by Dax Larson
Issue date: 11/9/06 Section: Mens Sports
The Minnesota State men's basketball program is after a national championship. Plain and simple.
Well, maybe not simple, as the team can attest. The Mavericks have made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament, but last season blew a 16-point lead in the regional semifinals with seven minutes to go against Winona State. WSU went on to win the Division II national championship and MSU just went home.
"We need to be able to finish out big games this year," said senior Tony Thomason. I hate to go back to that Winona game last year, but we had it and just didn't finish it."
Putting all heartbreak aside, this year's Mavericks could be the team to put up a national championship banner in the Taylor Center. With a strong senior core returning and a transfer that brings a dominating presence down low, MSU has a lot to look forward to this season.
"We will set the tone for the younger guys," said senior Paris Kyles. "We want to win that national championship. That is our only goal."
The No. 1 reason this Maverick team will do well is Thomason, Kyles and All-American Luke Anderson. This senior class is the backbone of the team and all three have tasted sweet victory and experienced tough defeat. They know what it takes to get it done and will go to no end to win a national championship. Without a doubt, if these three play to their ability, this team will go far.
"We got to have Luke, Tony and Paris every single night," said head coach Matt Margenthaler. "If we don't, we're not going to be very good. They are all great competitors and their goal is to move on."
Thomason will not only dish out assists, but he can hit the long ball. He is one of 11 Mavericks who have more than 100 career threes. Thomason also gets it done on the defensive side with his quickness that produces steals. He had nine steals in two different games last season and finished the year with a 2.1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
"Tony is very smart and he anticipates well," Margenthaler said. "We have some great guards."
Kyles and Anderson will also need to perform their best this season. Kyles played his best basketball at the end of the last season, scoring 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting in the Mavericks' final game. Kyles also has no fear throwing his body around to get to the hoop. Multiple times last season, Kyles was fouled hard while going to the basket. Kyles worked out and got stronger in the off-season and will continue to be able to get to the hole and draw fouls.
Anderson has already been named the Preseason Player of the Year by the Division II Bulletin. Coming off a successful season, Anderson will not hold anything back in his final campaign as a Maverick. With other offensive threats surrounding him, he will have the opportunity to get more open looks.
"Those three guards together are the best three guards in the nation," Margenthaler said.
Margenthaler said he compares offense to eating ice cream and defense to shoveling crap. He said this team needs to shovel crap to win championships. MSU will miss a key component on the defensive end in Chris Whitfield. Whitfield had great anticipation skills and was able to get multiple blocks in every game. He left MSU as the all-time block leader. With him gone, it will force the rest of the team step up on the defensive end.
"Us guards as a unit will have to pick it up this year on defense and do our share," Thomason said. "We depended on Whitfield last year to have our backs if we got beat."
Some of the offensive load will be taken off the shoulders of the guards on the offensive end and some of the slack will be picked up on the defensive end with the addition of 6-10 240 pound Atila Santos. Santos transferred to MSU as a junior after playing two years at Northern Iowa. He will be such a presence underneath the basket that it will force teams to respect him on the offensive end. This is something MSU has missed over the last few seasons at the five and could be the key to a national championship this season. Santos' offensive ability will free up the guards for more open shots and with all the shooters on this team, Santos will have a lot of options.
"Last season, other teams keyed on myself, Tony and Paris," Anderson said. "Now, they will have to respect the post players and their ability to score."
"We will give the big fella some room to work and it will make our opponents have to pick their poison," Margenthaler said. "If you get behind him he is just too physical and he will get a lay-up or dunk. If they double him there will be a guard open."
Sophomore Mitch Gosson also returns to the Maverick line-up and looks to put in a lot of minutes this season. Gosson is a strong candidate to start at the four and will be on the floor with a defensive purpose.
"We have enough scorers, so I know I won't have to go out and score 20 points a game," Gosson said. "I need to get on the boards a lot and work on my defense."
Last season was the most successful season in MSU men's basketball history. The Mavericks won the regular season NCC championship, the Wells Finals championship and advanced to the regional semi-finals. The three seniors collected a grocery list of awards throughout last season. But all those awards and accomplishments don't mean anything once the 2006-07 season begins. The Mavericks are poised and ready for the season to start when they host the Pepsi Tip-Off, which starts Nov. 17.
Dax Larson is a Reporter staff writer
