MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sac]

With the right results, all 4 games would have meaning for someone today.  I am not rooting for that however.

[GreatScot!?]

Anyone have thoughts on MIAA MVP because I am pretty stumped.

Covile, Holmquist, Nikodemski, Gardner, Benson?

The MVP argument is always pretty complicated and it comes down to what people think MVP means; best player on best team, if they were not on the team how would they do, and how team standings impact voting
For me I think the MVP has to go to a player from Hope, Alma or Albion, because all other teams are .500 or below. Albion doesn't really have a great candidate so it really comes down to Gardner, Nikodemski and Benson and it's a toss up for me. (Don't want to let biases get in the way of a great debate!)

In terms of strictly most valuable, I think the two best candidates would be Holmquist or Covile. Covile has put up a lot of points, but if you look at their record compared to last year is he really that big of a plus? I think Trine w/o Holmquist potentially be on the Olivet/Kalamazoo level. So it really just depends on what your definition of MVP is, interesting topic as always!

[GoKnights68]

Hope played one of its poorest games of the season and Hope still wins. That shows just how depleted this Calvin team is in talent.  Calvin failed to take advantage when Hope would go on cold spurts (which was often this game) and executing easy shots is one of their biggest issues. When Calvin would get the ball down low , they'd have no idea what to do. Executing fast breaks was also Non-existent

Will Calvin finish with an even worse record next season with loss of Daley? Calvin returns about everyone else but I'm not sure if that's a good thing...

[realist]

First time Calvin will not be in MIAA tournament.
First time since 1984 that Calvin finished below .500, and only the 3rd time they have done that in 50 years.

Hard to win when you turn the ball over 10 times in the first half, and than can't hit ft's at the end of the game. 

[Knight2Day]

Will Calvin finish with an even worse record next season with loss of Daley? Calvin returns about everyone else but I'm not sure if that's a good thing...

That's assuming no one else leaves the program, which these days isn't something to assume.

[TUAngola]

Final from Angola:  Trine 76 Albion 66

With the win, Trine clinches the 4th spot in the MIAA playoffs next week.

Jared Holmquist was a man among boys today.  Saved one of his best games for last.  What a career he's had at Trine.  His leadership, hard work and determination both on the floor and in the classroom will be greatly missed.  I believe Trine will be good in the future as the younger players see everyday what it takes to be a leader and how to play hard every possession.  There's been much discussion on MVP, and I get that they will probably honor the award to a player from one of the top two teams, and it's a valid argument.  However I've seen all the Trine vs. MIAA games this year, and watched all the great individual players in this league, and I am probably biased, but in my honest opinion he's the best in the league.  Today he was just unstoppable.  Put the team on his back and willed Trine to play at least 1 more game.  Jared fouled out with around 4 minutes to go and was given a long standing ovation from one of the biggest crowds I've seen at Trine.  Well done Jared, I know you will be successful in your future career in the business world!

[pointlem]

Some unrelated observations:

• I'm with TUAngola . . . thinking that the league MVP should be the most valuable player--the one you'd pick first if building an all-star team to play the CCIW all-stars--not the most valuable player on one of the top two teams. (Very nice tribute to your guy, TUAngola.)
• Great rivalry atmosphere at Calvin today.  Kudos to the Calvin students for turning out en masse to support their team, even after a disappointing season.
• The attendance was listed as an every-seat-occupied 4800, even for the women's game.  Hmmm.
• A scrappy game. Hope was helped, despite its cool shooting, by Blackledge and Benson not getting in early foul trouble for a change.
• Late in the season, Coach Mitchell seems to have shrunk his bench, with 8 players getting all but one minute. The in-game line-ups ranged from quite short (four guards and one post), to tall (with Benson, Blackledge, and Stuive on the floor together).
• Congrats to Jordan Daley for a fine career and an outstanding senior year that culminated with 20 points today on 6 of 8 shooting and 8 of 10 FTs, despite Ben Gardner's defensive efforts.

[oldknight]

The ever inestimable Mrs. OldKnight and I mentioned on the ride home how singular and special the Calvin/Hope game is. Here's a Calvin team closing out their worst season in three decades playing a veteran Hope squad with the no. 1 seed locked up, yet the contest had all the energy and excitement of a championship game. It's really remarkable. Though Calvin lost, I enjoyed it throughout. Realist correctly notes the twin problems Calvin couldn't overcome--first half turnovers (10) and poor free throw shooting (the free throw woes weren't just in the second half). Calvin corrected their turnover issues after the break but those turnovers dug a hole a little too large to overcome. They might have been able to pull the upset with a better second half at the stripe. For the game the Knights were 13-23 on charity tosses with at least two front ends missed. Hope was 16-21 so that statistic was the biggest single difference in the game. I don't think I can agree that Hope's less-than-stellar performance was a case of Calvin catching the Flying Dutchmen on an off night. I thought Calvin's second half defense was really excellent, forcing 9 turnovers, and for the game the Knights had only one more than did the visitors. Daley finished a solid career with a very good finale, but let's face it, Calvin needs one more top flight scoring threat. The absence of a scoring threat of Jordan Brink's quality has been missed all year, today more than ever. Other game notes:

--I must say, the Calvin students came up with a soft, yet clever way of simultaneously energizing their student body while poking fun of the Hope cheerleaders. The three students who put on a mini-version of the Hope cheers during timeouts had everyone (at least on the Calvin side) looking at the Calvin students rather than ceding the floor to the Hope cheer team as is usual. On one occasion the referees were noticeably laughing so you know the trio was goofy good.

--Always interesting to see what high school hoopsters sit behind the Calvin bench during this game. There were several though the only ones I recognized were the son of former Calvin great Kevin Van Duyn, and Zac Holman of Grand Haven HS. Given his high school coach, you know that if Holman finds his way to Knollcrest he's likely to enroll in Calvin's theatre program.

--Like others, I do wonder where the scoring will come from next year given Daley's departure. On the other hand, only he and Parks graduate and the Knights will be more veteran 2016-17 than Hope and Alma. The top two teams in the conference lose a lot more talent than the Knights so I think it's realistic to expect a much better record next year. That's especially true if they play more home games, which I assume will be the case. Calvin only played 8 of their 25 games at home this season, an absurd scheduling I trust we will not see repeated.  Ever.  That's just ridiculous. 

--Sweet win by the Lady Knights. The normally stoic Anna Timmer was impassioned.

[Grutte Dirk]

Will Calvin finish with an even worse record next season with loss of Daley? Calvin returns about everyone else but I'm not sure if that's a good thing...

That's assuming no one else leaves the program, which these days isn't something to assume.

Are other MIAA basketball programs experiencing the same level of attrition?

[almcguirejr]

Holland Sentinel article:

http://m.hollandsentinel.com/sports/20160220/hope-fends-off-calvin-clinches-miaa-outright-title

[sac]

Will Calvin finish with an even worse record next season with loss of Daley? Calvin returns about everyone else but I'm not sure if that's a good thing...

That's assuming no one else leaves the program, which these days isn't something to assume.

Are other MIAA basketball programs experiencing the same level of attrition?

The attrition at Olivet is by far the heaviest in the league.  I'm not even sure people would believe it.   Adrian is a close second.

The ever inestimable Mrs. OldKnight and I mentioned on the ride home how singular and special the Calvin/Hope game is. Here's a Calvin team closing out their worst season in three decades playing a veteran Hope squad with the no. 1 seed locked up, yet the contest had all the energy and excitement of a championship game. It's really remarkable.

Isn't it though.  I had the same thoughts staring out over of an ice covered and moon lit Lake Odessa on the way home.  Orion the hunter was very prominent, almost directly overhead while I was out there.   The visible planets were particularly bright despite the nearly full moon.  Seems about right.

We were pretty much 1 ft miss from having the exact same scenario as last years finale 350 days later.  I'm not a numerologists or buy into astrology, but come on, sometimes this game is unbelievable.

I must remember to enjoy these games more.  I am supposed to be enjoying them right, not doubled over with shortness of breath wishing those feelings of "I've seen this before" would go away?

[sac]

Alma beat Olivet 97-85 tonight.  Olivet's Lee Gardner tossed in 50 points which is believed to be the 2nd highest point total in regulation in MIAA history.  (further research being done as I post)

http://miaa.org/sports/mbkb/2015-16/boxscores/20160220_73tu.xml

I've thought all year Gardner had that kind of potential.  It's been an interesting year for Mr. Gardner, pretty nice way to finish a career.

[oldknight]

The ever inestimable Mrs. OldKnight and I mentioned on the ride home how singular and special the Calvin/Hope game is. Here's a Calvin team closing out their worst season in three decades playing a veteran Hope squad with the no. 1 seed locked up, yet the contest had all the energy and excitement of a championship game. It's really remarkable.

Isn't it though.  I had the same thoughts staring out over of an ice covered and moon lit Lake Odessa on the way home.  Orion the hunter was very prominent, almost directly overhead while I was out there.   The visible planets were particularly bright despite the nearly full moon.  Seems about right.

We were pretty much 1 ft miss from having the exact same scenario as last years finale 350 days later.  I'm not a numerologists or buy into astrology, but come on, sometimes this game is unbelievable.

I must remember to enjoy these games more.  I am supposed to be enjoying them right, not doubled over with shortness of breath wishing those feelings of "I've seen this before" would go away?

I must admit, one comfort I took from today's game was knowing the Hope faithful were saying to themselves late "I've seen this movie before and it doesn't end well." With Hope clinging to that 2 point lead and trying to desperately inbound the ball along the Calvin baseline with 5 seconds left, if Dante Hawkins waits just a fraction of a second longer before calling that timeout, it's Calvin ball. Good friend of mine who does a lot of high school officiating always looks at games through referee's eyes and he had the count at four and a half when Dante turned to the ref for the timeout.

On another note, I assume HC and family enjoyed their seats in the upper end zone amidst the watchful eyes of the Calvin faithful. Brave of them to wear their Hope gear there. I trust seating was satisfactory and the HC fam wasn't expecting to be treated to a danish and coffee at halftime.

[sac]

Hope 65  Calvin 61

Trying to think of something to write about this but I can't find the right words, I'm spent.  Calvin was really good on defense today, probably better than they've been most of the season.  The middle of the 2nd half was probably the most frustrating 10 minutes of basketball I've watched this year.  Both teams could have taken the game right then but neither could, because the defense wouldn't let either team do it.

This Hope team wins an outright MIAA Championship and finishes 23-2 and I'm not sure I've seen a team have to work harder to get that kind of record.  That's a credit to those young men and the great effort they've given every game.  I'm not sure if this is the best the MIAA has ever been, but its right up there, certainly the most competitive 1 thru 6 has been in about a decade or so.  Out of 14 games I think Hope had 2 that you might consider "easy" wins, the rest were real dog fights in their own way, including this one.

[TUAngola]

Congrats to all the senior student athletes in the MIAA this year.  Best of luck in the future as you start your career or go on to further your education.

With the post season conference tournament yet to be played, here is a quick look ahead of what Trine starting 5 might look like next year.

5 spot - Ellis Cummings 6'8 Jr - Still learning game, only 3rd year playing organized ball.  Good rim protector & rebounder.  Needs to improve offensive game.
4 spot - Austin Woolett 6'5 So - Will slide into Jared's role.  Big shoes to step into.  Has a good motor, pretty good offensive game.  Got limited minutes this year.
3 spot - Kyle Dodson 6'3 So - One of the better freshmen in MIAA this year.  Can shoot it very well.  Pretty good defender too.  Needs to add some muscle.
2 spot - Will Dixon 6'0 Sr - Absolutely the unquestioned leader next year, MVP candidate.  Can create his own shot, get to the rim or hit the 3.  A 4 yr starter.
1 spot - Jordan Kreglow 5'10 So - Saw extended minutes as season wore on.  Better offensive threat than graduating Ben Syroka, but not as good on D as Ben.

1st off the Bench - Adison Daub, Joel Zwiers, Adam Ciszewski, Jared Dishop.  Very little experience here, all will need to step up.

Needs - Offensive minded big man, Wing who can get to the rim and score or dish to open guy, Depth at both guard positions. 

Fellow posters, would love to see what your favorite teams are going to look like next year...