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2004-05 Season in Review
Great Expectations and a Highly Successful Season
Preseason Expectations
The Huntington College Foresters started the 2004-05 basketball season with the burden of great expectations. The MCC Pre-Season Poll picked the team to be #1 in the Conference, getting first place votes from six of the nine Head Coaches in the MCC.
That selection, along with Huntington’s recent success at the NAIA nationals, carried over into the NAIA D2 Pre-Season Poll where the Foresters were rated #3 in the nation before playing their first game.
And playing games was important. This team was young and a third of them were new players, which meant learning each other’s tendencies on the court. Further, the new personnel meant a change in roles for some of the returning players as well.
A Tough 2004-05 Schedule
Not only did the Foresters carry the burden of lofty ratings, they had a tough schedule. While some MCC schools were scheduling soft teams (which the NAIA
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actually refused to accept as part of that school’s win-loss record), the Foresters were scheduling three NCAA D1 schools.
Coach Platt explained, “If we were worried about the rankings, we'd lighten the schedule up a bit and get some of those sure wins in the schedule. But that's not what we're about.”
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In the first 30 days of the season, the Foresters played 13 games, including the three NCAA D1 opponents: IPFW, Valparaiso and IUPUI. With that schedule and the small Forester squad, it’s fair to say the most useful practices in November occurred on the floor against good opponents.
In addition to NCAA D1 teams, they played three NAIA D1 teams and played the top teams in three strong NAIA D2 conferences. During that stretch, they were hampered by some serious injuries, nagging colds and a flu bug, but they finished November with an 8-4 record (the Valparaiso game was an exhibition), including wins over two MCC Conference foes.
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Non-Conference Highlights
While the Foresters were unable to pull off any upsets over a NCAA D1 opponent, they played close games, losing by just 4 points at Valpo and an average of 8 points to all three NCAA D1 teams.
IPFW: The season opener saw Chase Verba (photo at right) and Doug Sheckler both score 19 points; Alex Kock and Steve Snider had 13 apiece, while Chase and Alex both had 7 rebounds.
AME Teams: In the next game, Alex Kock scored 30 points versus Urbana, and on Nov. 20, he scored 31 points against Geneva.
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Valparaiso: The Foresters nearly upset the Crusaders, but lost 69-73, getting 19 points and 11 rebounds from Alex Kock, 15 points and 4 steals from Doug Sheckler, and 14 points and 7 rebounds from Steve Snider.
IUPUI: A few days later, Steve stepped up again with 22 points and 8 rebounds against IUPUI. Kyle Ganton scored 19 points in that game, while Chase Verba and Alex Kock had 14 points and 7 rebounds apiece.
Rio Grande: At home versus another AME opponent, Kyle Ganton scored 28 points (hitting 5 of 7 from long range). Alex Kock added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Adam Bontreger scored 10 points.
IU-Southeast: After a long road trip to New Albany,
Jared Yoder (photo at right) had the first of two 16-point games this season, hitting 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Alex Kock had 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds; Steve Snider and Seth Lochmueller both scored 10 points.
Cedarville: When a fourth AME Conference foe came to play on December 30, it was the meeting of two top-rated NAIA D2 teams. Cedarville
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was rated #3 while Huntington was rated #7, but the Foresters pulled off the win in double overtime 84-81. Alex Kock scored 35 points, hitting 12 of 22 from the field and 10 of 13 at the line. Doug Sheckler and Jared Yoder both scored 14 points in a thriller.
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