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| Grant Shaeffer and the Tommies are putting the past behind them. Photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com |
It was a shot that embodies March Madness.
The pesky underdog from a perceivably weaker conference taking down the national powerhouse with Final Four aspirations.
Porter Morrell’s buzzer beater for Northwestern (Minn.) against St. Thomas in last year’s NCAA tournament first round was the essence of why all basketball fans love that time of year.
It was unforgettable from the other side, too.
“We still think about that and that’s another motivator this year that I think we have a terrible, terrible taste in our mouth from what happened,” said Grant Shaeffer, the fourth-ranked Tommies’ starting point guard. “It’s something that we’ve definitely got to learn from, but it’s definitely driving us this year and keeping us hungry, and I think that’s something that’s a little different from last year, just that sense of hunger and sense of not being satisfied this year.”
John Tauer thinks a lot about motivation. Almost more than the 19 losses he’s been a part of as a head coach that’s won 99 games in four years at St. Thomas.
“I can rattle off each and every one of those (losses) in painful and excruciating detail,” Tauer said. “That’s part of the nature of being a competitor.”
Tauer has master’s and PhD degrees in social psychology and is a tenured professor at UST, his alma mater – “I’d say he’s similar in class to how he is on the court,” Shaeffer said.
“You can tell he uses his psychology background in practice. He’s always kind of one step ahead.”
So, yes, Tauer knows a little bit about how to motivate players and what inspires them. It’s an expertise, in fact.
“And I think anytime you go into the offseason after a loss, which most teams do, you hope that your players are hungry,” he said. “But at the end of the day I hope losses aren’t what fuel our guys. Being the best that they can be, striving for excellence in everything they do in life, that’s really what our goals are and hopefully that’s far more motivation than trying to avoid a loss.”
Losses don’t occur often at St. Thomas. The Tommies have won 10 straight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball titles, the longest current streak in Division III.
It’s a run that has become important to the players.
“I don’t think you really understand how much it means until you’re done with it,” said senior forward Cortez Tillman, himself a psychology major. “It means a lot to be able to have the chance to keep that streak going. To be honest, I don’t really think about it until I talk to alumni and they talk about how special it is.”
You don’t want to be the team that doesn’t continue that. Again, though, Tauer wants to motivate his team differently.
“We talk a lot about psychology and the difference between approach motivation and avoidance motivation. Avoidance motivation is don’t be the one to screw things up. Approach motivation is let’s do the best we can this year,” said Tauer who was recently featured in a Sports Illustrated podcast. “We’re always focused on that approach orientation. Dare to be great is one of our mantras.”
By all accounts, the Tommies have a chance to be great again. They return three starters from last year’s team and are picked to win the MIAC, along with a spot in the preseason poll that shows pollsters believe they’re Final Four-caliber.
Shaeffer and guard Taylor Montero and forward Ryan Saarela return to the starting five, where Tillman also now finds his role.
Replacing All-MIAC selections Conner Nord and Marcus Alipate, an All-West Region pick, will be a challenge, but the target remains on UST’s back in a league that features a daunting 20-game schedule.
“The vast majority of times we’ve lost, teams have rushed the court and sometimes our freshmen look at us like, ‘this is just a regular season game,’ but, hey, that’s every single night out,” Tauer said. “We’re going to get everybody’s best shot and we love it.”
St. Thomas opened the non-conference schedule with a 76-62 win at UW-Eau Claire, behind 24 points from Shaeffer. It doesn’t get any easier with dates with No. 18 Emory and Southern Vermont at the Hoopsville Classic this weekend.
The Tommies are used to playing in big games, no matter the time of the year. The wins and trophies mean a lot to them, but the process of getting there maybe more so.
“(Tauer works) on being intrinsically motivated, so doing things because they’re good for me instead of just doing things for a reward or a trophy,” Tillman said.
“I’d say the environment and the atmosphere that he makes in practice has been the most fun three years I’ve had playing basketball,” Shaeffer added, “and that’s a direct correlation to the coaches and the environment that they create.”
Caltech pops another streak
Gregg Popovich was 2-22 in 1979-80, his first season at Pomona-Pitzer. Perhaps the worst loss was at home to Caltech, a result that snapped the Beavers’ 99-game losing streak.
Popovich led Pomona-Pitzer to its first SCIAC title in 68 years later that decade and has won five NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs since. But Caltech hadn’t beaten another SCIAC foe on the road in that same 35-year span.
Until Saturday. The Beavers, led by David LeBaron’s career-high 25 points, knocked off Occidental 86-77 for the 110 Freeway Rivalry Trophy. It counts as a non-conference game, and so in some way the streak continues, but that won’t much matter to those associated with the program.
"I can't say enough about how great it was to see alumni – basketball and other sports even – engaged in the game, whether they were here tonight, watching online or texting me," Caltech coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger said in a release. "We had a heck of a crowd tonight; I looked up from the bench and saw our whole section packed – at an away game – and rivaling Oxy's supporters."
It’s another step for Caltech after not only ending a 55-game conference losing streak last winter, but winning three SCIAC games.
Midnight madness
The second win of the season in Division III went to Whitworth. And it’s not far-fetched to think it might take the last, too.
The third-ranked Pirates tipped off just after midnight Pacific on Friday morning, beating La Verne 87-80. George Valle surpassed 1,000 career points with 29 in the win while also grabbing 10 boards.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Whitworth coach Matt Logie said on Sunday’s Hoopsville. “We had about 1,000 students in the building and they were excited. We had coffee and donuts for everybody. Got a lot of publicity here in Spokane. A lot of the news stations did their nightly newscasts here in the fieldhouse. It just created a really neat environment.”
Kudos to both teams for taking part in an event like this. The Midnight Madness practices are fun, but adding the intensity that comes with a real game makes it that much better.
We’ve got a long way to go, but file away that nugget should Whitworth appear in Salem in March.
Preseason polling
Three West Region men’s teams are featured in the preseason d3hoops.com top 25, including two in the top four. No. 3 Whitworth and No. 4 St. Thomas lead the way, followed by No. 15 St. Thomas.
On the women’s side, defending national runner-up George Fox enters the season at No. 4, with St. Thomas (No. 18), Bethel (No. 22) and Luther (No. 23) also claiming spots.
The MIAC, NWC and UMAC unveiled preseason coaches polls, with St. Thomas, Whitworth and Northwestern listed as the respective men’s favorites.
The women’s coaches in those conferences selected Bethel – in a close race with St. Thomas (7-5 in first-place votes) – George Fox and Northwestern as their preseason picks.
5 Pre-Christmas games to watch
One of my columns for Around the IIAC at Wartburg was about how the Polar Express relates to basketball. I’m not sure they’ll let me do that here, but I know I’ll be sure to work in these games around my 25 37 days of Christmas viewing.
I’ll keep it to non-conference games since the majority of important conference matchups will take place in 2016. If you’re reading this Wednesday, be sure to check out St. Olaf at UW-Stevens Point.
Men
No. 4 St. Thomas vs. No. 18 Emory (Hoopsville Classic), Nov. 20 – One of the premiere games of this early-season tournament gives the Tommies a chance to carry the West Region banner to the east coast.
Northwestern at Bethel, Dec. 1 – The Eagles have obviously shown they aren’t afraid to play the top teams in the MIAC. They have three more MIAC opponents after opening with wins over Gustavus and Hamline, and the Royals could be the best of the bunch.
No. 8 Elmhurst at Dubuque, Dec. 12 – The Spartans, led by reigning IIAC MVP Andre Norris might be the pick to win the league again. Will UD find enough consistency around Norris to give a top-10 team a challenge?
No. 4 St. Thomas at No. 9 UW-Stevens Point, Dec. 15 – It’s unclear if Stevens Point can reach the same heights as last season, but to say this will be a marquee non-conference game is still putting it lightly.
No. 1 Augustana at Lewis and Clark, Dec. 20 – This is one of a couple Lewis and Clark games that will be important in terms of understanding where the Northwest Conference behind Whitworth is relative to the rest of the country. St. John’s visits Nov. 27 for an intriguing in-region clash (Bonus!).
Women
No. 22 Bethel vs. No. 13 Maryville (at North Central (Ill.)), Nov. 20 – A rare matchup with a South Region team could provide an interesting early-season result.
No. 18 St. Thomas at Puget Sound, Nov. 21 – It’s too bad the Tommies aren’t visiting George Fox on their trip west. It’s up to UPS to represent the NWC against the class of the MIAC.
No. 4 George Fox at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Dec. 12 – This one could tell us how much the Athenas have back from last year’s unbeaten SCIAC run, as well as just how far everyone else on the pacific coast is behind the Bruins.
No. 8 Wheaton (Ill.) at Dubuque, Dec. 11 – The Spartans were Iowa Conference regular-season champs last year but lose some major pieces. Wheaton will provide an important national barometer.
OK, I cheated and looked a few days ahead, because there are some terrific games on the docket. Bethel and George Fox will meet at the D3hoops.com Classic Dec. 29, while St. Thomas takes on No. 8 Wheaton (Ill.) at Wartburg the same day. And, oh by the way, No. 6 UW-Oshkosh will also be at that Wartburg tournament.
Let’s connect
I’m really looking forward to covering the West Region after traveling across Iowa the last four winters to follow Wartburg. Please don’t hesitate to contact me (nathan.ford@d3sports.com) with feedback or story ideas. You can follow me on Twitter, too (@NathanTFord) and we’ll talk some D-III hoops. I know the IIAC very well and am familiar with the MIAC and UMAC landscape, but am new to following the NWC and SCIAC, so tips there would be especially appreciated. I appreciate you readership and hope you enjoy what’s to come.
