The NDC basketball 2018-19 season was filled with great play, well earned honors, and valuable life lessons.
I caught up with Bruce Hodges, Will Vorhees, Drew Scarberry, and Jack Kelsheimer, as they talked about the dream season, gave an update on a few teammates and talked "where are they now." They are all still involved in the game they love, playing in the pros or coaching.
The date was March 10,2019. The venue was WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was the Notre Dame College Falcons and the fifth ranked West Liberty Hilltoppers. Of the 3,781 people in attendance about 3,500 were fans of West Liberty. Will Vorhees scored 29 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out eight assists and was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after the 100-96 Falcons win. Bruce Hodges added 22 for NDC, Larenz Thurman scored 17 points and dished out five assists, while Halil Parks added 16 points. "The game was physical and intense. We pulled out the victory in front of what was basically a home crowd for West Lib, making it that much sweeter," Vorhees said.
"The 2018-19 season was one to remember," Hodges added. "After starting as a reserve player, playing spot minutes, the vision was blurry for me at the beginning. After Christmas break, we suffered a really bad loss to Lake Erie and coach made some changes. With that being said we started to take off. After a loss to West Virginia State in mid- January coach told us 'we are going to win the conference' and ever since that day we began to knock down every step needed. When we got to the MEC Tournament it was just like a swagger we had about ourselves. We came and played together. We had different leading scorers in all three games of the tournament. I''ll never forget that buzzer sounding and us finally winning. It was the best feeling I ever felt, I blacked out. Winning that game meant everything. West Liberty was number five in the country at the time. No-one had us standing a chance against them. No-one but the people in that locker room. Yes they were the standard, but that day the standard met its match. It was the best game that I have ever played. Every time someone got a 5-8 point lead the other team would make a run. I probably watch it 30 times a year."
"West Liberty is known as the team in the MEC," NDC sharpshooter Drew Scarberry said. We always played them tough I feel like they became our rival while we were there. So being able to beat them when they pretty much had home court advantage was amazing."
Vorhees talked about winning the MEC:
"Winning the MEC Championship was a very special moment for me personally, as it felt like the culmination of my college career. It felt like every prior season from freshman until fifth year senior, every high and every low had been leading up to that tournament. The journey that we had been on that season, the journey for me, TK (Coach Tim Koenig,) Coach (Tim) Baab had been on for five years, it was time for all that hard work and effort to pay off. I believe that is why we won because we were playing with more desperation, and we wanted it more than any other team."
Kelsheimer talked about the season as a whole:
"It was a tough season for everyone, because it felt like we were always right on the verge of an automatic bid, but every time we climbed in the regional rankings, something would go wrong, or we would lose on a last second shot and drop back down in the rankings. I think senior night was the toughest loss for us. Going into the conference tournament, the team knew how good they were, but they also knew they were going to have to win the tournament to keep the season alive. The team had great toughness. It was the type of group that you knew was never going to back down from anyone. We just had really tough players, guys that would bring physicality and play really hard. It gave us a psychological advantage in a lot of ways, we just had some tough breaks throughout the season that could've gone our way."
Kelsheimer talked about what it was like playing for the coaches at NDC:
"Playing for TK and Baab, you learn how important it is to do things besides scoring. Most people know TK for generating teams with great offensive efficiency. However, looking back I would argue it was our defense and rebounding that won us championships. Guys like Angelo Cugini and Drew Scarberry would go out and really hit people in the paint, and Bruce Hodges played so hard each game that he would come into the locker room and throw up during halftime. Larenz was also really consistent at the point guard spot. You knew what you were going to get out of him on a nightly basis. A lot of people can put up points and score, but having toughness, being able to defend, and rebound and having a floor general out there that you can trust. Those are traits of championship teams."
Vorhees agreed:
"TK and Coach Baab have played a big role in my development not only as a player but as a person. As a player they gave me an opportunity to achieve the heights at the DII level that I did. I couldn't have done it without them. Off of the court they forced me out of my comfort zone in a good way and helped prepare me for the real world. I can't thank them enough for that."
Then Vorhees mentioned the short rotation:
"We were not the deepest team in the league, but we had great chemistry on and off the court which is always important, especially when things don't go as we planned during moments of the season. We were able to stick together through that. From a personnel standpoint everyone brought something to the table. Larenz had shot making ability you can't teach, and played at his own pace even when teams our league would try to speed him up with pressure, he remained poised and controlled the rock for us. Best point guard in the league that season. Bruce was our defensive leader, our energy, our mouthpiece, our Swiss army knife. Whatever you needed him to do he would do it. Rebound, guard the best player, get on the refs, call an audible on offense, or simply just give you a bucket. Drew was our sharpshooter and hit some huge shots for us all season. I have seen Drew have some of the craziest hot streaks and so had all the other coaches in the league that had played against Drew for four years up to that point, so I think even just having him on the floor kept defenses honest and allowed us to keep great spacing. Angelo was a great rebounder and low post defender for us and provided us strength and toughness, as well as leadership, which is vital for a great team. Zay was our young high flying freshman. He gave us more dynamic play and athleticism on the court. He has abilities that no-one on the team could duplicate. Obviously he was starting to bud into the player that he is today, but even that version of Zay was instrumental in that championship. Hamish (Warden) was young and tough, and always ready to go in the big games we needed him in. He had big moments and was very useful especially when me or Angelo would get hurt or in foul trouble. HP (Parks) is the real X-factor in that tournament run we had. His 3-point efficiency was incredible over that three game stretch and he was making teams pay for double teams. He just kept hitting big shot after big shot. There's a good chance we don't have those rings without HP. The easiest part about having a short bench that season was we knew who we were going into war with every night, there were not surprises. We all developed a pretty good chemistry and everyone understood the game plan. The hardest part about having a short bench was obviously fatigue throughout an entire season and when guys got hurt, it is very tough to replace a hole in the lineup. By the time we won the MEC Title and went to the national tournament, we had a couple very big holes in our lineup with Renz (Thurman) and Bruce (Hodges) being out."
Scarberry who is now a coach and teacher gave this thought about the rotation:
"Not having a ton of guys to bring off the bench was a little tough. You had to make sure you were in A1 shape the whole season. There was no such thing as an injury, if you could walk you were able to play. We made sure we all got into the training room every day and we took care of ourselves outside the gym and training room as well. I guess the easiest part of playing with a short bench is that you knew you were going to get playing time, but also it put more pressure on you to produce while you were out there on the court. When we look back at this team we were referred to by some members of the BackCourt Club as a "Band of Brothers" and I can't think of a more fitting description. There are still guys that I talk with every day from the team. There are also other guys that I wish I could talk to more. But at the end of the day anyone of those guys could call me up and I would be there in a heartbeat."
Coach Kelsheimer talked about his transfer to Fairmont State:
"NDC was a great time of growth and learning for me. The one thing that I learned from NDC was that a team, and a family, always stick together. Our goal was to bring the culture to Fairmont, and bring together a group of people from different places and teams. At Fairmont State, you can recruit out of the transfer portal, but it is challenging because when you bring high level players from rival schools, team chemistry becomes an issue. NDC is a place where you really bond with your teammates. I think that aspect of the college was underrated, because it helped build that family atmosphere around the team. That is something that other schools just don't have, and as long as I am around the game, I am always going to seek to build that kind of connection where I am. I do think coming to Fairmont brought extra challenges, because deep down Fairmont and NDC have always been big rivals."
Pro Vorhees had this to say:
"My experience at NDC helped give me confidence on and off the floor. My experience as a pro has extremely different depending on which club I have played for. Argentina, Germany, Mexico, and the G-League all have differences in terms of how the league is run, how the game is officiated, competition of basketball, as well as playing style. Basketball has always been a part of my life since I can remember. So much time has been invested into basketball that it has become a passion of mine."
Scarberry gave his thoughts about the championship team:
"When looking at the guys on the team we had a very special group. Will of course was a monster. The man was a bucket wherever you had him on the floor. Larenz was a great ball handler and shooter who really kept us in a flow when it came to the offensive end of the floor. Bruce was the glue guy for the team, he was always a guy who was making sure sure everyone was where they needed to be. He was also the first to the floor when there was a loose ball. Angelo was one of those guys who came in and made the absolute most of their minutes when he was in. He could stretch the floor and was bring and strong enough to beat and battle in the paint with anyone. Hamish was a good switch up because he was more of a finesse big and he gave us good minutes off the bench as well. I think it comes down to more than just attributes and skill sets with this team though. As a team we knew exactly what each other were going to do out there on the floor. We knew everyone's tendencies and how they played. We had a flow about us that went beyond just playing basketball."
Then he talked about growing up with basketball and getting into coaching himself:
"Growing up there were always high expectations to be as good of a player as my dad was. Dad pushed me to be the best player I could be every single day. He would spend hours with me in the driveway shooting and going through drills. We would come into the gym on the weekends and get hundreds of shots up and work on different skills that I was lacking. With him being my coach things didn't come easy when I was playing but I knew that he was pushing me to be the best teammate that I could be and that in turn would make me a better player. We would sit and watch film or games together and dissect how people got open or what kind of offense they were and we would talk about using it with our team. Coaching has been a wonderful experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It has taught me a lot about patience and how to build relationships that will last long after these boys graduate and leave the program. It is definitely a different day and age of basketball with kids these days. I'm not saying I was the toughest player out there but kids and parents these days are not as tough as I remember us being when we were playing. But that's how the world is as a whole now, so as a coach we have to adapt to this new age of basketball player and find ways to get the most out of them on the floor. I use a lot of what I learned from that team in my coaching style and strategies today at Northwest High School. We just came off one of our best years as a program when it comes to wins and losses. I am intervention specialist at the high school as well. Looking back at that title season losing against Roberts Wesleyan and Virginia Wise were definitely low points in the season. But I think that helped us regain our composure and it helped understand that obtaining our goal would not be easy. Knowing that we would now have to win the conference to make the national tournament made it even sweeter when the buzzer sounded in the conference championship game."
Coach Hodges talked about his coaching journey:
"Right now I am assistant varsity basketball coach at Elida High School in Lima, Ohio. I am also the head coach of CLP Elite 2026. It is the most fun in the world, with not being able to do to much playing anymore, coaching is my passion."
Then he gave his thoughts on coaching and his love of basketball:
"Renz and Will were just different. It was the perfect combo. Will had arguably one of the best DII seasons ever that year. Myself being the ultimate role player, the ultimate glue guy. The big three. We had Zay, who was the perfect freshman. He covered every level, could shoot, rebound, pass, and defend at a high level. He was one of a kind. Drew was the shooter. Shot it well all year. HP was the piece, when he played well, we usually played well. He shot so great in the tournament, 8-10 from the 3-point line, he still holds the record. As for the short bench, the hardest part was knowing I couldn't get tired and had played though so many little injuries. The easiest part was knowing all 15 guys had my back. Yes the bond is one in a million. We were a family. When I get married I will invite every single member to my wedding. That's how much those people meant to me. It was a wild season for sure. We had some bad losses! I remember laughing about the Roberts Wesleyan loss after we won the conference. I'll never get over ruining the guys senior night with the loss to Virginia Wise. We made history. As of now still the only team in school history. We are one of one. Without a doubt the best team in school history. The love I have for basketball is different. It is my true love. When I'm having a bad day, basketball, when I'm having a good day, basketball. Truly every day is about basketball in some way! I'm always thinking of new ways to improve my knowledge and our team. I might text Coach Tabler (head varsity coach) at 2 AM thoughts that are going through my head. Basketball is everything. The toughest part of teaching these kids is having to understand that the knowledge for the game isn't where mine is. Where I would do one thing and they don't do it is frustrating but I do understand they have learning to do! They have gotten so much better. The easiest part is the two teams I coach. Most of the guys are coachable and fun to be around. I have guys on my AAU team who we play throughout the regular season and I'm looking forward to it, I can't wait.
Then Coach Kelsheimer talked about the biggest lesson he learned:
"The biggest lesson I learned from NDC is that it is all about the people. At NDC, we never had the biggest budget or the best facilities but we had great people, and great support as well. The transition to JUCO (Junior College) coaching for me was a no-brainer. I met a guy named Gerald Fitch, and I could tell that he is a great person and someone I can connect with. If I can join his staff, I am confident that we can create a family environment that mirrors what we had at NDC. A lot of people think that the nicest arena or the best coach makes a difference, but at the end of thew day, it is all about the people in the community. I think the biggest life lesson I learned from these coaches is to believe in yourself. There are a lot of people, who in my situation, would have chosen to play it safe. They may have gone to live with their parents so that they did not have to worry about paying their own bills, or they may have tried to get married to have someone else to support them. It has something that has given me great strength and belief in what I am doing. I think there is a lot of value to making that jump in life. For me I have not seen it completely pay off yet, but I am confident that if I keep believing, that it will pay off down the road. The other lesson I learned is to treat people right. You never know what anyone is going through. One of my closest friends in life now is current Fairmont State volunteer assistant Kyle Swaim. Coach Swaim has a condition that requires him to be in a wheelchair, but he is one of the smartest, hardest working, and inspirational people that I have ever met. There are a lot of people who would not give Coach Swaim the time of day, but spending time with him at Fairmont State has taught me to never judge a book by its cover. I have promised him that when/if I become a head coach I will hire him to be my head recruiter. I truly believe that this vision is going to come true in the near future, and I am determined to achieve that goal because I know people like him cam make a real difference in the world if they are just given the platform. He is one of the best, if not the best recruiters I have ever met."
They say college is the best four years of life and this team is proof that bonds can last a lifetime.
#FlyAbove
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