MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sac]

Trine 78  North Park 60

33 from Holmquist, 18 from Fr. Kyle Dobson.  Dixon went 1-10 from the floor for 2 points

[KnightSlappy]

Dixon went 1-10 from the floor for 2 points

[oldknight]

First game tonight and Knightslappy's blog has a new post in which he shares his thoughts and expectations for Calvin hoops this year. If you're a Calvin fan it's worth the read--maybe even if you're not a Calvin fan it's worth the read. The link is here: http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/

KS has a lot there to consider and I mostly agree with his comments about the state of Calvin basketball. One possible quibble is over his statement that "They weren't a particularly good defensive team last season." Knowing KS as I do, I'm sure he has the data queued up to support that declarative sentence (I'll chalk up that team's deficiencies to random variation). But based on the eye test alone from last year, I'm most concerned about a possible drop-off in the current team's ability to stop people, particularly inside. The last five minutes of the conference final is Exhibit A as Stout and Dykstra were extraordinarily good in denying Hope and spurred the come from behind win. Tyler Dykstra was always a bit of an enigma on offense but he was justly awarded the first MIAA Defensive POY award. Harrison Blackledge is a very good offensive player and other than four free throws, he could barely get off a shot, as Dykstra completely shut him out that game. Jordan Brink got a lot of notice on offense but he was also a very good defender.

I saw Calvin scrimmage a couple of weeks ago and based on that I have few thoughts. Calvin needs Cam Denny to be their main inside scorer this year and I was pleased to see he did a fair amount of that in the scrimmage. Most importantly, Denny never came close to taking a shot from the arc. In fact I don't think he shot once outside of 12 feet which is good as the Knights need his body near the hoop. I see he took five shots from the arc against Northwood (bad) though he made three (very good). 

Brad Visser appears to have spent some time working on shooting mechanics in the offseason as for the most part his step in three was textbook--square to the basket, no fade and no leaning over to the left. Showed in the results too as he effortlessly swished four straight threes. Then late in the scrimmage when Brad got tired (mentally?) he reverted to last year's form and clanked a couple.

Parks was composed and clearly the best guard on the floor. Daley did what he does best, slashing to the basket and scoring in transition. I expect he will lead Calvin in scoring this year and I think they will need him to do so. He can be a tough mathchup for an opponent because unless you put a big body on him, Jordan is an excellent post-up scorer and has the best footwork on the team. The best way to defend Daley is to concede the outside shot though if he's hitting it, it's going to be a long night for his defender.

While Calvin dropped 94 on Northwood, my gut tells me the Knights may suffer from a scoring power deficit and they may need to put Michael Wilks on the floor a lot this year. The 6'5" wing has a consistent, silky smooth stroke and he just knows how to get the ball in the hoop. He's a throwback to the days when players could make a living shooting the midrange jumper. Not many of those guys left. When KnightSlappy runs his numbers at the end of the season, I expect Wilks will prove to have one of the highest efficiency scoring numbers on the team.

[ziggy]

First game tonight and Knightslappy's blog has a new post in which he shares his thoughts and expectations for Calvin hoops this year. If you're a Calvin fan it's worth the read--maybe even if you're not a Calvin fan it's worth the read. The link is here: http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/

I agree - definitely worth clicking on, then clicking on a few other things, including a few ads. 

[KnightSlappy]

One possible quibble is over his statement that "They weren't a particularly good defensive team last season." Knowing KS as I do, I'm sure he has the data queued up to support that declarative sentence (I'll chalk up that team's deficiencies to random variation).

Calvin allowed 102.4 points per 100 possessions last season, their lowest defensive efficiency rating going back through 2002 (as far back as my data goes). I figure 100 points per 100 possessions (or, more simply put, 1 point per possession) is about average (though it's not clear how the new 30 second shot clock will affect this).

The other side of that coin is that Calvin scored 114.2 points per 100 possessions, their 2nd highest mark over the same time period (slightly lower than 2014 and slightly higher than 2013). I wonder if it's happenstance that Jordan Brink's Sophomore, Junior, and Senior seasons coincided with Calvin's three most efficient offensive seasons of the previous 14 years.

[KnightSlappy]

If you want the Calvin-Waynesburg video feed and live stats on one page, I believe I have achieved that here:
http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/p/gameday.html

[maroonandgold]

Calvin wins 83-77.  Amazingly even scoring among the starter with 2 at 15, and all in double figures.  Interesting that Denney did not play a lot toward the end.  Is he all right?  Wilks and Welch really did well rebounding.

[sac]

Hope wins 65-47, after a pretty slow start, outscored the Eagles 51-25 the last 28 minutes of the game.  Hope turned a lot of stats around in this one from the first 15 minutes or so
Gardner 13, Otto 11, Benson 8, Eidson 7, Blackledge 7

Hope started  Hawkins, Gardner, Otto, Blackledge, Benson and I'd expect that to be the principle starting 5.  They used everyone in meaningful minutes except Wittenbach who has an injury thing.  Interesting to watch the minutes tomorrow night at Stevens Point to see if and what is different.


OWU 96  Alma 77  -- OWU blitzed Alma 27-7 or something like that right at the end of the 1st half
Albion 70  Mt. St. Joseph 66 --- Albion came from 15 or so down to pull this one out.
Adrian 84  Allegheny 51 ---  Adrian looks good to me
GVSU 105 Olivet 57


Several new players around the league who appear to be very good.  Coville at Adrian, Gardner at Olivet, Hussein at Albion and Trine has a couple good looking Fr.

[oldknight]

Calvin wins 83-77.  Amazingly even scoring among the starter with 2 at 15, and all in double figures.  Interesting that Denney did not play a lot toward the end.  Is he all right?  Wilks and Welch really did well rebounding.

Given that Cam committed five miserable turnovers, I wouldn't have played him at crunch time tonight either. After his last one I nearly threw my computer on the floor. Basically that would have been the oldknight equivalent of a footstomp.

Quite honestly, Calvin should have won this game more comfortably. Waynesburg didn't play particularly well and Calvin crushed their opponent of the boards (52-30). But the Knights kept throwing the ball away (20 team TO's) and shot poorly at the stripe (27-45) to keep the game closer than it should have been.

[KnightSlappy]

Calvin wins 83-77.  Amazingly even scoring among the starter with 2 at 15, and all in double figures.  Interesting that Denney did not play a lot toward the end.  Is he all right?  Wilks and Welch really did well rebounding.

Given that Cam committed five miserable turnovers, I wouldn't have played him at crunch time tonight either. After his last one I nearly threw my computer on the floor. Basically that would have been the oldknight equivalent of a footstomp.

Quite honestly, Calvin should have won this game more comfortably. Waynesburg didn't play particularly well and Calvin crushed their opponent of the boards (52-30). But the Knights kept throwing the ball away (20 team TO's) and shot poorly at the stripe (27-45) to keep the game closer than it should have been.

He's knocking down the threes though. 

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Was at WLAX last night for the season opener for the Dutchmen. Pretty poor opening 15 minutes or so. Team looked tight, nervous, I guess a lot of what you might expect for game one on the road for a team with high expectations. Add to that WLAX hitting a few three and Hope was down 8.  Coach Mitchell showed he has a great deal of confidence in his entire team as he played everyone on the team while the outcome was still in question.  Ultimately Hope righted the ship and played some inspired defense.

2nd half saw Gardner showing how quickly he can take over a game. He, Benson, Otto, and Eidson all showed that they understand that they are seniors - and they played inspired ball.

Kudos to:

Dante Hawkins - obviously put time in the weight room during the off season. Stronger and faster than last year.

Keith Brushwyler who looks much improved. Good d, rebounding, and a nifty jump hook.

So 12 guys played (both Wittenbach and Littleson were in street clothes) and 10 of them played 11 minutes or more. Hope is a very deep team with lots of interchangeable parts.  Going to be fun season for sure.

[knightvision]

Calvin wins 83-77.  Amazingly even scoring among the starter with 2 at 15, and all in double figures.  Interesting that Denney did not play a lot toward the end.  Is he all right?  Wilks and Welch really did well rebounding.

Given that Cam committed five miserable turnovers, I wouldn't have played him at crunch time tonight either. After his last one I nearly threw my computer on the floor. Basically that would have been the oldknight equivalent of a footstomp.

Quite honestly, Calvin should have won this game more comfortably. Waynesburg didn't play particularly well and Calvin crushed their opponent of the boards (52-30). But the Knights kept throwing the ball away (20 team TO's) and shot poorly at the stripe (27-45) to keep the game closer than it should have been.

oldknight, I'm having a hard time imagining you throwing anything, and it's even more incomprehensible for me to envision you scowling and even remotely contemplating a foot stomp.  I will defer to goodknight, missus oldknight, and others who know you better, but if I were a betting man I'd put my money on a subtle dig with a snarky grin on your face--something I witnessed up close and personal on a regular basis when Eddie was roaming the sidelines.  I know it's probably hard for you to imagine, but I may have even been the focus of Eddie's wrath on an (isolated) occasion or ten 

[oldknight]

Calvin wins 83-77.  Amazingly even scoring among the starter with 2 at 15, and all in double figures.  Interesting that Denney did not play a lot toward the end.  Is he all right?  Wilks and Welch really did well rebounding.

Given that Cam committed five miserable turnovers, I wouldn't have played him at crunch time tonight either. After his last one I nearly threw my computer on the floor. Basically that would have been the oldknight equivalent of a footstomp.

Quite honestly, Calvin should have won this game more comfortably. Waynesburg didn't play particularly well and Calvin crushed their opponent of the boards (52-30). But the Knights kept throwing the ball away (20 team TO's) and shot poorly at the stripe (27-45) to keep the game closer than it should have been.

oldknight, I'm having a hard time imagining you throwing anything, and it's even more incomprehensible for me to envision you scowling and even remotely contemplating a foot stomp.  I will defer to goodknight, missus oldknight, and others who know you better, but if I were a betting man I'd put my money on a subtle dig with a snarky grin on your face--something I witnessed up close and personal on a regular basis when Eddie was roaming the sidelines.  I know it's probably hard for you to imagine, but I may have even been the focus of Eddie's wrath on an (isolated) occasion or ten 

Nooooooo.

And btw, it's the inestimable missus oldknight. As you should well know.

[oldknight]

Calvin wins 83-77.  Amazingly even scoring among the starter with 2 at 15, and all in double figures.  Interesting that Denney did not play a lot toward the end.  Is he all right?  Wilks and Welch really did well rebounding.

Interesting to see the lineup KVS chose when milking a late lead--Welch, Wilks, Daley, Canonie and Parks. Wilks is a much better rebounder than his slight frame would suggest. Saw him several times in high school and he just seemed have a knack for smelling out the ball and going after it. I see Wilks got more minutes than any player other than Welch, Daley, and Parks which tells me KVS already has a fair amount of trust in the sophomore. I also found it interesting that Calvin played a little zone the first half, even going to a three quarter court press. I can't remember the last time I saw Calvin play a full or three-quarter court press in a game except for late game situations with Calvin trailing.

[KnightSlappy]

Alma up on Waynesburg 50-20 at the half.  Calvin really seems to have worn out the Yellow Jackets last night.