FORT SILL, Okla. (April 17, 2014) -- The Fort Sill Cannoneers men's basketball team won the National U.S. Military Basketball Championship by defeating Tinker Air Force Base 92-71 April 13, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
It was an amazing run because the team was created just this season with new players. Despite a middling regular season record of 11-13, the Cannoneers got hot at the right time rolling through the nationals unscathed at 4-0.
"We earned every bit of that championship," said Larry Anderson, Cannoneers coach. "When we started the season we were probably the worst team in the Central U.S. Military Conference and were playing against conference teams who had been together three or four years."
In their first game at a tournament at Hollomon Air Force Base, N.M., the Cannoneers had a 30-point loss to conference rival Fort Bliss, Texas, in August. Fort Bliss won the national championship in 2013.
After the loss, Anderson sat down with the team.
"I told them that we can either be the 'practice squad' that everybody looks forward to beating or we can be a team to be reckoned with. The choice is yours," Anderson said. "All I need is hard work and dedication."
The team got progressively better as the players became familiar with each others play, did skill and conditioning drills under the guidance of Anthony Redd, and as individuals, performed additional conditioning on their own time, the coach said.
Anderson also credits the early-season addition of assistant coach LaToya Marshall.
"She and I worked well together as a team. I relied on her basketball knowledge as well as she relied on mine, and so did the players. She would sometimes see things in the game that I might not be focusing on, which was a great help," Anderson said.
Team captain Justin Wiggins was also instrumental in getting the team to gel and play together.
"He wasn't afraid to praise his teammates or tell them to get it together," Anderson said.
The Cannoneers did not initially get a nod to the championship tournament, unlike Tinker, who did so by winning the Central U.S. Military Basketball Conference championship. Fort Bliss entered as the conference the runner-up.
An automatic bid slipped away when the Cannoneers fell to Fort Bliss 100-99 here March 16, in the conference championship tournament.
"The team felt so disappointed because they felt like they had not only let themselves down, but also Fort Sill," Anderson said.
CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The National U.S. Military Basketball Championship tournament took the top two teams from each conference -- eight teams, plus four more teams DoD-wide, who would have to qualify. The Cannoneers were accepted based on their conference play. With three weeks to prepare for the nationals, the team concentrated on their defensive play.
"We knew we were a good team, but also knew that our defense needed a lot of work if we wanted to win nationals. I'm a firm believer that defense wins games," Anderson said.
In their first game April 11, the Cannoneers played Lackland, another conference rival.
"We played Lackland three times at two tournaments and had never beaten them," Anderson said. "We came close, but could never get over that hump."
Going into the game the strategy was to play great defense, Anderson said. It worked as the Cannoneers defeated Lackland 83-77.
The next day the Cannoneers expected to play Fort Bliss because the Texans had a 22-point lead over Hurlburt Field, Fla., but the Air Force rallied to eke out a 2-point win, Anderson said. The Cannoneers had hoped to play Fort Bliss, who they were 3-3 against during the regular season and tournament play, because the players believed they had something to settle.
"We weren't familiar with Hurlburt, and they didn't know us either," Anderson said. "Once we recognized who their shooters were we made sure they didn't have open shots. We stayed with our 3-2 zone defense."
The Cannoneers cruised to a double digit win over Hurlburt, 75-63.
The team's next foe, Tinker, took the floor with momentum on their side. The Cannoneers had only beaten them once in about five tries, Anderson said. Other teams shared Fort Sill's frustration as Tinker toyed with its opponents winning all but two regular season games, and one of those was by forfeit.
"Tinker was our Achilles' heel," Anderson chuckled. "Tinker is a great team. They have a couple guys who are 3-point shooters and they have a great inside game."
The Cannoneers knew they had to shut down the outside shooters and the team's center, Anderson said. A 35-second clock is used in play and the Cannoneer 3-2 defense forced Tinker to rush a few shots.
Following the conference tournament, the Cannoneers picked up 6-foot, 7-inch center Rashaun Warren, who just got stationed at Fort Sill. "He was a tremendous help, along with the defensive savvy of forward Brian Burns, guard Brandon Benefield and the efforts of backup center Misael Baker."
The Cannoneers pummeled Tinker 95-65, as the Airmen fell into the loser's bracket where they would have to play tournament favorite Fort Carson, Colo. Tinker beat Carson and faced Fort Sill for the championship.
Though focused on defense, Cannoneer firepower seized the momentum early as the team built at 14-point lead, 48-34 at intermission. Forward Ella Ellis led the way nailing six 3-pointers; Benefield chipped in seven points.
In the second half, Baker tallied all 18 of his points to secure the 92-71 victory.
Ellis, later named tournament MVP, finished with 19 points. Ellis, along with teammates Warren, Wiggins and Harvey Shaw, received invitations to try-out this fall for the All Army Basketball team.
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