Thad McCracken's agenda on Monday morning seemed unrealistic in the middle of February.
McCracken, in his fifth year as the head men's basketball coach at Hendrix College, spent the morning watching the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament selection show online.
NCAA Division III Tournament
Hendrix vs. East Texas Baptist
WHEN Friday
WHERE Orneals Gym, Marshall, Texas
RECORDS Hendrix 12-16, East Texas Baptist 23-5
SCHEDULE Hendrix will play East Texas Baptist and Texas Lutheran (18-9) will play Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (12-16). Winner of each game will play Saturday, also in Marshall, Texas. Times are to be announced.
Later in the afternoon, he planned to hop on a conference call with NCAA officials to discuss logistics for the school's first trip to the national tournament in almost 20 years.
Hendrix will play at East Texas Baptist on Friday in Marshall, Texas, in their first national tournament appearance since 1996. At 12-16 overall, the Warriors have the worst record of the 62 teams in the field, but that's hardly McCracken's concern after his team's shocking turnaround.
"I'm just so proud of them," McCracken said.
That wasn't the case for most of this season. Hendrix lost 70-41 on Feb. 8 at Centre College, its ninth consecutive loss that dropped it to 6-15.
Everything changed after McCracken dismissed Alec Conard from the team for what he described as a "lack of buy-in."
Conard had averaged 7.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 19.0 minutes in 21 games, including 4 starts.
"It was a chemistry issue. It was a lack of trust issue," McCracken said. "It is amazing the difference one guy can make. But I have no doubt this is very hard for him."
Practice attitudes changed immediately, McCracken said, as did results at the end of games.
Conard was dismissed after a loss to Oglethorpe on Feb. 15,
Hendrix beat Millsaps 59-44 and Birmingham-Southern 71-70 to finish the regular season. It was the first time the Warriors had won two in a row all season, heading into the Southern Athletic Association Tournament at Memphis.
Three victories in three days followed, capped by a 73-70 victory over Rhodes College on Sunday in the final.
"After the personnel move, we could have packed it in and called it a year," McCracken said. "And we didn't. The guys showed up hungry and showed up passionate. I saw it grow each and every night after every win."
In the first round against Sewanee, McCracken said he sensed a confidence his team hadn't had all season. The Warriors took a 16-point lead and held on for a 73-71 lead. They then held on for a 55-53 victory over Centre before beating Rhodes in the final.
"When you have guys that are talented and athletic and believe, good things happen," McCracken said.
Now Hendrix, which hasn't had a winning season since 2008, has reached its highest point since 1996, when former Coach Cliff Garrison led them to a 21-6 finish.
And a third trip to the NCAA Division III tournament.
"Two months ago, no, I never thought we'd be on the phone right now talking about the national tournament," McCracken said.
Sports on 03/03/2015