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Tigers could be better next season
3/17/2008
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays Daily News
On several occasions in the last week, Fort Hays State University men's basketball coach Mark Johnson labeled his 2007-08 season a "surprise."
The year was certainly a pleasant surprise. By every measure, the Tigers exceeded expectations, enjoyed a superb year and with some improvements set the groundwork for a possible conference championship run in 2008-09.
Picked seventh in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association preseason coaches' poll in the fall, the Tigers returned just three players, one who left the squad before conference play started.
"We really had to start over," Johnson said.
With one senior and multiple transfers seeing critical minutes, Fort Hays won 10 conference games and was one of three MIAA teams to advance to the NCAA Div. II tournament.
"We are a year ahead of where we thought we would be," Johnson said.
The Tigers lost 65-64 to University of Central Oklahoma in the first round of the South Central Region on Saturday and finished 19-11.
"That is our goal for Fort Hays State's program," Johnson said of making the NCAA tournament. "We should be here or at least knocking on the door every year."
A year after they finished 13-15 overall and 6-12 in the MIAA for the Tigers' first losing season since 1992-93, Johnson restocked his roster and won games a different way. In past seasons, the Tigers had pounded the ball inside and used driving players for success.
"We didn't shoot the ball well," Johnson said.
This year revealed a different mantra: shoot the 3. The Tigers, led by the emergence of junior guards Tyrone Evans and Terry Jeffries, made 238 treys, finished second in the conference and among the nation's leaders in 3-point field goal percentage.
They had four players who saw significant minutes shoot 39 percent from beyond the arc. Johnson said if he had some of his shooters on his 2005-06 squad that finished 27-4, Fort Hays "probably would have" won a national title.
One of those strong shooters was senior guard Jake Sims, a transfer from Gardner-Webb, a Div. I school that finished 15-16 last year. Sims was one of two players that shot better than 42 percent on treys.
"It is probably the best senior season I could ask for," Sims said after Saturday's loss to UCO. "Not many people could go to the national championships. Coming into this season, all I wanted to do was win. I wanted to go out a winner and I felt like I did that coming into Fort Hays."
Fort Hays started 8-1 before it lost three straight MIAA games, including a 33-point loss to Southwest Baptist (Mo.) University and fell to 1-3 in the conference.
"Things weren't looking good," Johnson said.
However, the Tigers won a buzzer-beater game against Washburn at home, on Evans' 3-pointer. The Tigers captured five straight MIAA victories and finished the season 11-6. They hit at least 10 treys in five conference games down the stretch, all victories.
"We really need the 3s to go in," Johnson said.
However, the 3-pointer will trump some problems, problems that have to be fixed in offseason preparation and recruiting if Fort Hays wants to make a run at a conference title and move deep into the NCAA tournament.
The Tigers received little offense from its forwards and in the paint. No forward averaged more than seven points per game. The problems arose again in the loss to Central Oklahoma when the Bronchos' bigger front line outplayed the Tigers' forwards.
Fort Hays' two-point shooting percentage, a measure of interior offense, was 47.1 percent, eighth in the 10-team MIAA and last among the eight squads that qualified for the South Central Region.
"Coach Johnson is pretty smart and you have to play to your strength," Southwest Baptist coach Jeff Guiot said before the NCAA tournament. "Their post players are nice, they are no slouches. I just think their shooting ... is their strength, in my opinion."
The 2008-09 season will yield higher expectations.
Fort Hays will return 85 percent of its scoring, 84 percent of its rebounding and 88 percent of its total assists. Four of their top seven scorers will be seniors.
But, according to historical trends, the Tigers will need to improve their post play, scoring offense and free throw shooting to have a chance at winning a conference championship and advancing to at least a regional final (Sweet 16) appearance.
The Tigers shot 47.1 percent inside the arc, averaged 68.5 points per game and shot 63.8 percent on free throws.
The last 10 teams to reach the South Central Region final, including 2008's Tarleton State (Texas) University and Central Oklahoma, have all averaged at least 72.8 points per game and shot 47.5 percent inside the arc, including eight which broke at least 50 percent in 2-point shooting. Nine squads shot at least 68 percent from the foul line.
The difference is even more striking with MIAA conference champions.
Since 2000, 10 teams have earned at least a share of the MIAA title.
All 10 teams averaged at least 77 points per game. All shot at least 50 percent on 2-pointers and nine averaged better than 69 percent from the line.
"Hopefully we can use this game (against Central Oklahoma) to motivate us in the summer and hopefully become better players," Johnson said.
It's improvement that could help springboard a "surprise" season into an historic one next year.
Sports reporter Conor Nicholl can be reached at (785) 628-1081 Ext. 127, or at
cnicholl@dailynews.net.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
| SB | 5/01 | Emporia State | L 11-0 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 14-1 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 12-2 |
