Jan. 28, 2003

By Gary Rubin
Division II Bulletin

Tarleton State head coach Lonn Reisman has reason to smile this week as his Texans moved into the No. 1 position in the NABC/Division II Bulletin Weekly Top 25. It's the first time a Tarleton athletic team has sat atop a national collegiate poll.

"Obviously we are very honored to be the top-ranked team in the nation, and certainly we are excited about the type of exposure this will create for our basketball program, our university and our entire community," said Reisman, who is 279-146 in this his 15th season on the bench. "The 13 men on our team have worked hard and have come together and are playing well, so I think they are very deserving of this ranking. However, we know that we're still a long way from being where we want to be, and we'll have to continue improving in order to realize our goals -- one of which is to return to the NCAA tournament. We knew with four starters back from last year's team that won 25 games and made the NCAA tournament that we'd have a chance to be pretty good, but I don't think we ever pictured that we'd be ranked No. 1 in the nation. It's a special feeling for us right now, but we've got stay focused and get back to business because the next win is never a given in our league."

Already the ranking is having an impact in the community. In an effort to showcase the nation's top-ranked men's basketball team, Tarleton State athletic department officials have lowered ticket prices for this Saturday's game. The "One-for-One" promotion will allow area fans to see the No. 1-ranked Texans for only one dollar.

Tarleton moved into the top spot when Greg Sparling's Central Washington Wildcats knocked off Tom Wood's Humboldt State Lumberjacks last weekend. Ironically, Tarleton's only loss of the season also came at the hands of Central Washington.

The Texans are looking forward to a clash with Larry Gipson's Northeastern State team on Feb. 8 in a battle of nationally ranked squads. The Redmen are 14-1 and ranked No. 12 in the country.

North Central Region Rising
While the Great Lakes Region is always considered one of the strongest in Division II, the North Central Region is making a claim for the title this season. Six teams are currently ranked in the Top 25 and another two others are on the verge of cracking the ranking. One of the biggest surprises is Colorado School of Mines, coached by second-year headman Pryor Orser. In his first season at the helm, Orser led the Orediggers to an overall record of 5-21, including a 3-16 mark in the RMAC. This year, Colorado Mines has already completed a seven-game sweep of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Western Division, improved to 13-2 overall, and is riding a nine-game win streak, the second best stretch in school history.

Nobody saw the Orediggers making this much of a run this season, as the RMAC coaches picked Mines to finish sixth out of seven East teams in preseason poll. Even with their streak, the Orediggers still must get by unbeaten Tom Kropp's unbeaten Nebraska Kearney team, defending national champion Metropolitan State, coached by Mike Dunlap, and Mark Johnson's 13-2 Fort Hays team. And that's just in their division.

Douma Notches 500th Win
Hillsdale head coach Ed Douma won his 500th career game late last month with an upset of Ken Shields' Northern Kentucky team. Douma, in his 28th season as a head coach, has 27 years as a head coach at the collegiate level, most recently at his alma mater, Calvin College (NCAA-III). He has also coached at Alma College (NCAA-III), fellow GLIAC member Lake Superior State University (NAIA), Kent State University (NCAA-I), and University of North Carolina-Greensboro (NCAA-III).

Winning has been a way of life in Douma-led basketball programs with his greatest success occurring in 1991-92 when he led the Calvin College Knights to the NCAA Division III National Championship and was named the NABC Division III Coach of the Year.

Klusman Has Tars Rolling Again
An integral part of Rollins College basketball for over a quarter century, Tom Klusman is on pace for another outstanding season. His Tars are currently 14-3 and riding an eight-game winning streak. Two of the three losses were to Division I opponents (at Stetson 67-60, at New Orleans 65-57) and in both games Rollins led with less than five minutes remaining. The other loss was to nationally ranked Northwest Missouri State (80-65) in the Las Vegas High Desert Classic.

Before taking over the reigns as head coach in 1980, Klusman previously spent four years as a standout player and three seasons as an assistant coach for the Tars. He has been part of every Rollins team to advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament and, during the 1997-98 season, posted the 300th victory of his career.

Ford's Finale
Augustana College announced that men's basketball coach Perry Ford will step down at the end of the current season.

"There never is a good time for announcements like this, but Augustana needs the time to find a new coach," Ford said. "We have a great nucleus in our program, and the future is bright. Coaching here has given me the opportunity to work with some outstanding student-athletes for which I am grateful. Twelve of our 13 seniors have received their degrees and both of the seniors on this year's team will graduate as well. More than anything, I will miss working with these young men."

Ford is in his sixth season at Augustana. To date he has compiled a 78-73 record with the Vikings, including a 31-59 mark in the North Central Conference. His collegiate coaching career record stands at 292-205.