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With One Title in Hand, Coach Sets Higher Mark
By Craig Pinley
CHICAGO, IL (June 6, 2003) - Editor's note: This is the second in a series of stories chronicling the
North Park College three-peat of NCAA Division III men's basketball titles
from 1978-80. The final installment will appear next Friday.
As good as North Park's 29-2 national championship
squad from 1977-78 had been, coach Dan McCarrell had every reason to
believe his next season could be even better.
North Park had three new faces to fill in for graduating seniors Al May,
Tom Florentine and Ernie Flores for the 1978-79 campaign. May's replacement
turned out to be 6-foot-7 forward Keith French, who transferred from
Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. French wasn't as bulky as May but
his leaping abilities made up the difference as he starred as the team's
sixth man.
Florentine's loss was lessened by the arrival of Grant Grastorf, who
transferred from conference rival North Central College. Grastorf started
at forward with Jim Clausen, Michael Harper manned the center slot and
Modzel Greer was moved to shooting guard alongside Mike Thomas. Scott
Groot, a quarterback for the football team, also came to the squad and
replaced Flores as North Park's top guard off the bench.
Grastorf immediately saw a difference between North Park's obsession with
basketball and his former school saying, "When I was at North Central, we
were like the fifth most important sport and it gets old hoisting the ball
up when you're losing. At North Park, basketball was first - people
couldn't wait until the season started, it was so exciting. The gym was
small, but it was always jam packed - standing room only. I have people who
come up to me and they asked if I played at North Park and they still
remember those games."
It took a while for the returning players to adjust to the newcomers, but
once they did the team rolled on. The added athleticism of French was a key
dimension for the next two title teams, said Thomas.
"Keith (French) was an outcast of sorts because he had our nucleus," said
Thomas. "But we didn't realize what we had when he got here. He made our
team better off the bench, but he was more than good enough to start. And
Coach McCarrell was right to bring him off the bench. It didn't seem right
at first; it didn't seem like he got to showcase his talent. I remember
when Harper got hurt (during the 1979-80 season) French stepped in the
starting lineup and had 37 points and about 20 rebounds. But it was a
sacrifice that Keith made and it was important."
An ambitious early season schedule helped North Park keep from being
overconfident. After two straight wins to open the season, McCarrell's team
lost to small college power St. Xavier College 80-76 as they readied for a
two-game set in December against Division I schools. North Park played at
South Alabama and lost 75-68 as Harper tallied 25 points in a hard fought
battle. The Vikings recovered against Jacksonville University, beating the
Dolphins 78-68. Both South Alabama and Jacksonville eventually earned
berths in the NCAA Division I tourney and the experience was well worth the
bumps and bruises they suffered in the process - and they had them. A
Chicago Tribune reporter wrote about the Jacksonville game and noted
a large gash on Harper's neck and a cut under Greer's eye. The two North
Park stars put their own hurt on the Dolphins though as Harper had 29
points and 14 rebounds and Greer added 14 points.
"Coach McCarrell used to try to get games (against Division I schools), but
they wouldn't play us," Thomas said in recalling playing South Alabama and
Jacksonville. "DePaul was getting all of the headlines at that time and we
thought it should've been us. I honestly thought we could play on that
level. When we went in to play South Alabama I looked at them and said,
'They're big.' That's the difference between Division I and III - the size.
I think we thought they were better than us and it took a while for us to
compete. But by the end, we knew we could compete and we played them down
the wire.
"When we went to Jacksonville we won from start to finish," Thomas
continued. "And they had the audacity in the local newspaper to say that it
was a fluke because we were a Division III team. But we had no fear about
playing them straight up. They were just like any other team we were trying
to beat. We came out and played ball the way we wanted to play."
"South Alabama was about the toughest team we played and we thought we
could beat them," said French. "We played in Jacksonville against James
Ray, a 6-foot-9 All-America player, and we managed him well and we beat
their socks off and played well. But I never felt anybody was better than
us. My senior year, we played (Division I) UC-Irvine and UC-San Diego and
beat them too. Division I teams didn't know what to expect against us. And
when you send a 6-foot-10 center, 6-foot-7 forwards, and Thomas at point
guard and then Groot and myself on the bench, we were tough."
Although Viking players stated that the South Alabama and Jacksonville
contests were their toughest games, the 1978-79 North Park team had its
share of tussles in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. After
losing to perennial conference stalwarts Augustana College and Illinois
Wesleyan University and edging Wheaton College by just two points in
another contest, the Vikings managed to win another conference title by
beating North Central College 106-72 in its final CCIW game. Then they
tuned up for the playoffs at highly regarded University of Wisconsin-Green
Bay, losing 55-54 to a team that eventually made the Division II tournament
finals.
As the defending champs, the Vikings had earned the top seed in the
Division III tourney, but they didn't play like it against Beloit College
of Wisconsin, squeaking by 63-62. North Park played considerably better in
the regional finals, however, beating Central College of Pella, Iowa,
81-66, as Harper contributed 29 points. In the quarterfinals, McCarrell's
squad faced Chaminade University of Hawaii, which brought hula dancers and
a regional television feed to Chicago. The Vikings were rude hosts,
however, blowing out the Silverswords 95-74 to reach the semifinals. Harper
had 28 points and 15 rebounds while Thomas added 21 points and Greer netted
18 more.
In another playoff tussle, North Park got 21 points each from French and
Thomas to handle Franklin and Marshall College of Pennsylvania 83-73 in the
tourney semifinals after Harper suffered from dizzy spells before the game.
After French kept his team close with 14 first-half points, Harper
recovered to score 14 of his 17 points and the Vikings got some key
defensive plays from Scott Groot. Clausen's 12 points and Thomas' 11 of 13
foul shots in the game were also integral as Franklin and Marshall narrowed
the North Park lead to 59-56 with three minutes left.
It didn't get much easier in the finals as North Park (26-5) played without
Grastorf (injured ankle), but Greer made 10 of 13 shots for 20 points to
spark a 66-62 win over Potsdam State University of New York. The Vikings
nearly blew a 15-point second-half lead but completed its second title as
Harper (19 points, 10 rebounds) earned tourney MVP honors and Greer and
Thomas (16 points, eight assists) made the All-Tourney squad.
For the season, North Park was often dominant, winning 17 of its games by
20 points or more and scoring 100 points or more on six occasions. But
while it may have seemed easy, North Park's repeat title was not lost on
those who knew the effort it took to earn another title. Reserve guard Rus
Bradburd, who later became a Division I coach and now coaches
professionally in Ireland, said the 1978-79 season showcased the prowess of
the North Park coaching staff. A midseason change in offense and the switch
of Greer from forward to guard were just two of the ways the Vikings staff
adjusted their lineup to get the most of a talented squad.
"McCarrell was highly prepared and was great at matching the skills of the
individual to his offensive scheme," said Bradburd. "He understood the flow
of offense and the importance of positioning on defense. He was a fighter
by nature, but a gentleman as well. He was highly sensitive behind his
tough veneer. I know now after 15 years of experience in Division I that
McCarrell would have been a great Division I coach.
"(Assistant coach) Bosko Djurickovic was the perfect complement to
McCarrell," Bradburd continued. "Bosko relied on instinct and his own
uncommon common sense. He was a jazz player to coach McCarrell's classical
background. He was looser, laughed easier, and he was shrewd."
Editor's note: to learn more about two individual members of the
championship team featured in this story, visit the following links:
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
