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Congratulations, Harry Statham

One coach lived under the microscope. The other toiled in relative obscurity at a small Illinois college.

The worlds of NCAA Division I basketball and NAIA basketball are far apart. But even if it was for just one night, this is a victory for the little guy.

Harry Statham, the men's basketball coach at McKendree College in Lebanon, Ill., won his 880th basketball game Wednesday night, making him the winningest coach at a four-year college. Statham (pictured at left) surpassed legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith with McKendree's 83-72 win over Maryville University of St. Louis.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a major research university with more than 23,000 students. McKendree is a small college with an enrollment of about 1,500 students.

UNC draws the likes of Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Vince Carter. McKendree draws athletes that have been passed over or ignored by the big universities. Most likely, a McKendree basketball player's career ends the minute he takes off the Bearcat uniform for the last time.

Both Smith and Statham have gyms named after them. The Dean E. Smith Center holds 21,750 people. The Harry M. Statham Sports Center, enclosed within McKendree's Melvin Price Convocation Center, holds a mere 1,500 people.

And, yet, there are common threads between the men.

Smith and Statham had no need to resort to Bobby Knight-style antics to be successful. Smith and Statham prove that you can be decent people and still win. Both men expected their players to be the best they can be, both on the basketball court and in the classroom.

For one night, McKendree College experienced big-time basketball. The capacity crowd includes video crews from all the St. Louis TV news stations. They, along with photographers from the print media, stuck cameras close to Statham's first, just like Smith did on a much more regular basis.

The Bearcats came out tight, just as you would expect from a team under pressure to win No. 880 for Statham before a home crowd and a flock of media. They struggled to take the lead for much of the first half before building up to an 18-point lead in the second period.

Maryville clearly was the lesser team this night. That didn't mean Maryville played like a lesser team. Maryville's players knew they were a part of history and managed to pull to within nine points late in the second half.

But it was clear this would be Harry Statham's night. With about two minutes left in the game, McKendree students handed out purple sheets of paper -- McKendree's colors are purple and white -- with Statham's picture on one side and the number 880 on the other.

First, the crowd rose to its feet and chanted "Harry," "Harry," Harry," Harry." Then they chanted "Har-ry Stat-ham," "Har-ry Stat-ham," "Har-ry Stat-ham." Then they gave Statham a standing ovation once the game was over.

Statham accepted the game ball from the team's captains and congratulations from McKendree College President James Dennis and NAIA President Steve Baker, who presented Statham with a ball autographed by UCLA coaching legend John Wooden.

Then, the McKendree cheerleaders presented Statham with a huge cake and invited the fans to go on the floor to share it with him. Imagine that ever happening at a Division I school.

Later that evening, Statham and his Bearcats made ESPN's Top 10 Plays of the Day for their accomplishment.

As far as most people are, Smith will still be acknowledge as having the record, since he accomplished his feat in the NCAA. But those of us who live in Southwestern Illinois know who owns the record for four-year schools.

Perhaps it was Dean Smith himself who said it best in an interview with Belleville News-Democrat reporter David Wilhelm.

"It doesn't bother me in the least," Smith said of Statham overtaking him on the win chart. "I'm glad our teams did well. It's still coaching basketball, and everybody else is good at each level. I'm impressed. Coaches thank their players for these moments. I'm happy for Coach Statham."

And for those moments, McKendree was a big-time basketball school.

Roger 0 comments 11:18 PM