(this would be one those times I deviate from the intended topics of this blog)
Maybe the last of my sports idols walked away from the game today. A link to a fading past I barely remember anymore. Nick Lidstrom called it a career and retired from the NHL after 20 amazing seasons in Detroit, just one year removed from winning his seventh Norris Trophy as the leagues best defenceman at the age of 41.
I don't know what the future without Lidstrom holds for the Red Wings because I don't remember what the past was like without him. There aren't many pro-athletes I look up to anymore, but this guy was one of them. Nick has just seemingly always been there, rock solid. Never flashy, never boisterous, humble and collective in his thoughts, a leader by example.
click read more to read more
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Checking in on the neighbors: NCAC
For the better part of the last decade the NCAC had been dominated by Steve Moore and his Wooster Scots. In 2012, Wittenberg was able to wrestle away the NCAC crown for the first time in seven seasons and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA's. This was Witt's best season in six years.
With the addition last year of DePauw, the NCAC has become a pretty interesting league to me. It now contains two of D3's best rivalries in Wittenberg/Wooster and Wabash/DePauw. With the subtraction of Earlham, gone is a little bit of the dead weight that consistently dragged the conference into the mediocre category. The NCAC is now a pretty good D3 league that should have multiple teams in contention for NCAA bids on a regular basis, some of them maybe even not named Wooster and Wittenberg.
vs OAC 11-5
vs PAC 7-5
vs MIAA 3-2
vs HCAC 12-7
The NCAC was without much doubt the best overall league in the Great Lakes Region, I think their non-conference records show that nicely. As far as games with the MIAA go, there weren't many. The 3 wins were Wooster over Adrian, Oberlin over Alma, OWU over Albion. Two of these three were probably expected results with the Alma game a probable toss-up. The two MIAA wins were Kzoo and Albion beating Denison on back-to-back nights, two games the Big Red probably could have won, and they should have beaten Albion.
Otherwise, as always, no too many match-ups with their Northern neighbors to speak of, why? The closest MIAA/NCAC matchup is Adrian vs Oberlin at 129 miles. Pretty much everything else is over 150 miles to as much as over 300. These just aren't going to happen much, which is kind of a shame.
in the NCAA:
Ohio Wesleyan lost in 1st round
Wooster advanced to the Sweet 16
Wittenberg advanced to the Quarterfinal
It was a good year in this department. I thought OWU might advance a round or two further and Wooster and Witt probably did about what most expected given neither was really considered a D3 top 10 team by many.
(click the read more to read more)
With the addition last year of DePauw, the NCAC has become a pretty interesting league to me. It now contains two of D3's best rivalries in Wittenberg/Wooster and Wabash/DePauw. With the subtraction of Earlham, gone is a little bit of the dead weight that consistently dragged the conference into the mediocre category. The NCAC is now a pretty good D3 league that should have multiple teams in contention for NCAA bids on a regular basis, some of them maybe even not named Wooster and Wittenberg.
Review and Preview
Against its neighbors:vs OAC 11-5
vs PAC 7-5
vs MIAA 3-2
vs HCAC 12-7
The NCAC was without much doubt the best overall league in the Great Lakes Region, I think their non-conference records show that nicely. As far as games with the MIAA go, there weren't many. The 3 wins were Wooster over Adrian, Oberlin over Alma, OWU over Albion. Two of these three were probably expected results with the Alma game a probable toss-up. The two MIAA wins were Kzoo and Albion beating Denison on back-to-back nights, two games the Big Red probably could have won, and they should have beaten Albion.
Otherwise, as always, no too many match-ups with their Northern neighbors to speak of, why? The closest MIAA/NCAC matchup is Adrian vs Oberlin at 129 miles. Pretty much everything else is over 150 miles to as much as over 300. These just aren't going to happen much, which is kind of a shame.
in the NCAA:
Ohio Wesleyan lost in 1st round
Wooster advanced to the Sweet 16
Wittenberg advanced to the Quarterfinal
It was a good year in this department. I thought OWU might advance a round or two further and Wooster and Witt probably did about what most expected given neither was really considered a D3 top 10 team by many.
(click the read more to read more)
Monday, May 21, 2012
Putting it all together, way too early
Probably the most important thing to keep in mind with these previews is that I've only really taken projected returning players into account. So take these with a grain of salt, and don't hold someone to a prediction they made 5 months before practice even starts.
I've pretty much stayed away from any predictions in recent years for a variety of reasons, but once upon a time I felt like I was pretty good at them, at least when the MIAA was the subject. So resurrecting my swami hat here's how I think 2013 might shake out..
Nate Snuggerud, Hope
Easy early favorite given his development last season and dominating play towards the end of 2012. Will probably see some pre-season all-american attention as well.
Tom Snikkers, Calvin
Tom will need a pretty big Senior season to win the MVP, the biggest question will be if playing on such a deep team will allow him to accumulate MVP type numbers.
Ian Jackson, Trine
The most likely player to put up the big MVP numbers. I wouldn't be surprised to see him eclipse 20 points per game average. Has to play better against Hope though where in both games he was pretty well bottled up last season.
Kolin Kazan, Albion
Might surprise some, but I think last year was a kind of break-out year for him. The Britons will be leaning on him for leadership next year and of the returning players will be their best scorer. It will take Albion winning the league for him to win the award as often Albion's team play really stymies great individual numbers.
Random Player, Adrian
Adrian probably deserves a player here, but who? Will Brad Whitby be healthy enough? What if Richaud Pack returns? This will probably get sorted out in the non-conference season.
Year W-L W%
2005 46-38 .548
2006 52-34 .605
2007 27-51 .346
2008 34-44 .386
2009 35-46 .432
2010 38-50 .432
2011 43-43 .500
2012 44-43 .506
The last two seasons has seen the league hit the .500 mark, and in general have been up-swinging since 2008. It looks and feels like we've turned a competitive corner. The league just doesn't lose a lot of Seniors from last year, so I think most teams will see a solid core of returning players that should help them build on last season. How well the league actually performs will probably rest on how Calvin and Albion perform. Last year those two were 9-13 together, if they at least flip that around and everyone does the same that's a league winning percentage of .550. I should also point out Hope isn't likely to go 10-1, so there will be some wins that have to be made up somewhere in the crowd. All of this though seems pretty doable given the returning players.
This actually might be the only rock solid lock pick in the standings, at least right now. Olivet wasn't very good last year, and probably won't be very good next year under a new coach who will probably have to do a repair job in the trust department. Its going to take some serious Freshmen talent or transfers to see Olivet being competitive enough to move up the standings. Just about everyone else in the league is going to be better next year, Olivet is stepping backwards and they were already on the bottom rung.
#7 Kalamazoo 3-11
The Hornets have always been a difficult program for me to get a handle on. Its been awhile now since they were a top 4 program like they were for most of the Haklin years. Rob Passage has the toughest job in this league in my opinion. Look at the last 4 or 5 years and you probably see next year.
#6 Alma 4-10
Despite all the good vibes from Sam Hargraves' first season in charge, I think 2013 will be a little tougher for Alma. Losing Schneider and Erickson is going to make it really difficult for them to move up the standings. I won't discount their chances of beating someone above them but will they do that enough? Probably not. I certainly wouldn't anticipate them beating Adrian twice again.
#5 Trine 7-7
This is where the league gets interesting, I see another down to the wire fight between Trine and Albion for the 4th spot. Placing Trine here probably has less to do with what the Thunder will do that what I think Albion might do. Another solid contributing Fr. class like the last one could change things here for Trine very easily. I'm just not sold that offensively they can be better losing Tim Pearcy, with no known element backing him up.
#4 Albion 9-5
I was probably a little harder on Albion in my write-up than I should have been. Its pretty easy to forget the Britons still play as hard or harder than most teams. Some young players gained some great experience last year and with two starters hopefully returning this fall they should be a little deeper team than maybe I'm realizing.
#3 Adrian 10-4
Just so many question marks about returning personnel and their health. What has been holding Adrian back a little bit is having an efficient, difficult to stop offense and with leading scorer Richaud Pack apparently leaving and second leading scorer Brad Whitby sidelined its hard to figure what exactly Adrian has returning on that side of the floor. Their defensive effort will give them chances to win a lot of games but I can't help thinking that without everyone back or some new offensive weapons this might end up being a disappointing year for them vs their expectations.
#2 Hope 11-3
Based solely on returning players this seems about right. Hope has a major hole in their lineup that can only be filled by first year varsity players. What has kept Hope from winning 3 or 4 more MIAA Championship during this recent 7 or 8 year run has been the odd loss to the 3rd or 4th place team and I can see that happening again next year.
#1 Calvin 12-2
Based solely on returning players this also seems about right. But there's some nagging questions for me about just exactly how talented Calvin is and will be. As I've stated before, a 13-13 record to MIAA Champions is a big jump, but it can be done by a program like Calvin's. I suppose much will depend on how much confidence their non-conference schedule gives them. Should they struggle again the MIAA might not be such an easy thing for them to win.
I think Hope and Calvin split, and both split with Adrian. The difference will come from Albion beating Hope and Adrian losing to someone they shouldn't along the way. Given the way the MIAA schedule stacks up the title decider could be Calvin at Hope the Wednesday before the last week. But that game might just be Hope closing the gap a little, making Calvin's final week against Trine and Olivet the games needed to close out the title.
D3 recruiting is very difficult to pin down, first of all no one really knows who's enrolling where until the first week of classes. There is no 'letter of intent' like in D1 and D2, there's only the rumors of such and such is going to this or that school. Schools themselves very infrequently release a list of newcomers, although some are more willing to do so than others. For instance it seems to be a common practice among most of the CCIW schools. Matt Neil at Hope has released a list to the Holland Sentinel the last two years. But, unfortunately most of the MIAA doesn't do this so we're left in the dark until rosters are released in late October or early November.
I'll admit it was difficult for me to keep my knowledge of Hope's recruiting from affecting my thoughts on next year. I think Hope's has a pretty good class and I see 2 or 3 kids who might be able to step in right away and make a positive impact. I'm also pretty interested in what Adrian and Trine bring to the table. I've made no secret about the fact I think both of these schools are making strong efforts to be competitive for the MIAA Championship in basketball. I think both schools had good Freshmen classes last year, and with the addition of another solid group this fall could certainly bolster their rosters. Calvin doesn't have a lot of room for Freshmen without some tough decisions, but its Calvin and they'll most certainly bring in their share of players. The school most in need of a good class to keep them competitive in the upper half of the league is probably Albion.
I really hope we see a more competitive league in 2013. As much as I've enjoyed watching Hope win the last two league titles, winning by 4 and 5 game margins isn't very healthy. I'd really like to see things get back to having 2 or even 3 teams good enough to make the NCAA, and a conference race in doubt going into the final 2 or 3 games. Its possible it could be like that next year, however I expected more in 2012 and the improvement was minimal over 2011 at best. The league didn't lose a lot from graduation, but lost enough that some teams have some big shoes to fill.
The league should be better given what is returning. We'll see where things stack up in November, I'm actually pretty interested to see how the coaches vote because that doesn't look like an easy decision. Around 6 months from today we'll be into the first week of the season, the anticipation is already building.
I've pretty much stayed away from any predictions in recent years for a variety of reasons, but once upon a time I felt like I was pretty good at them, at least when the MIAA was the subject. So resurrecting my swami hat here's how I think 2013 might shake out..
Let's start with the MVP candidates:
Nate Snuggerud, Hope
Easy early favorite given his development last season and dominating play towards the end of 2012. Will probably see some pre-season all-american attention as well.
Tom Snikkers, Calvin
Tom will need a pretty big Senior season to win the MVP, the biggest question will be if playing on such a deep team will allow him to accumulate MVP type numbers.
Ian Jackson, Trine
The most likely player to put up the big MVP numbers. I wouldn't be surprised to see him eclipse 20 points per game average. Has to play better against Hope though where in both games he was pretty well bottled up last season.
Kolin Kazan, Albion
Might surprise some, but I think last year was a kind of break-out year for him. The Britons will be leaning on him for leadership next year and of the returning players will be their best scorer. It will take Albion winning the league for him to win the award as often Albion's team play really stymies great individual numbers.
Random Player, Adrian
Adrian probably deserves a player here, but who? Will Brad Whitby be healthy enough? What if Richaud Pack returns? This will probably get sorted out in the non-conference season.
The non-conference
Without all of the schedules released obviously its difficult to make too many predictions here. One prediction I will make confidently in the blind is that the MIAA will finish over .500. The MIAA has been struggling for a few years outside the conference. Since the great 2005 and 2006 seasons its been pretty ugly.
Year W-L W%
2005 46-38 .548
2006 52-34 .605
2007 27-51 .346
2008 34-44 .386
2009 35-46 .432
2010 38-50 .432
2011 43-43 .500
2012 44-43 .506
The last two seasons has seen the league hit the .500 mark, and in general have been up-swinging since 2008. It looks and feels like we've turned a competitive corner. The league just doesn't lose a lot of Seniors from last year, so I think most teams will see a solid core of returning players that should help them build on last season. How well the league actually performs will probably rest on how Calvin and Albion perform. Last year those two were 9-13 together, if they at least flip that around and everyone does the same that's a league winning percentage of .550. I should also point out Hope isn't likely to go 10-1, so there will be some wins that have to be made up somewhere in the crowd. All of this though seems pretty doable given the returning players.
On with the way too early predictions
#8 Olivet 0-14
This actually might be the only rock solid lock pick in the standings, at least right now. Olivet wasn't very good last year, and probably won't be very good next year under a new coach who will probably have to do a repair job in the trust department. Its going to take some serious Freshmen talent or transfers to see Olivet being competitive enough to move up the standings. Just about everyone else in the league is going to be better next year, Olivet is stepping backwards and they were already on the bottom rung.
#7 Kalamazoo 3-11
The Hornets have always been a difficult program for me to get a handle on. Its been awhile now since they were a top 4 program like they were for most of the Haklin years. Rob Passage has the toughest job in this league in my opinion. Look at the last 4 or 5 years and you probably see next year.
#6 Alma 4-10
Despite all the good vibes from Sam Hargraves' first season in charge, I think 2013 will be a little tougher for Alma. Losing Schneider and Erickson is going to make it really difficult for them to move up the standings. I won't discount their chances of beating someone above them but will they do that enough? Probably not. I certainly wouldn't anticipate them beating Adrian twice again.
#5 Trine 7-7
This is where the league gets interesting, I see another down to the wire fight between Trine and Albion for the 4th spot. Placing Trine here probably has less to do with what the Thunder will do that what I think Albion might do. Another solid contributing Fr. class like the last one could change things here for Trine very easily. I'm just not sold that offensively they can be better losing Tim Pearcy, with no known element backing him up.
#4 Albion 9-5
I was probably a little harder on Albion in my write-up than I should have been. Its pretty easy to forget the Britons still play as hard or harder than most teams. Some young players gained some great experience last year and with two starters hopefully returning this fall they should be a little deeper team than maybe I'm realizing.
#3 Adrian 10-4
Just so many question marks about returning personnel and their health. What has been holding Adrian back a little bit is having an efficient, difficult to stop offense and with leading scorer Richaud Pack apparently leaving and second leading scorer Brad Whitby sidelined its hard to figure what exactly Adrian has returning on that side of the floor. Their defensive effort will give them chances to win a lot of games but I can't help thinking that without everyone back or some new offensive weapons this might end up being a disappointing year for them vs their expectations.
#2 Hope 11-3
Based solely on returning players this seems about right. Hope has a major hole in their lineup that can only be filled by first year varsity players. What has kept Hope from winning 3 or 4 more MIAA Championship during this recent 7 or 8 year run has been the odd loss to the 3rd or 4th place team and I can see that happening again next year.
#1 Calvin 12-2
Based solely on returning players this also seems about right. But there's some nagging questions for me about just exactly how talented Calvin is and will be. As I've stated before, a 13-13 record to MIAA Champions is a big jump, but it can be done by a program like Calvin's. I suppose much will depend on how much confidence their non-conference schedule gives them. Should they struggle again the MIAA might not be such an easy thing for them to win.
I think Hope and Calvin split, and both split with Adrian. The difference will come from Albion beating Hope and Adrian losing to someone they shouldn't along the way. Given the way the MIAA schedule stacks up the title decider could be Calvin at Hope the Wednesday before the last week. But that game might just be Hope closing the gap a little, making Calvin's final week against Trine and Olivet the games needed to close out the title.
Recruiting
I'll admit it was difficult for me to keep my knowledge of Hope's recruiting from affecting my thoughts on next year. I think Hope's has a pretty good class and I see 2 or 3 kids who might be able to step in right away and make a positive impact. I'm also pretty interested in what Adrian and Trine bring to the table. I've made no secret about the fact I think both of these schools are making strong efforts to be competitive for the MIAA Championship in basketball. I think both schools had good Freshmen classes last year, and with the addition of another solid group this fall could certainly bolster their rosters. Calvin doesn't have a lot of room for Freshmen without some tough decisions, but its Calvin and they'll most certainly bring in their share of players. The school most in need of a good class to keep them competitive in the upper half of the league is probably Albion.
Final thoughts
I really hope we see a more competitive league in 2013. As much as I've enjoyed watching Hope win the last two league titles, winning by 4 and 5 game margins isn't very healthy. I'd really like to see things get back to having 2 or even 3 teams good enough to make the NCAA, and a conference race in doubt going into the final 2 or 3 games. Its possible it could be like that next year, however I expected more in 2012 and the improvement was minimal over 2011 at best. The league didn't lose a lot from graduation, but lost enough that some teams have some big shoes to fill.
The league should be better given what is returning. We'll see where things stack up in November, I'm actually pretty interested to see how the coaches vote because that doesn't look like an easy decision. Around 6 months from today we'll be into the first week of the season, the anticipation is already building.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Quick reviews and way too early previews: Hope
Last Season: 27-2, 14-0 1st Place
win that made you raise an eyebrow: none
loss that made you raise an eyebrow: Illinois Wesleyan 101-108 2OT
Seniors: David Krombeen, Peter Bunn, Logan Neil, Nate King
Everything that needed to be said about Hope's 2012 season can be found in the post The 2012 Season from a couple weeks ago.
2012-2013
Key Returnees: Nate Snuggerud, Nate VanArendonk, Coltan Overway, Billy Seiler, Chris Ray, Josh Holwerda, Chase DeMaagd
If you've managed to follow along to this point you'll probably take notice that no one in the league graduates as much as Hope and Hope has just about the fewest returning players who contributed significant minutes last season. The biggest hole in Hope's lineup comes at the guard positions where Overway and Seiler will be the only experienced players. This past season Hope shot only 354 three-point shots and made 134, I'm fairly certain these are the lowest totals since the first or second year this shot became available. Nate Snuggerud is the only Hope player returning who shot over 30% from the arc, he's a forward not a 3-point shooter, so this is a big area of concern.
Over the past seven seasons or more, no one in this league has been better at replacing graduation losses than Hope. On paper this team looks quite a bit like the 2009 team that followed the 2008 Final Four team but maybe a little more experienced. That team wasn't expected to do much but ended up nearly winning the MIAA and winning the MIAA Tournament led by Jesse Reimink's incredible Senior season. Hope may have to lean on that kind of individual performance from Nate Snuggerud. Nate had himself some man sized games to close out 2012, so there's no reason to think he can't be that kind of guy.
Part of me really doesn't want to believe there's as much of a significant gap between Hope and the rest of the MIAA as there appears. Over the past two season's Hope has won 30 of 32 vs MIAA opponents, the next closest is Calvin with 18 and Adrian with 17 wins. The question then is does losing 3 players like Krombeen, Bunn and Neil bring Hope far enough back that they aren't a factor in the MIAA race? I think that answer is no.
Range of finish: 1st if things go really well, 2nd or 3rd
I was hoping to put all of these together into one final sure to be wrong preview on Friday, but that might have to wait until Monday. Now that I've completed these review/previews, I probably won't have much to write about for awhile. In the hopper are some thoughts on moving the Championship game to Atlanta (waiting for more info), maybe a look around the Great Lakes Region, some thoughts about schedules as they become available, and a former Hope player gave me a whole list of great things to think about and hopefully write about. Those will probably have to wait for rainy days.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Quick reviews and way too early previews: Adrian
Last season: 17-9, 9-5 2nd place
win that made you raise an eyebrow: 76-48 vs Albion
loss that made you raise an eyebrow: either loss to Alma
Seniors: none, Richaud Pack (transfer out)
Adrian is another MIAA team who's season got off on the wrong foot with injuries. Dennis Mason missed almost half of the season, and Wes Reed played 5 minutes the whole season due to injury. Later injuries to Brad Whitby, Cody Barnes and DeLano Collins affected their late season play. The non-conference saw the Bulldogs go 7-3 with a disappointing 25 point loss to regional powerhouse Wooster. Just before Christmas Adrian received an early gift when Richaud Pack transferred from D1 Florida International. His scoring was a much needed lift to a sometimes struggling offense.
The MIAA season opened with a hard fought 68-61 win at Calvin, followed by an equally hard fought nine point loss at Hope. Adrian's first big stumble of the season came with a stunning loss at Alma which tilted the MIAA title race in Hope's favor for good, from that day forward Adrian no longer controlled their MIAA Championship destiny. A second win over Calvin set-up a showdown with Hope that would have given the Bulldogs a fighting chance at the title but Hope prevailed in a defensive battle to all but wrap up the title. Adrian stumbled in two of its next three games, including a second inexplicable loss to Alma. Wins over Kalamazoo and Albion in the seasons final week solidified a 2nd place finish, to my knowledge the schools best in a couple or more decades. An injured Adrian squad took Hope to the wire in the MIAA Tournament Championship and nearly took home the trophy with a gutty 62-65 OT loss.
2012-2013
Key Returnees: Brad Whitby(?), Sean Gallant, Adam Meier, Eric Lewis, DeLano Collins, Cody Barnes, Dennis Mason, Brad Hohman, Drew Torey, Curtis Gordan, Wes Reed(?)
There are quite few uncertainties surrounding next years Bulldogs, starting with Richaud Pack who made no secret of his desire to return to D1. But at this point I'm willing to say there's a slight chance he returns to Adrian College next fall until there isn't one, but really who knows. Brad Whitby's late season injury also makes next season a question mark. Will he return as good or better, after Pack he was the Bulldogs next best offensive option. Finally Wes Reed, his 3 point shooting was sorely missed and his addition to the roster would be a welcome one. With all of these pieces in place, Adrian should be a solid basketball team next year.
Adrian's second place finish was as legit as it could be, seven of their 9 conference wins were by double-digits. For the 3rd straight year they led the league in scoring defense, what is now a Mark White coached squad hallmark. Its felt like Adrian has been building up for a serious run at the title for a couple years. Given the returning players, next year feels like the year they'll have the best shot. If watching the MIAA has taught me anything its to be wary of teams with many experienced Seniors. Adrian will have six next season to go with what should be a deeper and more experienced bench. Losing Pack however takes a vital offensive piece out of the mix, losing Brad Whitby for an extended period of time could change their whole season outlook. That could be enough to keep them just short of winning the title.
Mark White is 27-12 vs MIAA competition, at least those not named Hope where White is 1-8. Its the one big hump the Bulldogs must get over to have a chance at winning the MIAA Championship.
Range of finish: 1st if things go really well, 2nd or 3rd, 4th if the attrition is too much. Most likely 2nd or 3rd
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Quick reviews and way too early previews: Trine
Last Season: 15-11, 8-6 tie 3rd place
win that made you raise an eyebrow: 73-54 vs Calvin
loss that made your raise an eyebrow: 64-68 at Alma, or 58-62 vs Albion
First year coach Brooks Miller guided the Thunder to their best overall and league finish since 2007 There wasn't much to be overly excited about on Trine's non-conference schedule. An impressive showing against CCIW champion North Central was probably about it, otherwise Trine beat all the teams they should have and lost to all they should except for maybe to 11-14 Franklin.
Trine's MIAA schedule started out with 4 wins in 5 before two blowout losses to Calvin and Hope. It was here most probably thought reality had hit the Thunder and they would struggle. But Trine held it together for the most part and finished the second half of the MIAA slate the same as the first going 4-3 including a surprise 52-50 win at Adrian. Trine's best basketball might have been played the last week or so of the regular when they trounced Olivet and Calvin back-to-back before meekly bowing to Hope in the last regular season game. Trine's 2nd MIAA semi-final appearance ended with a 59-50 loss at Adrian, a game they led with 4 minutes to play.
2012-2013
Key Returnees: Ian Jackson, Scott Rogers, Chris Kent, Braden Knight, Neil Smith, Isaac Loechle, Dustin Hall, Cody Jansen, Tyler Good
Just like almost everyone else in the league it seems, Trine returns most of its 2012 cast. Ian Jackson is sure to be among the league leaders in scoring, and Scott Rogers will again be among the best front-line players. Replacing Tim Pearcy and his 13 points per game and 55% shooting will be tough. Rogers and Pearcy really complimented each other and made it difficult for most teams to match-up. Pearcy's graduation means Trine loses some significant height, look for little used Hamilton Thorne or Chad Shepard to get a look at center otherwise Trine's starting 5 will be quite a bit smaller next season. I'm not sure anyone played as many Freshmen in significant minutes as Trine did, those guys will be Sophomores next season making their overall bench much more experienced.
Statistically Trine was pretty even with most of its opponents, the difference that probably won them a bunch of games last season was a turnover margin of +6.4, good for #6 in all of D3. The Thunder just didn't turn the ball over much, it will be hard to duplicate that but its likely they'll be in about the same territory next season. Its not too hard to envision Trine being a surprise winner of next years MIAA race if things went amazingly well, after all they were two 4 point losses away from finishing 2nd. But inside their 15-11 overall record was a pretty weak non-conference schedule and this astonishing stat, against teams with a winning record Trine was 1-6. Coupling that with losing a pretty good front-line player and what will likely be a better overall league and more difficult non-conference schedule I think Trine stays right around the same kind of team and maybe even take a step back.
Trine was in a very similar position after 2007, 16-10, 9-5 3rd place finish with a good chunk of that team returning and went 9-16 the next season. This Trine team returns more in overall players.
Range of finish: 2nd if things go really well, 3rd, 4th or 5th. Most likely 4th
Monday, May 14, 2012
Quick reviews and way too early previews: Calvin
Last Season: 13-13, 8-6 tie 3rd place
win that made you raise an eyebrow: ?
loss that made you raise an eyebrow: @ Trine 54-73
Seniors: Brian Haverdink
Calvin's season got off on the wrong foot when Sophomore guard Jordan Brink injured his shoulder in the fall, an injury that required surgery and sitting out the season. The Knights struggled early and by Christmas were just 5-4 with a mix of head-scratching losses and wins over so-so competition. The one shining mark was a close loss to a very good Wheaton team, a game they led by 14 with just under 9 minutes to play. A trip out West was even more damaging when guard Mitch Vallie went down for the season with an injury and the Knights turned in two double-digit loss performances to Whitman and Whitworth.
The roof finally collapsed on Calvin's MIAA chances when starter Mickey DeVries was ruled ineligible for the 2nd semester which meant Calvin now had 3 potential starters on the sidelines. Calvin lost to Adrian and Albion right out of the gate and a couple weeks later saw a 12 point lead in Holland turn into a 16 point loss. Despite that loss the middle portion of the MIAA schedule saw Calvin's brightest stretch of play where they went 6-2, all but one of those wins by double-digits. More injury problems meant Calvin's final two weeks brought more questions than answers as Calvin survived Alma by 1 in OT, lost to Hope and were blown out at Trine. Unbelievably they were close to missing out on the tournament and needed a win at Olivet and a loss by Albion to secure a disappointing 4th seed. Calvin turned in one final gutty performance losing at Hope, mercifully ending their season.
2012-2013
Key Returnees: Tom Snikkers, Bryan Powell, Tyler Kruis, Matt DeBoer, Jordan Brink(?), Mitch Vallie(?), Mickey DeVries(?), Jordan Mast, Dave Rietema, Tyler Dykstra, Nate VanEck
With so many returning pieces of the puzzle its not hard to see Calvin being a strong competitive team next season. Jordan Brink's return alone should make them more solid and deeper at the guard position. Vallie and DeVries reclaiming their starting spots should give them a deep bench. Their height alone should win them a lot of D3 games as I'm convinced their one of the tallest teams in the division. 2012 allowed Calvin to play a lot of young players that saw valuable minutes and gain experience.
Despite all the returning positives Calvin is just 29-25 over the past two seasons and have been perceived as major under achievers by their fickle fans. What was their best win of 2012? Grace Bible? For the 4th consecutive year they turned the ball over more than their opponents, and defensively have been on the mediocre side the last couple seasons. Unless they clean-up these areas the Knights will probably fall short of their expectations. But if they do improve in these areas there's no reason they shouldn't win the MIAA and be one of the best teams in the Great Lakes Region, the talent and depth is there, its just a matter of putting it together.....and staying healthy. Going from 13-13 to MIAA Champions is a big jump but barring an injury implosion like last season Calvin should be right in the thick of the MIAA race and should be a strong contender for an NCAA bid.
Range of finish: 1st, 2nd or 3rd
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