Quote from: sac on March 26, 2026, 10:43:11 AMThere have been several players from Unity that have played at Hope/Calvin and other MIAA programs as well.

Calvin coach Bill Sall and a bigtime poster are graduates of Unity.

Mark Veenstra is a Unity grad as well. One "bigtime poster" fed him the ball repeatedly during Mark's high school days. Without this 'bigtime poster" doing the same when in college, the big guy struggled to a 2000 point career and All-American status at Calvin.

Actually, Unity's current entire starting five is going to Calvin. Brogan Sherd is also attending but hasn't committed to hoops. Brogan is also a golfer and I think he is trending towards a links career at Calvin. The young man is a terrific 3 point shooter, but he might be thinking that playing a second sport is more than what he wants to take on.

Quote from: AlwaysHope on March 23, 2026, 02:22:42 PM

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?

Thanks for the reminder that Campbell's made free throw was taken away in the closing seconds. I had forgotten that but I did recall it once you pointed it out. In fact, every game detail you mention is in the brain of the former 11 year old boy who watched the contest on Channel 8. You actually couldn't even see what happened on the foul call at the end of the second overtime. This was 1965 and I think there was at most two cameras, with no instant replay. Nonetheless, I'm quite certain the call was totally unjustified. 

Former 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.

Quote from: sac on March 01, 2026, 07:54:06 PM

Quote from: Dutchfan on March 01, 2026, 12:15:03 PMThank you, sac! That is the best recap I've ever read! If only more sports writers would write up their recaps like that.

I don't believe a single media outlet was in Olivet.  Just a shame.

That's not the way it used to be. Sadly, it's a different world now isn't it? Locally, WZZM has only a one-person sports department (and he's only on TV 3-4 days a week), while WXMI totally axed their sports division last year, with only an occasional sports mention by the news anchor. Given the amount of interest I sense is out there for sports news, it's ridiculous. Of the three Grand Rapids TV stations, only WOOD-TV has a fully staffed sports department.

Calvin beats Adrian 105-63 Tuesday night. This game was never competitive. On to the semis to take on Hope for the second time in six days.

Quote from: pointlem on February 21, 2026, 05:26:03 PMA competitive high-octane 96 to 88 Calvin win in GR, with a likely third matchup to come next Friday evening in Olivet. With Jalen Overway holding fort in the paint--today scoring 28 and supporting his teammates with five assists--Calvin is a tough matchup.

Hope has grown this season, with the emergence of sophomore Orion Yant...plus outstanding play from the three frosh—Cargill, Sanchez, and Wesolek—who today combined for 42 points. Hope's future prospects are bright, with the frosh and sophomores today scoring 62 of Hope's 88 points.

Well stated. I told someone that if a general basketball fan without a dog in the fight would had wandered into VNA this afternoon to watch some hoops, that person would not have been disappointed in the quality of competitive play on display this afternoon. Great atmosphere.

Quote from: oldknight on July 19, 2025, 02:03:39 PMOlivet has a pretty good team coming back with a lot of size, and this schedule may be a reflection of Sammy's hope that a tougher non-conference schedule will prepare them well for the MIAA season. Olivet was 8-6 in the conference in 2024-25. Other than Calvin, the Comets may be the best team in the league in 25-26.

I hate it when OldKnight is right. The inestimable Mrs. OldKnight hates it even more.

Quote from: sac on February 19, 2026, 03:03:38 PMCurious about anyone's thoughts on this foul on Cam Mayes.  Hope's possession starts at -40:21 or almost right on the 10 minute remaining to play mark

https://www.miaasportsnetwork.com/acbrits/?B=2941717

Pivotal moment in the game maybe, Mayes 4th foul and Hope took the lead and control in the remaining minutes (it was already happening anyway but...).  Its a 50/50 ball and I can see cases for a foul on either player.  I think it would have been fine as a no call.

Mostly I was amused by the commentary, because I don't think it was that simple.  Also a great example of physics with mass in motion and energy transfer.

When I watched the live action, I immediately thought it should be a no-call since neither player had position for the loose ball. After watching the replay (twice) I felt confirmed. I don't know how you can call a foul on either player. The Albion announcers may have sounded like homers, but Jody May and his Brits had every right to be upset that Mayes was assessed a foul on the play.

Calvin with a much needed 77-68 win over Trine at VNA. After a back and forth first half, Calvin led 33-30 at the break. The first five minutes of the second frame was much of the same until the Knights broke away from a 41-40 lead, by going on a 30-9 run to take a 71-49 lead, a run fueled by good three point shooting. It began with three straight triples from Luka Ressler and was capped by two more from Parker Swartz, followed by a thunderous dunk from Parker over a pair of defenders. Overway was dogged all afternoon and was "held" to 13, with Swartz and Ressler doing the same, and Winkle adding 12. The downside was seeing Calvin getting out rebounded 41-32, including 12 offensive boards by Trine.

Quote from: sac on February 11, 2026, 09:39:58 PMTrine plays @ Calvin Sunday, win that and I think they become the favorites with their Olivet game being in Angola.  A loss and depending on what happens in Holland it could be Olivet wrapping up a share of the conference title.

Olivet might wrap up the regular season league championship earlier if Trine shows up for their rematch with Calvin at VNA on Sunday.

Calvin with their second easy win of the week over one of the weaker teams in the MIAA, beating Kalamazoo 91-55. The game was never close. Of the Knights' 61 shots from the floor, they took an incredible 40 from the three point line, making 17 of them. I've seen a lot of Calvin basketball over the years, and I can't remember one of their teams shooting that many threes in a game.

Quote from: pointlem on January 31, 2026, 05:50:05 PM

Quote from: oldknight on January 31, 2026, 04:57:47 PMAlbion beats Calvin 73-69 as the Knights go 5-24 from the arc for the second straight game. Tough to win when you do that, particularly when your opponent hits 8 of 16.

Tell me if I'm wrong, OldKnight, but my reading of Calvin v Hope matchups has been that, when posting up, Overway requires Hope to double him . . . which means someone is free on the perimeter. If those perimeter shots fall, then I can't see Hope (or hardly anyone) defeating Calvin. If they don't, well today. . .

I think that about covers it.

Albion beats Calvin 73-69 as the Knights go 5-24 from the arc for the second straight game. Tough to win when you do that, particularly when your opponent hits 8 of 16.

Olivet thoroughly dominated Calvin in the first half at VNA, and led 46-28. I can't remember the last time I saw the Knights so totally outplayed. The Comets started 9-11 vs Calvin's 1-8 from the floor, with Olivet building a lead as large as 20 before settling into their half time edge. Calvin was better in the second half, once cutting the deficit to four. But the home team seemed to tire from their efforts, Olivet recovered, and finished with a 76-69 win. Nathan Richardson who seemed to have an answer every time the Knights closed the gap, was player of the game with 29 on 11-15 from the floor, including 4-6 from long range. Overway had 30 for Calvin. I believe Olivet is the team to beat for the conference title.

Other than reviewing the box score from the Calvin loss to Trine on Wednesday (did the Thunder really shoot 72% from the floor in the second half?), I know nothing about the Knights debacle in Angola. In tonight's must win against Hope, and following an up and down first half (more down than up for the visitors), I think most Calvin fans were "happy" to only be down 2 at the break.

Calvin mostly dominated their rival in the final 20 minutes of play, though some late sloppiness made the game seem closer than it really was, as the Knights shut down the Flying Dutchmen, 80-65. Hope only shot 23% from the floor the second half, a performance I think was largely due to the home team's persistent habit of abandoning any attempt at running an organized offense in favor of going one-on-one. Calvin did an excellent job on Hope's star, Parker Hovey, limiting him to one basket and 2 rebounds. After Parker went down early in the second half, I feared his night, and possibly his season, was over but it was nice to see him return from the locker and get back into the game. However, he clearly was not 100%. Wourman led Hope with 16, but only shot 3-14 from the floor. I came away pretty impressed with freshmen Brendan Cargill who scored 13 points.

Every Calvin starter scored in double figures and the winners were led by Jalen Overway with 21 points and 16 rebounds. I don't understand how a player can take 20 shots--almost all of them in the post--get constantly double teamed, yet wind up shooting only one free throw. Head scratching. So at the mid-point of the season, we have a 3 way tie at the top with Calvin, Hope and Olivet sitting at 6-1.