MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sac]

Stephen Bell has a couple MIAA related tidbits, the last snippet being the most interesting to me.  You can buy the first if you wish, I'm rather undecided on that topic.

http://www.bankhoops.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=455:bell-on-ball-small-schools-big-hauls-in-early-recruiting-&catid=18:hs&Itemid=67

(EDIT:  file this under 'while you were typing')


The father son Ernst duo was something, I was pretty young then and knew much less about basketball, life and just about everything.  But very few names ever riled the basketball coaches and players in my high schools halls like mentioning either of the Ernst's.    When Sr. was the coach at Charlotte there were frequent rumored recruiting shenanigans, a no-no in the pre-school of choice days.  Still not supposed to happen today but I think we all know how that goes.

All I know is back then two of the up and coming star athletes in the area were Jason Bossard and Jeff Pepper.  Bossard played at Grand Ledge, Pepper at my high school.  By some miracle of fate both moved to Charlotte the same summer and teamed up with another kid I can't remember to form one of the best teams in the area.  One soon after was driving around a new red Fiero, it was  legit but it didn't look good.   The whole thing miffed a lot of people.

Bossard ended up at Michigan and found the weight room but not the basketball gym enough.  Pepper never quite turned into the star basketball recruit some thought he might.  I forget where he ended up.

Ernst Sr's departure from Charlotte was also rumor filled and rather colorful.

Interesting

[almcguirejr]

Stephen Bell has a couple MIAA related tidbits, the last snippet being the most interesting to me.  You can buy the first if you wish, I'm rather undecided on that topic.

http://www.bankhoops.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=455:bell-on-ball-small-schools-big-hauls-in-early-recruiting-&catid=18:hs&Itemid=67

(EDIT:  file this under 'while you were typing')


The father son Ernst duo was something, I was pretty young then and knew much less about basketball, life and just about everything.  But very few names ever riled the basketball coaches and players in my high schools halls like mentioning either of the Ernst's.    When Sr. was the coach at Charlotte there were frequent rumored recruiting shenanigans, a no-no in the pre-school of choice days.  Still not supposed to happen today but I think we all know how that goes.

All I know is back then two of the up and coming star athletes in the area were Jason Bossard and Jeff Pepper.  Bossard played at Grand Ledge, Pepper at my high school.  By some miracle of fate both moved to Charlotte the same summer and teamed up with another kid I can't remember to form one of the best teams in the area.  One soon after was driving around a new red Fiero, it was  legit but it didn't look good.   The whole thing miffed a lot of people.

Bossard ended up at Michigan and found the weight room but not the basketball gym enough.  Pepper never quite turned into the star basketball recruit some thought he might.  I forget where he ended up.

Ernst Sr's departure from Charlotte was also rumor filled and rather colorful.

Interesting

Jerry Ernst Sr. coached Reed City to a Class C State Championship in 1980.   They were 28-0.

[ziggy]

Stephen Bell has a couple MIAA related tidbits, the last snippet being the most interesting to me.  You can buy the first if you wish, I'm rather undecided on that topic.

http://www.bankhoops.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=455:bell-on-ball-small-schools-big-hauls-in-early-recruiting-&catid=18:hs&Itemid=67

The announcement of Neil's departure trailed Steigenga's public announcement by about a month, for whatever that's worth. I don't know if that means it lines up in support of the theory or does the opposite.

[HopeConvert]

I think it's worth distinguishing between a "theory" and a "rumor." I've heard plenty of the latter, but given that I don't know the extent to which they are true, and have no means of verifying them, it seems prudent to keep them to myself, particularly if they might unjustly impugn someone's reputation.

[sac]

First practice article
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/article/20141015/SPORTS/141019465/2000/NEWS

[Flying Dutch Fan]

First roster of the season is up - and it's Alma's

http://www.goalmascots.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

22 total listed (not split into V and JV) includes 8 Freshman.  Newcomers Kevin Gamble and Brooks Hyble could be impact guys for Alma.  They are both 6-7 and played together at Mt Pleasant Sacred Heart.  Gamble was All-State Class D, while Hyble recieved honorable mention.

Suspect (OK HOPEing) we will see more of them by Monday

[sac]

It might be purely my biased opinion but I think Alma's other 6-7 Freshmen you didn't mention, Doug Bradfield from Mason will be Alma's top impact Freshmen this year, and possibly the leagues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABraVjMCfuY

He's very similar to Hope's Cody Stuive, interesting both are listed at 6-7 185lb for their Freshman year.


If the Scots can work around being so young they might be pushing pretty hard for the 4th MIAA tournament slot.

[maroonandgold]

It might be purely my biased opinion but I think Alma's other 6-7 Freshmen you didn't mention, Doug Bradfield from Mason will be Alma's top impact Freshmen this year, and possibly the leagues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABraVjMCfuY

He's very similar to Hope's Cody Stuive, interesting both are listed at 6-7 185lb for their Freshman year.


If the Scots can work around being so young they might be pushing pretty hard for the 4th MIAA tournament slot.

It is interesting to observe that Alma's roster is entirely made up of underclassmen and includes more height than in past years.  They appear to be a much more competitive group than in previous years.  With a season or two under their belts, this appears to be a much stronger team than we've seen from Alma.

[sac]

Hope's roster, no real surprises to me.  Newcomers are Fr. Dante Hawkins,  JV call ups Zach Littleson, Ryan Skowronek and Mitchell O'Brien.  And a welcome return of Jr. Steve Wittenbach. 

http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

Still pretty young, but should have a great deal of returning varsity experience.


JV roster  http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/JVRoster

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Hope's roster, no real surprises to me.  Newcomers are Fr. Dante Hawkins,  JV call ups Zach Littleson, Ryan Skowronek and Mitchell O'Brien.  And a welcome return of Jr. Steve Wittenbach. 

http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

Still pretty young, but should have a great deal of returning varsity experience.


JV roster  http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/JVRoster

Young but experienced indeed. 7 juniors (Denham is listed as a senior but is actually a junior) and 6 sophomores with a single senior and a single freshman. Seems like a great kind of mix for a new coach to work with.

[sac]

Hope's roster, no real surprises to me.  Newcomers are Fr. Dante Hawkins,  JV call ups Zach Littleson, Ryan Skowronek and Mitchell O'Brien.  And a welcome return of Jr. Steve Wittenbach. 

http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

Still pretty young, but should have a great deal of returning varsity experience.


JV roster  http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/JVRoster

Young but experienced indeed. 7 juniors (Denham is listed as a senior but is actually a junior) and 6 sophomores with a single senior and a single freshman. Seems like a great kind of mix for a new coach to work with.

If you count Skowronek's cup of tea varsity experience from last year, 80% of the roster has previous varsity experience.  The most for a Hope team in the last 10+ years.


Its an odd mix of years, the lack of Seniors technically makes them younger than last year.   But I certainly won't view them that way.

[maroonandgold]

Hope's roster, no real surprises to me.  Newcomers are Fr. Dante Hawkins,  JV call ups Zach Littleson, Ryan Skowronek and Mitchell O'Brien.  And a welcome return of Jr. Steve Wittenbach. 

http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

Still pretty young, but should have a great deal of returning varsity experience.


JV roster  http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/JVRoster

Young but experienced indeed. 7 juniors (Denham is listed as a senior but is actually a junior) and 6 sophomores with a single senior and a single freshman. Seems like a great kind of mix for a new coach to work with.

If you count Skowronek's cup of tea varsity experience from last year, 80% of the roster has previous varsity experience.  The most for a Hope team in the last 10+ years.


Its an odd mix of years, the lack of Seniors technically makes them younger than last year.   But I certainly won't view them that way.

Only Brock Benson is listed as a center, and there appears no obvious backup at that position.  Who would be the most likely to sub when needed at that position?

[oldknight]

Hope's roster, no real surprises to me.  Newcomers are Fr. Dante Hawkins,  JV call ups Zach Littleson, Ryan Skowronek and Mitchell O'Brien.  And a welcome return of Jr. Steve Wittenbach. 

http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

Still pretty young, but should have a great deal of returning varsity experience.


JV roster  http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2014-15/JVRoster

Young but experienced indeed. 7 juniors (Denham is listed as a senior but is actually a junior) and 6 sophomores with a single senior and a single freshman. Seems like a great kind of mix for a new coach to work with.

If you count Skowronek's cup of tea varsity experience from last year, 80% of the roster has previous varsity experience.  The most for a Hope team in the last 10+ years.


Its an odd mix of years, the lack of Seniors technically makes them younger than last year.   But I certainly won't view them that way.

Only Brock Benson is listed as a center, and there appears no obvious backup at that position.  Who would be the most likely to sub when needed at that position?

The college game is changing. Or imore to the point, the game has evolved and no longer requires teams to play with a strong post presence in order to be successful. That wasn't the case 25 years ago. Today, the inside game is less a feature than an adjunct to today's requirement that you have stable full of players who help you spread the floor. You need players who have the ability to hit the three and drive to the hoop. The more players you have on your team who can do both, the better your chances of overwhelming an opponent's defenses. It's nice to have a good post-scorer or two on your team but having athletic players who are comfortable playing with their face to the basket, who are a threat from the arc and who can dribble penetrate, are highly prized (See John Beilein). It's the kind of game that players like Gardner and Eidson from Hope are good at, as is Calvin's Jordan Brink, who may become this season's league MVP. It's the kind of player Sam Hargraves is really emphasizing in his recruiting. It's also the reason I'm excited to see what frosh Connor Vander Brug can do. From my admittedly limited observations of his high school play, he struck me as the perfect balance of a quality D3 player who can hit the three, put it on the floor or be a traditional post-up scorer. All that in a 6'6", 215 pound body.

[sac]

Only Brock Benson is listed as a center, and there appears no obvious backup at that position.  Who would be the most likely to sub when needed at that position?

I think Hope will play a smaller game this year, most likely we'll see 3 guards a lot and often the 4 will be Wittenbach, Littleson and maybe Otto. (My best guess, no inside info)

Stuive and Blackledge can certainly play the 5 when needed and I would think Brushwyler and Skowronek might see time there as well.  In the MIAA this won't be too much of a problem since the league is overall pretty small, outside the league it might be a bigger issue.

There were actually several games last year that VanArendonk and Benson became liabilities because their opponent was so much smaller.

[ziggy]

B.J. Van Loo has returned to Grace Bible: http://www.gbcol.edu/athletics/m-basket-ball/roster