Jeremy Rushing
Contributing Writer
How do you follow up a year in which you won the most games in school history, achieved the program’s first No. 1 ranking, and made the school’s first Final Four appearance? It’s not easy, but the North Central College men’s basketball team is looking to do just that.
The Cardinals come into this season having graduated two of their best players from last year in Derek Raridon and Aaron Tiknis. With that being said, much of that Final Four team is back this season, led by seniors Landon Gamble, Vince Kmiec, Pat Rourke and Brandon Williams.
“They’ve meant a lot,” said Head Coach Todd Raridon about this year’s senior class. “These kids have made a huge impact on our program.”
The team this year is fronted by d3hoops.com preseason first-team All-American forward Gamble, who has played a major role on the team during his career at North Central.
Gamble averaged over 14 points per game last season and has been an All-Conference player since his freshman year.
“Landon’s an interesting guy because he’s not that tall,” said captain guard Kmiec of Gamble’s 6-foot, 6-inch frame. “His post game is pretty polished, though.”
Like Gamble, Kmiec has become a vital member for NCC. Last season, the Palos Park native set a school record with 67 steals, ranking No. 2 in the CCIW.
Kmiec also led the team in free throw percentage, shooting 85.7 percent from the free throw line. Kmiec saved his best performance for when the Cardinals needed it the most, scoring a career-high 31 points in their national quarterfinal victory over Middlebury.
Starting off this season on the right foot, Kmiec scored a game-high 29 points in the Cardinals season opener. Kmiec also led everyone on the floor with nine rebounds in the contest.
“Vince has always been able to shoot,” said coach Raridon. “He’s really improved on the defensive end.”
The main story heading into this year has nothing to do with the players or coaches on the floor, it’s about what’s around the court. New bleachers were installed to all four sides of Gregory Arena, increasing capacity to 2,500.
“I can’t wait to see the new bleachers filled,” said senior point guard Williams. “I’m really excited.”
North Central started their 2013-14 campaign by finishing second in the annual Chicago Marriot Naperville Tipoff Tournament at Gregory Arena this weekend.
The Cardinals started off the season defeating Valor Christian College 100-72 Friday night before falling in the championship game to DePauw University.
In the season-opening win, sophomore Kevin Honn stepped up with 11 first-half points, while junior Jack Burchett scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half. Burchett was also 10 of 13 from the free-throw line, all of which came in the second half.
The Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field in the game and 47 percent from the three-point line. NCC out-rebounded the Warriors 46 to 27 and tallied 25 assists to only 13 turnovers.
In the championship game Saturday night, the Cardinals mastered only 25 first half points and lost control of the game in the second half en route to a 77-64 loss at the hands of the DePauw Tigers.
The Tigers shot a shocking 55 percent from the field and an impressive 52 percent from beyond the arc.
To make matters worse for North Central, the Tigers made seven of the nine three-pointers they took in the second half.
NCC shot over 40 percent from the field but only Kmiec found his way into double-digits, finishing the night with 17 points.
North Central was out-rebounded 31 to 27 in their first loss at Gregory Arena since February 11th, 2012.
Despite the early loss, there’s plenty to be excited about as a Cardinals fan.
The team is ranked No. 6 nationally by d3hoops.com and returns all but three of their players from last season.
With three teams ranked in the top six nationally, the CCIW is looking to be the premiere conference in men’s Division III basketball this season with Illinois Wesleyan being ranked No. 2 along with Wheaton being ranked No. 5.
“I personally think this is the best conference in the country,” said Kmiec. “I can’t remember the last time a team was ranked third in their conference and sixth in the nation.”
The Cardinals non-conference schedule includes two East Coast trips over winter break.
North Central travels to Bridgewater, Va., Dec. 13 and 14 to play in the Bridgewater College Don Glick Classic before making the trip to Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 20 and 21 for the Athlete Connections Holiday Classic.
“Those games are tough,” said Kmiec. “Going on those long road trips gets you geared up for conference and postseason play.”
After going to the Final Four, the program will always look back on last season as one of the best seasons in history. But if you ask anyone on the team this year, they have bigger plans for this season.
“Our goal this year is to repeat what we did last year, excel past that, and win a national championship,” said Gamble.
