2014 Season in Review: Calvin

2014  24-6,  12-2  2nd
2013  26-4,  13-1  1st
2012  13-13,  8-6  3rd tie

Best win of the year:  @ Washington Univ  83-75  NCAA 2nd Round
Worst loss of the year:  @ Hope 65-83

Seniors:  Tyler Kruis, Mickey DeVries, Jordan Mast


Coming off a double MIAA Championship 2013 and sweet 16 appearance, 2014's expectations for the Knights were understandably high.  After a confusing loss to Carthage the Knights delivered on their promise with a convincing win over Wheaton the next night.  A split of their trip to Redlands and Clarmont-MS didn't really rattle too many thoughts that Calvin was the prohibitive favorite to win the MIAA.

Try not to read too much into it

The MIAA was really mostly a waltz for Calvin save for a late game heroic win at Trine and two very important and crucial losses to Hope.  The first was stunning as Hope beat them on their own floor, the second was sucking on a lemon, if you're Calvin.  The Knights kept the pressure on Hope throughout the conference season but those two losses meant a disappointing 2nd place finish.

Tyler Kruis delivered Calvin's first league MVP since Jeremy Veenstra in 2002 and he probably beat out his own teammate Jordan Brink for the honor.  These two led Calvin's late season push which saw them hand Hope the bowl of lemons in the MIAA Tournament and for the second straight year march to the Sweet 16 with impressive wins over Wittenberg and Washington.  Only Final Four bound Illinois Wesleyan was able to stand between the Knights and a deeper run.

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2014 Season in Review: Albion

(For some reason this didn't post so this will appear out of order.  I didn't intentionally skip the Britons)


2014:  14-12, 8-6  3rd place tie
2013:  6-19, 2-12  8th place
2012:  11-15, 7-7  5th place


Best Win of the year:  Albion 67 Hope 49,  hon. men.  83-76 No. Michigan
Worst Loss of the year:  vs Alma 71 Albion 69

Senior:  Lawrence Ridgell

I Put This Here For No Reason

Albion bounced back from a 2013 that could be politely described as a disaster.  The young Britons of 2013 who took their lumps and racked up more losses than any previous year since the early seventies matured into a better representation of what Albion has been for the better part of the last 3 decades.  This past season began with a win over admittedly struggling D2 program Northern Michigan, but it potentially served notice this season would be different.  However this years Britons were still young and did what young teams do and lost a number of close games early in the season.

In the MIAA the Britons were part of the story early as they jumped out to a 5-1 record behind a dominating 18 point win at Kresge over Hope.  After losing what amounted to a first place showdown to Calvin by 19 the Britons lost their next 3 and fell off the title pace but rebounded to comfortably finish 3rd and qualify for the MIAA Tournament after a 2 year absence.


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2014 Season in Review: Trine

(I'm trine to finish these, between 'mutual separation gate' and life, its been a tough slog to get through these)

2014  15-11,  8-6  3rd tie
2013  14-12,  7-7  3rd tie
2012  15-11,  8-6  3rd

Best Win of the year:  no wins against a team with a winning record
Worst Loss of the year:  vs Manchester 61-67

Senior:  Todd Watkins
(while writing this I learned Jr. to be G Nick Tatu is transferring to Rochester College near his home)

What Hope and Calvin must look like to Trine sometimes.

Given that Trine overall is a pretty young squad I think the Thunder had a good year for Coach Brooks Miller in his 3rd season.  The non-conference was a pedestrian 7-4 given its softness, those 4 losses came to Manchester, Heidelberg, Elmhurst and Wabash. Only Elmhurst finished above the .500 mark on the season.  Six of those 7 wins weren't all that spectacular either but they finished strong with a win over OAC Ohio Northern who finished just 13-14.

In the MIAA, Trine was the most perfectly placed team in the standings with an 0-6 record against the three teams above them (Hope, Calvin, Albion) and 8-0 against everyone else.  Given that Trine lost Ian Jackson and Scott Rogers to graduation coming into this year, the fact they didn't go backwards in the standings is fairly significant and I think points to a positive future as this young team matures.   The real revelation of the season was the development of Tyler Good from a 11 minutes and 2 point per game Sophomore to a 35 minute, 15.2 pts per game Junior.  That's one of the biggest improvements from one year to the next I can remember.  The addition of Freshmen guard  Will Dixon added a quick, hard to handle point guard with the ability to give teams fits.  He was the catalyst behind Trine's near upset of Hope in the MIAA Tournament.

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