'93 men's basketball

 

The 1993 Vikings reached the Division III national title game only three years after finishing with a 7-19 record.

Ridiculously, the Augustana men’s basketball team scored 100 points in Saturday’s sectional championship to reach the NCAA Division III Final Four.

More absurdly still, the last time the Vikings reached the national semifinals, they also hit the century mark.

 

Kirk Anderson set a school record with 734 points in the '92-'93 season.

The 1993 Vikings didn’t have the depth and balance of today’s squad, but they did have the same solid defense, a propensity for pouring in points and a heck of a lot of fun.

Kirk Anderson was among a group of six players from that ’93 group who watched last weekend as the Vikings earned a spot in the national finals.

“The thing that I’m really impressed with is the contributions that all the players on this team make,” Anderson said. “A couple players lead in rebounding or scoring, but so many players can contribute and hurt the other team in different ways.

"I’m not sure how you really defend this team.”

When Anderson led Augustana to the Final Four 22 years ago, the squad was dependent on his 24.5 points a game. In total, he scored 734 points in the ’92-’93 season, a school record that still stands.

What’s most remembered about the ’93 Vikings is that they reached the national semifinals only three years after finishing 7-19.

“I think it was a combination of a lot of things,” Anderson said. “Our chemistry was very strong. The friendships over time have been special.”

A return to prominence began when 1980 Augustana graduate Steve Yount took over as head coach for the ’90-’91 season.

The Vikings went 19-7 in Yount’s first year as Anderson’s scoring role expanded. By ’92-’93, Augustana won its first CCIW title in 11 years, and Anderson was the league’s Player of the Year.

 

Coach Steve Young was only in his third year with the Vikings when they reached the Final Four.

“It was an unbelievably talented group,” said Yount, who also watched this year’s Vikings play last weekend. “I think what I most remember was how great a group it was to coach.

“But the Final Four was an absolute blur.”

Those ’93 Vikings reached the championship game before falling 71-68 to Ohio Northern. The defeat stung, but it stands alongside 1981 as the best finish of any Augustana basketball team out of four Final Four appearances.

This year’s team is positioned to end that championship drought.

“If they have any weakness, it’s the aspect of being human,” said Eric Rowell, who came off the bench for the ’93 Vikings. “I think this team plays some of the best defense that’s ever been played at Augustana.”

Anderson has some advice for the Vikings to make the most of the trip to Salem, Va.

“This is going to be something they’re not going to forget the rest of their lives,” he said. “Just enjoy it. Play loose and don’t get too worried about it.”