MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[almcguirejr]

A bit of early 2015-16 schedule news. Calvin will be a participant in the D3hoops.com classic in Las Vegas. Also participating are Whitworth, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Pacific Lutheran, St. Vincent, Ramapo, UW-Stout and one spot still up for grabs, so Calvin will have two of those teams on their schedule.

Hopefully, no Finlandia

[oldknight]

Guess we won't be seeing Kuyper College at Calvin's November Tip-Off Tournament anymore.

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2015/03/kuyper_college_eliminates_its.html#incart_river

[wiz]

Guess we won't be seeing Kuyper College at Calvin's November Tip-Off Tournament anymore.

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2015/03/kuyper_college_eliminates_its.html#incart_river

Unfortunately, Kuyper continues to lack creative leadership.  A lower tiered school on all fronts.

The Vegas tournament sounds more interesting than the November Tip-Off Tournament.  What are the odds makers saying about Calvin's chances?

[almcguirejr]

Cornerstone won the NAIA championship game over Dakota Wesleyan 66-45.

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2015/03/cornerstone_66_dakota_wesleyan.html#incart_river

[ziggy]

Unless I'm mistaken, the Great Lakes challenge with Calvin, Alma, Ohio Wesleyan and Waynesburg has replaced the Calvin tip-off tournament for the foreseeable future.

The D3hoops.com classic isn't a tournament, just a collection of teams from across the country convening in one location for a weekend of basketball. Makes it easy to create some matchups we might otherwise see during the regular season. Here is the event page, although it is still set up for the 2014 edition: http://www.d3hoops.com/classic/index

[Pat Coleman]

Generally we'll be putting together matchups over the summer. Each team plays two games. Our goal is to get the most interesting (and best) matchups possible!

[wiz]

Generally we'll be putting together matchups over the summer. Each team plays two games. Our goal is to get the most interesting (and best) matchups possible!

Good idea.  Would love to see more of this.  Is it being tried on the women's side too?

[ziggy]

Generally we'll be putting together matchups over the summer. Each team plays two games. Our goal is to get the most interesting (and best) matchups possible!

Good idea.  Would love to see more of this.  Is it being tried on the women's side too?

http://www.d3hoops.com/classic/index

[Pat Coleman]

This upcoming December will be the sixth year of the D3hoops.com Classic. Typically we aim for about 14-16 teams. Often it is slightly easier to get men's teams to come to Vegas so we generally have perhaps eight men's teams and six women's. But it is the goal to get great matchups, whether men's or women's games. So Husson, which went 24-2 or so in 2014 but got no respect, was set up to play Scranton and Hampden-Sydney (and beat both, in close games, by the way). We set up FDU-Florham, the women's defending champs, against two WIAC teams. Turned out to be a down year for the WIAC women but both teams pushed Florham, which is something Florham needed.

Dave and I and Gordon Mann go to Vegas and broadcast the games, interview the coach or a player from each team, etc. Sport Tours International handles all of the logistics and runs the tournament. We just help recruit teams, raise the profile of the event and generally come along for the ride.

[almcguirejr]

I made it out to West Ottawa tonight to watch Muskegon play Hudsonville.  It wasn't a very well played game, but it was exciting.  Muskegon won 70-60 in 4 OT.   It was 47-47 at the end of regulation. The game had a little bit of everything.  Muskegon's, 6' 10", Deyonta Davis (MSU signee, McDonald's All America) had 4 points before leaving the game early in the 4th quarter.  He picked up his fourth foul on an over the back call and proceeded to slam the ball on the floor.  The ball bounced higher than the basket.  Glenn Eckelkamp, the ref, T'd him up, Davis received his fifth foul, and was disqualified.  I thought that was how his HS career was going to end.  Hudsonville could not get anything going on offense with Davis out.  Hibbits, Hudsonville's big guy, had a poor game.  I think each team scored 2 points in each of the first 3 over times. 

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/2998737460433781904/muskegon-70-hudsonville-60-big-reds-pull-out-four-overtime-thriller-to-advance-to-class-a-quarterfinals/

[sac]

Muskegon will play Lansing Everett in the QF at Lansing Eastern next week.

Everett has 6-10 Oregon commit Trevor Manuel.  Likely 2 of the top 3 or 4 Mr. Basketball votes on the same floor.  He has a ways to go to be a productive Pac12 player to my horrendous talent evaluation eyes.  But the kid will have about 5 way too easy dunks and at least 2 ridiculous blocks per game and end up over 20 points without seeming like he did much.  Tonight he had one of the best blocks I've ever seen in person when K'Central's remarkebly Senior looking Sophomore Isiah Livers took the baseline and wound up for a one hand dunk, Manuel came from the ft line and pinned it against the board.  Unreal.

Everett has some nice guards and get their hands on a lot of passes.  Outside of Manuel not much size but they are playing very hard and very well right now.  In contrast to the game Al saw, the final was 91-78 with both teams having multiple double-digit runs to take the leads.  Could be a heck of a game.

Albion coach Jody May was there tonight sitting in the K-Central section. 

[almcguirejr]

I made it out to West Ottawa tonight to watch Muskegon play Hudsonville.  It wasn't a very well played game, but it was exciting.  Muskegon won 70-60 in 4 OT.   It was 47-47 at the end of regulation. The game had a little bit of everything.  Muskegon's, 6' 10", Deyonta Davis (MSU signee, McDonald's All America) had 4 points before leaving the game early in the 4th quarter.  He picked up his fourth foul on an over the back call and proceeded to slam the ball on the floor.  The ball bounced higher than the basket.  Glenn Eckelkamp, the ref, T'd him up, Davis received his fifth foul, and was disqualified.  I thought that was how his HS career was going to end.  Hudsonville could not get anything going on offense with Davis out.  Hibbits, Hudsonville's big guy, had a poor game.  I think each team scored 2 points in each of the first 3 over times. 

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/2998737460433781904/muskegon-70-hudsonville-60-big-reds-pull-out-four-overtime-thriller-to-advance-to-class-a-quarterfinals/

Here is video of Davis slamming the ball on the floor which resulted in a technical and his fifth personal:

http://fox17online.com/2015/03/18/video-boys-basketball-regional-finals-from-march-18th/

Another Mlive article:
http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/2998737460428781921/muskegon-survives-without-davis-in-four-overtime-thriller-against-hudsonville/#incart_river

[oldknight]

Jordan Brink named NABC All-American. He's just the eighth Calvin hoopster ever so honored. It's a pretty select list.

http://www.calvinknights.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/20150319klg8nc

[Pat Coleman]

Jordan Brink named NABC All-American. He's just the eighth Calvin hoopster ever so honored. It's a pretty select list.

http://www.calvinknights.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/20150319klg8nc

Yep -- they pick 24 players and we pick 25. I don't like how the NABC puts eight players on a team, because a coach can't put eight players on the floor, and I don't like that the 40-team regions get the same representation as the 60-team or 80-team regions, but they are recognizing a reasonable number of kids, so I give them props.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Jordan Brink named NABC All-American. He's just the eighth Calvin hoopster ever so honored. It's a pretty select list.

http://www.calvinknights.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/20150319klg8nc

Yep -- they pick 24 players and we pick 25. I don't like how the NABC puts eight players on a team, because a coach can't put eight players on the floor, and I don't like that the 40-team regions get the same representation as the 60-team or 80-team regions, but they are recognizing a reasonable number of kids, so I give them props.

I think OK was referencing the select nature of the list of Calvin players that have been honored in the past by NABC--Tom Newhoff, Mark Veenstra, Dan Davis, Bill Sall, Steve Honderd, Aaron Winkle and Jeremy Veenstra--not that the NABC list is somehow a more select list than d3hoops.com. The NABC also spans several more decades of history than the d3hoops.com All American teams. Congrats to Jordan as the accolades continue to roll in.