Back To The Future: A Division II Dynasty

[jksander]

Season 2
1939-40

Coach Information
Name: Jonathan Sanders (39)
Experience: 2nd year (34-4)
Conference Titles: 1 (1939)
D2 National Tourn. Appearances: 1 (1939)
D2 Final Fours: 1 (1939)
All Conference Players: 3
Contract: 3 years / $415,000
Offense: 80 (+6)
Defense: 64 (+6)
Recruiting: 82 (+2)
Scouting: 52 (+3)
Development: 71 (+7)
Reputation: 58 (+8)
Ambition: Very High
Academics: High
Discipline: High
Temper: Average
Integrity: Very High

Assistants
Associate HC: John Branson (60) – Recruiting (69, +3) – 3 years / $84,000
1st Assistant: Jim Latimer (61) – Scouting (30, --) – 3 years / $48,000
2nd Assistant: Keith Kennedy (44) – Development (77, +1) – 3 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: 45/100 (+7)
Team Prestige: 62/100 (+12)
Rival: Bemidji State
Starting Budget: $222,500
Assistant Costs: $155,000
Scouting Budget: $67,500

Team Goals
Qualify for D2 NCAA Championship Tournament
Repeat as NorthStar Athletic Tournament Champions
Win 20+ Games during the season
Improve the school’s prestige
 
May 1, 1939
We will have four scholarships to fill this season on the same budget we had last year. I requested a bump from the board but they seemed happy with the results I’d already gotten with the money they’ve given me. We’ll see if I can repeat last year’s results and then convince them to make some moves. Our two-man recruiting class for last season is ranked 4th nationally, so we are likely to remain in the national spotlight early on this season.

Jerrance Smith was drafted 21st overall to join the NBA this coming season and play professionally.

[jksander]

August 7, 1939
We are targeting a couple point guards as well as a pair of small forwards who can also be capable of playing at SG. This is an important year for us, with four key players graduating and plenty of room to build up our back-court, as we’ve been very forward / center reliant aside from Jerrance Smith, who graduated and leaves us with a leadership hole.

That said, we’ve got a killer team heading into the new season, with FIVE PLAYERS nominated for the Norton Award – Julian Cabrera as a freshman, as well as Rickey James, Steve Booth, Anthony Soward and Roy Wright! Any of our four returning nominees are capable of earning All America status, while Julian Cabrera (barring a spectacular freshman season) is unlikely to make it past the first or second cut.

We’re pre-season ranked #1 and will have that target on our back as many feel we should have been able to win the title last year – something I feel I’ll have to take the blame for as a leader. This year’s recruiting is going to play a huge role in deciding whether I’ve been good just at making use of what others helped me put together or whether I’m truly gifted at bringing talent in myself.

[jksander]

September 18, 1939
We’ve filled two of our scholarship spots! Vernard Wesley of Dansville, Michigan’s Dansville High comes in ranked 51st nationally and 6th in the region, the top point guard in the midwest! He has a killer outside shot and can pass, handle and even rebound (at 6’2” he’s one of the best overall athletes for his size in the class). Meanwhile, David Stockman, a 6’6” forward from Milan High (in Milan, Indiana) comes in ranked 47th and the top at his position in the class as well. He’s a more raw prospect but is very athletic. He may be a potential redshirt candidate.

Finishing up work on our schedule now – we’re looking for good teams here at home, but I don’t need to make us run a gauntlet like last year. We’re preseason #1, with Saginaw Valley State (#3) and Sioux Falls (#4) on our heels. Coker starts out the year preseason ranked #2, which has to stick in their craw at least a bit considering they beat us twice and won the national title. But hey, I’ll take it. It’s a target on your back no matter which way you look at it.
 
September 25, 1939
Here is our schedule for the 1939-40 basketball season. We’ll have a fairly brutal November, and the game at Kentucky Wesleyan will be one to mark on the calendar, but we do have some lighter games on the schedule. It is a lot of time on the road (six games plus a traveling tournament) but we’ll have a good clue how ready we are for the conference gauntlet once we get past Christmas.

November
16 - @ #23 BYU – Hawaii
19 - #8 Southern Indiana
21-23 – Heroes Memorial Tournament (vs. Pfeiffer in 1st round)
26 - @ West Texas A&M
30 - @ Fremont State

December
3 – Davenport
7 - @ Valdosta State
10 – Mount Olive
13 - @ Bemidji State
21 - @ #5 Kentucky Wesleyan
28 – Alaska Fairbanks

January
4 – Michigan Tech
7 - @ Concordia-St. Paul
11 - @ Minnesota State
14 - #3 Saginaw Valley State
18 - @ Minot State
21 – Minnesota St.-Moorehead
25 - @ Northern State
28 - @ Wayne State

February
1 – Concordia
4 - @ #4 Sioux Falls
8 – Mary
11 – Black Hills State
15 - @ Loras
18 - @ Michigan Tech
22 – Concordia-St. Paul
25 – Minnesota State

We got our third recruit to commit this week as well, Erik Thomas of Cumberland, Virginia’s Cumberland High. Though he’s surprisingly short for playing at this level (just 5’5” and a lean 165 pounds) I see him as a diamond in the rough I can mold into a solid sixth man for this team by the time he reaches his junior year. He’ll get playing time off the bench early, and he has a ton of potential. He’s just raw and untested.

We have one scholarship still outstanding, to a top player here in Minnesota. Hoping we nail this one down this week! We’re down to our last $5,000 in recruiting money due to going out of state for a few gems.
 
October 2, 1939
We have done it! William Johnson of John Marshall High in Rochester, Minnesota, will bring his talents as a power forward to our program. Ranked 21st in the nation, 2nd nationally among forwards, Johnson had us as his top school all season, as his mother went here (his father went to Minnesota State) and we locked him up with a scholarship that opened up two weeks ago after a top ten player backed out. He’s got incredible upside as a player, and is a great rebounder and scoring option from anywhere on the court. But defensively he’s raw, and he may take a year or two to come into his own. He is looking for a disciplined program and a chance to play at the top levels of the game, which is exactly what he’ll get here at Winona State. And at 6’7” he’s willing to consider training to play other positions, in a guard / forward hybrid, to allow him to get more playing time and develop.

1939-40 Winona State Roster
PG – Steve Booth (6’1” 195 lbs Sr) Crosby MN (Crosby-Ironton HS) 3.4 GPA
SG – Rickey James (6’5” 183 lbs Sr) St. Paul MN (Como Park HS) 3.3 GPA
SF – Julian Cabrera (6’7” 241 lbs Fr) Highland Park MI (Highland Park HS) 2.9 GPA
PF – Antawn Crosbie (6’7” 206 lbs Fr) Morris MN (Morris Area HS) 3.2 GPA
C – Roy Wright (6’7” 225 lbs So) Dawson MN (Dawson-Boyd HS) 3.2 GPA

6 – Anthony Soward (6’4” 215 lbs So) Lamberton MN (Red Rock Central HS) 3.0 GPA
7 – Kevin Young (6’5” 218 lbs Sr) Kirkland IL (Hiawatha HS) 2.5 GPA
8 – Drew Greenleaf (6’9” 210 lbs So) Henning MN (Henning HS) 2.2 GPA*
9 – Dave Jones (6’11” 237 lbs Jr) Worthington MN (Worthington HS) 2.3 GPA
10 – Eric Johnson (5’9” 165 lbs Fr) Waseka MN (Waseka HS) 2.9 GPA*
11 – Warren Holiday (6’3” 203 lbs Jr) Sleepy Eye MN (St. Mary’s HS) 2.3 GPA
12 – Stephen Louis (6’7” 236 lbs Sr) Chaska MN (Sothwest Christian HS) 3.1 GPA
13 – Andrae Jessie (6’8” 225 lbs So) Fridley MN (Totino-Grace HS) 3.5 GPA
14 – Brian Kincaid (6’10” 252 lbs Jr) Silver Bay MN (W.M. Kelley HS) 2.6 GPA
15 – Jim Lackey (6’10” 244 lbs So) Springfield MN (Springfield HS) 3.5 GPA
_________
* Walk-on

We may consider some redshirts next season, but this year I have the players I want, and the ones I would redshirt I’m not desperate to keep them for extra development time. Better to be able to bring my own players in faster to keep this train rolling.

[jksander]

November 16, 1939
#1 Winona State (0-0) @ #23 BYU-Hawaii (0-0)

BYU Hawaii played stifling defense early, but we still built a 10-4 lead on them with 14:05 to play in the first half. Steve Booth controlled our fate offensively in the half, dominating our opponents with 14 points in the first 12 minutes of play, and while the rest of the team was slow to find an offensive rhythm, Booth was enough at least initially. But BYU Hawaii stayed tough and we tried a handful of rotations to see what might spark our team’s fire. At the half we led 40-35 but hardly seemed like ourselves.

Though Rickey James, our defensive star, was sidelined much of the second half due to foul trouble, Steve Booth and Anthony “Sure Shot” Soward kept the team moving in the right direction. We led 53-41 after a strong start in the first five minutes, and though the Seasiders kept it interesting they were never a real threat. We led the entire second half and won this one 76-71.

Player of the Game: Steve Booth (28 pts 2 reb 6 ast 3 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Anthony Soward (17 pts 3 reb 1 ast) Rickey James (10 pts 4 reb 2 ast 1 blk)
 
November 19, 1939
#8 Southern Indiana (1-0) @ #1 Winona State (1-0)

The Screaming Eagles knew what they were in for, but it didn’t help them much. The noise of our crowd coupled with the stifling defense of our Warriors held them back 16-4 with 14:35 to play in the half. We led 50-36 at the half and thoroughly dominated USI in the rest of this one, winning 85-66.

Cabrera and Crosbie are getting lost out there amongst all the upperclassmen, though a scoreless Crosbie grabbed 12 boards and two blocks so he’ll continue to start. Soward will step into the starting rotation in place of Cabrera, who will become our seventh man beyond Young.

Player of the Game: Roy Wright (18 pts 8 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Rickey James (18 pts 8 reb 2 ast 1 blk) Anthony Soward (17 pts 1 ast)

Sioux Falls won the Coaches Classic and jumped to #1 in the AP Poll, while Coker (still waiting to play in the finals of the D2 NIT, a game they would win to improve to 4-0 as well) held at #2. We’ve slipped to #3, just ahead of Kentucky Wesleyan (3-0). Saginaw Valley State went 1-1 in the D2 NIT, losing to Coker in the second round, so they fell to #12. Meanwhile, Minnesota St.-Moorehead went 2-0 in week one and jumped into the polls at #25.

[jksander]

November 21, 1939
HEROES MEMORIAL QUARTERFINALS
Pfeiffer (2-0) @ #3 Winona State (2-0)

Always nice to get a trip to Hawaii this time of year! We opened the tournament by building an 11-5 lead on the Falcons in the first four minutes, and Cabrera came off the bench to nail two key three-pointers in a row which kept us ahead 25-14 with 9:43 remaining. We led 49-36 at the half, but we outscored them 19-10 in the first six minutes of the second half and sealed this one. It turned into a quick blowout, us up 85-50 with 10:27 to play, and we coasted from there to win easily 109-71.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (34 pts 4 reb 2 ast 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Julian Cabrera (16 pts 5 reb 4 ast 2 blk) Steve Booth (15 pts 4 reb 4 ast 1 blk)

November 22, 1939
HEROES MEMORIAL SEMIFINALS
#16 Tuskegee (3-0) @ #3 Winona State (3-0)

Tuskegee led 9-5 early in this one, but a Steve Booth triple put us up 12-11 with 14:17 to go in the half, and with 9:54 to play in the half we had them comfortably in our rearview 24-16. By halftime we had it firmly in hand 53-29 and just had to hold them back for another twenty minutes. We slaughtered the Golden Tigers in the end, advancing to the finals with a 97-70 victory.

Player of the Game: Rickey James (18 pts 13 reb 4 ast 1 stl 5 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Anthony Soward (28 pts 1 reb 1 ast 2 stl) Roy Wright (3 pts 19 reb 2 ast 2 blk)
 
November 23, 1939
HEROES MEMORIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Newman (4-0) @ #3 Winona State (4-0)

The Newman Jets seemed to have a little fight early but we put out that spark quickly, leading 22-9 with 9:39 to go in the first half, even with them triple-teaming Soward and taking him out of the game for much of the first half. We led 43-21 at the break, and we used our solid team defense to smother them in the second half, putting this game quickly out of reach. We won the Heroes Memorial title with a 86-59 victory.

Player of the Game: Roy Wright (18 pts 12 reb 1 ast 1 stl 4 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Rickey James (19 pts 6 reb 3 ast 2 stl 3 blk) Kevin Young (13 pts 3 reb 1 ast)

November 26, 1939
#3 Winona State (5-0) @ West Texas A&M (1-1)

We dominated this one from the beginning, up 19-5 early and still comfortably ahead 28-13 with 7:35 remaining in the half. We had them in a 47-28 hole at the break and though they fought to come back in the second half, we blanketed them in defense. Up 50-38 with 13:16 remaining in the game, we went on a 13-5 run that pretty much crushed their hopes of a comeback. We felt little pressure from there, coasting to win 81-65.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (19 pts 4 reb 1 ast 2 stl 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Rickey James (13 pts 11 reb 2 ast 1 stl 2 blk) Roy Wright (10 pts 13 reb 4 ast 2 stl 4 blk)

Moorehead dropped two games this week so their tenure in the polls was short. Sioux Falls also lost a game, which allowed us to leap-frog Coker (#2, 6-0) back into the #1 spot! Saginaw Valley State (2-2) slipped to #13. A team to watch will be Alaska Fairbanks. They’re off to a 4-0 start and are now ranked #19 … we face them in our final pre-conference game in December.

[jksander]

I promise I am not asleep at the switch ... I work at Culver's and we're working on our plan to reopen dining, and I'm the manager in charge of guest interactions (the Brand Ambassador) so there's a lot to do these next couple weeks. Will definitely be sneaking some games in during my down time though

[PointGuard]

Send me a milkshake!

[jksander]

November 30, 1939
#1 Winona State (6-0) @ Fairmont State (1-3)

Fairmont State never stood a chance. We shut them down mercilessly from the start, leading 17-1 with 15:26 to play in the first half, and torrid shooting led to a mid-half blowout, us up 42-18 with 9:17 to play. We led 58-31 at the half and it could have been much much worse for the Falcons. They slowed us down somewhat in the second half but couldn’t close the gap, our Warriors winning this one easily 104-71.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (30 pts 7 reb 2 ast 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Rickey James (20 pts 8 reb 2 ast) Steve Booth (9 pts 3 reb 10 ast)

December 3, 1939
Davenport (2-3) @ #1 Winona State (7-0)

Midway through the first half of this one we were well up on Davenport 32-9 and on our way to another rout. By halftime the gym’s floor was a virtual abattoir as we bloodied them relentlessly 66-22 by halftime. The remainder was no contest as we whalloped them 110-59.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (35 pts 2 reb 1 ast 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Kevin Young (13 pts 7 reb 4 ast 1 stl) Roy Wright (10 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 stl 2 blk)
 
December 7, 1939
#1 Winona State (8-0) @ Valdosta State (1-5)

Despite our having the most prolific offense in the nation for the second year in a row, Valdosta State was not scared and they fought hard early, keeping it tied up 12-12 with 13:54 to go in the first half. Steve Booth and Roy Wright nailed three-pointers in the next minute to give us an 18-15 lead, but Valdosta went up 22-23 with 10:03 to play, still shooting 53 percent from the floor! We retook the lead 29-28 with another ripping three from Booth with 8:11 left on the clock, and even then Valdosta State didn’t blink, continuing to stay right there with us. With 4:25 to go in the half we led 41-37, and we held them off nicely by halftime up 56-45 at the break. But we’d seen they were willing to fight. We couldn’t take the second half lightly.

But apparently they left their fighting will in the locker-room as we stomped them 10-0 in the first two minutes of the half! From there we had them firmly under our control. Leading 87-64 with 7:57 to play, we coasted from there to win big 103-86.

Player of the Game: Roy Wright (23 pts 10 reb 3 ast 4 stl 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Kevin Young (21 pts 1 reb 3 ast) Steve Booth (18 pts 3 reb 4 ast 2 stl)

On December 8th, Coker lost their first game in a year and a half, ending their win-streak at 45 and dropping them to 9-1 on the young season. The Saint Michael’s Purple Knights who knocked them off are sure to pop into the top 25 soon after their 91-81 win over the #2 team in the nation.

December 10, 1939
Mount Olive (4-3) @ #1 Winona State (9-0)

Mount Olive led briefly 7-6, but we put on a run to go up 14-7 with 15:33 to play in the half and the Trojans didn’t have the legs to match us from there. They therefore switched into defense mode, slowing us down considerably as the half progressed. We still led 35-28 with 3:25 to play, and by halftime they’d climbed back in, trailing only by two, 37-35.

We started strong in the second half, but the Trojans were still right in this, our lead at 45-40 with 17:11 to play. With 9:52 to go in the game we held a 63-56 lead on them and though their defense remained tenacious, their ability to slow us became strained. We outscored them 10-2 over the next three minutes, significantly expanding our lead and allowing us to hold them back down the stretch. We won our 10th in a row, this time by an 81-60 margin.

Player of the Game: Anthony Soward (23 pts 1 reb 2 ast 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Rickey James (11 pts 7 reb 2 ast 3 stl 2 blk) Dave Jones (13 pts 3 reb 2 ast)

[Wayne23]

You're kickin' butt, coach!

[jksander]

Those Coker losses last year were critical though and still sting ... I still can't believe we crumbled and let them win an undefeated national title last year

Next up this year for me to play out is us versus #5 Kentucky Wesleyan, a team we beat last year.