Bigger Than Basketball

Former Minnesota State men's basketball guard
Cam Hodges is a player development coach with the NBA's
Philadelphia 76ers (76ers photo)

Cam Hodges, a Minneapolis native, spent the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons with the Minnesota State men’s basketball team where he averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds as a junior and 13.7 points and 4.8 rebounds as a senior. His junior season almost didn’t happen because of a military commitment. He has since been honorably discharged from the military.

Under the guidance of veteran head coach Matt Margenthaler, Hodges and the Mavericks finished the 2010-11 season with a 28-5 record. Named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Hodges enjoyed a stellar senior season, earning Second-Team All-NSIC honors. The 6-foot-5 guard helped lead Minnesota State on a memorable run through the NCAA tournament which led all the way to the NCAA DII Final Four in Springfield, Mass.  The Mavericks eventually fell to second-ranked Bellarmine in the national semifinals, but Hodges was playing his best basketball, tallying a career-high 24 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the loss to the Knights.

Following his collegiate career, Hodges played professionally in Romania, Hungary, Luxembourg and Slovenia.

Stemming from an internship with the National Basketball Association's G League that he competed in 2015, Hodges knew that he wanted to coach in some capacity.

“I knew I wanted to coach once I was done playing, I just wasn't sure at what level,” Hodges said. “I kind of found my path once I did an internship in the NBA G League and the rest is history,” he said.

And he did just that, becoming an assistant coach under one of the NBA’s legendary coaching minds, Gregg Popovich.

Hodges spent three seasons with Popovich and the Spurs, serving as a player development assistant during the 2018-19 season, where he worked under shooting coach Chip Engelland, who took over as San Antonio’s head of player development after Brett Brown left to take the head coaching job with the Philadelphia 76ers.

After three seasons with the Spurs, Hodges was hired as a player development coach with the Sixers, where he currently works individually with three players.

“Day-to-day, I'm in charge of the development of three players on our roster. It's usually some on-court development work followed by some individual film sessions with those players to identify areas we are excelling in and areas we can improve in,” Hodges said.

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Hodges gives a lot of credit to Margenthaler and the rest of the Minnesota State coaching staff for putting him in the position he is in today. 

“The impact that the coaching staff at Minnesota State had on me was huge,” Hodges said. “I realized that coaching wasn't about the X's and O's. At the core of it, it's all about relationships. They brought out the best in me on the court and helped me develop into a better man off the court because of the time and energy they invested in me as a human being before a ball player. So naturally I wanted to have a career that would allow me to serve others,” he said.

Another trait that Hodges carries over from MSU to his career is accountability.

“I think the biggest lesson I learned from my time at MSU was being able to hold myself accountable day in and day out,” Hodges said. “If for one second Coach thinks you're slacking, you will be called out in front of the group. Being able to hold yourself accountable every day and perform your job the best you can was the mindset and that has carried over into my coaching career and my personal life,” he said.

When asked what his favorite part of his career is, Hodges gave a simple but incredibly important answer that he learned from his time with the Mavericks.

“The relationships,” Hodges said. “Investing my energy into another person to help them get to where they are trying to go in life and their career. In sports, we are all trying to accomplish something greater than ourselves and being able to play my role in doing so I find very fulfilling,” Hodges said.

Looking into what the future may hold for him, Hodges isn’t concerned about it as he focuses on his time with the Sixers.

“Honestly, I really try not to think about the future too much,” Hodges said. “I try to focus on learning and developing myself every day and life will come together like it should,” he said. 

Contributed by Collin Wilmes, Minnesota State Athletic Communications Intern

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Added Weight

It takes a village to achieve success in intercollegiate athletics.  

And in the village known as Minnesota State Athletics, in which the football and women's soccer programs simultaneously own #1 national rankings and other teams are enjoying similar notariety, the coaches point to the school's strength and conditioning program as one of the primary reasons its teams rank amongst the nation's best.

Housed in the bowels of Taylor Center, the Minnesota State Athletics weight room spans more than 7,300 square feet under the west end of the building.

Under the guidance of Glandorf, Ohio native Tom Inkrott, who has run the program since the fall of 2009, Maverick Strength and Conditioning's priority is injury prevention. "Along with that," said Inkrott, who graduated from Bowling Green in 2006, "we want to improve our student-athletes' performance each and every year they are here. Thirdly, we'd feel we can have a positive impact on our student-athletes, helping them to realize what they are capable of both in the weight room and outside of it as well."

With 17 squat racks, eight platforms, five lat pull down machines, three sets of dumbells that range from five lbs to 150 lbs, 15 medicine balls, various size bands, three sets of long ropes, a power plate, stationary bikes, three big tires, seven benches, four Russian plyo boxes, three plyo boxes and a vertimax, Inkrott and his staff, have an array of equipment to work with in providing programming for the Mavericks.

"We do have a nice room," said Inkrott. "But the unique thing about exercise and lifting weights is that it helps build self confidence. An attribute our student-athletes can apply on the field, court, ice, track, water, etc. And in the classroom, in their jobs and life adventures."

In addition to Inkrott, the strength and conditioning staff also includes two graduate assistants and three interns.

Matt Margenthaler, who has constructed a 284-111 record in 13 seasons as head coach of the Minnesota State men's basketball program and led the Mavericks to a NCAA DII Elite 8 appearance in 2010-11, says that the school's strength and conditioning program have played a vital role in his team's sustained excellence.  "Tom and his staff play a big piece of the puzzle developing elite athletes. It makes them stronger, more explosive and aids is preventing injuries. We couldn't do it without them."

It's great to be a Maverick.

 

Pro Hoops - Margenthaler Era

Travis Nelson, now playing professionally in
the Czech Republic with Pardubice, was an
All-American for Minnesota State in 2009-10

The Minnesota State men's basketball teams have averaged more than 21 wins a season and appeared in the NCAA postseason in eight of the last nine years. 

And with the success that our men's basketball program has had under Matt Margenthaler, in which Minnesota State has racked up 254 wins from 2001 through the end of the 2012-13 season, it's no surprise that many student-athletes are getting opportunities to continue playing following their college careers with the Mavericks.

One former Maverick, Jermaine Brown, who played on Margenthaler's first MSU team in 2001-02, just recently retired after six seasons touring with the Harlem Globetrotters. Jamel Staten, who played for Margenthaler from 2003-05, is still at it, having hooped it up in China and now Bahrain. 

Spread out world-wide, several former players have found employment in Europe. There's a couple currently playing in Slovenia and a two others in Luxembourg.  One in Brazil, one in the Dominican Republic, another in Australia and, yes, one in the U.S.

Thought we might take a quick look at where some of these players have ended up after time well spent in Mankato, both retired and current.

Jermaine Brown (2001-03)  Harlem Globetrotters (retired)
Luke Anderson (2002-07) Dnipro (Ukraine), Minn T'Wolves Summer League, D League (retired)
Tony Thomasson (2003-07) Muenchen (Germany) (retired)
Paris Kyles (2005-07) Stalowa (Poland) (retired)
Jamel Staten (2003-05) Beijing Aoshen (China), Monama (Bahrain)
Corey Easley (2005-06) Perry Lakes (Australia)
Atila Santos (2006-08) Palmeiras (Brazil)
Harry Boyce (2008-09) Santiago (Dominican Republic)
Travis Nelson (2008-10) Sentjur (Slovenia), Pardubice (Czech Republic)
Cameron Hodges (2009-11) Red Miners (Luxembourg), Tajifun (Slovenia)
Jefferson Mason (2009-11) Contern (Luxembourg)
Marcus Hill (2007-11) Texas Fuel (ABA)
Jarvis Williams (2012-13) Black Star Mersch (Luxembourg)

Happy Holidays! It's great to be a Maverick.

The Frenchman

Don Amiot served as MSU's
Director of Athletics from
1988-2002

Change.

Not the kind you find in your pocket when you're about to go to bed.

But the kind of change that occurs during the course of a 14-year career as director of athletics and if there's one word that defined Don Amiot's time in that role at Minnesota State which began in 1988 and ended in 2002, it was change.

"If there's one thing I've learned is that change is constant," said Amiot.

Indeed.  During his time in charge of Maverick Athletics, it must have seemed like an everyday occurrence.

When he first came on board the Maverick men's athletic department was separate from the women's and Amiot coupled with Georgene Brock, the women's AD, to run things. When Brock retired in 1999, Amiot oversaw both departments. He was involved with the developent and building of the Mankato Civic Center (now known as Verizon Wireless Center), which opened in 1995. The school added women's soccer in 1996 and women's hockey became a reality in 1998.  The men's hockey program transitioned from NCAA Division III to Division I and was accepted into the Western Collegiate Hockey Association beginning in 1999-2000. Taylor Center came online in 2000 and a new Myers Field House opened the following year.

And while he can't take credit for it, the school that was known as Mankato State became Minnesota State University, Mankato in 1998.

Now, more than ten years removed from the day-to-day running of the department, Amiot says he looks back on his time with great pride.

"We had our challenges, certainly," he said from his Mankato home. "But we worked hard every day to respond to what those were.  We were able to get things done and it's great to see how far things have come since then."

Pointing to the success of several current teams the Crookston, Minn., native feels the Mavericks will continue to ascend.

"Things continue to evolve. With the break up of the North Central Conference and the move to another league in the Northern Sun, unquestionably, that's affected things.  I don't know how anyone can look at the overall success of the programs and say that that's a bad thing.  I watched the football game Saturday online and, while you certainly didn't like to see the game end the way it did, it's incredible to think what those young men have accomplished over the course of the last two seasons.  And they should continue to be one of the top teams in the country the next year and the year after that." 

"The key has always been putting good people in charge of programs.  And the school has done that." said Amiot. " I look at when we hired Matt Margentler to run our men's basketball program in 2001. He hadn't been a head coach at this level, but he brought a tremendous amount of energy and the timing was right.  He's surrounded himself with great people like Mike Schott and it's not a coincidence, especially with Taylor Center, that the men's program is considered one of the best in the country."

Although Amiot and his wife, Jo, still have their home in Mankato, they spend three or four of the winter months at their Arizona residence near Apache Junction. "There's a number of Minnesotans there, including Ron Hybertson (former MSU professor who served as the school's faculty representative during Amiot's career). And we enjoy visiting our grandkids in the Twin Cities and Madison (Wis.)."

It's great to be Maverick!

We're #1 and, um, some other stuff

Peter McGahey has led the Minnesota
State women's soccer team to a #1
ranking for the first time in the program's
history

With several of our programs doing so well this fall, it seems like it's been week after week of each team topping one another in terms of accomplishments.

The football team is undefeated. The Maverick men's cross country team won its first two meets of the year. The volleyball team defeated four-time defending national champion Concordia in a five-set match played before a large and noisy crowd in Taylor Center, etc.   

So you knew it was going to take something truly significant to really cause a stir.  That moment came Tuesday morning when it was announced that the National Collegiate Soccer Coaches Association released information that the Maverick women's soccer program had been rated #1 in the nation. 

Obviously being ranked as the top team in the land is unique, but for coach Peter McGahey and his crew the ranking took on added meaning due to the fact that it's the first time for the program.  That and the fact that at most schools, no matter what the sport, it really doesn't happen every week.

Besides women's soccer this week, recent Minnesota State teams rated #1 include: women's basketball (March 3, 2009. MSU was ranked #1 three times that year), wrestling (Feb. 7, 2008. MSU was rated #1 twice that year), men's basketball (Feb. 1, 2005).Women's soccer is rated #1 for the first time in the program's history.  So besides being the first time for women's soccer, it's also only the fourth time for a MSU team recently and the first since women's basketball back in 2009.

The Mavericks, who stand 12-1-1 on the year, head into this weekend riding a ten-game winning streak and a 12-game unbeaten streak.

As mentioned, a number of teams are enjoying great years.  Besides the #1 ranking by women's soccer, football is #2 in D2Football.com poll/#9 in AFCA poll, volleyball is rated #13, men's cross country ranks #16th and women's cross country is #20th. 

Speaking of cross country, the Maverick men are perfectly positioned for a return trip the national meet, which takes place Nov. 20 in Joplin, Mo.  Prior to that is the NCAA central region meet, which also is scheduled to take place in Joplin on Nov. 3.  The Mavericks are rated third in the region with the top four teams at the national meet receiving auto bids to the national meet.

The MSU women, meanwhile are rated fourth in the region with the top five teams in the region receiving auto bids based on regional meet performances.

Both teams are scheduled to compete at the 2012 NSIC meet this weekend (Saturday) at the Lee Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis.  The meet website is located here.

One other thing before signing off this afternoon.  Congratulations to Mike Hastings, first-year head coach of the Minnesota State men's hockey program.  The Mavericks earned a 4-1 nonconference road win at Alabama-Huntsville last Friday in giving the Crookston, Minn., native a win in his debut.

In the event you were curious as to how other MSU coaches did in their first outings as Maverick coaches, here you go...

Lori Meyer (softball): 7-0 loss at lost Texas Tech, 1985
Jim Makovsky (wrestling): 35-8 win over Iowa Central,1993
Matt Margenthaler (men's basketball): 86-76 loss at Wisconsin Parkside, 2001
Nate Owens (women's swimming) 163-64 win at Northern Iowa, 2004
Dennis Amundson (volleyball): 3-2 win over Michigan Tech, 2005
Peter McGahey (women's soccer): 3-2 home win over Metro State, 2008
Matt Magers (baseball): 6-4 loss at Southwest Baptist (Mo.), 2009
Eric Means (women's hockey): 5-2 win at Maine, 2009
 Christie Williams (women's tennis): 9-0 win vs. Bethany, 2012

Next up is new women's basketball coach Emilee Thiesse.  There's an exhibition game at the University of Minnesota Nov. 4, but her first real game as head coach takes place Nov. 16 vs. Black Hills State at a tournament hosted by Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D.

It's great to be a Maverick!

Riding the Wave

It was a simple question.

"What effect does the Minnesota State men's basketball success this year have on MSU and the community?"

Under the guidance of head coach Matt Margenthaler, the Mavericks had just completed their 2010-11 season having advanced to the semi-finals of the NCAA Division II Elite 8 national championship tournament held in Springfield, Mass.

Over the course of the year MSU had crafted a 28-5 record and captured the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular-season title before hosting the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament. The Mavericks won three straight games in claiming the regional title in earning their first-ever trip to the Elite 8. Margenthaler was NSIC and Region Coach of the Year. Senior forward Jefferson Mason was All-NSIC, All-Region and All-American. Senior forward Cameron Hodges was the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year and along with senior guard Marcus Hill, was also an All-NSIC selection.

As the season extended deeper into the season, attention continued to grow. The local media entities provided extensive coverage with KEYC featuring Maverick players and Coach Margenthaler as in-studio guests on a regular basis. The Mankato Free Press and the MSU Reporter provided their regular coverage during the season, but both entities devoted additional resources as the postseason evolved including printing comprehensive tabs for the eight-team NCAA Regional held in Mankato. And when the Mavericks went to Springfield for the championship tournament, so did personnel from both publications. Radio Mankato carries every Maverick men's basketball live with MSU Hall of Famer Casey Lloyd courtside on the mic. Casey called both Elite 8 games and while people tuned in on the radio, many others caught the broadcast via the world wide web streaming audio.

And the Twin Cities took notice as well with WCCO coming down for a feature and Margenthaler in demand for interview requests from KFAN and several other media outlets throughout the upper midwest. Margenthaler became the feature of a story in his hometown newspaper and the players were the subjects of stories in their hometown publications, as well. The Associated Press, the Minnesota News Network and the major newspapers in Minneapolis and St. Paul did pieces. The Mavericks were the subjects of innumerable postings on blogs, Facebook and Twitter feeds and Youtube videos.

At the Elite 8, MSU's quarterfinal win over Alabama-Huntsville was streamed live on NCAA.com and in addition to a couple of hundred students and staff watching the game on the big screen in Taylor Center, watch parties in bars and restaurants around town were overflowing with patrons. Same thing for the semi-final game against Bellarmine in which the Mavericks fell to the eventual national champions.

When we host a regional, as we have the past two years, people from all over come to Mankato to watch the games and they, as well as the seven other teams attending the tournament, stay in local hotels, partake at our restaurants and visit River Hills Mall.

"What effect does the Minnesota State men's basketball success this year have on MSU and the community?" Short term....see above. The long term answer is somewhat more complicated.

With the women's basketball team capturing a national championship two years ago and the men's team advancing to the Final Four, the University derives publicity and notoriety from coast to coast. Same thing when the other teams at MSU do well, too. While we're unsure exactly how many column inches, television features, blog postings, Youtube video uploads, Facebook and Twitter mentions these successes have generated, we can assume the public relations effect has been massive. Not only do our students currently attending MSU follow along with pride, but we can be assured that a large many of our 90,000 alums are proud to be associated with our teams as well.

What does it mean? Student-athletes want to compete and win, so the easy answer is that we've proven we can do that with these programs at Minnesota State. Recruiting is extremely important to the success of any collegiate team and when our coaches can tell potential student-athletes that not only can you come here and play in an unbelievably great facility like Taylor Center, they can also come here and have an opportunity to be a part of teams that will have a chance to compete for not only conference and regional championships, but national championships, as well. Pretty powerful stuff.

And, of course, there are other implications such as fundraising in that people want to be associated with successful entities. So, in theory, this should help us in our developmental activities. With our corporate partners, with our sponsors and advertisers, with those who purchase season and single-game tickets and with our alums who so generously give back to their alma mater.

The reality is that MSU has been to the NCAA postseason seven straight years and broke through to make the school's first appearance at the Elite 8 this year. While we pause to revel in this season's achievements for a moment, my sense is that the Minnesota State men's basketball program is still ascending.

Thanks for the wonderful ride, fellas - it's great to be a Maverick!

Ghosts on the Hardwood

With five consecutive NCAA appearances, five conference titles in the last six years and the Mavericks prepping for a men's regional championship game tomorrow night in Taylor Center, it's been a great time for those whose passions run deep for Minnesota State Basketball.

Minnesota State has a proud history with the game played on the hardwood dating back to its inception at Mankato in 1921-22 under iconic first-year coach C.P. Blakeslee.  Under Blakeslee, Mankato State Teachers College built a 123-85 record from 1921-22 to 1938-39 and in addition to capturing one Little Ten title in 1930-31, also won a Minnesota Teachers College Conference championship in 1932-33.

Head coach Jim Clark, who guided MTC for five years in the forties, had a 27-41 ledger before legendary Jim Witham came along.  Witham, who was hired after coaching at Bemidji State, built a 160-73 record in Mankato while leading his team to seven conference titles and two national tournament appearances.  His second team in 1946-47 advanced all the way to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball championship game, where it eventually fell to Marshall by a 78-59 margin.  MSU's first basketball All-American Hank Epp was a member of this team and later on, near the end of Witham's career, other familiar names such Norm Ness, Manny Beckman, Lee Loewen, Bob Will, Hal Peper and Virg Goertzen and Duane Mettler emerged.

Bob Otto filled in for one season before one last year with Witham and then Bill Morris coached Mankato State College from 1956-57 until 1966-67. Morris guided his charges to a 134-112 mark and in addition to a pair of league titles, led the program to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 1963-64. After Morris pulled the pin in 1965-66, Art Ollrich put together a 9-38 mark the next two seasons and Red Severson crafted a 42-61 record from 1969-70 until 1972-73.  

Lloyd "Butch" Raymond ushered in a period in which the Mavericks went 164-133 over the course of the next 11 seasons and in addition to a North Central Conference title in 1975-76, won a NIC crown in 1978-79. Raymond's 1978-79 team hosted a NAIA play-off game vs. St. John's (Minn.) in front of a huge crowd in Otto Arena. Raymond's Running Mavericks featured the dynamic back-court tandem of Gene Glynn and Curt Clark along with a player some have described as the North Central Conference's best-ever player in forward Elisha McSweeney.

Following Raymond's departure for St. Cloud State after the 1983-84 season, Dan McCarrell was brought in from North Park in Chicago and he led MSU to a 284-189 record in his 17 seasons at the helm.  McCarrell, who recruited one of the top-scoring guards in the history of the program in sweet-shooting Brian Koepnick and also brought in Mankato native Pat Coleman - an All-American and the NCC's MVP in 1996, coached the team for 16 years in Otto Arena before christening Taylor Center in 2000-01.

That leads us to the current incarnation of the program. Since the 2001-02 campaign Matt Margenthaler has built a 217-85 record and is in his tenth year with the Mavericks.  And under the former South Dakota State assistant the Mavericks can boast All-Americans such as Jamel Staten, Luke Anderson, Atila Santos and Travis Nelson.  Senior guard Jefferson Mason will undoubtedly receive All-America consideration this year, as well.

You can bet that the luminaries of the program - from Hank Epp, Butch Meyeraan, Jon Hagen, Dewey Mettler, John Schultz and Gene Glynn to Brian Koepnick, Blaine Joerger, Pat Coleman, Drew Carlson, Kory Kettner, Monte Dufault, Paris Parham, Nick Ellenberger, Jevon Budde, Luke Anderson, Chris Whitfield, Tony Thomason, Jesse Clark et al - will all be watching with pride as the Mavericks take on Ft. Lewis Tuesday in the NCAA Division II Central Region championship game on their home hardwood.

It's great to be a Maverick!