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An in-depth look at Division III Posted Dec. 20, 1999 |
Notebooks Great Lakes Midwest Northeast Check out D3football.com |
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By Lenn Zonder NEW LONDON, Conn. -- Basketball coach Lynn Ramage considers moving from a Division II school in the respected Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference to nationally ranked, Division III Connecticut College a step up, not a step down.
Ramage got the Connecticut job, last April, succeeding highly successful Glen Miller, who moved on to Brown University in Providence, a Division I school. Miller built the Camels into one of Division III's top teams winning, 85 of the last 105 games he coached, a number one ranking in the polls and an appearance in last year's NCAA Division III Final Four. This year under Ramage, the 13th-ranked Camels won their first five games before losing to Springfield 73-71 in overtime, to break the team's 31-game regular-season win streak. They are also averaging 95.5 points per game. The Camels were ranked No. 7 before their loss. Prior to joining Connecticut College, Ramage was head coach at East Stroudsburg (Pa.) State University, where he was named PSAC Eastern Division coach of The Year in 1998 after guiding the Warriors to a 15-11 record and a second-place finish in the division. But coaching at ESU meant Ramage, who had no scholarships to offer and just a $22,000 budget to work with, had to compete in a conference where most of the other schools had 10 scholarships to give out, and greater budgets. "It puts the coach at a disadvantage," he said. "It makes it tough. We passed on a lot of kids that could have helped us out a lot." Conn College also doesn't have scholarships, but then no Division III school does, so it levels out the playing field, something that Ramage was looking for and considers essential to building a successful program. According to Conn's athletic director, Ken McBryde, Ramage was one of just seven coaches invited to interview for the job, and wound up being the top choice of the selection committee. "Lynn is the right man for the job," the former Olympic high jumper said. "I've known him since we worked together at Morgan State and we remained in touch over the years. He has integrity, he knows the game and he has principles." Ramage's principles are right for Connecticut College. He believes in recruiting student-athletes, not athletic students. That philosophy nestles itself well in a liberal arts school where the average SAT for the Class of 2003 was 1320, and 63% of the class ranked in the Top 10% of their high school graduation class. The players on the team are so motivated, that two weeks ago the team asked Ramage to reschedule a practice for 9 p.m., because three of the players had a class scheduled at the original practice time. "It's what makes this job so appealing," Ramage said. "Not only are we a Top 10 basketball team, but the school is ranked (academically) in the Top 25 colleges in the country and the players care about that ranking as much as the team's ranking." Educating students is important to Ramage. He's been on the other side of the line. He was a high school dropout in his hometown of Lynchburg, Va. Ramage joined the Air Force, and while overseas, in Okinawa, he earned his General Education (High School) Diploma, enabling him to attend and graduate from West Liberty State College in West Virginia. It was there that he began his coaching career, a 15-year road that took him to Davis and Elkins College (W.Va), Chesapeake (Md.) College and interim head coach of Morgan State in Baltimore. He also spent one year as an assistant at Kutztown State before taking the East Stroudsburg job. Now the 42-year old father's biggest worry is maintaining his team's identity living in the shadow of the other Connecticut, the UConn Huskies, 34 miles up the road from New London, in Storrs. Ramage isn't fazed in the slightest coaching basketball in the shadow of the media frenzy that surrounds the NCAA's 1999 national champions. And it doesn't bother him that they are in the Top 10 nationally this season. His school, the one with the name Conn College on its Blue and White sweats and team jackets, has also been in the Top 10 of the Division III poll. "We've played our first six games on the road this year," Ramage said. "My kids told me that they went into a restaurant and Conn College was mistaken for UConn. I don't know how anybody can make that mistake. I don't look anything like Jim Calhoun (Ramage is African-American) and we certainly don't have any Jake Voskuhls on our team, although we have a lot of guys as short as Khalid (El Amin)." The restaurant staff wasn't the only one to make that mistake. Last April, one of Connecticut Governor John Rowland's staffers -- obviously not a basketball fan -- made the same mistake, informing Rowland that he was about to host the UConn basketball team following the Final Four. Rowland, a big fan of the Huskies and eager to meet with the newly crowned national champions walked in, and lo and behold, no Calhoun or other familiar faces. "It was us," Ramage said, "the other Connecticut." More than likely, Ramage's team will never play in front of 16,000 people or before a national television audience, and that's OK with him. He's more concerned that his players are getting an education and that they represent the school with character and class. Kareem Tatum of Worcester, Mass., played for Miller and now for Ramage. "They're total opposites," the junior All-American candidate said. "Coach Miller was more of a screamer. That's how he got us motivated. Coach Ramage takes us aside, talks to us, and tells us what we're doing wrong. That's how he does it." Tatum, a psychology major, said the team anticipated some changes on the floor, and he has seen it already. "The guys are really focused. Remember, (his ideas) are new to us and we want to do the right things." Tatum added that having guys who know how to win helps make the transition smoother. Another player who is helping smooth Ramage's way is Mizan Ayers, the team's point guard. Ayers is a sophomore from the Bronx, majoring in economics. He describes the different coaching styles as going from in-your-face-guy to one who is patient and more laid back. "He's doing a great job," Ayers. "The team is responding to him. Before the games, he gives us a good pep talk and gets us ready to go. So far there is no reason for us to doubt him." For Ramage, the goal is to see all his players graduate and become successful in life. It would be a successful life and career for him if he spends the rest of it in the Luce Field House, on the banks of the Thames River. |
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