
This article originally appeared
in Basketball Times.
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TEN SECONDS LOST FOREVER
March 2001. No. 2 seed Iowa State
can’t find the basket in the final minutes of its
opening round contest with Hampton. The Pirates go on a
14-run, capped by Tarvis Williams’ four-footer in the
lane. And when Jamaal Tinsley’s lay-up bounced off the
rim, Steve Merfeld’s MEAC champions had pulled off one
of the NCAA tournaments more improbable upsets, 58-57.
Merfeld can recount the big shots, the defensive stops
and seemingly every key sequence of the game, minus ten
seconds. From the final buzzer to his landing in the
arms of Pirates’ David Johnson, Merfeld remembers
nothing.
“Wow,” says Merfeld of that upset win over ISU. “Those
ten seconds once the game was over are lost. Every time
I see that replay I try to imagine what must have been
going through my mind. It was a great win, but I don’t
remember the dance.”
Anyone who knows Merfeld well will agrree that it was a
bit out of character for the usually reserved Wisconsin
native. But it’s not everyday that a No. 15 beats a No.
2 (fourth time since seeding in 1985).
Merfeld could never have imagined his celebratory
victory dance, but it was a moment thirty-two years in
the making.
“I knew when I was in the third grade that I wanted to
be a head basketball coach one day,” says Merfeld. “From
first through eighth grade I was the team manager for
the high school team and I was taken by the commitment
that players had to one another and the way that they
functioned as one.”
Through high school and his first year at the University
of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Merfeld never wavered on his
future plans, but following his sophomore year the lure
of business and living the so-called good life began to
way on his chosen career path.
“I wrestled with it,” says Merfeld. “The idea of going
into business for myself was very enticing. But my dad
gave me some great advice. He said, ‘you don’t need a
business degree to go into business, but you do need a
degree in education to be an educator.’ After that, I
never gave it a second thought.”
Merfeld’s career began with a brief stint at St. John’s
Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin from 1984-86,
which was followed by a ten-year run with Jim Larranaga
at Bowling Green.
At Bowling Green, Merfeld established himself as a
highly regarded recruiter. He was credited with the
signing of Antonio Daniels, the fourth pick in the 1997
NBA Draft. Merfeld recruited three Mid-American
Conference Rookies of the Year in a five-year span. Two
went on to earn MAC Player of the Year honors–Daniels,
and Anthony Stacey in 2000. While at BGSU, the Falcons
compiled a 148-124 record and played in the NIT in 1990
and 1991.
Still intent on becoming a head coach, Merfeld decided
it was time to move on to a different situation and
Hampton, VA would prove to be ideal.
“I learned so much working with Jim [Larranaga],” says
Merfeld. “I was also fortunate enough to grow up close
to [University of] Stevens Point and [University of
Wisconsin] Platteville so I absorbed a lot of the things
that Dick Bennett and Bo Ryan were doing as coaches. And
the opportunity to work with Byron [Samuels] was
something that I was excited about.”
Hampton had just made the transition from the division
II ranks, under Samuels, but with its resources and
commitment it was clear that it would not take long for
the school to compete for a MEAC title and an NCAA
appearance. It was the type of environment that Merfeld
viewed as being perfect to prepare him for a future head
coaching position. Little did he know that opportunity
would knock sooner than later.
Following Merfeld’s first season at Hampton, Samuels
opted to take an assistant coaching position with Jerry
Green at the University of Tennessee. Most thought that
Hampton, a historically black college in a historically
black conference, would simply follow suit and name an
African-American to succeed Samuels.
But Hampton athletics director Dennis Thomas wasn’t
looking for the right color, he was looking for the
right coach. And almost immediately, Merfeld was
elevated.
“Let me explain something,” Thomas said in an interview
with USA Today. “We had a model that we followed. We
were looking for a coach who had great leadership skills
and integrity, a coach who could motivate kids, a coach
who could discipline kids, graduate young men and
represent the university in a first-class manner. If the
person comes in white, black, yellow or green, so be
it.”
And less than four years after to be named head man,
Merfeld was leading the Hampton Pirates into the second
round of the NCAA tournament against Georgetown. A year
later Hampton was back again to face the University of
Connecticut and while there was no 14-2 run or an encore
performance by Merfeld on the dance floor, Hampton was
the first school to win as a No. 15 seed and return to
the big dance the following season.
In just seven seasons at the division I level, Hampton
had earned two trips to the NCAAs, both under the
guidance of Merfeld.
Now Merfeld hopes to do the same at Evansville, which
has been a division I program for twenty-six years, with
four NCAA appearances to its credit. But it’s a program
that hasn’t had much to cheer about in the last few
years.
“I do think we are turning the corner,” says Merfeld.
“This program has history and tradition, but we knew it
would be a challenge to reestablish that tradition in
league [Missouri Valley Conference] with so many great
teams and so many great coaches. Our sophomore class is
very good and we are making steady improvement.”
Improvement cannot always been measured in wins and
losses. While it hasn’t yet translated into a surge up
the Valley standings, there are some notable highlights
in two short years.
• 5 Victories Over Post-Season Teams (3 NCAA, 2 NIT)
• Highest MVC Finish Since 1999 (5th place, 2003)
• Increased Attendance By 800 Per Game
• UE’s First MVC Tournament Win Since 1999
• Academic All-America Clint Cuffle (2003, 2004)
• Three All-MVC Players
• Four MVC Scholar-Athletes
• One MVC All-Freshman Team Member
Evansville figures to be a bigger factor this season
with a rotation that includes five sophomores, three
seniors and three newcomers. The Purple Aces have more
speed and quickness, attributes that Merfeld so
eloquently displayed for ten seconds in 2001.
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