MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[hoopdreams]

by all accounts of what I have heard, and seen (in 1 hour), the "baby dutch" are not practicing like frosh, most of the time.  GVW is making a conscious effort to ease their expectations/take the pressure off, and stroke the egos of the upperclassmen by repeatedly saying that "this is an experienced, senior led team, we will go as our seniors play, huge gap between freshman and seniors, etc....  By the start of conference play, the biggest challenge may be keeping the uppers happy after not playing as much "as they think they should".  Winning should ease most frustrations though.

Humorous tale.... I heard that the frosh learned a leason in accountability recently after one 6AM practice when 3 of 4 were late.  Stood in middle of floor while the rest of the team ran around them.  Ouch!

[Stinger]

From the Hope website:

Milestone Games Under Coach Van Wieren
First Victory - at Hope 87, Concordia 53, 12-3-77 (Also his first game as coach)
First Win in MIAA - Hope 81, at Olivet 67, 1-18-78
First Win vs. Calvin - at Hope 65, Calvin 57, 2-6-80
Clinched First MIAA Title - at Hope 85, Albion 82, 2-24-82
First NCAA Tournament Win - at Hope 77, Wittenberg 60, 3-5-82
Victory #100 - at Hope 96, Concordia, Mich. 62, 2-4-84 (150th game)
Victory #200 - Hope 82, at Olivet 79 (ot), 2-15-89 (282nd game)
Victory #300 - at Hope 83, Kalamazoo 71, 1-29-94 (403rd game)
Became Winningest Hope Coach (#324) - Hope 95, at Kalamazoo 84, 1-28-95
First NCAA Final Four Appearance - Hope 76, Franklin & Marshall 57, 3-15-96
First National Championship Game - Rowan 100, Hope 93, 3-16-96
Victory #400 - at Hope 96, Alma 78, 1-21-98 (523rd game)
Second NCAA Final Four Appearance - Hope 81, Wilkes, Pa. 61, 3-20-98
Second National Championship Game - Wisc.-Platteville 69, Hope 56, 3-21-98
Victory #500 - Hope 61, at Albion 48, 3-1-03 (672nd game)
First DeVos Fieldhouse Game - at Hope 70, Elmhurst 53, 11-19-05

In the interest of advancing this Coach Van Wieren lovefest, I thought I would mention a couple of other milestone games the Hope website seems to have missed.

First DeVos Fieldhouse loss (men's games) - Calvin 77, Hope 71; 02-07-07
First DeVos Fieldhouse MIAA tournament loss - Calvin 78, Hope 76; 02-24-07

Much appreciated oldknight, much appreciated.

[NW Hope Fan]

After reviewing the old applause-o-meter it appears that someone took umbrage. It's a good thing I didn't mention that Hope's first ever B-ball loss in DeVos was to the Lady Knights.

Seems like your "applause-o-meter" gets plenty of stroking... You have little to worry about!




Come out come out wherever you are!!!!

[KnightSlappy]

MIAA Coaches Poll is out:

1. Hope (5) 10
2. Calvin (3) 11
3. Tri-State 23
4. Albion 25
5. Adrian 26
6. Kalamazoo 38
7. Olivet 42
8. Alma 49

http://miaa.org/

[realist]

Well the coaches have spoken, and seems 5 of the 8 expect great things from the Dutch this year, and that is hard to argue against.    About the only weakness may be the lack of some big bangers inside if a game gets really physical.  I expect Hope will have lots of high scoring games. Albion came in a notch higher than many may have expected, and that may be due to the size players they have to play Turner's defense.

[EC Knight]

I didn't make any picks, but courtesy of Mr. Febus and the Calvin Sports Report here are the Coach's picks for the upcoming year:

1. Hope (5)  10 points
2. Calvin (3) 11 points
3. Tri-State  23 points
4. Albion    25 points
5. Adrian  26 points
6. Kalamazoo 38 points
7. Olivet   42 points
8. Alma 49 points

The number in parentheses is the number of 1st place votes. I believe the total is calculated by adding up the number they were projected to finish, with each school receiving 7 votes because the Coach can't vote for their own school. For example, if someone had all 7 first place votes, their total would be 7 points. If they had 7 2nd place votes, their total would be 14 points, etc. If this is the case though, how did Hope get a score of 10 points unless they were picked by someone to finish 3rd? 1+1+1+1+1+2+3 = 10? Way to go Streek  ! Looks like Calvin got picked to finish 2nd by everyone that didn't pick them to finish 1st though... 1+1+1+2+2+2+2 = 11.

I'd say our coaches got numbers 1 and 2 flip-flopped and I think Adrian will beat out Albion for the 4th spot but other than that I agree. Here's wishing (best synonym I could think of quickly) that Van Wieren will be up for win #600 at the Fieldhouse and get routed by the Knights... I can imagine the fun the fans would have with that scenario. I'm sure he'll have #600 before then as I don't see this year's Dutchmen going 10-6... just won't happen.

[NW Hope Fan]

From the Hope website:

Milestone Games Under Coach Van Wieren
First Victory - at Hope 87, Concordia 53, 12-3-77 (Also his first game as coach)
First Win in MIAA - Hope 81, at Olivet 67, 1-18-78
First Win vs. Calvin - at Hope 65, Calvin 57, 2-6-80
Clinched First MIAA Title - at Hope 85, Albion 82, 2-24-82
First NCAA Tournament Win - at Hope 77, Wittenberg 60, 3-5-82
Victory #100 - at Hope 96, Concordia, Mich. 62, 2-4-84 (150th game)
Victory #200 - Hope 82, at Olivet 79 (ot), 2-15-89 (282nd game)
Victory #300 - at Hope 83, Kalamazoo 71, 1-29-94 (403rd game)
Became Winningest Hope Coach (#324) - Hope 95, at Kalamazoo 84, 1-28-95
First NCAA Final Four Appearance - Hope 76, Franklin & Marshall 57, 3-15-96
First National Championship Game - Rowan 100, Hope 93, 3-16-96
Victory #400 - at Hope 96, Alma 78, 1-21-98 (523rd game)
Second NCAA Final Four Appearance - Hope 81, Wilkes, Pa. 61, 3-20-98
Second National Championship Game - Wisc.-Platteville 69, Hope 56, 3-21-98
Victory #500 - Hope 61, at Albion 48, 3-1-03 (672nd game)
First DeVos Fieldhouse Game - at Hope 70, Elmhurst 53, 11-19-05

In the interest of advancing this Coach Van Wieren lovefest, I thought I would mention a couple of other milestone games the Hope website seems to have missed.

First DeVos Fieldhouse loss (men's games) - Calvin 77, Hope 71; 02-07-07
First DeVos Fieldhouse MIAA tournament loss - Calvin 78, Hope 76; 02-24-07

Much appreciated oldknight, much appreciated.

And let us not forget Glen's largest margin of victory at home...   

[gohope]

In the interest of advancing this Coach Van Wieren lovefest, I thought I would mention a couple of other milestone games the Hope website seems to have missed.

First DeVos Fieldhouse loss (men's games) - Calvin 77, Hope 71; 02-07-07
First DeVos Fieldhouse MIAA tournament loss - Calvin 78, Hope 76; 02-24-07
[/quote]

I'm thinking its not the bran or sugar-frosted flakes, but rather someone got rocks in their Halloween bag last night instead of their favorite candy!!

[sac]

I'm really surprised by that coaches poll.

[KnightSlappy]

I am not sure if there are other possible vote combinations but based on the results of the coaches poll here are the vote break downs

Hope: 5 first, 1 second, 1 third
Calvin: 3 first, 4 second
Tri-State: 2 second, 1 third, 4 fourth
Albion: 1 second, 3 third, 1 fourth, 2 fifth
Adrian: 3 third, 3 fourth, 1 fifth
Kalamazoo: 4 fifth, 3 sixth
Olivet: 1 fifth, 5 sixth, 1 seventh
Alma: 7 seventh

[ChicagoHopeNut]

I am not sure if there are other possible vote combinations but based on the results of the coaches poll here are the vote break downs

Hope: 5 first, 1 second, 1 third
Calvin: 3 first, 4 second
Tri-State: 2 second, 1 third, 4 fourth
Albion: 1 second, 3 third, 1 fourth, 2 fifth
Adrian: 3 third, 3 fourth, 1 fifth
Kalamazoo: 4 fifth, 3 sixth
Olivet: 1 fifth, 5 sixth, 1 seventh
Alma: 7 seventh

I would be fascinated to know who picked Hope to finish third! I mean someone had to pick either Trine-State or Albion to finish above Hope??? I don't get it. I doubt it was KVS I think he has too much mutual respect for GVW and his program so my guess is Mike Turner (Albion). Unless someone else has it out for Hope.

[EC Knight]

I am not sure if there are other possible vote combinations but based on the results of the coaches poll here are the vote break downs

Hope: 5 first, 1 second, 1 third
Calvin: 3 first, 4 second
Tri-State: 2 second, 1 third, 4 fourth
Albion: 1 second, 3 third, 1 fourth, 2 fifth
Adrian: 3 third, 3 fourth, 1 fifth
Kalamazoo: 4 fifth, 3 sixth
Olivet: 1 fifth, 5 sixth, 1 seventh
Alma: 7 seventh

Nice work KnightSlappy - the only 3 I knew for sure were Calvin, Hope and Alma. Since your numbers add up I'm willing to accept them as what occurred. It's quite the logic puzzle and one I'm not willing to attack right now.

[PicknRoll]

Stinger - Your hornet fan calling got me buzzing, I've been planning to become a regular poster for quite some time now anyway.

I'm not surprised where the hornets are ranked, but really I think the hornets are going to surprise people this year. I'm not saying they are going to win the league, but they have some talent to finish at least in the middle of the pack and hopefully can keep games close against the top teams to squeak a few out. Pat Clancy and Mat "Frog" Kellogg are leading this team, a couple of guys who are pretty talented and have a lot of experience. Lets not forget Henry McCain who really causes a big matchup problem for whoever guards him, who is back after a year of sitting out. Nate Orozco should have a solid year contributing along with Matt Wagner. Watch out for the hot handed Jon Matych too, he can really blaze it. Not to mention, I hear some freshman can really fill it up (not just in beer pong).

In sum, I'm looking forward to this season as I think that the hornets have more talent than a lot of watchers and followers may think. How many wins that talent will produce has yet to play out, but if Coach Passage can get them to play as a team and get back to some hornet defense it could be an exciting season.

[Civic Minded]

Welcome, PicknRoll!  Good to have another perspective on things.   

[KnightSlappy]

I am not sure if there are other possible vote combinations but based on the results of the coaches poll here are the vote break downs

Hope: 5 first, 1 second, 1 third
Calvin: 3 first, 4 second
Tri-State: 2 second, 1 third, 4 fourth
Albion: 1 second, 3 third, 1 fourth, 2 fifth
Adrian: 3 third, 3 fourth, 1 fifth
Kalamazoo: 4 fifth, 3 sixth
Olivet: 1 fifth, 5 sixth, 1 seventh
Alma: 7 seventh

I would be fascinated to know who picked Hope to finish third! I mean someone had to pick either Trine-State or Albion to finish above Hope??? I don't get it. I doubt it was KVS I think he has too much mutual respect for GVW and his program so my guess is Mike Turner (Albion). Unless someone else has it out for Hope.

KVS could not have voted Hope #3.  He can't vote for Calvin and no one else got a 1st place vote.