When the Maine women’s head coaching job opened up earlier this offseason, we at D3hoops.com figured we had at least two good finalists in the state’s Division III ranks already: Stefanie Pemper at Bowdoin and Gary Fifield at Southern Maine.

When Pemper didn’t get the job, we had to figure it was because she didn’t want it.

That’s true, according to Kevin Thomas’ column in today’s Portland Press Herald.

One telling quote: “Sure, there is a kick to (coaching Division I-type athletes). But that is not the be-all and end-all, to work with a higher caliber of athlete. As long as I can recruit athletes here who are going to buy in and be passionate about basketball and about what we’re doing . . .”

She gets it. Anyone who can’t understand why a successful coach would want to stay in Division III doesn’t.

Willie Chandler finished his Division III career at Misericordia just 42 points short of the all-time scoring record (2,940, Andre Foreman, Salisbury State). And in his third season in the USBL, he is scoring at about the same pace. Chandler is third in the league in scoring at 25.0 points per game. He’s also tied for fifth in the eight-team league at 1.9 steals per game.

He’s not the only Division III alumnus in the league, of course. Badou Gaye, drafted this season out of Gwynedd-Mercy, is third in the USBL in rebounds (10.1 per game) and second in blocked shots (3.3 per game). He’s recorded five double-doubles in 10 games. And there’s a brand-new player in the league as well, Dshamal Schoetz.

Haven’t heard of Schoetz? Neither had we, but he (at right) was listed at 7-0 at center for Greensboro, averaging 8.8 points per game and shooting 47% from the floor in 2003-04. He joins Chandler on the roster of the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs.

Last night in their most recent head-to-head meeting (or as head-to-head as a power forward and a shooting guard can get), Chandler scored 11 points but shot just 3-for-16, while Gaye shot 4-for-14 from the floor, 2-for-10 from the line, but had nine rebounds and four blocks. (Schoetz played in his first game, committed four fouls, had four rebounds and scored three points in 13 minutes.) Westchester won 90-84.

Despite not getting any points from basketball, Williams holds a comfortable lead in the NACDA Director’s Cup standings, 142.25 points ahead of UW-La Crosse.

The standings, which are based on national finishes in various sports, major and minor, are as follows:

1 Williams 739.75
2 UW-La Crosse 597.5
3 UW-Stevens Point 582.75
4 Washington U. 508.75
5 Middlebury 499
6 Trinity (Texas) 482
7 Calvin 456
8 New Jersey 443.5
9 Springfield 407
10 Wartburg 395
11 Amherst 379.5
12 Wheaton (Ill.) 355.5
13 Emory 345
14 Geneseo State 334
15 Messiah 330

Williams gained its winter points from fourth-place finishes nationally in women’s track and men’s and women’s swimming. The Ephs finished 12th in wrestling and 14th in the ever-popular women’s skiing, though that accounts for just 24 points. UW-Stevens Point got 100 for its repeat performance in Salem, but also placed in women’s track, wrestling, men’s swimming, men’s track, women’s swimming and women’s ice hockey.

Millikin, which won the Division III women’s basketball title, is ranked No. 51 with 184 points — 100 from women’s basketball and the rest from wrestling and women’s swimming.

Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 18 sports: nine women’s and nine men’s.

His college career ended in the 2001 national championship game at the Salem Civic Center, when the William Paterson guard kissed the floor on the way out of a 76-62 loss to Catholic. But his journey to the NBA was just beginning. Snubbed on draft day, Horace Jenkins took his skills to Europe, where he honed them into a package that the Detroit Pistons were willing to guarantee money to.

Even though Jenkins only played in 15 games for the Pistons and averaged just 2.8 points, the year’s oldest rookie, at age 30, still has been the subject of many a news piece. Here’s the latest from the Associated Press, via Mlive.com.