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| Celebration has been in the foreground this season for North Park. North Park athletics photo |
By Joe Sager
D3hoops.com
The North Park men’s basketball team’s record books are rich with history. Five national titles from 1978 to 1987 put the program at an elite level.
Sean Smith wants to add some newer chapters for Vikings.
In his first season as head coach, Smith and his squad have taken some big steps to do just that.
North Park is back in the national title mix as the squad won its first-ever CCIW tournament and captured its first two games in the NCAA Tournament. The Vikings visit Mount Union in a Sweet 16 battle on Friday.
“That’s our goal. Our goal was we wanted to try to rewrite history to where North Park was and, hopefully, will be. It’s a credit to my staff and players to believe in that vision. Our whole goal is to build a family-like culture and compete every year,” he said. “The administration has been great here. It’s exciting to see. We’re hoping this year is a building block. We’re by no means done, though. When it’s time to reflect, we will do that. We still have unfinished business to take care of.”
Resurrecting the Vikings program was a challenge. North Park’s last winning record came in in the 2016-17 season (18-8). The team went 26-87 the past five campaigns. Smith, a 2017 Trinity International University graduate, went to work immediately once he was hired in April. The program welcomed nine transfers. Those newcomers, along with some holdovers, meshed quickly.
“Anytime you bring in a new coaching staff and a bunch of new guys, you pray for the best and work to try to bring them as close together as possible. You just never know how it’ll work,” he said. “Guys were coming from different backgrounds and situations and really bought into the idea of community and family. When I first got the job, I didn’t know how quickly we’d come together. One of my favorite parts of coaching is team building. When we got to October and November, I saw how quickly they meshed together and I knew they had a chance to be a special group. On paper, things can be a lot different and a season is long with many ups and downs. But, if you watch us now, you wouldn’t think we’ve been together for less than nine months.”
While all the new faces may not have had a lot in common at first, they all shared one goal – to be successful.
“It was surprising we came together very quickly. All the new guys who came in as well as the returnees have the same interest and that’s to win. We knew we had to buy in together,” North Park sophomore Kolden Vanlandingham said. “As soon as I met the guys, I knew we had something we could build off of, especially with the coaches we have.”
“It had its challenging times,” North Park senior Marquise Jackson said. “We did a lot of off-the-court things that really brought us together. Coach Sean did a good job getting us out of our shells. He treated us like a family.”
The Vikings had little choice but to come out of their shells quickly. The team plays a high-tempo pace on both ends of the floor, so many guys are needed to see crucial minutes and cohesiveness is a necessity.
“We’re a fast-paced team that likes to play a fast-paced game,” Smith said. “We’ll press for 40 minutes and play fast and free, offensively.”
The players embrace that style.
“I come from a style like that in high school and junior college. That’s the reason why I decided to come to North Park, because of that (style of play). Coach tells us to go out and do what we’re great at and have fun. I like it a lot,” Jackson said.
“To us, it’s normal. If you’re not used to that kind of style, I could see how teams might think it’s a little abnormal.”
The Vikings push the pace and rely on their versatility to create havoc. They rank among the nation’s best at 19.83 turnovers forced and 12.8 steals per game. Jackson (76) and Shamar Pumphrey (71) are among the nation’s steals leaders.
“Our calling card is pressure. We’re trying to get people out of their stuff and play at our pace. Defensively, we are able to guard multiple positions,” Smith said. “Offensively, we play fast and take a lot of shots. Basically, it’s positionless basketball. We have guys on the floor that can do a multitude of different things. It’s a great tool to have in the toolbox. The guys have bought into it. A coach can have all the ideas in the world, but if guys don’t buy into it, good luck.”
North Park knows it has the depth to play that way, too.
“At the beginning, we, for sure, butted heads a lot. At the end, how competitive we are with each other brought us together,” Vanlandingham said. “In between those lines when we’re going against each other, there’s no bad blood. We’re just trying to make each other better every day. We’re so deep and we can play this style pretty well. Offensively and defensively, anybody can play really any position.”
The team averages 80.6 points per game. Vanlandingham leads the way at 16.1 ppg, followed by Jackson (12.6), Jalen Boyd (12.4), Pumphrey (11.3) and Jordan Boyd (9.3). However, defense is what the team enjoys playing the most.
“We love defense a lot, actually,” Jackson said. “The first and second teams bump heads a lot in practices. If you want to score, you have to get a stop. We’re not always worried about who is going to get the most points – it’s all about who gets the most stops for us. We want to get more stops than the other team.
“I give credit to my teammates for always being available. Whether it’s the first guy or last guy off the bench, we’re always ready. When your name is called, we’re ready to step up.”
The Vikings are one of the final 16 teams remaining, but they’re not content with just that.
“One thing we talk about a lot is making history day by day,” Jackson said. “I feel like we have a little more to go to reach our best. Right now, we’re definitely playing great basketball. We have a little more to show that we haven’t showed yet.”
“As a team, we just keep pushing every day,” Vanlandingham said. “When the ball goes up, it’s all about what can each of us do in that 40 minutes to get a win. What we’ve done is great. We’re trying to stay level-headed. We’re not paying too much attention to outside noise; we’re just trying to win.”