Division 2 Basketball: The Difference Is One Roman Numeral.

Division 2 Basketball: The Difference Is One Roman Numeral

Dec. 3, 2007

After Division II University of Central Missouri knocked off Division 1 Central Michigan 75-70 November 13, Central Missouri coach Kim Anderson told his team, “It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t even count, but can you repeat that effort?” Division II upsets over Division 1 schools like Grand Valley State over Michigan St or Findlay over Ohio State are becoming more frequent and soon may not surprise the average college basketball fan.

Ryan Marks, who led St. Edwards in Austin, Texas to the NCAA Tournament in two of his first three seasons remembers a former Division 1 transfer of his being asked the question comparing Division 1 to Division II, and the players response was “One roman numeral.” Marks certainly recognizes that the upper echelon Division 1 schools play at a higher level but sees a “marginal” difference between the upper echelon Division II schools and the mass groups of low Division 1 schools.

The most recognizable Division II upset is still probably Chaminade over a Ralph Sampson led Virginia team in 1982. Chaminade just knocked off Princeton in the Maui Classic 74-70 and there have been more than a handful of Division II upsets this season. In past years, Division 1 schools loaded up their exhibition seasons with foreign national teams and all-star teams. With the rise of AAU, there were all-star teams being put together and utilized as a recruiting tool, causing the NCAA to put an end to exhibition games against all-star teams. This opened the door for Division II and Division III schools getting an opportunity to play Division 1 opponents.

Kim Anderson believes that this rule has not only helped Division II schools, but it has helped the Division 1 schools as well, “They get to play teams that have been together, practicing together and play against a more organized team.” Ken Burmeister, who had been a head coach in Division 1 for seven years and is currently the head coach at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas agrees, “It is tremendous for Division 1 to play Division II. The foreign teams did not play the type of style you see in college basketball and many of the other teams did not give you the type of competition that gets you ready for the season.”

It is difficult for the average fan, high school coaches, and potential recruits to realize the caliber of Division II basketball, as you will not find Division II games on ESPN, but these exhibitions against Division 1 opponents are helping Division II schools to gain some exposure and improve in a few different ways.

Ryan Marks will tell you that every kid, even the student-athletes who recognize that they will not play Division 1 ask, “Do you play any Division 1 games?” Marks has scheduled a minimum of three Division 1 opponents each year in his four years as head coach at St Edwards. Anderson is able to boast that his program has played at Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Kansas St. Both coaches have won games against Division 1 opponents.

However, every coach I spoke with said the biggest help from these games is not in the recruiting, but in what the teams learn from the games. Anderson says, “These games show you where you are at and where you have to go. The Division 1 games show us how hard you have to play and compete at the highest level.” Burmeister calls these games a “reality check” for his players and he likes that his players find out how competitive it is to play at the highest level.

While Anderson is proud of defeating a Division 1 opponent, the win will not mean as much to recruiting, as it will to his young players, as Anderson has 10 new players on his roster this season, “From a confidence standpoint, it reinforced what we tried to preach in practice.”

Each coach appreciates and applauds the Division 1 schools that schedule Division II opponents, and Burmeister points out how important these games are to helping the Division II programs financially. Next season, Incarnate Word will play at Arizona and receive compensation that will help the team budget.

Marks believes these Division 1 games have helped to create a better campus environment for his players, “When we played at Notre Dame (Notre Dame won 71-56), a little restaurant and bar in Austin called ‘Pluckers’ broadcasted the game via Webcast. There were about 450 people watching the game on television and we average about 500 people at a home game. There is a heightened sense of perception now of the quality of the product in our gym.”

Marks hopes that within the next 3-5 years that all Division II games will be Webcast and that the average college basketball fan, coaches, prospective student-athletes and their families will be able to see that Division II basketball offers great basketball competition and “is the model formula where a student-athlete can see success and enjoy athletic competition while still having the element of a healthy social collegiate experience.”Division 2 Basketball: The Difference Is One Roman Numeral

David Adelman spent 7 years as a Division I assistant and two years as a Division III assistant at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. After two years coaching minor league professional basketball, he is currently working as a consultant for the New Jersey Nets. EMAIL DAVID