Daugherty leads Goshen College men’s basketball team to best start in school history

Daugherty leads Goshen College men’s basketball team to best start in school history

GOSHEN, Ind. — When Stan Daugherty took the helm of the Goshen College men’s basketball program at the start of the 2001-2002 season, he knew it would take time to turn the NAIA Division II program around. What he couldn’t have known was that in just his third season, the Maple Leafs would be off to their best start in the school’s history, taking an 18-4 overall record after reeling off 16 straight wins. A 20-win season is a feat never before accomplished in the program’s history.

“I have been pleasantly surprised at our overall record to this point,” Daugherty said. “I knew that we would have the best team that I have had in my three years at Goshen, but I didn’t know how quickly we would come together as a team. Our players have done an excellent job of working together and attempting to do what the coaching staff has asked.”

Daugherty, an Alexandria, Ind., native and 1976 Taylor University graduate, guided Goshen to a 7-26 record in his first season as a collegiate head coach and a 13-20 overall mark in the 2002-2003 campaign. Solid recruiting and the improvement of a hard-working group of upperclassmen has given Goshen its best start to a season since the program’s inception in 1954, three games better than the school’s 11-1 record in the 1956-1957 season.

“Two things about Coach Daugherty, he can teach and he is patient,” said Cory Furman, head assistant coach. “He knows there are no quick-fixes in basketball if you really want to get better as a program. What people are seeing now is a three-year work in progress, and I think we’ll continue to improve.”

Daugherty has recruited in nine new players since his arrival to Goshen and has helped mature a hard-working group of five seniors on this year’s team. Goshen’s only losses of the season have been to top-ranked Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Huntington (Ind.) College, Taylor University (Upland, Ind.) and Indiana Wesleyan University (Marion, Ind.).

“We have an extremely unselfish group of people on this basketball team that have no personal agendas,” Daugherty said. “The seniors have been outstanding in their leadership and acceptance of the new players, and have also played the best basketball of their careers so far. We have played 10 to 12 players each game, and everyone contributes something to our success. We share the basketball better than any team I have been a part of, and I think that is a big reason why we are playing as well as we are.”

Daugherty is no stranger to success on the Indiana hardwood, as he brought a wealth of basketball experience with him to Goshen. Daugherty was an Indiana high school boys’ basketball coach for 15 years at five different schools, compiling an overall win-loss record of 182-146. He spent eight years as the head assistant men’s basketball coach at Anderson University (NCAA Division III, Anderson, Ind.), and helped guide the Ravens to three straight winning seasons in his last three years, including a 20-6 finish in 1998-1999.

Now Daugherty’s task becomes succeeding in what is arguably the toughest conference in the country at the NAIA Division II level, as four of the eight Mid-Central Conference teams enter the new year ranked in the nation’s top 30 poll.

Daugherty said, “We have no illusions about our schedule in that we know the conference games will be the most difficult part of the year. I do believe that our start will give us confidence to compete at a high level each night out in the league, however. There are so many solid teams that each night will take our best effort to have a chance to win. Regardless of how we finish the season, I know that I will get a great effort from this bunch of players every night.”

For the latest scores, game recaps and recruiting news, visit the official site of Goshen College Athletics at: http://www.goleafs.net/.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.