I saw another Hope commit off Prep Girls Hoops:

Ella Salenbien
Michigan
2026
5'9"
PF
Adrian

Quote from: oldknight on March 21, 2026, 09:00:44 AMFormer Hope hoopster Don Kronemeyer passes away this week at age 80:

https://obits.mlive.com/us/obituaries/grandrapids/name/donald-kronemeyer-obituary?id=61068339

Kronemeyer was the freshmen who in 1965 made two free throws after time expired to lift Hope to a 104-102 double overtime win over Calvin at the Civic Center. I was 11 years old at the time. A foul was called on Kim Campbell as the buzzer sounded while Kronemeyer attempted to throw a long pass after gathering in a rebound under the Calvin basket. A totally unjustifiable call IMO. It is the only game result about which I shed a tear, and I still remember it. Not that I'm bitter about the loss 61 years later.

As I understand it, Don was a really good guy. May he rest in peace.

I was a Hope Freshman and at this game.  I knew Don since we attended the same church.  There is a little more to this game, which went to double overtime.  Sometime before the foul was charged to Kim Campbell just before the buzzer, he was shooting a one and one, and made the first, making it a two possession game (before the three pointer existed), with one more free throw.  But the ref blew the whistle and ruled that Campbell had his toe on the line.  Hope gets the ball, and Hope guard Carl Walters drives to the basket and ties the game.  Calvin gets the ball with nine seconds left, the Calvin shooter misses (was it Campbell again?), Don and Campbell go for the rebound with Campbell called for a foul just before the buzzer went off.  I don't remember a pass, but either way Campbell did foul Don.  I always thought it was a frustration foul. There was no tenth of a second clock and there was no time put back on the clock (if that was possible in 1965).  The Holland Christian grad goes to the line to shoot a one and one with all the players for both teams at mid-court.   Talk about pressure.  If the Hope freshman misses, we go to triple overtime.  He makes the shot, and the home crowd storms the court, carrying Don off on their shoulders.  But the game is not over! I don't remember if the players had to go back to half court. It took a lot of time to clear the court, get everyone back to their seats, so Don could shoot the meaningless second free throw.  He makes the shot, and the fans storm the court a second time.  Game over this time!  Don gets another ride on the shoulders.  Hope wins the MIAA race; there was no MIAA tournament in 1965.

I noticed that the obit mentioned Don's free throws in the first paragraph!  Never seen that before.

One other comment about Old Knight's statement "A totally unjustifiable call IMO."  I understand where he is coming from, since Hope had no opportunity to score a basket.  Plus you hate to see a game decided by a foul call.  But if there is a foul committed before the buzzer, when do you not call it?  If the outcome of the game is already decided, I don't have a problem with it.  What if Don fouls Campbell just before the buzzer near the Calvin basket?

Hope WBB game vs. Penn State Behrend is scheduled to start at 8:30pm in Holland.  They are 22-5 this year, and 11 - 2 on the road.  I think this is their first appearance as opponents.

Anyone know if Parker Hovey is out for the tournament?  I see Hope's opponent on Friday,  UW LaCrosse, is 22- 6 on the year and 8 - 1 at home.  Game starts at 6:50 Central time.  They have played twice before, with Hope winning both in 2015 and 2016.

Quote from: sac on February 28, 2026, 11:08:32 AMHope went 5-4 vs Calvin with Jalen Overway on the floor.  I consider 5 of those meetings "close", Hope won 3 of them.

Career Pts/game 20.2
vs Hope Pts/game 17.7

Career FG% 57%
vs Hope 40.5%

Jalen's size, touch, court awareness and excellent footwork made him a very tough matchup in D3.  He's been one of the best players to come through the MIAA and Calvin.  1697 points in 3 seasons is really strong.

Hope found a few ways to slow him down and make him a less efficient player and that probably turned 3 games in Hope's favor, but it was never easy.


If this is it, best of luck to Jalen wherever he plays next year, less luck if its back at Calvin but a strong appreciation for that talent and ability.

[/quote

As stated above, "Hope went 5-4 vs Calvin with Jalen Overway on the floor."  Yet last year, with Jalen on the bench the entire year recovering, Calvin goes 3 - 0, with two wins in the regular season, and as I recall, one win in the MIAA tournament.  Go figure.   

The key to tomorrow's Hope-Trine game is the status of Hope's Parker Hovey, who injured a leg and had to be helped off the court with about one minute remaining in the game.  After the game he was absent as the MIAA awared him an first team trophy for being selected as a first team MIAA player.

Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on February 23, 2026, 06:34:19 PMHe did celebrate senior day on Saturday so it seems unlikely he'd return to Calvin. I'm sure there are D1 opportunities out there for him.

In the article he said "Now that my class is out of here, I feel like I've done what I can here."

At the end of the Holland Sentinel article were these two quotes from Jalen:  The article about Overway concluded with these remarks, "Overway said he'd like to follow the same path as former high school rival Gabe Newhof, who played three years at Spring Arbor University before transferring to Division I James Madison University for the current season.  "He's killing it over at James Madison," Overway said."

Sounds like he already pretty much decided.

The outcome for these two women's games is amazing:

Hope at Albion (Jan. 28): Albion wins, 60 - 54 in OT
Albion at Hope (Feb. 28): Hope wins, 80 - 44. a 36 point win

Hope at Trine: (Jan. 7):  Trine wins, 67 - 61
Trine at Hope: (Feb. 21): Hope wins, 89-58, a 31 point win for Hope and Trine's only MIAA loss and only their fourth loss of the year.

Home court advantage cannot explain the huge difference in these games. Hope's only other loss this year was by three points to Ohio Wesleyan University in a tournament at Calvin, so they are undefeated at home.  Can Hope carry that momentum into the MIAA and NCAA tournaments?

Not directly related to basketball, but here's an amazing accomplishment for a 2007 Hope Grad and all MIAA baseball player:

If you watched the College National Championship game last night, you saw Michael VanderVelde working as the Referee, leading the Big 12 officiating crew assigned to the game.  According to the Holland Sentinel, Michael began his officiating career as a Hope student-athlete, following in his Dad's footsteps.  We knew him and his father from church years ago.

Here is the Sentinel article with a great story:  https://athletics.hope.edu/news/2026/1/19/general-michael-vandervelde-07-to-referee-college-football-playoff-national-championship-game.aspx  I did not realize he also officiated at the 2024 Rose Bowl national semifinal between the Michigan Wolverines and Alabama Crimson Tide, which Michigan won in OT on the way to the National Championship.

Who was the other Hope WBB sophomore that started last year but did not come back?  Anybody know why?

Hope vs. Wittenberg starts just over one hour.  You will see a familiar face in their starting lineup:  Karsen Karlblom #32, who started for Hope last year.  This year she is shooting 11.4 PPG, tied as the leading scorer of the Tigers' WBB team.  She is shooting 52.2% from the field, including 45.2% beyond the arc.

How did the Richards twins perform?  What about the other frosh?  High scorer?

Just thought I would mention, the January 29, 1997 game at Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids, a 70–56 Hope College triumph over Calvin College (now University), established an NCAA Division III single game attendance record with a capacity crowd of 11,442.  I think it is still the record for D3.  I wanted to see this game, but waited too long to buy a ticket; they were already sold out!  Any posters at this game?

Did you notice that Hope's WBB 5-11 Freshman Guard Chloe Brunsburg from Minnesota led the team in scoring and rebounding.  She made 5 out of 11 shots, including 2 threes, plus gathered in 8 rebounds (4 offensive) in only 13 minutes of play. Keep your eye on her!  It was her first collegiate game.

Quote from: oldknight on February 12, 2023, 12:35:15 PM

Quote from: HopeConvert on February 12, 2023, 08:14:44 AM

Quote from: oldknight on February 11, 2023, 08:44:04 PM



It was nice to see a solid attendance today to watch Calvin's 67-56 conference-season clincher over Trine. Attendance numbers have been trending up this year, partly due to folks finally noticing the Knights have a pretty good club (we're slow learners on the Knollcrest Campus), and partly due to people putting COVID concerns in the rear view mirror.

Indeed.

Might be time to review admissions standards.

I have it on good authority that certain members of Calvin's Class of 1985, benefited from a particularly weak admissions standards then in place.

Have the standards been upgraded since 1985?