MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[basketballbob]

Hi SBELL, I follow your posts on SpartanMag. Derek decided not to play on the JV after he did not make the Varsity. Heard he was going to transfer, maybe to Wayne State.

[SBell]

Thanks. Why'd he think he'd make the varsity as a freshman?

I was hoping he would be Hope's Jackie Robinson ... now approx. a quarter of a century without a black player.

[basketballbob]

Email me at Bowmangss@aol.com for that answer. We have never met, but Glenn speaks very highly of you, which is good enough for me.

[thealmascots]

With Meckes out for any length of time, it makes it even more crucial for Calvin to start setting a screen once in a while for Draayer.  I don't think I've seen one in the last two years.  Will they ever figure out that this guy is one of the best shooters in recent memory, but he is not going to be able to create things for himself.  Set some double screens, screens off the ball.  Let's see some imagination.  There certainly isn't much to lose this year.

[dutchmen96]

SBELL,

Hope College has had African American players in mid to late '90's and early 2000's.  I would love to see more African Americans, and Latinos, in the orange and blue.   However, it is not due to lack of effort of the men's basketball program.  To say that African Americans have not been in the progarm in the last quater century is simple inaccurate.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

scots - I would agree with you - except that in the two games at the Van Andel this weekend, he had lots of open looks, and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.  He was 1-12, with two or three complete airballs, and the other misses weren't even close.

At this point he's shooting 10-34 for 29.4%.  I know watching him last year (I saw 11 Calvin games last year) he was one of the most pure shooters I've seen.  Just wondering if starting instead of coming off the bench is part of the problem, along with the obvious problem of no inside game.

I'll bet he won't continue at this low of a percentage, but from what I've seen, lack of open looks are not the problem.

[gerald]

Overlooked amidst the usual Hope/Calvin hype this weekend were two extremely solid outings by Kalamazoo down in Memphis.  The Hornets go South and absolutely obliterate both Principia and the University of Dallas.

It looks like Kalamazoo should have quite the balanced attack this year.  The scoring load throughout their young season seems to have been shared by a good number of people.

Maybe some of those voters are reconsidering that projected last-place finish now...

[Flying Dutch Fan]

gerald - the win over UDallas isn't saying much - they only won 4 games last year.  Principia is a rebuilding team that lost 75% of their offense from last year, and are expected to finish low in the SLIAC - a conference typically not equal to the MIAA.

[Stinger]

SBELL, It's an easy answer: Glenn loves to tell every recruit they're going to start as Freshman.

[David Collinge]

Overlooked amidst the usual Hope/Calvin hype this weekend were two extremely solid outings by Kalamazoo down in Memphis.  The Hornets go South and absolutely obliterate both Principia and the University of Dallas.

It looks like Kalamazoo should have quite the balanced attack this year.  The scoring load throughout their young season seems to have been shared by a good number of people.

Maybe some of those voters are reconsidering that projected last-place finish now...

gerald - the win over UDallas isn't saying much - they only won 4 games last year. Principia is a rebuilding team that lost 75% of their offense from last year, and are expected to finish low in the SLIAC - a conference typically not equal to the MIAA.

True.  From their play in holiday tournaments, I think we can say that K'zoo is better than a couple of awful teams, and not as good as a couple of very good ones.  I watched the Hornets play Wooster and St. Thomas, and they were thoroughly outclassed. 

The problem is, gerald, that Wooster and St. Thomas are MIAA-calibre teams while UDallas and Principia are not.  I would not get too excited over their prospects this season.

[Stinger]

Gerald,  it was a nice weekend for the Hornets to get two wins down in Memphis.  Talking with Coach Passage before the trip, it sounded like it was going to be a much easier go than down at Wooster.  This weekend at Aquinas' tournament should give us a little more information as to how good this Hornet team can be.

[SBell]

What "African-Americans" have played for Hope's varsity in the last decade?

And unless it's Manu Ginobli, I think a basketball team can survive without "Latinos", but who knows?

[midline]

Bottom line: The Hornets took care of business this weekend. Hopefully, these two wins can set a tone for K before they head to tourney in GR. I am intrigued to see frosh Henry McCain develop over this and upcoming seasons. Lots of upside there.

[dutchmen96]

SBELL,

Your comment about Latinos is pretty short sighted; especially considering Holland's demographics; but anyway...the gentlemen I referred to were on Junior Varsity.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

When does the Top 25 get updated? I am looking forward to Calvin's fall and Hope's ascension.