MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sac]

On a happier note, how about an outside chance at a first-round bye, or a more likely first and second rounds at DeVos?

I think they have a shot, though a long one.  I'm more interested to see what they do with Thomas More, Hope and DePauw on the women's side.......all 3 should be hosting but likely won't.

[GoKnights68]

Alright, I'll make a few comments about the game itself.


-When Calvin went up 27-15, I honestly wasn't too confident at all at that point in the Knights winning the game still.  This year's Hope team is probably the mentally strongest Hope team I've seen in years.  They don't panic and they believe in their game-plan.   

-I've said it before each Calvin-Hope game this season.  Calvin needs to learn how to defend  the three better.  With the guys from Hope like Klein, Tanis, Remink, and Wolf nailing threes with ease all this year, you you'd think Calvin learned not to leave those guys open.    Heck, I wouldn't mind the Knights over-perusing when coming out to guard those guys.  It seemed Hope had a tougher time making their lay-ups last night than their 3-pointers. 

-Calvin seemed to have problems boxing out again last night.  17 offensive rebounds for Hope.  With a great shooting team like Hope, you can't give them second opportunities on offense.

-Calvin again seemed to not be prepared for a physical team.  The refs let the game be physical from the start, and Calvin never adjusted to it.

-I would've like to see Veldhouse be more vocal on the court this season, but still a pretty nice season from him.

-Will Calvin change up their offense somewhat next year?...This is just my opinion by I think what Calvin was missing this season was the "Dan Prins" type of player.  A tall forward that can knock down those baseline 10 footers.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

How about this for a stat no one has mentioned much:  in the MIAA tourney, Hope outscored its opponents by 12 in the first half and 47 in the second.  I think this stat would be even more stark if we looked at the first 10-15 min's of the game vs the rest of the game.  I think this speaks to great coaching--motivating through halftime speeches, keeping the team focused through adversity, making in-game adjustments, etc.  All this bodes well for the Dutchmen in the tourney, but I think the key once they start playing other national-class opponents is to make sure to come out of the gates strong and NOT fall behind early. 

[scottiedawg]

All this bodes well for the Dutchmen in the tourney, but I think the key once they start playing other national-class opponents is to make sure to come out of the gates strong and NOT fall behind early. 

It was nice for the Dutchmen that even though Calvin played like a national-class team during the first half, they withstood the barrage. 

[Erm Schmigget]

sac  you were talking about the throphy  presantion   sat for the womens game it is to that calvin did not stay out for the throphy  thing saturday night they just not take losing to hope 3 times in a year  i think they schould have stayed out  to suppport  hope but you know how calvin is

Learn how to type a coherent sentance

   

those who live in glass houses...    

[sac]

How about this for a stat no one has mentioned much:  in the MIAA tourney, Hope outscored its opponents by 12 in the first half and 47 in the second.  I think this stat would be even more stark if we looked at the first 10-15 min's of the game vs the rest of the game.  I think this speaks to great coaching--motivating through halftime speeches, keeping the team focused through adversity, making in-game adjustments, etc.  All this bodes well for the Dutchmen in the tourney, but I think the key once they start playing other national-class opponents is to make sure to come out of the gates strong and NOT fall behind early. 

All 3 tournament teams tried to play Hope the same way, Hope figured it out eventually.  I wasn't at the Wed game, but the defensive adjustments were easy to see Friday and Saturday night.  Klein being the designated stopper both nights on Desmond Young and Derek Griffin the obvious change.  None of the 3 teams played good enough defense to beat a team that shot the ball like Hope did this weekend.


Hope trailed in all 3 games

Down 5 to Alma.........largest lead 20........25 point turnaround
Down 2 to Adrian......largest lead 20.........22 point turnaround
Down 13 to Calvin......largest lead 21........34 point turnaround

All involved early 2nd half runs.

[GoKnights68]

I don't think anyone else has mentioned this yet, but isn't this the first time the MIAA conference tourney hosting-team has won the tourney since 2001 Calvin?

2002.  Hosting team: Calvin.  Winner Hope
2003.  Hosting team: Albion.  Winner Hope
2004.  Hosting team: Hope.  Winner Calvin
2005.  Hosting team: Albion.  Winner Calvin
2006.  Hosting team: Calvin.  Winner Hope
2007.  Hosting team: Hope.   Winner Calvin.


Here's a quick little message to my fellow Knight fans.  I agree that this was a disappointing and underachieving season and I am somewhat disappointed in KVS's coaching this season as well, but perhaps we need to not always blame it only on our players and coaches, but give a little more credit to the teams that beat us (basing this on the posts from all-season).  6 of our 11 losses were to Aquinas, Hope, and Albion.  Those are 3 great teams. 

Lets remember the 2002-2003 season.   That was supposed to be a great year for the Knights, with Jeremy Veenstra returning from his senior season, and 1,000 point scorers Prins and Broene returning as well.  That year Calvin had a pretty similar year to this one.  But the Knights bounced back well with winning the MIAA tourney the next season, and going to the NCAA Final Four the following season.  Lets stay positive.

edit: Same goes for Hope's 2004-2005 season.  They were predicted to win the league, yet finished with 12 losses that year if I'm not mistaken.  The next year they came back to win the MIAA tourney and go to the sweet 16.  The following year they won the league.


If Hope makes it to the sweet 16 this year, that would be three sweet 16's in a row.  When is the last time an MIAA team has done that, if ever (I probably could look up the stats myself but don't feel like it)? 

[scottiedawg]

In Calvin Wins
Veldhouse 17.5
Griffin 17.0
Mantel 10.3

In Calvin Losses
Veldhouse 16.8
Griffin 11.6
Mantel 10.55

Differences
Veldhouse +0.7
Griffin +5.4
Mantel -0.25

[sac]

I don't think anyone else has mentioned this yet, but isn't this the first time the MIAA conference tourney hosting-team has won the tourney since 2001 Calvin?

2002.  Hosting team: Calvin.  Winner Hope
2003.  Hosting team: Albion.  Winner Hope
2004.  Hosting team: Hope.  Winner Calvin
2005.  Hosting team: Albion.  Winner Calvin
2006.  Hosting team: Calvin.  Winner Hope
2007.  Hosting team: Hope.   Winner Calvin.

Just overall, its been a pretty amazing 6 years in the MIAA, the plot twists have been plentifull.

Legitimately Hope  could have laid claim to 6 MIAA Championships, Albion could have won 2 others and Calvin could have won a couple others.  Most seasons were decided by only 1 game and a reverse result could have changed everything.

If Hope makes it to the sweet 16 this year, that would be three sweet 16's in a row.  When is the last time an MIAA team has done that, if ever? 

Under the Sectional format
Hope made 3 in row in 1996, 1997 and 1998
Calvin made 4 in row in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993

Calvin also made the Sweet 16 in 1989

[hope1]

 

I think they have a shot, though a long one.  I'm more interested to see what they do with Thomas More, Hope and DePauw on the women's side.......all 3 should be hosting but likely won't.
[/quote]   



how about if the hope men get a bye and play saturday  night  and the hope girls play friday night then play saturday afternoon  they could do that i think way the hope are playing a another trip to the sweet 16

[pointlem]

As a Hope fan, I concur with Sac and the Calvin posters who reminded us of the great rivalry and excellent athleticism evident again this weekend.  Excepting a couple momentary minor things, I thought the spirit of the game was terrific as usual.  And thank you, Calvin posters, for the encouraging words. (I can feel, from memories of offering you similar congratulations and best wishes in years past, your pain in offering such.)

  how about if the hope men get a bye and play saturday  night  and the hope girls play friday night then play saturday afternoon  they could do that i think way the hope are playing a another trip to the sweet 16

Hope1, this may be a long shot but it could happen.  Five men's teams and one women's team will receive a first round bye, if I understand correctly (Sac, help me).  If that were to happen to one of the Hope teams, the NCAA says that "Doubleheaders involving single games for each gender are possible for first- and second-round sites, upon approval of the men's and women's committees." 

[hopefan22]

being a hope fan i have to say that calvin has a good ball club and a bright future but same for hope i hope to see many more grat games in the storied hope calvin rivalry

[oldknight]

Congratulations to Hope on their regular season and tournament championships. The Flying Dutchmen clearly demonstrated that they were the best team in the MIAA this year. A solid NCAA tournament run would not surprise me.

With the Knights losing by 16 their really isn't any key play that you can point to as a critical turning point in Saturday night's game. But their was one moment in the first half that I instantly recognized--even as it happened--as an important one, and a metaphor for Calvin's season. With Calvin holding an 8 point lead (if memory serves me correctly) Dustin Smith came downcourt on a breakaway with only VanderHeide able to challenge him. At that time Marcus had two fouls. I know Dustin gives up 10 inches to Marcus but as the play unfolded I was looking for Smith to take it right at VanderHeide who was only angling in to contest the shot. I thought it was a moment Smith should have forced Marcus to make the block and maybe draw a third foul. If the shot gets cleanly blocked its probably merely going out of bounds anyway. Dustin chose to come to a stop and give a head fake. Marcus sailed harmlessly by and Dustin promptly missed an uncontested puppy. Hope boarded the ball and had a breakaway of their own that led to an open look from the arc for Reimink which he promptly drained. What appeared would be a 10 point Calvin lead had--in just seconds--become a 5 point lead. Those few seconds were a micorcosm for Calvin's season: A questionable decision, followed by bad execution, followed by a defensive lapse. That's the way a team's season goes sometimes. If they learn from these things, it will be different for next season's edition of Calvin College basketball.

I have said it over and over about Griffin. Pride comes before the fall.

Actually, pride goes before destruction--it's a haughty spirit that comes before the fall (Proverbs 16:18).

[oldknight]

   okay I'll quit as others have "pointed" out stuff about this situation well enough in earlier posts (as well as on the Holland Sentinel Blog).

It's impossible to take seriously anything Alan Babbit or the Sentinel prints. I could not read past the very first sentence of his blog without finding an obvious grammatical error. D3hoops posters make errors too but we don't 1) get paid to write, and 2) have editors to review our work before it goes out to the public (maybe the Sentinel doesn't either).

[GoKnights68]

Congratulations to Hope on their regular season and tournament championships. The Flying Dutchmen clearly demonstrated that they were the best team in the MIAA this year. A solid NCAA tournament run would not surprise me.

With the Knights losing by 16 their really isn't any key play that you can point to as a critical turning point in Saturday night's game. But their was one moment in the first half that I instantly recognized--even as it happened--as an important one, and a metaphor for Calvin's season. With Calvin holding an 8 point lead (if memory serves me correctly) Dustin Smith came downcourt on a breakaway with only VanderHeide able to challenge him. At that time Marcus had two fouls. I know Dustin gives up 10 inches to Marcus but as the play unfolded I was looking for Smith to take it right at VanderHeide who was only angling in to contest the shot. I thought it was a moment Smith should have forced Marcus to make the block and maybe draw a third foul. If the shot gets cleanly blocked its probably merely going out of bounds anyway. Dustin chose to come to a stop and give a head fake. Marcus sailed harmlessly by and Dustin promptly missed an uncontested puppy. Hope boarded the ball and had a breakaway of their own that led to an open look from the arc for Reimink which he promptly drained. What appeared would be a 10 point Calvin lead had--in just seconds--become a 5 point lead. Those few seconds were a micorcosm for Calvin's season: A questionable decision, followed by bad execution, followed by a defensive lapse. That's the way a team's season goes sometimes. If they learn from these things, it will be different for next season's edition of Calvin College basketball.

I have said it over and over about Griffin. Pride comes before the fall.

Actually, pride comes before destruction--it's a haughty spirit that comes before the fall (Proverbs 16:18).

Hopetix is just related to Mark Dantonio.  That's all. 



Good observation, oldknight, on that play.  Perhaps Dustin should have done a better pump-fake and leaned into Vanderheide to try to draw the foul.

Also a little confused why KVS called timeout after Griffin hit that 3 to put the Knights up by a descent margin.

Hope started playing a lot better, but Calvin also seemed to lose fatigue, which is odd coming from a team that uses its depth frequently.