Your future, our focus
The NWC Trappers had little knowledge about potential opponents as their opening-round game in the National Junior College Athletic Association men’s basketball championships approached.
But just by earning the right to compete for a national title the Trappers knew they had a rare opportunity.
“We’ve got a chance to do something special,” said sophomore center Chris Boucher, who is a big reason why thinking big is within reach.
This is the first time in 46 years the Trappers, by virtue of their Region IX title, qualified for nationals. That victory, coupled with a 30-4 record and a 17-game winning streak, gave Northwest a first-round bye in the tournament that began Monday in Hutchinson, Kan.
Seeded seventh of 24 teams, the Trappers face the winner of a late Monday night game between John Logan of Illinois and Cape Fear of North Carolina.
“We have no idea what to expect,” Tyler Chandler said. “We don’t know how they play. We’re blind.”
John Logan College is in Carterville, Ill. The school is named after a Civil War general who became a prominent Illinois politician, served in Congress and was a candidate for vice president in 1884.
Various counties and neighborhoods are named for him around the country and there is a statue of Logan in Washington, D.C.
The Logan basketball team is 27-6. The Volunteers’ most impressive victory was their last one. They defeated No. 1 ranked Vicennes, 105-98, in double overtime to capture Region 16.
The Cape Fear Sea Devils brought a 23-8 record to Hutchinson. Cape Fear is probably best known for the movie “Cape Fear,” a 1991 Martin Scorsese thriller starring Nick Nolte.
Northwest plays at 1 p.m. (MST) Wednesday against the John Logan-Cape Fear winner.
The championships run through Saturday and it will take four wins for the Trappers to capture the crown.
Northwest’s best showing at nationals came in 1966-67, a season when the Trappers finished fourth in the tournament and 32-4 on the year.
The last time Northwest advanced to Hutchinson was 1969. This year the Powell campus has been celebrating since the team qualified March 7.
“I’m super excited,” Chandler said. “Lots of emotions. I’m loving this.”
Boucher, the 6-foot-10 center from Quebec, and guard William “Nicky” Desilien, friends who transferred to Northwest this year, are the Trappers’ marquee players. But from other starters E.J. Hubbard, D.J. Morgan, Colin May to off-the-bench guys like Chandler, third-year head coach Brian Erickson believes just about all of his graduating players have excellent chances to continue playing basketball at a four-year school.
Teams begin seasons with big goals, but they don’t always come true. Most have for Northwest this year.
“Every coach says, ‘We’re gonna win regions,’” Erickson said. “‘We’re going to win a national championship.’ I’ve thought it for three years. This is the first time it happened.”
Northwest has stars, but also has depth, a tough defense and an explosive offense.
“Everyone contributes,” Boucher said. “It’s not only the starting five. We also play defense as a team. Every team there (Hutchinson) is good. All of the biggest teams in the nation are there.”
The Trappers have their eyes wide open about the challenge, but Desilien said the way to win it all is to forget about what’s at stake in each game and focus entirely on the moment.
“Every game, every minute,” he said. “Playing 40 minutes is a big key.”
(Lew Freedman can be reached at lew@codyenterprise.com.)