Courtesy of Joe AngelesWhen D3hoops.com released its first weekly Top 25 poll back in late November, Virginia Wesleyan College, The College of Wooster, and Amherst College held the top three places. Washington University, apparently in rebuilding mode, sat almost at the very bottom of the “Others Receiving Votes” category. Though no one tabulates such factoids, the young Bears squad was technically ranked 50th in the season’s initial poll.
The voters proved prescient with respect to the first three teams, as each member of that elite trio ultimately wound up qualifying for last weekend’s Division III Final Four in Salem, Va. But their hardwood acumen failed miserably in determining who might end up as the fourth participant. That fourth squad to make it to D3 basketball’s grandest stage was the one they once had as 50th, Wash. U.
When the clock finally struck zero in Wash. U.’s Friday evening national semifinal contest against Virginia Wesleyan, the once unheralded, unranked Bears had fallen just milliseconds short of competing in the national title game the following afternoon, losing 67-65 to the defending champion Marlins. Tyler Nading appeared to have hit a basket as time expired, but the officials ruled that the sophomore swingman’s shot attempt was released just after the horn sounded, discounting the bucket and thwarting the Bears’ hopes of winning a national championship.
By far the youngest team in Salem, the Red and Green had its championship dreams dashed by a veteran Marlins club that was playing in front of a favorable crowd about four hours from its Norfolk campus. VWC would go on to lose to Amherst the following afternoon in the national title game, 80-67.
As difficult a loss as Friday’s was to take, the UAA and regional champion Bears went on to knock off Wooster in Saturday’s consolation game, 92-84, to finish the 2006-2007 campaign third in the nation with a final record of 25-5. It was the first time in head Coach Mark Edwards’ 26 year tenure that a Wash. U. team has advanced to the Final Four and no one was disappointed.
“By the time a season ends, you usually say well that was fun but its time for a rest,” said Edwards. “I really don’t feel that way this year. I felt that it was a really invigorating and enjoyable year right up to the last buzzer.”
Along the road to Salem, the surprise upstarts stunned then-number one ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point the previous Friday in Sweet 16 play. Wash. U. knocked off the highly touted Pointers, 78-66 before a sold-out crowd in Stevens Point. The Bears followed that victory with a riveting 58-55 triumph over Hope College in the regional championship game the next night, also at Stevens Point.
Retracing the best season in Wash. U. basketball history
In a certain sense, it’s difficult to fault prognosticators for initially overlooking the Bears. On paper, the team had lost two key contributors from the previous season, in seven-footer Mike Grunst and three-point specialist Scott Stone. Last year’s starting point guard Neal Griffin, a senior, opted not to play this season, leaving the team less depth at the position. Making matters considerably worse was the early-season loss of junior captain Danny O’Boyle to injury.
Although Wash. U. played well in the season’s beginning stages, Sean Wallis’ early season proclamation that the team’s goal was to win a national championship nonetheless came off as a naive, if not an obligatory bromide from a novice point guard who had just been handed control of a young offense.
But basketball isn’t played over obscure Internet message boards, and the denizens of D3 basketball junkies who annually forecast the season often neglect to take into account the clich‚d but vital factors which ultimately propelled the Bears to a run at the title: an unmitigated passion for the game and high basketball I.Q., a rejuvenated student fan base, and loads of heart. Throw in a trio of terrific first-years and the marked improvement of several returnees and one begins to understand the squad’s rise to the zenith of the Division III basketball world.
The squad blossomed progressively throughout the year, winning 16 of their first 17 games, including 13 straight at one point. The Bears opened the first half of league play with a perfect 7-0 record, highlighted by a weekend in which the team took a close win over Brandeis and a shocking comeback victory over NYU in overtime. Even the team’s two straight losses the following weekend on the road against the same opponents served as valuable experiences.
“Being able to play against pressure is very important in the tournament. Our team never became unglued in tough situations,” said junior captain Troy Ruths, citing the triple overtime loss to Brandeis on the road in addition to the overtime win against NYU at the Field House as key examples.
The very Achilles heels which typically burden young basketball teams-namely the numerous variations of on and off-court inexperience-actually buoyed Wash. U.’s unanticipated success. The team unambiguously bought into Edwards’ up-tempo offense and it paid great dividends. The squad’s style of controlled chaos on the offensive end left room for a slightly larger learning curve; mistakes proved less costly, since the fast-pace allowed the team more possessions, more opportunities to score.
Additionally, there was a healthy amount of youthful naivet‚ apparent from the season’s outset, prompting Wallis to say that the lack of high expectations allowed the team to play especially freely. “We didn’t really understand the magnitude of what was going on,” said the second-year guard. “That definitely helped us knock off some of the teams we knocked off and play the basketball we wanted to play without worrying about meeting the expectations of others.”
While Edwards didn’t deny that the team’s youthfulness may have proven beneficial, the veteran coach believes the overall character of his team pushed the squad to its first-ever Final Four. “You were put at ease by your own teammates. They don’t worry about making a mistake. They just go out and play,” he said.
Even so, few could have fathomed the level of poise which came to define the team’s character. Or maybe, if the skeptics had done a bit more homework, they could have. After all, just two shorts years ago Wallis had teamed with current Duke star John Scheyer to lead his Glenbrook North High School team to an Illinois state title before 14,000 fans in Peoria.
Nading paired with NBA prospect and Gonzaga star Matt Bouldin at Thunder Ridge High School in Colorado, where he won a state championship and competed in two others. Reserve sophomore guard Phil Syvertsen routinely competed in front of massive crowds in suburban Chicago, as the tenacious defensive specialist called Notre Dame star Colin Falls as well as Michael Jordan’s son teammates. Freshman forward Cam Smith, a key contributor in his rookie season, lost a quarterfinal high school state tournament game in Indiana after Indiana University-bound Eric Gordon dropped 45 points in a two-point win.
But no amount of previous immersion in big-time basketball environments can compare to the leadership and statistical dominance provided by Ruths. The third-year center from Sugar Land, Texas will be remembered as the offensive and defensive focal point of the 2007 Bears, without whose presence such a tournament run would have been little more than a quixotic dream. Despite routinely facing double-teams, Ruths averaged 19 points and eight rebounds on the year.
It’s often stated that unlike at the Division I level where guard play is generally deemed the ‘X’ factor in winning championships, Division III titles are won by strong post play. Ruths proved the adage true.
“Teams keyed on him so much, yet what was really amazing was his ability to get others involved. It’s a testament to how good he really is,” said Wallis.
Ruths was far from the team’s only dynamic weapon, however. Wallis joined the big man on the UAA all first-team and also took home the Midwest regional MVP award. The 6’1″ second-year floor general also was named to the Final Four All-Tournament team.
Nading, the versatile small forward who gained Conference Rookie of the Year honors last season continued to establish himself as one of the best players in the UAA. His 15 points and six rebounds per game ranked him second on the team in both categories. Nading also emerged as one of the league’s best defenders.
Freshman Aaron Thompson, a lights-out three point shooter, won the UAA Rookie of the Year award, after starting 26 of 30 contests. He entered the starting line-up the game after O’Boyle’s injury and never looked back, averaging over seven points an outing after making the transition to the starting five with ease.
Sophomore Phil Syvertsen and Nick Nikitas, the team’s lone senior starter, added meaningful minutes for the 2007 Bears. Nikitas hit on over 40% of his three-point attempts and shot an uncanny 29-30 from the charity stripe. The silky smooth suburban Chicago product was the only senior on the team who played at least ten minutes a night.
What’s next for the team?
The same skeptics of three months ago are now believers. With four of five starters returning next season and a deep bench also coming back, Wash. U. has instantaneously experienced a role reversal. Once the hunters, the Bears have now become the hunted. Wallis noted that already since he has been back, members of what, over the course of the year, became quite a large student fan base have told him they plan on being in Salem next year for the Final Four. Nading said that fans in Virginia told the team they expected to see Wash. U. back as well.
But the players have expressed no fear of a let-down, insisting they are looking forward to the challenge. And there’s good reason to believe them. After all, to a man, each member of the squad insisted the team had Final Four potential this year, no matter what was said by the doubters.
“Were going to be playing with a target on our back. But I don’t think that’s something we’ll struggle with,” said Nading. “But I do think we’ve raised the bar as far as expectations for Wash. U. men’s basketball goes, which is good. Those are expectations we want to have.”
There’s only one thing the team hopes to change next year. The third-place trophy looks awful pretty, but the possibility of obtaining another piece of hardware will have to wait another year.
“I only wish it could have been a championship banner. But that’s for next year, right?” said Troy Ruths.
Right.