Alderson Broaddus Basketball

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

Most people only know the D-I teams and tournaments. D-2 status just carries the NCAA banner for you. I doubt most sports fans could name the last 3 schools to win the men's national championship in D2 basketball. Most don't know who won it this past year.

It isn't a step down if your athletic program has more success. I firmly feel that. Salem and Bluefield State are pretty much cannon fodder for D2 schools that have money and can pay Salem or Bluefield State to come play a game at their place. Would Salem having some success in a NAIA conference be any worse than they have it right now? Or Bluefield State? Or Ohio Valley? Or Davis & Elkins? Or AB? Yes, Ohio Valley got a couple of NCAA bids in soccer. But for the most part, their athletic program is pretty irrelevant. It appears they hit a right chord with that hire for their soccer teams. WV Wesleyan hasn't had a winning season in football since the start of the MEC. Slightly better results in men's basketball.

I guess my point is that you have options: (1) stick D2 and be irrelevant at that level or (2) go NAIA with a chance to have more success for your athletic teams. Back when I was in school, AB made the men's soccer national championship game and if memory serves me correctly, WV Wesleyan won a national championship during that era. Now it seems both programs hover around .500 in that sport.

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

I personally feel the Shepherd angst comes from the fact that they were one of the big pushers of forming a sports conference with schools that only had football. For instance, UC, WV State and WV Wesleyan wanted to preserve the WVIAC. They just didn't have enough football-playing schools to hold that concept down. I feel that the MEC was a big push by the WV state schools to form a conference that contained football-playing members only. I still think Frostburg State goes to the MEC. That puts them in closer distance to a lot of the MEC schools compared to their current D3 conference which is dwindling each year. I feel MEC schools and leadership feel Shepherd "betrayed" them by leaving. But we live in a world where you have to do what is best for you. Those schools in the MEC didn't mind leaving some charter members of the WVIAC out to dry. Sometimes you get a little taste of your own medicine and it doesn't taste like you want it to.

I just think certain MEC schools need to start thinking for themselves and not this "owe it to some other school" feeling. WV Wesleyan had some success in athletics this past year. But in football = 5-6. Men's basketball = 7-22. Women's basketball = 8-20. Baseball = 11-36. Volleyball = 12-20. Lacrosse = 6-8-1. I give them their due to their soccer teams and to softball. Quality seasons and softball is always strong there. It was their first NCAA bid in men's soccer as a member of the MEC.

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

WV Wesleyan and Alderson Broaddus were big rivals for years....going back to the 1930s. ABU, Wesleyan and D&E were all in the first ever WVIAC tournament held in 1935. After the conference tournament took a break after World War II, AB and Wesleyan were in the WVIAC championship game in both 1946 & 1947....A-B winning one and Wesleyan winning one. ABU and WV Wesleyan are 20 miles apart. Yet we rarely play each other. ABU travels 525 miles ONE WAY to play Trevecca Nazarene in sports. Wesleyan traveled over 5 hours one way to play UVA-Wise and almost as far to play Urbana.

This stuff is utter non-sense. Alderson Broaddus won 10 WVIAC tournament titles in men's basketball. WV Wesleyan won 9 WVIAC tournament titles in men's basketball.

There were 76 WVIAC tournaments in men's basketball. Alderson-Broaddus appeared in 20 of those WVIAC championship games. That is once every four years. WV Wesleyan appeared in 13 of those championship games.

20 miles apart......not playing each other. History, tradition, rivalries. What is this?!?!!?

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

I think WV Wesleyan needs to re-think their position. They have a fine school down there. But has NCAA D2 been that good to them?

WV Wesleyan's basketball team had great success in the NAIA national tournament in the 1980s. In 1983, WV Wesleyan lost in the National Championship game by 4 points to the College of Charleston. There were some recognizable names in the 32-team field: Liberty, Saginaw Valley State, Chicago State, Drury, St Thomas Aquinas, Carson Newman, etc. In 1984, Wesleyan was the #1 seed in the 32-team field. They won the first game by 40 points, won the second round by 21 points before being upset in the Elite Eight by one of the Wisconsin schools.In 1985, Wesleyan advanced to the Elite Eight again after beating Quincy by 20, Rio Grande by 16 before losing by one point to Central Washington in the Elite 8. Let's not forget that WV State advanced to the national title game in 1987. And don't forget that A-B Hall of Famer Tim Brinkley took WV Tech out to Kansas City and lost by one point in the first round to the #1 seed. That Tech team had Sedale Threatt who played over 10 years in the NBA. He had a nice career and Brinkley did a good job in finding him in Atlanta, GA.

WV Wesleyan also had great success in men's soccer in the NAIA. WV Wesleyan won national championships in 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1994. A-B lost in the title game in 1988. Davis & Elkins won 1 national championship in men's soccer and one runner up.

The NAIA days were fun.We could go 24-5 next year in men's basketball and not make the field. Wouldn't that be great!

[BlueBlood]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

BTW - the NAIA will move to a single division for both men's and women's basketball in 2020-21, with a maximum limit of 8 scholarships. (Not that I want you guys going anywhere)

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

I saw that recently. That is about what we offer in basketball now. We have never been fully-funded in D-II. I think Steve Dodd was the men's basketball coach with the most basketball scholarships. I know he said that moving from NAIA to D-II was the reason he left to take the head coaching job at Lindsey Wilson back in the mid 90s.

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

I wrote a lengthy piece on the possibility of a reformed NAIA WVIAC. It is hypothetical and opinion of one man and one alumni. Sports are good for dialogue and opinions. I love my school. I just want what I feel eventually is best and realistic for Alderson-Broaddus. And yes I used the hyphen....that is the school on my diploma:

http://battlerbeat.blogspot.com/2018...k-as-naia.html

[UFOILERFAN]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

I wrote a lengthy piece on the possibility of a reformed NAIA WVIAC. It is hypothetical and opinion of one man and one alumni. Sports are good for dialogue and opinions. I love my school. I just want what I feel eventually is best and realistic for Alderson-Broaddus. And yes I used the hyphen....that is the school on my diploma:

http://battlerbeat.blogspot.com/2018...k-as-naia.html

Great read and very good ideas, have you run this by any of the mentioned schools?

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

No. It is just an idea of mine. I have enjoyed D2. The 9 NCAA tournaments in basketball and 2 regional finals were nice runs for us. We have a great chance to make the field next year. I appreciate the work of our coaches. I honestly have to say that the whole breakup of the WVIAC has perplexed me, and I get a lot of what happened. But I am wondering now if a lot of schools are starting to question a lot of things. I am just looking down the road and think NAIA is not a terrible path. I like the G-MAC.

I am sensing from messages I am getting in other venues that some recruiting news is going to break. I always wait for the official word.

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

Kevin Neal, a point guard out of Gaithersburg, MD, signed to play at ABU. He is 6'1" out of Gaithersburg HS which is a big 4A school over here. He can score and defends very well looking at video.

[Looking For 9]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

By my count that is about 18 AB has signed this year. Somebody has to leave.

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

I am hearing that Stephen Dye was hired at Alderson Broaddus in fund-raising.

[JDonAB92]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

I saw that Ty Lockett signed with AB. He will be JV. He played at Clarksburg Notre Dame.

His dad donated his kidney to Ty for a kidney transplant procedure. Julius Lockett was one of the better players in the WVIAC in the early 90s. He played on the Concord team that we beat in the WVIAC championship game in 1990. Julius was a star at Clarksburg Liberty HS. Here is the story on the kidney transplant from father to son:

https://www.wvnews.com/theet/sports/...49ce5021e.html

[Looking For 9]

Re: Alderson Broaddus Basketball

Great story

[JDonAB92]