Waleed Farid went for 41 points, 19 rebounds and nine steals in the two-game regionals.

By Mark Simon
D3hoops.com

Not to toot our own horn too much, but we had one of the great moments in this Web site's history on Selection Sunday, and unfortunately since it was not recorded for posterity, you'll just have to settle for this summary if you were not among the hundreds listening live.

Stevens Institute of Technology first-year men's coach Josh Loeffler was a bit nervous. His team, ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic region entering playoff week, had lost a heartbreaker on a buzzer-beater in overtime in the Skyline Conference semis, and though he felt good about his team's chances for a Pool C bid to the NCAA Tournament, he was a little nervous too.

When Pat Coleman posted his initial projections for the field of 59, Loeffler felt good. Stevens was listed, albeit at the bottom of the list, with the caveat that things could change in a hurry depending on Sunday's results. Loeffler knew that a couple of longshots were facing top-rated teams in title games, and had a close connection to one, Williams, where he was previously an assistant coach. 

That morning, Stevens held a practice, not knowing its fate and Loeffler was impressed with how sharp his team looked. When work was done, Loeffler settled in to watch the end of the NESCAC final between Williams and Amherst, pulling for Williams on a "sort-of" basis. Some of his players were also at their computers, keeping tabs on the NEWMAC final between Coast Guard and WPI. When Williams and Coast Guard pulled off the upsets, the thought crossed Loeffler's mind.

"This isn't going to end well."

Loeffler had been contacted by Dave McHugh, host of Hoopsville and agreed to appear on the show's "Bubble Watch" segment. By the time he did, he was pretty unsettled. The new projections had his team on the outside looking in. Loeffler and staff talked and relegated themselves to being in the ECACs.

Loeffler did his segment early in the evening and listened to the rest of the show, something his players and assistants were doing as well. It was full-fledged nail biting time.

At a little after 10 p.m., after the show had gone for four hours, Coleman came on with the announcement of selections. He read the at-large selections in alphabetical order. When Loeffler heard Guilford was in, he felt good. The projections had been wrong about them. When Loeffler heard "State University of New York-Brockport" he cringed. He did a split-second calculation that alphabetically, SUNY-Brockport, fell behind Stevens Tech. But the NCAA was very careful in its alphabetizing. "Stevens Tech" did indeed come after "State University" and the Ducks were indeed in the NCAA Tournament.

The first thing Loeffler did was call his assistant coach Bobby Hurley (not the ex-Duke point guard), who had the misfortune of listening to a stream that was on a delay. He didn't know yet. Loeffler started to tell him, but Hurley wouldn't believe it. He had to hear it for himself.

A few minutes later, the Hoopsville crew got a call and decided to put the caller on blindly. They knew that only a few people knew the studio phone number and took a guess as to who it might 

"Guys," said the voice at the other end, sounding very, very happy and relieved. "It's coach Loeffler."

But alas, the impact of Division III fans on Loeffler's team was not complete, and we don't think we're giving ourselves too much credit here. A number of folks were quite peeved that the Skyline had gotten an at-large bid for the first time in league history. They vented on Posting Up and the Stevens players read through post after post saying that their team didn't belong. One e-mail pointed out how those on the team who played in a local summer league finished in last place. That kind of talk stirred the fire. The perception was that nobody thought that Stevens was legit.

"The theme of the week was ‘Let's get some respect, right now,'" Loeffler said.

It's funny how things have worked for the ‘last team in' the NCAA Tournament, as we've seen a few memorable runs in recent years, mostly on the women's side. Now you can add Stevens to the list.

The Ducks, now 23-6, are in the Sweet 16 and will face a familiar foe for Loeffler, Amherst, on Friday night. Stevens advanced with upsets over No. 17 WPI and hosting NJAC champ Ramapo in the regionals last weekend. The key to the wins was strong defensive play, something that had been lacking from Loeffler's team at the end of the season, when they sometimes won simply with scoring (they average 80.6 points). The Ducks allowed 95 and 83 points in two Skyline late-season defeats (which followed a 16-game win streak). In the NCAA wins, they yielded 57 and 61.

"We just have to do what got us here," Loeffler said. "That's to play and compete with the same toughness we showed last week, and let the chips fall where they may. Amherst is certainly the better-known team. They pose difficult matchups for us, I hope we pose difficult matchups for them. If we play with toughness and intensity, we've got a real shot."

Virgil Gray has one 30-point game and three 29-point games for Stevens.

That's how Stevens makes up for a lack of size. The Ducks start a 6-foot shooting guard, a 6-2 power forward and a center listed at 6-5, 190 pounds (necessitated by a preseason injury to Tim Williams), but find ways to survive, often putting the equivalent of four guards on the floor. 

Against WPI they made only 18 of 38 free throws but still won by 11 by holding the sharpshooting Engineers to 3-for-17 from 3-point range and forcing 19 turnovers. Anthony Passalacqua led the way with 19 points, making five 3-pointers. 

The next day, Stevens shot just 38% and committed 17 turnovers, but this time they were much better at the foul line (25-for-33). Ramapo inherited their free throw struggles (14-for-32) and their guards struggled to score. Three-hundred pound Roadrunners center Omar Alston scored 19 points but took 19 shots to do so, thanks to the 190-pounder, Michael Collins (one of two seniors, along with point guard Floyd Morris, who is one assist shy of the school's all-time assist record). 

The Ducks held the Roadrunners to 34% shooting and that 6-2 power forward, Waleed Farid, carried them through with a 27-point, 14-rebound, four steal effort. Farid has averaged 18 points this season, second on the team to Virgil Gray, and has come up big for the Ducks in many ways.

"Waleed is a player who really makes his teammates better," Loeffler said. "He allows us to play we play. He's one of the best leaders I've seen. He's like having another coach on the floor. His understanding of the game is at a high level. I put a lot of faith in his evaluations."

So what is Farid's evaluation, both of his play and his team's?

"Coach likes to tell everyone that I'm a playmaker," said Farid with a laugh. "I'll go with that. I just do whatever is needed (Saturday) we needed points, so I scored. We're a very intense team. We play hard, but at the same time, we play loose. You'll see our guys smile on the court. We don't want to let the game slip away because we were uptight. If you're not enjoying the game, you won't get the most out of it."

If that sounds like a rather astute take, it is. Stevens is a school best known for producing engineers, not basketball players, but a perception is taking shape significantly different from that which was at the school five years ago. The school feels confident enough in its athletic programs now to leave the Skyline and enter the Empire 8.

Loeffler replaced Steve Hayn (now at Division II Dowling), who was well respected by his players and made an immediate impact on them with his commitment and intensity. They have become believers and so has the rest of the country. A lot of people on the message boards are eating crow this week.

"We have the mentality of just playing who's in front of us," Loeffler said. "They don't buy into things like reputations. They pay attention to what we tell them. I like it that way."