The Williamsonian Winter 2017 | Seite 23

S P O R T S N E W S

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Basketball Back As One Of The Best Teams In The Nation

After winning back-to-back national championships in 2008 and 2009 , and losing in the finals in 2010 by four points , the Williamson basketball team has made it back to the U . S . Collegiate Athletic Association Division II national tournament just once in the past five seasons .

That all might be ending this year . As of this writing , Williamson has been ranked in the Top 5 in the nation since early November and is primed to receive an at-large bid to the 2017 US- CAA national tournament once again .

Williamson started the year with a bang as they won three tournaments , had a 12-game winning streak , and at one point stood at 14-1 . As of this writing , their record is 19-3 and they are ranked No . 3 in the nation .

While Williamson once again lacks height , with no starter being above 6 ' 1 '' tall , what they lack in height they make up for in quickness and defense . As usual , Williamson is one of the top defensive teams in the nation and also is in the Top 5 in the country in steals .

Fourteenth year head coach Bill Michaels credits senior leadership and hard work by the entire team as two key factors to the team ’ s success .

“ We don ’ t have any height so we have to win by being disciplined and by outworking our opponents . Our seniors ( Kevin Whitfield , Andre Merrell and Jo ’ wan Livers ) have done a good job of selling that to the team and it has paid off .”

While Whitfield is the leading scorer and rebounder , Williamson is far from a one-man show . The leading scorer in a game has been a different guy eight times during the season and anyone can be counted on to step things up when they are needed .”

While bids to the national tournament will not come out until February 21 , with a 7-3 record over teams in the Top 20 in the nation , including 5-2 vs . teams in the Top 10 , Williamson ’ s chance of going back to nationals , appear pretty good .

“ We are very unselfish on offense and that is something you love to see as a coach . The guys are supportive of one another . As long as we keep it up and keep playing Williamson basketball , we should be fine ,” closed Michaels .

Accolades Abound For Fall Athletes With 21 Receiving Letterman Jackets

In early December , Williamson held a special assembly to honor the accolades of their fall athletes and teams . From the success of these athletes , the assembly was anything but short .

This past fall , Williamson had six All- Americans , eight Academic All-Americans , one conference Player of the Year , one conference Coach of the Year , 14 all conference players , and two conference team championships .

In addition , 13 of those athletes also made the Dean ’ s List in the first semester . Moreover , that was just for the fall !

“ We had an outstanding fall and we are very proud of what our studentathletes did in the classroom and on the field . In addition , our coaches did a phenomenal job as well .

Some highlights included Blake Dunston earning just the second Soccer All- American honor in school history . He also was an Academic All-American and won the Player of the Year Award for the Eastern States Soccer League . John Curran 0W5 was named ESSL Coach of the Year for the fourth time .

The football team had five second team USCAA All-Americans , the most in school history , while the soccer and cross country teams each won their conference championship .

Also at the assembly , 21 senior fall athletes were awarded with a Varsity Letterman jacket for participating in athletics all three of their Williamson years .

“ Four years ago , when he first arrived , President Rounds reinstituted the 3-Year Varsity Letterman jacket policy . It has been a great way for Williamson to acknowledge and thank the athletes for the tremendous sacrifices they have made over their three years to represent themselves , their families , and their college on the field of play ,” stated longtime Williamson athletic director Dale Plummer .

“ To show how thing have taken off with the program , the first year we had 21 guys total receive a jacket . This year we had 21 receive one in the fall and are on pace for a total of 41 to earn one for the year .

“ Again , it is a small way , but a great way from a tradition standpoint , for us to say thank you to the guys for what they have done .”

Michaels Gets 250th Career Win After Previously Setting A Williamson Record

Having long ago obliterated the career record for wins by a Williamson head coach , 14th year Williamson head basketball coach Bill Michaels keeps adding to that total .

On Jan . 21 , he reached another significant milestone . With his team ’ s win over Patrick Henry College , Michaels picked up Williamson career win number 250 .

“ Some coaches can achieve success , but achieving success and maintaining the type of success that Bill has achieved over the years is not only incredible but almost unprecedented ,” shared Williamson athletic director Dale Plummer .

“ I ’ m not aware of the type of success that he has achieved being done by a coach at another college with a student body of under 300 students being achieved anywhere in the nation . It really is incredible .

“ It is so competitive to get into Williamson in the first place and then with the academic standards that students must live up to as well as the long days the student-athletes face on a daily basis , for him to do what he has done is almost a miracle . I cannot emphasize how much we are privileged to have him as our coach .”

All Michaels has done is win two national championships and his teams have qualified for USCAA nationals seven times . He also has coached nine All-Americans and three Academic All- Americans . His teams have led the nation in scoring defense ten times .

He accomplished all this after taking

Whitfield Becomes 12th Williamson Player To Score 1,000 Points

Senior forward Kevin Whitfield ( Chester , PA ) scored his 1,000th career Williamson point on Jan . 21 in a game against Patrick Henry College .

In doing so , he becomes just the 12th player in Williamson history to achieve this honor .

“ We are proud of Kevin ,” said head coach Bill Michaels . “ He has come a long way since freshman year to the point where he is a real leader for us . It isn ’ t easy to score 1,000 points with the style of play we use so for him to do that is a major accomplishment .”

Whitfield is currently eighth in the nation in rebounding ( 10.1 / game ) and 34th in scoring at 16.9 points per game .

Bill Michaels

over a program that had had just two winning seasons in the 15 years prior to his arrival .

Always humble about his coaching abilities , Michaels downplays his part in the success .

“ The players are the ones who play the game , not me ,” Michaels said . “ I have been blessed to have a great staff and players who bought into what we were trying to achieve .

“ It is an honor to coach at Williamson . I love the school and all it stands for . It is an incredible college , with an incredible faculty , staff , and administration . I ’ m thankful for the opportunity to be a part of such a special place .”

As of this writing , Michaels is at it again as his team , despite not having a starter over 6 ' 1 '' tall , is ranked No . 3 in the nation and could be headed to nationals for the eighth time in Michaels ’ career . Bids come out on Feb . 21 .

Kevin Whitfield 1W7