From WWII to the NCAAs: "Tex" Kauferhalter's Defensive Rise

[jksander]

Team Leaders
Scoring: Ahmad Swygart (19.3 ppg) Ricardo Stetson (11.4 ppg) Reggie Felix (8.5 ppg)
Rebounds: Ahmad Swygart (5.7 rpg) Reggie Felix (5.3 rpg) Peter Howard (5.1 rpg)
Assists: Chris Bailey (4.2 apg) Ricardo Stetson (3.1 apg) Ahmad Swygart (2.2 apg)
Steals: Chris Bailey (2.1 spg) Peter Howard (1.4 spg) Ricardo Stetson (1.3 spg)
Blocks: Ahmad Swygart (0.9 bpg) Peter Howard (0.7 bpg) Henry Akacem (0.5 bpg)

Graduating
Kenny Cross (2.9 GPA) 1.9 ppg 2.7 rpg 0.8 apg 0.5 spg 0.2 bpg (96 games, 10 starts)
Ahmad Swygart (3.5 GPA) 14.8 ppg 4.4 rpg 1.9 apg 1.2 spg 0.7 bpg (86 games, 76 starts)
Peter Howard (4.0 GPA) 5.7 ppg 4.6 rpg 1.2 apg 1.1 spg 0.5 bpg (83 games, 66 starts)
Henry Akacem (4.0 GPA) 3.3 ppg 2.1 rpg 0.6 apg 0.4 spg 0.4 bpg (78 games)
Ben Heard (3.2 GPA) 2.5 ppg 1.7 rpg 0.9 apg 0.6 spg 0.4 bpg (93 games, 13 starts)

Awards
Patriot League Player of the Year: Ahmad Swygart
Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year: Ahmad Swygart
Patriot League Coach of the Year: Tex Kauferhalter
1st Team All Patriot League: Ahmad Swygart

APRIL 9, 1948 . . . The Drexel Dragons offered me an interview for their open position, and though it would be a slight prestige bump jumping to the Colonial Athletic Association, it would be a huge step back based on their 8-22 (8-10) finish this year and the relative lack of talent on their team compared to what we’ve built up here. At this point I’m quite comfortable working to build on the foundation I’ve developed at Army. Meanwhile, we’ve signed our sixth and final recruit of the upcoming season: Jaquay Jones, a 6’7” power forward from Windsor, Vermont, is another solid two star player who had been overlooked by many despite his solid grades (3.0 GPA, 1010 SAT), excellent athleticism, good ability to score inside, and solid overall potential. He’s a player, like many others I’ve targeted, who will take work to develop into the kind of defender who can thrive here. But I like what he brings to the table, and his coaches all say he’s got the work ethic for it. We should again have the best recuiting class in the Patriot League, and I’m hoping we’ll crack the national Top 100 this year.

APRIL 16, 1948 . . . We had two assistant coach openings, needing to replace a player development coach and a lead scout. With Jason Baxter taking up $63,000 in salaries, we needed to fill the two open positons for under $50,000 if we wanted to not impact recruiting in a bad way. And I think we found two coaches to fill the positions who have what it takes to succeed here at Army. Lovell Mason, 39, will join us as my second assistant; the former third assistant at Duquesne will take over as lead scout for our program on a salary of $32,500 per year for four years. He is rated 54% as a scout, which is a huge improvement over what we’ve had working for us before. Meanwhile, Dixie State’s former third assistant, Brian Finneman, 57, will be joining us as our practice and development coach. He’s rated 35% in development, also a huge improvement, and will earn $16,500 per year for the next five years.

I asked for a bump in our budget, but the school says work with what we have for now, and being that it is the Army chain of command, I didn’t really expect much different. So we’ll have enough to recruit regionally again, but mostly it’ll be finding the best in-state players and then perhaps a few good out-of-state kids in March if we have any money left.

SEASON FOUR
1948-49

Coach Information
Name: Rolf “Tex” Kauferhalter
Age / Record: 26 (67-37, .644)
Contract: $84,000 / 5 Years
NCAA Appearances: 2 (1946-1947)
NCAA Tourney Record: 1-2 (.333)
NIT Championships: 1 (1948)
NIT Appearances: 1 (1948)
NIT Record: 5-0 (1.000)
Patriot League Titles: 2 (1946-1947)
Patriot League Tourney Titles: 2 (1946-1947)
Patriot League Coach of the Year: 2 (1947-1948)
Reputation: 19% (+4)
Offense: 24% (+2)
Defense: 72% (+5)
Recruiting: 30% (+5)
Scouting: 45%
Development: 30% (+4)

School Information
School: Army Black Knights
Location: West Point NY
Conference: Patriot League
Arena: Christl Arena (5,043 Cap)
Budget: $147,000 ($112,000 Assistants / $35,000 Recruiting)
Facilities: C
Academics: B+ (SAT Min: 960)
School Prestige: 21% (+1)
Conf. Prestige: 24% (+1)

Job Goals
1. Finish in the Patriot League Top 3.
2. Win 15+ Games.

Assistants
AHC: Jason Baxter (68, $63,000 / 3 years, Rep: 14%, +3) - Recruiting (33%)
2nd: Lovell Mason (39, $32,500 / 4 years, Rep: 9%) - Scouting (54%, +28)
3rd: Brian Finneman (57, $16,500 / 5 years, Rep: 8%) - Development (35%, +14)

MAY 1, 1948 . . . We have two scholarships to fill this year, so $35,000 should be plenty to work with in doing the job. But I’m hoping we can do well enough this year to get that budget increase for next year. Our recruiting class stunned everyone in the Patriot League by coming in 38th nationally, almost forty spots ahead of Lafayette, our nearest conference competitor. But only time will tell how quickly the young plebes respond to the rigors of this school’s highly regimented academic program and the difficulty involved in learning my defensive system.

MAY 29, 1948 . . . Make that four scholarships to fill. Travis Willis and Sam Lindsey couldn’t handle the fact that they have to work hard even if they’re not getitng the playing time they want, and they’re bailing on the Academy. I get it, this place isn’t for everyone. But for those who thrive here there’s a ton of opportunity to better your life. I just have to keep trying to find those kids.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 18, 1948 . . . Our athletic administration built us a gauntlet of a schedule this year that may beat the living Hell out of us before we even get to thionk about taking on the Patriot League. If we survive it, there’s a lot of room for us to then hold our NET ranking in the conference, but if it wears us down too quickly early I wonder if our young team will be able to maintain defensive composure. It’s a risk. But this is a military academy, and my job is to mold these players into soldiers. So go ahead, bring it on! Let’s see what we’re made of.

11/14: @ Fairfield
11/17: @ MD Eastern Shore
11/21: @ Providence
11/24: Middle Tennessee
11/28: @ #11 West Virginia
12/1: @ VA Commonwealth
12/5: @ Penn State
12/8: @ Columbia
12/13: #12 Syracuse
12/15: Auburn
12/19: @ Connecticut

Meanwhile, I’ve brought in easily the best recruit of my career thus far! Victor Evans, a 6’8” forward from Albany, is a four-star prospect ranked 69th in the nation and averages 16.7 points 5.5 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game while playing in high school. He’s VERY raw from an athletic standpoint, which is why a lot of in-State schools passed him over. But he wanted to stay in the area, and he’s very interested in learning disciplined defensive basketball. Right now he’s a high potential player, and he’s not afraid to shoot. We’ll see if he can develop stronger handling skills and the ability to be an elite defender, but right now he’s definitely the best recruit we’ve brought in. Now, can he survive the plebe system and actually stay with us for his full career?

OCTOBER 9, 1948 . . . Jason Wolfe, a 6’0” point guard from West Islip, New York, will be joining us in the fall as a one star recruit ranked outside the top 1,000 nationally. But he has a solid defensive rating, good overall potential, and he passes and shoots very well. His 3.5 GPA and strong academic leanings also make me think he’ll be a good fit here.

NOVEMBER 13, 1948 . . . We’ve got a tough start to the season ahead of us, but I am very confident in our ability to continue to do very well in the Patriot League with the lineup we’ve put together. We’re going to be younger than I am used to, with Andy Marsh and Randy Harris starting as freshmen. And though neither freshman starter is highly regarded overall by anyone outside our program, I’ve seen them both play, and they’ve gelled well with our upperclassmen. Both are top notch defenders who have bought into what we do here at Army. And Bailey and Stetson give us real strength from a guard perspective. I’m also very happy with Reggie Felix’s development during the offeseason -- with Miles, Lloyd and Prince providing youth off the bench I think we’re going to be capable of picking up right where we left off during our run through the NIT. I don’t expect us to be playing much deeper than that down the roster, however, with four walk-ons providing most of our scout team depth. So we’re going to have to work hard at staying healthy and fit so we can continue to do what we’ve been doing the last few years, putting Army basketball squarely on the map.

Roster
PG - Chris Bailey (6’0” 170 lbs Sr) Oriskany NY (Oriskany Central HS) 4.0 GPA (2.0/2.5) 5.1 ppg 2.5 rpg 4.2 apg 2.1 spg
SG - Ricardo Stetson (6’2” 195 lbs Sr) West Seneca NY (West Seneca West HS) 2.8 GPA (2.0/4.0) 11.4 ppg 1.5 rpg 3.1 apg 1.3 spg 0.2 bpg
SF - Andy Marsh (6’8” 191 lbs Fr) Bath NY (Haverling HS) 2.8 GPA (1.5/3.0)
PF - Reggie Felix (6’6” 202 lbs Jr) Bristol VA (Virginia HS) 3.2 GPA (3.0/3.5) 8.5 ppg 5.3 rpg 1.6 apg 0.8 spg 0.4 bpg
C - Randy Harris (7’1” 281 lbs Fr) Buffalo NY (Seneca Vocational HS) 2.7 GPA (1.0/4.0)

6 - Jeremy Miles (6’5” 208 lbs So) Commack NY (Commack HS) 4.0 GPA (1.5/1.5) 4.7 ppg 1.1 rpg 1.8 apg 1.0 spg
7 - Waitari Lloyd (6’3” 212 lbs So) Peru NY (Peru HS) 3.1 GPA (1.5/2.5) 2.5 ppg 0.7 rpg 0.6 apg 0.3 spg
8 - Warren Prince (6’0” 188 lbs Fr) East Greenbush NY (Columbia HS) 2.9 GPA (1.5/4.0)
9 - Cliff Ezell (6’6” 233 lbs Jr) Hoosick Falls NY (Hoosick Falls Central HS) 3.9 GPA (0.5/0.5)*
10 - Dan Lewis (6’8” 257 lbs So) Whitney Point NY (Whitney Point HS) 3.7 GPA (0.5/0.5) 1.1 ppg 0.3 rpg*
11 - Clarence Brown (6’4” 193 lbs Jr) Westhampton Beach NY (Westhampton Beach HS) 4.0 GPA (0.5/0.5) no significant minutes*
12 - Jeffrey Sullivan (6’6” 173 lbs Fr) Angola NY (Lake Shore Central HS) 2.8 GPA (0.5/2.0)
13 - Tega Goree (6’6” 208 lbs Jr) Schuylerville NY (Schuylerville Central HS) 3.3 GPA (0.5/0.5)*

RS - Jaquay Jones (6’7” 235 lbs Fr) Windsor VT (Windsor HS) 3.0 GPA (0.5/3.5)
RS - Troy Butler (6’3” 216 lbs Fr) Wheeling WV (Wheeling Park HS) 2.4 GPA (1.5/3.5)
___________
* Walk-on

[jksander]

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Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
11/14          @ Fairfield               L 66-72         0-1             R. Stetson (21 pts 5 reb 2 ast) R. Harris (21 pts 5 reb 2 blk)
11/17          @ MD Eastern Shore        L 67-76         0-2             R. Harris (23 pts 5 reb 1 blk) R. Stetson (17 pts 3 reb 3 ast 2 blk)
11/21          @ Providence              W 76-65         1-2             R. Stetson (11 pts 5 reb 7 ast 4 stl) R. Felix (11 pts 9 reb 5 ast 4 stl)
11/24          Middle Tennessee          W 70-55         2-2             R. Harris (19 pts 8 reb 1 ast 1 stl) W. Lloyd (17 pts 5 ast 2 stl 1 blk)
11/28          @ #10 West Virginia       W 74-53         3-2             R. Harris (21 pts 12 reb 4 ast) R. Felix (12 pts 3 reb 4 ast)

NOVEMBER 25, 1948 . . . Waitari Lloyd stepped into a starting spot during the Middle Tennesse game with Stetson struggling with back spasms, and he had a solid night defensively along with a career high in scoring. We’re experimenting with a lot of lineup shifts, and it is quite possible he’ll maintain his starting spot, with Stetson stepping in at point guard to give Bailey a better shot competing to come off the bench. I’m pleased that Lloyd has shown so much progress as he starts his sophomore season, because he’s giving us much better passing, handling and athleticism on defense in the starting five, especially with Stetson able to move back to handle the point. We’re only off to a 2-2 start, but the next half-dozen games are going to show how much we’ve really progressed.

NOVEMBER 29, 1948 . . . This game was the first to truly bring my defensive strategies to life! We built a 36-29 halftime lead and then absolutely stifled the Mountaineer offense, with four of our bench players managing 12+ minutes as our bench outscored theirs 25-7! I wish there was a way for more of our cadets back at home to have seen this game, because reading about it in the newspapers isn’t the same. It’s only a single game in a long season, but playing the Mountaineers on the road should have made our odds insurmountable. Instead, I think the word is going to get out that we’re a dangerous team and this system works.

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Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
12/1           @ VA Commonwealth         L 66-68         3-3             R. Harris (22 pts 8 reb 1 ast 1 stl) R. Felix (14 pts 6 reb 5 ast 2 blk)
12/5           @ Penn State              W 80-61         4-3             R. Felix (19 pts 5 reb 5 ast) J. Miles (14 pts 4 reb) R. Harris (8 pts 11 reb)
12/8           @ Columbia                W 75-72         5-3             W. Lloyd (28 pts 2 reb 2 ast 2 stl) R. Harris (13 pts 10 reb 2 stl 1 blk)
12/13          Syracuse                  W 77-70         6-3             R. Harris (26 pts 10 reb 1 ast 1 stl) R. Felix (14 pts 10 reb 6 ast)
12/15          Auburn                    L 58-66         6-4             R. Harris (18 pts 12 reb) R. Felix (12 pts 8 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
12/19          @ Connecticut             W 74-59         7-4             R. Stetson (16 pts 3 ast 2 stl) R. Felix (10 pts 4 reb 6 ast 1 stl)

DECEMBER 14, 1948 . . . Beating Columbia on the road was amazing, particularly when we did so via a comeback as our defenses completely smothered them, proving we were definitely on their level and our NET ranking wasn’t a joke. But getting our first win against Syracuse in this series, on our court, while holding off THEIR frenzied comeback attempt, finally brought it home that this might be legit. Our players are buying into the whole experience, and they’re outworking these teams on the court for forty minutes, even when things get tough. And we’re seeing success even from the guys coming off the bench. We’re not going to win easily, but when we put the effort in we’re never out of a game. I’m told the Commandant wants to work with me to keep this going, as I think they’re worried I’ll jump ship to a more prestigious program. Right now, however, I see my future right here. These aren’t blue chip players, they’re future leaders of our armed forces, and I owe it to them to keep putting in the work myself.

JANUARY 1, 1949 . . . With the schedule we had pre-conference, a 7-4 record feels like a dream. Our NET ranking is 25th nationally, which means we have a legitimate chance of being nationally ranked at some point this winter if we can string Patriot League wins together without a lot of missteps. Unfortunately there won’t be a lot of room for missteps that don’t hurt that ranking, as only Lehigh (5-6, 70 NET) is inside the top 100 in that metric. And the only other team inside the NET top 200 is Lafayette (6-5, 146 NET). Navy (6-5, 220 NET) and Loyola MD (6-5, 304 NET) are the only others with winning non-conference records. If we stick to our defensive gameplan and continue to train properly this should be a seaosn for us to dominate this conference thoroughly. But the best laid plans are often full of traps and potential pitfalls, so we’ll be treating no teams lightly.

Freshman center Randy Harris is one of the best big-men I’ve seen, let alone coached, in this game. At 7’1” he’s surprisingly agile, and his strong athleticism and willingness to work constantly to improve has him averaging 17.4 points 8.4 rebounds and at least one assist and one steal per game while playing nearly 25 minutes per effort. Ricardo Stetson has held his own as well, averaging 10.2 points 2.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, with nearly two steals per night as well. And Waitari Lloyd has held onto his starting spot, boosting his averages to 9.0 points 1.6 rebounds 2.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and that’s with his three bench games factored in. Our future here at Army certainly looks bright as long as I can keep this team healthy and with their eyes on the ultimate goal.

[jksander]

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Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
1/2            Lehigh                    W 87-62         8-4 (1-0)       R. Harris (34 pts 15 reb 2 ast) J. Miles (14 pts 3 reb 1 ast 1 stl)
1/5            @ Navy                    L 63-72         8-5 (1-1)       R. Felix (12 pts 6 reb 6 ast 3 stl) C. Bailey (16 pts 1 stl)
1/9            American                  W 70-50         9-5 (2-1)       R. Felix (17 pts 7 reb 8 ast 2 blk) R. Harris (14 pts 9 reb 1 ast)
1/12           @ Colgate                 W 69-54         10-5 (3-1)      R. Felix (17 pts 5 reb 3 ast) R. Stetson (14 pts 5 ast 2 stl)
1/16           Holy Cross                W 81-65         11-5 (4-1)      R. Felix (14 pts 8 reb 8 ast 3 stl) R. Harris (19 pts 3 reb)
1/19           @ Boston University       W 68-64         12-5 (5-1)      R. Felix (14 pts 6 reb) J. Miles (10 pts 4 reb 2 ast)
1/23           @ Bucknell                W 70-54         13-5 (6-1)      R. Felix (20 pts 6 reb 5 ast 3 blk) W. Lloyd (15 pts 3 reb 5 ast)
1/26           Lafayette                 W 69-47         14-5 (7-1)      W. Lloyd (12 pts 2 ast 3 stl 2 blk) R. Harris (11 pts 12 reb 1 stl)
1/30           @ Loyola MD               W 58-42         15-5 (8-1)      R. Felix (15 pts 8 reb 3 ast) B. Harris (6 pts 21 reb 4 ast)
2/2            @ Lehigh                  W 82-48         16-5 (9-1)      R. Harris (24 pts 15 reb 2 ast 2 stl) R. Felix (17 pts 7 reb 9 ast)

FEBRUARY 5, 1949 . . . It definitely was not optimal that we lost our road game against Navy, a game in which they turned our own defenses against us as they dominated by nine points in a game that was never really close. But it’s important to note that the Navy loss was our last loss, and we’ve been outright dominating the conference so far this year, including the 34-point hog-tying of Lehigh on their own court just a few days ago. We have a two game lead on Lafayette and a three game lead on Navy, with the rest of the conference lagging way back in the rearview. We’re ranked 34th in the NET and, according to the first Bubble Watch of the season we’re firmly in the discussion for a top 10-seed. Would we still be in that discussion if we don’t get the league’s auto-bid? It’s never a safe bet, but we’ve put in the work and we’re on the verge of being a dangerous NCAA Tourney team too.

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Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
2/6            Navy                      W 79-49         17-5 (10-1)     R. Felix (16 pts 6 reb 2 ast) W. Lloyd (16 pts 3 reb 5 ast 3 stl)
2/9            @ American                W 81-67         18-5 (11-1)     R. Stetson (16 pts 6 ast 4 stl) J. Miles (13 pts 1 reb 1 ast 5 stl)
2/13           Colgate                   W 71-44         19-5 (12-1)     R. Harris (13 pts 12 reb 1 ast 1 stl) R. Stetson (16 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 stl)
2/16           @ Holy Cross              W 89-70         20-5 (13-1)     R. Harris (33 pts 10 reb) W. Lloyd (21 pts 6 ast 3 stl)
2/20    #25    Boston University         W 73-48         21-5 (14-1)     R. Harris (14 pts 13 reb 1 blk) R. Felix (18 pts 5 reb 4 ast)
2/23    #25    Bucknell                  W 84-55         22-5 (15-1)     W. Lloyd (21 pts 4 ast 2 stl) R. Felix (10 pts 8 reb 10 ast)
2/27    #25    @ Lafayette               W 76-58         23-5 (16-1)     R. Felix (20 pts 6 reb 4 ast 2 stl) R. Harris (17 pts 12 reb 1 stl 1 blk)
3/2     #25    Loyola MD                 W 65-37         24-5 (17-1)     R. Harris (16 pts 14 reb 3 ast 2 stl) R. Stetson (20 pts 1 reb)

MARCH 3, 1949 . . . We’d secured the conference title on the 21st of February after Lafayette fell three games back, and by the time we actually played Lafayette on their court they were already four games back and in second place by quite some distance. We, meanwhile, had risen into the AP Top 25 for the first time in program (and Patriot League) history, boosting our prominence at just the right moment to start drawing eyes toward West Point, highlighting our incredible rise. We finished the conference with a 17-1 record in the conference, and we’ll head into Conference Tourney week ranked 7th nationally in points allowed (58.7 PPG), 9th nationally in Field Goal Percentage (50.5%), 5th nationally in assists per game (20.8 APG) and 15th nationally in steals per game (9.6 SPG). Our offensive rating of 107.3 has us rated 6th nationally, and our defensive rating of 88.0 has us ranked 26th.

[jksander]

Patriot League Tournament

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Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
3/7     #24    (8) Holy Cross            W 74-55         25-5            R. Felix (19 pts 7 reb 6 ast) R. Harris (18 pts 8 reb 1 ast)
3/8     #24    (5) Boston University     W 96-62         26-5            R. Felix (18 pts 4 reb 4 ast) R. Harris (16 pts 6 reb 4 ast)
3/9     #24    (2) Lafayette             W 72-36         27-5            R. Felix (21 pts 6 reb 1 stl) W. Lloyd (11 pts 2 reb 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk)

MARCH 10, 1949 . . . We’re now awaiting our seeding for the NCAA Tournament, having won our third Patriot League Tournament tittle of the last four years! With our best record in school history we’re expected to have a 7-seed based on our top 30 NET ranking and our rank inside the AP Top 25. But only time will tell where we actually land.

MARCH 13, 1949 . . . We finished ranked 20th in the final AP Poll of the year, earning a 6th seed in the Tampa regional, where we’ll face (11) Jackson State (26-6) in the first round, with a potential second round matchup against (3) Texas (26-7). (2) Gonzaga (27-6) and (1) Wisconsin (29-3) are the favorites to get out of our region. Lafayette, meanwhile, got an invite to the Collegiate Insider Tournament. 

NCAA Tournament

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Date    Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
3/17    (11) Jackson State        L 66-69         27-6            W. Lloyd (17 pts 2 reb 1 ast 2 stl) R. Felix (15 pts 8 reb 6 ast)

MARCH 16, 1949 . . . Lafayette won their first CIT game, beating Vermont’s Catamounts 66-55, but in the second round they lost a shootout against the Furman Paladins 78-82, ending their postseason run.

MARCH 17, 1949 . . . Our NCAA Tourney first round game was as close as they come for most of the night, with more than a dozen ties and lead changes. But after trailing 34-35 at the half, we let Jackson State run out to a 10 point lead early in the second half, and though we eventually would fight back to within a point late, we weren’t able to out last them as we dropped the game by three points in the end. It’s a disappointing finish to a season which showed us exceeding all expectations, and barring a rash of transfers in the spring we should be in prime position to do it all again next year. It’s easy to forget when dominating a conference like the Patriot League that we’re still a service academy with a small budget and limited resources. And yet we’ve won 94 games in four years against just 43 losses. So we’re definitely turning some heads and proving that disciplined basketball can be successful basketball.

MARCH 26, 1949 . . . Galen Anderson, a 6’8” forward from Brocton, New York, has agreed to be our third recruit of the season, filling one of the extra walk-on spots that were created by transfers during the spring. A two-star prospect ranked just inside the top 500 nationally, Anderson has a lot of potential as a shooter and a defender, but is a raw prospect overall and will require time to fit into our system.

APRIL 3, 1949 . . . In a battle of top seeds for the National Title, (1) Kentucky outlasted (1) Michigan State in a brutal defensive battle, winning 63-59.

Team Leaders
Scoring: Randy Harris (16.0 ppg) Reggie Felix (13.8 ppg) Waitari Lloyd (11.1 ppg) Ricardo Stetson (10.2 ppg) Jeremy Miles (9.1 ppg)
Rebounds: Randy Harris (9.1 rpg) Reggie Felix (6.5 rpg) Dan Lewis (2.3 rpg) Waitari Lloyd (1.9 rpg)
Assists: Reggie Felix (4.6 apg) Waitari Lloyd (2.9 apg) Ricardo Stetson (2.9 apg) Warren Prince (2.8 apg)
Steals: Waitari Lloyd (2.0 spg) Ricardo Stetson (1.7 spg) Jeremy Miles (1.1 spg) Reggie Felix (1.0 spg)
Blocks: Reggie Felix (1.0 bpg) Randy Harris (0.4 bpg)

Graduating
Chris Bailey (4.0 GPA) 3.7 ppg 1.1 rpg 1.8 apg 0.9 spg (124 games, 32 starts)
Ricardo Stetson (2.8 GPA) 10.8 ppg 1.5 rpg 3.0 apg 1.5 spg 0.2 bpg (63 starts)

Stetson is out of eligibility but will still have to complete the remaining two years of his Army training in order to fully graduate from the Academy.

Awards
Patriot League Player of the Year: Randy Harris
Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year: Waitari Lloyd
Patriot League Freshman of the Year: Randy Harris
1st Team, All Patriot League: Reggie Felix
1st Team, All Patriot League: Randy Harris

APRIL 9, 1949 . . . We got our final commitment from 6’8” center Ritchie Toton, who may transition to playing power forward depending on our needs. A two-star prospect ranked in the low 500s nationally, he’s a great shot blocker who can score and drive inside reasonably well, with good rebouding skills and potential. He’s average as a defender prior to learning our system, and he may need a year to redshirt and handle the plebe year without the pressure of fighting for minutes.

Umass offered me an interview, but I am not impressed with their program in the least. Right now we’ve got the culture building right here at Army, and I don’t see myself leaving for any program that’s not going to let me build this same kind of culture for their program. There’s a very limited list of programs I think would ever even be interested in the kind of discipline I instill in my players. They may be excited by my wins over losses and the numbers we’ve put up, but I don’t think they’d respect the process.

I’ve extended Jason Baxter’s contract as my AHC, giving him a one year extention to keep him here through 1952 at $64,890 per year. We are not making any other staffing changes. The Board again denied our request for additional recruiting money, which is pretty much what I anticipated. We’ve done well with little thus far, and I don’t see those higher in command wanting to “coddle” us, though if we can continue to exceed expectations there are possibilities for the future.

[jksander]

SEASON FIVE
1949-50

Coach Information
Name: Rolf “Tex” Kauferhalter
Age / Record: 27 (94-43, .686)
Contract: $84,000 / 4 Years
NCAA Appearances: 3 (1946-1947, 1949)
NCAA Tourney Record: 1-3 (.250)
NIT Championships: 1 (1948)
NIT Appearances: 1 (1948)
NIT Record: 5-0 (1.000)
Patriot League Titles: 3 (1946-1947, 1949)
Patriot League Tourney Titles: 3 (1946-1947, 1949)
Patriot League Coach of the Year: 2 (1947-1948)
Reputation: 22% (+3)
Offense: 26% (+2)
Defense: 77% (+5)
Recruiting: 34% (+4)
Scouting: 47% (+2)
Development: 34% (+4)

School Information
School: Army Black Knights
Location: West Point NY
Conference: Patriot League
Arena: Christl Arena (5,043 Cap)
Budget: $147,000 ($113,890 Assistants / $33,110 Recruiting)
Facilities: C
Academics: B+ (SAT Min: 960)
School Prestige: 22% (+1)
Conf. Prestige: 22% (-1)

Job Goals
1. Win the Patriot League Tournament.
2. Win 15+ Games.

Recruit Class Ranking: 51st

Assistants
AHC: Jason Baxter (69, $64,890 / 3 years, Rep: 16%, +2) - Recruiting (33%)
2nd: Lovell Mason (39, $32,500 / 3 years, Rep: 10%, +1) - Scouting (54%)
3rd: Brian Finneman (57, $16,500 / 4 years, Rep: 9%, +1) - Development (35%)

MAY 29, 1949 . . . Jeffrey Sullivan and Andy Marsh are transfering out, unable to handle the level of discipline required to be part of Army basketball. Marsh is a bit of a surprise, in that he seemed to handle his plebe year well, and he’d had significant playing time. But this place isn’t for everyone -- hopefully they both find somewhere to land where their skills will be appreciated. We have four seniors graduating this year, but two of them are walk-ons. So even with the transfers we’ve got four scholarships to work with in the upcoming recruiting season. We are going to have a very strong starting five, with a bench that will allow us to go ten deep when needed, though I don’t expect any of our bench players to be getting more than ten to twelve minutes per game. If we’re going to meet our goals our experienced starters will have to be the ones getting it done.

AUGUST 7, 1949 . . . Our academic standing in the league being what it is, and with our starting lineup being full of experienced returning players from last year’s dominant run, I was not surprised to have a Norton Nominee this year. But I was definitely surprised to have THREE -- Reggie Felix, Jeremy Miles and Waitari Lloyd have all been nominated for the award, which goes to the player in the division who best represents excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community. Of the three, Reggie Felix is the one player who has the potential to make a cut or two, coming in ranked 15th in the initial straw poll. Miles (35th) and Lloyd (47th) could rise if they play well enough, but it is unlikely we’ll have all three still in contention come February. But it’s a great honor for our program and for these young men who are focused on serving their country.

SEPTEMBER 25, 1949 . . . We have our first two player commitments for the 1950-51 season in hand! Peter Darden, a 6’7” forward from Islip Terrace, New York, and Daniel Bremer, a 6’6” guard from Sandy Creek, New York, have agreed to join Army. Bremer is the best defender in the group of recruits we targeted, as well as a handler and scorer who isn’t afraid to shoot even though he has spent most of his time playing point guard -- at his height I plan to transition him to playing as a shooting guard. He’s not much of a stealing threat, and he can’t rebound or block to save his life, but I still think I’ve found another diamond in the rough -- he’s a two star prospect ranked just inside the top 600. Darden, meanwhile, is also a two star prospect, ranked slightly higher but still severely overlooked. His 3.6 GPA had him on our radar right away, and he and his parents both respect the academic and disciplinary rigor of our program. He’s also a solid defender, shooter and scorer, but his athleticism overall is somewhat suspect (hence his lower ranking than I would have expected from a player of his skills). His potential is high, however, and I’m pleased with what he could become if he works hard to learn our system.

We’ve also gotten our schedule for the upcoming season:

11/16: @ #9 West Virginia
11/19: Old Dominion
11/23: Charlotte
11/26: @ Kent State
11/30: Saint Josephs
12/3: @ South Carolina
12/7: @ Connecticut
12/10: @ Columbia
12/13: @ Syracuse
12/21: @ Indiana
12/28: Rutgers

We’ll open the conference season by hosting Navy on January 4.

Roster
PG - Jeremy Miles (6’5” 208 lbs Jr) Commack NY (Commack HS) 4.0 GPA (4.0/4.0) 9.1 ppg 1.7 rpg 1.8 apg 1.1 spg
SG - Warren Prince (6’0” 188 lbs So) East Greenbush NY (Columbia HS) 3.0 GPA (3.5/4.0) 2.1 ppg 1.1 rpg 2.8 apg 1.0 spg
SF - Waitari Lloyd (6’3” 212 lbs Jr) Peru NY (Peru HS) 3.4 GPA (4.0/4.0) 11.1 ppg 1.9 rpg 2.9 apg 2.0 spg 0.3 bpg
PF - Reggie Felix (6’6” 202 lbs Sr) Bristol VA (Virginia HS) 3.4 GPA (4.5/4.5) 13.8 ppg 6.5 rpg 4.6 apg 1.0 spg 1.0 bpg
C - Randy Harris (7’1” 281 lbs So) Buffalo NY (Seneca Vocational HS) 2.7 GPA (4.5/4.5) 16.0 ppg 9.1 rpg 1.3 apg 0.7 spg 0.4 bpg

6 - Jason Wolfe (6’0” 178 lbs Fr) West Islip NY (St. John Baptist Diocesan HS) 3.5 GPA (2.0/4.0)
7 - Victor Evans (6’8” 229 lbs Fr) Albany NY (Bishop Maginn HS) 2.6 GPA (2.0/3.0)
8 - Ritchie Toton (6’8” 260 lbs Fr) Williamsville NY (Williamsville North HS) 4.0 GPA (1.0/4.0)
9 - Troy Butler (6’3” 216 lbs Fr RS) Wheeling WV (Wheeling Park HS) 2.6 GPA (1.0/3.0)
10 - Jaquay Jones (6’7” 235 lbs Fr RS) Windsor VT (Windsor HS) 3.0 GPA (1.0/4.0)
11 - Clarence Brown (6’4” 193 lbs Sr) Westhampton Beach NY (Westhampton Beach HS) 4.0 GPA (1.0/1.0) did not play*
12 - Dan Lewis (6’8” 257 lbs Jr) Whitney Point NY (Whitney Point HS) 4.0 GPA (0.5/0.5) 2.3 ppg 2.3 rpg 0.4 apg 0.3 spg 0.2 bpg*
13 - David Fisher (6’6” 219 lbs So) Fredonia NY (Fredonia HS) 3.1 GPA (0.5/0.5)*
14 - Scotty Alexander (6’3” 198 lbs Jr) Shoreham NY (Shoreham Wading River HS) 0.5/0.5*
15 - Cliff Ezell (6’6” 233 lbs Sr) Hoosick Falls NY (Hoosick Falls Central HS) 4.0 GPA (0.5/0.5) 1.3 ppg 1.5 rpg 0.5 apg 0.1 spg*
___________
* Walk-on

NOVEMBER 13, 1949 . . . It is immediately clear that our starting five are as good a starting five as Army has or likely will ever have on the floor at the same time. But it’s also abundantly clear that our second team, all freshmen, will have a lot to prove during the minutes they get, and our third team is all walk-ons, so there won’t be much significant depth at all. I have incredbly high expectations for this team -- running the table in the Patriot League is certainly a distinct possibility -- but we’re going to have targets on our backs at all times, and any slips will certainly show. Can this be the team that helps me make it out of the NCAA Tournament First Round for the first time as a head coach? Will my system hold up under pressure? We definitely have a tough non-conference slate set up to hopefully run us through our paces.

[jksander]

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
11/16          @ #9 West Virginia        L 59-65         0-1             R. Harris (22 pts 10 reb 2 blk) W. Lloyd (20 pts 2 ast)
11/19          Old Dominion              W 79-62         1-1             R. Felix (23 pts 9 reb 2 ast 2 stl) R. Harris (14 pts 9 reb 3 ast 2 stl)
11/23          Charlotte                 W 60-47         2-1             R. Harris (25 pts 5 reb 3 stl) W. Lloyd (16 pts 2 reb 2 ast 2 stl)
11/26          @ Kent State              W 65-53         3-1             R. Felix (14 pts 9 reb 5 ast 3 stl) J. Miles (19 pts 1 reb 1 ast)
11/30          Saint Josephs             W 74-61         4-1             J. Miles (26 pts 2 ast 3 stl) W. Lloyd (14 pts 5 reb 3 ast 4 stl)
12/3           @ South Carolina          W 79-73         5-1             J. Miles (18 pts 2 reb 3 ast) V. Evans (13 pts 6 reb 1 stl)
12/7           @ Connecticut             W 73-66         6-1             R. Harris (23 pts 10 reb 4 stl) J. Miles (15 pts 3 reb 4 ast 3 stl)
12/10          @ Columbia                W 74-48         7-1             R. Harris (25 pts 14 reb) J. Miles (21 pts 3 ast 1 stl)
12/13          @ #23 Syracuse            W 61-59         8-1             R. Felix (22 pts 7 reb 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk) W. Lloyd (14 pts 6 reb 1 ast)
12/21          @ #24 Indiana             L 57-64         8-2             W. Lloyd (19 pts 1 ast 4 stl) R. Felix (14 pts 8 reb 4 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
12/28          Rutgers                   W 72-63         9-2             R. Harris (26 pts 5 reb 1 ast) J. Miles (13 pts 1 reb 1 ast)

DECEMBER 14, 1949 . . . Up until last night’s come-from-behind win at #23 Syracuse it was easy enough to ask who had we beaten during this early win streak of any note? But we fought hard enough to come back from down 25-30 at the half to win this one at the buzzer to avoid overtime, and suddenly we’ve won eight in a row and while our offense hasn’t been spectacular, we’re currently in the top 25 nationally on points allowed and our defensive ratings are overall in the top 50 nationally and we’re 9th in the NET. At this point we’re focused on eight players in most games, with Evans, Wolfe and Toton pulling most of the bench duty. But it’s working, and that’s all you can ask for! Two years in a row beating Syracuse isn’t bad either.

JANUARY 1, 1950 . . . New year, new decade, but Army’s here for real! We’re off to a 9-2 start and our NET ranking is 3rd in the country, though we’re still not ranked in the AP Poll. Lafayette is also 9-2, with a NET ranked 110th, while Lehigh (7-4, 149 NET) and Boston University (6-5, 252 NET) are the only others in our conference with winning records, which is a big reason we’re NOT yet ranked. Navy, who we open the season against, is off to one of the worst starts in program history, at 1-10 and 304th in the NET. Randy Harris leads the team with 14.8 points 6.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while Reggie Felix has added 12.3 points 6.2 rebounds 2.2 assists 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Jeremy Miller and Waitari Lloyd are also each averaging 11.5 points per game. Felix has become the second player in Army history to break past 1,000 points scored -- at 1,042 points to this point, he’s almost a shoo-in to break Ahmad Swygart’s record of 1,274.

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
1/4            Navy                      W 69-48         10-2 (1-0)      W. Lloyd (19 pts 3 reb 3 ast 1 stl) R. Harris (13 pts 18 reb 1 stl)
1/7            @ Holy Cross              W 80-68         11-2 (2-0)      W. Lloyd (18 pts 2 reb 3 ast 2 stl) J. Miles (14 pts 3 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
1/11           American                  W 82-58         12-2 (3-0)      R. Harris (19 pts 9 reb 1 blk) J. Miles (20 pts 1 reb 3 ast 5 stl)
1/14           @ Boston University       W 75-45         13-2 (4-0)      R. Harris (36 pts 11 reb 1 stl) J. Miles (10 pts 5 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
1/18           Loyola MD                 W 71-36         14-2 (5-0)      J. Miles (17 pts 4 reb 3 ast) R. Harris (8 pts 16 reb 2 ast 2 stl 1 blk)
1/21           @ Lehigh                  W 75-54         15-2 (6-0)      W. Lloyd (16 pts 3 reb 6 ast) J. Miles (15 pts 3 ast 3 stl)
1/25    #25    @ Bucknell                W 73-53         16-2 (7-0)      R. Harris (29 pts 9 reb 1 ast 1 stl) R. Felix (12 pts 9 reb 4 ast 1 stl)
1/28    #25    Colgate                   W 89-67         17-2 (8-0)      R. Harris (27 pts 10 reb 2 ast) W. Lloyd (17 pts 2 reb 2 ast 1 blk)

JANUARY 29, 1950 . . . None of our players made the first Norton cut, but we’re undefeated in the conference and ranked nationally, and we have a two game lead over Bucknell, our nearest competitor in the Patriot League. Lafayette (14-5, 5-3, 143 NET) has fallen off considerably, and it is clear yet again that we’re the team to beat in the conference and it’s only hope for real postseason glory. We still have two games against Lafayette plus one each against the remaining teams to play, so we can’t slack off or get lazy out there. Being a good small school in a low-tier conference means there’s no room for error if you want to make your goals. Our defensive stature is rising, however -- our defensive rating right now ranks 13th in the country, and though our scoring per game is 93rd, our overall offensive rating for efficiency is 12th. We’re also allowing only 57.4 points per game, which puts us behind only six other teams. So we’re certainly performing at the level I expect. How far that can take us remains to be seen.

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
2/1     #23    @ Lafayette               W 92-61         18-2 (9-0)      R. Harris (34 pts 13 reb 1 ast) J. Miles (16 pts 3 reb 1 ast 3 stl)
2/4     #23    @ Navy                    W 73-68         19-2 (10-0)     J. Miles (30 pts 1 reb 2 ast 1 stl) R. Harris (10 pts 11 reb)
2/8     #19    Holy Cross                W 85-60         20-2 (11-0)     R. Felix (22 pts 9 reb 3 ast) J. Miles (19 pts 5 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
2/11    #19    @ American                W 75-47         21-2 (12-0)     R. Harris (18 pts 4 reb 7 ast) J. Miles (18 pts 6 ast 3 stl)
2/15    #16    Boston University         W 81-66         22-2 (13-0)     R. Harris (34 pts 13 reb) J. Miles (11 pts 1 reb 4 ast 1 stl)
2/18    #16    @ Loyola MD               W 74-54         23-2 (14-0)     W. Lloyd (18 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 stl) R. Felix (16 pts 9 reb 4 ast 1 stl 1 blk)

FEBRUARY 20, 1950 . . . We’ve won 33 consecutive Patriot League games, and we’re heading into the homestretch. And I’ve signed our third recruit of the season, Nathan Brown, a 6’8” center from Tonawanda, New York, a one star recruit unheralded recruit who, nonetheless, has a lot of potential to go with scoring and defensive ability. Another raw shot in the dark, I don’t expect him to be a big contributor but he’s a step above a walk-on and he chose us. I’m taking a leap of faith and hoping he’ll turn into at least a role player for us while he earns his Army degree. We have one open scholarship and I’m scouting outside the state for this spot, hoping we can find a surprise other teams overlooked.

[jksander]

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
2/22    #14    Lehigh                    W 77-53         24-2 (15-0)     R. Harris (25 pts 13 reb) W. Lloyd (17 pts 2 reb 3 stl)
2/25    #14    Bucknell                  W 69-45         25-2 (16-0)     R. Harris (23 pts 8 reb 2 ast 2 stl) W. Lloyd (13 pts 4 reb 2 stl)
3/1     #14    @ Colgate                 W 80-50         26-2 (17-0)     J. Miles (27 pts 3 reb 3 ast) W. Lloyd (15 pts 5 reb 1 ast)
3/4     #14    Lafayette                 W 75-50         27-2 (18-0)     R. Harris (20 pts 16 reb 1 ast 1 blk) J. Miles (21 pts 3 reb 2 ast)

Patriot League Tournament

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
3/6     #13    (9) Loyola MD             W 63-38         28-2            R. Harris (16 pts 14 reb 2 stl) R. Felix (14 pts 6 reb 5 ast 3 blk)
3/7     #13    (5) Lehigh                W 80-56         29-2            R. Felix (12 pts 10 reb 8 ast 7 stl) W. Lloyd (10 pts 3 reb 2 ast)
3/8     #13    (3) Colgate               L 62-75         29-3            J. Miles (12 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 stl) R. Harris (11 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 stl)

MARCH 9, 1950 . . . Colgate absolutely stunned us in the Patriot League Championship, beating us by 13 points in a game they all but dominated from the middle of the first half. That snapped a 39-game conference winning streak dating back to last year’s Navy loss in early January. Their reward will be an appearance in the tourney as a 16-seed for certain, but we’re still safely in according to the Bubble Watch, anticipating earning a 5-seed this year for a shot at redemption.

MARCH 13, 1950 . . . We drew the 4th seed in the Tampa regional, where we’ll face (13) North Dakota State (21-11) in the first round! Colgate, meanwhile, eked out a 15-seed in the Oakland regional, where they’ll face (2) Louisville (28-6) in the first round. Bucknell and Lehigh were invited to the Collegiate Insider Tournament. We rose to #11 in the final AP Poll of the season.

MARCH 14, 1950 . . . In the first round of the CIT, Bucknell lost a heartbreaker to Arkansas State 73-74, while Arkansas dominated Lehigh down the stretch, with Lehigh losing 60-69 in the end.

NCAA Tournament

Code: Select all

Date    Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
3/17    (13) North Dakota St.     W 90-71         30-3            R. Harris (18 pts 19 reb 2 ast 3 stl) J. Miles (27 pts 1 reb 4 ast)
3/19    (12) Brigham Young        W 79-58         31-3            W. Lloyd (20 pts 4 reb 2 ast 2 stl) R. Felix (12 pts 10 reb 5 ast)
3/24    (1) Kentucky              L 61-89         31-4            R. Harris (21 pts 10 reb 1 stl) W. Lloyd (15 pts 1 reb 2 blk)

MARCH 18, 1950 . . . Randy Harris had an incredible night on both sides of the floor as we built off a 41-41 tie at the half to dominate the Bison down the stretch, winning our opening game by 19 points! Our bench was a key part of it, beating theirs 23-11 which helped a ton since they did a great job shutting Lloyd down through the entire game. Unfortunately Colgate was not so lucky, losing to Louisville 54-89 in a game Louisville led from the word go.

MARCH 20, 1950 . . . We had the great fortune of facing the BYU Cougars in the second round, giving us a second underdog to trounce. This time we were thorough and convincing from the opening tip-off, building a 37-32 lead at the half and completely crushing them in the second half on the way to a 21-point win and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history! Waitari Lloyd was back to his normal self with a well-rounded defensive performance to go with 20 points, and in addition to the usual suspects Jason Wolfe came off the bench with 10 points three assists and three steals in 18 mintues of solid play off the bench. Of course our next opponent will not be nearly as easy to defeat -- top-seeded Kentucky and their 32-4 record.

MARCH 25, 1950 . . . We at least can say we held a lead on Kentucky for a moment, up 4-0, but they then took the lead and blew us out of the water. We gave up 54 points in the first half, but held our own in the second half to at least keep it from being an epic humiliation. But face it, we’re a service academy and they’re a basketball blue blood. We simply couldn’t overcome the talent and experience gap. I’d be crazy to say out loud that there’s the chance we could be back here next year, but we do have a lot of solid returning players. If it does happen we’ll at least have the ability to say we’ve been here before, and that experience will be worth a lot.

APRIL 4, 1950 . . . Kentucky made it back to the title game after winning last year’s Championship, but they fell this time to undefeated (1) Wisconsin 68-75, so there will be no repeat this year. The Badgers’ 40-0 season under head coach Marcus Paige earned him the unanimous National Coach of the Year award. This was the Badgers’ second title in three years, after barely missing out on the Final Four last year. It was a good year for the Big Ten, with (4) Minnesota also making the Final Four (before losing to Wisconsin 71-87). Texas, out of the Big 12, made it to the Final Four, losing to Kentucky 56-74.

Team Leaders
Scoring: Randy Harris (17.2 ppg) Jeremy Miles (13.5 ppg) Waitari Lloyd (12.0 ppg) Reggie Felix (11.3 ppg)
Rebounds: Randy Harris (8.9 rpg) Reggie Felix (6.2 rpg) Victor Evans (3.9 rpg) Waitari Lloyd (2.6 rpg)
Assists: Warren Prince (4.9 apg) Reggie Felix (3.3 apg) Jeremy Miles (3.0 apg) Waitari Lloyd (2.1 apg)
Steals: Waitari Lloyd (1.8 spg) Warren Prince (1.7 spg) Jeremy Miles (1.6 spg) Reggie Felix (1.1 spg)
Blocks: Reggie Felix (1.1 bpg) Victor Evans (0.6 bpg) Waitari Lloyd (0.5 bpg)

Graduating
Reggie Felix (3.6 GPA) 9.9 ppg 5.7 rpg 2.7 apg 0.9 spg 0.8 bpg (128 starts)
Clarence Brown (4.0 GPA) 0.8 ppg 0.2 apg (11 games)*
Cliff Ezell (4.0 GPA) 1.3 ppg 1.5 rpg 0.5 apg 0.1 spg (32 games)**
___________________
* 4-Year Walk-on
** 2-Year Walk-on

Awards
Patriot League Player of the Year: Randy Harris
Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year: Reggie Felix
Patriot League Coach of the Year: Tex Kauferhalter
1st Team All Patriot League: Randy Harris
1st Team All Patriot League: Reggie Felix
2nd Team All Patriot League: Jeremy Miles
2nd Team All Patriot League: Waitari Lloyd

APRIL 9, 1950 . . . My AHC, Jason Baxter, announced his retirement this morning, just shy of his 70th birthday. My other assistants are not ready for the promotion yet, so we will have to look outside the program for a hire. Meanwhile, we’ve officially signed our fourth scholarship player -- Torris Walton, a 6’6” forward from Columbia, Maryland, is a solid three-star recruit with top notch athleticism and a lot of upside. He’s a good passer and shooter but is very raw overall, so a lot of schools looked past him. Ranked just outside the top 300 nationally, he’s a solid 3.2 GPA student so he should fit in very nicely with what we’re continuing to build here at West Point.

APRIL 16, 1950 . . . I’ve hired a new AHC, bringing in Matt Kamouna, 58, who was formerly the ASC at the University of Maine. He’s still relatively unknown, but his recruiting rating is solid, a significant improvement on his predecessor, whiuch should help us a great deal in the coming years. He’ll earn $57,000 per year for the next five years, which is also a significant discount over what we were paying Baxter.

[jksander]

SEASON SIX
1950-51

Coach Information
Name: Rolf “Tex” Kauferhalter
Age / Record: 28 (125-47, .727)
Contract: $84,000 / 3 Years
NCAA Sweet Sixteens: 1 (1950)
NCAA Appearances: 4 (1946-1947, 1949-1950)
NCAA Tourney Record: 3-4 (.428)
NIT Championships: 1 (1948)
NIT Appearances: 1 (1948)
NIT Record: 5-0 (1.000)
Patriot League Titles: 4 (1946-1947, 1949-1950)
Patriot League Tourney Titles: 3 (1946-1947, 1949)
Patriot League Coach of the Year: 3 (1947-1948, 1950)
Reputation: 27% (+5)
Offense: 29% (+3)
Defense: 83% (+6)
Recruiting: 39% (+5)
Scouting: 49% (+2)
Development: 39% (+5)

School Information
School: Army Black Knights
Location: West Point NY
Conference: Patriot League
Arena: Christl Arena (5,043 Cap)
Budget: $147,000 ($106,000 Assistants / $41,000 Recruiting)
Facilities: C
Academics: B+ (SAT Min: 960)
School Prestige: 27% (+5)
Conf. Prestige: 23% (+1)

Job Goals
1. Win the Patriot League Tournament.
2. Win 15+ Games.

Recruit Class Ranking: 69th

Assistants
AHC: Matt Kamouna (58, $57,000 / 5 years, Rep: 9%, -7) - Recruiting (52% +19)
2nd: Lovell Mason (40, $32,500 / 2 years, Rep: 11%, +1) - Scouting (54%)
3rd: Brian Finneman (57, $16,500 / 4 years, Rep: 10%, +1) - Development (35%)

MAY 29, 1950 . . . Troy Butler is transfering out. He was frustrated by his lack of minutes last season, and I was somewhat frustrated with his unwillingness to put in the work to be good enough for more minutes. So it’s probably a smart move for him. Either he needed to focus on building a teamwork mentality or he was never going to develop into the leader the Army was going to need him to be upon graduation.

JUNE 26, 1950 . . . Recruiting has officially begun, and we have three open scholarship spots to fill this season. Ritchie Toton is playing for a chance to start next season in some capacity, and we’ll still have Harris for his senior year so we realy don’t need to go after any centers. But Miles and Lloyd will leave a huge gap among guards -- Warren Prince will be our obvious starting point guard next year but we definitely need to at least go after a good backup for him, as well as a starting-caliber shooting guard. Torris Walton will get a chance to start as a freshman forward this year, but we also need to seriously search for either a tall guard who can play small forward or a quality small forward who can develop to be next year’s sixth man right out of the gate. I will not be targeting any power forwards or centers this season.

AUGUST 7, 1950 . . . Jeremy Miles (26th), Waitari Lloyd (36th) and Randy Harris (38th) are all nominated for the Norton Award this year. Thus far we have never had a player who was nominated and made the first February cut for the award, but it’s still a great honor for what we’re doing with this program in developing future leaders. I’m always going to be more interested as a coach in developing a team mentality, so we’re not focused on the winning of awards. But it says a lot about the quality of our team that so many individuals have been singled out as worthy of national notice.

SEPTEMBER 25, 1950 . . . In one fell swoop we got all three of our incoming recruits to commit! Brandon Deane, a 6’7” small forward from Homer, New York, is a three-star recruit ranked #272 nationally, with above average defensive ability, strong shooting skills inside and out, and good overall potential. Michael Wheeler, a 6’1” shooting guard from New Castle, Pennsylvania, is a two star recruit ranked just inside the top 600, who was adamant that he wanted to go to a school with strong academic and disciplinary profiles. He’s one of the best overall athletes in the region this season with a lot of upside, and he’s a skilled outside shooter with above average rebounding skills for a player of his size, but otherwise he’s a raw prospect. We were his top school from the beginning. Finally, our third player to join, Eric Parker, is a 6’4” point guard from Amsterdam, New York. A two star prospect ranked essentially back to back with Wheeler, has incredible upside and solid-to-above-average defensive skills. He’s also a top notch passer, handler and scorer who can shoot well from outside if he doesn’t find a quick pass inside for an assist. He was another kid who looked for discipline when finding the right school, and I think he’s got the potential to be our sixth man next year for sure. Playing time, however, is not an issue for him, he just wants to develop the skills to have a solid military career. I can definitely respect that.

We’ve also finalized our schedule for the upcoming season, and it’s another relentless road slate, all the better to hopefully build our stature in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee enough despite what is expected to be a weak conference schedule:

11/16: @ Princeton
11/19: Charlotte
11/23: @ #20 Georgetown
11/26: @ VA Commonwealth
11/30: @ South Carolina
12/3: Mississippi State
12/7: Utah State
12/10: @ West Virginia
12/13: #23 Syracuse
12/21: Akron
12/28: @ #19 North Carolina

We’ll open the Patriot League season on January 4th with a road trip to Colgate, followed by our conference home opener against Navy on the 7th. We currently have a 34-game regular season Patriot League win streak going, having not lost in-conference since January 5, 1949 against Navy 63-72. This year we have the chance to win our third consecutive conference title, having won the Patriot League either shared or outright in four of the last five seasons.
 
Team Roster
PG - Jeremy Miles (6’5” 208 lbs Sr) Commack NY (Commack HS) 4.0 GPA (4.5/5.0) 13.5 ppg 1.9 rpg 3.0 apg 1.6 spg
SG - Waitari Lloyd (6’3” 212 lbs Sr) Peru NY (Peru HS) 3.5 GPA (4.5/5.0) 12.0 ppg 2.6 rpg 2.1 apg 1.8 spg 0.5 bpg
SF - Torris Walton (6’6” 241 lbs Fr) Columbia MD (Atholton HS) 3.2 GPA (1.5/4.0)
PF - Victor Evans (6’8” 229 lbs So) Albany NY (Bishop Maginn HS) 2.9 GPA (4.0/4.5) 6.2 ppg 3.9 rpg 0.8 apg 0.6 spg 0.6 bpg
C - Randy Harris (7’1” 281 lbs Jr) Buffalo NY (Seneca Vocational HS) 3.2 GPA (5.0/5.0) 17.2 ppg 8.9 rpg 0.8 apg 0.8 spg 0.3 bpg

6 - Warren Prince (6’0” 188 lbs Jr) East Greenbush NY (Columbia HS) 3.1 GPA (4.0/4.0) 3.6 ppg 1.9 rpg 4.9 apg 1.7 spg 0.3 bpg
7 - Jason Wolfe (6’0” 178 lbs So) West Islip NY (St. John Baptist Diocesan HS) 4.0 GPA (1.5/3.5) 4.3 ppg 1.6 rpg 2.0 apg 1.1 spg
8 - Ritchie Toton (6’8” 260 lbs So) Williamsville NY (Williamsville North HS) 4.0 GPA (1.5/4.0) 3.6 ppg 2.1 rpg 0.6 apg 0.2 spg 0.3 bpg
9 - Jaquay Jones (6’7” 285 lbs So RS) Windsor VT (Windsor HS) 1.5/3.5) 0.3 ppg 0.9 rpg 0.4 apg 0.3 spg 0.1 bpg
10 - Peter Darden (6’7” 218 lbs Fr) Islip Terrace NY (East Islip HS) 3.6 GPA (1.0/4.0)
11 - Nathan Brown (6’8” 254 lbs Fr) Tonawanda NY (Cardinal O’Hara HS) 2.9 GPA (1.5/2.0)
12 - Daniel Bremer (6’6” 219 lbs Fr) Sandy Creek NY (Sandy Creek Central HS) 2.8 GPA (1.0/4.0)
13 - Changa Menser (6’1” 285 lbs Fr) Syracuse NY (Westhill HS) 4.0 GPA (0.5/0.5)*
14 - Dan Lewis (6’8” 257 lbs Sr) Whitney Point NY (Whitney Point HS) 4.0 GPA (0.5/0.5) 0.4 ppg 0.6 rpg 0.1 apg 0.1 spg*
15 - David Fisher (6’6” 219 lbs Jr) Fredonia NY (Fredonia HS) 3.3 GPA (0.5/0.5) 0.5 ppg 0.2 rpg 0.3 apg 0.3 spg*
____________
* Walk-on

NOVEMER 13, 1950 . . . I’m very happy with our starting five, and Prince, Wolfe and Toton should compete for double digit minutes. Jaquay Jones will also be in the mix off the bench, and though he’s very raw from a pure talent standpoint, I chose not to redshirt Daniel Bremer -- he will get his chances during garbage time in blowouts, and will be a key bench player if there are any guard or small forward injuries during the course of the season. Starting Walton at small forward is our biggest question-mark as far as how he’ll work out, but I think overall we’re a deeper team overall than last year and therefore if we can do well in the pre-conference season I think we have a very good chance to equal or better our postseason chances compared to last year. How well we perform the next few seasons, however, will depend on how these young bench players develop. Will we remain a regional juggernaut or slide into a rebuild? How we handle this season will potentially answer a lot of those questions.

[jksander]

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
11/16          @ Princeton               W 65-61         1-0             W. Lloyd (23 pts 5 ast 1 stl) R. Toton (11 pts 4 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
11/19          Charlotte                 W 71-49         2-0             W. Lloyd (18 pts 2 reb 3 ast 2 stl) R. Harris (13 pts 16 reb 2 ast)
11/23          @ Georgetown              L 64-74         2-1             W. Lloyd (29 pts 3 reb 3 stl) J. Miles (11 pts 6 ast 2 stl)
11/26          @ #24 VA Commonwealth     L 53-68         2-2             R. Harris (24 pts 18 reb 1 ast 1 stl) V. Evans (9 pts 4 reb 1 blk)
11/30          @ #17 South Carolina      L 68-79         2-3             R. Harris (15 pts 10 reb 2 stl 2 blk) W. Lloyd (12 pts 3 ast 1 stl)
12/3           Mississippi State         L 61-66         2-4             R. Harris (25 pts 16 reb 2 stl) V. Evans (6 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 blk)
12/7           Utah State                W 87-59         3-4             R. Harris (35 pts 18 reb 2 ast 2 stl) W. Lloyd (23 pts 2 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
12/10          @ West Virginia           W 76-62         4-4             R. Harris (20 pts 19 reb 2 ast 1 stl) J. Miles (11 pts 5 ast 1 stl)
12/13          #23 Syracuse              W 73-60         5-4             W. Lloyd (22 pts 4 reb 1 ast 2 stl) J. Miles (12 pts 6 ast 4 stl)
12/21          Akron                     W 63-56         6-4             J. Miles (17 pts 3 reb 4 stl) W. Lloyd (13 pts 2 ast 3 stl)
12/28          @ North Carolina          W 81-70         7-4             V. Evans (15 pts 7 reb 2 ast) W. Lloyd (18 pts 2 reb 2 ast 2 stl)

DECEMBER 8, 1950 . . . We had a string of injuries through the month of November that really hamstrung us during what became a brutal road stretch. We had to start Bremer at point guard for the Mississippi State game when Miller and Prince were both down (Miller with a Hamstring pull that he had tried and failed to play through, and Prince with a severely sprained finger on his dominant hand). That left us in a tight spot, having Wolfe, Jones and Toton playing serious minutes off the bench, and leaving Lloyd and Harris to be more exposed than usual against opponent double teams. Injuries aside, it is clear that Felix graduating into the service has hurt us a lot more than we’d anticipated, and this season could require more difficult team-building than we’d anticipated.

DECEMBER 11, 1950 . . . Miles was able to step in as the sixth man against West Virginia as he came back from his hamstring injury, and he should be able to return to his starting point guard role in time for the Syracuse game. That he came off the bench as our second best performer in a 14-point win over West Virginia on the road says a lot about our chances to get this rotation back to normal.

JANUARY 1, 1951 . . . All things considered, finishing the pre-conference season at 7-4 is a good result. We’ve had the time for our players to rest and ready themselves for the Patriot League season ahead, and I can confidently say we’re in good shape to defend our title and make another run in the NCAA Tournament. And this year we need to be ready because we’re no longer the only team fighting hard in the non-conference. American is off to a 7-4 start with a NET ranking of 65th, while Lafayette finished 6-5 with a 93 NET. Ours is still the best in the league, ranked 44th, but it’s safe to say we should expect to get every team’s best effort when we play. And running the table again is highly unlikely. It’s safe to say this has not been the start we’ve expected, and we’re not living up to our reputation as a defensive juggernaut -- our defensive rating ranks 156th nationally -- but if we can gel as a team during the conference, I can see a lot of upside for this season, and I’m excited to keep coaching these players as they adjust to having constant targets on their backs.

Randy Harris leads the team with 16.2 points 12.0 rebounds 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while Waitari Lloyd has averaged 16.8 points 2.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Jeremy Miles has struggled with that hamstring and has therefore averaged just over 23 minutes per game but he’s still putting up 7.8 points 4.8 asists and 1.9 steals per game. And I expect those numbers to go up significantly now that he’s back to his healthiest. Torris Walton has also done well defensively, grabbing 2.9 rebounds and averaging two assists per game while holding his own with 6.4 points per game. He has a lot of potential but we knew he’d have to survive being thrown into the field of fire as a freshman.