The Garnet are acquiring a collection of sectional champion trophies and have a chance to add the full Walnut and Bronze to the collection this weekend. Swarthmore athletics photo

By Ryan Scott
D3hoops.com

What does it take to win a national championship? It’s a tough question to answer, but if anyone in this year’s Division III men’s basketball Final Four knows, it might be Swarthmore.

Yes, Pat Miller has two trophies in the case at Whitewater, but he’s also bringing a fairly inexperienced team to Fort Wayne, the culmination of a run of success almost no one saw coming.

Swarthmore, on the other hand, has been building to this for a long time. Runners-up in 2019, the Garnet were consensus No. 1 in 2020, when COVID shut the whole thing down. George Visconti played in that title game and has been a key cog all four of his years at Swarthmore. He’s seen a lot of big games and understands what it takes to come out on the winning side.

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That was never more on display than in the most recent round, against Nichols, where the pressure and pace of the Bison rattled Swarthmore for 40 minutes.

“They are just really, really good at what they do,” says head coach Landry Kosmalski. “They are athletic, but they use it in a really intelligent way. It destroys rhythm and we found it hard to crack the code - I’m not sure we ever did crack it, quite honestly.”

Watching the game, everything went Nichols’ way — even after Michael Caprise hit a tough shot down low to give Swarthmore a one point lead with seconds remaining, momentum still felt like it was going the other way. Nichols ultimately couldn’t get a shot off and Swarthmore miraculously survived.

“Having everyone storm the court like that in the end was pretty surreal,” says Visconti. Still, his experience helped him and his teammates keep level heads and not let the game get away from them. “In the back of my mind I was thinking we just need to keep going and hopefully some opportunities will present themselves.”

Even when those opportunities arise, teams must be ready to seize them, something Swarthmore fell short on last season. They avenged a 2022 first round upset, blasting Keene State 82-58 in the Sweet Sixteen with rosters nearly unchanged from a year ago.

The difference was obvious; no more so than with Caprise in the paint, who took the fight to All-American Jeff Hunter on both ends of the floor, and stepped up for that big game winner against Nichols — a shot he may not have had the confidence to take last season.

“Mike, as a freshman, played behind two All-Americans,” notes Kosmalski. “Last year he took a huge jump and he’s added a new level [this season]. Here against Ursinus, we were down the whole second half and Mike got a layup at the end to win it. He got a lot of confidence in that. He’s proven to be clutch down near the basket, which isn’t easy when it's crowded.”

“We believe in Mike more than he does,” adds Visconti. “We have a huge advantage down low and we like to feed him.”

It’s a strategy the Garnet will need to continue as they face the same national semifinal opponent from 2019: Christopher Newport, who boasts a 6-8 mountain in Trey Barber on the block.

“John [Krikorian, of CNU] is a great coach,” says Kosmalski. “We’ve played twice in the tournament. They beat us in 2017 and then we got to beat them two years later. I tell our guys at this time of year, the next team we play is going to be the best team we’ve faced all year, because everyone is playing so well to get this far.”

If Caprise does get stymied down low, Swarthmore also has a potent outside game, with shooters all over the floor and multiple ball handlers to penetrate and attack a CNU defense that is always near the top of the rankings.

At the head of that attack is junior Vinny DeAngelo, Centennial Conference Player of the Year and the closest thing to a point guard Swarthmore has in a system which doesn’t really require one. He’s the go-to guy when the Garnet need a bucket, but he’s more likely to create for other players in big moments, rather than take on the scoring load himself.

That teamwork is, if anything, the hallmark of Kosmalski’s coaching style. Swarthmore may have All-Americans, but they rarely highlight individual performance. Most players are comfortable at multiple positions and not overly relying on any one player makes it difficult for opponents to get them out of their game plan.

“It is a collective leadership structure,” says Kosmalski. “Colin [Shaw], George, and Vinny are our captains. If someone isn’t pulling their weight, these guys let them know.”

It’s the epitome of a key lesson to winning in March: It’s got to be all business. Not that basketball can’t be fun, but each and every team is in Fort Wayne for one purpose: to cut down those nets and take home the trophy.

“2019 was my first year,” recalls Visconti. “I stepped onto a team that was already so good. You take that for granted, because it's your first year, but I’ve learned, through my career, just how hard it is to make a Final Four. We learned a lot the first time, most importantly: all that matters is what happens in the 94 feet of the court.”

Kosmalski similarly notes, “We learned this phrase from some military guys who trained us in team building years ago, ‘you go to the movies with friends, you go to battle with teammates.’ Our guys are all really close, but they can be friends in the locker room. On the court we hold everybody accountable, which is a big reason for our success.”

Losing that 2019 title game obviously leaves a team feeling incomplete. There’s a drive to succeed where they once failed in Kosmalski and Visconti (and Shaw and Julian Levin, who were both on the bench against UW-Oshkosh), but they also appreciate the journey.

“The best part is just watching these guys enjoy it,” notes the coach. “I remember going to the state finals in high school, being on an NCAA Tournament team at Davidson, it’s the little things, the meals, the bus rides, the flights — going into the locker room in Fort Wayne, where they do such a good job of making it feel special. As a coach, it’s the best thing to see your players enjoy it, because they earned it.”

Just how much they earn will be decided on Thursday and Saturday, but one thing’s for sure: The Swarthmore Garnet will understand and appreciate just how far they’ve come and will always be hungry for more.