Not So Close
Box Score
Recap
I couldn't make it over to see this one and with no video I'm flying blind here. But I think its safe to say this one went pretty similar to last years game up at Stevens Point with Hope having a hard time with Point's athletes and not being able to slow them down enough to keep a game within reach. One or two 5 minute stretches and suddenly its a 20 point game and pretty much over.
The worst thing that probably happened last week was Point losing at St. Olaf. What Hope played Saturday was a team mad about a loss and making a trip to a place they were probably really looking forward to playing, against a team that just played very well against Whitewater. We had their attention.
The first 13 minutes certainly read like a team ambushed by a superior opponent playing at a higher level. It wasn't over early but it was a hole Hope could never quite dig themselves out of. Despite closing within 6 or 7 a couple times in the second half, it never felt like Hope was capable of overtaking the Pointers. Not much later the deficit was 20 and humble pie was being served.
My post-game inquiries to a couple people in attendance used the word sloppy too often, but neither felt Hope had much chance to win this one, unlike the Whitewater game. That's disappointing on some level but Hope just played two opponents very capable of winning the national championship come March. I wouldn't be too down about this one, really all we've learned is Hope probably isn't among D3's elites so far and we probably already knew that.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
UW-Whitewater 82 Hope 80
So, so close
Boxscore
Recap
Within your grasp kind of losses can be hard to take. Within your grasp kind of losses to defending National Champions are harder. Hope was there, with the lead, the ball and so many chances but just couldn't quite close it out. The champions displayed their pedigree in full making some really big shots down the stretch and grasping a game by the throat that Hope just missed out on.
For a November game this was high, high quality with only one brief hint either team could reach a double-digit lead when Steven Wittenbach's 3 missed and Hope leading 21-14. Otherwise it was tight throughout with loads of important possessions each way for long extended periods of play.
For me this was the game:
With Hope leading 74-72
2:57 Turnover
2:17 Turnover
1:44 Turnover
This was 2 chances to expand on a 2 point lead, and one chance following a Whitewater 3 that grabbed the lead. It ended up an 8-0 Whitewater run that could have been thwarted several times and the last minute or so would have been possession basketball rather than salting away FT's.
Transport this game to March and everyone in attendance is raving about what a great tournament game that was. Whitewater may or not be D3's best team, but I sure felt like I was watching two teams that will have a lot to say about who wins their respective conferences and could be players come March. We'll see.
more
Boxscore
Recap
Within your grasp kind of losses can be hard to take. Within your grasp kind of losses to defending National Champions are harder. Hope was there, with the lead, the ball and so many chances but just couldn't quite close it out. The champions displayed their pedigree in full making some really big shots down the stretch and grasping a game by the throat that Hope just missed out on.
For a November game this was high, high quality with only one brief hint either team could reach a double-digit lead when Steven Wittenbach's 3 missed and Hope leading 21-14. Otherwise it was tight throughout with loads of important possessions each way for long extended periods of play.
For me this was the game:
With Hope leading 74-72
2:57 Turnover
2:17 Turnover
1:44 Turnover
This was 2 chances to expand on a 2 point lead, and one chance following a Whitewater 3 that grabbed the lead. It ended up an 8-0 Whitewater run that could have been thwarted several times and the last minute or so would have been possession basketball rather than salting away FT's.
Transport this game to March and everyone in attendance is raving about what a great tournament game that was. Whitewater may or not be D3's best team, but I sure felt like I was watching two teams that will have a lot to say about who wins their respective conferences and could be players come March. We'll see.
more
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Exhibition Stuff
Hope played Grand Valley State last night in its one and only exhibition this year. The Lakers are picked to finish 2nd in the GLIAC North. Last week they played at D1 Valparaiso in their first exhibition and lost by 8. (Valpo led by just 1 with 8 min to play) Hope's only action to this point was last weekends scrimmage against themselves and a scrimmage up at D2 Northwood, with the word being Hope won both halves. In the world of pre-season basketball, exhibitions should be taken with a grain of salt, scrimmages even less. If you were handicapping this one you probably go with GVSU by 20 and call it a day.
Game Recap: Grand Valley St. 82 Hope 64
Box Score
Recap
For about 30 minutes Hope outscored GVSU 60-55, unfortunately there was a very loud train wreck of 9 1/2 first half minutes that swung this one in the Lakers favor permanently. A 27-4 run in which hardly anything went well for Hope and lots went well for GVSU. But the bottom line is it was mostly GVSU being bigger and stronger and Hope not being able to match-up well enough at a couple positions. It was easy buckets and fouls a plenty for awhile.
Hope offered a nice second half push back and was the more aggressive team for much of it, highlighted by its numerous trips to the free-throw line. After nearly being shut-out in the first half Ben Gardner was able to create a lot of his own offense and offered up several nice defensive plays. Overall Hope was a little more gritty in the second half and resisted being blown out completely.
Actually encouraging when you consider the number of Darren Washington's Hope will face the rest of this year is just about zero.
Efficiency:
GVSU: 103.8 Hope: 72.4
A bit of a downer, but I'll say Hope's number was dragged way down by that abysmal last 10 minutes of the first half. That last nine minutes was an efficiency rating of 23, which makes the rest of the game a respectable 98. The second half was in Hope's favor 102-95
Overall there were probably some clunky moments for two good teams and probably a little more attention to defense than most exhibitions.
Pace:
I came up with possessions of 78-79, which is pretty fast. I figure this game should have had about 20-25 more points scored. Most of those points can probably be found in the poor 3-point shooting, both teams combined for 8-26 and GVSU only attempted 8.
Rebounding:
.....was a massacre. GVSU 46 Hope 28
Hope had 27.5% of available offensive rebounds
GVSU had 52% of available offensive rebounds
Second chance points was 16-7, so, surprise, the bigger team played big.
Turnovers: Hope 18 GVSU 24
Hope started with some nice energy and a noticeable defensive energy that's been hit and miss for a few years. It served them well and in the end helped force the Lakers into 24 turnovers. The Lakers were a very good 11.3 TO's per game a year ago, they had 12 at Valpo. Your grain of salt is the graduation of their excellent PG Rod Woodson last year. Still, having a hand in forcing at least some of 24 turnovers even in an exhibition is encouraging that you are doing something right on defense. GVSU won't have many turnover totals this year with a 20 handle.
Somewhere in here I should mention high turnovers for both teams in a high possession game, but I like the idea Hope did something good that might have been hard to see.
Starting Lineup:
Hope started Ben Gardner, Alex Eidson, Sam Otto, Harrison Blackledge and Brock Benson. Most likely Corey McMahon is the regular starter at Otto's spot, but he's got a 'thing' and that thing probably was the reason he didn't start, though he played a lot. Just my opinion but Otto and Blackledge look to be the most improved players over a year ago. The scuttlebutt out of practices was Harrison would start and sure enough he did. I have to think there is still some competition here between Stuive and Blackledge for that 4 spot. Harrison played well, Cody did not, but don't be surprised if Hope wavers here and starts who ever might be the better match-up on any given night. Also don't be surprised if Harrison starts all year, or if Stuive comes on strong the second half of the year like last year.
Bench:
Guards, guards and more guards. Hope has a heck of a lot of choices and combinations to work with. We'll see a lot of 3 guard play and it might take some time to work out what works well with who. The pecking order is probably something like Gardner-Carlson-Hawkins-Denham at point, Eidson-McMahon-Otto('ish)-Wittenbach-O'Brien-Littlson at the two/three, even though Otto is listed as a forward. Denham-O'Brien-Littleson played sparingly last night.
A couple notable guard things:
Wittenbach and Otto are very similar and interchangeable at the wing positions, and can also play together to provide a taller lineup, Witt can also play the two. I think one or the other was forced to play the 4 for a bit and it was right during the big train wreck, against most D3's though this should be ok, for a bit.
Dante Hawkins is going to play its just a matter of figuring out how much and where. With Gardner the point and Carlson a very good defensive sub it might be tough to find adequate minutes, but I think it will happen one way or another, he looks too quick to keep off the floor. The multiple point guard look showed its face, including a rare 3 PG lineup, which might have been a mistake towards the end.
Off Nights:
Two guys Hope relied on a lot last year, Eidson and Stuive had pretty bad nights. Eidson hit his first shot and then just plain struggled the rest of the night. This was just about the worst possible game for Stuive to find anyone to match-up against. He was outsized by nearly 40lbs regardless who was defending. Offensively he seemed very passive. And of course Brock Benson spent a lot of the game sitting on the bench. So Hope played this one with minimal contributions from 3 key guys.
Giant Elephant:
Hope's thin inside, that isn't a state secret, one look at the roster says so. When Brock Benson picked up foul number 3 with 6 minutes to play in the first half the rest of the air went out of the balloon and Hope struggled with a capital 'S'. Before I could even get home Brock was being quoted about the need to stay on the floor and playing smarter. So the team recognizes this.
Solutions:
One, play smarter.
Two is for Keith Brushwyler to become a regular, reliable part of the rotation. He played 13 minutes with mixed results last night. Being able to play about that many would really help and give Hope 4 players to fill 2 positions that are natural spots for them. Hope might be able to get away with that.
Three, and I'm not sure how crazy Greg Mitchell is about playing zones but Hope should probably learn one or two, both to protect Brock specifically and to protect the interior in general. Finding a decent time and decent opponent to experiment against might be hard. Hope really hasn't been a good zone team for about 3 years.
How creative Hope gets with protecting this part of the court is going to go a long way to determining if this is at least an MIAA Championship team or just another contender. Against a lot of Hope's D3 schedule this won't matter much, but against a good portion and important portion of it, it will.
Made my day:
I caught a glimpse of a brother and sister talking with their mom after the game. I imagine it was the first time in a couple years the mother was able to watch her son play basketball. It was easy to smile at that moment when you realize it was possible that moment might never have happened. That was enough for me to make the drive worthwhile. I don't know the family but it made me feel good just seeing them together in that setting.
Everything above this is pretty inconsequential with that perspective.
Game Recap: Grand Valley St. 82 Hope 64
Box Score
Recap
For about 30 minutes Hope outscored GVSU 60-55, unfortunately there was a very loud train wreck of 9 1/2 first half minutes that swung this one in the Lakers favor permanently. A 27-4 run in which hardly anything went well for Hope and lots went well for GVSU. But the bottom line is it was mostly GVSU being bigger and stronger and Hope not being able to match-up well enough at a couple positions. It was easy buckets and fouls a plenty for awhile.
Hope offered a nice second half push back and was the more aggressive team for much of it, highlighted by its numerous trips to the free-throw line. After nearly being shut-out in the first half Ben Gardner was able to create a lot of his own offense and offered up several nice defensive plays. Overall Hope was a little more gritty in the second half and resisted being blown out completely.
Actually encouraging when you consider the number of Darren Washington's Hope will face the rest of this year is just about zero.
Efficiency:
GVSU: 103.8 Hope: 72.4
A bit of a downer, but I'll say Hope's number was dragged way down by that abysmal last 10 minutes of the first half. That last nine minutes was an efficiency rating of 23, which makes the rest of the game a respectable 98. The second half was in Hope's favor 102-95
Overall there were probably some clunky moments for two good teams and probably a little more attention to defense than most exhibitions.
Pace:
I came up with possessions of 78-79, which is pretty fast. I figure this game should have had about 20-25 more points scored. Most of those points can probably be found in the poor 3-point shooting, both teams combined for 8-26 and GVSU only attempted 8.
Rebounding:
.....was a massacre. GVSU 46 Hope 28
Hope had 27.5% of available offensive rebounds
GVSU had 52% of available offensive rebounds
Second chance points was 16-7, so, surprise, the bigger team played big.
Turnovers: Hope 18 GVSU 24
Hope started with some nice energy and a noticeable defensive energy that's been hit and miss for a few years. It served them well and in the end helped force the Lakers into 24 turnovers. The Lakers were a very good 11.3 TO's per game a year ago, they had 12 at Valpo. Your grain of salt is the graduation of their excellent PG Rod Woodson last year. Still, having a hand in forcing at least some of 24 turnovers even in an exhibition is encouraging that you are doing something right on defense. GVSU won't have many turnover totals this year with a 20 handle.
Somewhere in here I should mention high turnovers for both teams in a high possession game, but I like the idea Hope did something good that might have been hard to see.
Random Thoughts
Starting Lineup:
Hope started Ben Gardner, Alex Eidson, Sam Otto, Harrison Blackledge and Brock Benson. Most likely Corey McMahon is the regular starter at Otto's spot, but he's got a 'thing' and that thing probably was the reason he didn't start, though he played a lot. Just my opinion but Otto and Blackledge look to be the most improved players over a year ago. The scuttlebutt out of practices was Harrison would start and sure enough he did. I have to think there is still some competition here between Stuive and Blackledge for that 4 spot. Harrison played well, Cody did not, but don't be surprised if Hope wavers here and starts who ever might be the better match-up on any given night. Also don't be surprised if Harrison starts all year, or if Stuive comes on strong the second half of the year like last year.
Bench:
Guards, guards and more guards. Hope has a heck of a lot of choices and combinations to work with. We'll see a lot of 3 guard play and it might take some time to work out what works well with who. The pecking order is probably something like Gardner-Carlson-Hawkins-Denham at point, Eidson-McMahon-Otto('ish)-Wittenbach-O'Brien-Littlson at the two/three, even though Otto is listed as a forward. Denham-O'Brien-Littleson played sparingly last night.
A couple notable guard things:
Wittenbach and Otto are very similar and interchangeable at the wing positions, and can also play together to provide a taller lineup, Witt can also play the two. I think one or the other was forced to play the 4 for a bit and it was right during the big train wreck, against most D3's though this should be ok, for a bit.
Dante Hawkins is going to play its just a matter of figuring out how much and where. With Gardner the point and Carlson a very good defensive sub it might be tough to find adequate minutes, but I think it will happen one way or another, he looks too quick to keep off the floor. The multiple point guard look showed its face, including a rare 3 PG lineup, which might have been a mistake towards the end.
Off Nights:
Two guys Hope relied on a lot last year, Eidson and Stuive had pretty bad nights. Eidson hit his first shot and then just plain struggled the rest of the night. This was just about the worst possible game for Stuive to find anyone to match-up against. He was outsized by nearly 40lbs regardless who was defending. Offensively he seemed very passive. And of course Brock Benson spent a lot of the game sitting on the bench. So Hope played this one with minimal contributions from 3 key guys.
Giant Elephant:
Hope's thin inside, that isn't a state secret, one look at the roster says so. When Brock Benson picked up foul number 3 with 6 minutes to play in the first half the rest of the air went out of the balloon and Hope struggled with a capital 'S'. Before I could even get home Brock was being quoted about the need to stay on the floor and playing smarter. So the team recognizes this.
Solutions:
One, play smarter.
Two is for Keith Brushwyler to become a regular, reliable part of the rotation. He played 13 minutes with mixed results last night. Being able to play about that many would really help and give Hope 4 players to fill 2 positions that are natural spots for them. Hope might be able to get away with that.
Three, and I'm not sure how crazy Greg Mitchell is about playing zones but Hope should probably learn one or two, both to protect Brock specifically and to protect the interior in general. Finding a decent time and decent opponent to experiment against might be hard. Hope really hasn't been a good zone team for about 3 years.
How creative Hope gets with protecting this part of the court is going to go a long way to determining if this is at least an MIAA Championship team or just another contender. Against a lot of Hope's D3 schedule this won't matter much, but against a good portion and important portion of it, it will.
Made my day:
I caught a glimpse of a brother and sister talking with their mom after the game. I imagine it was the first time in a couple years the mother was able to watch her son play basketball. It was easy to smile at that moment when you realize it was possible that moment might never have happened. That was enough for me to make the drive worthwhile. I don't know the family but it made me feel good just seeing them together in that setting.
Everything above this is pretty inconsequential with that perspective.
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