Men's basketball team does wondrous things
By Joe Vanden Acker
Lawrence Today magazine, Summer 2006
It had all the makings of a Hollywood story: the underdog team rising to great
heights, the tiny
gymnasium weathered by time, the overachieving star, the bulldog coach. But
even in Hollywood, not all stories have the fairy-tale ending.
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team took the campus and the
entire Fox Valley on a wild ride during the 2005-06 season. The Vikings won
a third consecutive Midwest Conference championship and ascended to No. 1 in
the national rankings in front of standing-room-only crowds at Alexander Gymnasium,
but the goals of a berth in the Final Four and a national championship were
denied.
“If
you started off and wanted to write it, this is how you would write it,” says
Head Coach John Tharp (pictured,
blue shirt, with Chris Braier, ’06). “The
ending would have been different, but it was a Hollywood script.”
Tharp’s Vikings assembled an amazing run, filled with buzzer-beaters,
overtimes, and blowouts, on the way to a 25-0 record and a No. 1 ranking in
the D3hoops.com Top 25. The journey, as Tharp likes to call it, ended on
March 10 with a 71-68 loss to Illinois Wesleyan University in the Sweet 16
of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
“I was extremely blessed to be around this team, because they had a day-by-day
approach to how they went about their business,” Tharp says.
“We were never caught up in the rankings or the media attention. It was
a very level-headed and mature group. We could enjoy ourselves and enjoy being
around
each other without getting caught up in everything that was going on.”
It seemed as though every week, every game, every day brought some new milestone.
After losing to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in an exhibition
game at the start of the season, Lawrence would go almost another four months
before it found itself on the wrong end of a final score.
From the first day of the regular season, a November 22 win against the then
No. 2-ranked University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, one thing was a constant — the
fans. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and folks from all over the Fox Valley
packed Alexander Gymnasium and gave it an electric and ear-splitting atmosphere.
“To make a small gym like Alex a tough place to play is a great way to
give back and support the team,” says Nick Korn, ’06, a ringleader
of the vociferous student section and All-Midwest Conference wide receiver
on
the football team.
“Every time we yelled, we felt like it was two voices because you have
that wall on the other side and that sound just stays in there.”
The cheers shook the 77-year-old facility and knocked a few opponents out as
well.
“Some of these teams, like Illinois Wesleyan, really didn’t know
what they were getting into,” Korn says. “That’s got to have
some type of psychological effect.”
The effect was multi-fold. The Vikings stretched their home-court winning streak
to 21 games, and as that grew, so did the demand to get in the door to watch
this team play.
While there is no admission charge for regular season games, when tickets were
needed for the Midwest Conference Tournament and NCAA Tournament, the lines
went from the Lawrence box office in the Music-Drama Center and stretched onto
the sidewalk of College Avenue. Tharp would go to the box office to thank fans
for waiting for tickets. Director of Athletics Robert Beeman bought pizzas
for those who sometimes spent hours waiting to buy that precious entry into
Alexander Gym.
Quite simply, Lawrence basketball became the hottest ticket in town. Games
were sold out in under an hour.
“We came onto the radar screen of a lot of people in the Fox Valley,” Executive
Vice President Greg Volk says. “A lot of people shared in the pride.
“It just seemed as if the whole community was talking about us.”
With the national media also paying attention to Lawrence, the whole country
started talking about the Vikings. From ESPN.com to the Los Angeles Times to
highlights on CBS Sports, Lawrence
was everywhere during basketball season.
“The word was out and it had the attention of the national media. For
several months, my conversations always had something to do with the basketball
team and people just thinking how great it was,” Volk says.
“Alumni take great pride in having a winning team. It serves to energize
them. It’s a real badge of merit and a source of pride that is shared
throughout the constituency.”
Volk related a story about attending a function at the home of a former trustee
in Florida in which a special section from the Appleton Post-Crescent was taped
to the kitchen door. No matter where Volk was, friends and alumni wanted the
latest breaking news about basketball.
“It was front and center and priority No. 1 on every agenda throughout
the winter,” Volk
says.
The Vikings’ road to No. 1 had several dramatic moments. The season-opening
win over UW-Oshkosh showed the pundits that this Lawrence team wasn’t
skipping a beat after losing five seniors to graduation.
A hard-fought win at NAIA Division I Vanguard University just after Christmas
showed the Vikings were ready for the Midwest Conference wars to come.
Round one was Ripon College, and Keven Bradley, ’06, was ready for the
challenge. Bradley scored the final 20 points of the game on his way to a career-high
33, in Lawrence’s 83-75 victory.
The stunning performance, which included
hitting all eight of his shots from the floor and 12 of 15 from the foul line,
earned him national Player of the Week honors.
The Vikings remained one of four unbeaten men’s college basketball teams
in the country when they took the court at St. Norbert College on January 21.
Lawrence put together a workmanlike 79-68 win over the Green Knights that afternoon,
but Duke University, the University of Florida, and the University of Pittsburgh
weren’t so lucky that day. All three lost, and that left Lawrence as
the lone unbeaten team in the land.
“It
was hard to revel in it, because you don’t want to get conceited
and have that be the end,” says forward Kyle MacGillis, ’06 (pictured). “Now
you can step back and say, man, what an accomplishment.” Media from around
the state and the nation inundated the sports information office with interview
requests. It seemed as though Tharp couldn’t turn
around without a microphone or camera in his face.
“I think the thing I enjoyed so much about it was that it was genuinely
a wholesome story. It spread across the country that this small, academic,
Division III school was the last unbeaten team in the land,” says Tharp,
adding that his team fit all the attention into the framework of what they
were trying to get done.
“We did the interviews, and then it was like, what do we need to do now
to get better? I was happy that the kids were recognized for what they did.
I thought
they deserved this recognition.”
With that attention at a fever pitch, Bradley again was at the center of the
storm in the penultimate game of the conference season at Carroll College.
With the 14th-ranked Pioneers nipping at the heels of the first-place and then
second-ranked Vikings, the game took on epic proportions in front of a packed
house at Van Male Fieldhouse. Lawrence needed to win to ensure it would host
the Midwest Conference Tournament.
“The repercussions of that game were huge,” recalls MacGillis. “Who
would host the conference tournament? Where we would get seeded in the NCAA
Tournament?”
With Lawrence trailing by a point and 3.4 seconds left, MacGillis took the
inbounds pass and began to dribble. As soon as Carroll started to double-team
MacGillis, the savvy Bradley darted away from his defender to the basket. MacGillis
found him under the hoop, and Bradley scored at the buzzer to deliver a 64-63
victory.
“I can remember like it was yesterday,” MacGillis says. “When
I did the Brandy Chastain thing and pulled off my shirt. I’ll always
remember that.
“After the game, my arms were still shaking a little bit. It was so emotional.”
That victory helped propel the Vikings to the top spot in the national poll,
a first for Lawrence.
“How that ended was something I will never, ever forget,” Tharp
says.
“To sit back and think we were the No. 1-ranked team in the country,
that will stick with me.”
The Vikings reached that top spot as part of a journey spearheaded by the exceptional
group of seniors, All-American Chris
Braier, MacGillis, Bradley, Ben Klekamp, ’06,
and Nick Grahovac, ’06 (see sidebar).
“We were able to choose our destination, choose where we would go and
how successful we would be,” says MacGillis, adding that the ability
of this group of men to pool their talents toward a common goal is something
unique.
“I don’t think there’s a certain formula where you add two
six-foot post players and two scrappy guards and that equals great team chemistry.
I
think it’s just a mentality. We pretty much do everything together. Whether
it’s on the court or off the court.
“We’re around each other so much, it’s almost to the point
where we’re sick of each other. Then we teeter back to togetherness.”
Braier said his expectations for the men’s basketball program changed
during his four years.
"When I came here, I just wanted to have a chance at winning a conference
championship and getting to the NCAA Tournament. Everything after that has
been icing on
the cake,” says Braier, adding that the legacy of the past few seasons
and the players who made them possible is for the next generation of Vikings
to continue this level of success.
“I want the guys to see the hard work and dedication we’ve put
in. Hopefully, it turns into a great program down the line.”
The senior class wanted the underclassmen, especially the freshmen, to understand
what Lawrence basketball is all about.
“There was something Kyle said, a quote that captured it in my eyes,” says
Tharp.
“Kyle said 'We made the freshmen go up the ladder first to cut down the
nets because we want them to know that this is what we do here.'
"We’ve
raised the bar. This is what we’re striving for. We’re
striving for excellence. We’re striving to reach a Final Four.”
The journey begins again next November.
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team celebrates its victory against Carroll College in February during their 2006 Midwest Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament championship game at Alexander Gymnasium. Lawrence won 68-62. Pictured left to right: Andy Hurley, ’08, B.J. Harry, ’09, Nate Dineen, ’07, Chris Page, ’09, Chris Braier, ’06, George Hogen, ’08, Dylan Fogel, ’08, Erik Megow, ’08, Ryan Knox, ’07, Jayce Apelgren, ’09, Doug Kadison, ’09, and Ben Klekamp, ’06.
Multiple choice: What does it take to completely change the complexion of
a sports program?
A. Athletic talent. B. Hard work. C. An unequaled will to win. D. All of the
above.
If you chose D, you just picked the formula for how the Lawrence University
men’s basketball team went from good to great over the past four years.
The five men largely responsible for that run of greatness have played their
last games for the Vikings, but they are hopeful that they have set a standard
others will attempt to equal or surpass in years to come.
Chris Braier, Kyle MacGillis, Keven Bradley, Ben Klekamp, and Nick Grahovac,
all of the Class of ’06, put together an 87-18 record over four seasons,
won three consecutive Midwest Conference championships, went to the NCAA Division
III Tournament three times, and came within a whisker of earning the team’s
first berth in the Final Four.
Braier (video), a three-time All-American
and two-time conference Player of the Year, is the acknowledged leader of this
group. He is quick to point out what they have done is only a beginning.
“These five seniors have instilled a great work ethic into these young
guys so they can keep that tradition going,” Braier says.
“I want to be able to look back ten or 15 years from now and see they
still have an unbelievable program. I want to see that the values we instilled
have
kept this tradition alive.”
Braier is the most decorated player in Lawrence history, and he capped his
senior season by winning the Jostens Trophy (pictured), which goes to the best
Division III player, based on basketball ability, academic achievement, and
community service. He received the award before the Final Four in Salem, Virginia,
in March.
“It’s a strange feeling,” Braier says of winning the award. “I’m
excited just to be the best player in the conference. When you go to a national
perspective and to think that there’s no one better than me, I don’t
see myself that way.
“I just play the game as hard as I can. I always get worried that every
time I go out that I’m not the best player on the court. To have people
say I’m the best player in the country is unbelievable. I think I stole
that one. I’ll take it and run, though.”
With basketball now slowly fading into the rearview mirror, this group turns
its attention to life’s next challenge. They are well-suited for what
lies ahead, because they share a sterling academic record. Three of the five,
Braier, an Academic All-American, MacGillis, and Bradley, are all academic
all-conference selections.
The seniors are set on different paths. Grahovac, a government major, will
head out into the work force. Klekamp, a biology major, is headed to graduate
school. MacGillis, another biology major, plans to attend medical school. Bradley,
a history major, will be student-teaching in the fall, and Braier, another
biology major, is likely bound for law school.
The long-time ABC program “Wide World of Sports” always opened
its show with a montage of images over Jim McKay’s voice talking about, “the
thrill of victory and the agony of defeat…the human drama of athletic
competition.” In four years, these young men came to understand the highest
of highs and the lowest of lows and just about everything in between.
“The last two years with Keven and last four years with Nick, Ben, and
Kyle, we have formed a bond,” Braier says. “Five years from now…if
the first time I see Ben is at our five-year reunion, it will be like not a
day has passed.” jva