Back To The Future: A Division II Dynasty

[jksander]

May 1, 1938
It’s an exciting time to be a fan of college basketball! The NCAA has launched two divisions of athletic competition: Divisions I and II. And here in Winona, home of Winona State, our little school is getting a chance to compete at the DII level with a basketball team called the Warriors. We’ve built up a great deal of support for our fledgling basketball program, and we’ll start out with solid facilities through which to attract quality competitive players. In that vein, we’ve recruited a 38-year-old coach who is well versed in this young man’s game. He is already building a staff of coaching assistants who will soon be scouring the region for top players as we head into year one of this exciting venture.

You’ll get plenty more on him later, just keep your eyes out!

Player Note: Since I’m setting the game in 1938, there are oddities you’ll have to just suspend disbelief on, particularly the monetary values of coach salaries and recruiting costs, and the idea of the NCAA having a DII level with 352 teams back in the early days of college basketball.

Coach Information
Name: Jonathan Sanders (38)
Experience: 1st year (0-0)
Contract: 4 years / $415,000
Offense: 74
Defense: 58
Recruiting: 80
Scouting: 49
Development: 64
Reputation: 50
Ambition: Very High
Academics: High
Discipline: High
Temper: Average
Integrity: Very High

Assistants
Associate HC: John Branson (59) – Recruiting (66) – 4 years / $84,000
1st Assistant: Jim Latimer (60) – Scouting (30) – 4 years / $48,000
2nd Assistant: Keith Kennedy (43) – Development (76) – 4 years / $23,000

School Info
School: Winona State Warriors
Location: Winona MN
Arena: McCown Gym (3,500 capacity)
Facilities: A- (SAT Min. 900)
Academics: C+
Conference: NorthStar Athletic
Conf. Prestige: 38/100
Team Prestige: 50/100
Rival: Bemidji State
Starting Budget: $222,500
Assistant Costs: $155,000
Scouting Budget: $67,500

Team Goals
Qualify for D2 NCAA Championship Tournament
Finish in the top half of the NorthStar Atlantic Conference
Finish above .500 for the season
Improve the school’s prestige

[jksander]

June 26, 1938
We’ll attend the Chicago Prep Revue and the Indy Elite Camp this year in search of recruits. We will be utilizing the Midwest Basic scouting report for regional recruiting information. We’ll have $29,700 remaining with which to recruit two players to join our team next year. I have high expectations and will be searching for the top in-state and regional players we can acquire.

I expect my teams to have solid scoring ability, but to also be focused on defense above all else. If we get into a shootout, we’ll win it. But the ultimate sign of a well-coached team is one whose players can focus on defense and win games without making dozens of preventable mistakes. We’re going to be a hard team to beat when players follow my system, and an exciting one to watch. And if people nationally are ignoring us initially, they won’t be able to consistently do so for long.

August 1, 1938
Steve Booth, our Junior shooting guard, has been named a Norton candidate for the year. The contest will eventually lead to naming of the season’s National All American teams, and is a huge honor whether or not he advances in the late-season cuts. We’ve also been notified that our Warriors will be ranked #18 in the very first AP Coaches Poll for Division II, putting us in solid company.
 
September 25, 1938
We’ve built ourselves a challenging schedule for the year, opening up with the Coaches Classic in November, and including six of 10 non-tournament games taking place on the road. We’ll potentially have at least seven ranked opponents before opening conference competition, including road games at #5 Southern Indiana, #1 Kentucky Wesleyan, #16 Drury and #25 Coker, along with home games against #3 Queens, #7 Bridgeport and #11 Gannon. We should easily have the toughest schedule in the nation, and we’ll need my team firing on all cylinders if we’re going to prove ourselves against that kind of firing line.

We also nabbed our top two recruits via verbal commitments, giving us what should be a top 10 class for the coming season. 6’7” SF Julian Cabrera (Highland Park MI, Highland Park HS) comes in ranked #33 Nationally (7th among SFs) and he’s got stellar overall potential to go with scoring, handling, rebounding, blocking and an ability to score at will inside or out. Meanwhile, 6’7” PF Antawn Crosbie, Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball from Morris MN, is #41 nationally and 6th among PFs, with killer ratings in everything but passing, handling and free-throw shooting. He looks to be an all around stud on the court, and if he’s not a Norton candidate as a freshman, he will be as a sophomore.

November
13-19 – Coaches Classic
21 - @ #5 Southern Indiana
24 - @ Lincoln
28 - @ #1 Kentucky Wesleyan

December
1 - #3 Queens
5 - #7 Bridgeport
8 - @ Indiana (PA)
13 – Bemidji State
15 - @ #16 Drury
19 - @ #25 Coker
26 - #11 Gannon

January
2 - @ Minnesota State
5 – Concordia-St. Paul
9 - @ Michigan Tech
12 – Minot State
16 - @ Saginaw Valley State
19 – Northern State
23 - @ Minnesota St.-Moorehead
26 - @ Sioux Falls
30 – Concordia

February
2 - @ Wayne State
6 – Mary
9 – Black Hills State
13 - @ South Dakota M&T
16 – Minnesota State
20 - @ Concordia-St. Paul
23 – Michigan Tech

1938-39 Team Roster
PG – Jerrance Smith (6’1” 174 lbs Sr) Anoka MN (Anoka HS) 3.0 GPA
SG – Steve Booth (6’1” 195 lbs Jr) Crosby MN (Crosby-Ironton HS) 3.6 GPA
SF – Anthony Soward (6’4” 215 lbs Fr) Lamberton MN (Red Rock Central HS) 2.7 GPA
PF – Rickey James (6’5” 183 lbs Jr) St. Paul MN (Como Park HS) 3.2 GPA
C – Roy Wright (6’7” 225 lbs Fr) Dawson MN (Dawson-Boyd HS) 3.0 GPA

6 - Drew Greenleaf (6’9” 210 lbs Fr) Henning MN (Henning HS) 2.2 GPA
7 - Eddie Dunleavy (6’7” 226 lbs Sr) Minneapolis MN (North Community HS) 2.9 GPA
8 – Warren Holiday (6’3” 203 lbs So) Sleepy Eye MN (St. Mary’s HS) 2.8 GPA
9 – Kevin Young (6’5” 218 lbs Jr) Kirkland IL (Hiawatha HS) 2.2 GPA
10 – Josh Penney (6’6” 171 lbs Sr) Burnsville MN (Burnsville HS) 2.7 GPA
11 – Stephen Louis (6’7” 236 lbs Jr) Chaska MN (Southwest Christian HS) 3.2 GPA
12 – Brian Kincaid (6’10” 252 lbs So) Silver Bay MN (W.M. Kelley HS) 2.1 GPA
13 – Dave Jones (6’11” 237 lbs So) Worthington MN (Worthington HS) 2.2 GPA
14 – Andrae Jessie (6’8” 225 lbs Fr) Fridley MN (Totino-Grace HS) 3.2 GPA
15 – Jim Lackey (6’10” 244 lbs Fr) Springfield MN (Springfield HS) 3.8 GPA

[jksander]

November 13, 1938
COACHES CLASSIC FIRST ROUND
Arkansas-Monticello (0-0) @ #18 Winona State (0-0)

The Boll Weevils were no match for us early, as we built a solid 24-15 lead on them with ten minutes left in the first half. But they fought back to make the game interesting down the stretch, and by halftime we trailed 41-43. A Jerrance Smith three-pointer put us back on top 46-44 with 19:00 to go in the game, and though we worked to build our lead, UAMO kept it close. We led 63-56 with 9:27 remaining, and with 5:25 to go we’d extended our lead to ten, up 72-62. And we stymied them down the stretch from there to win this one 88-72.

Unfortunately, Norton candidate Steve Booth broke his nose a few minutes into the first half, and will miss the next two months. Unbelievable. Eddie Soward will move to shooting guard, while Eddie Dunleavy will come off the bench to start at small forward.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (19 pts 3 reb 1 ast)
Honorable Mentions: Eddie Dunleavy (12 pts 7 reb 3 ast) Jerrance Smith (10 pts 3 reb 8 ast 1 stl 1 blk)

November 15, 1938
COACHES CLASSIC QUARTERFINALS
Delta State (1-0) @ #18 Winona State (1-0)

With 13:11 to go in the first half we held a 17-6 lead on the Statesmen, and our offense was ferocious as we hit triple after triple to build a 30-16 lead with 8:39 to go. By halftime we were blowing them out of the water 60-37, led by Anthony Soward’s 24 points! The pace slowed as it often does in such games, but we were dominant as ever and Delta State never had a shot of getting back into this one. We advanced to the Semifinals with a 91-72 victory.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (40 pts 3 reb)
Honorable Mentions: Rickey James (12 pts 19 reb 3 stl 3 blk) Jerrance Smith (18 pts 2 reb 6 ast 1 stl 2 blk)

November 17, 1938
COACHES CLASSIC SEMIFINALS
Lees-McRae (2-0) @ #18 Winona State (2-0)

The winner of this game is guaranteed a game against a ranked opponent for the finals (either a matchup against Drury or Augusta State). Lees-McRae got out to a 5-8 lead on us early, but with 13:52 to go we went ahead 10-8 via a Soward bucket. We never looked back, building a 22-14 lead with 9:26 to play and coasting to lead 49-29 at the half. The Bobcats all but gave up the fight from there, and we were able to pummel our way into the championship game, winning 95-67.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (30 pts 3 reb 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Roy Wright (9 pts 18 reb 2 stl 6 blk) Rickey James (15 pts 5 reb 1 ast)

November 19, 1938
COACHES CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#16 Drury (3-0) @ #18 Winona State (3-0)

So we’ll get two games against Drury this season, all the more reason to clobber them now and prove our mettle before we have to march into their gym later in December! We blitzed our way to a 14-4 lead on the Panthers in the first four minutes of the game, and on a neutral court they couldn’t match us – not even close. We led 36-14 with 9:29 to go in the half, coasting from there to sew this up by halftime 55-37. We’d go on to win this in a blowout, 101-68, taking with it the title and an immediate jump to the top of the AP Poll!

We know we’ll be tested now that we have this target on our backs, but we’ve got a strong slate of challengers ready and willing to knock us off this perch if we get sloppy.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (26 pts 2 reb 2 ast 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Roy Wright (17 pts 8 reb 1 stl 3 blk) Eddie Dunleavy (22 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 stl)

[jksander]

November 21, 1938
#1 Winona State (4-0) @ #13 Southern Indiana (2-0)

We built up an 18-9 lead on USI with 12:47 to go in the first half, but the Screaming Eagles kept it close down the stretch, pulling within a 26-25 margin with 4:32 to play. We led 38-34 at the half but were seeing a lot more fight than we had from any previous opponent, and Roy Wright and Jerrance Smith were already in foul trouble.

USI fought hard in the second half, keeping the game within a possession, then tying it 49-49 with 15:32 to play. They took their first lead of the game moments later, and from there we were in a dogfight. Kevin Young got a great steal and dished it to Roy Wright who scored on a stunning dunk to put us back ahead 55-53 with 13:27 to play, but USI was right there to fight us shot for shot, and they again led 59-60 with 11:32 to go. We went on a solid 9-3 run over the next three minutes to expand our lead to five, and we broke it open from there to lead 76-63 with just 6:04 to play. We pounded them from there to win this one 93-73 once we’d broken their defense.

Eddie Dunleavy is out for at least two weeks due to a severely bruised shoulder. Drew Greenleaf will step in to play a bigger role during that time.

Player of the Game: Jerrance Smith (27 pts 2 reb 6 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Rickey James (15 pts 13 reb 3 stl 2 blk) Roy Wright (16 pts 7 reb 2 ast 4 blk)
 
November 24, 1938
#1 Winona State (5-0) @ Lincoln (1-2)

Lincoln was no match for us in the early minutes of the game, and we built a 15-8 lead on them with 11:15 to go in the first half. But our depleted starting five, now with two former bench players occupying starting spots, suffered from the expanded workload, and our bench players let them sneak back in. Our lead of 22-21 with 7:17 to play in the half was tenuous at best, and Lincoln’s fans sensed the chance to upset the #1 team in the nation in what was supposed to be a “money game.” But they never quite closed the gap and we built our lead down the stretch and at least held a 39-35 advantage at the break.

With Soward neutralized by foul trouble and an overall poor shooting night, the Lions kept at us in the second half, but with 14:40 to play in the game we’d built our lead to ten, up 51-41. And they didn’t have the depth to successfully counter. With 9:12 remaining we led 63-50, and the game became a blowout from there once Soward started really hitting his outside shots. We won easily, 90-62.

Player of the Game: Rickey James (21 pts 11 reb 1 stl 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Jerrance Smith (19 pts 3 reb 5 ast 1 stl) Drew Greenleaf (6 pts 10 reb 3 ast 1 stl) Anthony Soward (17 pts 3 ast)

November 28, 1938
#1 Winona State (6-0) @ Kentucky Wesleyan (2-2)

We led quickly 12-5 against the Panthers, who were preseason #1 but are now battling to find a sense of place in a season that’s quickly running away from them. But they’re a good shooting team, and they were able to fight to stick with us so our lead was only six, up 26-20, with 11:21 to play in the half. And their defense clamped down on us over the following three minute stretch, tying us 28-28 with 7:02 to go before halftime. They’d lead 40-41 at the half, our first “trailing” half of the season.

The Panthers controlled the tip and the first few minutes of the second half, expanding their lead to five and dictating the pace of the game, up 44-49 with 16:21 to go. We tied it up 53-53 with 11:30 left, and Rickey James got a great rebound to score two off his own missed shot a minute later to put us ahead 55-53. We built our lead back to ten, up 63-53 with just under seven to play, and Wesleyan looked gassed from there. They were the first team to hold us under 80 on offense, but it wasn’t enough as we stumped them 78-63 to remain undefeated.

Player of the Game: Rickey James (19 pts 20 reb 6 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Anthony Soward (20 pts 2 reb 2 stl 1 blk) Roy Wright (12 pts 12 reb 2 ast 1 stl 2 blk)

December 1, 1938
#8 Queens (4-1) @ #1 Winona State (7-0)

I’m told by our trainer that we won’t get Dunleavy back until the Bemidji State game. And we won’t get Steve Booth back until at least our 5th conference game of the season, our road trip to Saginaw Valley State on January 16th.

Our focus tonight was on our return to home, bringing with us the #8 team in the nation for a “playoff potential” game. The Royals drew first blood but with 15:38 to play in the half we’d taken our first lead, 6-4, on a Greenleaf dunk and we turned it into an early blowout, up 30-15 with 9:02 left before the break. Anthony “Sure Shot” Soward was in great form, helping put Queens College in a 52-30 chokehold at the break with his 14 points, while Rickey James already had 13 points and eight boards. We dethroned the Royals in humiliating fashion from there, leading 80-53 with 9:24 to play and coasting to victory by a 99-69 margin.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (31 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Rickey James (19 pts 11 reb 3 ast 2 blk) Jerrance Smith (9 pts 1 reb 8 ast 1 stl 1 blk)

[PointGuard]

That college is appropriately named: WINona State...or maybe even Win-On-A State College.

[jksander]

That college is appropriately named: WINona State...or maybe even Win-On-A State College.

Keeping an eye on Coker ... they're 7-0 and #8 right now, and they're our last non-conference game ... on our court, but they're looking quite good. Wayne State, in our conference, is 4-1 but with the #1 RPI in the nation due to having several key top 25 opponents coming up as well. So they could be dangerous as well.

[SouthernRebel]

amazing start

[jksander]

December 5, 1938
#25 Bridgeport (4-2) @ #1 Winona State (8-0)

Bridgeport came into this game scared and they never found a way into it. We led 26-12 with 10:21 to go in the half and by the time we reached the break we had them in a 54-37 hole. The final result was staggering as we beat them soundly 95-53.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (26 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Roy Wright (19 pts 7 reb 4 blk) Rickey James (11 pts 15 reb 2 ast 1 blk)

December 8, 1938
#1 Winona State (9-0) @ Indiana (PA) (3-3)

Indiana (PA) kept us on our toes early from a defensive standpoint, both teams knotted at 8-8 with 12:52 to play in the half. The game went back and forth from there, but we weren’t able to get any real traction going and trailed 25-26 with just 5:02 remaining in the first half. Strong shooting down the stretch, however, allowed us to go into the break leading the Crimson Hawks 39-31, led by Soward’s 16 first-half points. We built a nearly 20-point lead early in the second half but the Hawks kept clawing back. With 7:02 to go they nailed a triple to cut our margin to 60-49, and with 5:14 to go it was a two-possession ballgame, our lead diced to five, up 60-55. Our offense stagnant at the worst possible time, our defense seemed to completely sag as well, and with 4:20 remaining they knotted it 60-60, capping a 14-2 run for Indiana (PA). We survived because they got into foul trouble and we hit our free-throws, but this 74-66 victory was far closer than it looked on the final scoreboard.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (18 pts 1 reb 1 ast)
[b]Honorable Mention[/b]: Stephen Louis (11 pts 3 reb 2 ast 2 stl 1 blk)

December 13, 1938
Bemidji State (3-5) @ #1 Winona State (10-0)

Dunleavy returned to the lineup for today’s game, our yearly rivalry matchup with Bemidji State. The Beavers were no match for us this year, as we blitzed our way to a 14-5 lead in the first four minutes. By halftime we led 56-26 and from there it was only a matter of running out the clock on Bemidji. We blasted them in the end 90-60 to remain undefeated.

Player of the Game: Roy Wright (20 pts 17 reb 3 ast 1 stl 3 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Anthony Soward (31 pts 3 reb 2 ast) Jerrance Smith (7 pts 2 reb 11 ast 2 blk)

On Wednesday we saw two of our conference fellows win big games against ranked foes. Sioux Falls blasted #10 West Liberty on the road 79-67, while Wayne State won a shootout while hosting #2 Humboldt State, 106-99 in regulation! I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re not the only ranked team in the conference after the weekend.
 
December 15, 1938
#1 Winona State (11-0) @ Drury (6-5)

We got out to a fast start, but Drury was right with us early and we knew this wasn’t going to be a repeat of our neutral court whipping of the Panthers back in the Coaches Classic. They led 14-16 with 13:14 remaining in the half, and despite solid three-point shooting from our boys, we remained knotted 20-20 with 10:12 to play. From there Drury put up an 11-3 run and seemed to have a real hold on this one. By halftime we were in deep, trailing 27-40 and needing to really shake things up in the second half.

Drury started the second half playing like they really wanted their national ranking back. We trailed 34-48 with 16:25 to go, but a 7-2 run in the next 90 seconds got us moving in the right direction, and with 11:43 to go we only trailed the Panthers by three, down 49-52! “Sure Shot” Soward tied us at 52 just seconds later, and this was back to being our ballgame. Drury kept it close, trailing us 62-60 with 7:53 remaining, but our depth wore them down in the end. We stumped them down the stretch and won this easily in a 90-67 blowout.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (34 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Kevin Young (17 pts 1 reb 1 ast) Jerrance Smith (10 pts 4 reb 9 ast 4 stl)

Roy Wright broke his elbow and will miss the next two months. Power forward Drew Greenleaf will come back into the starting lineup to play center in his place. Meanwhile, our next game could be the biggest of our season, as we’ll take on the #3 Coker Cobras on their court, as a battle of undefeateds. They currently have the #1 RPI in the nation to our #5, but without the benefit of a national tournament to open their season they’ve had to make a slow climb up the rankings. They’ll come into this one with a big chip on their shoulders, and we’re gonna have to be ready.

[Wayne23]

Great start but a tough break, no pun intended.

[jksander]

December 19, 1938
#1 Winona State (12-0) @ #3 Coker (9-0)

We got out to a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes, but the Cobras were quick to strike back, and with 15:15 to play we were knotted 11-11, and the game quickly turned into a “shoot-out-the-lights” contest with Coker holding a 26-30 lead with 9:20 to go in the half. And for the first time this year we found ourselves outmatched in that regard, as Coker simply seemed unstoppable from anywhere on the court, taking us into the break trailing 45-55.

Coker took control early in the second half, but we remained within ten, down 54-64, with 14:21 to play thanks to a triple by Rickey James that took their crowd out of the game a bit. But their defense was stifling. We’d find ourselves quickly wearing down against a team as deep (or perhaps deeper!) than ours. With 10:34 to go we trailed 61-74, and we weren’t able to close that gap. The Cobras took us out of the game quickly and effectively, strangling our chances of an undefeated season with this 82-106 loss.

Player of the Game: Rickey James (16 pts 13 reb 3 ast 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Jerrance Smith (18 pts 3 reb 8 ast 1 blk) Eddie Dunleavy (11 pts 6 reb 2 ast)

Coker fans have plenty of reason to feel snubbed … despite beating us soundly and decisively, they FELL to #4 while we held our own at #1 in the polls heading into our last non-conference game of the season. They can at least remain proud that they are now the only undefeated team left in the nation.

Saginaw Valley State, meanwhile, is on a TEAR … their 9-2 record heading into this week (on an eight game win-streak, no less!) earned them a #21 ranking, giving our conference a boost.
 
December 26, 1938
Gannon (6-3) @ #1 Winona State (12-1)

Gannon’s Golden Knights tried to match us in a shoot-off but we held a 26-21 lead on them with 9:53 to play in the first half, their team never within real spitting distance of stealing our lead. By halftime we led 49-38, and we outscored them 9-0 in the first three minutes of the second half. Leading 76-52 with 10:06 to play, we coasted from there to dominate this one 99-71.

Player of the Game: Rickey James (32 pts 18 reb 2 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Anthony Soward (36 pts 2 ast 3 stl) Eddie Dunleavy (11 pts 7 reb 2 ast)

Pre-Conference Standings
NorthStar Athletic East
(01) #1 Winona State (13-1) – RPI: 1
(02) #13 Saginaw Valley State (11-2) – RPI: 4
(03) Minnesota St.-Moorehead (8-4) –RPI: 106
(04) Michigan Tech (7-4) – RPI: 60
(05) Wayne State (7-4) – RPI: 11
(06) Concordia-St. Paul (6-5) – RPI: 125
(07) Loras (5-6) – RPI: 160
(08) Concordia (4-7) – RPI: 283

NorthStar Athletic West
(01) #24 Sioux Falls (9-2) – RPI: 12
(02) Black Hills State (7-4) – RPI: 163
(03) Minnesota State (8-5) – RPI: 37
(04) Augustana (7-5) – RPI: 123
(05) Northern State (6-5) – RPI: 100
(06) Mary (5-6) – RPI: 135
(07) South Dakota M&T (5-6) – RPI: 314
(08) Minot State (4-7) – RPI: 327