Published: March 19, 2015
Hartford Union: 1988
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
A pair of losses to Beaver Dam and West Bend West to end the
1987-88 regular season put Hartford Union’s boys basketball team in a rough
spot with an uninspiring 12-8 record.
Coach Doran Timmer came up with the solution to fix it,
albeit it was an odd proposal, especially from a first-year coach.
Timmer looked at his team of 15 players — eight juniors and
seven seniors — and said to them to vote on the starting lineup for the
Orioles’ next game, against favorite Germantown in the regional.
“I think it empowered us a little bit,” said Dan Held, a
senior on the team. “He told us it’s our team, if you want it, it’s on you
guys. I think it pulled us together.”
In the game against Germantown, the Orioles defeated the
favored Warhawks, 68-49. Then the Orioles beat Sussex Hamilton, 59-55, to win
the regional.
Suddenly, the Orioles had momentum.
“We just peaked at the right time,” said Matt Schaefer, a
junior on the time.
The Orioles beat Oconomowoc, 54-45, in the sectional
semifinal and then won a triple-overtime thriller, 63-61, over Milwaukee Rufus
King to win the sectional and send the Orioles to state for the first time in
35 years.
“That was the highlight,” Held said of the Orioles beating
the Generals. “That was a lot of fun. I just remember being nervous as hell
getting the ball. Nobody thought we were gong to win the game.”
King was one of the top teams in the state at the time. The
Generals were quicker, more athletic and more talented.
“Our coach prepared us well,” Held said.
Mike Hatch, a 6-foot-6 senior forward, and Bryan Canfield, a
6-foot-4 junior forward, were the Orioles’ leading scorers that season. Hatch
was an unanimous first-team All-Wisconsin Little Ten Conference selection,
while Canfield was second team.
Matt Marvin, a senior guard, was honorable mention.
The Orioles finished third in the WLT that season.
Offensively, they averaged 61.2 points per game, while allowing 57.0 points per
game.
It wasn’t a team that dazzled spectators.
“We were a tough defensive and rebounding team,” Held said.
“Bryan Canfield was our big middle guy and Matt Marvin was our point guard. He
ran the show.
“Our objective was to get the rebound and push the ball down
the floor. Once in the offensive set, we would go through Hatch or Canfield.”
Held was the first or second player off the bench throughout
the regular season. The team voted him a starter before the postseason began.
“That was one of my big memories,” Held said. “These guys
wanted me to start. I didn’t expect my teammates to vote me in.”
Going into the season, like it is with most teams, winning
the WLT was the goal. But the Orioles struggled to finish the season, starting
with a loss to West Bend East with six games to go in the regular season.
“When we lost to East the second time, it was kind of a
let-down,” Schaefer said. “We thought we had a chance to win the conference.”
The Orioles were .500 in the final six games of the regular
season.
“We had a couple bad weeks of basketball,” Schaefer said.
“That’s what made our run a surprise.”
While Hartford may not have been as gifted, talent wise, as
King, the Orioles had an idea of playing under the spotlight.
Several players on the team played three sports — football,
basketball and baseball. In the spring of 1987, the Orioles’ baseball team went
to state.
Held went on to play professional baseball and was a coach
in two World Series, including winning one in 2006 with the St. Louis
Cardinals.
He said winning the World Series had a similar feeling to
when the Orioles beat the Generals in the sectional final 18 years earlier.
“I don’t think anybody was thinking state,” Held said. “The
numbers were stacked against us.”
“I remember the dog pile on the court and telling the guys
that I loved them,” Held said. “I remember the cheerleaders rushing the court
and the celebration in the locker room. It was just excitement.”
Even though several of the basketball team members had been
in a state atmosphere, nothing compared to playing in front of more than 12,000
people at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison.
“I just remember being overwhelmed by the size of the
arena,” Held said.
Hartford played Onalaska in the Class A state quarterfinal
and lost 66-49.
Hatch and Held each led the Orioles with 10 points.
“He had a rough game at state,” Held said of Hatch. “To me
that was why we couldn’t get anything going. He got into foul trouble.”
The Orioles also struggled shooting the ball, 17 of 51 (33.3
percent).
Onalaska went on to win the state championship, beating
Neenah, 70-62, in the final.
“It pops in my mind, especially when I come home and see the
sign,” Held said.
“But it was awesome,” he added. “But it went too fast like
all good moments do.”
“It’s pretty special,” Schaefer said. “There’s a lot of
people that have never been able to make the state tournament. It was an
honor.”
No comments:
Post a Comment