D-I Independents 2003-04 Season Recap
Well, it’s hard to recap a conference that isn’t a conference. The independents of NCAA men’s college basketball are, as expected, small teams throughout the nation, trying to compete against themselves and other interested teams in the country. Some found a great deal of success during 2003-04, while others struggled on the court and with injuries.
Utah Valley State, playing its first season in Division I, turned out to be the cream of the crop. They only lost one game during the 2004 calendar year and set themselves up for big things in the future. The two Texas teams were very competitive, winning fifteen and fourteen games respectively and reminding many Div. I teams why you don’t mess with Texas.
Northern Colorado was severely stricken with the injury bug, while IUPU-Ft. Wayne and Savannah State simply didn’t have the talent to compete with many of their opponents. In the end, it was a roller coaster ride for the independents of NCAA basketball in 2003-04.
Hardware (Selected by men’s Independent head coaches)
First Team
Brian Evans, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Ronnie Price, Utah Valley State
Sergio Sanchez, Texas-Pan American
David Simon, IPFW
Corey Lamkin, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Second Team
Chris Fagan, Texas-Pan American
Travis Bailey, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Allen Holcomb, Texas-Pan American
Thomas Bailey, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Vincent Jackson, Northern Colorado
MVP – Evans
Defensive Player of the Year – Bailey
Newcomer of the Year – Fagan
Coach of the Year – Bob Hoffman, Texas-Pan American
Team by team
IUPU – Ft. Wayne Mastodons (3-25)
In early December, the season was filled with promise for the Mastodons. They knocked off Bowling Green and a tough Morehead State in back-to-back games. But they would only win one more game all season and finish a very disappointing 3-25. Along the way the Mastodons dropped several close games, including a 67-66 loss to Kent State when the Golden Flashes hit a 40-footer at the buzzer, as well as losing guard Terry Collins midway through the season for conduct detrimental to the team.
MVP – David Simon
Top scorer – Simon (18.0)
Top rebounder – Simon (9.8)
Top assists – Byron Malone (2.1)
Starters leaving – Keion Henderson (graduating), Jim Kennenich (graduating)
News – Simon entered the NBA draft but withdrew when he tore his ACL. Indications are he will return to the Mastodons, although when he’ll be healthy to play is unknown.
Next season – If Simon is at 100 percent, the Mastodons will only improve. It was Simon’s first season of college basketball and his likely only scratching the surface of his ability.
Northern Colorado Bears (6-22)
The Bears’ first season in Division I was doomed early, as four of the team’s starters were lost to season-ending injuries during the first six games. Eventually, two team managers were added to the roster just so the team could finish the season. Despite all of the injuries, the team performed well and benefited from all the experience its younger players gained.
MVP – Erik Olson
Top scorer – Vincent Jackson (13.6)
Top rebounder – Olsen (7.1)
Top assists – Jackson (3.1)
Starters leaving – none
News – UNC added former University of Colorado standout Shaun Vandiver and Barton County Community College assistant Brian Hancock as assistant coaches.
Next season – With the return off all its injured players and a year of Division I play notched in its belt, Northern Colorado should improve by leaps and bounds this coming season.
Savannah State Tigers (5-23)
The Tigers were not meant for the road. They managed one road win all season and played a 38-day stretch (Dec. 22 – Jan. 29) with no home games. Factor in how young this teams was (only one senior played more than twelve minutes per game) and there’s no wonder Savannah State struggled like it did. The one bright spot of the season came in mid-February, when the team reeled off three straight wins.
MVP – Jamal Daniels
Top scorer – Daniels (12.1)
Top rebounder – Sherard Reddick (6.3)
Top assists – Josh Barker (2.5)
Starters leaving – none
Next season – Practically everyone returns. One would think this team has to improve on last year. Their experience should at least keep them in games, instead of the many blowouts they were involved in.
Texas A&M – Corpus Christi Islanders (15-11)
The Islanders matched their win total from the previous season, while picking up some big wins along the way. Highlights of the season included wins against Texas Tech and Murray State. The trouble came on the road, where they only went 5-8.
MVP – Brian Evans
Top scorer – Travis Bailey (14.2)
Top rebounder – Corey Lamkin (8.6)
Top assists – Evans (4.6)
Starters leaving – Jamal Holden (graduating)
Next season – With a majority of the team returning for 2004-05, the Islanders should eclipse their fifteen wins from each of the previous two seasons.
Texas – Pan American Broncs (14-14)
It was a tale of two seasons for the Broncs. After starting the year 5-13, including losing ten of twelve, Texas – Pan American won nine of its final ten games. The Broncs showed its ability to play slow, low-scoring ball (beating Air Force, 37-35, on Feb. 16) and the ability to score in bunches (beating Central Baptist, 111-62, three days later). The win against Air Force was also the team’s biggest win of the season.
MVP – Sergio Sanchez
Top scorer – Sanchez (12.9)
Top rebounder – Allen Holcomb (6.6)
Top assists – Sanchez (4.1)
Starters leaving – Holcomb (graduating), Andrius Sakalys (graduating)
Next season – Sanchez stepped up big down the stretch, but so did Sakalys, who will be missed. Chris Fagan, who was the Independent’s Newcomer of the Year, will need to step up his play for the Broncs to stay hot going into next year.
News – Head coach Bob Hoffmann resigned in May to become an assistant at Oklahoma. He was replaced by assistant Robert Davenport.
UC-Davis Aggies (18-9)
The Aggies’ strong attack occasionally got itself into a funk during the season, with a three-game losing streak in December and losing 3 of 4 at the end of February accounting for two-thirds of UC-Davis’ losses on the season. However, Gary Stewart’s Aggies had a 12-1 record in-between funks, which is more indicative of the team’s strength heading into a mostly D-I schedule this season. Take away two two-point losses to Cal Poly Pomona and the Big West Conference would be talking up a 20-win new member. Stewart found some key contributors in big man Ryan Moore, who overcame a season-ending injury early in the 2002-03 season to lead the squad in points and rebounding, and Los Angeles guard Fowzi Abdelsamad, who was second to Moore in most offensive categories, and is the team’s leading three-point shooter.
MVP: Ryan Moore
Top Scorer: Ryan Moore, 16.3 ppg
Top Rebounder: Moore, 5.5 rpg
Top Assists: Gus Argenal 2.7 apg
Starters Leaving – Gus Argenal
Next Season – The Aggies return four starters (Moore, Abdelsamad, Robert Ehsan, and Thomas Juillerat) and several additional key contributors including Fresno State transfer Phil Rasmussen and Mesa (AZ) CC transfer JaQay Carlyle. While experienced, the Aggies are small for a D-I program (their tallest player is 6-7), and may run into matchup problems in playing a mostly Big West schedule – a schedule that includes NCAA Tournament teams Stanford, St. Joseph’s, Nevada, and University of the Pacific.
Utah Valley State Wolverines (23-5)
Talk about an entrance. Playing their first season of Division I basketball, the Wolverines dominated with a 23-5 record, including winning 22 of their final 23 games. Ronnie Price became a star, averaging more than 20 points per game. Utah Valley State will definitely enter next season with momentum.
MVP – Ronnie Price
Top scorer – Price (20.2)
Top rebounder – Jon Bell (8.4)
Top assists – Price (3.1)
Starters leaving – Ryan Toolson (graduating), Pierre Thomas (graduating), Brett Ravenberg (graduating)
Next season – Did we mention that this first season was a success? So much that the program is stepping it up for 2004-05. Opponents on the schedule include Boise State, Weber State and Nebraska. It should be a harder second year for the Wolverines.
Look ahead to 2004-05
The Division I Independents were all over the place last season, and this year could likely be more of the same. Look for Northern Colorado to move up a bit, while Utah Valley State and UC-Davis may come back to earth a bit as their schedules become tougher. Savannah State and IUPU – Ft. Wayne will struggle for wins, while the two Texas teams should again play .500 ball.
