MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[oldknight]

Well, it was one of those Cam Denney games. 5-6 from 3-pt distance with an efficient 23 points. This'll probably be the exception, not the rule.

Calvin should feel pretty good, even with a 69-66 loss. They stayed in the game the whole way even though they trailed for the entire second half. Biggest negative for the Knights was getting out-rebounded 41-32. Particularly bad was the 28-3 disadvantage they had on their offensive glass -- they didn't give themselves any second chances.

Northwood didn't shoot very well, but I don't know how much of that had to do with Calvin's defense without being able to watch.

Never sure how much we can take from exhibition games, but this doesn't feel like a bad result.

It seems rather clear that the coach was taking a look at just about every player on the team.  It appeared that scoring from the guard position could be an issue since both starters did not score at all.  I would imagine that if Trewella is starting he will have better shooting games in the future.  Even though I only watched parts of the Live Stats it seemed that just about every time I looked it showed Bykerk missing a layup.  That  could be just a coincidence.  Interesting that Welch scored 9 in the first half and made just about every shot including free throws and a three.  But he ended with just 9.  Did he play much of the second half?

Welch played 9 of his 17 minutes in the second half and went 0-1 from the floor. I did listen to the Northwood broadcast team and just by listening, it seemed that Calvin lost the game by giving up too many second opportunities to the home team. A review of the box bears that out as Calvin was Northwood's equal or superior in every stat line except offensive rebounding. I know it's only an exhibition game but it's very interesting to see KVS start a freshmen in the backcourt. Other than that, the PT looks to be about what I would have expected. Trewhella may have only gone 0-5 tonight but the fact that he was inserted as a starting 2 guard--and is an Indiana prepster--tells me that his shooting performance is an aberration. I know Northwood isn't exactly the cream of GLIAC crop but they are a D2 school so I think this afternoon's result isn't a bad one for Calvin.

If Calvin hits the .500 mark this season that will be a huge victory. This might be the least talented Calvin team in awhile especially since Vanderbrug didn't come back. Graduating the likes of Daley is going to hard to replace especially considering the guards dont score well. I'm gunna say the Knights end up in the neighborhood of 11 wins. But KS and Sac will keep drinking the koolaid that .500 and below is acceptable while Hope is scheduling schools like IU to play against for exhibitions. And we wonder why we're falling behind in hoops. At least volleyball can get crowds into Van Noord because basketball won't be doing it for awhile.

I would happily make a wager that Calvin wins more than 11 games this season.

[sac]

If Calvin hits the .500 mark this season that will be a huge victory. This might be the least talented Calvin team in awhile especially since Vanderbrug didn't come back. Graduating the likes of Daley is going to hard to replace especially considering the guards dont score well. I'm gunna say the Knights end up in the neighborhood of 11 wins. But KS and Sac will keep drinking the koolaid that .500 and below is acceptable while Hope is scheduling schools like IU to play against for exhibitions. And we wonder why we're falling behind in hoops. At least volleyball can get crowds into Van Noord because basketball won't be doing it for awhile.

Fwiw, Calvin being .500 or below is perfectly acceptable to me and I don't even need the koolaid.

[Knight2Day]

If Calvin hits the .500 mark this season that will be a huge victory. This might be the least talented Calvin team in awhile especially since Vanderbrug didn't come back. Graduating the likes of Daley is going to hard to replace especially considering the guards dont score well. I'm gunna say the Knights end up in the neighborhood of 11 wins. But KS and Sac will keep drinking the koolaid that .500 and below is acceptable while Hope is scheduling schools like IU to play against for exhibitions. And we wonder why we're falling behind in hoops. At least volleyball can get crowds into Van Noord because basketball won't be doing it for awhile.

Fwiw, Calvin being .500 or below is perfectly acceptable to me and I don't even need the koolaid.

You also probably promote participation trophies so everyone feels like a winner so it makes sense. It's also obvious you don't regularly communicate with any former players and were never involved in the program.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

If Calvin hits the .500 mark this season that will be a huge victory. This might be the least talented Calvin team in awhile especially since Vanderbrug didn't come back. Graduating the likes of Daley is going to hard to replace especially considering the guards dont score well. I'm gunna say the Knights end up in the neighborhood of 11 wins. But KS and Sac will keep drinking the koolaid that .500 and below is acceptable while Hope is scheduling schools like IU to play against for exhibitions. And we wonder why we're falling behind in hoops. At least volleyball can get crowds into Van Noord because basketball won't be doing it for awhile.

Fwiw, Calvin being .500 or below is perfectly acceptable to me and I don't even need the koolaid.

You also probably promote participation trophies so everyone feels like a winner so it makes sense. It's also obvious you don't regularly communicate with any former players and were never involved in the program.

Thankfully this is true for sac  - seeing as he is a Hope fan and a Hope grad!!  Might be advisable to know something about another poster before you are trying to slam them - just saying

[HOPEful]

If Calvin hits the .500 mark this season that will be a huge victory.

Fwiw, Calvin being .500 or below is perfectly acceptable to me and I don't even need the koolaid.

I don't see Calvin getting to .500 personally.

In their pre-conference schedule, I see 4-7 with losses to Augie, Cornerstone, Aquinas, Oshkosh, Wheaton, Anderson, and Wittenberg.

In conference play, I think they go .500 (maybe)... Hope and Alma should sweep them and they should sweep Olivet. The rest could all be splits. I think the neighborhood of 11 wins is about right.

[sac]

If Calvin hits the .500 mark this season that will be a huge victory.

Fwiw, Calvin being .500 or below is perfectly acceptable to me and I don't even need the koolaid.

I don't see Calvin getting to .500 personally.

In their pre-conference schedule, I see 4-7 with losses to Auggie, Cornerstone, Aquinas, Oshkosh, Wheaton, Anderson, and Wittenberg. Even then, I think I'm being generous giving them wins against Carthage and Millikin.

In conference play, I think they go .500 (maybe)... Hope and Alma should sweep them and they should sweep Olivet. The rest could all be splits. I think the neighborhood of 11 wins is about right.

but, did you talk to any former players about this?

[KnightSlappy]

There's a lot to unpack here!

If Calvin hits the .500 mark this season that will be a huge victory. This might be the least talented Calvin team in awhile especially since Vanderbrug didn't come back. Graduating the likes of Daley is going to hard to replace especially considering the guards dont score well. I'm gunna say the Knights end up in the neighborhood of 11 wins.

I don't necessarily disagree. Calvin needs a player or three to step up if they hope to improve on last year's results. One of the concerns I had with Saturday's performance was that so much of the production came from the old guard. They'll need Wilks and Denney (and even Welch) to carry a load, don't get me wrong, but It's going to take a nice year from a Trewhella, Van Boxel, Amoros, etc. for Calvin to be competitive with the top of the league. I'm doubting that's going to happen given the way the minutes were distributed in the Northwood game.

Surprising to see Canonie not attempt a shot in 24 minutes.

But KS and Sac will keep drinking the koolaid that .500 and below is acceptable while Hope is scheduling schools like IU to play against for exhibitions.

We don't consume many powdered mixes at our house, but, on occasion, Mrs. KnightSlappy buys the sugar-free Crystal Light stuff. 

Growing up, my siblings and I always tried to coax our babysitters into making extra-sugary Kool-Aid when the parents took a night out. So much sugar that you couldn't make it dissolve no matter how much you stirred. That's the right way to make it, I think.

And we wonder why we're falling behind in hoops.

Calvin had a bad year that was compounded by some bad luck with players not returning. It wasn't fun, and it's disappointing that we have to enter this season with lowered expectations, but we're only one year removed from one of the better three-year runs in program history. I don't think we've seen anything last year (or this year) that should affect our longer-term expectations for the program.

At least volleyball can get crowds into Van Noord because basketball won't be doing it for awhile.

My guess is that men's basketball will outdraw Volleyball this year.


The following remarks weren't actually directed at me but it feels like they were meant to be?

You also probably promote participation trophies so everyone feels like a winner so it makes sense.

I wouldn't say I promote participation trophies for youth sports (necessarily), but I don't have a problem with them.

Awards are often given out in recognition of goal achievement. The way I see it, the primary goals of youth sports are (1) enjoyment, (2) participation/exercise, and (3) skill development. I think it is appropriate to reinforce those goals.

It's also obvious you don't regularly communicate with any former players and were never involved in the program.

I have never made an attempt to hide this fact, but I'm not sure why it would be apropos to anything.

[oldknight]

Calvin is on no one's list for conference favorite this season but I'm scratching my head at all the gloom and doom being forecast for 2016-17. Eleven wins? Really? Am I the only board poster to notice the whooshing sound representing the massive talent drain that whistled through the MIAA this past summer? If you look at the list of the top 15 scorers in the MIAA from last season (Cam Denney was #16), only four of them are returning, and two are from Kalamazoo who most don't think is a serious contender:  Will Dixon (Trine), Baysdell (Kalamazoo), Dickerson (Kalamazoo), and Blackledge (Hope) are the only returners from the Top 15 list. Alma in particular will struggle to adapt I think, losing their top three scorers, and if either Bradfield or Gamble is out for extended periods of time the fall could be pretty hard. Even presumed conference favorite Hope will have an uneven path to the crown, losing a ton of experience and size. Trine's loss of Holmquist (who I thought was the best player in the MIAA last season) is a major hole to fill. Albion's top two players are gone.

Last season's fall from grace by the Knights had several causes, not the least of which was a deeper conference than we've seen for several years. I don't think conference depth is there this year and while I realize that Calvin could lose any of the seven pre-conference games HOPEful noted, I certainly see winnable games against Aquinas, Anderson and Wheaton. As bad as Calvin was last season (10-15) they still won 5 more games than did the Thunder. If anyone wants to sign a contract with me that Calvin won't win more than 11 games, send me a private message. I'll happily wager $100.00 on that.

[HOPEful]

Calvin is on no one's list for conference favorite this season but I'm scratching my head at all the gloom and doom being forecast for 2016-17. Eleven wins? Really? Am I the only board poster to notice the whooshing sound representing the massive talent drain that whistled through the MIAA this past summer?...

Last season's fall from grace by the Knights had several causes, not the least of which was a deeper conference than we've seen for several years. I don't think conference depth is there this year and while I realize that Calvin could lose any of the seven pre-conference games HOPEful noted, I certainly see winnable games against Aquinas, Anderson and Wheaton...

Naturally, as a Hope fan and grad, I'm inclined to take some delight in the calvin gloom and doom.

That being said, I will go against my nature and try to say some positives. I think Wilks has a big year this year. And I wouldn't be surprised if calvin wins a couple games that I have penciled in as loses because Denney just can't miss. If Bykerk and Welch step up, this team has the size to dominate the smaller teams on their schedule. 

I just don't know if they have the guards to compete. Their starters, Canonie and Trewhella, scored a combined 0 points against Northwood. Yes there was a huge talent loss from last year, but Dixon/Dodson, Fordham/Wheeler, Hawkins/Carlson, Dykema/Cerven, Fairchild/Stevens are all back courts I would take over Canonie/Trewhella/Drews/etc...

A lot can change between November and January. Has anyone in the know seen something in Trewhella, DeWitte, or any other knight guard to think guard play will vastly improve as the season progresses?

And I wouldn't take the under with line at 11. Move the line to 12.5 and I'd be intrigued (that's .500 and my former player sources tell me anything less would be unacceptable)

[Gregory Sager]

If Calvin hits the .500 mark this season that will be a huge victory.

Fwiw, Calvin being .500 or below is perfectly acceptable to me and I don't even need the koolaid.

I don't see Calvin getting to .500 personally.

In their pre-conference schedule, I see 4-7 with losses to Auggie, Cornerstone, Aquinas, Oshkosh, Wheaton, Anderson, and Wittenberg.

Augsburg = Auggie (the school nickname is the Auggies)
Augustana = Augie (just one 'g')

Even then, I think I'm being generous giving them wins against Carthage and Millikin.

Actually, you're really not. Both Carthage and Millikin are undergoing radical reconstruction of their rotations from a year ago, and both the Red Men and the Big Blue will be loaded with newbies who are getting a lot of playing time. I suspect that Carthage will be the tougher of the two, but Calvin gets the Red Men in November, before Bosko will really have had a chance to put his imprint upon that team. Nobody who follows the CCIW is expecting anything out of Millikin this season, so even a subpar Knights team should be able to handle the Big Blue in the Griz.

I also think that you're overestimating Wheaton, a program that lost both its most dependable perimeter player and its star big man, and then had the attrition problem compounded when the team's best athlete, 6'5 wing Murad Dillard, decided this fall that he didn't want to play varsity basketball anymore. Those are big hits to take for a team that lost 20 games last season.

[HOPEful]

Augsburg = Auggie (the school nickname is the Auggies)
Augustana = Augie (just one 'g')

My appologies

Both Carthage and Millikin are undergoing radical reconstruction of their rotations from a year ago, and both the Red Men and the Big Blue will be loaded with newbies who are getting a lot of playing time. I suspect that Carthage will be the tougher of the two, but Calvin gets the Red Men in November, before Bosko will really have had a chance to put his imprint upon that team. Nobody who follows the CCIW is expecting anything out of Millikin this season, so even a subpar Knights team should be able to handle the Big Blue in the Griz.

I gave calvin Ws in these. If you think my use of the word "generous" was unfounded, I'll bite. Sustained and stricken from the record.

"when the team's best athlete, 6'5 wing Murad Dillard, decided this fall that he didn't want to play varsity basketball anymore."

What other school can I think of who lost what should be their best athlete/player because they decided they didn't want to play basketball anymore?

[oldknight]

Calvin is on no one's list for conference favorite this season but I'm scratching my head at all the gloom and doom being forecast for 2016-17. Eleven wins? Really? Am I the only board poster to notice the whooshing sound representing the massive talent drain that whistled through the MIAA this past summer?...

Last season's fall from grace by the Knights had several causes, not the least of which was a deeper conference than we've seen for several years. I don't think conference depth is there this year and while I realize that Calvin could lose any of the seven pre-conference games HOPEful noted, I certainly see winnable games against Aquinas, Anderson and Wheaton...

Naturally, as a Hope fan and grad, I'm inclined to take some delight in the calvin gloom and doom.

That being said, I will go against my nature and try to say some positives. I think Wilks has a big year this year. And I wouldn't be surprised if calvin wins a couple games that I have penciled in as loses because Denney just can't miss. If Bykerk and Welch step up, this team has the size to dominate the smaller teams on their schedule. 

I just don't know if they have the guards to compete. Their starters, Canonie and Trewhella, scored a combined 0 points against Northwood. Yes there was a huge talent loss from last year, but Dixon/Dodson, Fordham/Wheeler, Hawkins/Carlson, Dykema/Cerven, Fairchild/Stevens are all back courts I would take over Canonie/Trewhella/Drews/etc...

A lot can change between November and January. Has anyone in the know seen something in Trewhella, DeWitte, or any other knight guard to think guard play will vastly improve as the season progresses?

And I wouldn't take the under with line at 11. Move the line to 12.5 and I'd be intrigued (that's .500 and my former player sources tell me anything less would be unacceptable)

That's very fair commentary and a good question about their guard play. Calvin has struggled in the backcourt since the departure of Jordan Brink, mostly because they haven't been able to get find a consistent scoring threat from that position. The Knights will recover from that one day; I just don't know when. DeWitte was an excellent high school player at Calvin Christian but I think he's at least a year away from being able to make a meaningful contribution to the team. I don't know anything about Trewhella at all (he's from Indiana) but found it interesting that he started at the 2 guard in his first college game. Admittedly it's only an exhibition game but the fact that he got an immediate start tells me that KVS thinks he might be that rare freshmen worthy of significant minutes in his first season and coach wanted to test that theory right out of the box.

KnightSlappy expressed surprise that Canonie played 24 minutes and took not a single shot. Tony is very quick and athletic with excellent leaping ability, a fearless rebounding guard, and is a superior one-on-one defender. But he's not a consistent perimeter shooter--or at least he hasn't been his first two years. I thought that he shot far too often last year and pulled the trigger too quickly, but part of that may have been that Canonie was often was placed at the two guard, which I judge is out of position for him. I think he has real potential as a point guard whose primary offensive responsibilities are ball security and distribution. On that count, Tony seems to have done his job at Northwood as he dished 5 assists vs. just one turnover. If he does that all season running the point, I would consider that to be mission accomplished.

But I think your unspoken question is the correct one. Will anyone step up to be a consistent scorer at the two guard? I thought Huckayby was one possibility but he's a little undersized for the that position. I see he only played 4 minutes at Northwood which surprised me. Van Boxel has one year of college varsity experience and carried to Knollcrest a good high school scoring resume (albeit at a small school) and he hasn't distinguished himself yet at Calvin. Drews is a lights out shooter from anywhere inside 30 feet but he takes his shot from the hip and struggles to get a shot off when teams actually guard him on the perimeter. He also rarely attacks the basket which means he doesn't shoot many free throws. Last February, KS and I were rooting for Nate to finish the season without a single free throw attempt but the young man ruined it all by going 2-2 against Adrian in the second to last game. Nate played 374 minutes last year and those are the only two free shots he has taken in a varsity college game.

[Gregory Sager]

Augsburg = Auggie (the school nickname is the Auggies)
Augustana = Augie (just one 'g')

My appologies

"when the team's best athlete, 6'5 wing Murad Dillard, decided this fall that he didn't want to play varsity basketball anymore."

What other school can I think of who lost what should be their best athlete/player because they decided they didn't want to play basketball anymore?

Calvin likely (although not certainly) lost more in Vanderbrug last season than Wheaton will lose in Dillard this season in terms of production. But Dillard's ceiling was pretty high, given his size and athletic ability. Moreover, we're talking about two programs that are not in the same place in terms of where they sit on the totem pole; one team is less capable of absorbing the shock of losing an important player to mid-career disillusionment (or whatever reason caused them to decide not to play anymore) than the other. We're talking about a Wheaton team that went 5-20 last year and can ill afford to lose anybody prematurely from the previous season's rotation.

[KnightSlappy]

I don't know anything about Trewhella at all (he's from Indiana) but found it interesting that he started at the 2 guard in his first college game. Admittedly it's only an exhibition game but the fact that he got an immediate start tells me that KVS thinks he might be that rare freshmen worthy of significant minutes in his first season and coach wanted to test that theory right out of the box.

I think this is a reasonable assumption to make. We'll see who starts in the next exhibition and then the opener against Finlandia, but Freshmen starting on Day 1 typically have good track records. The last four I can remember at Calvin: Connor Vanderbrug, Jordan Brink, John Mantel, Caleb Veldhouse.

Last February, KS and I were rooting for Nate to finish the season without a single free throw attempt but the young man ruined it all by going 2-2 against Adrian in the second to last game. Nate played 374 minutes last year and those are the only two free shots he has taken in a varsity college game.

He shot one against Northwood! Alas, it was a miss. But he's a bona fide free-throw-drawing machine now. (He drew the foul after grabbing a rebound in Calvin's defensive end).

[sac]

I thought a Matt Trewhella video was posted last Spring when he committed to Calvin, but here it is either again or the first time.  http://www.hudl.com/video/3/3509795/5721dc44b019261f80e04ce1

Out of the dozen+ videos I watched of MIAA kids, I thought his was right up there near the top.  I also read a couple articles I can't find now about how he had improved from Jr to Sr year and over the course of the year.   Looks legit to me, but that might be the koolaid talking.