OPINION |
When Missouri State men’s basketball hosts South Carolina State on Saturday, there should be plenty of good vibes — both past and present — inside Great Southern Bank Arena.
This season’s edition of the Bears is riding a four-game winning streak after capturing the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam championship. While it’s way too early to catch postseason fever, this is easily the most promising start to a season in more than a decade.
The ultimate goal, of course, is to break a quarter-century drought of reaching the NCAA Tournament. If the current Bears need an up-close look at history, they’ll get it when several members of the 1999 Sweet 16 Bears gather on Saturday as their star has his jersey retired during halftime.
“Danny Moore 32” will go into the rafters in a long-overdue tribute to the high-scoring big man. Coach Steve Alford, who guided Moore and Company on that magical March ride a generation ago, is flying in to participate as his unbeaten Nevada Wolf Pack team has a break in its schedule.
Bond has remained strong with 1999 team
Alford said the bond between coaches and players from the 1999 team has remained strong over the years. They often share group text messages to stay in touch and Moore’s jersey retirement is a chance to make it a team-wide celebration.
“I’m so happy for Danny and that team,” Alford said by phone on Tuesday. “It’s been a long time coming. We’re glad it’s happening. Danny had a very special career and the thing I like about it, Danny has stayed in contact with all his teammates and coaches. He supports the Bears and attends games and functions. He’s been outstanding and I couldn’t be more happy for him.”
Several Missouri State teams (2000, 2006, 2007, 2011) have come painstakingly close to breaking the NCAA Tournament drought since the 1999 team beat Wisconsin and Tennessee before losing to No. 1-ranked Duke in the Sweet 16. The 1999 group — with names like Moore, William Fontleroy, Kevin Ault, Ken Stringer, Allen Phillips, Scott Brakebill and Ron Bruton — remains rockstars in local sports lore.
“We just had a bond we had as players and coaches — and all of us being young and being in the right place at the right time,” said Fontleroy, who lives in Springfield and coaches youth basketball. “We didn’t know any better. We were just a bunch of kids who wanted to play basketball and have fun and we really enjoyed playing for our coach.”
Chemistry, trust key during NCAA Tournament run
The next Missouri State team to go to the NCAA Tournament also will forever be remembered. While it’s early, the 2023-24 Bears have an obvious liking for one another, a can’t-miss desire to play hard and an ability to embrace varying styles. They won at the Paradise Jam in a low-scoring slugfest, a fast-paced shootout and somewhere in between.
Alford is too busy with his current team to know many details, but he still keeps up with the Bears' scores. He mentioned some of the keys to the Sweet 16 group as being team cohesion and adaptability to take on anything the opposition threw at them.
“A great group of guys and I was blessed that we had a team that really, really got along well,” Alford said. “The chemistry was incredible. We had built a good culture and I think the guys understood what we wanted and how we went about doing things. There was a great trust between coaches and players.
“It was a team that had a good blend between guys that could really score and guys that could lock down defensively. We were able to win games sometimes because of the offense and sometimes because of the defense and sometimes because of both.”
Bears were comfortable playing fast or slow
That was evident in the NCAA Tournament when the Bears emerged from one of the ugliest games since James Naismith hung the first peach basket. Missouri State prevailed 43-32 over Wisconsin and then, less than two days later, embraced Tennessee’s will to play fast and turned Rocky Top into Rocky Stomped, thumping the Vols 81-51.
“I can still remember the Tennessee game, talking to my dad (assistant coach Sam Alford) before the game and going, ‘Wow, this team looks like an NBA team, size-wise.’ We absolutely blitzed them.
“That was another strength our team had. We could play a low-possession game. Wisconsin in the Dick Bennett years and what he had created there, they were always slower tempo and more grind-it-out. That was what we were able to do. We were able to play that kind of game and two nights later, play a Tennessee team where they wanted to play up and down and play fast.
“Again, that was a tribute to our team. It didn’t matter what the style was, we could play either style and be successful.”
Then along came Duke and its roster with six future NBA players. To lighten the mood, Alford and the Bears started game-week preparations with a Wiffle Ball game in Hammons Student Center. They got to work the next day before flying to New Jersey and playing the Blue Devils close for a half before Duke pulled away to win 78-61.
‘A special time in my life'
Alford announced a couple of days later that he was off to coach at Iowa, ending his four-season Missouri State run. Hired by Bill Rowe in April of 1995 at the age of 30, after a couple of years coaching Division III Manchester, Alford said he will forever have a special place in his heart for Springfield and Missouri State.
“It was a special time in my life,” said Alford. “My daughter was born there. The kids (Kory and Bryce) were small and running around Hammons Student Center. All these years later Kory is coaching (at D-III Huntington College in Indiana) and Bryce is still playing (professionally in Poland).
“Just very special times. Great friends to this day. I was a young Division I coach in my first job. That propelled me into the career that I’ve had and I’ve been blessed to coach a lot of great players over the years. Bill Rowe gave me an opportunity to start my DI career and he and Nyda have been great friends of Tanya and me for a lifetime and a lot of friends in that area.”
Alford could return on a business trip
Alford has been back to Springfield several times over the years, to visit friends or attend special events like a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame induction for the 1999 team in 2014. Don’t rule out a business trip back to Springfield at some point in the future. Alford said he and Bears coach Dana Ford have talked about starting a home-and-home series.
“We thought we had that done this year and it just didn’t happen,” Alford said. “Obviously, it’s not easy travel for either one of us, but to get back there for a game would be an awful lot of fun.”
Saturday ticket specials
A number of ticket specials are available for Saturday’s 1 p.m. game. In addition to free admission for all kids 12 and under, $5 adult tickets are available for all bleacher seats and upper-level seats (based on availability). For tickets, visit MissouriStateBears.com or the Missouri State Athletics box office at Great Southern Bank Arena. Call (417) 836-7678 during regular box office hours.
