Atlantic Region
1. William Paterson 19-1 20-1
2. Merchant Marine 15-4 16-4
3. Ramapo 14-4 15-5
4. York (N.Y.) 13-5 16-5
5. Richard Stockton 14-5 14-6

East Region
1. St. John Fisher 15-4 16-4
2. Stevens 15-4 15-4
3. New York University 12-5 13-5
4. Medaille 18-1 19-1
5. Rochester 9-5 13-5
6. Nazareth 12-6 13-7

Great Lakes Region
1. Wooster 15-3 15-4
2. Wilmington (Ohio) 13-4 14-5
3. Hope 8-2 13-6
4. Calvin 8-2 12-7
5. Penn State-Behrend 13-3 13-4
6. Thomas More 14-5 14-5

Middle Atlantic Region
1. Albright 14-1 16-2
2. Lycoming 12-3 16-3
3. Cabrini 16-2 16-2
4. Franklin and Marshall 16-3 16-3
5. St. Mary’s (Md.) 13-3 16-3
6. Elizabethtown 13-5 13-5
7. York (Pa.) 14-4 15-4
8. Alvernia 11-4 13-6
9. Catholic 13-4 15-5

Midwest Region
1. Washington U. 13-2 16-2
2. Carthage 11-2 15-4
3. St. Norbert 15-1 16-1
4. Illinois Wesleyan 14-4 15-4
5. Anderson 15-2 17-2
6. Wheaton (Ill.) 12-6 13-6
7. Augustana 12-6 12-7
8. Westminster (Mo.) 12-1 15-4

Northeast Region
1. Williams 17-0 19-1
2. MIT 17-1 18-2
3. Colby 13-1 15-2
4. Middlebury 13-2 17-2
5. Brandeis 14-3 14-3
6. Bridgewater State 12-3 13-5
7. Gordon 14-3 15-3
8. Western Connecticut 12-4 13-4
9. Mass-Dartmouth 13-6 13-6
10. Rhode Island College 13-6 13-6
11. Eastern Connecticut 13-6 13-6

South Region
1. Guilford 18-1 18-1
2. Virginia Wesleyan 15-2 17-2
3. Texas-Dallas 15-2 16-3
4. Eastern Mennonite 11-2 15-3
5. Maryville (Tenn.) 11-3 16-4
6. Austin 14-5 14-5
7. Mary Hardin-Baylor 14-4 14-5
8. Mississippi College 11-3 15-3

West Region
1. UW-Whitewater 16-3 16-3
2. UW-Stevens Point 17-2 18-2
3. St. Thomas 14-2 17-2
4. Whitworth 15-2 17-2
5. UW-La Crosse 13-5 14-6
6. Gustavus Adolphus 12-4 12-6
7. Chapman 15-1 18-2
8. Central 14-2 16-4
9. Augsburg 12-5 13-5

Atlantic Region
1. Kean 19-0 20-1
2. William Paterson 20-1 20-1
3. Mary Washington 12-2 14-3
4. Marymount 16-1 19-1
5. Farmingdale State 18-0 18-0
6. Mount Saint Mary 13-4 14-4

Central Region
1. Illinois Wesleyan 15-1 18-1
2. Carthage 13-2 16-3
3. Washington U. 13-2 16-2
4. UW-Stevens Point 15-3 17-3
5. UW-Whitewater 13-4 14-5
6. Chicago 13-5 13-5

East Region
1. Ithaca 15-2 15-4
2. Skidmore 13-2 14-3
3. Rochester 13-3 15-3
4. Medaille 17-1 18-2
5. Utica 14-3 15-3
6. Cortland State 14-3 15-3

Great Lakes Region
1. Hope 15-0 18-1
2. Washington and Jefferson 16-1 17-2
3. Thomas More 17-1 17-2
4. Calvin 13-1 18-2
5. DePauw 14-2 17-3
6. Baldwin-Wallace 13-3 15-4

Mid-Atlantic Region
1. Moravian 17-2 18-2
2. Lebanon Valley 18-0 18-1
3. Messiah 13-1 16-2
4. Scranton 15-3 17-3
5. Muhlenberg 14-3 14-3
6. Gettysburg 16-2 16-2

Northeast Region
1. Amherst 19-0 19-0
2. Tufts 15-1 18-2
3. Williams 16-3 16-4
4. Emmanuel 12-4 14-4
5. Bowdoin 12-4 15-4
6. Colby 12-3 15-3
7. Western Connecticut 16-3 17-3
8. Eastern Connecticut 13-5 13-5
9. Keene State 13-5 13-6
10. University of New England 14-4 15-4

South Region
1. Christopher Newport 17-0 18-0
2. Hendrix 12-3 14-3
3. Roanoke 14-2 16-2
4. Trinity (Texas) 12-4 14-5
5. Louisiana College 12-2 15-2
6. Randolph-Macon 13-4 13-4

West Region
1. George Fox 11-1 17-2
2. Puget Sound 11-2 16-3
3. Cal Lutheran 14-3 14-4
4. Gustavus Adolphus 15-2 15-3
5. Simpson 13-2 18-3
6. Concordia-Moorhead 13-4 13-5

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!

At a typical pre-game practice you can find our head coach, Mia Smith, wearing our next opponent’s school colors. At every game you can find our assistant coach / former player Tasha Gaston-Bell also wearing the opponent’s school colors. Some who notice may call this weird but we just call it a little bit of healthy superstition. The IWU Women’s Basketball Team is one of the most superstitious teams I have been a part of, but it is very fitting because I am probably the top contender for most superstitious player on the team. As I mentioned earlier, our superstitious ways begin at pre-game practices. Prior to practice we watch film and everyone sits in the same seat each time. Every pre-game practice I have to wear a green Nike headband the says “unstoppable”, I’ve heard a number of jokes about it but deep down I think everyone has grown quite fond of unstoppable as it’s called. We start practice with the same focus lay-up and shooting drill and end it with a walk through prep of the next opponent and team free throws. Our huddle before we leave always ends with the same cheer.

Game days produce a whole other set of superstitions. Although I own a number of IWU Women’s Basketball hoodies, I wear the same gray one every game day along with my travel green suit, the same pair of sneakers ,and of course unstoppable. I own even more Wesleyan t-shirts however there are only a select few that make the game day rotation. I also have a green and white scarf that teammate Nikki Preston’s mom made that I wear to every game. I love Orange G2 Gatorade and have to drink one before every game. When it is time for our pre-game prayer, some people will jump across the locker room to get to the person they always hold hands with. After prayer we can’t leave the locker room until we hear Coach Smith’s famous, enthusiastic “Game On, Here we go girlies, Have a day” cheer. For warm-ups we line up in the same order every game. One of our freshmen firmly believes that we play better when she misses her first left hand lay-up in warm-ups, so she has begun to intentionally miss every game. Towards the end of warm-ups our 2 seniors make a prediction about something crazy that could happen in the game, they both shoot a 3 pointer on it and if both make it they believe the prediction will come true. We stand in the same ordered line for the Star Spangled Banner (the claws really come out if someone tries to mess up that order, we take that one seriously).

What if our coaches were to forget to wear the other teams’ colors or if unstoppable were to go missing for a day? Do we think we are destined to perform poorly? The answer is no. Although we don’t stray from our superstitions we know they are nothing but routines. They put us in our comfort zone and get us game ready. They help us associate with the focus and intensity that we have brought to every game before.

It seems that our little routines have served us well this year. We are almost half way through our conference season and stand at 17-0 and hold the #1 ranking. As Coach Smith would say “It’s too late to lose now”. We had an exciting game at Elmhurst College last week. We did not shoot the 3 like we usually do and weren’t making the smartest decisions. We found ourselves down by 1 with about 8 minutes left in the second half, but we persevered and outscored them 20-9 to close the game and win by 10. I think our conference success can be attributed to our deep bench. We continually bring in fresh legs and I have noticed that we really wear our opponents down. We are committed to using our depth the rest of the way and not letting up, which I hope will make us unstoppable.

This season is absolutely flying by. We have cruised through the Pre-Party Party Period and moved right on into the Family Reunion. As a matter of fact, this season is becoming history faster than Bill Belichek’s relevance and Tom Cruise’s sanity. At Gordon College this has been a particularly good period for us. We began the Pre-Party Party Period by winning the Union College Sig Makofski Tournament. First let me tell you a little about Mr. Makofski. He was a first-team All-American in basketball and was also named an honorable mention All-American in football at Union before there were NCAA divisions. He then went on to coach Schenectady High School and Mont Pleasant High School in Schenectady to a record of 461-35 in basketball and coached the Mont Pleasant football teams to a 418-3 record. On top of that he held fourteen local golf course records. He just couldn’t settle on being better than everyone at the major sports. He had to beat everyone in retirement too. Are you kidding me? Look at those coaching records. That is a 93% winning percentage in basketball. That that is not even close to his record as a football coach. He won a laughable 99.3% of their games. I can’t even do that on my PlayStation and I quit games before I lose to the computer. You know the phrases that any team can beat anyone “on any given day” or “that’s why you play the games” when an upset occurs? Well, those don’t apply to Sig Makofski.  But here’s the real question. What happened in those three football games? Poor coaching? I’m guessing not. They either must have been playing Notre Dame or they only had 8 players. Even then I wouldn’t count out a Sig Makofski coached team. (Thanks to the Union College website for this information)

Knowing a little about the tournament’s namesake gives a little more meaning to the trophy given out. For the second time in three years we won the Sig Makofski Tournament. In the opener we beat the host Union College 69-47. This shows the quality of the teams in the tournament. The host team normally schedules the team they feel they had the best chance to beat in the first game so they can play in the championship. Obviously that did not work out so well for Union. However, they went on to win the consolation game against Elms who finished last year 26-2 and ranked 12^th in the country. We on the other hand advanced to the championship to play Montclair State. To say Montclair and Gordon play differing styles would be just the tip of the iceberg. They have an enrollment over 5x larger than Gordon’s private Christian school enrollment. Their team roster contains more outstanding athletes than we have at our entire school and they play a style that reflects that. It was truly a battle of contrasts that in the end resulted in a 61-53 Gordon victory. We had three players named to the All-Tournament team including the MVP. This tournament has just been the tip of the iceberg. Crap, I already used that cliché? Umm… how about that just got the ball rolling? Let’s go with that one. After starting the season 4-3. We felt we had some real momentum after the tournament but everyone knows conference play is a completely different animal. (See Huskies, Connecticut) we began the family reunion with a 57-49 win against Wentworth Institute of Technology. They start 6′11″, 6′6″, 6′5″ in their front court, a rarity in our conference and it was a matchup between two of the top 10 rebounding teams in the country.  We followed that win up with a hard fought win against a scrappy and much improved Anna Maria team on the road and an 81-58 rivalry win in a “holy war” game against one of the only other Christian Schools in New England, Eastern Nazarene. With that victory we have run our record to 10-3. Those three losses, while still losses, are by a combined 8 points to the #9 team in the country in overtime, MIT,  a quality Westfield State team, and a loss to our biggest rival Endicott College. A couple of different bounces and we could be looking at couple of more wins.

We could play the “what if” game all day and every team in the country has a reason why their record should be better. However, what I want to talk about is the extreme parity I have seen throughout the country this year, especially New England, as evidenced by 4 of the top 5 teams in the country losing last week. No one seems to want to take a stand as the best team in the country. To prove that point, I will use the famed transitive property of basketball to prove who should be dangerous come tournament time.

Bard (1-13) beat Polytechnic (3-9) , who beat Medgar Evers (8-8), who beat Castleton State (7-5), who beat Colby-Sawyer (9-6), who beat Middlebury (14-1 #10 in Top 25). Therefore Bard (1-13) is better than #10 Middlebury (14-1)

Oh that is just the Northeast and it doesn’t work for the rest of the country you say?

MacMurray  (3-10) beat Webster (8-7), who beat Spalding (6-9), who beat Mt. St. Joseph (8-7) , who beat Thomas More (12-4), who beat Transylvania (9-7), who beat Wash U (12-2 #4 in the Top 25). Therefore MacMurray (3-10 ) is better than #4 Wash U (12-2).

Encore? Ok, just this once.

Salve Regina (1-13) beat Connecticut College (6-8), who beat Coast Guard (5-9), who beat Babson (7-8) , who beat Emerson (9-5) , who beat Pomona-Pitzer (6-8) , who beat Whitworth ( 13-2), who beat UW-Whitewater (14-2 #6 in Top 25), who beat UW-Stevens Point (13-1 #1 in Top 25). Therefore Salve Regina (1-13) is better than #1 UW-Stevens Point (13-1)

There are plenty more where these came from. What do they all mean? Absolutely nothing. Except that parity is everywhere in DIII basketball this year.  Everyone knows that the transitive property does not work in sports and the only way to find out if a team is better than anyone else is to play head to head (except in college football where everyone knows computers do a much better job of determining champions.) If a team does not show up ready to play anyone could beat them on any given night. Except maybe if Sig Makofski was coaching.

To us here at D3sports.com, Division III is the highest form of purely amateur athletics in the U.S. It’s where students — note, not “student-athletes” — play for love of the game. Division III competitors get no special treatment, no scholarships, no special privileges, no separate dining halls, no dorms to themselves. They don’t get preferred treatment from their professors; in fact, it’s far more likely they get treated more harshly from teachers who believe they don’t belong in the school.

But distilling that opinion, plus the opinions of hundreds of other Division III true believers, down into a form that can be easily shared and understood, isn’t easy. Here’s how Division III is positioning itself:

“Follow your passions and discover your potential.

“The college experience is a time of learning and growth – a chance to follow passions and develop potential. For student-athletes in Division III, all of this happens most importantly in the classroom and through earning an academic degree. The Division III experience provides for passionate participation in a competitive athletic environment, where student-athletes push themselves to excellence and build upon their academic success with new challenges and life skills. And student-athletes are encouraged to pursue the full spectrum of opportunities available during their time in college. In this way, Division III provides an integrated environment for student-athletes to take responsibility for their own paths, follow their passions and find their potential through a comprehensive learning experience.”

What’s your take?

For more, here’s the NCAA News article on the unveiling.

Having guards like Alex Franz and Camontae Griffin certainly helps Harney steady the ship. Franz joins Coach Harney in this interview to talk about his dynamic back court mate, the CAC race and another sport that’s close to the junior guards’ heart.

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!

The holiday season is filled with lots of great traditions; waking up extra early to open presents, spending time with family, decorating the Christmas tree, watching White Christmas and other traditional Christmas movies, baking Christmas cookies, admiring the beautiful Christmas lights. I love Christmas; for all of these reasons. One of the best traditions is the CBS Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special that plays every year. In that movie, Rudolph travels to an island called “The Island of Misfit Toys.” It is this island that has given rise to my grand theory of DIII basketball. (Trust me, I have thought this through, just stay with me.) While on this island Rudolph and his loveable band of misfits encounter, among other things, an elephant with red spots, a train with square wheels on its caboose, a bird who swims, and a cowboy who rides an ostrich. All of these toys are functional, even endearing some may say, (I mean, wouldn’t you want an elephant with red spots?) but because of one flaw they have been banished to a remote island to toil away in anonymity.

We are the “Division of Misfits.”

In my last posting, I went on a quasi-rant about how most people not associated with DIII basketball do not understand the quality of basketball that happens at our level. Every year there are DIII teams who manage to beat quality DII and DI opponents. This year, we saw Randolph-Macon beat last year’s Patriot League Champion, American. In years past we have seen the likes of Holy Cross, Princeton and George Mason fall at the hands of DIII teams.  While I am not saying Randolph-Macon should make the jump to DI and plan to win the Patriot League this year. I am saying that many DIII teams can compete with teams at levels that are often considered “higher,” on a given night. This is not a fluke. It is because the skill level at each of the NCAA divisions does not differ drastically. The difference is usually one or two attributes, other than individual skills, that push a DI kid above the DIII level (Kevin Durants and Michael Beasleys excluded). A great shooter is a great shooter regardless of division, great post moves are great no matter what the front of the jersey says.  In Division III however, many of the great shooters may not have the quickness or size of a DI guard.  Many post players that I have seen have DI level post players at our level but simply lack 4 inches, a 40 inch vertical, or the foot speed a DI program looks for.

Examples, that’s what this column needs, concrete evidence of what I am talking about. I will leave names out of this, but trust me, I’m not making these players up. The first one is a teammate of mine. He is currently shooting over 60 percent from the 3 point line on over 5 attempts per game. Yes you read that correctly. OVER 60% FROM 3!!!!! I CAN’T STOP USING CAPS!!!!!!! I rebound for him every day in practice and I would put him up against any shooter in the country at any level. Think about that. The best pure shooter in the entire country may play in Division III. The fact that he is not going to throw down a tomahawk dunk anytime soon does not change the fact that he is an elite shooter. My next example comes from another New England Region team. There is a post player who has averaged over 18 points and 8 rebounds per game and on multiple occasions has scored over 40 points in a game. He is the toughest post player we have faced because of his phenomenal post moves and his understanding of post positioning. There is one catch; he’s 6′4″. Give this man 4 inches and he is in a DI program right now. Instead, he is in the division of misfits putting up great numbers and validating our level of play. The last example I will use is of another guard. This player returns this year as a 1^st Team All-Conference selection and is currently averaging 19 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals per game. I recently watched this guy play, and the kid is a stud. He’s one of the quicker guards I have watched, has a great looking jump shot and can get to the rim with ease. Yep you guessed it, there’s a catch. He’s generously listed at 5′4.” Guys with his skill level are all over the Division I level. Division I coaches however, tend to shy away from guys who are shorter than Napoleon. This is their loss and our gain. Players with DI skill level who play at the DIII level only give our division the validity we need to sleep well at night, knowing what a great level of basketball DIII is. We are able to combine the greatest attributes of all divisions. Great basketball, true student-athletes, and players who play for the love of the game.

While I have only given 3 examples I am sure anyone reading this can think of the “misfits” on their team. Seriously. I know you know them.  If you think about it, almost all of us are. And that’s what makes this division great. The country is littered with them and that in and of itself defines a DIII coach’s job. Find the “misfits” and turn them into stars. We have a fraternity of guys who were either not wanted other places or chose DIII because of all it has to offer. Are there any John Walls at the DIII level? Absolutely not. But what we do have is a group of “misfits” who compete at a high level.  And that makes me proud to be a part of the “Division of Misfits.”

“There are five fundamental qualities that make every team great: communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring and pride. I like to think of each as a separate finger on the fist. Any one individually is important. But all of them together are unbeatable.”

-Mike Krzyzewski

Hello again! Last year during film, before yet another tough conference game, I remember Coach Jensen handing out a sheet of paper to every member of our team. When I looked at it, instead of finding the scouting report I had expected, the paper was titled “The Fist”. Following the title was a quote from Coach Krzyzewski with by an explanation of how the human fist was like a team. As coach read the paper aloud, I took the story for the motivation that it was and believed at the time I completely understood Coach’s aspiration for us to work together. However, two weeks ago while on the bus to another game, I had a look at that same sheet of paper and I would have sworn it was a different story written on that page. Through the first half of the Lady Prairiewolves season the idea of “The Fist” had developed to from more than just an idea. After watching our team in our final game of 2009 versus MacMurray College, the idea of our team emulating the fist has finally become a reality.

As the first half of the 2009-2010 season came to a close it is clear our team is making strides past the point of making youthful mistakes and is developing into the team Coach Jensen realized we were capable of being. So far the women’s team here at Nebraska Wesleyan is 4-7 overall and 1-3 in GPAC play. Being a young team, including eleven freshman players and no seniors, there have been a few struggles with consistency. At times mistakes have been made that many would chalk up to our inexperience, but Coach has never been accepting of that as an excuse and because of his guidance our team is quickly growing up and taking bigger steps toward the goals we have made for the program at Nebraska Wesleyan. To accomplish these goals we always keep TWW (Together We Win) in the back of our minds and in the last three games of 2009 that mentality was illustrated through team defense and putting our teammates ahead of ourselves. In our last three games we have had at least two players scoring in double digits per game and nearly every player seeing time and making their own contribution. The Lady Prairiewolves have been dishing out an average of ten assists a game and producing shots for one another with strong ball movement. On the other end of the floor with physical defense the ladies have been holding opponents to shooting an average of 33% from the field and causing about 20 turnovers a game.

Entering the second half of the season, after coming off solid team effort at MacMurray, where all 12 varsity players saw playing time and contributed not only defensively but also to the scoring column, I see our team forming into the fist that Coach has been hoping to see. With eleven games under our belt, we have shown flashes of what we are capable of and seen that we can accomplish great things. The next two months encompass all conference games for our team and in the GPAC there is not a night that one can relax because the competition is so strong. However, as our consistency has been rising to higher levels, so will our ability to compete in one of the toughest conferences. Wesleyan’s team is looking to start off the year with three solid wins against very tough competition from Northwestern, Concordia, and University of Sioux Falls.

Before this season started, our team met one evening to discuss what the core values of our program would be for this year, in other words decide the guiding principles for everything that would be done within our program this season. Among the six values chosen was Unity. To our team unity is more than just teamwork, it is being there for one another 100% of the time on and off the floor. Starting the second half of this season, I see unity among my teammates and because they are there for each other all the time their play on the floor is progressing to the level we all had hoped was possible. Going back to the sheet of paper that Coach handed me nearly a year ago, the light bulb finally came on and I saw my team as I read that story. The Lady Prairiewolves are made up of a special group of girls, all talented in their own ways, but as our unity has begun to bring us together at this point in the season, we are beginning to create our own fist and plan to be joining the ranks of the unbeatables.