As some of you may realize, this is Kresge Gymnasium's centennial season!

One hundred years ago today, on January 8, 1926, Albion men's basketball beat Olivet 31-20 in the first ever event held in Kresge.

I think a win last night would have been a fitting celebration, but I'll also be glad to celebrate with some wins IN Kresge.  Maybe even against Olivet, once we've figured out the size mismatch.

Happy birthday to Michigan's oldest (and best) active intercollegiate athletic facility!

Two more freshmen for Albion, based on this recent tweet:

https://x.com/AlbionMBB/status/1957493799992848464

Henri Maye from Tindley, Indianapolis
Tyler Davis from Grand Rapids Christian (looks like a switched commitment from Heidelberg)

Also, I think BJ Hunter is returning for another year-- he was on Albion's social media recently and wasn't featured in the 2025 graduation pictures.  He was injured his first season, so has a redshirt year.

I was lucky enough to have a sneak peek tour of Kresge last weekend.  There are a few finishing touches to add, but it's looking great.  The bleachers are purple!  Coach May said in a radio interview at the beginning of August that the sound in the gym is a bit different, but don't worry, it will still be loud.      The locker rooms, team meeting areas, offices, and entryway have been redone, as well. 

I'm looking forward to seeing some exciting Briton basketball this season as Kresge celebrates it's 100th birthday.  It's a wonderful place.  Go Brits!

Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on July 22, 2025, 09:43:36 AM

Quote from: KnightSlappy on July 21, 2025, 10:51:31 AMI tend to agree that Olivet should be able to compete for a Top 3 spot in the MIAA, but that might say as much about the depth of the league after Calvin than it does about Olivet. We shall see.

Olivet does return (assuming everyone comes back) the most stat wise of any MIAA team from last season.  Here is how the teams compare (only considers who played last season):

                                   

Team	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals
Adrian	0.454	0.511	0.368	0.418	0.392
Albion	0.809	0.856	0.782	0.795	0.792
Alma	0.567	0.572	0.517	0.514	0.655
Calvin	0.522	0.439	0.512	0.505	0.377
Hope	0.67	0.651	0.6	0.738	0.78
Kalamazoo	0.71	0.655	0.633	0.671	0.725
Olivet	0.869	0.887	0.93	0.879	0.913
Trine	0.21	0.179	0.197	0.158	0.185

Still wondering if Olivet has 2 more games to come on their schedule, or if the 2 exhibitions (Findlay and CMU) are going to be part of their 11 non-cons.  They also have one NAIA game, so if that is it, then only 8 non-con games that will matter seems really strange/foolish. And those 8 games are all against teams who had a higher NPI rank than Olivet last year (Olivet was 241, and Muskingum was 178).  That is one tough schedule

I would have thought these would be lower for Albion.  Does this still include Marco and AJ?  They were listed as Fifth Year as opposed to Senior on Albion's roster.

Devastating.  Thinking of the Garland and Trine families as well as Albion family, where I know he still has friends.

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on November 10, 2024, 08:48:09 AMAn interesting experience going from Trine's basketball facility to Albion's on the same day. IYKYK.

Absolutely!  Very different experiences!

The MTI Center is a spacious, modern facility.  I think it's very tasteful-- accommodating large crowds of fans and having all of the extra amenities you'd want in a gym built in 2018.

Kresge Gymnasium is an iconic, historic facility.  Even relatively small crowds can generate an exciting, electric atmosphere.  It has proven to be an intimidating venue for visiting teams, sometimes unexpectedly.

I had an exciting experience today when I ran into the MIAA Tournament single game points record holder Steve Sheckell (Albion '92) at...the Amsterdam airport of all places.

Being in Dutch country, I made a point to wear an Albion basketball shirt, which he noticed.  He played before my time as a fan, but I've read the Albion basketball records enough to recognize his name when I asked. 

A few notes on Albion's roster:

I had pieced together answers to many of the potential questions.  Marco and AJ announced their return, I had good reason to believe Phil Ragan would be back, and I had seen that Bryce Esman was back at Wayne State.  I'm glad to see so many returners as well as some good additions!

I'd say the biggest difference from what I had figured is that Deonte Roberts is no longer playing.  I think we'll be in good shape, though, with Phil back, BJ Hunter hopefully un-injured, Dwayne Ray, and more.  Dwayne quickly became a favorite after moving up from JV mid-season to becoming a starter by the end of the season.

Quote from: FyteOnne on July 22, 2024, 05:24:12 PMAlbion's schedule!  Go Brits!

https://x.com/AlbionMBB/status/1815487743293813052

(I don't know how to make it show up as an image, and it's not on the website yet.)

11.9   Illinois Tech   H
11.12   Manchester   A
11.16   Westminster (PA)   H
11.19   Oberlin   H
11.23   Mount St. Joseph (OH)   A
11.24   Hiram (OH)   N
12.17   Aurora   H
12.21   Transylvania Tournament   TBD
12.22   Transylvania Tournament   TBD
12.29   Huntingdon (AL)   N
12.3   Oglethorpe (GA)   A
1.8   Calvin   A
1.11   Adrian   H
1.15   Olivet   A
1.18   Trine   A
1.22   Alma   A
1.25   Kalamazoo   H
1.29   Hope   H
2.1   Alma   H
2.5   Kalamazoo   A
2.8   Olivet   H
2.12   Trine   H
2.15   Adrian   A
2.19   Calvin   H
2.22   Hope   A

Albion's schedule!  Go Brits!

https://x.com/AlbionMBB/status/1815487743293813052

(I don't know how to make it show up as an image, and it's not on the website yet.)

Another Albion commit, Craig Hureskin, Ottawa Hills, 6'1"

https://twitter.com/CraigHureskin3/status/1785037391905833082

Other Albion news:

A few weeks ago, Albion honored two familiar Britons, Marcus Gill '04 and Mike Thomas '06, with the James L. Curtis Alumni Leadership award.

https://www.albion.edu/post/albion-college-to-honor-seven-alumni-during-2024-purple-and-gold-weekend/

Also of note, one of the Distinguished Alumni Award winners, Keith Roberts '81, attended so many of the basketball games when I was in school that we thought he might have a son on the team.  Glad to see a vocal supporter of Albion basketball win the award.

Social media pictures of graduation show only Lamar Lee and Zak Krueger graduating, so hopefully that means AJ Barden and Marco Lucchesi are still planning to return.

Like clockwork, as soon as you've updated:

Mustapha Muhammad, 6'5", Benton Harbor

https://twitter.com/Mustapha_2024/status/1783611573392814196

Albion-- Go Brits!

Malachi Hooser, Grand Rapids Christian
https://www.wzzm13.com/video/sports/local-sports/grand-rapids-christian-senior-commits-to-albion-to-play-basketball/69-f966a67e-53d3-4a8c-aedc-16e4cff5fd62

Miles Pritchett, Benzie Central
https://twitter.com/PritchettMiles1/status/1777321002659090901

Noah Vanlaningham, Mattawan
https://twitter.com/NoahVanlaningh1/status/1781117547875598695

As of senior day, both AJ Barden and Marco Lucchesi were planning to return to Albion.

Zak Krueger already has a job lined up, and Lamar Lee is headed to law school.

I suppose any of these things could change, though.  Is there a deadline for decisions?  I guess we'll know more (but possibly not everything) after graduation.

Two more for Albion:

Ryan Hatcher, U-D Jesuit, 6'1"
Miles Pritchett, Benzie Central, 6'6"

https://basketball.thedzone.com/players/ryan-hatcher
https://twitter.com/PritchettMiles1/status/1777321002659090901

Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on March 18, 2024, 02:26:57 PM

Team	Incoming	Recruits	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists
Albion	FR	6	0.147	0.147	0.148	0.182
---	---	---	---	---	---	---

One thing this shows me is that I need to do a better job of finding Albion's recruits!   

I think the freshmen and transfers ended up contributing about 30% (roughly 17% freshmen, 13% transfers for minutes) of Albion's minutes and points and an even greater percentage when you consider conference only.

Some of these are already on the list for next year, but this is who I've seen so far:
Mason Brodi, 6'0", Utica
https://twitter.com/MasonBrodi1/status/1757771942491304221

Jacek Haight, 6'0", Allendale
https://twitter.com/akhaight/status/1755347988879135228

Anthony Hutter, 6'8", Milford
https://twitter.com/AnthonyHutter/status/1755359447491248145

Clay Shoup, 6'1", Mason County Eastern
https://twitter.com/clay_shoup/status/1767520545778675870

Robbie Wynn, 6'0", Livonia Franklin
https://twitter.com/Robbiewynn0/status/1758982526700265503