It was a sunny spring day when I first walked onto Chapman University’s campus. I had informed the head coach the previous day that I would be coming to play open gym with the team. As I roamed the campus looking for the coach’s office, I had a feeling that the coaching staff didn’t care too much that I was coming. No one was there to greet me when I arrived; no one picked up my phone calls. Nothing.

Eventually, I asked a random student where the coach’s offices were and luckily he pointed me in the right direction. On the walk there, the uneasiness I felt turned into anger. For the first time in my basketball career, I felt that I didn’t really matter. After 15 minutes of searching, asking, and wondering where the coach was, I finally found an assistant coach and headed to the gym. As I was preparing to lace up my shoes and take the court, the head coach walked in with a recruit and his parents.

At that moment my feelings were reaffirmed—I didn’t really matter.

I took the court with an added sense of motivation to prove not only to myself, but to the coaching staff, that I was the best player in that gym.

And not to my surprise, the coaching staff agreed. And the rest is history!

Three and half years later, I stand toe-to-toe with my teammate of eight years, Griffin Ramme, ready to lead Chapman University to another successful season and NCAA Division III tournament bid. At the end of last season, we had our doubts of how good we would be. Graduating three seniors, two of whom were four-year starters, is not an easy reality to overcome, yet we remained optimistic. Individual workouts, weightlifting sessions, adult league games and basketball camps filled up the summer; but an uneasy feeling of our team’s future still loomed.

School started.

Open gym started.

Our team would be composed of those who showed up at the gym every afternoon at 1:00 to showcase their “new and improved” abilities, myself included.

With over a month of intense 5-on-5 games and team practices rapidly approaching, I still wasn’t convinced that we could duplicate last season’s performance.

October 15 was here.

There was nothing more anyone could do. The countless hours spent in the gym boiled down to this very moment: practice.

Practice, practice, and more practice.

Was my senior season going to be a memorable one filled with great experiences, or a year of rebuilding highlighted with struggle and tough defeats? I can’t answer this question in its entirety, but I can confidently say that the once uneasy feeling dancing in my stomach no longer exists. After the first few days of practice, it was clear there was more talent in the gym compared to last year. And the only thing missing was exactly that: practice.

Three weeks into my senior campaign, we stand with a 6-1 record, with our only loss coming to last year’s NAIA Division 1 runner up, Azusa Pacific University. This past weekend, we claimed the Lee Fulmer Tournament Championship for the second consecutive season, defeating Redlands in the finals. December marks a crucial month for us as we have six Division III games, five of which are against teams in the West region.

I never realized how quickly four seasons would go by, but as a co-captain and senior leader, I am excited for this final collegiate journey I will take with my teammates and only hope that we remain positive, practice hard, and stay focused on our goal to have the opportunity to play again in March.

We thank Justin for his thoughtful, well written entries throughout this season. And he was just as good on the court, picking up All Independent Player of Year honors. He’ll be back for his senior season at Chapman this fall, and we hope he’ll chronicle it for us.

On October 15, a group of guys entered the gym with one thing on their minds: getting the chance to prove himself on the big stage. Practices, games and teammates came and went, but the passion to take Chapman to the postseason for the first time in 26 years burned on.

After concluding the season with a 23-2 record, some positive thoughts filtered through my head:

1. We were ranked in the D3 Hoops Top 25 Poll for all 13 weeks.
2. We had a 17-1 in-region record.
3. We defeated NCAA Division II opponent BYU-Hawaii (ranked 18th at the time).
4. We ended the season on a 13-game winning streak (23.7 scoring margin during streak).

On the other hand, some negative thoughts filtered through as well:

1. Our strength of schedule was weak (no surprise), 392 out of 407.
2. We didn’t have any standout Division III wins, losing to our one real test: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
3. We hadn’t played a team with a winning percentage above .500 since December.
4. And of course, Chapman hadn’t made the tourney since moving to Division III in 1994.

Once all of these thoughts made their way in and out, I still wasn’t sure if we were going to make it. As an avid board reader, it looked like we were very likely to get a Pool B bid, but I couldn’t convince myself for certain; setting myself up for heartbreak was a pain I wanted to avoid. On Monday morning, five of us met at a teammate’s house to watch the selection show hoping that we would see our name in the bracket for the first time. The show started…we waited…we waited…and then, history happened.

WE MADE IT!!

If just making it to the tourney wasn’t good enough, finding out we were hosting Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the first round was the cherry on top. Going in to this game, we knew it was going to be a 40-minute battle. CMS is a well coached, hard nosed team that prides itself on toughness and defense. The practices leading up to the game were very physical and competitive.

At 7:00 PM on March 4, the battle began. The environment was incredible with almost 2000 people in attendance; the Chapman student body covered the entire west side of the gym in white, while roughly 100 CMS students stood across cheering in their respective school colors. CMS jumped out quickly, but we were able to close the gap and fight back-and-forth for the remainder of the first half. Just before halftime, Griffin Ramme hit a buzzer beater three-pointer in the corner to give us a three point advantage going into the locker room.

The second half started similar to the first with CMS jumping out quickly. Once again, we were able to battle back and seize the lead for the final six minutes of the game and capture the victory 58-47. When the buzzer sounded, the gym erupted and the students stormed the court. Words cannot express how I immediately felt, but it was a moment that I will never forget. After the game, the CMS coaching staff and players showed tremendous sportsmanship and wished us well against Whitworth.

The next morning we were up at 4:00 AM to head to the airport to catch a flight to Spokane, Washington. Waking up that early after a physical game didn’t lead to a very comfortable flight, but when we arrived at our hotel, I had no problem taking advantage of the five-hour window to sleep before our evening practice. At practice, we broke down our scouting report and prepared ourselves for another battle Saturday night.

When we arrived to the gym Saturday night, we were very focused and determined to upset Whitworth on their home court. Prior to the game, our coach emphasized that if we came out slow, it would be a long and hard battle back. And that it was. Whitworth came out firing as we found ourselves down 21-6 with 10 minutes to play in the first half. We were able to battle back and close the gap heading into the break trailing 32-26.

The second half mirrored the first as Whitworth expanded the lead to double digits in the opening minutes. We fought hard to close the gap, but were unsuccessful at getting any closer than six points the remainder of the game. Nate Montgomery and Eric Beal did an outstanding job on both ends of the court leading them to a 21-point victory.

Silence filled the locker room as all of us realized that our historic season had come to an end. As players changed and left the locker room, the four guys that started alongside of me every game for the past two seasons—Dan Aguilar, Jared Kaiser, Griffin Ramme and Kyle Wood—sat there in silence. Tears immediately streamed down our eyes as we embraced each other in the locker room for one last time. Though Griffin and I have one more year of eligibility, the camaraderie the five of us shared is something special. I am grateful I had the opportunity to help Chapman make the postseason tournament for the first time in 26 years, but I am more grateful that I was able to share it with this group of guys.

To Dan, Jared and Kyle: thank you for a memorable year.

Chapman…Chapman…Chapman…

What comes to mind when you hear about this school? Location…academics…enrollment size…women…athletics?

Location…maybe.

Academics…maybe.

Enrollment size…maybe.

Women…strong maybe.

Athletics…of course not.

Why would you think about athletics when thinking of Chapman? Why would ANY athlete choose a school that is not affiliated with a conference? In fact, why do athletes even go to Chapman when they know the chances of making the post-season aren’t very high?

These questions were the exact ones that circled my mind when deciding to attend Chapman, yet I still decided to come here.

Did the location of the school influence my decision? Yes.

Did academics influence my decision? Yes.

Did enrollment size influence my decision? Yes.

Did the women influence my decision? Yes.

Did choosing a school that had a basketball program that never made a post-season appearance influence my decision? Yes.

I decided to come to Chapman on all these accords, but there was nothing more important to me than having the opportunity to be part of a team that had the chance to make school history and earn the first ever post-season bid for the men’s basketball program. Upon my arrival, I quickly learned that earning a post-season bid wasn’t very easy to come by. After a 20-7 campaign my freshman year, we were left sitting on the couch reading who was doing what. Honestly, I didn’t feel that we truly deserved a bid due to key losses against La Verne and Redlands. I accepted it and moved on.

Sophomore year, we wanted to shake off another boring March and improve upon our record. With a starting group of three juniors and two sophomores, we finished the season 24-3, yet we still found ourselves sitting on the couch again. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around why we didn’t get the bid, so I decided to do some research to find out why we weren’t “good” enough to make the post-season. After reading through various board postings, blogs and other articles, I found out how important the strength of schedule is in the selection process. After finding this information out, I looked up our strength of schedule numbers based upon our opponents winning percentage (OWP) and opponents opponents winning percentage (OOWP) and found Chapman had the third easiest schedule in Division III. Frustrated about this statistic, I threw my hands up and accepted that with such an easy schedule and three in-region losses to Whitman, Whitworth, and UDallas, we probably weren’t the most deserving team of a Pool B bid.

But then I started to think: why was our strength of schedule so weak? There wasn’t much difference in the teams we played from the year before to now, so why was there such a disparity?

Answer: It’s simple—Chapman is left with very slim pickings of teams who are willing to play them once conference play starts. Since there are only two other Division III opponents in California that aren’t in the SCIAC, we are forced to play UC Santa Cruz and La Sierra multiple times. Unfortunately, UC Santa Cruz and La Sierra haven’t had the most successful seasons over the past years, which has lead to a decrease in our strength of schedule numbers.

Now we are left with the ultimate question: Why not stop scheduling La Sierra and UC Santa Cruz so much, and play better west region teams?

Answer: WE WANT TO!

Problem: Once conference play starts, we are left with those two teams and other meaningless, in terms of a post-season bid, games against NAIA and NCCAA opponents. Of course we would like to play all the SCIAC schools twice a year, but the reality is, they don’t want to play us. Can you blame them? If I were a coach, why would I play a non-conference game during the midst of conference play to help out another team? What if a player gets injured? What if we lose? Will our team morale be affected? Yes, playing us will increase their strength of schedule and give them another west region game, but at the same time, focusing a team’s energy on a non-conference opponent during conference play might not be the best idea. Some may agree with this statement while others will disagree, but the reality is come conference time, teams do not want to play us, PERIOD.

So what is the solution? I wish I had the magic potion to sprinkle on the heads of the SCIAC to let us in or to at least schedule us during conference play, but the truth is, I don’t. Knowing these statistics, should we fill up our November and December schedule with tougher opponents? Maybe. Should we try and compete in tournaments that feature these opponents? Maybe. Should we stop complaining when year after year we find ourselves not playing in March? Maybe. There are many questions that are left unanswered, but one thing I am confident about is that Chapman is a strong force in not only the West, but in all of Division III. Our schedule may not match up with other top teams in America, but once again, I am confident that we have the talent to compete with any team. I only have one more year of eligibility after this season, but I promise I will not be satisfied until we get the opportunity to shine in March.

To everyone who mocks our schedule, doubts our abilities, or just downright doesn’t like us…thank you!

The more you doubt, the more motivated we become!

The new year is upon us and with that, people formulate resolutions in hopes to better themselves. With resolutions such as going to the gym, eating healthier, seeking new opportunities, cleaning up their vocabulary, or just simply maturing, the beginning of the year is the perfect time to start on the right foot. But I ask, why start now? Why couldn’t this change start in October, November or even December?

For Chapman, our new year’s resolution came at the start of the season when we decided to fully commit ourselves to making it a success. This would be the season that we wouldn’t let escape us. Sure, we could have waited until 2010 to “change”, but would that have been too late? I may never know. What I do know is that through hard work, determination and motivation to silence all of our doubters, we are sitting in the 17th position in the top-25 poll with a 12-2 record.

In my previous entry, we were 7-0 heading into a critical part of our schedule that concluded 2009 with four games against the SCIAC. In the days of preparation for those games, we were confidently walking around thinking we had arrived and were finally a team to be reckoned with. The competition was there, but it wasn’t the same. Practice was practice, yet there was something missing. And almost like clockwork, we ended up losing to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 57-56. The loss left a bitter taste in our mouths, but the casualness and confidence still carried on to our next game against La Verne. Fortunately for us, we were able to escape with a 64-63 victory. With eight days rest between our following two games, we were able to get back on track and defeat Redlands and Whittier.

We now sat at 10-1.

Our next stop was Hawaii, for a nine day bout to face NCAA Division II opponents Hawaii Pacific and the 18th ranked BYU-Hawaii. I was especially excited for this trip because I had never been to the islands, but at the same time, I was still focused on leaving there with two wins. Our first matchup was against a very talented and athletic Hawaii Pacific team. From the tip, they took advantage of matchup disparities and we found ourselves down by 19 at halftime. The second half fared better for us, but the deficit was just too large to overcome and we suffered our second loss of the season. Even though we were in paradise, experiencing a loss like that motivated us to have a better showing against BYU-Hawaii.

We knew this game was going to be a really tough test, especially since BYU-Hawaii returned their All-American and NCAA Division II Player of the Year, Lucas Alves. Yet, we rose to the challenge and defeated the Seasiders in OT on their home floor 76-70. We opened the game strong building a quick ten point lead that was erased just before halftime as we entered the break trailing 30-29. The second half was controlled by BYU-Hawaii for the majority as we saw a one point deficit turn into a 13 point lead. With three minutes left to play, we were down 10 points, but we never doubted we could win. Our starting shooting guard, Griffin Ramme, put the team on his shoulders and scored 9 quick points on a trio of 3 pointers in the final minutes to force overtime. In the extra period, we held BYU-Hawaii to only three points, all from the free throw line, and closed the game out scoring 7 of the last 8 points. When the buzzer sounded, we were proud of our effort and never-quit mentality.

Even out of all the places we visited, this win was easily the most memorable part of the trip and put a stamp on our season, showing that we have the capability of becoming a top tier Division III team.

As most teams in America start conference play, we continue our independent non-conference battle against other Division III independents, NAIA, and NCCAA opponents. I couldn’t wish more than to be in a conference and to experience that atmosphere, but that’s not the case. We must continue playing Chapman basketball and live up to our resolution by earning a Pool B bid.

Good luck!

“Why does it always have to be about the team, coach”?
“Why does he get to shoot the ball more than I do?”
“I am better than he is!”

These quotes bring back memories of me in my high school days of basketball when I struggled with the concept of teamwork and being a team player. During those days, I was known as the kid with talent who would make or break practices. If it was a good day, practices would go really well; if it was a bad day, let’s just say there were several arguments between me, coaches and teammates.

As I entered college, that poor attitude still haunted me.

“Why isn’t coach playing me as much?”
“Coach is biased. I’m going to quit!”

When would the light switch on and I’d finally figure out that maybe, it is not about me? When was I going to finally grow up and realize that the only way to be successful was to put my ego aside and see that “I” don’t win championships, “we” do.

15 years later… the light finally turned on.

For the first time, I can honestly express how it feels to be a part of a selfless team that is willing to do whatever it takes to win. With this attitude and commitment to each other, we are off to a 7-0 start. We just recaptured the Lee Fulmer Tournament championship this past weekend after a four year hiatus from the top.

In the three games of the tournament, we held our opponents (UC Santa Cruz, Cal Lutheran, and George Fox) to a 30% shooting average and out rebounded each team by 14.6. These games were the first defining point of the season because every member of the team had the same attitude: team defense first, scoring second.

It feels great to be connected with a group of guys who want nothing more than to get a chance to play in the postseason and prove to the doubters that we have the talent and can compete with the best teams. On December 9, we begin a three-game home stand against the very talented and well-disciplined Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Redlands and La Verne.

I can’t say enough how much I respect the guys I play with and am very excited to continue down this road of success. As Mia Hamm stated, “I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team. I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”

The 2009-2010 season of hoops is here and I couldn’t be more excited to get the ball rolling on this season. As stated in my previous blog, Chapman is not affiliated with a conference, therefore each game has to be played with conference intensity and preparation–there is very little margin for error.

With that said, we opened up our season on the road against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. Last year, the Sagehens made it to the SCIAC championship game where they were defeated by the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags. We knew the Sagehens were an experienced team (they added only one new starter) that had the smarts and talent to beat us. After getting off to a slow start, we quickly turned the game around and defeated the Sagehens by 18 points. It felt great to get the first win of the season under our belt, but we noticed some flaws in our game that would need to be corrected before facing the #14 ranked Cal Lutheran Kingsmen.

During the practices leading up to the game, I noticed a change in our team’s dynamic. We realized this would be one of the most important games of the season. Just hours before the game, I had butterflies in my stomach as I paced back and forth in my apartment. I was anxious to step on the court at 7 PM and give everything I had. This was the first time since my senior year of high school that I was this excited to play in a game. Before I could even blink, my teammates and I were on the court awaiting the ref to toss the jump ball and let play begin!

From the opening tip to the ending buzzer, the game was everything I had pictured it would be. We secured an upset victory over the visiting Kingsmen, 80-74. Both teams battled during the entire 40 minutes and the cheering fans added to a fun-filled environment that all players enjoy. Unlike Hope and Calvin, which averaged 2000 people in attendance per game last season, Chapman had about 500-600 fans in the stands for this game and the noise level was still pretty high. Ultimately, it was a great game for both teams and I am looking forward to potentially playing them again in the Lee Fulmer Tournament hosted by Redlands University December 3-5.

It feels good starting the season off with wins over two experienced and very good SCIAC teams. Next week we face La Verne on their home court, and Elmhurst on our floor. After these two games we will play UC Santa Cruz in the first round of the Lee Fulmer Tournament.

Chapman as well as the other SCIAC teams have improved from last year and returned several veteran players. This could be the year that sees a Southern California team walk the same lines as the best teams of the Northwest Conference. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything that comes from our area!

Until we meet again,
Justin Riley-Chapman University

Introducing Justin Riley

Welcome to the 2009-2010 season! I am very excited that I have been selected to blog about our season this year. My name is Justin Riley and I am the starting power forward at Chapman University. I am in my junior season and couldn’t be more excited to enter this season with the group of guys we have.

I decided to come to Chapman and play Division III basketball because I wanted to go to a school that would provide me a great education and give me the opportunity to still play basketball. I had the opportunity to play at lower-tier Division I schools, but decided not to follow through because I didn’t think I wanted to play basketball in college and didn’t want to go to an average academic school just to play basketball. Looking back three years later, I would love to have had the opportunity to play Division I basketball, but nevertheless, I have enjoyed my experience at Chapman University.

For those of you who do not know, Chapman University is not apart of a conference and unfortunately we have been stuck as an Independent. As an Independent, it is very difficult to get a bid into the the post-season tournament. Last season, we went 24-3, but had the third “easiest” strength of schedule. We very well should have won one of the games we lost, and looking back, that could have been the game (UDallas) that cost us the post-season bid.

Anytime you are apart of a team that goes 24-3 and end up in the “other receiving votes category” for several weeks, you feel that you deserve the chance to prove yourself on the big stage, but that didn’t happen. I can go on until I am blue in the face arguing that we should have received a bid, but the season is over and there is nothing that is going to change; for that reason, I will let last year end and move on to this season with the hopes of finally getting the chance to play in the post-season tournament.

For the 2009-2010 season, my biggest goal is to earn a post-season bid. As a competitor, I am not satisfied with ending the season short of the post season. I have always wondered what it would be like to play in the tourney at any level, and now that we are knocking on the door, I will not accept anything less. We return all five starters from last years very successful team and have several talented role players that can come and fill any voids. Out of all the previous seasons at Chapman, this is the one year where it is our season to win or lose. All the guys have that bad feeling of what is was like to be so close, therefore all of us our ready to go out and win every game with pride and passion. Besides making it to the post-season, I am striving to earn All West Region honors. The west region is filled with many talented players and I would love to be able to enter the ranks of the top players in the West.

This season has the makings to be a great one and I am excited to see what will happen. I hope everyone will pay attention to us and realize that the Chapman team has the ability to make some noise.

Good luck to all Division III teams this season!