MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[AndersDY]

Everyone thus far seems to have summed up the weekend pretty well for those of us who couldn't make it, but what are the details of this Dan Holt play from the Chicago game that was hinted at a couple times? Dan seems to be that one bench player that the regulars most like to root for/harass when he gets into the game, so I'm sure the bench reaction was priceless. Was there actually a Dan Holt dunk thrown down, or did it not quite go to plan?

[ziggy]

Everyone thus far seems to have summed up the weekend pretty well for those of us who couldn't make it, but what are the details of this Dan Holt play from the Chicago game that was hinted at a couple times? Dan seems to be that one bench player that the regulars most like to root for/harass when he gets into the game, so I'm sure the bench reaction was priceless. Was there actually a Dan Holt dunk thrown down, or did it not quite go to plan?

Let's just say that he didnt get the lift he needed to throw it down.  The bench could hardly contain themselves with laughter.  It was pretty funny because Hope was up by a bunch but I feel bad for the guy.  I'm sure he was embarassed.  Considering the great Larry Welton Jr also got rejected by the rim later that night, he shouldn't feel too bad.

[almcguirejr]

Everyone thus far seems to have summed up the weekend pretty well for those of us who couldn't make it, but what are the details of this Dan Holt play from the Chicago game that was hinted at a couple times? Dan seems to be that one bench player that the regulars most like to root for/harass when he gets into the game, so I'm sure the bench reaction was priceless. Was there actually a Dan Holt dunk thrown down, or did it not quite go to plan?

Holt picked off a pass near midcourt.  He was the only person on his side of the floor.  He stutter stepped his way in to get his feet just right to elevate.  I believe he was going to do a two hander.  On an eight foot basket he might have had a great throw down.  I'm not sure the ball touched the rim but the net was still swaying long after his miss.  DVS walked down the entire bench giving everyone a high five.  This is a play that will live in infamy at future team reunions.

[dumezrules]

An interesting matchup to watch will be Steven Cramer from Hope up against Nathan Drury from Carroll.  Drury is averaging 20 points/game (he had 32 against Augie and 17 against St. Thomas).  It should be a good one to watch this weekend

I think it will be MVH defending him...which does not bode well for Mr. Drury.  VH is long and relatively quick.   If he isnt quick enough then you may see Cramer guard him.  I have never seen Drury play but if he is as good as Cramer, we are in for a treat!

[sac]

The MIAA has had a team in the sweet 16 11 times in 18 years.  Hope becomes the 12th team to reach the Sweet 16 since 1990.  Both Albion and Calvin made the sweet 16 and elite 8 in 2005.

Albion also reached the Sweet 16 in 1978 and Calvin in 1989.  A number of 80's teams may have done so, I don't recall how big those fields were......a win in round 1 probably got you into the Sweet 16.

1990---Calvin
1991---Calvin
1992---Calvin
1993---Calvin
1996---Hope
1997---Hope
1998---Hope
2000---Calvin
2005---Calvin--Albion
2006---Hope
2007---Hope

......other than the 4 year drought from 01-04, thats pretty consistent representation.


Hope's makeing its 5th appearance in a Sectional
1996---@ Wittenberg
1997---@ Nebraska Wesleyan
1998---@ Hope
2006---@ Wittenberg
2007---@ UW--Stevens Point

In the other 3 sectionals away from Holland, Hope played the host school, losing twice.

[sac]

Hope has some nice pictures from Aurora on the web..............

http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/mbb/0607ncaagallery1.html

http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/mbb/0607ncaagallery2.html

.......tell me those guys in the last 2 photos didn't love that.




I believe this is just prior to the big moment for Mr. Holt........
.......he looked so determined.

[diehardfan]

Hey guys, I just thought I'd pop in to let you know about a little project we did. A group of around 40 posters banded together and created a Unofficial Guide to the 2006-2007 NCAA Tourney, that contains a team-by-team breakdown of the teams in the tournament. This is especially cool given the fact that the official NCAA guide gives you very little insight into the teams, and nearly all of the previews in the Unofficial Guide were made by fans of the team.

The website is: http://wheatonhoops.googlepages.com/ncaatourney and on that website you can find browsable information, as well as a 19 page printable PDF document. This was updated as of this morning.

While I doubt that we'll ever get any posters to submit information for the 11 teams that did not submit previews, it does include previews from 48 of the 59 teams in the tournament, and all of the teams in the Sweet Sixteen. I hope you check it out and enjoy the content!

If there are any corrections or content additions you would like to me, please submit them to me by PM. Thanks!

[sac]

From the Hope website

Specific ticket information will be available on Tuesday, March 6th. There will be large pool of tickets that will be made available for Hope College Fans! The Staff at the Hope Ticket Office is confident that the amount of tickets allocated will satisfy your needs!

[AlwaysHope]

Brief mention in the Holland Sentinel today about the health status of the Hope team.

Coach Van Wieren stated that this week his team needs to heal from its "bumps and bruises," and specifically mentioned Derek VanSolkema (thigh), Marcus VanderHeide (foot) and Scott Richardson (ankle).  I think they have had these injuries for one or two weeks.

DVS does not seem quite a quick as earlier in the season.

[sac]

Catching up on my sentinel reading.....interesting comment about Hope v Calvin

"We were not going to let them beat us the way they wanted to beat us ... we were not going to let their perimeter people beat us," Van Wieren said. "We challenged our guys to make it strictly a one-on-one defensive game to make it really tough for them to score from the perimeter."

I'd say they accomplished just that.

[Greek Tragedy]

I believe this is just prior to the big moment for Mr. Holt........
.......he looked so determined.

Is he the one that had the negative 2 inch vertical jump and missed the dunk?  That was too funny! lol 

[almcguirejr]

Catching up on my sentinel reading.....interesting comment about Hope v Calvin

"We were not going to let them beat us the way they wanted to beat us ... we were not going to let their perimeter people beat us," Van Wieren said. "We challenged our guys to make it strictly a one-on-one defensive game to make it really tough for them to score from the perimeter."

I'd say they accomplished just that.

That is accurate.  Calvin never made any adjustment all night.  All night we tried to go one on one or a 2 man game with Mantel.  That worked for a little bit in the first half but over the course of the whole game it was ineffective.  I can't remember one time Calvin tried to run somebody off a screen.  Veltema with no shots.  Calvin doesn't have enough offense without him.  He is not somebody that can create off the dribble.  Hope's defense was daring us to score in the paint and I think the way we attacked that was different Saturday night than the way Calvin tried to attack the middle all year long.  Hope may be better than Calvin but they shouldn't be 16 points better. 

[monsoon]

Impressive work, diehardfan (et. al.) - and they said it couldn't be done!

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Interesting that whoever did the write-up of Carroll says they are an uptempo team, and they have three players averaging over 29 minutes per game.  Looking at their two tournament wins,  4 starters played even more minutes:

Drury - 39 vs Auggie, 38 vs St. Thom
Ladwig - 38 vs Auggie, 38 vs St. Thom
Colomy - 37 vs Auggie, 22 vs St. Thom
Ligocki - 27 vs Auggie, 22 vs St. Thom

That's some significant minutes there, and I think Hope's depth would be a big plus for the Dutchmen.

[AndersDY]

Is he the one that had the negative 2 inch vertical jump and missed the dunk?  That was too funny! lol 

Yes, that was Dan Holt that apparently pulled that off. He is pretty much Hope's human victory cigar, entering the game just as the starters are settling back into their warmups. One of those players the whole bench roots for when he does get playing time. I really wish I could have seen the reaction to that play. Sounds like it was the funniest moment in a Hope game all year, in front of Cramer getting quick-counted by the Dew Crew and heaving a full court shot.

Does anyone else watch Holt play and think he just looks like a guy who was 6'0" when he went to bed the night before? He just looks like he needs to get used to moving a body as big as his on the floor. He certainly does bring effort when given the chance though.