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| Marcus Dempsey scored 35 points and had nine assists for Muskingum in a 91-82 win vs. Ramapo at the D3hoops.com Classic back in December. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com |
By Ryan Scott
D3hoops.com
Two thousand career points is among the highest individual accomplishments for Division III basketball players. It shows a consistent offensive contribution over the course of a career. And whether you are a big fish in a small pond or one of the very best players in the country, two thousand points proves you are a legitimate scorer.
Each season we have a few players who reach this illustrious milestone, this year there have already been seven. The most recent, however, deserves special recognition. On Wednesday, Marcus Dempsey of Muskingum became just the fifth Division III player to reach 2,000 points during his junior season.
The others are the top three career scorers in Division III history: Andre Foreman of Salisbury, Willie Chandler, alum and current head coach of Misericordia, and Grinnell’s John Grotberg; the fourth is Carthage great Steve Djurickovic. Greg Grant of TCNJ and Wheaton’s Aston Francis both hit 2,000 points in three seasons, as three-year players who set the mark during their senior campaigns.
Dempsey rose to prominence during his sophomore season, following the tragic death of teammate and leading scorer, Jarrell Marsh. “Those two games after Jarrell passed are the two greatest performances I’ve ever seen,” says head coach Travis Schwab. “He scored 48 in the first game and I told my assistant coaches on the bus, ‘we may never see 48 again,’ then he turns around and scores 57 the next night.”
Dempsey was always a gifted offensive player and contributed heavily from his very first game, earning OAC Rookie of the Year honors. But something changed following Marsh’s death. “No one knew what to expect,” says Dempsey. “We didn’t know how we would react. I was just trying to anything I could for the team, to make the best of more touches.” Adds Schwab, “he saw that our team needed a consistent scorer and he’s been exactly that ever since.”
Muskingum traveled to the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas this season partly to give Dempsey a little more exposure. Schwab has been working hard to rebuild the program, but they’re not yet at the level where Dempsey can get a postseason spotlight.
“He deserves more recognition,” says Schwab. “I’ve never seen any player work as hard off the court as Marcus [who lives just a few miles from campus]. He gets so upset during that one week each summer we have to close the gym to refinish the floor.”
That work ethic has paid off. Dempsey is putting up mirror numbers to his fantastic sophomore campaign, despite missing most of last season with a wrist injury. “I thought that year, after Jarrell, was an inspired season and we wouldn’t see that kind of production again, but here we are,” added Schwab.
“I don’t think about [records] too much,” says Dempsey. “I’m not going to go out there and gun it or pad my stats, but as our team is constructed, I need to score points for us to win. If, next year, I have to facilitate, then I’ll do that, but [any record I get] would be a real honor.
Dempsey will have a real shot at finishing in the top five all-time among Division III career scorers next season. Jake Ross is making that assault on the record books as we speak. He blew by 2,000 before Thanksgiving and already sits in the Top 20 all time. With Springfield likely to make the NCAA Tournament, Ross should have the time to catch former conference foe, Joey Flannery, for No. 8 at 2,620.
Springfield’s 2018-19 season was a bit of a letdown after a Final Four run in Ross’s sophomore season; he battled some injuries down the stretch and certainly didn’t finish the way he would’ve liked. Among the fiercest competitors in Division III, Ross is fully back to form this season and likely to also top 1,000 career rebounds, with an outside shot at 500 assists, as well.
If Vegas set Division III player of the year odds, Ross would likely be at the top of the list. If we were giving out a Most Valuable Player award, though, by its purest definition, Gordon’s Eric Demers would be the leading candidate. The Scots graduated seven seniors last season and Demers would’ve been the eighth; an injury during sophomore year gave him a medical redshirt.
Demers has kept Gordon in most games this season and won a few with late game heroics. He’s scored in the 20s just three times this year and never less than 24. The one game he missed, against rival Eastern Nazarene, Gordon fell by 29 – a few points less than Demers’ average. Perhaps his most impressive performance on the season was scoring 49 of his team’s 73 points in a narrow loss to Nichols in December. Demers shot over 50% from floor, hit nine three pointers, and had 10 rebounds.
Gordon did not win that overtime contest largely because Nichols has DeAnte Bruton, the most unsung 2,000 point scorer on our list. He’s not unknown to opponents, for sure, but he was second option to 2019 graduate, 2,000 point scorer, and All-American, Marcos Echevarria, for three seasons.
It’s exceedingly rare for teammates to score 2,000 points each, because there just aren’t that many shots to go around, but Bruton has shown toughness and determination throughout his career. As the Bison have undergone numerous coaching changes and dealt with injuries, Bruton has been a steady hand and reliable scoring option to keep things afloat.
You may know Nate West from the three-quarter court four-point play video that’s been making the rounds on Twitter recently. The LeTourneau senior is an unlikely 2,000 point scorer – not because he isn’t super talented, but because he averaged just 14 points per game in high school. A terrific NCAA Tournament performance – nearly upsetting Emory in Atlanta – as a sophomore put him on the map. He’s a (likely) three time South Region first team selection, looking to get back for one more March run.
Along with West, one of the most gifted athletes in the country is Wesley’s Brian Cameron. Cameron is the kind of natural talent even opposing coaches gush about. He’s a 6-3 guard with a sweet outside shot and the ability to get to the rim almost at will. He’s definitely flying below the radar this season, his first without a true second scoring option.
Cameron’s 3- point percentage is way down, largely due to the extra defensive attention, but he’s made up for it by being, improbably, even more effective in the paint. His Wolverines are sitting atop the AEC standings right now and there’s been a lot of talk swirling about Wesley merging with another school in the near future; Cameron’s first NCAA Tournament appearance would be a great way for him and maybe the Wolverines to go out on top.
Kevin Dennis has made his name as an undersized rebounding machine for Morrisville. Already over 1,250 boards for his career, he went over 2,000 points last week as well. Leading the team in points and rebounds all four years, he’s had five 20-rebound games and one 32 rebound performance against SUNY Poly last season. Dennis is one of those players you have to see to believe, putting up monster numbers without flash and with consistency – a true Division III star.
There are three more players who will almost certainly cross the 2,000 point threshold this season. Keith Brown didn’t get to play much for Endicott his freshman year, but he started the sophomore campaign with 83 points in his first two games and never really slowed down; Timothy Wendel is almost single-handedly keeping Crown in conference tournament contention and averaging a double-double to boot; and Nate Schimonitz isn’t thinking much about 2,000 while leading Nebraska Wesleyan back to the NCAA Tournament, but he’ll almost certainly get there.
In addition to increasing his scoring load, Schimonitz has improved his free throw shooting from 60% to 80% this season and upped his field goal percentage from 51% to more than 60% (and he’s a point guard). He’s also likely one of Ross’ biggest threats for national player of the year honors.
Finally, what would February be without some records to root for? Wooster’s Danyon Hempy won’t catch his dad’s total (Dick scored 2,439 points for Otterbein in the ’80s), but with a solid postseason run from the Scots, he does have a chance to get 2,000.
They would certainly be the first father-son duo to accomplish that feat in Division III. At his current scoring rate, Hempy needs six more games to reach 2,000, which means avoiding upsets in the NCAC tourney and getting to the NCAAs.
Milestones are just arbitrary numbers. Two thousand points doesn’t make a player particularly better than 1,999, but those milestones are celebrated in our culture and they stick in the memory. The players mentioned here may not all have stories as dramatic as Marcus Dempsey’s and none of the others has an extra season with which to write them. They are, however, the heroes of this generation. They are names that mean something to their teams, their coaches, and their families. This is one of the most prolific scoring classes in Division III history and we can’t wait to see what they’ll do next!
