Kalamazoo

Kelly Gruber - SG

Team: Kalamazoo Hornets [ID #836]

Location: Kalamazoo, MI (Midwest)

Conference: V.12 [Division 2]

President: seabear
[since May 20th 2024 | last seen December 21st 2024]

Coach: Nicholas Milner

Arena: Anderson Athletic Center

Rating: 93.76 - Overall Position: #374

Fan Mood: 99.94

Alumni Mood: 77.60

Prestige: 90

Team Notes:

• Mar 06 2042: 2-star prospect Dan Ward committed.
• Feb 01 2042: 3-star prospect Randall Tate committed.
• Nov 13 2041: 2-star prospect Drew Reese committed.
• Oct 03 2041: D.J. Myers was hired as the new assistant coach.
• Oct 03 2041: Assistant coach Max Riggins was let go.
• Mar 14 2041: 2-star prospect Denny Swan committed.
• Mar 02 2041: 2-star prospect Robbie Stoddard committed.
• Feb 28 2041: 2-star prospect Pete Wagner committed.
• Feb 28 2041: 2-star prospect Christopher Lyons committed.
• Dec 20 2040: 3-star prospect Kevin Johns committed.

Record:

Wins: 1 Losses: 2 Pct: .333 Conf Wins: 0 Conf Losses: 0 Conf Pct: .000 Conf Rank: 9 Last10: 1-2 Streak: W1

Pts Ave: 88.3 - 87.3 Pts Diff: +1.0 Team Power Index: 134.3

Press Releases:

Mar 05 2039: Heart Attack Hornets Explode In 2nd Half Again, Advance to QFs - by seabear on June 18th, 2024

Down by 20, won by 2 in 3OT. Down by 2, won by 16. Up by 1, won by 11. Down by 9, won by 14 in OT. Down by 1, won by 2. In the past 13 games, Kalamazoo had 5 2nd half surges to get key wins. Now you can add a 6th, as the Hornets somehow found a way to stay alive in the IV.6 postseason, beating Bucknell 85-82 after being down 18 at the half and as much as 20 early in the 2nd.

"We've just learned how to take it one possession, one stop at a time. We kept at it. They did a good job getting key baskets for a while, and it would have been easy to give up. But our seniors deserve the chance to play more meaningful basketball," POTG Bob Slone told reporters after the game.

Up next is a rubber match against a recently #21 St Joseph's squad, with the winner heading to the conference semis.

Mar 05 2039: No Time To Celebrate: Hornets Stay in D1, Will Face Bucknell In Playoffs - by seabear on June 17th, 2024

KALAMAZOO, MI: The regular season came to an end on Saturday as Kalamazoo took on Wright State. Both teams were 14-15 and the loser was headed to D2. “[Wright State] are a good team. And we’ve been so inconsistent with our shooting,” said Hornets head coach Nick Milner after the game.

Desperate to stay in D1, Milner inserted two freshmen into the rotation. “[In the previous game] our bench was 3-14. We didn’t hit a field goal for the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half.” Both played roles in the 87-85 victory. PG Frank Helton played 24 min, shooting 3-5 with 10-1-4-1-1, and was 3-4 at the line.

Up next is Bucknell in the first round of the conference tournament. Kalamazoo dropped both regular season games against the Bison. Milner asserts that the history is not predictive: “This is a different team. We’ve proven we can beat anyone in this league.”

Feb 12 2039: Historic 3OT Win Vs RPI #15 Team In Nation Sparks Streak - by seabear on June 11th, 2024

KALAMAZOO, MI: The men’s basketball team for the Hornets had been facing relegation after starting conference play 2-5 and then dropping 6 of 8 to sit at 6-11 and in real danger of falling out of division 1 at the start of a 5 game homestand that would make or break the season. The opponent was St. Josephs, 13-4 and in the promotion zone, who had beaten Kalamazoo in Philly 91-69 in game 3 of the conference slate.

The first half did not show much of a hint of the exhilarating conclusion as the Hornets went 7 and a half minutes without a point in the middle of the period and were down 54-34 at the break. Something must have been said in the locker room about the season that was slipping away before their eyes, because Kalamazoo came out firing on all cylinders. A combination of good defense and great shooting had them back to 65-65 in the 11th minute after the half. The teams traded leads back and forth the rest of the way in regulation. The Hawks were up by 3 with 22 seconds left, but the Hornets got the ball; a clutch 3 and a miss at the other end sent both sides to their first overtime of the season.

What followed were 3 five minute periods that stayed within 5 points one way or the other, with Kalamazoo somehow prevailing 144-142 in the end.

Exhausted and emotionally depleted, they dropped their next game against a Bucknell team that has had their number. Yet they weren’t done. Since that loss they have reeled off five straight wins to get back to .500, including over two of the top 4 teams in the conference.

Having gone on the road and lost to all 4 during the front 15 games, they have now won the first 3 of the games in the back 15 — over St. Josephs, Salem State, and Adrian. The final top 4 team, USC, looms in two games, but first the Hornets must travel to Amherst to face the conference’s other 12-12 squad. There is more work to be done, but Kalamazoo is certainly more comfortable two games north of Wright State and new rival Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts at the top of the relegation zone.