Sports: Men's Basketball

Seniors: Four Tourneys, Two Final Fours

FINAL SHOT: Brendan McAllister ’05 launches a buzzer-beating three-pointer to beat Calvin College, sending Rochester to the national title game. (Photo by Russ Higley)

Rochester men’s basketball coach Mike Neer had heard it before. Just like the previous two seasons, the Yellowjackets had lost a talented class of seniors to graduation, and just like the previous two seasons, there was some doubt surrounding the 2004–05 team.

No matter. The ’Jackets erased those doubts with an inspired campaign, posting a 25–5 record for the season and a second-place finish in the NCAA Division III tournament. Neer says the team simply improved steadily as the year went on and as younger players started contributing.

“Each of the last three years, people told us we were going to miss our seniors,” Neer says. “But each year we’ve had people step into the void. We had several young players who developed so much this year.”

The players share those sentiments.

“When we started out, we weren’t that good,” says graduating senior forward and two-time First-Team All-American Seth Hauben ’05. “But by the end of the season we were playing really well. Everyone was coming into their own.”

In addition to the holes left by graduation, the Yellowjackets also faced a series of injuries at the start of the season. But Rochester overcame those obstacles and won 15 of its last 17 games—including a four-game streak in the NCAA tourney that was topped by a come-from-behind, 65–62 win over Calvin College in the national semis—before falling to defending national champion Wisconsin–Stevens Point, 73–49, in the final.

The team’s seniors—Hauben and guards Brendan McAllister, Ryan Mee, and Gabe Perez—finished their Rochester careers with a four-year record of 97–17, four NCAA tournament appearances, and two trips to the Final Four.

For McAllister, the 2004–05 campaign topped them all. He tabs the squad’s camaraderie and chemistry as the primary catalysts for the successful stretch run.

“It was my favorite season,” says McAllister, who sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer to finish off Calvin. “We grew so much. From beginning to end we grew and got better every single day. It was just a great success.”

The season also capped a brilliant career for Hauben, who finished third in school history in points (1,713) and first in rebounds (1,113). In addition to his All-America accolades, Hauben was twice named the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ East Region Player of the Year, earned Academic All-America status from ESPN: The Magazine, and was named Division III Men’s Player of the Year for the 2004–05 season by DIII News.

Hauben says that while he experienced countless high points both individually and as part of a team during his Rochester career, his favorite memories are much more modest.

“It’s the little things,” he says. “It’s watching people step up when we needed them to. At the start we were playing with seven people. “But by the end people were stepping into their roles and coming up with big plays.”

—Ryan Whirty