Lars Anderson knows why Bosko Djurickovic`s head coaching debut at North Park was so successful.
”The coach kept telling us that it was up to the players to win or lose a game on the floor,” Anderson said after helping the Vikings capture the NCAA Division III national championship Saturday night in Grand Rapids, Mich. ”He gives us enough rein to take advantage of situations.
”That`s why we kept on winning the same kind of one-point games that got away from us last season.”
The Division III title thriller at Calvin College proved Anderson`s point, by one point. North Park edged Potsdam (N.Y.) 72-71 in a terrific struggle, mainly because Djurickovic`s team kept its poise at the finish. Potsdam trailed all night, then came with a rush to go ahead 61-59 with just 2 minutes 45 seconds left.
Instead of folding, the Vikings used their heads and hearts to pull out another mini-miracle with a series of clutch plays. Senior sharpshooters Justyne Monegain and Adam Lazich provided the points. Playmaker Earnest Hubbard pierced Potsdam`s armor-plated zone defense. Anderson contributed a timely blocked shot, and guard John Kuehn drew a charging foul that probably turned the game around. That kind of balanced effort has been preached all along by Djurickovic.
”I`ve been telling everybody that you can`t win with stars,” the Vikings` coach said in summing up the 27-4 season. ”Monegain and Hubbard are outstanding players, but we had somebody ready to help out at all times. Lazich`s shooting kept us alive in the final. Anderson`s rebounding got us into the tournament, and Kuehn did everything we asked of him. Our sixth man, Mike Parker, played so much that he was just like a starter.”
The formula worked better than anybody dreamed, including Djurickovic, who become head coach this year after Dan McCarrell moved to Mankato State in Minnesota. Once they jelled after a 6-3 start, the Vikings put together winning streaks of 13 and 8. The only setback in the final 22 games of this astonishing season was a 79-75 loss at North Central on Dec. 15.
”How do I feel after finishing 21-1?” Djurickovic asked with a big grin. ”Tired.”
The Vikings will add their fourth Division III trophy in the last eight years to the school`s collection at a celebration in the North Park gym at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Then Djurickovic will don his other head coaching cap and take the Viking baseball team on a 14-game, season-opening trip that starts next Saturday against Gardner-Webb College in Boiling Springs, N.C.
When he has time to stop and think about it, the 33-year-old Djurickovic will realize he has given himself a tough act to follow next season. With all five starters gone, he`ll need a real miracle to duplicate the fantasy that just came true for North Park.
”That`s all part of the challenge of being a coach,” Djurickovic said.
”If it were easy, we wouldn`t enjoy it as much.”
