N/A
If you’re a basketball fan, an awesome dunk is an awesome dunk.
Just because it’s Division II doesn’t mean it’s any less awesome. Keep that in mind as you watch this insane highlight by Kwame Alexander of Cal State Bernardino.
Off a steal, his point guard jets out on the fast break and delivers a crisp bounce pass to Alexander. The 6’7’’ forward proceeds to take off from about two feet inside the free-throw line without dribbling and does his best Air Jordan impression.
With an idiot from the other team standing in his way, Alexander almost jumps completely over the defender and throws down one nasty jam. The other guy falls to the ground in disbelief. Possibly my favorite part of the video is the opposing team’s coach on the sideline trying to demand a charge from the ref.
The kid didn’t even get touched and simply fell down on his very own. There was literally no contact between the two.
This isn’t the first highlight reel dunk from Alexander. Just earlier this month he literally brought the backboard down with a thunderous slam.
It’s tough to get noticed when you play in D-II but Alexander is doing the best job he can to get noticed by all of the masses.
Right now he’s doing one heck of a job.
The junior from Rancho Verde High School in Moreno Valley has the athleticism to potentially land in the NBA someday—just don’t expect him to be jumping over anybody standing in his way.
In Monmouth, OR there is a small school just north of Corvallis and is often overlooked when you think of college sports. However, this year is a bit different in terms of why the Division II Western Oregon Wolves could make a stand. Could it be the new head coach in town? Or could it be the senior guard duo that is going to break records?
The 2011-12 season is well underway and the guard duo of Wheadon and Long are working together to reach new highs for their careers at Western Oregon and they will both reach the 1,000-point mark. As of now, Wheadon has 103 points and Long has 88.
This year is just as ordinary as most years, but the Wolves now have something in their midst that will help them succeed: a new head coach. Brady Bergeson comes to WOU after several stints at the assistant coach position. His recent endeavor was at Sacramento State. Bergeson brings in a lot of experience and demands dedication and determination from his players.
As these pieces click together, they will also be helped out by new recruits that have joined the team. Usually it takes a bit for transfers and freshman to get their feet beneath them. However, these new recruits are pushing skepticism to the side and letting their game do the talking.
Right now James Gehring is using both his strength and height to throw people out of his way. He recently scored a career-high 17 points en route to helping his team to a Capital City Classic trophy, an award that WOU defended after winning it in 2010. Currently Gehring leads the team with 88 rebounds and has 44 points.
As the team continues to make their way through the early stages of the season and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, they will continue to make people turn heads and find out what's going on in the tiny town of Monmouth. Big things are happening and it's something that hasn't happened in quite a while.
In 2009, Cal Poly-Pomona's season ended with a loss to the University of Findlay (OH) in the National Championship game in overtime when Findlay drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Head Coach Greg Kamansky, who was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II Coach of the Year, had been adamant in telling the press that 2010 wasn't about redemption.
When he returned to the Pomona campus, however, he changed his tune. "In front of you guys, hell yes, it is!" he said to a crowd of a couple hundred students gathered to welcome the team home.
Cal Poly-Pomona started the game with an 8-9 run, and never looked back. By the time Indiana University of Pennsylvania found their rhythm, Cal Poly-Pomona had cemented a double-digit lead.
Cal Poly's 53.2 percent shooting held IUP at bay for the rest of the game. IUP's offense, which was averaging nearly 80 points per game, was held to 30.2 percent from the floor, the fourth lowest percentage in Elite Eight history.
Despite only shooting 28.6 percent from the floor in the first half, IUP was only down by 10 at the half, thanks to making 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. Unfortunately, that was about as close as IUP would come.
Every IUP attempt at a rally was met by superb shooting and a barrage of 3-point baskets by Cal Poly, who never led by less than eight points in the second half. The result was never really in doubt.
The championship win means more to Pomona than the school's first men's basketball title. The school has been hit hard with the signs of the economic crisis and budget woes in California. Cal Poly-Pomona, like all public institutions in California, is facing severe budget cuts as state aid dwindles. Dozens of programs and many professor positions are in jeopardy.
The economic woes were felt at the Elite Eight, as well. In Springfield's fifth-straight year of hosting the tournament, the championship game was decided in front of only 3,672 fans—the lowest total in the current five-year span. That number is well off the 14-year high set in 2008, when over 5,600 fans attended the championship game.
The total attendance for the seven games was 10,145—a drop of more than 4,000 from 2009.
Pomona's distance from the championship site—a 2,900-mile drive—also hurt attendance.
Pomona is already gearing up for its title defense, at least when it comes to the fans. "Next year, I want to see all of you at the games," said Dahir Nasser, senior point guard. "We expect that now."
And then there were eight...
For the first time since 1994, a eighth-seeded team has fought its way to the NCAA Division II Basketball Elite Eight.
Saint Joseph's College will make its fourth-ever appearance in the Elite Eight this year after an impressive jaunt through the Midwest Region.
After dispensing the region's top seed, Kentucky Wesleyan, SJC proceeded to knock off Grand Valley State University with a final-second shot in overtime. Then they proceeded to oust Quincy University in a 104-103 triple-overtime thriller to reach the Elite Eight.
Augusta State also earned its bid to the Elite Eight for the third-straight year with a 78-71 win over Montevallo in the Southeast Regional Championship game. Augusta State was one of only three top seeds to make it to the Elite Eight this year, joined by Indiana University of Pennsylvania from the Atlantic Region and Midwestern State from the South Central Region.
Cal Poly-Pomona defeated BYU-Hawai'i 78-75 to win the West Region, and earn a trip to face off against St. Joseph's in the Elite Eight. SJC is the only Elite Eight participant to have not won twenty games this year (18-11).
Perennial powerhouse from the East, Bentley, won the East Region by dispatching Philadelphia University, 81-69. Bentley will face off against Augusta State in the Elite Eight's opening round night cap at 8:30 (EDT) on Wednesday, March 24.
Valdosta State, winner of the Southeast Region, will meet the Atlantic Region's top seed and champion, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. IUP and Valdosta State have a combined record of 52-6. The opening game of the Elite Eight will be between Saint Cloud State and Midwestern State.
Compared to the Division I tournament, the D-II tournament is much more compressed, with the first three rounds taking place over the span of a weekend through the following Tuesday, and the Elite Eight, Semifinals, and Finals taking place Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
While this format certainly adds some uncertainty and produces some amazing upsets, the log layoff between Regional Championships and the first round of the Elite Eight is a momentum killer.
The team that will suffer the most from this long layoff is St. Joseph's.
An unlikely Elite Eight team as the Midwest's eight seed, SJC put together a string of impressive and exciting victories. In each game, SJC was over-matched, yet somehow the Puma's found the will to prevail.
Part of that winning formula was momentum. Riding the emotional high of knocking off one of the nation's best teams in Kentucky Wesleyan, SJC proceeded to battle back against Grand Valley State, and eventually SJC topped GVSU with a last-second shot in overtime.
The comeback kids struck again in the Regional Final against Quincy. Led by Dayvon Sloan's game-high 45 points, SJC overcoming a seemingly insurmountable 14-point second-half deficit to claim the Midwest Regional Championship in triple overtime.
Saint Joseph's College vs. California Polytechnic University-Pomona - Wednesday, 6:00 pm.
Now, the Pumas have more than a week to let reality set in. The luck of the draw has SJC matching up against Cal Poly-Pomona, probably the weakest of the Elite Eight teams, other than SJC.
While not the blockbuster match-up that we'll see in IUP and Valdosta State or Bentley and Augusta State, the SJC-CPP game is probably the most interesting of the Wednesday games.
Can SJC avoid a letdown after an improbable run to the Elite Eight?
My heart says yes, but my head says no. Cal Poly-Pomona by six.
Saint Cloud State University vs. Midwestern State University - Wednesday, 12 noon
Both teams know how to win, and both teams have had success this late in the year. Although combining for only seven losses this year, most of those belong to St. Cloud State.
Midwestern State came into the tournament ranked No. 3 in the national coaches' poll.
While it's unfair to say that St. Cloud is not a good team (SCSU ranked No. 16 coming into the post-season), I just don't think they're as good as they have been in the past, and they're not as good as Midwestern State has been this year. Midwestern State by eight.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania vs. Valdosta State University - Wednesday, 2:30 pm
These two teams combined for only six losses this year, and IUP is the highest-ranked team remaining having entered the tournament ranked No. 2 in the nation.
IUP will face the team that knocked off Arkansas Tech, the No. 1 team in the nation in Valdosta State (who was ranked No. 6 in the nation entering the tournament).
This is the marquee match-up in the first round of the Elite Eight, and I fully expect the winner of this game to have an excellent chance of bringing home a national title.
This game is a true six-to-five and pick 'em. IUP by three.
Bentley College vs. Augusta State University - Wednesday, 8:30 pm
These two teams are certainly used to the confines of the MassMutual Center in Springfield. This will mark Augusta State's third-straight trip to the Elite Eight and Bentley's third trip in four years.
Bentley looks to be a little over-matched in this contest, being an unranked team (albeit the top poll point getter outside of the Top 25) and Augusta State coming into the postseason ranked No. 4 in the nation.
When intangibles are a wash, as they are in this game, one must look to numbers. The numbers are saying Augusta State by 10.
All four games feature match-ups that will provide some excellent basketball, and should provide good drama and suspense.
St. Joseph and Cal Poly-Pomona features an unlikely Cinderella story in SJC against a scrappy team from Pomona.
Bentley and Augusta State features two grizzled veterans of the Elite Eight.
Midwestern State and SCSU are two very successful teams, neither of which are used to losing.
IUP and Valdosta State are two top-ranked powerhouses battling it out.
The brackets certainly have provided us with some entertainment thus far, and I suspect that with the match-ups to come, we won't be disappointed with the final seven games of the 2009-2010 season.
MARQUETTE, Mich. — When the Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team took the court at the Berry Event Center for the season's first game Tuesday night, the demons of last season officially were lifted.
All the struggles that came with the 2008-2009 campaign were forgotten.
In the Wildcats' home opener against the Northland College Lumberjacks, there seemed to be a new feel on the basketball court—one that goes way beyond a jump shot, bounce pass, or rebound.
From the tipoff, something was different about this squad that returns most of its players from last year. The hunger to improve as a team was in their eyes. Teammates were communicating to each other back and forth on the court.
A new season brings new hope.
On Tuesday, the Wildcats outplayed their opponent in every facet of the game. The final scoreboard read 81-42 in favor of the home team, and unlike last year’s home opener, the ‘Cats worked together on both sides of the floor.
Right out of the gates, the Wildcats have established a better chemistry on the floor, something last year’s team struggled with.
“We had no chemistry last year, we were in the psychology department,” head coach Dean Ellis said with a laugh.
“Our team chemistry is night and day for whatever reason. We are in the chemistry department to start this season, not in the psychology department, which is good.”
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Marc Renelique and Raymont McElroy with 22 points each. Both guards were able to drive to the hoop and also find isolation on the perimeter. Both worked well together to set up shots.
McElroy’s passing and court vision was exceptional. His effort on the court was shown by his game-high eight assists and four steals.
It also showed in Renelique’s ability to separate from defenders and drain five-of-seven three pointers.
McElroy was the spark plug Ellis was looking for at the point guard position.
After a slow start last season as a freshman, the NMU floor general showed the maturation on the court that a year of experience brings.
“Your point guard has to be a leader, and he is constantly working on that,” said Ellis.
“We are constantly working on that with him. He had a great week in practice, and Raymont was a great leader with the ball tonight.”
Wildcats center Jared Benson led the game in rebounds with six.
As a team, the Wildcats shot 65 percent from the field. Everyone on the roster for the Wildcats were able to get into the action, including senior walk-on Kyle Hawley, who was greeted late in the second half by solid fanfare when entering the game.
“Kyle is a classic walk-on,” said Ellis. “He is a senior and got in and made a block. We got out on the court, and it was good for everybody to get the experience in our first home game.”
NMU struggled in last season's first home game against Northland Baptist Bible College, despite the win. That team did not possess the level of team play displayed in this season's first win.
McElroy has noticed what a difference a year makes on the court and in his own game. His ball control, speed, and strength give him a distinct advantage at the Division II level.
The young guard is still looking to make every game a learning experience, while leaning on the senior leadership around him.
“Even though I am a leader and a captain, I look to them," said McElroy.
"I’m vocal, but when it comes down to the end of the day, we have five seniors that play major roles on this team."
McElroy added, “We are clicking at a different level as of now,” he added. “You can tell on this team there is a lot of chemistry. We are together in this. Already, we are using the post more. With Hawley, D’Agostino, Benson, and Murphy, we have a lot of depth.”
The Wildcats return to the court on Monday, Nov. 30, to take on Finlandia University.
MARQUETTE – When Troy Mattson took over the NMU Women’s Basketball program for the 2005-06 season, a lot of work needed to be done. After three straight losing seasons and a 24-54 record, The Lady Wildcats bounced back to post a 14-14 record last season. After a GLIAC Tournament appearance that included a close loss to the now #1 team in the nation-Michigan Tech, this squad looks ready to turn the corner.
Despite the loss of it’s best play maker.
Kelsey Deacon, who was named to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division All-Conference Second Team last season, led the 2008-09 Wildcats in shots, minutes played, points per game and assists per game. Her offense will surely be missed. Head coach Troy Mattson understands the loss. He believes the key will be to implement his new recruits quickly while also moving the ball around more on offense.
“Kelsey took 20 shots a game for us,” said coach Mattson.”It will be spread around a bit more. We have Elicia Derusha coming in from University of Wisconsin Green Bay. She is going to be a fantastic player for us. Mariah Dunham was a starter at Wisconsin for three years and averaged double figures in the Big Ten.
“She is going to eat up all that stuff that Kelsey did for us offensively,” he added. “Mariah is a 6′1″ guard that can go in the post and do many things. She will take on a big burden of our scoring. On the perimeter, everyone is going to get a few more shots. That’s how you have to go about it.”
Dunham, who transfers in with one year of eligibility left, leaves the Wisconsin Badgers after being dismissed last Febuary by head coach Lisa Stone. Dunham had played in 20 games last season, with 13 starts. At the time of dismissal, She was second on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg) and rebounds (4.6 rpg). Of those twenty games, Dunham threw down a double double in 11 contests.
Coach Troy Mattson was one of the first to contact Dunham after her dismissal and it paid off. Though her first choice was University of Wisconsin Green Bay, Dunham settled on Northern after things fell through closer to home. When she visited the campus and saw her now teammates competing in practice, she was sold on coming back to an area she was familiar with. Coach Troy Mattson’s passion was another seller. There is no doubt that the head coach understands what he is getting on the court with his new Wisconsin standout.
“Mariah Dunham is a proven player in the big ten,” stated coach Mattson. “We cannot get a better player than that. She is going to be one of the if not the premiere player in the country. She has that much talent, that much ability on the offensive end.”
Though Derusha and Dunham will be key parts of this 2009 squad, a slew of veterans return from last year’s squad that will be integral in their success. Jacyln Davey, Holly Cole, Christa Erickson, Kellie Rietveld, Brynn Larsen, Angie Lexson and Erin Powers all return to key roles this season. Powers, Lexson, and Davey will be counted on down low to play solid defense and pull down rebounds. Rietveld, Erickson, Cole and Larsen will be key parts of the perimeter offense and defense. Head coach Troy Mattson though is very impressed with his depth this season. Something that was key in the success of the Wildcats last year on the court.
“It’s incredible, we have seventeen girls on the team right now,” said coach Mattson. “I would feel putting them all of them in for certain situations. It is important, it is a long season, injuries are going to play a part in everybody’s program, and you have to be able to fill in those spots. I think we can do that.
“We have great depth,” added Mattson. “Especially around the perimeter. I’m really happy with the way the program has shaped up the last few years, now we just have to put ourselves in a position to make a strong move.”
The season opens up for the Lady ‘Cats on the road against four non-conference foes. NMU will travel to Northland College, Minnesota-Duluth, Wisconsin Parkside, and Finlandia to open the season. Coach Troy Mattson’s squad went 4-9 on the road last season, but he feels that this team competes better when away from the Berry Event Center.
“I feel very comfortable with our team playing on the road, we get extra practice in their gyms,” said Mattson. “We get a lot closer, truthfully we have done an incredible job on the road keeping ourselves in games. The last few years I have felt like we have actually played better on the road. I don’t think it’s going to hurt us at all, as long as we make sure we are rested when we get back.”
Without a doubt the competition will be tough in the GLIAC North Division. The Wildcats open up the home schedule on December 3rd when they open up against conference foe Northwood. A team that came out of nowhere last season to win 16 conference games. The true test continues the next weekend on December 12th when the Wildcats take on No. 1 Michigan Tech. The Wildcats will host twelve home games, including the final game of the season against the Saginaw Valley State Lady Cardinals.
The Women’s basketball program will now look to make the next step toward being a successful program year in and year out. Coach Troy Mattson believes his veterans on this team know what the next step is. The only question is if this team will be willing to take that step to the next level.
“Our junior and senior class have learned to be winners and great leaders,” said Mattson. “The players understand what has to happen in this program. Now we just have to go out and do it.”
The Bellarmine Knights basketball team is in the middle of some of it's greatest athletic success of recent years, and their No. 2 men's basketball team couldn't be playing any better. After a big past week defeating No. 20 Kentucky Wesleyan and No. 8 Southern Indiana, the Knights jumped from their No. 5 ranking to No. 2.
This is no surprise for a team with lots of talent and depth who are lead by old University of Louisville assistant Scott Davenport. The team had its first sell out since the early 1980s, and athletic director Scott Wiegandt and President Joseph McGowan decided it is time for a change.
The athletic director hired and paid a professional "Zooperstar" to play the mascot for their biggest two games of the season. This decision in turn ousted the two students who have been the mascot over the past year and a half, sidelining them until further notice.
The Big Picture
At first this may seem like a meaningless act, however, what does this really say about your morals and your school's character?
You hire students to be your mascot when your team struggles a 17-11 season, yet when your team makes it into the top 10, you outsource the job to a professional. The same students who were the mascot at all the athletic home games over the past years even when there weren't even a hundred fans in the stands.
What would be more fun than being the mascot in front of a sellout crowd?
Where is the school pride, and sense of belonging? What kind of message does that send? "You're doing a good job until people actually see what you are doing." You did great last season when we missed the post season, but now that we sell out games, you're not doing very well at all."
In hard economic times as well, do division II athletic departments really have the funds to pay students to be the mascot on top of the high costs for a "Zooperstar?" Why don't they outsource and get the Dallas Cheerleaders while they're at it?
The trip from Winter Park, Fla., John Pietkiewicz’s hometown, to St. Augustine, Fla., where Flagler College is located, is a relatively short one—a little less than two hours to be exact.
But for John Pietkiewicz (pronounced Pet-kav-ich), it took 2,800 miles, roughly 12 months, and a few life-changing lessons to make the trek from his hometown to St. Augustine.
And Pietkiewicz wouldn’t have it any other way.
After a successful career at Winter Park High School—including an appearance in the 6A State Championship game and several honors and accolades—the six-four combo guard decided he still needed more time before choosing a college.
So John looked to his father—who also played for Winter Park HS and then went on to stardom at Auburn University and eventually the NBA—for guidance, as he often does. Eventually the two decided it would be best for John to complete a post-graduate year of high school.
They settled on New Hampton School, where Pietkiewicz would experience a boarding school lifestyle, some of the best high school basketball in the nation—and lots of snow.
It was at New Hampton that John would, as he put it, “grow as a person and as a player.”
For starters, New Hampton is located in New Hampshire, a far cry from the sunny climate of Florida. And not unlike many students who find themselves miles apart from their families and in unknown surroundings, John’s head began to get clouded with doubt soon after his arrival.
“After the first month up there,” he says, “I was thinking, ‘Why did I go to New Hampton?’”
It didn’t take long for Pietkiewicz to get his answers.
While trudging through snow for brutal 6 AM workouts is no one’s idea of fun, it was during those workouts—which Pietkiewicz describes as “boot camp”—that each young man learned what it was going to take to compete at the next level.
Running the infamous workouts was Coach Mark Benetatos, who was dubbed “The Benefactor” due to his intense (and some would say bordering on insane) but rewarding workouts.
“The Benefactor's preseason workouts were the first two months of the school year,” Pietkiewicz says, “and they were literally the worst two months of my life. I dreaded every day of them.”
While Pietkiewicz insists that “Bobby Knight has nothing on [The Benefactor],” the Flagler guard also firmly believes—despite the yelling and flying chairs and ball racks—that Coach Benetatos “made us the toughest team and closest team I have ever been a part of…We pummeled teams we had no business beating, and we had a great year.”
A natural shooting guard, Pietkiewicz played the point at New Hampton, which is in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference, featuring a collection of extremely talented players in what is widely regarded as the toughest prep school conference in the nation.
Because of the talent level on the team, Pietkiewicz says, “Every practice, players were out for blood. If you took a day off you would get exposed.”
And that was just at practice.
Conference games were all out wars. Pietkiewicz would often find himself bringing up the ball against a Division I signee. The rest of the league was brimming with athletes, as each team featured players currently playing in this year’s NCAA tournament.
Each year, nearly every player in the conference goes on to play at the collegiate level. As Pietkiewicz puts it, “The competition was unreal, and every team was well coached too.”
After a grueling preseason and demanding regular season schedule, basketball ended about the time the New Hampshire snow began to melt. The Benefactor workouts were over, as was the Robert Frost poetry in English class.
Spring weather arrived, and in one or two more months, each player would be heading off to their respective colleges. In a lot of ways, Pietkiewicz and the rest of his teammates were back to being kids.
And that’s when tragedy struck.
On April 17, during a routine pick-up game after dinner, Guy Alang Ntang, a 19-year-old from Cameroon who had already signed to play for Greg Marshall’s Wichita State team the following year, collapsed on the court and was rushed by ambulance to Speare Memorial Hospital, in Plymouth.
Shortly after his arrival, Guy Alang Ntang was pronounced dead.
Not surprisingly, Ntang—whose parents and eight siblings still live in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon—was well-liked and respected by his peers and teachers, who described him as “tenacious, vibrant, charismatic, and a role model for younger students.”
While certainly tragic and hard to accept at first, Pietkiewicz says the frightening experience was actually an important part of his growth process at New Hampton. In Pietkiewicz’s words, to “see one of our teammates collapse on the court right in front of us and die…it just drew us all closer. Guy was like a brother to all of us.”
About two months later, Pietkiewicz returned to Florida to prepare for college. While Pietkiewicz was recruited by Division I and Division II schools in the Northeast, he felt a return to Florida (and its abundant sunshine) would be the best fit for him, so he signed with Bo Clark’s Flagler College Saints.
And from his first game at Flagler, you could tell Pietkiewicz was a player.
To run out of the tunnel at the University of Florida’s O’Connell Center is exciting and nerve-wracking for players at Kentucky, Tennessee, and other top-notch programs.
For a student-athlete at a small, Division II college of 2,000 students, it’s literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
John Pietkiewicz made sure he made the most of it.
The crowd at Florida, the “Rowdy Reptiles,” as they are called, has become legendary—and in the process, a serious home court advantage for the Gators has been created.
Undaunted by the loud student section, Pietkiewicz coolly hit his first three-ball, and then two others before the 10-minute mark.
With eight minutes left in the first half, Flagler trailed only 23-17, with Pietkiewicz contributing over half of the team’s points.
In the second half, however, the tide quickly changed, Florida’s defense woke up, and shots didn’t come as easily for the Saints. Pietkiewicz ended the night with 12 points on 4-7 shooting from three-point range.
While the Florida game was a loss, Flagler didn’t have many after that, despite losing a starting wing player—Coach Clark’s son, JP—to injury. En route to a 20-7 season, Pietkiewicz led the team with 15.1 points per game and drained 81 threes at a 38% clip.
Pietkiewicz also hit 86% of his free throws, and was good for 3.6 assists per game from his shooting guard spot. The ICAA Conference also recognized Pietkiewicz on the All-Freshmen team and third team All-Conference.
Yet to hear it from the modest, team-first Pietkiewicz, you’d think he was nothing more than a scout player. “Everybody on our team is so unselfish,” he says. “I feel like from 1-13, every guy just cares about getting the W, which is the main reason we have been so successful this year.”
Not only is this young man happy to throw praise at all of those around him, it’s no surprise that those who interact with him have nothing but positive words about Pietkiewicz.
Jamie Arsenault, the head coach at New Hampton, says, “John was a leader on our team and will be a leader wherever he goes. I am confident that John will have many successful seasons at Flagler…and he will contribute any way he can to make wherever he is a better place.”
New Hampton assistant coach Mark Benetatos took the praise one step further: “John was one of the finest kids I ever worked with and coached during my twenty years of coaching.”
It’s clear Benetatos means what he says.
It’s one thing for a coach to allow his point guard to set up the offense. It’s something completely different for a self-proclaimed “overprotective dad” to trust a young man with every father’s most dreaded night: his daughter’s Prom.
And this is where Pietkiewicz separates himself from others his age. Coach Benetatos puts it best when he says that while “John is a very good basketball player, who he is as a person is his greatest strength.”
Plainly put, John Pietkiewicz is a kid you want to root for.
John’s early success at Flagler came as no surprise to those who know John, and much of that success can be credited to the growing up he did at New Hampton.
After initially suffering through the two worst months of his life, Pietkiewicz’s view of New Hampton is much different now that he can look back. Quite simply, he says, “It was one of the best experiences of my life…I'm forever thankful for the opportunity my Dad gave me to go play there.”
Looks like the journey was worth it.
As the college landscape continues to broaden, more and more casual football and basketball fans have become familiar with the University of Central Florida, or UCF.
Most recently, UCF’s hiring of George O’Leary brought national attention to the football team. The school’s move to Conference USA has also brought increased exposure to the basketball team.
UCF is now regularly sending players to the NFL, with Daunte Culpepper, Asante Samuel, and Kevin Smith among the school’s most notable. The basketball team appears on the verge of doing the same.
But long before those names and teams made history at UCF, a different set of coaches and players were making their own history.
Enter Flagler College.
The first part of the Flagler College series left off with current Flagler head man Bo Clark deciding to play under his father, Torchy Clark, at UCF. Little did Bo or Torchy know that they were beginning the tradition of a father-son legacy at Flagler College.
Bo Clark was a three-time All-American while at UCF, and has proven to be just as good a coach, racking up four Coach of the Year Awards over the last seven season.
To find out where Clark gets his winning ways, his passion, and his work ethic, though, look no further than Clark’s father, Eugene “Torchy” Clark, the fiery general who started the basketball program at UCF.
Rewind to 1969, when UCF—then named Florida Technological Institute—put in a call to Torchy Clark, who was busy entrenching himself in success at Xavier High School, in Appleton, Wisconsin. As both a football and basketball coach at Xavier, Torchy stockpiled a combined record of 277-35-2 in his ten years.
Torchy touched hundreds of lives at Xavier, and his success was unparalleled. Out of respect for the impact Torchy made on the school and the community, Xavier’s gym is named in Torchy’s honor.
But Torchy sought a bigger challenge, and even though UCF’s offer was less than enticing, Clark agreed, eager for a challenge. UCF had no gym in which to play their games, no scholarships to offer—but the idea of beginning a program intrigued Torchy.
Playing their home games at local Winter Park High School, Torchy’s first team finished 11-3, due mostly to the ringer Torchy brought with him from Wisconsin: Torchy’s son and Bo’s older brother, Mike Clark, who averaged 24.4 ppg. At the time, Bo Clark was only in Junior High.
As Torchy continued to build UCF’s program over the next few years, Bo got busy turning heads on the court at Bishop Moore High School.
It was around that time that Bo met Stan Pietkiewicz, a six-five standout guard at Winter Park High School—the same Winter Park where UCF played their home games.
Bo and Stan became fast friends, finding similarities in their love of the game and admiration for Pete Maravich. A friendly rivalry between the two future college stars began, as the two faced off in high school games, but also in countless one-on-one games.
After successful high school careers, Bo and Stan went separate ways. While Bo headed to UCF, Stan chose to play in the SEC at Auburn University.
Their friendship still intact, both Bo and Stan continued to have success on the collegiate level.
In addition to his countless scoring records and other personal accomplishments, Bo’s time at UCF also coincided with the team’s most success.
During Bo’s stint, UCF was ranked in the top 10 nationally, won three conference championships, and made three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, including a trip to the Final Four in 1978.
UCF’s exposure eventually went nationwide, as the father-son duo was featured in a 1979 Sports Illustrated issue.
Meanwhile, Stan achieved similar success at Auburn. As a senior, he averaged 19.1 points per game, dropping a career high 35 against Tennessee in his final game, all while shooting 51 percent from the field for the year. Stan’s achievements led to an All-SEC second-team selection and a brief NBA career.
Today, you will still find Stan in Auburn’s record books. His career free throw percentage remains at the top of the list, and his scoring totals are in the top 20 of the school’s history.
Roughly 30 years later, a new set of young players named Clark and Pietkiewicz are making names for themselves—but this time as teammates.
Much like their fathers, JP Clark and John Pietkiewicz met through basketball, tagging along at their fathers’ annual summer basketball camp. The two eventually outgrew the competition at the YMCA camps, and both had successful high school careers of their own—JP at Nease High School, and John at his father’s alma mater, Winter Park High School.
This past 2007-2008 season, John and JP joined forces on Flagler’s team. While JP was a junior co-captain, John came on the scene as an all-conference freshman.
And the family tradition will continue next year, as Bo’s second son, David, is set to join the Saints on the basketball court.
It’s been said that basketball is a metaphor for life, and it seems the unlikely story of the Clark-Pietkiewicz families pays homage to this adage.
But what makes the lives of these individuals so unique is not the list of accomplishments they have achieved.
It is what they stand for.
While this narrative revolves around several people, it is really about one legendary coach: Torchy Clark. And so it seems appropriate to end this story with a few words about the man who began it.
Torchy Clark is a member of the UCF Hall of Fame, Florida Sports Hall of Fame, Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame, and the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
UCF’s College of Education renamed its gym the Eugene "Torchy" Clark Gymnasium, and it also created an endowment in Clark's name.
He is adored and respected by entire states and institutions for whom he has worked. But even though these accolades are special, they are not what define Torchy Clark.
A devout Catholic, Torchy Clark places his faith above all else.
Faith is what got Torchy Clark through jawbone cancer, through his wife’s passing this past year, and certainly whatever will come his way in life from here out.
A husband to his wife Claire for 57 years, a father to five, a grandfather to 17, and a mentor to a countless number of players, students, and adults, Torchy Clark’s outlook on life is safe in the hands of those who understand what Torchy represents.
In the final installment of his Flagler College Basketball series, Tim Pollock will profile current Flagler player, John Pietkiewicz.
