OPINION |
Getting an opportunity to catch up with Barry Hinson earlier this week when he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame conjured up memories and thoughts of what might have been.
Eighteen seasons have passed since the 2005-06 Bears were snubbed by the NCAA Tournament selection committee in one of the all-time “stick it up yours” moments. I didn’t rehash the history with Hinson as it’s been well-documented, as recently as a News-Leader series of stories last summer.
Instead, we laughed and told stories about the good times of his nine seasons as Missouri State’s head coach. We talked about our mutual passion for barbecue, the best way to glaze chicken thighs and how to find top-notch smokers at a discount on Facebook marketplace.
But sitting alongside him at the Hall of Fame luncheon, before Hinson gave an acceptance speech for the ages, I got to thinking. How differently would history remember that team — and the Missouri State program in general and Hinson specifically — had the No. 21 RPI Bears been selected?
Fateful Selection Sunday in 2006 is unforgettable
As one of those in Hinson’s basement for a watch party that fateful Selection Sunday in 2006, I’ll never forget the ashen color of his face and the agony in every word he mustered up to the players who came to celebrate and left in silence.
“I’m sorry” is about all I remember of what Hinson told the players.
I was about the only person in the house who didn’t have tears because, as a media person, you can’t become emotionally attached to your subject. But I was on the verge of becoming misty-eyed because I felt so bad for the players on a team that should be remembered as one of the school’s elite.
Blake Ahearn, Drew Richards, Tyler Chaney, Deven Mitchell, Nathan Bilyeu and the rest. Outstanding players whose legacy is diminished because 10 people in a hotel suite in Indianapolis subjectively chose to send Air Force to the NCAA Tournament in place of the Bears.
NCAA Tournament snub altered Hinson's coaching career
Then there’s how that decision affected Hinson’s career. I stayed a few minutes after most had left that day. The always talkative Hinson had nothing. I’ll never forget him apologizing for not having a good quote.
A few hours later, the Bears accepted a spot in the National Invitation Tournament and won a couple of games. They returned to the NIT a year later after having their NCAA bubble popped again. That time, it wasn’t as surprising or numbing.
Hinson’s coaching career was altered that March afternoon in 2006. He was given an edict to get to the NCAA Tournament or else by the school president and barely kept his job after making the NIT a year later. He was fired in 2008 after going 17-16.
Had the Bears made the NCAA Tournament in 2006, there’s a good chance that Hinson would have received a nice contract extension and a recruiting boost and been Missouri State’s coach for several more years. It seemed particularly cruel that Hinson never got to coach a game as Bears’ coach in Great Southern Bank Arena after watching its construction from the first turn of dirt.
Hinson also could have been off to a power-conference coaching job and capitalized on the timing like so many mid-major coaches after getting to the big tourney. Either way, he would be remembered much differently, even by his detractors, had the 2006 decision swung the other way.
March Madness drought continues to weigh on program
Meanwhile, the basketball program would not have the stigma of an NCAA Tournament drought now in its 25th season and one that weighs on everyone more and more with each passing year.
I found it fitting that current Bears coach Dana Ford was at the Hall of Fame luncheon, sitting up front. He came to the stage to congratulate Hinson afterwards and the two exchanged smiles and kind words.
Ford is a bit like Hinson in that he’s overseen a consistent level of good teams at Missouri State, with three straight seasons of at least 12 Missouri Valley Conference wins. But Ford is still seeking that NCAA Tournament breakthrough that never came for Hinson.
Current Bears need to get tougher
Could this be the season? The Bears have shown flashes of championship-quality play in their 7-3 start, but lack one critical, required element heading into Saturday’s game at Tulsa.
Missouri State is 0-3 on the road, 4-0 at home and 3-0 on a neutral court. Winning on the road is a big deal and something that the Bears will have to figure out if they are to be a conference contender.
“Tough teams win on the road and we’re not a tough team right now,” Ford said after last weekend’s home victory over Sam Houston State. “What we’ve talked about with our guys is what are we capable of? We’re capable of becoming tough, but we’re not tough right now and it’s hard to win on the road when you’re not tough.”
Ford said that the necessary toughness comes in different ways.
“From something as simple as running hard. It takes toughness to run hard,” Ford said. “Right now, when we go on the road we’re not even running hard. That’s one box we have to get checked. Another box is execution. Making our layups on the road. Guarding the other team’s best player.
“Not one road game have we stopped the other team’s best player like we do at home and that’s really caused us not to perform well on the road. The last couple of years we’ve been really good on the road, but we’re a different team right now.”
Missouri State has three games before Christmas — at Tulsa, Dec. 19 at home against Lindenwood and Dec. 23 at St. Mary’s. Then it’s Valley play the rest of the way and the grind to earn a top-four seed for Arch Madness, which is huge. The top four seeds will need three wins for an NCAA Tournament berth with the rest needing four.
Drake and Indiana State appear to be the frontrunners as Santa preps his reindeer. The Bears, at their best, are just as good if not better.
‘It'll come down to Arch Madness'
Hinson now works in the Oklahoma State athletic department, heading up the school’s Name, Image and Likeness program. He still keeps close tabs on the Bears and he asked me if I thought the Bears could win the Valley.
I told him they could, if they avoided injuries and figured out their road woes.
“But it’ll come down to Arch Madness,” I told him.
I get the idea that Hinson would shed a few tears of joy if Missouri State’s drought came to an end. The guy still has a genuine love and passion for Springfield — and the school that fired him.
“Go Bears!” Hinson said, concluding his rip-roaring speech.
The 700 people in attendance gave him a standing ovation. For a minute, it felt like 2006 (pre-Selection Sunday) all over again.
