Calvin's Jalen Overway continues to dominate, will be X factor in Hope rivalry
GRAND RAPIDS - A tall older gentleman weaved his way through the postgame crowd after a Calvin University basketball game last month.
He wanted to chat with Calvin sophomore Jalen Overway.
That man was Mark Veenstra, who won four-straight MIAA MVPs before graduating in 1977.
“I remember him,” Overway said. “Big, tall guy. He’s one of the top scorers in Calvin history. I think he won MVP all four years. We talked about how fun playing at Calvin.”
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Overway, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-61 win over Hope College on Wednesday, won the MIAA MVP award last year as a freshman. The 6-foot-10 center, who graduated from Holland Christian High School, is averaging 20-plus points and 9.5 rebounds this season for the Knights after a dominating 42-point performance against Alma, following the win over Hope. It was the sixth-highest scoring performance in Calvin history and highest since 1993.
Calvin will play at Hope at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“Mark Veenstra was here last month,” Calvin coach Bill Sall said. “A couple weeks before that, Steve Honderd was at a practice. So Jalen has seen the other two superstar bigs that have played here. So they’ve had a chance to talk to him. That’s a cool legacy that you get with Calvin hoops. The history goes back a long ways. I think its neat that there are guys from back then that are still invested in the team now. Mark and Steve try to make a few games and cheering on the team.”
Calvin’s all-time leading scoring list is:
Steve Honderd 2,469
Mark Veenstra 2,251
Bill Sall 2,063
Overway surpassed the is at the 850 point mark on Wednesday. So does he have a chance to win four-straight MVPs too?
“Veenstra did it four times,” Sall said. “That’s domination. We’ll take it a year at a time and see how he does.”
Overway named to Bevo Francis watch list
Overway won the MIAA Player of the Week this week for the second time this season.
He’s also been named to the Bevo Francis watch list, which is kind of like the Heisman Trophy for small-college basketball.
“The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player with the finest overall season within small college basketball, which includes NCAA II, NCAA III and NAIA institutions.
Calvin roster has three area natives
Vince Overway’s name is still on the Calvin roster, but the Holland Christian grad’s college basketball career has ended. Overway, who played four years at Trinity Christian College, transferred to Calvin to get his master’s degree and play one year with his little brother Jalen Overway.
But he will focus on his studies in the second semester to graduate in the spring.
He played in six games and had six points.
Trip Riemersma, a Zeeland native, did not play on Wednesday. The junior has played in 15 games off the bench and is averaging four points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, Holland's Jackson VanHekken is the team's student manager.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Calvin's Jalen Overway at his best heading into Hope rematch
