MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[oldknight]

Positives from tonight's game at DeVos:

--Tom Snikkers didn't have to stay up to 4 am Netherlands time.

-- . . . . . . .

[almcguirejr]

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2014/02/hope_gets_great_start_then_dom.html#incart_river

[almcguirejr]

Color me puzzled.  Did not see that coming.  Hope took the Knights to the woodshed.  Maybe the third time will be different, if there is a third matchup this year.

Brink, Kruis, DeVries, and Dykstra all played major minutes last year.  They experienced the level of intensity you need to play at during the NCAA Tournament last year.  Both games this year Hope has been clearly more active and aggressive.  IMO those 4 guys have to show some leadership and set a tone of how hard you have to play.  Calvin played a similar first half against Alma this past Saturday when they only scored 13 points in the first 11 minutes of the game.

[HopeConvert]

Color me puzzled.  Did not see that coming.  Hope took the Knights to the woodshed.  Maybe the third time will be different, if there is a third matchup this year.

My feelings exactly.

[HopeConvert]

"I guess I didn't do a good job of getting us prepared to be courageous in a tough environment," Calvin coach Kevin Vande Streek said. "Hope came right after us and forced us into turnovers and attacked the basket, and I thought they did a really nice job of dictating the pressure."

Read more: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/article/20140205/Sports/140209463#ixzz2sVwZNyVl

[sac]

Hope was very good last night, they've made great strides on defense since the first time I saw them, way back in early December.  I thought Hope would have more trouble scoring but their ball movement was outstanding and seemed to leave Calvin scrambling on defense to recover.

Midway through the second half I thought I saw a few Calvin players looked gassed.  Hope ran them hard all night, not something I expected to see.


Long way to go but if Hope's able to carry that defensive intensity through their remaining 5 games they have a great chance to win this Championship.


btw, I saw this game 3 weeks ago at Kresge, a little different, but kind of similar  http://miaa.org/mbb/stats/1314/m115hoab.htm

[sac]

I think it was Knightslappy who pointed out after the first game Calvin actually had a pretty decent day on defense inside the arc.  In the first game Hope was just 14-42 or 33%.

I was certain Hope would have a more difficult time scoring last night mostly because 9-14 from 3 was unlikely to happen again but also because Calvin was pretty good inside the arc the first time and had been so good the last 4 league games since then. 

Hope was 26-41 for 63% last night inside the arc.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Fabulous game by Hope last night - specifically on the defensive side in the first half.  Seemed like Hope "punched Calvin in the mouth" right out of the gate and the knights were never able to recover.  Defense since the Albion loss by Hope has been the key, as it puts them in position to go on defensive runs, where they completely shut down the opponent. 

It also appears to me that this team has reached a point where they know and trust each other and that leads to more flow on both offense and defense.  And those freshman really don't look like or play like freshman anymore.

Go HOPE

[realist]

Color me puzzled.  Did not see that coming.  Hope took the Knights to the woodshed.  Maybe the third time will be different, if there is a third matchup this year.

Seriously?  Enough with the feigned puzzled reaction.  If you had been paying any attention to the way KVS coaches you would know that he follows a very predictable pattern.  Rest assured M. Neil knows full well how predictable Calvin is under KVS.  He came into VNA with a great plan back in Jan., and it worked well.  He also knews that the odds are extremely small that KVS ever changes his plan so it wasn't much of a gamble to use the same strategy last night.  To me it looks like KVS played right into Hope's hand.

If they should play a third time I would like to know why anyone should expect a different result? 
It seems a little late in their careers to be teaching jr's, and sr's basketball fundamentals like dribbling, and sharp crisp passing (ball control).
Last nights game reminded me of the super bowl as it only took Hope 15 seconds to steal the ball, and score 2 points on a lay up.  The game was over, and went down hill from there.
The Calvin Knights are like The Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz:  In serious need of some heart.

[realist]

"Quoting from the Calvin sports report :  "I think I could have done a better job preparing us. I give Hope a lot of credit, they came out and got right after us," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "They were the aggressors, we were not, ...."

The above is a quote from KVS in the Calvin sports report the day after the Jan game at the VNA.

The following is a quote from todays Calvin sports report:

"Hope came right out after us, forced us into turnovers and attacked the basket. They really dictated the pressure," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek.

Well DUH Kevin.  You are so predictable most people could write your post game comments for you.

Kevin.  If you get to play Hope a 3rd time this year you might expect them to: come right out after you, force turnovers, and dictate the pressure

The other option is to make some serious changes, and throw M. Neil a curve.  Bet you can't do it.

[bballfan13]

"Quoting from the Calvin sports report :  "I think I could have done a better job preparing us. I give Hope a lot of credit, they came out and got right after us," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "They were the aggressors, we were not, ...."

The above is a quote from KVS in the Calvin sports report the day after the Jan game at the VNA.

The following is a quote from todays Calvin sports report:

"Hope came right out after us, forced us into turnovers and attacked the basket. They really dictated the pressure," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek.

Well DUH Kevin.  You are so predictable most people could write your post game comments for you.

Kevin.  If you get to play Hope a 3rd time this year you might expect them to: come right out after you, force turnovers, and dictate the pressure

The other option is to make some serious changes, and throw M. Neil a curve.  Bet you can't do it.

I agree the game was ugly last night for Calvin, whether that is KVS and his team being predictable, Calvin just coming in flat as players, or Hope just playing a great game.

With that being said I don't think you can really look into any post game comments from coaches.  It is all just "coach speak" to the media.  I don't think KVS or MN really care how the media reads into their post game comments.  Basically they have to say something and they give you everything in general and tell you how the game played out.  I am sure KVS has many more thoughts on the game that will be shared with his assistants and players.

[oldknight]

Calvin hasn't had their head handed to them that badly since losing at Wheaton last season. Last night's loss was worse and not because it was a conference game and played against the Knights' chief rival. Last month's loss to Hope at VNA was highlighted by Hope simply dictating tempo the first 10 minutes and catching Calvin flatfooted but at least the Knights recovered a bit and made a game of it. Last night the tempo was dictated pretty much the entire 40 minutes and that's more worrisome. If there was one moment in time that captured the difference between the two teams it occurred somewhere around the mid-point of the second half when Calvin scored an inside basket and all five Hope players immediately rushed to the other end leading to a Brock Benson dunk. The time elapsed between the Calvin basket and the Benson dunk couldn't have been more than five seconds apart and the difference in the sense of urgency was obvious. Other game notes:

--Cody Stuive had a very nice game for Hope. I saw him in high school and thought that if he could adjust to the more physical nature of the college game that he would be an effective player. His adjustment seems to have come more quickly than I expected.

--Some may look at Eidson's scoring (17 points) as the important key to his game but I thought it was his ability to interrupt passing lanes that was most impressive. He may appear to some to be a prima donna on offense but he doesn't take time off on the defensive end and you have to respect that.

--An exceptionally smart and aware game from VanArendonk. He didn't try to do too much and simply applied himself to those tasks to which he is most suited--rebounding and taking up space.

--After a so-so first half, Tyler Kruis showed some pride in the second and all fans should applaud him for his play after the break. Even though it was obvious the Knights were not going to win, and while most of his teammates were emailing in the final score, Kruis really was the only Calvin player who played as if the game was still winnable. Tyler played exceptionally hard, scoring both from the perimeter and then taking it to the hole after Hope had to defend him from the arc. His play showed respect for his opponent, the game and himself.

--I've never been a huge fan of the weave Calvin runs even though MSU ran a version of it to great effect back when Scott Skiles was running the show in East Lansing. Most competitive sports are games of adjustments and it seems obvious that Hope has figured out how to interrupt the flow of that pattern. Meanwhile Calvin players were either unable or unwilling to compensate for Hope's overplaying of the weave. Especially in the first half it seemed Calvin's offensive movements were away from rather than towards the basket. It's tough to score when you're don't put pressure on the defense. Finally on Calvin's first possession after the break, the Knights ran a backdoor for a Tyler Dykstra dunk. Too little, too late.

--Doug Wentworth can be crude but effective at times. I heard him mention on the ride home that he didn't consider Calvin's contests with Kuyper and College of Faith to be wins. And that's coming from Calvin's home announcer.

[sac]

If they should play a third time I would like to know why anyone should expect a different result? 

Maybe they're being....realistic.

[calvin_grad]

The other option is to make some serious changes, and throw M. Neil a curve.  Bet you can't do it.

Could not agree more.  They are just way too predictable right now.

[knightvision]

I agree the game was ugly last night for Calvin, whether that is KVS and his team being predictable, Calvin just coming in flat as players, or Hope just playing a great game.

With that being said I don't think you can really look into any post game comments from coaches.  It is all just "coach speak" to the media.  I don't think KVS or MN really care how the media reads into their post game comments.  Basically they have to say something and they give you everything in general and tell you how the game played out.  I am sure KVS has many more thoughts on the game that will be shared with his assistants and players.

Neither may care what the media think, but the TV, radio, and media coverage of this game afford both basketball programs an incredible opportunity to make an impression on the community at large and more specifically a multitude of kids who someday may choose to play at one of these schools.   It's obviously way more fun to talk to the media when you win, but my overall impression is that Hope embraces it and Calvin seems to tolerate it, win or lose. 

I think MN is keenly aware of the opportunity, is clearly comfortable in front of a camera or microphone, and I've found his comments over the last couple years to be pretty reflective of what he's thinking--case in point, my earlier post about his halftime comment about pushing tempo (and I didn't mention the defensive pressure he also referenced), and that's exactly what they did.

As a Calvin guy I believe it is a mistake to send an assistant coach to talk to the TV folks.  KVS doesn't appear to be as comfortable talking to the media as MN, and that's just what it is, but I think an opportunity is being missed that I would love to see Calvin take full advantage of--win or lose.