down the road from campus on 66 and lots of Point fans will go there either before or after the game.  There's also a unique restaurant just west of there called the Silver Coach. Not your typical pre-game meal here, I'd imagine... much more along the "cuisine" end of the spectrum, and you'll pay for it too.

Just east of I-39 is Highway 10 east. There are a lot of restaurants along this stretch of road (Grazi's - Italian food, Wendy's, Subway, Culvers, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Applebees, and Buffalo Wild Wings) Amber Grill is in the Holiday Inn and El Mezcal is a local Mexican chain (there are 3 or 4 in the central Wisconsin area) Hmm.. maybe this one closed.

The next exit to the south is HH. This is a shopping area with a Walmart and a Lowes that has grown up over the last 10 or so years. It has a Chili's, a Golden Corral, McDonalds, Subway, and a Starbucks.

Downtown Stevens Point is just west of Highway 51 on 66. There are several college-type places there (Erberts & Gerbers sub place, there's a gyros take out place, a burrito take out place, Polito's is a local pizza-by-the-slice place... these are all open late). There are also lots of college bars on the Square downtown if you're into that kind of a thing.

Finally, north of 66 on 51, right near campus, there are all sorts of fast food restautants (Taco Bell, Hardees, McDonalds, Subway, Jimmy Johns, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Noodles & Company).


Basically, there's a lot available. If you know what sort of thing you want to eat, you'll likely be able to find it, you just have to know where to go.

If I was going to give a suggestion, I'd probably say the Hilltop. Just know that it's likely to be crowded on a Saturday night before a Pointer game, and make sure to leave yourself plenty of time where ever you go. Stevens Point is very centrally located in Wisconsin and there have been more and more companies doing conventions, etc there... so there may be other events going on to draw a crowd.

Point's chamber of commerce has a website:
http://stevenspointarea.com/

and a visitor's guide:
http://stevenspointarea.com/request.cfm?id=vg

Thanks for the info.

[GoKnights68]

Agree with what Sac was talking about earlier in that this may be the game in the tourney that will comes down to the last possession.  Hopefully the Knights are on the winning side of it.  Safe travels to all making the trip to Wisconsin.

[John Gleich]

My topic contribution of something that is in the future but not too far in the future so as to make it unsuitable for discussion:

Prediction Time!
Calvin leaves Stevens Point victorious, 68-64!

If Point was healthy, I'd feel differently but they aren't. Calvin will be playing with the team they have had all year and they are playing their best ball of the season. It won't be an easy game but if Calvin has become the team so many of us think they have become, they will win.

Go Knights!

Actually, I think Point will likely be as healthy as they've been in a very, very long time on Saturday. I know that Dave McHugh picked Calvin in part because Point didn't end the season that well (due to injuries).

And yes, Point does have three guys who have been lost to injury for the year (the most obvious is Tyler Tillema, but also Tyler Lutz and Dan Studer, two of Point's bigger role players/defenders). But Point has been without those guys for a LONG time. Tillema's been out since week 8 (tried to go vs. UST and possibly got hurt even more). Lutz hasn't played all year. Studer's been out since January 20th.

Should those guys even be considered though? There wasn't a chance they were coming back... and they haven't been used for a long time anyway.

Besides... Point was dinged up even more during their "recent" stretch.

Let's look at the last 7 games.

1/30 Platteville L 46-54
2/2 La Crosse L 62-67 OT
2/6 Oshkosh W 62-52
2/13 Stout W 76-74 OT
2/16 Eau Claire W 64-34
2/21 Platteville L 56-60 (WIAC Tournament)
3/2 Northwestern W 71-54 (NCAA Tournament)
3/9 Calvin W   (NCAA Tournament)

PG Austin Ryf got hurt in the game at Platteville (1/30) and didn't play at La Crosse three days later or against Oshkosh. He came off the bench against Stout , Eau Claire , and Platteville before coming back to his starting role against Northwestern.

In addition to this, starter Joe Ritchay got hurt on 1/5 in the first game against Eau Claire. He didn't play in the second half against Eau Claire. He didn't miss any additional time, but I think it had been nagging him.

Nate Van Handel started the year off injured as well and missed the first several games. He has played a bit more of a role of late, but only a few minutes here and there.

At the depth of the injury problems, Point only dressed 9 guys and played 8.


In the last month, Point has really only played 5 games, 7 in the last 5 weeks. This is basically the BEST setup possible for a team who has had such terrible injury problems... but I would say that the injury problems were really occurring a month ago, not now.

[arena]

My topic contribution of something that is in the future but not too far in the future so as to make it unsuitable for discussion:

Prediction Time!
Calvin leaves Stevens Point victorious, 68-64!

If Point was healthy, I'd feel differently but they aren't. Calvin will be playing with the team they have had all year and they are playing their best ball of the season. It won't be an easy game but if Calvin has become the team so many of us think they have become, they will win.

Go Knights!

Actually, I think Point will likely be as healthy as they've been in a very, very long time on Saturday. I know that Dave McHugh picked Calvin in part because Point didn't end the season that well (due to injuries).

And yes, Point does have three guys who have been lost to injury for the year (the most obvious is Tyler Tillema, but also Tyler Lutz and Dan Studer, two of Point's bigger role players/defenders). But Point has been without those guys for a LONG time. Tillema's been out since week 8 (tried to go vs. UST and possibly got hurt even more). Lutz hasn't played all year. Studer's been out since January 20th.

Should those guys even be considered though? There wasn't a chance they were coming back... and they haven't been used for a long time anyway.

Besides... Point was dinged up even more during their "recent" stretch.

Let's look at the last 7 games.

1/30 Platteville L 46-54
2/2 La Crosse L 62-67 OT
2/6 Oshkosh W 62-52
2/13 Stout W 76-74 OT
2/16 Eau Claire W 64-34
2/21 Platteville L 56-60 (WIAC Tournament)
3/2 Northwestern W 71-54 (NCAA Tournament)
3/9 Calvin W   (NCAA Tournament)

PG Austin Ryf got hurt in the game at Platteville (1/30) and didn't play at La Crosse three days later or against Oshkosh. He came off the bench against Stout , Eau Claire , and Platteville before coming back to his starting role against Northwestern.

In addition to this, starter Joe Ritchay got hurt on 1/5 in the first game against Eau Claire. He didn't play in the second half against Eau Claire. He didn't miss any additional time, but I think it had been nagging him.

Nate Van Handel started the year off injured as well and missed the first several games. He has played a bit more of a role of late, but only a few minutes here and there.

At the depth of the injury problems, Point only dressed 9 guys and played 8.


In the last month, Point has really only played 5 games, 7 in the last 5 weeks. This is basically the BEST setup possible for a team who has had such terrible injury problems... but I would say that the injury problems were really occurring a month ago, not now.

Thank you for this.  I am now back in the frame of mind I wanted to be before Happy Calvin Guy's post.