2023-24 Men's Basketball Season Preview

Sophomore Marcus Wourman, pictured

On the verge of a historical milestone, the Hope College men's basketball team is aiming to make reaching the 1,700-win mark just the beginning of a season to remember.

The Flying Dutchmen eye contending for an MIAA regular-season championship while also winning the MIAA Tournament for the third consecutive season and returning to the NCAA Division III Championships.

Heading into the 2023-24 season, Hope's record is 1,698-823. The Flying Dutchmen look to join three other active NCAA Division III programs that have recorded at least 1,700 victories:

Wittenberg, Ohio (1,841-761);
Wooster, Ohio (1,807-846);
Illinois Wesleyan (1,727-944).

Hope's all-time winning percentage of .674, which ranks fifth-best in Division III.

Last season, the Flying Dutchmen lost on a buzzer-beater in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Hope finished with a 20-10 overall record despite losing 2022 MIAA MVP Evan Thomas to injury for 10 games.

The Flying Dutchmen won 13 of their final 16 games, including two victories at regular-season champion Calvin University in 10 days. The last victory in The Rivalry sent the Flying Dutchmen to the NCAA Tournament.

2023 Schedule

The Flying Dutchmen tip off the 2023-24 season with seven consecutive home games at DeVos Fieldhouse. All of them are non-league.

Hope opens against Manchester University (Ind.) on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m.

The Flying Dutchmen host opponents from five different conferences — the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, North Coast Athletic Conference, Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, Ohio Athletic Conference, and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference — before their first road games on Wednesday-Thursday, Dec. 20-21, against two College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin foes, North Central College (Ill.) and North Park University (Ill.).

After Christmas, Hope is traveling to New York City to face two new opponents in the Bronx — Yeshiva University and Lehman College.

MIAA play starts for the Flying Dutchmen on Thursday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m. at The University of Olivet.

2023 Roster

The Flying Dutchmen return four starters, including 2023 All-MIAA Second Team selections Clayton Dykhouse (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland East HS) and Gabe Quillan (Ada, Michigan / Grand Rapids Catholic Central).

The 5-11 Dykhouse, who is returning for a fifth year, is a two-time All-MIAA guard. Dykhouse was the league leader with 29 steals and finished in the top five with 457 minutes, 32.6 minutes per game, 54 free throws, a .794 free-throw percentage, and 51 assists.

Dykhouse joined Hope's 1,000-point club last season and has 1,051 points over 95 games.

The 6-9 Quillan was the runner-up in several categories last season as a sophomore, including field-goal percentage (.556), offensive rebounds (40), total boards (112), and rebounds per game (8.6).

Senior forward and education major Tanner Wiegerink (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) registered career-highs in points, rebounds and blocks last season. The 6-7 Wiegerink averaged 8.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over 28 games, including 24 starts.

Sophomore guard Marcus Wourman (East Lansing, Michigan / East Lansing) started 14 games and played in 28 last season. The 5-10 Wourman produced 8.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Junior guard Josh Decker (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / Woodridge) joins the Flying Dutchmen after transferring from Kalamazoo College. The 6-4 Decker averaged 10.0 points per game for the Hornets while shooting 39.6% from 3-point range and 87.5% from the foul line. He made the All-MIAA Second Team last season.

The Flying Dutchmen have five seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.

Seniors Devin Cheaney (Batavia, Illinois / Batavia) and Eli Schoonveld (Zeeland, Michigan / Holland Christian) join Dykhouse as co-captains. Schoonveld will not play this season due to injury.

Coaching Staff

Head coach: Greg Mitchell '88, 10th season (160-77)

Assistant Coaches: Chad Carlson '17, Ken George, Tom Davelaar '71, Ryan Klingler '01, Craig Kopas '99

MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll

The Flying Dutchmen finished third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, totaling 19 points. Hope trailed preseason favorite Calvin University, which received all seven possible first-place votes and seven points, and second-place Trine University, which earned one first-place vote and 13 points. Coaches could not vote for their team.

The Flying Dutchmen finished ahead of fourth-place Alma College (34 points), Kalamazoo College (35), Albion College (37), The University of Olivet (38), and Adrian College (41).

Coach's Outlook

Head coach Greg Mitchell, "I think last year guys got some valuable experience. It doesn't guarantee anything, but the light should not be too bright for them this year. A lot of guys had to step up and make plays for us to have us find our potential. Feeling comfortable in making those plays is critical.

"Our guys come back this year, and I feel like we're going to be more balanced in the inside-outside world. But not only with Evan's loss, losing Eli to injury, those were our two best rebounders. That to me is our biggest thing this season. We've got to make sure we work hard to secure the ball when it's free.

"The defensive execution and the energy after we were 7-7 last season changed. We went from giving up 70, 71 points per game to 59 the last month-and-a-half. That was a cohesive, gritty, nasty, battle of wills. It was a combination of understanding what the other team was doing and taking it away to the best of our abilities and just being a tough group of guys. That buy-in was everything."

Print Friendly Version