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Around
the Nation

Posted Jan. 30, 2003

From fab freshmen to sensational
seniors

When we last spoke with Jeremy Veenstra, Luke Kasten and Derek Reich, they were a little younger, a little lighter, and a little unsure what they were getting into by playing basketball at the Division III level.

Nearly three years later, these former freshmen are seniors, in the midst of their final collegiate seasons. They've grown up in more ways than one, and they have found their experiences very much to their liking.

Then "Some people made mistakes on him. When they saw him play, they didn't realize how good he was. He's better then I thought he would be." — Chicago coach Mike McGrath Now

Derek Reich, Chicago

In the end, Derek Reich turned out not only to be better than everybody thought, but better than everybody, period. He's averaging 26.1 ppg (which ranks second in the nation). and 9.3 rpg this season, shooting 52% from the field and 47% from 3-point range. These are his best numbers, but what he accomplished in the previous three seasons wasn't too shabby either. He broke Chicago's career points record as a junior.

Earlier this season, Reich broke the 2,000-point plateau. He has been named UAA Player of the Week five times this season and 20 times in his career. He is a leading candidate for Player of the Year honors.

"I think I would say that I've surpassed expectations," said Reich, whose Maroons got off to a 4-8 start, but have since won four in a row, including an upset of Rochester last Sunday. "My basketball outlook has changed a lot. I didn't expect to play as a freshman. You know, I didn't even expect to play in college."

Reich has added 35 pounds since his freshman year, and now stands 6-7, 240 pounds. It is an inside joke among team members that Reich has shrunk, since somehow his preseason measurement was 6-4, but his presence is a large one. All of his opponents know who he is, and they should, since he can score on them at will.

"A lot of players talk to me during games," Reich said, noting that some of it is trash talk. "More coaches have come up to me after games too. All the coaches seem to know who I am."

With the recognition comes the possibility that his career will continue overseas. European scouts won't make the mistake that Division I coaches did by passing up on him.

"I would love to continue playing," said Reich who has taken the LSAT and will be finished with senior year classes in March. "Hey, it beats working. If I'm able to see the world too, that would be great."

Then "I looked at the site before a game and I had a bad game. So now I won't look at this site again until the season is over." — Luke Kasten

Now

Luke Kasten,
Illinois Wesleyan

As he has gotten older and more mature, Luke Kasten has given up a few, though not all of the superstitions he had when he was a freshman. And yes, he has seen some of the thoughts on his play on Posting Up.

"As a player, you have to take everything like that with a grain of salt," Kasten said with a laugh. "I did dominate some of the chat site for awhile. Coach even called me at one point and said 'Luke, don't look at that site.' I had taken some criticism for not being dominant. Well last year I was dominant and we went 12-12.

"This year we have a better supporting cast. This is a great team around me. We have seven or eight guys who could be the hero any night, so it's best that I not take 20 shots per game."

The Titans are 14-2 and have won 11 consecutive games heading into the weekend. Kasten credits that to a preseason meeting among some of the players who wanted to be sure that they wouldn't leave IWU without winning a CCIW title.

"Our seven seniors made a real commitment to buy into the philosophy of (second-year coach Scott Trost)," the 6-foot-6 Kasten said.

"There's a lot of trust issues when you get a new coach. It takes time for everyone to learn to trust each other. He's trusted us and we've totally bought in to him. Last year there was some friction, but that's all in the past. This is without a doubt the best team that I've played on."

That's a pretty bold statement considering that Kasten went to the Final Four with the Titans in IWU in 2001. This season, he is determined to get them back there, even with tendinitis in one of his knees. Kasten still leads the team in scoring at 16.8 ppg. He also became the fourth player in IWU history to total more than 1,600 points and 600 rebounds for his career. Oh, and besides dealing with the injuries and the school work that will enable him to graduate with a degree in business administration, he's also working 20 hours a week as an underwriter for State Farm.

"The nice thing about basketball at this level is that it enables you to have a life outside of the sport," said Kasten. "It's more true basketball. We're here because we really love the game."

Then

Now Photo by Dan Vos, Calvin Sports Information

Jeremy Veenstra, Calvin

Jeremy Veenstra has been named Most Valuable Player in the MIAA in each of the past two seasons, but he prefers to be remembered as an MVT — most valuable teammate.

"As a freshman, I was able to come and have fun," Veenstra said of his experience on the team that won a national championship. "There was no pressure and no expectations, I could just come in and play. I built all these relationships with players when I was a freshman and sophomore.

"The way my teammates treated me was unbelievable. When I was younger, Aaron Winkle, who was a senior then, took me aside and showed me how a leader should lead. I try to do the same for our freshmen now. For me to able to do that is pretty neat. I've met a wide spectrum of people who vary in age by eight years and I'm good friends with all of them."

Going into the weekend, Veenstra had 1,781 points, needing 16 to pass Winkle, now an assistant coach, on Calvin's all-time scoring list. He should by season's end be the fifth player to make the top 10 list in career points and rebounds in MIAA history. He's averaging 16.1 points and 7.6 rebounds despite facing a nightly assortment of double and triple teams while playing both forward positions and center.

"He's worked on hard on his strength and endurance and that's helped him battle the attention," said Calvin coach Kevin VandeStreek, whose team is 11-7 and 4-2 in conference play after facing its toughest non-conference schedule in his tenure. "He kind of burst on the scene as a freshman contributor, and now he's been the go-to guy the last three years. His leadership and maturity have developed."

Veenstra might not be able to break the records that his cousin Mark set at Calvin, but he's still good enough to believe that he can make a living at the sport for a little while. This summer, he went overseas and played with an NCAA all-star team in Australia and was named MVP of the All-Star Game. He may make another trip.

"I talked to some people who played in Europe and they had good things to say wherever they went," said Veenstra, a business major on pace to graduate this spring who plans to work in the real estate business eventually. "So any team would be a good match. If you know anybody that's looking for a 6-foot-6, 220 pound forward, let me know."

STREAK OVER: On the day that Connecticut broke the Division I women's win streak record, a team-record win streak came to an end for a Huskies alumnus.

"I have a long ways to go here to catch (them)," said Tufts coach Carla Berube a few days after the Jumbos' nine-game win streak was snapped in overtime by Wesleyan. The Jumbos have subsequently won four in a row.

"It's an amazing feat for them, just awesome. I'm proud to have played there. I still feel like I'm a part of it. My philosophy is similar to (Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma) in that it's not business with the team, it's family. I try to get the most out of every player. He is great at pushing people beyond their potential."

Berube played for four years at Connecticut and played a significant part on the unbeaten team that won the 1995 NCAA title. After graduating in 1997, she played pro ball in the ABL for two seasons, then became an assistant coach at Providence. Instead of staying on the Division I track, Berube became enchanted with the idea of working at this level.

"I fell in love with the idea at Division III that you can have a balanced life, and that there isn't as much pressure to win. I love that everyone here is playing for the love of the game. I love being here and I think that I'll be here for a very long time."

Berube, a native of Oxford, Mass., is off to a very good start at 13-2 with a team that finished last in the NESCAC last season and lost its top three scorers. The nine consecutive wins matched the team's win total from last season and broke a mark set 15 years ago.

LET'S SEE UCONN DO THIS: Before our broadcasts of Bowdoin's women's games last weekend, Polar Bears coach Stephanie Pemper explained to us why she felt an eight-point lead for her team was more significant than for other squads. We saw why firsthand.

Besides playing terrific defense, Bowdoin shoots free throws at a remarkable rate. After going 18-for-21 in the second half of its win against Wesleyan on Saturday, Bowdoin completed a six-game run in which it made 114 out of 131 free throws (87%). Teams can't play catch-up against the Polar Bears because fouling is an unwise option.

Maybe that will make a difference this season in Bowdoin's quest for the Final Four. Bowdoin saw how vital free throw shooting is to championship aspirations last season when the Polar Bears lost to eventual national runner-up St. Lawrence in the Elite Eight, in a game in which opposing guard Meredith Eisenhut went 20-for-20 from the line.

HEY, WE'RE D-III: Earlier this season, Mary Washington did a nice job holding defending scoring champion (and subsequent Missouri transfer) Jason Conley in its stunning win against Division I VMI. We should give credit to Aurora for thwarting Eastern Illinois senior Henry Domercant in an 80-72 loss to that Division I squad last week. Domercant, who has placed in the top five in scoring in each of the last two seasons, scored 18 points but on 4-for-16 shooting from the field. Aurora trimmed an 11-point halftime deficit to three points with 8:06 remaining but could not finish what would have been the fourth upset of a Division I team this season.

Apparently there was some embarrassment on EIU's part that it only won this game by eight points. An alert reader let us know that nowhere in the school's press release did it mention that Aurora is a Division III team.

They should have plenty of practice — EIU beat Carthage 72-71 two years ago when a Redmen layup rolled out at the buzzer. That EIU team went on to the NCAA Tournament.

Division III also notched its ninth win against a Division II program when Pitt-Bradford shocked a Clarion team that was 14-3, which may be enough to get the team some Top 25 votes this week. Honorable mention All-American center Matt Beacom picked the right time to have the best game of his career, leading UPB with 30 points and 22 rebounds. Clarion led by eight points with 14:24 remaining before the Panthers rallied, taking the lead for good on two free throws by Beacom with 6:23 remaining.

One spectator shared this anecdote with us: "When Pitt-Bradford was showing some emotion regarding its 9-5 advantage, a Clarion player said to the Panthers, 'I don't know what you guys are happy about. We're gonna blow you right out of the building!' "

UNKNOWN, BUT NOT FOR LONG: In the 27 years of women's basketball at Union, only one team had ever made it to the postseason. So for this season, head coach Mary Ellen Burt decided it was about time to try something different.

Burt changed the Dutchmen's defensive look into something that resembles those of the successful programs such as Kings and DeSales. Forty minutes of fullcourt pressure have produced 28 turnovers per game. Those 28 turnovers have been found to generate about 30 points. Those 30 points have made the difference for a team that enters this weekend unbeaten at 14-0.

"We didn't unveil anything new," Burt said. "We just caught up with everyone else. By far, this is the best team we've had (in her seven seasons). It certainly wasn't expected."

The success came as a surprise not only to a team that has five freshmen, four sophomores and one senior, but to their opponents as well, most of whom weren't used to having to play at such a frantic pace. Union uses an 11-player rotation. Nine players have started and no one has started in every game. Freshman guard Kate DeSorrento leads the team in scoring at 12.5 ppg with sophomores Katlyn Cunningham and Melissa Mara right behind her.

The Dutchmen have been kept low-profile so far, likely because they have yet to be ranked. They have overcome some past ghosts, by beating RPI and William Smith. If they can beat Clarkson this weekend, they will already have the second highest win total in team history heading into a matchup with a St. Lawrence squad that has topped them in 14 of the past 15 meetings. Union does have one interesting tie to St. Lawrence — freshman reserve Erika Eisenhut is the younger sister of former Saints star and national player of the year Meredith Eisenhut.

"Being 14-0 with 10 games to go is great," Burt said, "but I know how hard these last 10 games are going to be."

HOME SWEET: In answer to the question last week about longest home win streaks. We got definitive answers on the all-time record — 80 by William Smith on the women's side (10 better than Washington U.) and 62 by North Park on the men's side.

As for current streaks, our best information is that Hardin-Simmons leads women's teams with a 32-game run and Washington leads men's teams with 26 in a row.

CHANDLER, BING: With scoring efforts of 45 and 25 points the past two games, Misericordia senior Willie Chandler moved into seventh place on the Division III all-time scoring list with 2,581 points. He and teammate Jason Perry now sit in second place among scoring duos with 4,043 points. They trail only Phil Dixon and Al White of Shenandoah, who had 4,300.

Notes for Around the Nation are compiled with the help of sports information directors across the country. If you have suggestions or information for this column, please send it to mark@d3hoops.com.

Previous columns
2007-08 columns
March 6: Faith restored
Feb. 27: John Jay, Cinderella
Feb. 21: No safety net
Feb. 14: Ursinus better enough
Feb. 8: Hope-TMC on collision course
Jan. 31: Plattsburgh's big shot
Jan. 24: UMD answers call
Jan. 18: Like Bosko, like son
Jan. 11: Keystone stakes
Dec. 13: Unstoppable
Dec. 7: UWW aiming deeper
Nov. 30: Coach's shadow lingers
Nov. 15: Strong duo
2006-07 columns
2005-06 columns
2004-05 columns
2003-04 columns
2002-03 columns
2001-02 columns

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