Governors State University’s Men’s Basketball Team
Contents
GSU Men’s Basketball is a NCAA Division I program that competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference
The Men’s Basketball Team’s History
Governors State University’s men’s basketball team has a long and storied history. The team was founded in 1967, and since then, they have won 12 conference championships and made 11 NCAA Division II tournament appearances. The team is currently coached by Jim Crutchfield, who has been at the helm since the 2014-15 season.
During the team’s early years, they were coached by George Halas Jr., the son of legendary Chicago Bears Head Coach George Halas Sr. Halas Jr. led the team to their first conference championship in 1971 and their first NCAA Division II tournament appearance in 1972. He would go on to coach the team for 12 seasons, winning two more conference championships and making three more NCAA tournament appearances.
In 1984, the team hired Jim Ryan as their head coach Ryan would go on to have the longest tenure of any Head Coach in GSU history, coaching the team for 20 seasons from 1984-2004. During his time at GSU, Ryan led the team to eight conference championships and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. His teams were known for their tough defense and high scoring offenses, and he is widely considered to be one of the best coaches in GSU history.
Since Ryan’s retirement in 2004, the team has had four different head coaches Under Crutchfield’s leadership, the team has won two conference championships and made one NCAA tournament appearance.
The Team’s Current Roster
The current roster of GSU Men’s Basketball team includes:
The Team’s Schedule
The GSU Men’s basketball team has a long and storied history. The team has been to the NCAA tournament four times, most recently in 2019. The team has also won two conference championships, in 1998 and 2019.
The 2020-2021 Season is the team’s 50th season of play. The team will look to build on their success from last year, when they went 22-10 overall and 16-4 in conference play
This year’s schedule is as follows:
11/6 – vs. Robert Morris
11/10 – vs. UIW
11/13 – at Bradley
11/17 – vs. Eastern Illinois
11/20 – at Northern Illinois
11/24 – vs. Youngstown State
12/1 – at Detroit Mercy
12/4 – vs. Valparaiso
12/8 – at Green Bay
12/15 – vs. UW-Milwaukee
The Team’s Results
The GSU men’s Basketball team has seen much success in recent years They have advanced to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament four times, most recently in 2019. They have also won the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) regular season title four times and the GLVC Tournament Championship twice.
The Team’s Fans
The team’s fans areoptimistic for the season. They are looking forward to seeing the new recruits play and to cheering on their favorite players
The Team’s Coaches
The men’s basketball team at Governors State University is coached by Lance White and Luke Yaklich. White is the Head coach and Yaklich is the Assistant Coach Both coaches have years of experience coaching basketball at the collegiate level. They have a wealth of knowledge about the game of basketball and they use this knowledge to help their team be successful.
The Team’s Home Court
The Jaguars play their home games at the GSU Pavilion, which is located on the university’s campus in University Park, Illinois. The arena has a capacity of 4,500 people and opened in 1976. The team competes in the NCAA Division II and is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference
The Team’s Rivals
Governors State University’s Men’s basketball team like any other team, has rivals. A “rival” is defined as, “a person or thing having the same purpose or effect as another but more powerful or successful.” (Dictionary.com). GSU’s Men’s basketball team has three rivals: Lewis University, Purdue University Northwest, and Roosevelt University.
GSU and Lewis have been heated rivals since the early days of the program. The two schools are only 30 minutes away from each other and are in the same conference (Great Lakes Valley Conference or GLVC). The two teams have played each other 84 times in their history with GSU leading the all-time series 42-42.
Purdue Northwest joined the GLVC in 2017 and quickly became a rival of GSU. The two schools are only an hour away from each other and share many commonalities. Both PNW and GSU are public universities with a majority of commuter students. The difference is that PNW is a part of the Purdue University System while GSU is a part of the Illinois State system. The two teams have played each other 15 times in their history with PNW leading the all-time series 8-7.
Roosevelt joined the GLVC in 2019 and replaced Quincy University as GSU’s closest rival. Like Quincy, Roosevelt is located in Chicago and competes against GSU for local recruits. The two schools also share many commonalities including being public universities with a majority of commuter students. The difference is that Roosevelt is a part of the City Colleges of Chicago while GSU is a part of the Illinois State system .The two teams have played each other 5 times in their history with Roosevelt leading the all-time series 3-2.
The Team’s Conference
The Governors State University’s Men’s basketball team competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The team is a member of the Chicagoland collegiate athletic conference (CCAC).
The Team’s Post-Season
The Governors State University’s Men’s Basketball team had an amazing post-season, especially considering they were ranked 12th in the conference. The team went on to win 3 out of their 4 games, with their only loss coming at the hands of the number 1 seed in the conference tournament The team’s success can be attributed to their strong defense and ability to rebound the ball, as well as their balanced scoring attack.
