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| Eleven players have started a game for Westminster (Mo.) this season, but Tanner Cochran is one of just two who have started 15 of the 16 games. Tanner Gentges is the other. Westminster (Mo.) athletics photo |
By Josh Smith
With a sub-.500 overall record, some D-III fans might overlook the Westminster (Mo.) men’s basketball team. But with all seven of their wins coming in conference play, it’s unlikely any SLIAC teams are looking past the Blue Jays.
Westminster has had its ups and downs this season while a number of key underclassmen get comfortable on the court. That has resulted in a 7-9 mark overall.
However, all of their wins have come against conference opponents, and the Blue Jays now find themselves tied atop the SLIAC standings with Iowa Wesleyan at 7-3.
“It’s been a learning situation for our young kids. They’re talented kids, but they’re young,” Westminster coach Matt Mitchell said. “So some of our non-conference woes, so to speak, are two-fold. One, it was a difficult schedule. I knew that when I scheduled it. And two, the inexperience and inconsistency.
“I think once we got into the league, we’ve continued to learn.”
The Blue Jays’ top four scorers – Romo Tabb, Nick Carlos, Tanner Cochran and Jimmy Villalobos – are all sophomores.
“I think we’re progressing pretty much every day. Obviously, at the beginning of the season, we were still getting to know each other and trying to learn our roles,” said Cochran, who is averaging 10.3 points per game, and in SLIAC games scores 13.9 points on average.
“We’ve learned that we don’t really have a go-to player, so any night it can be someone else,” he continued. “Whenever one guy is going, we try to give him the ball and let him go.”
Over the last few months, those sophomores have become team leaders because of their roles on the court, but Cochran said the upperclassmen on the roster have done a great job leading the young players to their current position.
“Quite honestly, the inexperience kind of plays a positive factor in that they don’t know any better. They’re just energetic kids, who come in and play hard,” Mitchell said.
The team’s depth has also been a key, according to the coach. Mitchell said his bench has outperformed other team’s reserves to solidify a number of victories.
With a young roster to work with, Mitchell is focused on developing his players’ raw talent. The fact that his team is winning and in contention for a SLIAC championship, helps his players stay motivated to work.
“If those games are important, it tends to hold their attention,” Mitchell said, adding that wins build confidence too. “The teams that I’ve had that have not really been in the mix, boy it’s really difficult to keep their attention and keep them focused and headed in a positive direction.
“So yes, those wins are important.”
Cochran helps keep the team on task as well. From a basketball family – his father is a high school coach and his three older brothers have all played college hoops – Cochran brings a calming factor to the floor.
“He’s very flat-lined. He does not have big ups and downs. He stays level-headed. He’s a competitive kid. He understands if he’s not playing well, let’s get it to someone else,” Mitchell explained. “He’s a security blanket for them.”
“Basketball is a game of mistakes,” Cochran added. “A lot of people get caught up in the moment. I try to be that calming hand for them, and try to relax everyone.”
The 6-0 guard believes his team can continue to have success moving forward, especially if individuals expand their roles on the team.
However, Cochran and the rest of the Blue Jays know the SLIAC race is wide open.
MacMurray is just one game back of the conference co-leaders, and six other teams are two games out of first place, tied at 5-5.
“I think they’re excited. We lost two conference games that we had shots at the end of the game to win. So there’s a piece of them that thinks they should be 9-1 in the league right now,” Mitchell said, noting his team had chances to win late in all three of its SLIAC losses.
“Our conference is extremely well balanced,” he continued. “The guys have heard us talk about the fact that it’s going to be a grind every night – it’s going to be a long, drawn-out challenge. So they probably have their guard up a little bit – and they should.”
Throughout this season, Mitchell was hopeful his team could learn on the job and play its best basketball in February. His team is coming together and he thinks even better results are on the horizon.
“I think if everybody is playing well at the same time, I think we’re going to be really good. I think we’ll be a difficult out for anybody in our conference – and even in the national tournament if we were fortunate enough to win our conference tournament – because we have a lot of tools,” Mitchell said. “We have talented kids. We’re very good defensively. We don’t turn the ball over a whole lot.”
“I definitely think if we all start clicking, we can definitely make a run later – hopefully into the national tournament,” Cochran agreed. “It helps that we’ve played everyone in the league once already. We know what we’re going to get, and we’ll just give them our best shot.”
However this season ends, the Blue Jays know they have a strong, young core of players to build around. That has Westminster’s coach optimistic about the program beyond this season.
“I think the future is really bright,” Mitchell said. “I like our pieces a lot, especially leading into next year and the year after.”
SLIAC all in for ACS
The Blue Jays have a number of important games remaining on the schedule. But Westminster and the other SLIAC schools will be focused on another important issue during those games.
The league is working with the American Cancer Society, hosting conference-wide Coaches vs Cancer games over a week-and-a-half stretch. “I think it’s great,” said Mitchell, who worked with Westminster alumna and American Cancer Society representative Ashley Hale to create the SLIAC event.
“If nothing else, we’re going to create awareness. We’re going to do something together as a conference, which I think is extremely important,” the coach continued, adding there is hope to do a conference-wide fundraiser involving every sports team in the future. “I don’t even know if the amount (of money) that we raise is a top priority. It’s obviously important, but to do something as a conference that creates awareness, there’s no better avenue or platform than students and athletics to do those types of things.”
More information about the SLIAC’s fundraising efforts and Coaches vs Cancer can be found at http://www.sliac.org/Releases/2015-16/sliaccvc.
Central Region clippings
The St. Norbert men’s basketball team extended its Midwest Conference winning streak to 55 games with a 73-56 win over Monmouth, Jan. 23. Terrence Garner scored 13 points to help the Green Knights improve to 14-2 overall and 11-0 in Midwest Conference play. … UW-Stevens Point women’s basketball coach Shirley Egner registered her 500th career victory when the Pointers topped UW-Platteville, 67-48, Jan. 13. In her 27th season with the Pointers, Egner now has a 502-215 record, giving her the most wins in conference history. … Jared Greenlee became the 15th Fontbonne player to score 1,000 career points during the Griffins’ game at Blackburn Jan. 23. He finished with 15 points, giving him 1,014 for his career. … After beginning the season 1-2, Chicago has posted a 13-game winning streak. The Maroons extended their run with wins over No. 17 NYU and Brandeis last weekend. … Tonja Englund became UW-Eau Claire’s all-time winningest women’s basketball coach when the Blugolds beat UW-Platteville, 77-45, Jan. 20. Englund is 278-153 in 16 seasons with Eau Claire, surpassing Lisa Stone for the most wins in school history. Her win total is fourth on the WIAC’s all-time coaching list. … Todd Raridon secured his 200th victory as men’s basketball coach at North Central (Ill.) when the Cardinals defeated Carthage, 97-68, Jan. 20. Now with 201 career victories, he is nearing the program’s all-time record of 204 wins, held by former coach Bill Warden. North Central (Ill.) defeated Elmhurst, 80-62, Jan. 23, creating a three-way tie atop the CCIW standings. … UW-Oshkosh senior Alex Olson joined the 1,000 point club when he poured in 27 in a 67-42 victory over UW-Stout, Jan. 23. He now has 1,026 career points.
Where they rank
Six men’s teams from the Central Region were ranked in this week’s Top 25 poll, including three in the top 10.
Augustana and Benedictine each moved up one place to Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. The Vikings received five first place votes while the Eagles garnered one. Elmhurst fell four spots to No. 6 in this week’s poll.
Chicago rose one spot to No. 11, St. Norbert climbed six positions to No. 16 and North Central (Ill.) jumped eight spots to No. 17.
UW-Whitewater (14), Aurora (5) and Carroll (2) received votes in this week’s men’s poll.
In the women’s Top 25 poll, Washington U. fell two spots to No. 10 while UW-Oshkosh elevated two places to No. 11. UW-Stevens Point is ranked No. 14 – five places better than a week ago.
UW-Whitewater slipped five spots to No. 17 while UW-River Falls remained steady at No. 18. Wheaton (Ill.) is up one spot at No. 23.
Check in
Do you have a story idea for the Around the Central column? Contact me about broken records, approaching milestones, breakout players or any other storylines from the Region. Or just drop me a note to let me know what you think of the column. All ideas and feedback are welcome. Email me at josh.smith@d3sports.com or follow me on Twitter @By_Josh_Smith.
Around the Central Region was written by Josh Smith during the 2015-16 season. Josh covers high school and Division III athletics for the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson, Wis. He has won multiple awards for reporting and photography and contributes to multiple publications in addition to his duties at the Daily Union, including D3sports.com beginning in 2012. He graduated from UW-Whitewater with a degree in print journalism.
