MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Mr. Ypsi]

Being foremost a CCIW guy (despite living in Michigan for closing in on 50 years), I can't recall - does the MIAA tourney have 4 teams or 6? (or all 8?)

Six

Thanks.  I really ought to pay closer attention (in August I will have lived in Michigan for 50 years, as opposed to only 22 in Illinois), but my FIRST loyalty will always be to IWU.

[KnightSlappy]

Being foremost a CCIW guy (despite living in Michigan for closing in on 50 years), I can't recall - does the MIAA tourney have 4 teams or 6? (or all 8?)

Six

Thanks.  I really ought to pay closer attention (in August I will have lived in Michigan for 50 years, as opposed to only 22 in Illinois), but my FIRST loyalty will always be to IWU.

It was all eight for years and years and years. Then it was 4 for several years. And now it's been six for a couple years. I liked it best when it was all eight.

[sac]

I'm only going by memory here but it seems like Tom Snikkers was one of highest turnover rate guys in the league in the past couple decades.  He had 74 as a Junior and 66 as a Senior. 

Preston Granger has 73 this season with 4 and possibly 5 games to go.  Its going to be a fight to keep that under 100.

High turnover guys usually have the ball a lot, are often asked to do a lot one-on-one, which both of these guys were and are.  Granger seems to have zero faith in his teammates and often bulls his way into terrible positions.  His teammates reward his thoughts by not pulling the trigger on open 3-point attempts and rarely moving to get open. 

This is the slowest passing team Hope's had in years, pass....think....move...think...pass.....think..   

[GoKnights68]

Agree on your assessment, Sac,  about Hope players seem too hesitant shooting the 3 point ball when having the opportunity and a somewhat open look.  Especially in a game going against a Calvin team that proved to be overwhelming against them in terms of talent and experience during the last meeting  ,  they would have had to try and get hot from downtown to have had any kind of shot today IMO

[arena]

So, Albion lost?

[KnightSlappy]

So, Albion lost?

Alma is suddenly looking really good in tiebreaker scenarios for seeding. They've beaten Albion, Hope, and Adrian (x2).

[maroonandgold]

There is no question that De Vries has really been outstanding.  He has shown amazing improvement from year to year, too.  I have often found myself pitying the person assigned to guard him.  But yesterday's Hope game really illustrated how important the other players on Calvin's team are.  When Warners and De Witt hit the shots coming from De Vries passes, it really opens the middle for unstoppable drives.  Warners has shown new moves and scoring ability that was not coming out until recent games, and that really helps the rest of the team to have opportunities.  Early in the season Calvin was getting consistent scoring from only 3 players, but the recent balance has really made them a better team.

[KnightSlappy]

Did I fail to appreciate Derrick DeVries his first two years, or has he really developed his game over time? Hope tried four different defenders on him, all without success. Calvin's simple play--give him the ball at the top of the key and clear the lane for him to drive--worked time and again, yielding either his layups or (when doubled) his pass-outs to open 3-point shooters. That's a play that I expect to see more often from Hope's Evan Thomas over the next three years.

Derrick has always been a scorer -- he's going to pass the career 1,500 point mark -- but his game has certainly evolved. As a soph he was an outside shooter that would knock down the open look.

Last year he transitioned to more of a post threat (and his outside game abandoned him) and also became a very good rebounder. He would sometimes get tunnel vision when he had the ball in the lane and draw offensive fouls or turn it over -- similar to Grainger for Hope this year.

This season his offensive game has been rather stellar all-around. He's making great decisions and feeding his teammates when the opportunity arises. Perhaps the biggest difference, though, is his interest on Defense. He gave the impression of being a rather laissez-faire defender in previous years, but he's really turned up the effort in his senior season.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Just finished up tallying the MIAA Pick 'Em scores for the week.  If our pickers are any indication, yesterday was pretty historic in terms of upsets or better said unexpected results.  We had 14 players pick the four games, and they/we collectively went 6-50!!  9 pickers missed all four games.

We always see more people pick the home teams, so 4 road teams winning has something to do with that for sure.   The next two weeks is going to be something - with every team still having a shot at the tournament.

[sac]

For league games the two highest scoring averages in the last 32 years going back to Eric Nordman, Alma in 1988 are Jalen Adams, Olivet and Michael McClary, Olivet both at 26.3 pts. 

DeVries is currently at 25.7, he would need 112 points in the last 4 games to top them.


Steve Honderd averaged 25.6.

[northb]

I heard the GVSU announcer cite a stat that DeVries has had 6 30+ games (this year?), a feat that has been done by 5 other Calvin players, including Honderd, M. Veenstra and a few other legendary names.

[MaroonKnighty]

I heard the GVSU announcer cite a stat that DeVries has had 6 30+ games (this year?), a feat that has been done by 5 other Calvin players, including Honderd, M. Veenstra and a few other legendary names.

Heres a link to Calvin's all-time 30+ points/game players.  https://calvinknights.com/sports/mbkb/30-point_scoring_list
I thought the announcer said 5 30+ games in a year and this would be Derek's 6th.  I didn't take the time to verify the years but I'm guessing Dan Davis and Chris Knoester are the other 2.

[DrDutchman]

Man do I miss Hope Basketball being good

And I miss talented players being on the roster

[wiz]

I heard the GVSU announcer cite a stat that DeVries has had 6 30+ games (this year?), a feat that has been done by 5 other Calvin players, including Honderd, M. Veenstra and a few other legendary names.

Heres a link to Calvin's all-time 30+ points/game players.  https://calvinknights.com/sports/mbkb/30-point_scoring_list
I thought the announcer said 5 30+ games in a year and this would be Derek's 6th.  I didn't take the time to verify the years but I'm guessing Dan Davis and Chris Knoester are the other 2.

Thanks for sharing.  The link shows that Bill Sall scored 38 against Hope in March of 1987.  That's the year Hope won the MIAA but fell to Calvin in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in overtime.  Playing for Hope was Greg Mitchell.

[HOPEful]

Did I fail to appreciate Derrick DeVries his first two years, or has he really developed his game over time? Hope tried four different defenders on him, all without success. Calvin's simple play--give him the ball at the top of the key and clear the lane for him to drive--worked time and again, yielding either his layups or (when doubled) his pass-outs to open 3-point shooters. That's a play that I expect to see more often from Hope's Evan Thomas over the next three years.

So many thoughts on this statement...

1. There was a kick-out pass from Derrick that he drove hard to the hoop, realized he was well guarded, and found the open guy on the perimeter who knocked down the three. I turned to my wife and said, "Right there! That is what I have never once seen Preston Grainger do that would make him such a better player!"

2. Evan Thomas on Derrick was a train-wreck. I'm not sure why Mitchell allowed it for as much of the game as he did. He was clearly a freshman defender getting just bullied by one of the best offensive players in the league. I thought Gamm did a great job defending DeVries, but whenever anyone else was on him, it was ugly.

3. Evan Thomas has two major deficiencies in his game. The first is defense. I really hope this off-season he really develops this part of his game. The other, is his understanding of the offense. There's no doubt he's gifted offensively and shows potential to be really special. But at times he looks lost. I'm noticing more and more his teammates talking to him about being in the wrong place when they expected him to be somewhere else. I really think the fact that Hope gets starting/regular minutes from two freshmen and a sophomore shows during those slumps where they can't find a rhythm and just force up a terrible shot with 17 seconds left on the shot clock.