My alma mater, North Park College (now University), completely dominated NCAA Division III Mens Basketball just prior to my arrival on campus. With a cumulative record of 86-10, in 1978, 1979, and 1980, NPC won the national championship three times in a row. Growing up in Minnesota, I never saw any of those early championship teams play; instead, I only heard about their successes. In 1985, I am a co-ed, and NPC won its FOURTH national championship! In so doing, I do not believe I missed a single regular-season home game – the Vikings went 15-0 at home – en route to an overall record of 27-4.
Bosko Djurickovic, the Vikings’ first-year head coach who had been an assistant coach during the three-year 1970s championship reign, had also been a beloved star Viking hoopster. Bosko retained his assistant coach Keith McDonald who also played basketball for the Vikings, earning all-conference honors three times. Mark Pytel returned for his second year as an assistant coach.
The senior dominated 1985 team comprised of five who had been on campus for four years, including returning 6’ 5” All-American Justyne Monegain (he repeated his AA accolades and earned conference MVP), 6’ 7” rebounding machine Lars Anderson (he would lead the conference with 12.6 rpg), 6’ 1” small forward/shooting guard Adam Lazich would finish third in team rebounding, and 6’ 1” Johnny Kuehn, a defensive specialist who had a knack for creating a charging foul. 6’ 4” Matt Schwartz backed up Monegain and Lazich. Two senior transfers started in the back court. DIII transfer Terry Egan played 14 games at the two spot before sustaining a season-ending knee injury. Monegain’s HS teammate, 6’ 0” Earnest Hubbard, arrived on campus from a DII school for this sensational season. His arrival was crucial to overall success, especially in the Final Four NCAA tournament.
During the season, Lars Anderson, Adam Lazich, and 5’ 11” Sophomore PG Mike “Sonny” Parker, each led the team in scoring once. The All-American led the Vikings in scoring 20 times. Lars Anderson led the team in rebounding 23/31 times. If blocking shots were kept as a statistic, I would wager Lars finished in the nation’s top five. This was not a tall team that basically played a three-guard offense. The team’s tallest player, Mike Sofrenovic (6’ 8” 240 lbs) spelled Lars for a few minutes each half with a game stat sheet indicating more fouls than points.
I knew Justyne all four years. I got to know Earnest as a friend because he roomed with Justyne in the dorm, directly across the hall from me and my roommate, a Swedish exchange student. One day while I threw the Frisbee with Earnie and a couple others in River Park, I thought I sailed one way over Earnie’s head. Nope. He had springs in those legs! He skyed straight up to grab the disc. Several youngsters shrieked at what they had just witnessed and asked Earnie and I to replicate the feat.
Once the playoffs started, I frolicked in Florida on spring break, missing all three games that North Park hosted. The Vikings completely dominated the first game at home by 40 points! In game two, against the defending national champions, North Park won a nailbiter by two in OT. Next up, the nation’s #1 team, which North Park beat by two points. (North Park finished #4, nationally). While at a bar the ticker of a fledgling cable channel called ESPN advised me and my posse that North Park beat Wittenburg to qualify for the Final Four. Later that day Paul “The Legend” Johnson and Dr. Superintendent Robert Haley easily defeated Penn State University in the championship of a beer chugging competition.
Calvin College (MI) hosted the Final Four, which I attended. North Park won the semi-final by five points with Monegain and Hubbard scoring 26 and 24 points, respectively. Lazich and Earnie scored 18 and 29 points, respectively, in the championship game. The NCAA named Earnie the tourney MVP with Justyne joining the all-tournament team. Those two weeks constituted some of the finest memories of my undergraduate career!!!!
1987 Men’s Division III Basketball Championship Memories With Pix, by Mark Erickson
(All photos were taken by North Park’s legendary, multi-talented, Religion professor, Calvin Katter.)
