Basketball Goes Dancing for First Time Since 2010
Hopefully Will Martin brought his dancing shoes with him.
In Martin’s first season at the helm, Missouri Western Mens’ Basketball is finally returning to the NCAA Division II mens’ basketball tournament. The appearance is the team’s first since longtime head coach Tom Smith headed the team led by Marcus Rhodes and James Bush there in 2010.
While the Griffons have been waiting for an invite back to the dance for 11 years, the last three seasons really set the groundwork for the team getting to this point. After a disastrous 2017–18 that saw the Griffons go 6–21, the old administration was gone and in came Sundance Wicks with Martin as his assistant. Wicks brought the juice, a new culture and a six win improvement. They still didn’t get to .500 but the pieces were being put into place, as the team was full of young, promising players like Will Eames, Tyree Martin and Tyrell Carroll, who was All-MIAA honorable mention as a freshman.
Next year, something clicked midway through the season. After a 7–11 start, the Griffons went on a seven game winning streak, with Carroll blossoming into a first-team All-MIAA player, Eames breaking out and a 12–1 record at Looney. The team won another six wins, going 18–14 and getting bounced by Northwest in the conference semifinals. The team looked to be ascending but then Wicks got a call to go back home, taking an assistant’s role at Wyoming. The school promoted from within, giving Martin — a descendent of John Calipari, Frank Haith and Danny Manning — his first head coaching position and what a move it’s turned out to be.
The team has had a total roller coaster of a season. They started out 8–1, then they suffered a COVID-19 outbreak. They lose seven straight, with Martin himself testing positive and missing time. They came back and broke the skid on a buzzer-beater from Caleb Bennett, who came home after leaving Lehigh, then went on to win four of five before the conference tournament capped off by Reese Glover’s four three-pointers in the last five minutes on Senior Day. Then in the opening round, Carroll goes down with an ankle injury yet they still found a way to beat Lincoln and hold onto a spot in the tournament.
Martin always believed that the adversity they went through this year only made them stronger on and off the court.
“You look at a group of very talented individuals but also big personalities, and for them to be able to be confident in themselves… That’s a testament to our philosophy of FLOW,” Martin said. “That’s why we’re in this position right now.”
That philosophy, the faith, love, ownership and work has guided the Griffons through thick-and-thin. It gets brought up at every practice, press conference, huddle and everything in-between. The team has bought in; and that’s why the Griffons have had so much success.
Martin takes pleasure in just being able to lead the team and that the success is a testament to them.
“I can’t think of a better or more adequate word than just pure humility,” Martin said. “Any success I’ve had as a first-year coach is a direct correlation of who our players are.”
Carroll broke down the impact Martin’s leadership has had on the team.
“He’s done nothing but lead, even when he wasn’t here,” Carroll said. “Shoutout to Coach Martin for doing a good job with us and getting us to where we needed to go.”
Of course, the work is not done yet. Waiting in the wings for Missouri Western is a familiar foe: Washburn. After the Griffons swept the regular season series, it was the Ichabods who dominated the Griffons in the MIAA semifinals last Friday, before stunning Northwest on a buzzer-beater.
Both teams know each other well, and Bennett believes the Griffons can reverse their fortune against the Ichabods.
“Last weekend, I thought we just came out a little bit more soft, a little bit more lackadaisical,” Bennett said. “If we just come out, we just play hard, play the right way, it’ll solve everything.”
The big question going into the game is the health of Carroll. After hurting his ankle Wednesday, the all-defense player was sorely missed Friday, as he played just five minutes and had to sit and watch while Washburn shot 14/25 from long-range.
Carroll left no doubt whether or not he’ll play.
“I’m good to go,” Carroll said.
