Across the Pond
By Terry Lyons
(This is written for the Basketball audience in Great Britain)...
“Hoop Heaven” is NCAA Final Four
“Cloud Nine” is the NCAA Division II “Elite 8”
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (March 26, 2009) – The birthplace of basketball is a wonderful place called Springfield. It is a small city located in Western Massachusetts, USA, about an hour and a half car ride from Boston. Springfield is where Dr. James Naismith invented the game when he nailed a couple peach baskets to the gymnasium wall to create a winter activity for his students. It was the winter of 1891. In case you haven’t noticed, the game has grown in popularity since Dr. Naismith brought out the peach baskets and it progressed quite a bit since the very first “rule change” when someone was smart enough to cut out the wooden bottoms from each basket.
One aspect of that growth is in American college basketball. NCAA Basketball captures the imagination of the American sports fan throughout the month of March. The NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments bring out the best “Division I” teams in the country to play a “one and done” style tournament, known to most as “March Madness.”
While “March Madness” commands global attention and billions of dollars of CBS Sports’ media money, a little known tournament, pitting the very best “Division II” teams in the country has been growing in Springfield. The organizers of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame together with the Western Massachusetts business community and the MassMutual Center brought the Division II tournament to this small city in 2006 and they have worked hard to improve and impress the collegiate basketball world as they built the little-known event into a tremendous celebration of basketball, now in its fourth year here at a building which once hosted the NBA champion (see Magic, Larry, Michael and the others)each year in a preseason exhibition game
The MassMutual Center, formerly the Springfield Civic Center, enjoyed a $51 million (US) renovation and it now serves as a small, quaint but state-of-the-art venue for basketball and ice hockey games. The venue is a close walk from the downtown center of Springfield and a “nine-iron” away from the Basketball Hall of Fame, a terrific museum dedicated to all aspects of the great game of basketball – from the international game to the Olympics to the NBA to the collegiate game to high school, wheelchair – YOU NAME IT.
As of the beginning of this column/web log, the Elite 8 in Division II basketball has put forth three teams into the “Final 4.” The Augusta State Jaguars (yes, Augusta, Georgia for you Tiger Woods and PGA fans) defeated the Buccaneers of Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tennessee), 70-62 in the first game of the day, tipped at Noon Eastern Daylight time on March 25. At 2:30, the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (Pomona, California) knocked off the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs in an exciting 79-74 quarterfinals.
After a short break for some dinner, the loyal basketball fans from Western Massachusetts and all points from Augusta to Erie to Memphis, piled back into the arena for an 86-77 Central Missouri Mules victory over the Gannon Golden Knights (Erie, Pennsylvania).
Tonight, you’ll be side-by-side with me to experience a game between the undefeated (30-0) C.W. Post Pioneers of Brookville, Long Island, NY as they face the undefeated (33-0) University of Findlay Oilers from Findlay, Ohio. Can you believe it, basketball fans? That’s Ali-Frazier I as far as I’m concerned.
Here we go:
First things first. The final score, 89-79 Findlay in overtime, was not indicative of the nail-biting, intense and great game we witnessed.
British Basketball fans should know that Findlay U men’s basketball roster sports a chap by the name of Robert Marsden. Although he is not on the active team roster, Marsden is a 6-6, 215 pound forward who played his prep ball at Danum School in Doncaster, England. He averaged 27.5 points and 14.0 rebounds per game and was honored as team MVP in each of his three seasons with the club. Marsden led Danum to the England Schools National Championship in two of the three years. He certainly is a candidate for the 2012 Great Britain national team and Coach Finch has him in a great place for future growth. Marsden visits Basketball 24/7 regularly and promised to email us with his views and updates going forward. The reason he wasn’t able to suit up this year is that he was caught-up in a NCAA eligibility rule that required him to sit out one year because of his 13-years of prep school in the UK. You should begin to follow his American collegiate career starting next fall.
C.W. Post’s roster is full of kids from New York and suburban Long Island but two international players stand out right away. James Tchana, a 6-foot-7, 280-pound junior center hails from Douala, Cameroon. Tchana wears #34 and reminds NBA fans of a (very) young Shaquille O’Neal, a svelte Shaq that helped bring NBA basketball to London back in 1993 when the Orlando Magic played the Atlanta Hawks at Wembley Arena. Post’s deep roster also touts Lyndon Daniel, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound junior forward from St. George’s Grenada.
Findlay’s Josh Bostic is the Division II Player of the Year. Bostic, a 6-foot-5, 230 pounder is a certain NBA or NBA D-League prospect. If not, you’re sure to see him in the EuroLeague next year. Bostic appeared and started in all 33 games for Findlay and was named a first team all-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Bostic played an ice-cold first half, scoring only five points with four rebounds in 18 minutes of play. He played a strong second half and finished with 18 points.
Findlay’s Lee Roberts stepped up big-time in the final minute of the game, scoring a key basket and converting a free throw to give his club a 76-74 lead in regulation. Roberts shot 10-of-13 and finished with a game-high 23 points on the evening. Bostic and Roberts complemented each other nicely and can both play at the next level of basketball in the near future, whether that is NBA, D-League or European ball.
Findlay outscored Post 12-2 in the overtime period to advance to the Division II Final 4.
Attendance at the arena was an impressive 3,908 in the afternoon and 3,012 this evening.
NOTES: Post’s Kevin Spann, a 6-foot guard from West Babylon, Long Island scored 11 first quarter points on 3-of-4 shooting from downtown while rival guard Marcus Parker of Canton, Ohio equaled the output with 11 points on 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range CW Post is a Long Island hotbed for the sport of lacrosse – both men’s and women’s programs. How do I know that? My niece, Kian, is the only NCAA champion in the family as her LAX team took the national championship two seasons ago… Spann led C.W. Post with 20 points on 6-of-13 shoting. … Bostic’s brother, Caleb, plays for Miami (Ohio) and is a young prospect to keep an eye on … NCAA Div II referees Jim Bannowski, Greg Nixon and David White did a very nice job.
Random thoughts: If you ever get a chance to go to the States, fly into Boston or New York and make your way up to Springfield for a visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame. It is terrific. And, guess who is getting inducted this coming September? … The synthetic basketball seems to be working fine on the NCAA level. Go figure?
Some fun links:
Basketball Hall of Fame:
http://www.hoophall.com
Findlay:
http://www.findlay.edu/default.htm
C.W. Post Basketball:
http://www.cwpostpioneers.com/index.aspx?tab=basketball&path=mbball
Great Story from Doncaster Free Press:
http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/free-press-sport/Danum-basketball-stars-shine-in.4644898.jp
Josh Bostic:
http://athletics.findlay.edu/sports/default.asp?id=15&aid=7294
