• View topic - From WWII to the NCAAs: "Tex" Kauferhalter's Defensive Rise

Posted: **Sat Mar 18, 2023 5:11 pm**

MAY 25, 1945 . . .

It is May of 1945, and the American Army has defeated Germany. Hitler is dead, and I got back to the states just after the celebrations of the victory in Europe. I was born and raised in America, growing up in southern Indiana among the Swiss and German settlements near Evansville, Indiana, and when the war broke out I wanted to prove to my country that I was the biggest, baddest, anti-Hitler son of a gun they could find. I knew the language and I wanted to use my knowledge of German language and culture to help bring that bastard down. I teamed up with a group of German Jews who were forced to flee the Nazis, gathering combat intelligence on the Western Front to help the Army bring Hitler to his knees. The group was called the Ritchie Boys, and you certainly haven’t heard of us. We didn’t do it for the notoriety. We did it because it was right.

Now I’m back stateside, and I want to keep serving my country. I’m Rolf Kauferhalter, but because I had a southern Indiana drawl and most people outside the Ohio Valley can’t tell one American accent from another I got the name “Tex” while overseas. I kind of like it. It’s a badass name for a bad-ass World War II vet. And I learned that the Army basketball program out at West Point needed someone to take charge and help young athletic cadets develop the leadership they’ll need to dominate in the field of battle. I’m 23 years old and up for the challenge -- this game of basketball is catching on nationally, and I look forward to being a part of cementing its legacy within the Academy.

We’re going to play a game focused heavily on defensive skills. We’re going to press constantly, we’re going to fight for rebounds on offense, and we’re going to be relentlessly man-to-man orientied. The players who will be able to play for me will have to be able to stand up to the rigors of an Army education, so I’m not looking for superstars or players who want to focus on an individual game. We’ll live as a team and die as a team, metaphorically in the game but quite literally if a war were to break out. And I don’t want my teams going over there to die.

More dispatches when I have news to extend. Until then this is Tex Kauferhalter hitting the road.

SEASON ONE
1945-46

Coach Information
Name: Rolf “Tex” Kauferhalter
Age / Record: 23 (0-0)
Contract: $80,000 / 3 Years
Reputation: 10% (Poor)
Job Security: 100% (Very Secure)
Offense: 18%
Defense: 57%
Recruiting: 16%
Scouting: 41%
Development: 18%
Ambition: High
Academics: High
Discipline: Very High
Integrity: Very High
Temper: Very High
Player Preference: Heavily Favors Veteran Players
Rotation: Heavily Favors Deep Bench
Pace: Very Slow Pace
Crash Off. Boards: Always Crash
Def. Intensity: Tenacious
Crash Def. Boards: Always Crash
Full Court Defense: Always Pressure
Zone Defense: Never Zone

School Information
School: Army Black Knights
Location: West Point NY
Conference: Patriot League
Arena: Christl Arena (5,043 Cap)
Budget: $147,000 ($68,000 Assistants / $79,000 Recruiting)
Facilities: C
Academics: B+ (SAT Min: 960)
School Prestige: 14%
Conf. Prestige: 24%

Job Goals
1. Finish in the Top Three of the Conference
2. Win At Least 10 Games

Assistants
AHC: Jason Baxter (65, $33,000 / 3 years, Rep: 9%) - Recruiting (32%)
2nd: John Dean (37, $18,000 / 3 years, Rep: 9%) - Scouting (24%)
3rd: Tony Johnson (52, $17,000 / 3 years, Rep: 8%) - Development (20%)

EDITED: Had to make slight changes because I had to recreate my game files because I accidently started in a mode that was for multiplayer. So there were slight changes upon recreation. Since this takes place in 1945, I have no early declaration for the draft, and I will not be using the modern transfer portal.

Posted: **Sat Mar 18, 2023 5:59 pm**

OK! Let's see how Tex from Indiana can do.

Posted: **Sat Mar 18, 2023 6:10 pm**

PointGuard wrote:OK! Let's see how Tex from Indiana can do.

It should definitely be tough ... had to recreate the game because I tried using Universe mode which would have allowed more coach changes through the dynasty, but it also would have required every advancing to be done in the commish mode which would have given me a migraine. So I restarted in normal mode. He's 23 ... if I get through 40 or 50 seasons it will be time to start something new anyway.

Posted: **Sat Mar 18, 2023 8:08 pm**

JUNE 25, 1945 . . .

I spent my summer driving all over New York and the Northeast scouting for talent. We’ll be scouting various player showcases in the region as we look for players who want to play hard-nosed defense while considering what the Army has to offer. At this point I have to be honest and asusme we’ll be mostly playing with New York area recruits, and occasional walk-on players from elsewhere -- it’s just our complete invisibility from a national recruiting perspective, plus the commitment to actually join the Army in order to play here. We have only one scholarship available to fill at this point, and though I don’t have the intention of kicking any of our current players off the team to free up scholarships, I do run a tight ship. So just because some young turk thinks he’s got a scholarship and therefore the permission to ignore my orders, he can forget it. I will cut players liberally if they get out of line, and if that makes my job as a coach harder, so be it. No one said signing up for a tour of duty was supposed to be easy just because you get to relax and play collegiate basketball in between studies and drill. Playing this game for me and this program is a privilege and should be treated accordingly. When you practice for me, you earn your rights.

JULY 31, 1945 . . .

It’s been a long summer of driving and scouting basketball players. I have about a baker’s dozen solid New York recruits which look promising, and have just added a bunch of regional kids with good grades and at least some interest in playing for a military academy. I have just that one schularship, so for now I’m playing it cool. I don’t need to rush -- if a kid goes and signs elsewhere quickly, he wasn’t going to play for me anyway.

SEPTEMBER 4, 1945 . . .

Classes are in session. Still working the road and the phone lines to see who we can possibly get in here. Lots of letters being sent out, We don’t start practicing for another few weeks, but we have a scrappy roster I’m thinking can win the games we need to win. I don’t have a lot of depth. Most of our scout team probably won’t get many minutes, but they’ll work hard. And down the road I hope to have a team built deep enough we can play in platoons and wear teams down that way. This won’t be that year. Our roster has experience though, with three juniors and a senior to go with a single sophomore expected to get starting minutes. I’m told the NCAA has said Freshmen can now play on the varsity roster, so we don’t have to worry about keeping a separate Frosh team. We should get our schedule back from the administration in a couple weeks at which point I can start really game planning for the upcoming year.

SEPTEMBER 11, 1945 . . .

I had an in-home visit with a recruit who looked promising, but I think his parents were Communists. They clearly were not interested in their son playing for a military academy, and I didn’t waste a lot of time before getting out the door. He was the only three-star player on our list. The rest of the guys are more likely to consider our program because they honestly need what the Army can provide, beyond the few years on a basketball court -- a degree, and job security in a world where that matters A LOT.

SEPTEMBER 18, 1945 . . .

Our non-conference schedule has been released:

11/14 - James Madison
11/17 - @ Hofstra
11/21 - @ William & Mary
11/24 - @ Iona
11/28 - @ Charlotte
12/1 - @ Niagara
12/5 - @ Monmouth
12/8 - Howard
12/12 - Fairleigh Dickenson
12/19 - Saint Peters
12/26 - @ Marist

We’ll open the Patriot League season with a home game against American on January 2nd and a road trip to Lafayette on the 5th.

NOVEMBER 13, 1945 . . .

No word on recruiting. Here’s our roster heading into the season:

PG - Allen Oliver (6’0” 175 lbs Jr) Middleport NY (Royalton-Hartland Central HS) 3.1 GPA (3.0/3.5)
SG - Jamal Cokley (6’0” 207 lbs Jr) Waterloo NY (Waterloo HS) 3.2 GPA (3.5/3.5)
SF - Ahmad Swygart (6’7” 201 lbs So) Rennselaer NY (Rennselaer Middle HS) 2.9 GPA (2.5/3.0)
PF - Speedy Newman (6’8” 207 lbs Sr) Greenwich NY (Greenwich Central HS) 3.0 GPA (2.5/3.5)
C - Terrance Babcock (7’1” 269 lbs Jr) Franklinville NY (Franklinville HS) 3.2 GPA (2.0/4.0)

6 - Ben Heard (6’6” 216 lbs So) Oakfield NY (Oakfield Alabama Central HS) 2.9 GPA (2.5/3.5)
7 - Charlie Gilmore (6’3” 218 lbs Jr) Clarence NY (Clarence Central HS) 4.0 GPA (1.5/1.5)
8 - Chris Bailey (6’0” 170 lbs Fr) Oriskany NY (Oriskany Central HS) 3.9 GPA (2.0/3.0)
9 - Henry Akacem (6’10” 269 lbs So) Brooklyn NY (St. Joseph’s HS) 4.0 GPA (2.0/3.5)
10 - Peter Howard (6’11” 241 lbs So) Honeoye Falls NY (Honeoye Falls Lima HS) 3.5 GPA (1.5/3.5)
11 - Stephan Jennings (6’0” 192 lbs Jr) Cattaraugus NY (Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central HS) 3.8 GPA (1.5/3.5)
12 - Kenny Cross (6’8” 243 lbs So) Afton NY (Afton Central HS) 2.9 GPA (1.5/4.0)
13 - Bryan Baron (6’1” 178 lbs Sr) Lansing NY (Lansing HS) 3.0 GPA (1.0/1.0)*
14 - Trenton Ballard (6’9” 241 lbs Sr) Oneonta NY (Oneonta HS) 3.8 GPA (0.5/0.5)*

RS - Kareem Lackey (6’4” 210 lbs Fr) Greenlawn NY (Harborfields HS) 2.9 GPA
__________
* Walk-on

We’re putting 85% of our time into Motion Offense, with 15% of our time being spent learning the Triangle. As far as defense goes it’s all man-to-man, whether pressing or not, though if we can handle it without getting wimded we’ll be pressing. And if we get winded, they’ll get pressed at practice until they can handle it. Everyone’s grades look good.

Posted: **Sat Mar 18, 2023 11:14 pm**

Code: Select all: Date Rank Team Score W/L Record Key Players 11/14 James Madison L 67-74 0-1 A. Oliver (17 pts 2 ast 2 stl) T. Babcock (11 pts 3 reb 1 stl) 11/17 @ Hofstra L 72-90 0-2 A. Oliver (17 pts 3 ast 1 stl) P. Howard (14 pts 1 reb 1 ast) J. Oakley (7 pts 7 ast) 11/21 @ William & Mary L 53-76 0-3 A. Oliver (13 pts 5 reb 2 ast 3 stl) A. Swygart (10 pts 3 reb 1 blk) 11/24 @ Iona L 45-56 0-4 A. Oliver (12 pts 3 reb 1 ast) S. Newman (8 pts 4 reb 2 ast 4 stl) 11/28 @ Charlotte W 73-72 1-4 J. Cokley (13 pts 6 reb 4 ast) A. Oliver (13 pts 5 ast 1 stl) 12/1 @ Niagara L 65-84 1-5 J. Cokley (16 pts 4 reb 4 ast 1 blk) A. Oliver (12 pts 2 reb 4 ast) 12/5 @ Monmouth L 65-84 1-6 A. Oliver (12 pts 3 reb 2 ast) H. Akacem (9 pts 3 reb) 12/8 Howard L 56-71 1-7 A. Oliver (16 pts 1 reb 3 ast) H. Akacem (8 pts 1 reb 1 ast) 12/12 Fairleigh Dickenson L 56-69 1-8 A. Oliver (10 pts 2 reb 5 ast 1 stl) B. Heard (5 pts 11 reb) 12/19 Saint Peters L 52-71 1-9 A. Oliver (17 pts 2 reb 1 ast) A. Swygart (13 pts 3 reb 1 blk) 12/26 @ Marist L 42-65 1-10 S. Newman (6 pts 3 reb 2 ast) J. Cokley (6 pts 2 ast 1 stl)

NOVEMBER 21, 1945 . . . Charlie Gilmore and Jamal Cokley have been getting into it at practice and I’m not going to have it. I reamed them both out both during practice and after, and when Cokley mouthed off, he got a week’s suspension. If he keeps causing trouble he’s off the team and in serious risk of being kicked out of the academy. We also lost Peter Howard to a broken wrist. The Sophomore forward won’t be able to return until at least mid-January. We’re working out the ensuing rotation troubles while on this massive road series. Hopefully by the time we return to our home court for the Howard came in December we’ll have things working like a well-oiled machine.

NOVEMBER 28, 1945 . . . Cokley came back from his suspension and played with fire and determination in his return, helping us to a one point lead over Charlotte in our fourth of six consecutive road games, ensuring we won’t go winless this season. It’s hard to tell how poorly we match up against our Patriot League opponents because we’ve played such a grueling road schedule. Our next six games are half at home, so we have to keep working hard on our defensive strategies and know that the heart of our season still remains ahead.

JANUARY 2, 1946 . . . My superiors have made it clear they don’t see this as a “must win games at all costs” program we’re building -- they want me to be focusing on building men who can work as a team and develop into soldiers who can help us win the next war. So though I’m disappointed that we’ve lost so many games this winter, I’m emboldened by the fact that, despite the odd disciplinary issue early in the season, we’re showing strong teamwork and the ability to learn a system that requires players to put in more effort than perhaps their athleticism would suggest they can handle. I am still hopeful that we can perform admirably in the Patriot League season. Aside from Lafayette’s Leopards, which have started out at 9-2 overall with a NET ranking that is right on the edge of the top 50, everyone else in the conference is ranked below 140th. And only Lafayette, Boston University (7-4, 254 NET), Holy Cross (6-6, 143 NET) and Navy (5-6, 161 NET) have a NET ranking above 300th. So there’s plenty of room for us to improve our standing. We do, however, have a 1-10 record, tied for last with American, and we are one of the 15 worst teams in the nation in NET ranking. It means we’ll have to play hungry and determined basketball if we want to succeed.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 12:12 am**

Code: Select all: Date Rank Team Score W/L Record Key Players 1/2 American W 74-63 2-10 (1-0) A. Swygart (19 pts 2 reb 2 ast) J. Cokley (14 pts 2 reb 6 ast) 1/5 @ Lafayette L 64-76 2-11 (1-1) A. Oliver (22 pts 4 ast 3 stl) J. Cokley (11 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 stl) 1/9 Loyola (MD) W 80-56 3-11 (2-1) A. Swygart (13 pts 2 reb 3 ast) J. Cokley (13 pts 3 reb 5 ast 4 stl) 1/12 @ Lehigh W 71-65 4-11 (3-1) J. Cokley (16 pts 6 reb 5 ast 2 stl) A. Swygart (11 pts 4 reb 2 ast 1 stl) 1/16 Holy Cross W 56-44 5-11 (4-1) J. Cokley (17 pts 2 reb 1 ast) A. Swygart (9 pts 4 reb 3 ast 2 stl) 1/19 @ Bucknell L 60-75 5-12 (4-2) J. Cokley (21 pts 3 reb 4 ast 4 blk) S. Newman (10 pts 4 reb 1 stl) 1/23 Navy W 80-68 6-12 (5-2) A. Swygart (18 pts 3 reb 3 ast) A. Oliver (18 pts 10 ast 1 stl) 1/26 @ Colgate L 65-73 6-13 (5-3) A. Oliver (21 pts 2 reb 5 ast) A. Swygart (20 pts 3 reb 4 ast 3 stl) 1/30 Boston University W 68-61 7-13 (6-3) A. Swigart (21 pts 1 stl) A. Oliver (17 pts 4 reb 5 ast 4 stl)

JANUARY 16, 1946 . . . After our first four games we’re off to a surprisingly strong 3-1 start in the conference, as the defensive skills are finally starting to really take hold. Of course our level of competition is not great, and the fact that our low-ranked team is beating others has neutralized our conference NET rankings. Lafayette, after a 2-2 start, is now 143rd in the NET, and ours has only climbed to 339th. In other words no one in this conference is getting written about in the national papers. We’re grinders, and as a coach I simply hope my players are learning lessons they can use in their lives after Army.

JANUARY 24, 1946 . . . Whatever else happens this season, we got an excellent win last night in front of a rabid crowd of cheering cadets, blasting the Midshipman 45-34 in the first half and then holding force against them through the remainder. Allen Oliver had the first double double for a player since I started coaching here, which I know he’s proud of because his ten assists helped win the game by finding the open man when he was being double-teamed. We’ve come a long way from our 1-10 start, even if the NET rankings disagree.

JANUARY 31, 1946 . . . Midway through the Patriot League season we’re 6-3 and in a four-way tie for first. This is obviously a winner-take-all league, and there are still nine games left plus the conference tournament to go, but at the very least we have a chance to meet all of our goals, and even exceed them, if we continue to work hard and demand the best from ourselves. Recruiting has been a struggle, but with only one open schlarship, there’s not so much pressure to succeed in that arena this year -- but if we don’t find anyone to join next season we’ll have our hands full next year with a much larger, more critical graduating class. So I’m continuing to work with my assistants to make something happen in the late recruiting window.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 1:32 pm**

Code: Select all: Date Rank Team Score W/L Record Key Players 2/2 @ American W 63-46 8-13 (7-3) J. Cokley (15 pts 13 reb 3 ast 3 stl) A. Swigart (14 pts 5 reb 2 ast 3 blk) 2/6 Lafayette L 51-58 8-14 (7-4) J. Cokley (13 pts 3 reb 1 ast 2 stl) A. Swygart (10 pts 7 reb 4 ast) 2/9 @ Loyola (MD) W 62-48 9-14 (8-4) A. Oliver (20 pts 3 reb 4 ast 3 stl) T. Babcock (9 pts 3 reb 1 ast) 2/13 Lehigh W 71-65 10-14 (9-4) J. Cokley (21 pts 4 reb 4 ast 2 stl) A. Swygart (16 pts 6 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk) 2/16 @ Holy Cross W 66-58 11-14 (10-4) S. Newman (13 pts 4 reb 2 ast) A. Swygart (12 pts 2 reb 1 ast) 2/20 Bucknell W 70-49 12-14 (11-4) A. Oliver (15 pts 2 reb 8 ast) J. Cokley (15 pts 7 reb 4 ast 2 stl) 2/23 @ Navy W 68-63 13-14 (12-4) A. Swygart (24 pts 2 reb 1 ast) A. Oliver (22 pts 2 reb 2 ast) 2/27 Colgate W 69-52 14-14 (13-4) A. Swygart (17 pts 7 reb 2 ast) A. Oliver (15 pts 2 reb 5 ast 1 stl) 3/2 @ Boston University L 60-65 14-15 (13-5) A. Swygart (16 pts 3 reb 2 ast) J. Cokley (13 pts 6 reb 1 ast) 3/7 (9) American* W 65-55 15-15 A. Swygart (16 pts 4 reb 4 ast) J. Cokley (15 pts 3 reb 3 stl) 3/8 (5) Boston University* W 80-69 16-15 J. Cokley (33 pts 5 reb 4 ast 4 stl) A. Swygart (17 pts 5 reb 2 stl) 3/9 (2) Lafayette* W 72-67 17-15 T. Babcock (19 pts 7 reb 2 ast) A. Swygart (16 pts 7 reb 3 ast) 3/14 (16) Southern+ W 63-51 18-15 A. Swygart (24 pts 10 reb) A. Oliver (11 pts 5 reb 10 ast) 3/16 (1) Michigan State+ L 46-70 18-16 A. Swygart (9 pts 4 reb 3 blk) J. Cokley (9 pts 5 reb 3 ast)

_______________________________
* Patriot League Tournament
+ NCAA Tournament

FEBRUARY 14, 1946 . . . We secured our 10th win last night, our 9th of the conference season, so the academy’s leaders are happy with the direction I am taking our team. We’re still in the race for the conference title, though we’ve lost both games against Lafayette and we’re currently tied with them, so they are still the favorite to win it all and then blitz through the conference tournament and get our conference’s single spot in the NCAA Tournament. I, meanwhile, have my eye on staying in the race and competing for a possible winning season.

FEBRUARY 28, 1946 . . . With the win over Colgate, we accomplished a lot of things. We won the conference outright, we improved to .500 overall, and we managed to have beaten everyone in the conference at least once except Lafayette, just four days after beating Navy for the second time this year! That’s a lot to be pleased with, and perhaps we’ll get our chance to take down Lafayette in the conference tournament too.

MARCH 12, 1946 . . . We lost to Boston University to end the conference season, but after dispatching American in the conference tourney’s first round, we were able to extract revenge with a well-fought 80-69 victory over the Terriers. That set up our rematch against Lafayette, and this time we were able to prevail after an excellent back-and-forth battle, beating the Leopards by five to earn a shocking NCAA Tournament bid! We’ll be playing into the tournament via the First Four, but it’s still a tournament bid we certainly weren’t expecting to earn three months ago.

MARCH 16, 1946 . . . We got past Southern in a game we were fully expected to win considering they had a losing record by almost five games but had won their conference tournament same as we had. But Michigan State was another story altogether and they humbled us quickly and efficiently, exposing our weaknessses and leaving us in their dust. Not that anyone really expected anything different. We’re a service academy program, and they’re Big Ten recruiting machines. We didn’t stand a chance. But we should be a solid contender next season, with plenty of chances to return if we continue to work the system.

APRIL 4, 1946 . . . Michigan State went on to win the National Championship. Speedy Newman is graduating with a 3.0 GPA, after averaging 6.3 PPG 4.0 RPG 1.3 APG 0.8 SPG and 0.9 BPG for us over 32 starts. Allen Oliver led the way in scoring for the team, with 12.8 PPG, followed by Jamal Cokley (12.1 PPG) and Ahmad Swygart (11.1 PPG). Terrence Babcock led the team in rebounding with 4.6 RPG, while Olliver led in assists with 4.2 per game. Speedy Newman led the team in blocks, and Jamal Cokley, with 2.2 steals per game, led us in that category. Cokley was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, which is a big honor when you play in a system like ours. But he was not named to any of the All Conference teams, which is surprising. Then again, with our team focus, it’s not surprising that none of our players were singled out for any awards outside of our defense. It actually fits the Army state of mind, team over individual, quite nicely. The Academy’s board was extremely happy with our performance this year, and I expect our goals to be much tougher next year with so many playes returning for their final year before advancing to complete their military service.

APRIL 9, 1946 . . . I finally signed my one recruit for the season! Reggie Felix, a 6’6” Senior forward from Bristol, Virginia, has agreed to sign on to play fo the Black Knights. He’s considered a two star prospect by our scouts, and based on everything I’ve seen and from what his coaches have told me, this kid has a real strong work ethic. He’s a solid scorer with overall potential that is better than what I’d seen from a lot of the players who are at our recruiting level. But he’s raw defensively and is going to have to work very hard to find a spot in our system. But I like his grit. He’s going to go places if he puts in the work. I tell these parents to look at what the Army is doing for working class people like them, give their kids a chance to live a better life than they have.

Posted: **Sun Mar 19, 2023 8:15 pm**

SEASON TWO
1946-47

Coach Information
Name: Rolf “Tex” Kauferhalter
Age / Record: 24 (18-16, .529)
Contract: $80,000 / 2 Years
NCAA Appearances: 1 (1946)
NCAA Tourney Record: 1-1 (.500)
Patriot League Titles: 1 (1946)
Patriot League Tourney Titles: 1 (1946)
Reputation: 11% (+1)
Offense: 20% (+2)
Defense: 62% (+5)
Recruiting: 20% (+4)
Scouting: 43% (+2)
Development: 22% (+4)

School Information
School: Army Black Knights
Location: West Point NY
Conference: Patriot League
Arena: Christl Arena (5,043 Cap)
Budget: $147,000 ($72,000 Assistants / $75,000 Recruiting)
Facilities: C
Academics: B+ (SAT Min: 960)
School Prestige: 15% (+1)
Conf. Prestige: 24%

Job Goals
1. Finish in the Top Three of the Conference
2. Win At Least 10 Games

Assistants
AHC: Jason Baxter (66, $33,000 / 2 years, Rep: 9%) - Recruiting (33%, +1)
2nd: John Dean (38, $18,000 / 2 years, Rep: 9%) - Scouting (26%, +2)
3rd: Tony Johnson (53, $17,000 / 2 years, Rep: 8%) - Development (21%, +1)

MAY 29, 1946 . . . None of our players have washed out of the academy or attempted to transfer, so I expect us to have quite the solid team this year. We’ll have five scholarships opening up, so recruiting will be a huge deal, as we’ll be facing a massive rebuild and at least need to be recruiting the right talent to keep the Academy’s team in fighting condition. Swygart, Cokley and Oliver should be a difficult trio to stop this season, and though my direct superiors are not demanding great success from us for me to keep my job or get a new contract, I have those expectations of my team. This should be a team worthy of making it back to the NCAA Tournament, whereas last year it may have come off as a fluke. This year, it’s for real, and the conference will see us coming.

JULY 4, 1946 . . . One kid in New York is really jumping out at me -- Todd Call, a 6’5” forward from Williamsville. He’s probably a kid I should have passed by just out of not wanting to waste my time, but his father served in the Army in the Pacific, and he’s looking for a chance to play basketball in a disciplined environment. I had him out to the Academy last week and showed him around and he seemed excited about the opportunity to become an officer, something his father, who had been drafted in 1941, didn’t get to choose. I’ll have my work cut out for me -- he’s a four star recruit, and he’s also had some interest from St. Bonaventure and Buffalo, but we’re at least part of the conversation. That’s a hell of a lot better luck than we had last year when I was making these drives.

JULY 28, 1946 . . . I sat down with the Academy’s Director of Athletics and asked him to try and find us some good regional teams to play this year, even if it means we’re again playing a rough road stretch before we get into Patriot League play. Based on what I’ve seen from our team’s growth last year -- and we’re essentially the same team coming back this year -- our defensive skills are improving rapidly. The players have adjusted well to my highly structured offense and our fierce man-to-man full court style, and I don’t expect us to be troubled as much in the conference. It would be nice to get enough of a strength of schedule boost to be in the running for a slightly better seeding if we do get into the NCAA Tournament. Plus, playing better teams makes better players. We have a good Army-certified bus to drive between road games, but obviously we don’t have the budget to be dealing with trips down south or out into the midwest barring the occasional game out in eastern ohio or the like. Until that new commercial aviation industry I keep hearing about takes off schools like ours just have to keep it old school outside of tournament opportunites. The good thing about Army discipline, however, is that even on a ten hour road trip our players quickly become adept at keeping up with their studies. No one who comes here expects a cakewalk.

AUGUST 7, 1946 . . . Senior PG Allen Oliver and Senior SG Jamal Cokley have been nominated for the prestigious Norton Award, which exemplifies hard work on the court, in the classroom and in their communities. I am very pleased to know that our leadership qualities are being recognized, and though neither are expected to be recognized further as the list of sixty players gets culled throughout the year, it is another good sign that we may be able to dominate our conference competition and be competitive outside the conference in key games. The AD has informed me he’s nearly closed the deal on an ongoing home and away series with Syracuse, which would definitely be a solid draw in the upstate New York region. Hopefully it happens.

SEPTEMBER 18, 1946 . . . Todd Call’s family is convinced he can get the discipline he’s looking for without joining the Army, and they’ve made it clear they think he’s better served elsewhere. He no longer is showing any interest in accepting our scholarship, so we’ve moved on. We have, however, made positive progress with other prospects, and I’m hoping to be able to get at least a couple of them to sign before the season starts. Meanwhile, our schedule for the season has been released, and our administration did us no favors by scheduling eight consecutive road games before we ever see our home fans. That said, the Syracuse series is indeed happening, and this year’s game will be here at West Point. If you’re only going to get three home games before conference play, at least bringing a good team in helps. Until that game in mid-December though, our players are going to rack up the miles on the Army bus, so they’d better be ready!

11/14 - @ Delaware
11/17 - @ Fairfield
11/21 - @ Canisius
11/24 - @ Manhattan
11/28 - @ Niagara
12/1 - @ Citadel
12/5 - @ Quinnipiac
12/8 - @ Marist
12/13 - #9 Syracuse
12/19 - Hofstra
12/26 - Wagner

The Citadel game will require a twelve hour road trip each direction, making it our most brutal road trip. We open the conference season at home against American on January 2nd, followed by our road opener at Bucknell on the 5th.

OCTOBER 2, 1946 . . . We have our first committed player for the upcoming recruiting class! Sam Lindsey is a 6’8” forward from Spencer, New York with a 3.0 GPA and a three star national ranking. He’s averaging 17.6 points 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game so far in high school, and our scouts have him rated B overall in defense, B in athleticism, B- in passing and consider him an A- overall prospect -- something I would not have thought we would find in any recruits who would want to sign on for four years of intensity and discipline. But our academic reputation won him over and he wanted to stay close to home. I have him pegged as a top 400 prospect nationally, which means he’s already on par with the best players in our conference right from the word ‘go’ -- so I expect he’ll be able to fight his way to some playing time next year, even if it’s in a sixth man role. He will be by far the top player in our class of five this year, but I get the sense he’s fully committed to earning his degree and then building a military career. That and a ton of hard work is what it takes.

OCTOBER 9, 1946 . . . Ricardo Stetson will be the second player joining our team next fall! A 6’2” point guard from West Seneca, New York, Ricardo is an average defender but a strong overall athlete (B) who isn’t afraid to shoot. His solid upside (B-) and two star overall rating suggests he’ll fit in well with the program though he may be a redshirt candidate. I’ll decide on that once I see him work out in the fall -- I’ve found that redshirting players often makes them lazy, and that’s one thing I have no tolerance for. He has a 2.7 GPA but he and his parents feel Army is the best place to focus his studies and improve that over his four years here. He too wanted to stay closer to home, and he seems to understand the discipline that will be required. He’s averaging 17.4 poitns 1.6 rebounds 1.8 assists and tends to get a blocked shot at least every other game so far in high school. I have him pegged as a top 500 recruit, though I’m told national scouts have been rating him anywhere from 450th to 600th in the country.

I do not expect any additional signings to occur during the regular season. We have a list of prospects we will continue to follow, and three additional scholarship offers have been extended.

NOVEMBER 13, 1946 . . . Here is our roster for the upcoming season:

PG - Allen Oliver (6’0” 175 lbs Sr) Middleport NY (Royalton-Hartland Central HS) 3.3 GPA (4.5/5.0) 12.8 ppg 2.2 rpg 4.2 apg 1.5 spg
SG - Jamal Cokley (6’0” 207 lbs Sr) Waterloo NY (Waterloo HS) 3.2 GPA (4.5/5.0) 12.1 ppg 4.2 rpg 3.0 apg 2.2 spg 0.7 bpg
SF - Ahmad Swygart (6’7” 201 lbs Jr) Rennselaer NY (Rennselaer Middle HS) 3.2 GPA (4.5/5.0) 11.1 ppg 3.4 rpg 1.7 apg 1.1 spg 0.5 bpg
PF - Jon McNeill (6’6” 193 lbs Sr) Sidney NY (Sidney HS) 3.8 GPA (1.5/1.5)*
C - Peter Howard (6’11” 241 lbs Jr) Honeoye Falls NY (Honeoye Falls Lima HS) 3.7 GPA (2.0/3.5) 3.9 ppg 2.6 rpg 0.6 apg 0.6 spg 0.3 bpg

6 - Ben Heard (6’6” 216 lbs Jr) Oakfield NY (Oakfield Alabama Central HS) 3.0 GPA (3.5/3.5) 2.4 ppg 1.1 rpg 0.6 apg 0.6 spg 0.3 bpg
7 - Charlie Gilmore (6’3” 218 lbs Sr) Clarence NY (Clarence Central HS) 4.0 GPA (2.5/2.5) 3.8 ppg 1.0 rpg 1.9 apg 0.8 spg
8 - Kenny Cross (6’8” 243 lbs Jr) Afton NY (Afton Central HS) 2.9 GPA (1.5/3.5) 1.7 ppg 3.4 rpg 1.3 apg 0.6 spg 0.3 bpg
9 - Terrance Babcock (7’1” 269 lbs Sr) Franklinville NY (Franklinville Central HS) 3.2 GPA (2.5/4.0) 6.4 ppg 4.6 rpg 1.4 apg 0.8 spg 0.7 bpg
10 - Henry Akacem (6’10” 269 lbs Jr) Brooklyn NY (St. Joseph’s HS) 4.0 GPA (2.0/3.5) 5.2 ppg 2.5 rpg 0.5 apg 0.6 spg 0.5 bpg
11 - Chris Bailey (6’0” 170 lbs So) Oriskany NY (Oriskany Central HS) 4.0 GPA (2.0/3.0) 2.0 ppg 0.4 rpg 0.4 apg 0.3 spg
12 - Reggie Felix (6’6” 202 lbs Fr) Bristol VA (Virginia HS) 3.0 GPA (1.5/3.0)
13 - Kareem Lackey (6’4” 210 lbs Fr RS) Greenlawn NY (Harborfields HS) 3.2 GPA (1.5/2.5)
14 - Stephan Jennings (6’0” 192 lbs Sr) Cattaraugus NY (Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central HS) 3.9 GPA (2.0/3.5) 1.4 ppg 0.2 rpg 0.2 apg 0.1 spg
15 - Clarence Brown (6’4” 193 lbs Fr) Westhampton Beach NY (Westhampton Beach HS) 3.0 GPA (0.0/0.0)*
___________
* Walk-on

Jon McNeill has worked his ever-loving ass off this year since winning a spot on the team during October tryouts. He’ll start at least for now, though Heard, Gilmore and Cross will all be fighting for minutes and could move into the power forward spot if they perform at the defensive level we’re looking for. The triumvate of Oliver, Cokley and Swygart, Attorneys at Ball will be the key to our success, however. And we’re hoping Howard can stay healthy and avoid any more broken bones, which would allow him to take advantage of his hard-earned starting spot.

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:43 am**

Code: Select all: Date Rank Team Score W/L Record Key Players 11/14 @ Delaware W 67-50 1-0 A. Swygart (20 pts 6 reb 2 ast) A. Oliver (16 pts 2 reb 5 ast) 11/17 @ Fairfield L 61-64 1-1 J. Cokley (14 pts 3 reb 4 ast 3 stl) A. Swygart (14 pts 4 reb 2 ast 2 stl) 11/21 @ Canisius W 75-62 2-1 A. Oliver (24 pts 4 ast 2 stl) J. Cokley (18 pts 3 ast 4 stl 4 blk) 11/24 @ Manhattan W 75-62 3-1 A. Oliver (17 pts 6 ast 1 stl) J. Cokley (17 pts 4 reb 5 ast 2 stl) 11/28 @ Niagara W 67-50 4-1 A. Oliver (21 pts 6 reb 3 ast 4 stl) A. Swygart (20 pts 4 reb 2 ast) 12/1 @ Citadel W 90-82 5-1 J. Cokley (38 pts 4 reb 1 ast) A. Oliver (14 pts 9 ast 1 stl) 12/5 @ Quinnipiac W 78-66 6-1 A. Oliver (20 pts 6 ast 2 stl) A. Swygart (19 pts 1 reb 2 ast 1 stl) 12/8 @ Marist L 49-64 6-2 J. Cokley (15 pts 5 reb 2 ast) A. Swygart (9 pts 6 reb 1 blk) 12/13 #19 Syracuse L 52-74 6-3 B. Howard (7 pts 5 reb 2 ast 4 stl) A. Oliver (7 pts 3 reb 4 ast 3 stl) 12/19 Hofstra W 75-66 7-3 A. Oliver (20 pts 4 reb 3 ast) A. Swygart (19 pts 3 reb 2 ast) 12/26 Wagner W 77-57 8-3 A. Oliver (19 pts 2 reb 3 ast) A. Swygart (17 pts 5 reb 2 ast)

NOVEMBER 30, 1946 . . . McNeill couldn’t handle the pressure of starting, having a panic attack before the first game of the year, and we moved Reggie Felix into the starting power forward spot instead. We’ve started out strong, winning four of our first five games, with Oliver, Swygart and Cokley each averaging more than 14 points per game. Defensively we’ve held teams to under 58 points per game heading into our game against the Citadel in South Carolina. Hype for the Syracuse game continues to build -- we’ll definitely have Christl Arena packed with cadets for that one, with Syracuse currently at 4-1 and ranked 16th in the nation.

DECEMBER 2, 1946 . . . The drive home definitely featured our team in ebulient spirits after our surprisingly solid offensive performance against Citadel that ended in a shootout victory, 90-82! Cokley put up an academy record 38 points in the affair as we fought back from down 40-44 at the half to pull out the victory on their home court. After a win like this maybe we can convince the Commandant to let us fly down there next year on one of the school’s cargo planes! The entire Academy student body is getting behind our team, and expectations are definitely rising.

DECEMBER 14, 1946 . . . Syracuse is a good basketball team, and they could compete to go deep into the NCAA Tournament this yaer. Defensively they were exactly what I hope to turn this team into over the next few seasons; we were in it for a half or so, down 33-35 at the break, but they broke us in the second half, shutting down our scoring and we struggled to break their press. We were punching above our weight class, however, so I’m not disappointed, particuarly considering we still played our game the way we practiced, and our players stayed tenacious all the way to the end. I think we stepped up to the challenge, and I look forward to this game becoming a yearly tradition.

JANUARY 1, 1947 . . . Heading into the Patriot League season, we’re currently 8-3 overall and leading the conference with a NET Ranking inside the top 50 (#46). No one else in the conference has a NET higher than 100th -- 6-5 Loyola (MD) is 118th and 6-5 American is 161st. Lafayette (6-5, 173 NET) is the only other team with a winning record in the non-conference schedule. After our 14-4 record in-conference last year, with our pre-conference season this year added in, we are the odds on favorite to dominate the conference this season. Jamal Cokley leads the team with 15.9 PPG 3.5 RPG 3.0 APG, while Allen Oliver has 15.5 PPG 2.0 RPG and 4.6 APG. Ahmad Swygart, who will lead our team next year, has 14.5 PPG 4.2 RPG and 1.7 APG. Peter Howard has improved over the past year, putting up 5.5 PPG 5.3 RPG and 1.3 SPG so far this year, playing nearly 25 minutes a game and shining from a more defensive position than his more offensively-minded peers. Reggie Felix has also performed well as a Freshman, playing 23.7 minutes per game and putting up 4.2 PPG 5.2 RPG 1.2 APG and grabbing nearly a steal per game.

Posted: **Wed Mar 22, 2023 1:52 pm**

Code: Select all: Date Rank Team Score W/L Record Key Players 1/2 American W 70-63 9-3 (1-0) A. Oliver (22 pts 5 ast 1 stl) A. Swygart (13 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 stl 3 blk) 1/5 @ Bucknell L 61-62 (OT) 9-4 (1-1) B. Howard (12 pts 10 reb 1 stl) A. Oliver (12 pts 4 reb 5 ast 4 stl) 1/9 Lafayette W 62-48 10-4 (2-1) A. Oliver (19 pts 2 reb 4 ast 1 stl) J. Cokley (19 pts 4 reb 3 ast 4 stl) 1/12 @ Boston University L 50-69 10-5 (2-2) J. Cokley (17 pts 3 ast 4 stl) A. Swygart (10 pts 4 reb 1 ast) 1/16 Loyola (MD) W 71-51 11-5 (3-2) A. Swygart (28 pts 3 reb 2 ast 2 stl) A. Oliver (16 pts 2 reb 5 ast) 1/19 @ Lehigh L 51-69 11-6 (3-3) J. Cokley (17 pts 5 reb 1 blk) T. Babcock (11 pts 2 reb 2 stl 1 blk) 1/23 @ Navy W 75-67 12-6 (4-3) A. Oliver (22 pts 4 reb 4 ast 2 stl) A. Swygart (16 pts 2 reb 3 ast 4 stl)

JANUARY 24, 1947 . . . We’ve been getting everyone’s best when we travel this year in the Patriot League, but winning on the road at Navy at least cures some wounds. We’re still 4-3 in the conference, and though we’re in fifth place (a three way tie with Boston U and Lafayette) we’re only a game out of first (behind a three way tie of Lehigh, Holy Cross and Bucknell). So the conference thus far has been a lot more complicated than last season. The biggest thing is continuing to run tough practices to keep our cadets on their toes. No one’s going to let us walk over them, we’ve got to TAKE IT. And if we play like we already won the conference we’ll be setting up for quick disappointment. Our NET rating is still #70, so our strength of schedule is definitely a lot better than last year even with the three conference losses. So we’re not far off pace, we just need to keep playing our brand of defense and the results will come.

Code: Select all: Date Rank Team Score W/L Record Key Players 1/26 Colgate W 68-54 13-6 (5-3) A. Oliver (28 pts 2 reb 2 ast 1 stl) A. Swygart (12 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk) 1/30 @ Holy Cross L 64-68 13-7 (5-4) J. Cokley (18 pts 5 reb 1 ast 2 blk) A. Oliver (11 pts 5 reb 10 ast 2 stl) 2/2 @ Americam W 88-63 14-7 (6-4) A. Swigart (23 pts 6 reb 5 ast 3 stl) J. Cokley (22 pts 3 reb 3 ast) 2/6 Bucknell L 64-67 14-8 (6-5) J. Cokley (26 pts 5 reb 2 ast) R. Felix (14 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 blk)

FEBRUARY 7, 1947 . . . We’ve now lost to Bucknell twice and we’re two games back of first which essentially makes us three games back as long as Bucknell stays ahead of us. That the two losses are by a total of four points, including one that was in overtime, is particularly galling since we came so close on both occasions. These last seven conference games are going to be critical toward determining how well we perform against my personal goals for the team. It’s worth noting that the administration is happy with our direction, so it’s a matter of meeting the goals we’ve set for ourselves.

We have, unfortunately, lost Swygart for the rest of the season. He broke his foot during the second Bucknell loss. We’ll have to dig deep for motivation as we move Ben Heard into the starting rotation for the conference stretch run.

Code: Select all: Date Rank Team Score W/L Record Key Players 2/9 @ Lafayette W 66-64 15-8 (7-5) J. Cokley (22 pts 5 reb 1 blk) R. Felix (11 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 stl) 2/13 Boston University W 62-55 16-8 (8-5) R. Howard (18 pts 5 reb 2 stl) J. Cokley (14 pts 4 reb 2 ast) 2/16 @ Loyola (MD) W 74-55 17-8 (9-5) A. Oliver (23 pts 3 reb 6 ast 1 stl) J. Cokley (14 pts 3 reb 4 ast) 2/20 Lehigh W 70-62 18-8 (10-5) J. Cokley (25 pts 5 reb 3 ast) A. Oliver (18 pts 2 reb 7 ast) 2/23 Navy W 68-60 19-8 (11-5) A. Oliver (23 pts 4 reb 7 ast) J. Cokley (23 pts 4 reb 6 ast) 2/27 @ Colgate W 77-53 20-8 (12-5) A. Oliver (20 pts 2 reb 3 ast) H. Akacem (12 pts 7 reb 1 ast) 3/2 Holy Cross W 66-47 21-8 (13-5) J. Cokley (15 pts 3 reb 4 ast) A. Oliver (14 pts 6 ast 3 stl)

MARCH 3, 1947 . . . Bucknell got blown out in the final game of the season by thirty points against Boston University, which meant they fell into a tie with us for the Conference Title. They’ll get the top seed for the tournament due to owning the tiebreakers, but we do get at least a share of the title for the second year in a row, and we still have the chance to win the outright Patriot Tourney title in a week or so. Our NET ranking has climbed to #47, and we look to be right on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. I don’t think we’ll get in without winning the entire Patriot League tournament, but if we do win the tourney title I suspect we’ll have a better seed this year than last, potentially as high as a 12 or 13. Bucknell (17-12, 13-5, 83 NET) needs to win it all or they’ll definitely be in the NIT. Lafayette (18-11, 12-6, 128 NET) is in contention for at least a postseason bid in a sub-tier tournament, but they too need to win games to boost their chances.

Code: Select all: Date Rank Team Score W/L Record Key Players 3/7 (10) American* W 72-64 22-8 J. Cokley (22 pts 2 reb 3 ast) A. Oliver (20 pts 8 ast 3 stl) 3/8 (6) Lehigh* W 72-53 23-8 R. Felix (13 pts 5 reb 2 stl 1 blk) A. Oliver (13 pts 5 reb 4 ast 2 stl) 3/9 (1) Bucknell* W 71-53 24-8 A. Oliver (20 pts 3 reb 3 ast 2 stl) R. Felix (14 pts 6 reb 2 ast 1 stl 2 blk) 3/17 (6) Kansas+ L 41-54 24-9 A. Oliver (22 pts 4 reb 1 stl) J. Cokley (9 pts 4 reb 5 ast 1 blk) _________________________________ * Patriot League Tournament + NCAA Tournament

MARCH 13, 1947 . . . Third time was apparently the charm as we were able to fight our way to the Patriot League Tournament Championship game, thoroughly dismantling the Bucknell offense en route to an 18-point victory and an assured spot in the NCAA Tournament! We were stunned to find out we’d been awarded the 11th seed in the Oklahoma City regional, a game in which Kansas is favored 10-1. Bucknell, as the regular season conference champion, earned an NIT bid, while Lafayette will be in the Collegiate Insider Tournament.

MARCH 16, 1947 . . . Bucknell won their NIT opener, beating Jacksonville 75-66, while Lafayette lost their posteason game 65-80 to the Mercer Bears. Bucknell then played George Mason with hopes of advancing to the NIT’s Quarterfinals, but they fell shot in a shootout, losing 81-85. The Commandant is so happy that we get to go expose the “Army Way” to a national audience, and we’re just doing our best to prepare for the buzzsaw that is likely coming against Kansas.

MARCH 17, 1947 . . . Kansas got out to an early lead in our NCAA Tournament matchup, but we kept them playing slower than they would have liked. Still, with 7:06 to go in the first half we were in a deep hole, down 7-18, and by halftime we looked down and out, trailing the Jayhawks 11-26. It was an appalling offensive performance -- even holding them to such a slow pace we were unable to make anything happen on the offensive end. We shot well to start the second half, however, thanks to a pair of threes by Allen Oliver which made it a 20-30 game with 16:07 to go in the game. We kept chipping away at the margin, but Kansas is a tough team on defense as well and they made our lives difficult. With just under five minutes to go we’d whittled it down to a seven point margin, trailing 36-43, but that was as close as we’d get. Kansas put on the afterburners and we lost this one in the end, 41-54.

It was a disappointing way to go out, but I can’t fault our players who fought like hell in the second half. We outscored one of the best teams in the country 30-28 in the second half, which just wasn’t enough to overcome our first half drought. Allen Oliver led the team with 22 points four boards and a steal, while Cokley added nine points with four rebounds and five assists, as well as a stunning block early in the second half as we tried to claw back.

MARCH 19, 1947 . . . Waitari Lloyd, a 6’3” guard from Peru, New York, has become our third official recruit. He’s a so;id passer, handler and outside shooter, but beyond that is exceedingly raw as a player. The kid works hard and had few options for going to college, so he’ll get his chance with us and we’ll see what he does with it. I do not see him as a starting-caliber player, but he’ll be better than a walk-on and should earn playing time within a season or two if he does the work to improve defensively.

MARCH 26, 1947 . . . We have our fourth player! Travis Willis, a 6’0” two star point guard prospect from Leroy, New York, signed on to play for our Black Knights. Academics and discipline were his biggest motivating factors, and he comes in as a solid scorer but raw overall beyond that. He’ll have a lot of work to do and may be a redshirt candidate, but he has a 3.5 GPA and passed the SATs with an 1140, so I suspect he’ll be another hard working addition to the team.

APRIL 4, 1947 . . . Last night (2) Arizona destroyed (7) Minnesota 86-48 to win the National Title in a game so lopsided I’m surprised anyone outside of Arizona gave it any notice.

Postseason information regarding stats, graduates, awards, etc, coming soon!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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