Monthly Archives: March 2008

Division III fans, the next generation

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I’m sitting here watching Davidson/Kansas (Davidson 51-47 with 7:35 left, for those scoring at home) and my 10-year-old Elizabeth looks up at the television.

Remember, Elizabeth came with me to the regionals at Gettysburg earlier this month and got a real up-close look at what Division III is like as well as what I do on the site.

Elizabeth: “What’s that? It’s basketball, but what division?”
Me: “It’s Division I”
Elizabeth: “Oh. That explains why it’s on TV.”
(Smart girl! And she just closed my parentheses for me. After a pause …)
Elizabeth: “So what’s Division II?”
Me: “Good question”

Then I explained to her that Division II has some scholarships, etc., etc., and she said, “Oh. So it’s second-best.”

I didn’t ask her which was best. Hopefully she knows. 🙂

Insider: Really Sweet

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Well — we did it! What a roller-coaster season for our program, our team and myself. The 2008 NCAA Division III men’s basketball national champions are the Washington University in St. Louis Bears — now that’s got a nice ring to it.

The weekend in Salem was a very memorable one. It was a little different the second time around (after having been there a year ago) because we were a little more immune to the media, the large arena and the atmosphere. Last year we may have been a little in awe of the entire situation before having even played our games. This year it seemed as if the team had a much more businesslike attitude and was able to turn on the focus when we needed to turn it on.

Sean Wallis and teammates celebrate with the trophyThe people of Salem, the NCAA, and the ODAC really run a great show out there. After arriving Wednesday, each team does some community service on Thursday before practices. We visited a V.A. hospital, which was very neat. Immediately following that we went to a luncheon to honor Troy Ruths for his Jostens Award acceptance. It was SO special for our entire team to be at the presentation. Following that we had a few hours of downtime at the hotel before heading back to the Civic Center for practice. We practiced, and then stayed at the Civic Center for the annual banquet that night with all the teams.

The banquet is an opening ceremonies-esque dinner and reception for all the student-athletes. It features a coach and player speaking representing each team in addition to a pretty neat highlight video about each team’s road to the final four — which definitely gets the players ready to compete. The ODAC commissioner, Brad Bankston, gave my blog a nice mention during his speech — so thanks Brad, and thanks for helping put together such a great experience in Salem.

Friday features a little more relaxation and prep for Friday night’s games. After a morning shoot-around, most of us relaxed around the hotel while watching the Division I games. In the hotel they have a “Student-Athlete Lounge” featuring a couple of big screen TVs, unlimited water, Gatorades and snacks, and PS3’s for all the athletes to use during the day. It’s a very nice touch that all the players greatly appreciate.

After all the hoopla, it was finally time to play some basketball. Hope was a very talented team and we knew that coming into the game. Having played them last year, we had a good feel for their style and it definitely benefited us. The first half was pretty back and forth, but in the second half our team put on one of the better shows I’ve ever seen. Scoring 57 points in a half against a very good defensive team was borderline ridiculous. It was the start to our nearly flawless three halves of basketball. Aaron Thompson took over for a big stretch and following his jabs, Troy had three-point play after three-point play to deliver the knockout punch.

Now had I been playing in the semifinal, bed time would’ve been in the immediate future following the game, however, I was a coach, and lucky for me — I was assigned Amherst on the Monday of the prior week as my team to scout going into the weekend, while one of our other assistant coaches took Ursinus. I had watched three of Amherst’s games on DVD in addition to their semifinal game picking up on their sets and play-calls, offensive and defensive tendencies, all in addition to some individual personnel scouting. So instead of going to sleep, I was up until after 2 a.m. in Coach Whittle’s room with my “scouting cap” on.

It was pretty neat that Amherst was the first scouting report I’ve been the one to actually hand-write the plays. It meant a lot the coaches trusted me to carry that load for the national championship game. I now know how truly frustrating it is for a coach to be calling out a play from the bench during a game while yelling and yelling to a player on the floor that a back-door is coming, but he still gets burned for a layup.

Sean Wallis gets a piece of the netAnyway, Saturday night we played by far our best game of the season. We frustrated them with our defense and we hit shot after shot on offense. People can say maybe we got lucky shooting so well in the National Championship game — but the bottom line is we were taking GREAT shots, and that’s all you can ask for. As the final buzzer went off it was complete chaos and as I ran out to center court to celebrate and jump with my teammates my leg definitely did not feel hurt!

I can’t count how many friends, player’s parents, professors, etc., have come up to me and expressed congratulations but carried on to say how “bittersweet” it had to have been for me watching from the bench as opposed to being on the court.

The championship wasn’t bittersweet. It was really sweet.

This championship was the first for the program here and wasn’t won just by the six guys that played more than 10 minutes in Saturday night’s 22-point win. It was won by each one of the players that have been here during Coach Edwards’ 27 years. It was won by every fan that has ever come out to support the program. It was won by all the coaches that have ever put time in to making the program better. It was won by each player’s parents that have trusted to send their kid to the University. It was won by every sports information director we’ve ever had here, from people like Mike Wolf, the school’s first, that left his job at Northwestern for the weekend to come to Salem, to our current SID Chris Mitchell. It was won by people like Justin Carroll, the Dean of Students, Mark Wrighton, the chancellor here at Washington University, and our athletic director John Schael, for all the support they’ve given the program over the years. It was won by the three fan buses of students that traveled 24 hours on the weekend to get to Salem to get to the games.

Maybe I didn’t play minutes in the final game, but I still won that championship — and celebrating that wasn’t bittersweet, it was really sweet.

The after-party was fantastic at the hotel. I enjoyed talking with D3hoops.com posters Walzy31 and Marty Peretz about future business plans. I had a blast talking smack about the green-weenies to Titan Q and talking with Pat Coleman and D-Mac. We got to mingle with a few Ursinus parents and Amherst players and coaches, which added to the experience. But most of all it was just great to sit back with the coaches, my teammates and their families and enjoy what had just happened.

The entire experience was a ton of motivation for next year — to get back there and do it again. My first day freshman year at Wash U we had convocation, a welcoming with everyone in the class of 2009 and their families, in our Fieldhouse. Looking up at the four women’s basketball and eight women’s volleyball national championships, Tyler Nading, who I had known for less than 24 hours, and I made a pact that we’d hang our program’s first banner before we graduated. Well Tyler, we did it… Now let’s make it the first of many.

Take care,
Sean

P.S. Thank you to Pat for giving me the opportunity to blog this season. It has been both therapeutic and enjoyable. As for doing it again next season — a contract extension is still in the works and I’m not allowed to talk about it without my agent’s permission.

Hoopsville Podcast: Season Finale

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Well, the 2007-2008 season has officially come to an end and we tried to wrap it up with a little bit of a bow on top!

Guests:
Meia Daniels (Howard Payne)
Troy Ruths (Wash U.)
Steve Bankson (Baldwin-Wallace)
Tim Wise (Millsaps)
Brett Adams (Villa Julie & CBI)

Reporters:
Matt Florjancic (Great Lakes)
Gordon Mann (Atlantic/East)
Bob Quillman (Midwest/West)
Mark Simon (Northeast)
Pat Coleman (South & Everything else!)

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has made this season such a memorable and record breaking one! It starts with Pat Coleman who was more than willing to help me out as a wall to bounce ideas off of and one who would give me suggestions (and questions to ask) when necessary and needed).

My thanks also include everyone who participated as Regional Reporters this season: Bob Quillman, Gordon Mann, Mark Simon, Pat Cummings, Matt Florjancic, Marcus Fitzsimmons, and Jared Rosenbaum. These gentlemen sacrificed a lot every week to get use in-depth reports from their regions and inform the listeners about items we all might not have been aware of. I appreciate their hard work! It has made a big difference on the show.

Also thanks to those at the NABC who have helped out for years, especially this season with the growth of Hoopsville. Coaches Page Moir, Charlie Brock, Pat Cunningham, Mark McGrath, and Brett Adams have all helped out whether it be finding guests, giving us story ideas, or helping promote the show to their counter-parts. They have always been good friends of the show and this year that was more obvious than any other!

Thanks also to my producer Chris Taugher who worked hard to book guests nearly every week and also answered the phones and kept the show running while I tried to host. My fiance, Anne, also had moments where she answered the phones for me and has supported me in so many fabulous ways. I couldn’t do it without her tremendous support.

And then there are the guests. This season marked a milestone with the amount of guests we had on the show. We talked to some familiar coaches while also hearing from new coaches. We also chatted with some fabulous players who have proven once again that sometimes the best part of covering Division III sports is the fact that the athletes truly are students first, and the students on the show proved it!

Enjoy the season finale – including a look back at the NCAA Men’s Tournament – and we will look forward to hearing from you next season!

Hoopsville: March 25th - Season Finale [ 3:14:20 ] Download

Top 25 News and Notes–Final

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Another season has come and gone much too quickly. Allow me to be the first (okay, maybe not the first) to congratulate the new National Champions, the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets and the Washington U. Bears. Huzzah!

With the long offseason looming, it’s time to take stock of where the various poll records stand, and who might threaten them next season. With a total of 140 women’s and 139 men’s polls, covering nine seasons, in the books, two programs stand alone as the only ones to receive votes in each and every poll ever taken. The Washington U. Bears have never failed to attract voting attention in a women’s poll, which can also be said of the men’s team at the College of Wooster. DePauw sits in second place on the women’s side, having received votes in 139 polls, including the last 129 in a row. UW-Stevens Point is the second-most frequent votegetter among the men, appearing in the voting in 132 of the 139 polls. The second-longest votegetting streak belongs to Amherst, but at 95 weeks it would take the Lord Jeffs well over two years to surpass the Scots’ streak.

The Bears and Scots go into the offseason holding a bushel of poll records. Wash U. has been in the women’s Top 10 a record 104 times, 15 times more often than their closest challengers from Bowdoin and Scranton. The Bears also recorded the longest streak of Top 25 appearances, being ranked in 110 straight polls between 1999 and 2006. The longest current streak belongs to Messiah at 90 weeks, meaning that Wash U.’s streak will not be headed next season.

On the men’s side, Wooster holds three records beyond their vote-getting streak. Their 94 Top 10 appearances lead Amherst by 11; their 131 Top 25 appearances are 15 more than UW-Stevens Point; and their streak of 54 straight Top 10 appearances (between 2004 and 2007) is 16 longer than the longest currently active streak, belonging to Amherst. The Lord Jeffs, however, do hold one poll record, having been in the Top 25 for 94 straight weeks, two more than the Fighting Scots—and both of these streaks are currently active.

The other two women’s poll records belong to Scranton and Bowdoin. The Royals have made 123 appearances in the Top 25, three more than Wash. U., while the Polar Bears hold the one record that may never be topped: 89 consecutive weeks in the Top 10, between 2001 and 2007. The longest currently active Top 10 streak belongs to Howard Payne, but at 26 weeks, they’d have to stay in the Top 10 for about four more years to top the Bowdoin streak. That would be a nice achievement, but not one that compares to an undefeated national championship season, I imagine.

Debutantes:
Women: First and foremost, by “Finishing It” in Holland, Howard Payne becomes the 19th member of the women’s #1 Club. The other South Region team that advanced to the Final Four, #6 Oglethorpe, cracked the Top 10 for the first time ever. Congratulations to the Jackets and Petrels!
Men: Six squads that had impressive showings in the NCAA tournament populate this section this week. Final Four participant Ursinus moved up to #7, and sectional finalist Millsaps advanced to the #6 slot; for both teams, this is their first-ever Top 10 ranking. #15 Coast Guard also reached a sectional final, while #23 Ohio Wesleyan and #24 St. Mary’s (MD) each knocked off Top 10 teams while reaching the Sweet Sixteen. Each of these teams was rewarded with their first-ever placement in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Finally, Elms fell one point short of the third round, and for the first time received votes in a Top 25 poll. Congratulations to the Bears (x2), Majors, Bishops, Seahawks, and Blazers!

Streakers:
Women: The men’s team may have won the national title, but the women’s team at Washington U. has long ruled the roost in St. Louis. This week the women received 25 votes, extending their perfect run of 140 consecutive appearances in the poll voting. #20 Rochester extended their voting streak to 40 weeks, and #14 Illinois Wesleyan received votes for the 30th consecutive time, but Lake Forest saw their vote-getting streak terminate at 29 weeks. Ninth-ranked Mary Washington is a Top 10 team for the 20th straight week. Southern Maine came up three places shy of a Top 25 ranking, snapping the longest current ranking streak at 92 weeks. The new holder of the longest current ranking streak is #3 Messiah, which reached 90 straight weeks in this poll. #5 DePauw has been ranked in each of the last 70 polls, the second longest currently active streak.
Men: Fourth-ranked Brandeis has now made 30 consecutive appearances in the voting rolls.

Milestones:
Women: Second-ranked Hope is in the Top 25 for the 110th time. Vote-getting milestones were achieved by Washington U. (140 weeks), Southern Maine (130), #20 Rochester (90), Eastern Connecticut and St. Lawrence (75 weeks each), and #4 UW-Whitewater and #25 St. Norbert (25 weeks each.)
Men: #11 Wheaton (IL) appears in the voting for the 100th time this week. Other teams reaching significant voting milestones include #2 Amherst (120 polls), Trinity (CT) (75), #4 Brandeis (30), #6 Millsaps and #17 Mary Hardin-Baylor (25 each.) #20 Mass.-Dartmouth is ranked for the 20th time, while #9 Centre is a Top 25 team for the 10th time.

High-Water Marks:
Women: The two debutantes, #1 Howard Payne and #6 Oglethorpe, top this list, accompanied by NESCAC rivals #12 Tufts and #13 Amherst.
Men: This list is the same as the list of debutants: #6 Millsaps, #7 Ursinus, #15 Coast Guard, #23 Ohio Wesleyan, and #24 St. Mary’s (MD).

Movers and Shakers:
Women: The largest gain, by a wide margin, was recorded by Final Four participant #6 Oglethorpe. The Stormy Petrels gained a staggering 432 points and leapt 18 spots in the final poll. Four other teams made gains exceeding 130 points: #20 Rochester (+151), #12 Tufts (+146), #4 UW-Whitewater (+140), and #16 George Fox (+133). #22 UW-Stevens Point lost in the first round (to #25 St. Norbert), costing the Pointers 221 points and nine positions in the final poll. Other significant drops were sustained by #8 Thomas More (-187), Southern Maine (-167), and #21 Medaille (-165).
Men: #11 Wheaton (IL) reached a sectional final, gaining 317 points and a berth in the Top 25 as a result. National champion Washington U. dispatched six teams ranked in the final poll, and gained 273 points and 10 positions as well as a nice big trophy. Two Cinderella Sweet Sixteen teams which had no votes in the Week 14 poll jumped into the top 15: #14 Buena Vista (+253) and #15 Coast Guard (+239). UW-Whitewater was upset by Loras in the first round, shedding 194 points and causing the Warhawks to drop from #2 to #8. #20 Mass.-Dartmouth failed to reach the Sweet Sixteen despite receiving a bye; the Corsairs lost 183 points and 10 spots in the final poll.

Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy offseason!

Great weekends

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Congratulations to Howard Payne and Washington U. for their championships. It’s been a great Division III women’s and men’s basketball season.

The past two weeks, almost out of randomness, I found myself near the Washington U. contingent. I haven’t been too close to too many Division III basketball families — it’s hard to do so and remain neutral — but the Bears’ staff and families made me feel at home. Last week I was in St. Louis for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 and this week, well, Wash U won the title and had a lot to celebrate.

So last week I got to meet a lot of parents, and this week, well, the players were in a great mood tonight and the program had a night to remember. So while I met a lot of families — Kellys, Wallises for example — I also got to meet a lot of players as well.

The night of a title is a great night. Players should be allowed to enjoy it. This is the time to reflect in the glory, relax with teammates. And for us, it’s the end of a long Division III football and basketball season. So we’re getting to relax a little bit ourselves soon.

So while our crew had already met Sean Wallis, one of our Insider bloggers this season, it was nice to meet some of the others.

We’d also be remiss if we did not thank two people who came up huge for us this weekend.

First off, Calvin SID Jeff Febus. We were slated to travel three broadcasters to Holland but one was sick and couldn’t make it. Unfortunately, that meant the same for our equipment. Febus, who already came up big the previous weekend with some well-received broadcasts at the Hope sectional, lent Gordon Mann and Tim Calderwood equipment to get them working.

Secondly, Evans Clinchy. If you missed it earlier in the week, Evans wrote a great Amherst feature story. But this weekend he came up big with in-game blogs and a feature on Troy Ruths, Wash U’s man of the hour/game/night/weekend/year.

This time of year it’s great hospitality all around, and it was no different in Salem.

But the people make this special. Thanks to all for taking us in and making us part of the community.

Many times, people thank us for what we do for Division III basketball. But it’s nothing if the players don’t play and the parents don’t make the sacrifice necessary to put the players out there.

Folks, every year, this one’s for you. No kidding. It would not happen without you.