MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Grutte Dirk]

I hope Battista doesn't change his mind. From a basketball standpoint, it makes much more sense to go to Wooster, IMO. At Wooster, he would likely step right in as a freshman and start at center.

I do not see that as a positive.  To become your best it seems like you need to be challanged and peer mentored, not just coached.  Stepping into a situation like Hope's--with multiple veterans from all over could be an ideal mix for a youngster.

[almcguirejr]

hope would be a good fit for him and maybe start

He would also have the opportunity to play in that beautiful new arena. 

[diehardfan]

I hope Battista doesn't change his mind. From a basketball standpoint, it makes much more sense to go to Wooster, IMO. At Wooster, he would likely step right in as a freshman and start at center.

I do not see that as a positive.  To become your best it seems like you need to be challanged and peer mentored, not just coached.  Stepping into a situation like Hope's--with multiple veterans from all over could be an ideal mix for a youngster.

Good point, I'd also like to point out that Hope players have this tendancy to get injured, case in point, 2004-2005 season.  We can't predict tomorrow, much less several months from now. I've always thought it was crazy to go to a school based on the sports program alone, even if it is a large chuck of where they spend their time. There's all sorts of other factors, location, academic reputation, blah blah... I hope everyone goes where they are going to fit best, especially Mr. B-I-have-an-interesting-last-name-like-all-Hope-and-Calvin-players. 

[Flying Dutch Fan]

OK, I've been biting my toungue long enough on this subject that I got to let it out. 

The discussion of who will be the next Hope coach has been very interesting, especially since Mr. Carlson seems to be following in his coaches footsteps to some degree.  But I have to tell you that I know with 99.9% certainty that the next basketball coach at Hope College will be Matt Neil - in other words, it's his to loose.

[Grutte Dirk]

The discussion of who will be the next Hope coach has been very interesting, especially since Mr. Carlson seems to be following in his coaches footsteps to some degree.  But I have to tell you that I know with 99.9% certainty that the next basketball coach at Hope College will be Matt Neil - in other words, it's his to loose.

How old are Carlson and Neil?  Would Carlson coach post-Neil?
What degrees has Neil completed?  Is he qualified to be hired as a professor at Hope?

[Grutte Dirk]

... I've always thought it was crazy to go to a school based on the sports program alone, even if it is a large chuck of where they spend their time. There's all sorts of other factors, location, academic reputation, blah blah... I hope everyone goes where they are going to fit best, especially Mr. B-I-have-an-interesting-last-name-like-all-Hope-and-Calvin-players. 

But remember, a four-year athlete spends more time with his coach than any other adult on campus.  Sports should effect their decision.

[MIdoubleA]

Neil is a teacher at Holland Public Middle School, if I remember correctly. I think he teaches Math, for that matter.

Not sure about his degree, but I'm sure Hope will figure something out with him if he's destined to be the next coach. Whether there is an exception to be made or a new professor to be appointed, GVW still needs to step down first for that to happen.

But who cares, we'll cross that bridge with big, stylish wooden shoes when we get to it 

[Pat Coleman]

Is that the guy who was so shocked he didn't get interviewed for IWU?

[MIdoubleA]

Is that the guy who was so shocked he didn't get interviewed for IWU?

I don't think so...

[diehardfan]

... I've always thought it was crazy to go to a school based on the sports program alone, even if it is a large chuck of where they spend their time. There's all sorts of other factors, location, academic reputation, blah blah... I hope everyone goes where they are going to fit best, especially Mr. B-I-have-an-interesting-last-name-like-all-Hope-and-Calvin-players. 

But remember, a four-year athlete spends more time with his coach than any other adult on campus.  Sports should effect their decision.

Oh, no, that's totally true. And it's crucial to have good ones. Most a large part of the character development I saw in the football guys at Wheaton was thanks to their coaches... I'm constantly proud to be a part of a school that does that. But the overall makeup of their classmates, and teachers (some schools just have different people who flock there, for faculty and staff) should be at least as important. Culture usually has a bigger effect on you than individual people. Who really affects the players more... the coaches, or the teammates? I don't really know the answer. But I'm also pretty sure that the person who most profoundly affected my brother, despite an awesome relationship with many of his coaches, was a prof in his major. 

[Pat Coleman]

Let's see:

I find it hard to believe that the Hope assistant isn't a possilbility.  He has been at Hope a long time according to the program and they have won some games there.  Must be he's not the profile they were looking for at IWU if all this conversation is true.

I feel confident in my Augustana/NCAA coaching/misc. D3-based sources about every name for the IWU job I have posted here, just as I was confident in the same sources who confirmed that Scott Trost was leaving for Lewis the day before it was announced.  I am sure of:

John Tharp (Lawrence)
Mike McGrath (Chicago)
Todd Raridon (North Central)
Ron Rose (Bloomington H.S.)
John Baines (Elmhurst, Asst Coach)
Rick Samuels (Eastern Illinois, former head coach)

Now this comes from a different source, so I do not yet know how reliable, but I recently heard another name --

Pat Cunningham (Trinity)

Not clear if Cunningham applied, or if the source was pretty sure he would.  Not very solid info.

I have heard from a pretty solid source that IWU has over 100 applicants for the job.  The real intrigue would be to know who are some of those 90+ guys we haven't identified.  Most of the names above were pretty obvious going in.

Would seem to me IWU is going to end up with a great coach.

I heard that the Hope assistant whom I wondered about is interested.  If the stats are correct from their tourney program earlier this season, he has been at Hope for a large share of the current coach's years as head coach.  I agree....seems like IWU will have a great coach as it's next leader of the Titans.

I would imagine that alot of interest will be shown that's for sure.  When Wheaton was up at Hope this year, I noticed in the Hope program that their one assistant might be head coaching material.  Not sure of his name but seemed really involved and according to the program, knows what it takes to win in D3.

I am sure this search will be interesting.

Those posts came from pretty close to the source.

[Joe-Man]

Is that the guy who was so shocked he didn't get interviewed for IWU?

I don't think so...

That's what I heard, MIdoubleA. I'm almost positive it's not the same guy.

[MIdoubleA]

Knowing the Neils personally, I highly doubt they would pack up and ship out of Holland. Their oldest daughter is a student at Hope, and their two sons are right around the high school age. I know they have family in the area, and I think it's safe to say Neil is on the list of possible GVW replacements.

That being said, it could be one of the other 4875293876 assistant coaches Hope has. Perhaps Tom Davelaar?

[arena]

Carlson WILL be the head coach someday, but not for a while. The next coach after GVW will probably be there for 10 years (with Carlson as assistant). He's actually following GVW's path (he left Holland after being an assistant to get his doctorate at BYU, then returned to Hope).

Whoa.  Is the BYU, Brigham Young University??   As in the mormon school?

Yes.  According to the Hope website:  Prior to joining the Hope faculty he taught and coached at Grand Haven (Mich.) High School. He holds the M.A. degree from Western Michigan University and the Ed.D. degree from Brigham Young University.

You seem suprised.  Do you see that as weird? 

Yes.  Very.

I'm not going to take this board down any unneeded roads, so I'll keep those opinions and thoughts to myself.

While BYU is, of course, affiliated with the LDS church, it is a highly respected university and not nearly as exclusively Mormon as you may think.  Their list of officially-sanctioned clubs include the Baptist Student Union and the Muslim Student Association!

While I couldn't find a breakdown on student religious preference, my impression is that it would be only around 50-60% Mormon among undergrads, and considerably less than that among grad students.  (And I would bet that their student conduct rules would make a Hope student feel right at home!)

Your guess would be a little low.

Approximately 98 percent of BYU students were members of the Church of Jesus Christ, with the remaining 2 percent representing more than 20 other faiths. Approximately 42 percent of daytime students had served as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ, with about half serving in non-English-speaking missions.

http://unicomm.byu.edu/about/factfile/demo.aspx?lms=9

I'd be very surprised if the graduate level was lower than 90% Mormon.

It's an interesting fact about GVW.

[MIdoubleA]

With all this talk about people going to schools for reasons other than athletics, environment, academics, etc... couldn't we throw religious affiliation into the mix? Maybe he went there because the campus is nice 

I know that religious affiliation is quite a big part of BYU, but then again GVW is a quirky guy. That's why we like him