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The Champion Vikings' Secret? A Matter of Inches
CHICAGO, IL (May 30, 2003) - Editor's note: North Park University (NPU)
recently hosted a reunion alumni event to honor the 1978-80 Vikings
"three-peat" men's basketball champions, marking the 25th anniversary of
the school's first Division III title. The following article is the first
in a series of three features documenting the team's success. The remaining
two features will appear on subsequent Fridays.
By Craig Pinley
At first, it may have seemed that the difference between the first NCAA
Division III national men's basketball title at North Park University (then
College) and the previous squad was only a few inches - the increased
height of the team's center, Michael Harper.
North Park finished 18-8 in the 1976-77 season and closed the campaign with
five straight victories. The future looked bright for the Vikings. But no
one could have imagined the growth the Vikings would enjoy - in more ways
than one.
Harper, a junior varsity player for North Park during 1976-77, had grown
from about 6-foot-4 inches to 6-foot-9 (eventually topping out at
6-foot-10) in less than two years. A season earlier, his body was still
adjusting to his rapid growth - he fainted during one game. Overall, he had
scored just 12 varsity points. Now, he was "head and shoulders" above the
crowd, thanks to natural leaping ability and a weight lifting program that
had given him needed strength. For the season, Harper averaged 18 points
and 14 rebounds and earned All-America honors at center.
Harper's improvement wasn't the only noticeable difference, however. During
practices, it was easy to see the difference in team chemistry between the
1977 and 1978 teams. Reserve Roger Clausen relished being part of such an
unselfish squad, calling it the greatest sports memory of his life. And
reserve Rich Rosenquist enjoyed watching the team's transformation, even
though he never scored a varsity point that season.
"We knew we were big," Rosenquist said. "Harper came in at 6-foot-4 and was
growing like a weed. We had Modzel Greer, who was 6-foot-7 with natural
talent. And we had a lot of depth with people who could play many
positions. But we had no idea at the time we'd be this good. You have a lot
of talented people, but talented people don't do it by themselves. It took
a team effort to do it. It was fabulous, even if all I did was watch. It
was a good group and a fun group to be with and there was no one
complaining about the work."
McCarrell cited the sacrifice of two of the team's seniors, Al May and Tom
Florentine, for part of the team's change in team chemistry. "May was a
tough guy and he did all of the things you don't notice - he rebounded,
played good defense, set screens," McCarrell said. "And Florentine, who had
been a scorer his junior year (15 points per game), when he saw the talent
we had inside, he blended his talents with the others - not many guys would
do that."
One often unnoticed senior in the team's first championship was Roger Wood,
who had transferred to North Park from the University of Kentucky and whose
eligibility ran out just a few games into the 1977-78 season. The 6-foot-11
Wood became Harper's practice partner after his eligibility ran out and
McCarrell noted, "That was big (for Harper's
development) because you don't always get to practice against a guy that
big."
Finally, the first title team was fortunate to find a freshman point guard
who could run the show from the moment he stepped onto the floor. Coaches
and players alike recognized Thomas' leadership and competitive drive as
they summarized the progress of the Vikings during the first championship
run. "The talker on the team was Thomas, even as a freshman," McCarrell
recalled. "The kid had come from a tough Proviso East High School program
and he was the floor leader."
"Michael Thomas had no fear of anything or anyone - he knew what we wanted
and he was going to get it," said Joel Johnson, a junior varsity player
from the first national title winning team. "He was the most competitive
player I've ever seen. Al May and Tom Florentine were kind of the same way,
but they didn't have the natural talent that Thomas had."
North Park started the season with Wood in the lineup as May was ill during
the opening few games. The Vikings opened their season with four
consecutive wins before losing 68-62 at Illinois Wesleyan in conference
play. At the semester break, May replaced Wood in the lineup and the
Vikings won three more games before Christmas break and then traveled to
Northern California where they beat CSU-Hayward and lost an 83-81 nail
biter to San Francisco State University, a Division II school.
Once North Park returned from California, the team ran off 16 straight wins
to end the regular season, winning the College Conference of Illinois and
Wisconsin with a 15-1 record. At that point, the Vikings had earned the
number one ranking in the nation and younger players like Thomas were
starting to dream big.
"When we started out we didn't have a clue we would be that good," Thomas
said. "Harper and Greer were sophomores and I was just a freshman. But as
we got going, we started realizing that we could look at a bigger picture
and get something done."
The Vikings opened the Division III playoffs with a 78-68 victory over
Ripon College of Wisconsin before playing Minnesota-Morris in the Midwest
Regional finals at Central College in Pella, Iowa. In the regional final,
Harper scored 24 points and added 12 rebounds and Thomas forced a
Minnesota-Morris turnover in the final moments of a 65-62 win. Thomas'
steal was a poignant memory for many on the 1978 title team, but
he is quick to point out that the Vikings' team defense may have been the
difference.
"People thought we were so potent on offense, but we were excellent on
defense that year," said Thomas. "May could hawk you on defense and all
seven of us could play defense. We could blow you out, but we could shut
you down too. Usually, you're one or the other."
North Park was supposed to travel to the site of the West Regional winner
for the quarterfinals of the tourney and they hoped to play Chaminade
University of Hawaii. To their chagrin, Humboldt State University won the
West regional final. The Vikings ended up playing the quarterfinals in
Arcata, California, a small town in the northern part of the state that had
packed the gym for the contest.
In what was arguably the toughest playoff game of North Park's championship
journey, the Vikings squeaked out a 79-76 overtime thriller on a lay-up by
Thomas and three Harper foul shots. Thomas had also hit two foul shots at
the end of the second half. A last-second shot by Humboldt State in
regulation play had rimmed out, giving North Park and Thomas new life. "I
was so doggone tired that I lost the ball at the end of regulation,"
Thomas said. "I was limp from exhaustion and I remember going to the
sidelines before overtime and Harper was screaming at me and I was so tired
that I started laughing. But I almost cost us that game."
North Park had far less to travel for the semifinals and championship games
of the tourney - Rock Island, Illinois, the home of conference rival
Augustana College. Although the Vikings had plenty of home fans in the
crowd, the team started sluggishly in the semis, falling behind 21-12 in
the first half before rallying to beat Albion College of Michigan 75-69. In
the championship the next night, North Park played much better in the
opening half against Widener College of Pennsylvania, which propelled them
to a relatively easy victory.
Fine outside shooting by Thomas (a game high 19 points) and Tom Florentine
(7-for-8 field goals) enabled the Vikings to take a 35-24 lead at the
intermission against a team that had been allowing just 53 points per game.
In the second half, Harper took control by scoring 11 of his 17 points to
help close out a 69-57 win. Harper earned the tournament's Most Outstanding
Player award and Florentine made the All Tourney team as the Vikings
finished off its 29-2 season.
"Looking at the tournament, you would've thought the Widener game would
have been the toughest, but getting to the final game was the toughest part
of it," said McCarrell in recalling his team's initial title. "It was a
heck of a final and it was a great Widener team. They had a guy who was
drafted by the Sixers (Dennis James) and they were talented. We had watched
them in the semifinals and teams would get ahead of them and then they'd
hold it (the ball) and Widener would extend the zone and force some
turnovers and get back in games. But we had Florentine and Thomas on the
perimeter and we made some big shots (a combined 14 for 21) against the
zone and attacked them. They had to go out of their man-to-man defense and
then we took control."
Thomas played with all three of North Park's initial title teams and called
the first one his most special. "I had a point guard's dream that freshman
year," said Thomas. "I had Florentine as my off guard, one of the best
shooters that ever went to North Park. I had Modzel Greer, who was a good
shooter. I had Harper inside. And then I had big Al May who was like the
glue of the team. He was so unselfish - he was our Dennis Rodman. He played
hard defense and he rebounded well. You have to have people that fit into
our roles and we jelled at the end of the year."
Editor's note: to learn more about three individual members of the
championship team, as well as the whereabouts of team members today, visit
the following links:
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
