MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[HOPEful]

Rivalry game - you are going out on a limb from either side if you put more than 1 on it IMHO. 

Really glad I went out on a limb last night 

Especially since my 3 and 2 point predictions were Alma and Adrian!

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Rivalry game - you are going out on a limb from either side if you put more than 1 on it IMHO. 

Really glad I went out on a limb last night 

Especially since my 3 and 2 point predictions were Alma and Adrian!

Kudos to you on having the faith!  My concern was that Hope might not have Carlson (see article below). 

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2017/01/cleared_for_takeoff_hopes_chad.html#incart_river_index

[KnightSlappy]

SAC you can talk about loving the whole of the MIAA but we all know you rock blue and orange undies.

I don't think SAC has ever hidden his allegiance.  There is literally a link to the donation page on Hope's website on his profile.

As for KVS, I don't understand why NOW everyone is jumping on the hate train. This season has gone pretty much exactly as you should have expected given the pieces. If anything, KVS has gotten more out of this team than the sum of its parts (I sure didn't expect them to go 5-2 in the first half of MIAA play!)...

This isn't new, really. A chunk of the fanbase has been dissatisfied for 6+ years (though they were appeased during the Jordan Brink years).

[Knight2Day]

SAC you can talk about loving the whole of the MIAA but we all know you rock blue and orange undies.

I don't think SAC has ever hidden his allegiance.  There is literally a link to the donation page on Hope's website on his profile.

As for KVS, I don't understand why NOW everyone is jumping on the hate train. This season has gone pretty much exactly as you should have expected given the pieces. If anything, KVS has gotten more out of this team than the sum of its parts (I sure didn't expect them to go 5-2 in the first half of MIAA play!)...

This isn't new, really. A chunk of the fanbase has been dissatisfied for 6+ years (though they were appeased during the Jordan Brink years).

I'd say it's more than a chunk, just look at the steady decline in attendance and the lack of support from basketball alumni. And let's be real, a blind squirrel could have coached the team with Jordan Brink and they would have gone over .500

[GreatScot!?]

Trine 78 Albion 49

Trine came out guns a blazin' and withstood a mini rally by Albion in the 1st half that got them within 1pt, but Trine went on another run and the game was really never in doubt after that.  The "law firm" of Dixon Dodson and Daub put up pretty good numbers.  Dixon, he sure will be missed once he graduates, just like Holmquist is missed.  He just does so many things well.  I thought his passing was the best I've seen in his career, finished with 8 assists.  He consistently got Albion scrambling on defense and he found the open man when the Brits tried to double.  Daub really took advantage of the open looks created by Dixon. He's been on a tear lately.  Good to see Daub in his last year finally get in a groove, you can tell he's really put in the work.  Copeland played well inside and Cummings had some really huge blocks inside, finished with 6.

Albion, not sure what is going on with this team.  It's a team in dysfunction right now, so much so they tried to play with 6 guys at one point in second half.  Umm, you can't do that, sorry.  I know they are missing a couple guys, saw Douglas in a walking boot.  Granted I thought Trine's defense was the best I've seen from them this season, Albion just didn't get many open looks.  Actually I thought the Brits played best when Lowe was in the game.  The big guy is a challenging matchup if he gets the ball in the paint, and he can feed it back outside to open guys.  He had a nice dunk in the first half. Albion looked much better when I saw them play in November at Trine's weekend tournament. Maybe is just was a bad night for them.

I was at the game Albion against Ohio Wesleyan that first weekend and I can't disagree.  I thought Albion looked sharp that night and potentially pretty good.  One reason was an excellent game from Jaylen Fordham who has since really, really struggled shooting the ball.  The Brits have also had injury problems with starting PG Robert Ryan who's back playing but nowhere near 100%, Adam Davis is now out and Kurt Douglas has missed the MIAA portion of the schedule with a foot injury.  (box score says he played tonight, but you say he was in a boot).  They also lost Fr. 6-7 F Caden Ebeling after just 3 games, I think he could have made a real solid impact in the paint for them.

Since that first game I've seen them 6 or 7 times and they've never quite looked that good.   But I think they still factor into the 2nd half somehow.

This double negative threw me off quite a bit, maybe it's just my Alma education

[GreatScot!?]

Not even sure what to say about the Alma game... Olivet had a game and Alma didn't help by committing 21 turnovers, many of them unforced. I guess this is the downside of playing five freshmen, but it was a let down of the whole team. Still like Alma's chances of getting at least the 2-seed in the tourney and that starts by playing well against K-Zoo Saturday! This parody in the league isn't doing my Pick 'Em any favors.

[realist]

Not even sure what to say about the Alma game... Olivet had a game and Alma didn't help by committing 21 turnovers, many of them unforced. I guess this is the downside of playing five freshmen, but it was a let down of the whole team. Still like Alma's chances of getting at least the 2-seed in the tourney and that starts by playing well against K-Zoo Saturday! This parody in the league isn't doing my Pick 'Em any favors.

Yes, definitely the Alma education.

[sac]

Trine 78 Albion 49

Trine came out guns a blazin' and withstood a mini rally by Albion in the 1st half that got them within 1pt, but Trine went on another run and the game was really never in doubt after that.  The "law firm" of Dixon Dodson and Daub put up pretty good numbers.  Dixon, he sure will be missed once he graduates, just like Holmquist is missed.  He just does so many things well.  I thought his passing was the best I've seen in his career, finished with 8 assists.  He consistently got Albion scrambling on defense and he found the open man when the Brits tried to double.  Daub really took advantage of the open looks created by Dixon. He's been on a tear lately.  Good to see Daub in his last year finally get in a groove, you can tell he's really put in the work.  Copeland played well inside and Cummings had some really huge blocks inside, finished with 6.

Albion, not sure what is going on with this team.  It's a team in dysfunction right now, so much so they tried to play with 6 guys at one point in second half.  Umm, you can't do that, sorry.  I know they are missing a couple guys, saw Douglas in a walking boot.  Granted I thought Trine's defense was the best I've seen from them this season, Albion just didn't get many open looks.  Actually I thought the Brits played best when Lowe was in the game.  The big guy is a challenging matchup if he gets the ball in the paint, and he can feed it back outside to open guys.  He had a nice dunk in the first half. Albion looked much better when I saw them play in November at Trine's weekend tournament. Maybe is just was a bad night for them.

I was at the game Albion against Ohio Wesleyan that first weekend and I can't disagree.  I thought Albion looked sharp that night and potentially pretty good.  One reason was an excellent game from Jaylen Fordham who has since really, really struggled shooting the ball.  The Brits have also had injury problems with starting PG Robert Ryan who's back playing but nowhere near 100%, Adam Davis is now out and Kurt Douglas has missed the MIAA portion of the schedule with a foot injury.  (box score says he played tonight, but you say he was in a boot).  They also lost Fr. 6-7 F Caden Ebeling after just 3 games, I think he could have made a real solid impact in the paint for them.

Since that first game I've seen them 6 or 7 times and they've never quite looked that good.   But I think they still factor into the 2nd half somehow.

This double negative threw me off quite a bit, maybe it's just my Alma education

Well, it could also be my confusion about Albion's team.  They have been a hard bunch to get a good read on.

...and then Olivet beats Alma

[Young Knight 14]

After watching the game in person last night, and then looking at the box score this morning I was surprised to see 14 turnovers for the knights.  It felt like more than that probably because of how unforced some of them were.  Calvin seems to always want to thread the needle or make the hard pass when there are easier ones available.  One fast break stands out to me when Van Boxel tried a long one handed bounce pass to a sprinting Tony Canonie who was shaking his head no to a pass.  The pass was easily stolen.  Other times the Knights simply don't make timely post passes and end up throwing the ball in late to a now heavily guarded post player.  That being said Hope looked really good last night and should have no trouble winning the conference.   

[GreatScot!?]

Not even sure what to say about the Alma game... Olivet had a game and Alma didn't help by committing 21 turnovers, many of them unforced. I guess this is the downside of playing five freshmen, but it was a let down of the whole team. Still like Alma's chances of getting at least the 2-seed in the tourney and that starts by playing well against K-Zoo Saturday! This parody in the league isn't doing my Pick 'Em any favors.

Yes, definitely the Alma education.

*parity, geeze, I knew I was gonna mess this up somehow after making that comment haha

[GreatScot!?]

Trine 78 Albion 49

Trine came out guns a blazin' and withstood a mini rally by Albion in the 1st half that got them within 1pt, but Trine went on another run and the game was really never in doubt after that.  The "law firm" of Dixon Dodson and Daub put up pretty good numbers.  Dixon, he sure will be missed once he graduates, just like Holmquist is missed.  He just does so many things well.  I thought his passing was the best I've seen in his career, finished with 8 assists.  He consistently got Albion scrambling on defense and he found the open man when the Brits tried to double.  Daub really took advantage of the open looks created by Dixon. He's been on a tear lately.  Good to see Daub in his last year finally get in a groove, you can tell he's really put in the work.  Copeland played well inside and Cummings had some really huge blocks inside, finished with 6.

Albion, not sure what is going on with this team.  It's a team in dysfunction right now, so much so they tried to play with 6 guys at one point in second half.  Umm, you can't do that, sorry.  I know they are missing a couple guys, saw Douglas in a walking boot.  Granted I thought Trine's defense was the best I've seen from them this season, Albion just didn't get many open looks.  Actually I thought the Brits played best when Lowe was in the game.  The big guy is a challenging matchup if he gets the ball in the paint, and he can feed it back outside to open guys.  He had a nice dunk in the first half. Albion looked much better when I saw them play in November at Trine's weekend tournament. Maybe is just was a bad night for them.

I was at the game Albion against Ohio Wesleyan that first weekend and I can't disagree.  I thought Albion looked sharp that night and potentially pretty good.  One reason was an excellent game from Jaylen Fordham who has since really, really struggled shooting the ball.  The Brits have also had injury problems with starting PG Robert Ryan who's back playing but nowhere near 100%, Adam Davis is now out and Kurt Douglas has missed the MIAA portion of the schedule with a foot injury.  (box score says he played tonight, but you say he was in a boot).  They also lost Fr. 6-7 F Caden Ebeling after just 3 games, I think he could have made a real solid impact in the paint for them.

Since that first game I've seen them 6 or 7 times and they've never quite looked that good.   But I think they still factor into the 2nd half somehow.

This double negative threw me off quite a bit, maybe it's just my Alma education

Well, it could also be my confusion about Albion's team.  They have been a hard bunch to get a good read on.

...and then Olivet beats Alma

Yea, not quite in a talking mood about that one yet...

[oldknight]

Not even sure what to say about the Alma game... Olivet had a game and Alma didn't help by committing 21 turnovers, many of them unforced. I guess this is the downside of playing five freshmen, but it was a let down of the whole team. Still like Alma's chances of getting at least the 2-seed in the tourney and that starts by playing well against K-Zoo Saturday! This parody in the league isn't doing my Pick 'Em any favors.

Yes, definitely the Alma education.

*parity, geeze, I knew I was gonna mess this up somehow after making that comment haha

Blame it on spellcheck.

Gotta admit, the poke was well played by realist.

[sac]

Its interesting how I'm the one who gets singled out about the defending KVS stuff.   I can't even remember the last time I defended or criticized KVS in any way on this board, but whatever.

There was some point this past November when my name was inserted in a comment and I replied correctly with a snarky comment.  That, by the way, led to me buying packages of orange kool-aid last night for some specific people who might post on this board.  Unfortunately I could only find a couple of you, but it was hilarious, you'll have to trust me on this.  Way more funny before the halftime score though.  But otherwise I see no reason to include my name in these discussions (if you want to call them discussions), I'm not a Calvin fan and you won't take anything I say about the matter in the right way anyway.  I do watch a lot of the league, so my perspective is quite different I'm sure.



On another note.   Did I see Bill Sall at the game last night?

[oldknight]

Its interesting how I'm the one who gets singled out about the defending KVS stuff.   I can't even remember the last time I defended or criticized KVS in any way on this board, but whatever.

There was some point this past November when my name was inserted in a comment and I replied correctly with a snarky comment.  That, by the way, led to me buying packages of orange kool-aid last night for some specific people who might post on this board.  Unfortunately I could only find a couple of you, but it was hilarious, you'll have to trust me on this.  Way more funny before the halftime score though.  But otherwise I see no reason to include my name in these discussions (if you want to call them discussions), I'm not a Calvin fan and you won't take anything I say about the matter in the right way anyway.  I do watch a lot of the league, so my perspective is quite different I'm sure.



On another note.   Did I see Bill Sall at the game last night?

I don't think the sniping was directed at you. I'm pretty sure the range of the firing squad's muskets doesn't go beyond the Knollcrest campus.

I didn't see him, but if Bill Sall was at the game, now that would be very interesting.

[maroonandgold]

SAC you can talk about loving the whole of the MIAA but we all know you rock blue and orange undies.

I don't think SAC has ever hidden his allegiance.  There is literally a link to the donation page on Hope's website on his profile.

As for KVS, I don't understand why NOW everyone is jumping on the hate train. This season has gone pretty much exactly as you should have expected given the pieces. If anything, KVS has gotten more out of this team than the sum of its parts (I sure didn't expect them to go 5-2 in the first half of MIAA play!)...

I thought I should really make of point of responding to this sensible comment since I find myself in the rare situation of agreeing far more with a Hope fan than with the severe critics of KVS.  The improvement of Calvin teams over the course of many seasons from shaky beginnings to much stronger teams by the time the league starts and their toughness at the end of the the season in so many cases, and the numerous times of almost unbelievable comebacks make me think KVS is doing a good job.  While I agree the team just does not have the horses to dominate, I see a lot more offensive movement than a few years ago and a much better job of covering the outside shot than was true a few years ago.  We are getting quite a good number of good looks almost every game, but we need better shooters than we have had for the most part in recent years (Brinks being a notable exception).  If there is a problem with the coach, I would see it far more in the area of recruiting than the in-game coaching and preparation of the team.  Some of the responsibility has to go the players for their shooting and passing decisions.  But I have seen so many teams in recent years with weaknesses in the area of shooting guards that I do wonder about the recruiting aspect.