MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Gregory Sager]

It's also to note that his brother is only 5-9.

The list of 5'9 players with D1 scholarships is not a very long one. Height alone will cause a lot of D1 coaches to dismiss the possibility of recruiting a 5'9 guy, no matter how quick and skilled he is.

[oldknight]

It's also to note that his brother is only 5-9.

The list of 5'9 players with D1 scholarships is not a very long one. Height alone will cause a lot of D1 coaches to dismiss the possibility of recruiting a 5'9 guy, no matter how quick and skilled he is.

Completely correct Greg. 5'9" players are a dime a dozen and very, very few of them play even for a mid-major. Even if talented enough on the offensive side of the ball, guards that small get killed on defense at the D1 level--even the D2 level for that matter. I've never seen the young man play but he competes for a rather small, rural high school that plays no one of note and the kid can't possibly be compared to the best players at large, urban high schools.

[Gregory Sager]

It's also to note that his brother is only 5-9.

The list of 5'9 players with D1 scholarships is not a very long one. Height alone will cause a lot of D1 coaches to dismiss the possibility of recruiting a 5'9 guy, no matter how quick and skilled he is.

Completely correct Greg. 5'9" players are a dime a dozen and very, very few of them play even for a mid-major. Even if talented enough on the offensive side of the ball, guards that small get killed on defense at the D1 level--even the D2 level for that matter.

Exactly. Most D1 guards have the ability to post up smaller players, because most of them were bigger-than-normal guards at the high-school level and were trained to back in smaller opponents who guarded them. It's a basic part of the skill set of a typical D1 guard. That, plus the fact that the perimeter passing angles to and from 5'9 guards are usually compromised pretty badly in D1 (unless said 5'9 has orangutan arms), and the lesser ability of a guy that small to see over people, is why scholie-level coaches often dismiss 5'9 guys out of hand, while others have to have their world completely rocked by a 5'9 kid in order to consider proffering him a letter of intent to sign.

You can usually get away with having a 5'9 player in your backcourt on the D3 level, because the percentage of 5'11-to-6'1 guards in D3 who have the ability to back down a smaller opponent and take him to the hole is not all that large. That's a big reason why Alma's Scott Nikodemski was so dominant; he had something in his toolkit in terms of scoring down low that just isn't typical of this level.

I've never seen the young man play but he competes for a rather small, rural high school that plays no one of note and the kid can't possibly be compared to the best players at large, urban high schools.

All the more reason why he's the longest of longshots to get a D1 or D2 offer; 5'9 guards from small rural high schools are typically guarded at that level by other 5'9 kids from similar teams. The only times that they ever have to deal with opposing guards who have four or five inches on them (or more) are in AAU ball, if at all.

[sac]

Does anyone really have solid information regarding whether Jason Beckman will be playing for Hope this year or is it all speculation? Also, is his brother a legit D1 player? HK

I'm not really sure Jason Beckman fully knows that answer himself.  <shrug>

[ziggy]

Here's an interesting one: Hope will play an exhibition game at Indiana on November 1.

https://twitter.com/seideljeff/status/773541080629477380

[HOPEful]

Here's an interesting one: Hope will play an exhibition game at Indiana on November 1.

https://twitter.com/seideljeff/status/773541080629477380

Confirmed by Hope's website ---> http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2016-17/releases/20160907e793xo

Already sold out? An exhibition game? Does that mean they are intentially not selling many tickets in an attempt to make it more like a practice than a game?

[Roundball999]

Here's an interesting one: Hope will play an exhibition game at Indiana on November 1.

https://twitter.com/seideljeff/status/773541080629477380

Fine time for the Dutchmen to have less size than they've had in years!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Here's an interesting one: Hope will play an exhibition game at Indiana on November 1.

https://twitter.com/seideljeff/status/773541080629477380

Confirmed by Hope's website ---> http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2016-17/releases/20160907e793xo

Already sold out? An exhibition game? Does that mean they are intentially not selling many tickets in an attempt to make it more like a practice than a game?

It means Indiana includes these as required buys in the season ticket package and they're all gone.  Try Stubhub.

[HOPEful]

Here's an interesting one: Hope will play an exhibition game at Indiana on November 1.

https://twitter.com/seideljeff/status/773541080629477380

Confirmed by Hope's website ---> http://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mbkb/2016-17/releases/20160907e793xo

Already sold out? An exhibition game? Does that mean they are intentially not selling many tickets in an attempt to make it more like a practice than a game?

It means Indiana includes these as required buys in the season ticket package and they're all gone.  Try Stubhub.

Yes, I would assume that. However, literally EVERY other IU game is posted on their website and tickets are available for the games against Liberty, Austin Peay, and Delaware State. The game doesn't seem to exist anywhere on IU websites or secondary ticket sellers (stubhub, vividseats, etc.)

[sac]

Give it a couple days.  IU just posted its schedule this weekend and the exhibition game wasn't included in the original release, I know this because I've spent 3 days refreshing their website.  IU hasn't actually added the exhibition to the schedule yet.

Events don't get posted on stubhub unless you have sellers of tickets, as of yesterday I didn't see any tickets for any Indiana game on Stubhub.  There are many today.


Great opportunity and experience for Hope basketball.  A big thank you has to go out to Tom Crean who simply ran into Greg Mitchel on the recruiting trail, one thing leads to another and here we are.

[sflzman]

It looks like Tom Crean will be looking to get his first career win against hope after going 0-4 against the Dutchmen in his two years as an assistant at Alma (87-88, 88-89)

[devossed]

It looks like Tom Crean will be looking to get his first career win against hope after going 0-4 against the Dutchmen in his two years as an assistant at Alma (87-88, 88-89)

Legend has it that Eric Elliott was "this close" to choosing Alma (over Hope/Calvin) simply because of the relationship he built with Crean in the recruiting cycle.

One has to assume Calvin would've probably had a good shot to win more titles during that span, but could that event alone have changed the narrative of Alma basketball during the last 20 years?

[Grutte Dirk]

It looks like Tom Crean's. . . two years as an assistant at Alma (87-88, 88-89)

Legend has it that Eric Elliott was "this close" to choosing Alma. . .but could that event alone have changed the narrative of Alma basketball during the last 20 years?

What I'd find interesting would be Elliot's coaching narrative if he had played for, and then coached with, Crean

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

It looks like Tom Crean will be looking to get his first career win against hope after going 0-4 against the Dutchmen in his two years as an assistant at Alma (87-88, 88-89)

Doesn't count as a career win when they game is an exhibition for both teams 

[Flying Dutch Fan]

It looks like Tom Crean will be looking to get his first career win against hope after going 0-4 against the Dutchmen in his two years as an assistant at Alma (87-88, 88-89)

Doesn't count as a career win when they game is an exhibition for both teams 

Or said another way, Greg Mitchell will coach Hope playing at a Assembly Hall against IU and after the game still be undefeated against D1 and Big 10 opponents!!