MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Ben Beetham, 6-1 G from West Ottawa (MI) will attend Alma per X

[Olivet Alum 17]

Deuce Weston and Cade Wallaker are no longer going to Albion and Adrian respectively. Weston is head to southwest Michigan college and Wallaker is walking on at svsu.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

If VanderWal would become the next coach, does he bring his assistant and former Trine player Pete Smith with him?  Maybe Pete is even throwing his hat in the ring?

Turns out this "prediction" came true:

https://trinethunder.com/news/2025/6/24/mens-basketball-pete-smith-returns-to-trine-as-assistant-coach.aspx

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Darrion Sardo, 6-1 G from Sandy Spring Friends School (MD) will attend Alma per X.  It's got me trying to remember if we have had any previous MIAA players from Maryland...

[KnightSlappy]

Darrion Sardo, 6-1 G from Sandy Spring Friends School (MD) will attend Alma per X.  It's got me trying to remember if we have had any previous MIAA players from Maryland...

Richaud Pack of Adrian ended up playing at Maryland, if I remember correctly. But that is not the same thing

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Tamarion Kindle, 6-8 F from Saginaw Heritage (MI) will attend Alma per X.  Appears that Alma is introducing a new recruit each day on X

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Hope's schedule has been posted - link below.

Non-conference games at Home vs Wheaton, North Central, UW Platteville, UW Whitewater, WashU, and Muskingum

Non-conference games on the Road at Anderson, Franklin, Elmhurst, Ohio Northern, and Ohio Wesleyan

Only one tournament - the GVW Classic Jan 2-3 which are the games vs WashU & Muskingum (Olivet is the 4th team)

https://athletics.hope.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

[hopefan]

Darn, no trip to Florida for Hope!!!!

[sac]

Richaud Pack of Adrian ended up playing at Maryland, if I remember correctly. But that is not the same thing

Richaud is still playing professionally in Europe, most recently in the Israeli league.  He's led his league in scoring with 4 teams among various leagues.

Still one of the most curious MIAA players to pass through the league imo.



edit--  I see he's apparently signed with a pro team in the Cape Verde Islands.  (but that might be a summer thing?)

[sac]

Hope schedule is I think potentially sneaky good or potentially just a little above average.  Four of those teams won 20 games, at least 2 have to retool a bit.  Wheaton was on the low end of the wins with only 7 but expect them to be better this year and will for sure score points before Hope hits 27 this time.  The rest were all within a game or 2 or 3 of .500.  Some strong to  strongish D3 programs that have had some kind of success at different times over the years. 

Useless trivia, Hope will play 7 programs that have won a D3 National Championship, total games 9.
10 that have made at least one trip to the Final Four, total games 13.

No one is 100% new to Hope, but Hope and Franklin haven't played since 1921 (c'mon man).  Muskingum only once in a 1988 NCAA game in New Concord, Oh, so first trip to Holland for the Muskies.  Will be meeting #4 with WashU, all 3 previous were in the NCAA.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Agree about Hope's schedule, and it looks to be a bit better than Calvin's - at least based on last years records and NPI.  Quick comparison below:

Calvin:
9 known games (Kuyper doesn't count being non D3) and a TBD in the Wisc Dells Tourney. 
Those 9 opponents last year had a 0.550 W/L, NPI average of 129, and 1 of them (Denison) was an NCAA tourney team last year

Hope:
All 11 oppponents are known. 
Last year they had a 0.596 W/L, NPI average of 111, and 3 of them (Franklin, UW Platteville, and WashU) were NCAA tourney teams last year.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Updated recruit list:


                                                                               

Player	Height	Position	High School	College
Carson Lutz	6-0	G	Milford (MI)	Adrian
Ben Murphy	6-2	G/F	Dexter (MI)	Adrian
Cameron Essell	5-11	PG	East Lansing (MI)	Albion
Aaron Lauer	6-1	PG	Novi (MI)	Albion
Bowen Moore	6-4	G/F	Holly (MI)	Albion
Kaleb Brown	6-4	G	Ann Arbor Huron (MI)	Albion
Colin Whalen	6-4	F	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (MI)	Albion
Austin Miller	6-5	G/F	Marshall (MI)	Albion
Vincent Salmon	6-8	C	Brighton (MI)	Albion
Jaxon Jurmu	6-0	PG	Marquette (MI)	Alma
Ben Beetham	6-1	PG	West Ottawa (MI)	Alma
Darrion Sardo	6-1	SG	Sandy Spring Friends School (MD)	Alma
Maxx Ladd	6-3	SG	San Jose St Francis (CA)	Alma
Tamarion Kindle	6-8	F	Saginaw Heritage (MI)	Alma
Zion Ruckard	6-0	PG	Aurora (CO) / St Thomas Aquinas transfer	Calvin
Michael Dekuiper	6-1	PG	Rockford (MI)	Calvin
Ben Elzinga	6-8	C	GR Covenant Christian (MI)	Calvin
Brendan Cargill	5-11	G	Forect Hills Central (MI)	Hope
Avery Sanchez	6-2	G	Turlock Pitman (CA)	Hope
Justin Fisher	6-3	G/F	Hudsonville (MI)	Hope
Tucker Walther	6-4	G	Schoolcraft (MI)	Hope
Derek Sanders	6-5	G	Brooklyn Columbia Central (MI)	Hope
Sean Wesolek	6-6	PF	Bay City John Glenn (MI)	Hope
John Kaul	6-3	G	Clarkston (MI)	Kalamazoo
Zander Nash	6-6	G/F	Imlay City (MI)	Kalamazoo
Tarren Calvert	5-11	G	Wyoming (MI)	Olivet
Levi Stambaugh	6-0	G	Mason (MI)	Olivet
Warren Williams	6-1	G	Wyoming (MI)	Olivet
Adam Devalaar	6-2	G	Holland (MI)	Olivet
Hayden Cross	6-2	F	White Lake Lakeland (MI)	Olivet
Alex Genuise	6-2	F	Allendale (MI)	Olivet
Gavin Ort	6-4	F	Waterford Mott (MI)	Olivet
Landon Lybarger	6-1	G	Monroeville Heritage (IN)	Trine
Adam McBride	6-1	G	Ossian Norwell (IN)	Trine
Ayden Dirschell	6-2	G	Coldwater (MI)	Trine
Montell Johnson	6-3	G	Indianapolis Park Tudor (IN)	Trine
Nick Ryan	6-3	G/F	Warren JFK (OH)	Trine
Nolan Fedak	6-6	F	Westerville North (OH)	Trine
Paxton Crane	6-7	F	Ft Wayne Carroll (IN)	Trine

[KnightSlappy]

Agree about Hope's schedule, and it looks to be a bit better than Calvin's - at least based on last years records and NPI.  Quick comparison below:

Calvin:
9 known games (Kuyper doesn't count being non D3) and a TBD in the Wisc Dells Tourney. 
Those 9 opponents last year had a 0.550 W/L, NPI average of 129, and 1 of them (Denison) was an NCAA tourney team last year

Hope:
All 11 oppponents are known. 
Last year they had a 0.596 W/L, NPI average of 111, and 3 of them (Franklin, UW Platteville, and WashU) were NCAA tourney teams last year.

Kuyper 👎

Looks like they couldn't fill the Thanksgiving weekend like they were trying.

[pointlem]

Agree about Hope's schedule, and it looks to be a bit better than Calvin's - at least based on last years records and NPI.  Quick comparison below:

Calvin:
9 known games (Kuyper doesn't count being non D3) and a TBD in the Wisc Dells Tourney. 
Those 9 opponents last year had a 0.550 W/L, NPI average of 129, and 1 of them (Denison) was an NCAA tourney team last year

Hope:
All 11 oppponents are known. 
Last year they had a 0.596 W/L, NPI average of 111, and 3 of them (Franklin, UW Platteville, and WashU) were NCAA tourney teams last year.

I concur with Sac and FDF's liking of Hope's schedule...and for an additional reason--fewer doubling up with women's games on same night (pushing jv's to a different day and leaving other game days with no home games). Before St. Mary's joined the women's league, men and women would, as I recall, play the same school home/away on the same night...so there was always a Wednesday and a Saturday game, with associated jv games.